Chapter 41 : Recognition
Chapter 41: Recognition
At this time, in this place, she had even blocked her path back to her room.
Every strand of hair on her body stood on end.
“Yo.”
A strange, enchanting curve lifted at Camilla’s crimson lips as she stepped forward with graceful, feline strides, slowly approaching step by step.
The “tap, tap” of her high heels against the cold stone floor sounded like each strike was hitting Lilia’s heart.
“Isn’t this our newly appointed Chief Inspector of the Palace of Eternal Night, Lady Lilia?”
Her voice was cloyingly sweet, yet carried a bone-scraping chill like a blade.
“Still not resting so late at night?”
Lilia’s mind went completely blank.
What should she do?
She was so exhausted that she didn’t even want to move a single finger. Both her mind and body were on the verge of collapse. Right now, even a Little Demon could push her over.
“I just finished handling official duties for Her Majesty the Queen…”
The thought had just surfaced before she crushed it herself.
Useless!
From the way Camilla looked now, it was obvious she had come specifically for her. And judging by her stance, she might have been waiting here for quite a while.
Her malice was already so intense that she no longer bothered to hide it.
Just as cold sweat streamed down Lilia’s back and she was thinking whether she would be torn to pieces or turned into a Succubus dessert, Camilla had already walked up to her.
A rich and sweet fragrance rushed toward her, carrying an aggressive intensity.
Camilla was half a head taller than Lilia. She lowered her head slightly, almost pressing against Lilia’s ear, and spoke in a tone like a lover’s whisper.
“Do you know, little toy?”
“I just went to the document transport station.”
Lilia’s heart sank sharply.
“Those newly delivered documents were arranged quite neatly.”
There was no emotion in Camilla’s voice as she extended a finger painted with bright red polish and lightly traced it across Lilia’s cheek.
The cold touch made Lilia’s body tremble uncontrollably.
As expected, she came to pick trouble.
“And that thing you came up with… those ‘forms’?” Camilla’s tone carried unmistakable ridicule. “They’re… ugly in a very distinctive way.”
“However…”
Camilla withdrew her hand, stepped back, crossed her arms, and looked Lilia up and down with a scrutinizing, critical gaze.
“Although they’re ugly, they are indeed… somewhat useful.”
“Huh?” Lilia froze.
She suspected that, due to excessive fatigue, she had started hallucinating.
“After I left today, I reviewed a few supply requests submitted by the legions.” Disgust appeared openly on Camilla’s face. “Those muscle-brained idiots used to write things that were completely unreadable.”
“But today,” she paused, “although what they submitted was still stupid, at least I could understand what they wanted to do and how much they needed.”
“That ridiculous thing you made actually allowed those generals—who can barely even write their own names properly—to learn how to file reports.”
“On this point, I admit—you did well.”
Lilia was completely stunned.
She stood there blankly, her brain processor directly crashing from this sudden 180-degree turn.
What was going on?
Wasn’t this woman just looking like she wanted to eat her alive a moment ago?
Why had she suddenly started giving professional praise?
Was this some new kind of humiliation tactic? Lift you up first, then make you fall even harder?
Had workplace bullying in the Demon Realm already evolved to this level?
Seeing Lilia’s dumbfounded expression, Camilla seemed to be in a better mood, the mocking smile on her lips deepening.
“What? One compliment from me and you’re already scared senseless?”
“Or did you think I would deny your contribution to the Palace of Eternal Night out of jealousy?”
Camilla let out a scoff.
“Don’t think of me as someone as lowly as you, little maid. I may dislike you, but I’m not so despicable that I’d deny facts.”
“The order of the Demon Realm stands above all. Any act that stabilizes Her Majesty the Queen’s rule and improves the efficiency of the Palace of Eternal Night deserves recognition.”
Her words landed with force, carrying an innate pride and authority.
Only at this moment did Lilia truly realize that the one standing before her was not merely a woman blinded by jealousy, but a member of the ruling class in the Abyss Demon Realm with immense power.
She had her pride, her principles, and the bearing of a duke.
The storm in Lilia’s heart was no less turbulent than before.
She had originally thought Camilla was a pure enemy—someone who would only trip her up and wished for her immediate death.
But now… things seemed far more complicated than she had imagined.
“So…” Lilia opened her mouth, only to find her throat dry. She swallowed and carefully organized her words. “Duke Camilla, you… you came specifically to… praise me?”
“Praise you?”
As if she had heard the greatest joke in the world, Camilla let out a crisp, pleasant laugh.
But there was not a trace of warmth in it.
“Don’t think too highly of yourself, little toy.”
The laughter abruptly stopped, and Camilla’s expression instantly turned cold again. That familiar, suffocating malice once more enveloped Lilia.
“I acknowledge that your work has some value—that doesn’t mean I acknowledge you.”
She stepped closer again, her beautiful eyes surging with undisguised jealousy and possessiveness.
“I just came to tell you—”
“Don’t think that just because you’ve achieved a little, you can grow arrogant in front of Her Majesty the Queen.”
“Don’t think that gaining a bit of favor means you can covet what does not belong to you.”
Her voice dropped extremely low, filled with warning.
“I still find you very unpleasant.”
“Especially… that faint scent on you that belongs to Her Majesty the Queen—it truly makes me…!”
“So, I’ll be watching you.”
“I’ll watch your every move. The moment you reveal the slightest flaw, or show any disrespect toward Her Majesty the Queen…”
Camilla leaned close to Lilia’s ear and said word by word in a voice only the two of them could hear:
“I will personally twist off your neck.”
After speaking, she straightened up and gave Lilia one last deep look.
That gaze was like she was looking at a plaything already marked for death.
Then she turned and walked away with elegant yet deadly steps, her slender figure quickly disappearing into the shadows of the corridor.
“……”
Lilia stood frozen in place, completely motionless.
Only after Camilla’s presence completely vanished from her perception did her tense body suddenly go limp. She leaned against the wall behind her, gasping for breath.
Her back was already soaked in cold sweat.
She raised her hand and touched her neck, where the icy killing intent from Camilla’s words seemed to linger.
Her mind was in complete chaos.
So… was that a warning, or was that some kind of approval?
Supporting herself against the wall, Lilia felt her already exhausted mind become even more muddled.
She could only feel that the Demon Realm… was far more complicated than she had imagined.
And that high and mighty Queen Hera seemed to occupy an almost unimaginable, near-religious status in the hearts of these demons.
Lilia closed her eyes in exhaustion.
Forget it. If she couldn’t figure it out, then she wouldn’t think about it.
At least… she was still alive for now.
And the fact that Camilla hadn’t attacked her today was already tremendously good news.
Dragging her heavy steps, Lilia walked toward her room, each step feeling like she was walking on cotton.
Right now, she just wanted to sleep.
Chief Inspector, document audits, Camilla’s threats…
All of that could wait until after she woke up.
Returning to her small maid room, Lilia didn’t even take off her clothes before collapsing straight onto the bed.
The moment her consciousness touched the soft pillow, it fell into endless darkness.