Volume 4, Chapter 30 – Samael’s Visit

I can’t.

Just as Edith said, after witnessing her insistence, she could no longer say that Refina’s choice was the correct one. Edith must have been furious with Refina’s weakness; it was a miracle she hadn’t been driven away.

Edith moved her bishop, taking Yisi’s queen which had advanced too far.

“Hmm…”

She had made a bad move.

Yisi subconsciously frowned, while Edith placed her index finger on Yisi’s captured queen.

“Although Refina’s loyalty is commendable, I cannot tolerate her weakness.”

“Let me just ask, do you still remember your childhood—I mean, your playmates from when you were young.”

Yisi’s words made the count’s eldest daughter pause for a moment, then she naturally moved a piece. With Yisi’s queen gone, Edith adopted an all-out offensive, not caring about one-for-one trades.

If this continues, I’ll lose.

Although her own chess skills weren’t great, if she lost to a novice like Edith, people would laugh their heads off. Yisi stopped being careless and focused more on the game.

“Playmates?” The count’s eldest daughter looked up. “Are you talking about Refina?”

“So you do remember.”

“Some things only become clearer when you try to forget them. I didn’t expect Refina to tell you even that. Such trust. If she knew you were telling me now, she’d be too afraid to look me in the eye in the future. Some people still think I’ve forgotten the past.”

“Then why do you still treat her as a pet? Normally, you would have become good friends, right?”

“If she were a bit more assertive, perhaps that would be the case. But in the end, Refina just wants someone who can control and guide her. She needs a master more than a friend.”

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“I didn’t realize you thought so much—Check.”

Moving her queen back one space, Edith continued nonchalantly.

“I’m not like someone who points fingers without understanding anything, although I won’t deny that you are indeed a very good person to talk to.”

“I don’t remember ever agreeing with you.”

“Agreeing is something a servant does. If you weren’t occupying my body, you might have become one of my few friends.”

Edith’s lips curved up slightly, then she deliberately moved her knight to a position where it could be captured—if Yisi took it, she would lose.

Ignoring Edith’s bait, Yisi used her bishop to take Edith’s rook, which had been a long-standing threat.

“Tch.”

“You were paying too much attention to your own moves and ignoring your opponent’s. You were too careless.” Yisi let out a small sigh. Now Edith was in the same predicament as her. “You mentioned ‘few friends’ just now. Don’t tell me you’re talking about those people who share torture methods?”

“Of course.”

“Then I probably can’t be your friend… I can’t do that kind of thing.”

Yisi began her counterattack. As the pieces were captured one by one, the count’s eldest daughter’s brows gradually furrowed together, and she no longer had the energy to talk to Yisi.

“Are you really not going to reconsider a more cautious approach? The fallen angel named Hetty also said that once she completes her mission, she will return the position to you. Leaving aside the truth of that statement, the assassination plan you proposed is too simple. If it were anyone else, I might have called it naive.”

“I told you, I have my own way. This matter must be done by myself. No one can replace me, and I will not compromise my principles to achieve my goal.”

“Paranoia with a strategy is called persistence. Right now, you’re just being stubborn. The final outcome will be just like this game of chess—Checkmate.”

Forcing Edith’s last piece—the queen—into a corner with no escape, Yisi used her rook to capture the queen, which in turn put the king in checkmate.

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Edith bit her lip.

“…There are no pieces left.”

“If you had noticed earlier, you might have been able to aim for a draw.”

In chess, the king is not allowed to deliberately move into a position where it would be checkmated. If there are no other pieces to move and the king has no escape, a stalemate is formed.

“I’m not aiming for a draw.”

“Then the only thing left is death.”

“Hmph.”

Noncommittally, Edith reset the board, acknowledging her defeat.

Yisi followed suit, but she suddenly threw the pawn in her hand at Edith. It flew with the speed of an arrow, letting out a sharp whistle as it cut through the air. After narrowly grazing past Edith’s cheek, it collided with a suddenly appearing short blade, creating a shower of sparks.

Clang!

Edith stood up reflexively.

“Who?!”

“Hoh, so now you’ve turned into the inferior one.”

A familiar hoarse voice sounded, and Samael’s figure slowly emerged from the air. The carriage suddenly felt much smaller.

Subconsciously, Edith threw a punch at Samael. He tilted his head slightly to dodge it, then dropped his short blade and raised his hands. His murky gaze locked onto Yisi in her Magic Fairy form.

“Let me say this first, I have no intention of being your enemy. I came here this time only for cooperation.”

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The unpleasant sound, like tree bark being rubbed together, made Yisi’s hair stand on end. Just as she was about to answer, Edith spoke first.

“What do you mean?”

Samael glanced at Edith. Although the space in the carriage was small, it wasn’t so small that it couldn’t fit three people.

“The one I want to talk to is not you. Let the real you come out.”

“I am Loiswell Edith Pescia.”

“Without this fairy here, you would have been dead just now.”

Sensing the impatience radiating from Edith, and out of curiosity, Yisi decided to steer the situation in a better direction. If Samael made any strange moves, she could keep him here at any time. So it was better to first hear what he had to say.

She kindly reminded him.

“If you continue with this tone, the cooperation you speak of will definitely fail. It’s best to treat Edith as your equal.”

A thoughtful look appeared in Samael’s dark red eyes. After a flash of uncertain emotions, as if he had accepted something, he finally calmed down and sat down on the side of the chessboard.

His shriveled body looked like a zombie. The wings with black feathers flapped slightly, bringing with them a whiff of death.

“Who is she?”

This “she” referred to Yisi. Samael seemed quite wary.

Edith waved her hand.

“My servant. You don’t have to worry about her leaking any secrets.”

Although I appreciate you trusting me, I never said I was a servant.

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Yisi grumbled to herself.

Perhaps because he was in a hurry, Samael didn’t dwell on Yisi’s presence and stated his purpose directly.

“To get straight to the point, I want to cooperate with you to kill Hetty.”

“Why should I believe you?”

Edith’s doubt made Samael raise an eyebrow. It was clear that he was very displeased. If it weren’t for a stronger desire holding him back, he would have surely torn Edith to pieces.

To prevent Samael from suddenly lashing out, Yisi flapped her wings and slowly flew to a position between Edith and Samael—she had originally wanted to stand on Edith’s shoulder, but Edith wouldn’t allow anyone to stand on her shoulder.

“My thoughts are the same as Edith’s. How do we know you’re not someone sent by Hetty to set a trap?”

“After all these years, your understanding of us demons is still stuck in the unenlightened era.” A look of disdain appeared on Samael’s shriveled face. “I belong to Lord Ouranos. Hetty is a subordinate of the Lord of the Earth, Tartaros. There is no room for negotiation between her and me.”

“Aren’t you all demons?”

This was the first time Yisi had heard such a secret about the demon race, so she was naturally very interested.

“The only thing we have in common is that we are both demons. Just as humans are divided into different countries, we demons are the same.”

“I see.”

Yisi instantly understood what Samael meant. In other words, the Demon Lord Ouranos and the Demon Lord Tartaros were two rival powers, so there was no possibility of cooperation between their subordinates, Samael and Hetty.

Edith narrowed her eyes.

“But you were helping Hetty.”