"Mr. Berne!　I've brought you lunch!

Thank you, Anna. Put it there.

Yes!

　At Bern's instruction, Anna placed her lunch on the table.
　No matter how delicious the food looks, Bern is not interested in it at all.

　Of course, Anna knew the reason for this.
　That's why she was trying to cheer Bern up with a cheerful attitude.

"Mr. Berne, ......, please cheer up. I'm sure the guards will be there and everything will be fine!

"......Yes.

　Bern replied to Anna's encouragement in an appropriate manner.
　No matter what they say, it's impossible to trust the security.
　There is no way I would trust my life to such a weak entity.

　For now, he could only wait for Aria's help.

Anna. I think a friend of mine will be coming to visit soon. He might be a little strange, but don't worry about him.

"What?　Oh, really?　Then prepare to be entertained!


Well, about that, ...... he can be a bit difficult, so you might want to avoid talking to him too much.

"Oh, I see. ......!　I understand!

　Bern's Lies.
　This is to keep Anna out of it.
　If Anna's character is like that, she might not know that she's dealing with the Demon Lord and might make a crude mistake.

　On the other hand, she could not say that the Demon Lord would come, so she decided to kill the opportunity.
　This way, there would be no danger to the two of them.


"Master Berne.

　Knock, knock.
　At the moment when Anna showed her satisfaction and Bern patted his chest.
　Another maid's voice comes through the door.

Two men claiming to be friends of Mr. Berne have come to the castle. What can I do for you?　A girl and a young man.

"Good!　Bring them to me. They're my friends, so please don't be rude to them.

Yes, sir.

　I hear the maid's footsteps through the door again.
　The maid's footsteps were a little hurried and she seemed to have understood Bern's intentions.
　She was the opposite of Anna, a very attentive maid.

Anna. So, my friend is coming. Don't forget what I told you.

Yes!

Thank you. Good boy.

Hehehe.

　Bern stroked Anna's head gently, as usual.
　He knew that this would make Anna's hearing several times better.
　It is no exaggeration to say that the current Bern is able to control her at will.

I'll see you later. If you do well, I'll reward you later.

"Really?　I'll do my best!

　And with that, Anna left the room in a good mood.
　Aria and Licht would be arriving in a few minutes.

　Once they arrived, assassinating Bern would be a difficult task.
　Even if they killed him, he would not die.


"Hey, I'm here!

"Ah!　Demon Lord!　Thank you for coming!

　Sooner than expected.
　Aria and Licht arrived at Bern's side.
　It seems that the decision to get Anna out of the room early was the right one.

　There was no way the maids could see the queen kneeling.

I just saw a maid acting suspiciously. Is something wrong?　As soon as she saw us, she kept looking down.

"Oh, ......, don't worry about it.

　Bern broke out in a cold sweat.
　He had told Anna that she was a difficult person, and that seemed to have intimidated her.

　The fact that she had tried to follow the lore and had come up short had all been typical Anna behavior.

It's okay. So, are you okay with being an assassin?　We don't have time to be here much longer, do we?

...... You don't have time for this.

Licht, shut up!

No, no, no!



　I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it, but I'd like to.
　As a demon king, if he was found to have too much time on his hands, he might be lambasted by his subordinates.

　This pride made her fingers pinch the flesh of Richt's arm.

How did you know there was an assassin in the first place?　I think it would be a mistake for an assassin to let his target know.

It's ...... fortune-telling.

...... Hey, hey, hey. I don't want to play games with you.　You don't want to play games with me, do you?

No, no, no, trust me!　I saw it with my own eyes!　I saw it in my own eyes! I saw it in my own eyes!

　Bern desperately appealed to Aria, who seemed unwilling to do anything about it.
　As a vixen, Bern is able to foresee danger that may befall her.

　Normally, this ability is useless because it can only be used to foresee life-threatening events, but when it actually works, the sense of fear is extraordinary.

　If Aria and the others were to return here, she would have to spend her life in despair.
　This situation - even if she had to hang on, she had to stop them.

Aria. Maybe I'm telling the truth. I can't believe you'd be this desperate for a joke. Maybe you should believe me.

"...... We can't help it if Richt says so. If we're going to do this, we're going to do it right.

Oh, thank you very much!

　Bern's gratitude.
　As an impostor, it was immensely gratifying to be trusted.