Volume 1, Chapter 67 – That’s Me, That’s Me

Vilpana.

Her best student, her most talented student, the most powerful demon in history…

To every demon, Vilpana had another name that was far more widely known, for it was a taboo etched onto the very first page of the Demon Realm’s history books.

Pale Lord.

Gehenna had once believed that she had personally raised an Archdemon capable of restoring the Demon Realm to its former glory.

Yet only at the very end did she realize that Vilpana was the one and only mistake of her life, and the most irreparable one.

The most arrogant demon to ever exist, and the cruelest Archdemon.

If all Vilpana had done was kill without batting an eye, that would hardly have mattered. It would not even have been worth mentioning. But in pursuit of her goals, in pursuit of the origin and supremacy of demons, Vilpana had nearly set the entire Demon Realm ablaze during the Eternal Night Riots, surrounded by rivers of blood as she trod upon the bones of countless demons.

And the silver-haired girl before her clearly bore Vilpana’s shadow.

Vilpana had possessed the exact same SSS+ talent, the same bloodline descended from an ancient surviving lineage that had spread beyond its clan, an almost identical troublemaking personality, ambition that could not be restrained, cruelty buried deep within her heart, and a bloodline rank that led directly back to the origin…

Gehenna’s long-sealed, blood-soaked memories gradually overlapped with Stella’s face.

A student born this wicked had to be personally…

Killed.

‘Hmm…’

Principal Gehenna seemed to be pondering something.

For some reason, Stella could not bring herself to look directly at her. She racked her brains, yet an increasingly tangled sense of trepidation and heart-pounding unease spread through her chest.

Her intuition for danger had always been frighteningly accurate, and most of the time, those dangers had come true in ways she could do absolutely nothing to stop.

Sometimes Stella even wondered whether the Inquisitor had made that promise to her precisely because she valued this trait of hers.

Could Gehenna be thinking about something incredibly dangerous for her right now…

Like making her copy the school rules hundreds or thousands of times, forcing her into indefinite volunteer service for the academy, demanding an enormous sum in emotional damages…

Or something even worse.

An expulsion notice.

‘Please, Principal Gehenna.’

‘I would do anything. Just please, don’t expel me.’

While Stella’s thoughts were flying all over the place, she had only just managed to organize the speech she had prepared in her mind and had yet to say a single word when Gehenna finally ended her long contemplation and spoke.

“By now, you no longer have any secrets from me.”

Gehenna began, tilting her head slightly as she calmly stared into Stella’s eyes.

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“Before I make my decision, I have one final question for you, Stella Valentine. What exactly did you come to our Lilith School for?”

“Don’t try to lie to me. I know what lies taste like.”

Gehenna smiled faintly, revealing a warmth that did not quite reach the rest of her face.

“I assure you, the price of lying will be very high.”

Yet her words were icy cold.

“You have five seconds to answer.”

“!?”

Stella’s face instantly turned pale.

‘It’s over. This is actually even worse than I had imagined.’

How had Gehenna realized there was something wrong with her?

Could it be because she had caused too much commotion, so Gehenna had specifically investigated her background and all the suspicious points surrounding her?

Thinking about it, that made perfect sense. Stella had acted so conspicuously during this period that there was simply no way her identity as a spy could remain hidden forever.

“Five…”

“Four…”

“Three…”

Gehenna counted softly.

‘What should I do?’

She could not lie. An Archdemon had already said as much, so if Stella lied, Gehenna would definitely be able to tell that something was wrong.

Did she have no choice but to tell the truth?

But how was she supposed to say it?

“For the sake of…”

Stella hesitated for a moment.

Come to think of it, why had she gone out of her way to come to the danger-ridden Demon Realm in the first place?

The Inquisitor had indeed promised her a grand future, but Stella had not been so naive that she was stupid enough to believe everything without question. Anyone who carefully weighed the risks and rewards of this espionage mission would know that the losses far outweighed the gains.

Thinking carefully about it, maybe she really was an idiot…

But Stella remembered that she had another thought back then.

She firmly believed in something. She had already devoted herself to something she was determined to protect, and nothing could stop her from pursuing it…

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“Two…”

“One…”

Stella said it stubbornly.

“Because I want to prove that I won’t change my original resolve just because I’m misunderstood, won’t doubt my beliefs just because I’m neglected, and won’t slow my steps just because I grow old. I’ll still be the same person I was at the beginning. I’ve never changed.”

Like a child, she still believed that as long as she voiced what she wished for, that wish might come true.

It was not a lie.

It sounded disgustingly noble.

Gehenna gathered her thoughts and slowly leaned back against her pillow.

‘An original resolve that would never change?’

‘No matter how much others neglected or misunderstood her, she would carry it through to the very end?’

‘Then what exactly was Stella’s original resolve?’

‘There has to be one.’

Gehenna began to think seriously.

Power?

With SSS+ talent, she had no need to deliberately pursue it.

Authority?

The status of a Daywalker from the Valentine family would inevitably grant her authority far beyond that of an ordinary demon.

Gehenna recalled the files on Stella that she had deliberately investigated during this period.

An overwhelmingly domineering declaration upon enrollment, genius-like conduct carried out without the slightest attempt at concealment, suppressing members of prestigious families to attract attention, using the bloodline inspection to draw the attention of the Elector’s main family, then later seeing straight through the hearts of demons and delivering a speech, establishing an association centered entirely around herself…

No matter how one looked at it, this was an extraordinarily meticulous plan.

There was only one possibility left.

Gehenna narrowed her eyes slightly as an idea gradually took shape.

‘Could… Could your true original resolve be to become the Queen of Eternal Night of the Demon Realm?’

‘That would be fine as well.’

‘Stella Valentine…’

‘Since you have yet to truly set foot on the wrong path, perhaps I can gradually guide you back onto the proper one.’

‘Then let me see whether you truly have what it takes to contain that ambition of yours.’

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Before that, she had to keep this dangerous individual within her sight as much as possible. The volunteer indenture contract from earlier happened to provide the perfect excuse.

And as it happened…

She currently had a troublesome matter on her hands that had left even the Disciplinary Committee helpless, one that even she found somewhat difficult to deal with.

Since Stella wanted to prove her methods and her original resolve, then she would let this little monster deal with another little monster.

“An original resolve that will never change. What an interesting way to put it.”

Gehenna took a sip of coffee.

“Then prove it to me.”

“???”

‘Prove it?’

‘Prove what?’

‘Prove that I am a Saintess?’

‘But hasn’t Principal Gehenna already confirmed that beyond all doubt…’

‘Wait!?’

‘Could it be that I have not been exposed at all?’

Stella suddenly understood.

‘Then what has Principal Gehenna been babbling about all this time for?’

Stella touched her cheek. Just now, she had almost thought she was completely finished. She had even answered Gehenna’s question with the resolve of a martyr prepared to die for her faith.

“You haven’t forgotten about the volunteer work, have you?”

Gehenna put down her coffee cup and said calmly.

“There happens to be something I intend to entrust to you now. If you were an ordinary member of the Disciplinary Committee, I might not feel comfortable leaving it to you, but if it’s you… I think there should be no problem.”

“What is it, Principal?”

Stella nodded so vigorously that her head seemed ready to fall off.

There was no way she could forget an indenture contract lasting an entire six years even if she wanted to.

“Recently, a student has appeared within the school who… I refer to as a ghost.” Gehenna pulled a black file from the pile of documents. “After returning to the school, I noticed traces of this ghost’s activities behind quite a few troublesome incidents. I originally intended to personally investigate the ghost’s true identity, but I simply have too many official duties and have no choice but to devote my attention to other matters.”

‘Phew…’

Stella quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

So it was merely a simple investigation. As a professionally trained spy, finding someone was practically child’s play.

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“What has this ghost done?” Stella asked curiously, acting extremely enthusiastic.

“A long list of crimes.” Gehenna opened the file and began reading without raising her head. “First, the ghost broke into my restricted book area. Its methods were exceedingly brutal. Those book-spirit guards were instantly burned away without even ashes remaining. It stole two forbidden books. One was History of Dark Cursecraft, while the other was a treasured fragment left behind by the founding principal.”

The smile on Stella’s face froze.

‘Burned away… without even ashes remaining?’

‘I was the one who had blasted them away with Holy Light…’

As for those two books… one was beneath her robe, while the other was probably lying peacefully beneath the pillow in Remedios’s dorm room right now.

“Additionally,” Gehenna continued, “I also found traces of an unforgivable curse being cast on the outskirts of the Blasphemous Forbidden Forest. That ghost must have been secretly studying dark cursecraft there.”

Stella stopped speaking altogether.

That ghost was obviously her.

“And there’s also the seduction-control game that has recently become popular among the students. I suspect the ghost is behind that as well. I traced the signs back to Prefect Patolize. Although she insisted it was entirely her own idea, I know she was lying.”

The corner of Stella’s eye twitched.

Patolize had clearly come up with that herself.

What did it have to do with Stella?

Why were they dumping every single bit of blame onto this ghost?

“The detailed file is right here. Read it yourself.” Gehenna tossed the documents in front of Stella. “Your volunteer assignment this time is very simple. Find out who this ghost is for me.”

Stella lowered her eyes and stared at the file.

She was completely certain now.

That utterly wicked, crime-ridden ghost who had disrupted the peace and stability of the school, the one Principal Gehenna wanted to track down.

‘That’s me, that’s me.’

‘And my task now is…’

‘I have to investigate and arrest myself?’

Translator Note

She is so screwed HAHAHA XD