Chapter 47 : Quite Useful
Chapter 47: Quite Useful
She could tolerate threats, and she could even tolerate that inexplicable Feminization Index.
But destroying the results of her work—no, absolutely not!
A surge of fury shot from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head.
Lilia abruptly stood up, the chair dragged backward by her movement, letting out a harsh scraping sound.
“You…”
Just as she was about to erupt, a sudden wave of dizziness seized her.
The world spun.
Her consciousness seemed to be forcibly torn out of her body by an invisible hand, drifting upward, becoming a cold, detached observer.
She could “see” herself.
See herself still standing in place, maintaining that posture on the verge of anger.
But inside the body, someone else had already taken over.
Lilia’s body moved.
She slowly straightened the waist that had been slightly bent forward due to anger.
It was a completely different posture.
The crimson eyes that had been slightly widened from fear and anger now gradually narrowed.
A brilliant gold, like a molten sun, emerged from the depths of her pupils, swiftly covering the original blood-red color.
Gold.
It was clearly still that tight-fitting Maid outfit, still that exquisitely beautiful face, yet her entire aura had undergone a complete transformation.
If the previous Lilia had been a white rose trembling in a storm, then now, she was a deity commanding thunder and tempests.
Camilla was still immersed in the pleasure of destruction.
She admired Lilia’s dazed, silent fury, that foolish look of someone who dared not speak out, and was just about to deliver even more vicious mockery.
But she quickly sensed something was wrong.
That little mouse… had straightened up.
That aura belonging to the Queen, which made her whole body uneasy, suddenly intensified a hundredfold, a thousandfold.
Pressure, like an invisible tide, instantly filled the entire study.
The smile on Camilla’s face froze.
Yet her legs felt as if they were filled with lead, completely unable to move.
She could only watch helplessly as that “Lilia” looked at her calmly with those golden eyes.
“Heh.”
A soft chuckle.
It came from Lilia’s throat, yet it was entirely another person’s voice.
Cold, elegant, with a trace of careless cruelty.
It was Hera’s voice.
Camilla’s mind exploded with a “boom,” going completely blank.
The pride she held as a Succubus Duke was crushed to pieces in that instant.
Without even thinking, she dropped with a “thud,” both knees smashing heavily onto the marble floor, her entire body prostrating as her forehead pressed tightly against the cold ground.
“Y-Your Majesty…”
Her voice trembled uncontrollably, filled with undisguisable terror.
“You… why are you…”
“My” body—or rather, Lilia’s body under Hera’s control—ignored her question.
She raised Lilia’s fair hand, examining with interest the living ring on her middle finger.
“This thing is quite useful.”
Hera muttered to herself using Lilia’s mouth.
Only then did those golden vertical pupils fall once more upon Camilla, who was trembling on the ground.
“Camilla.”
“Your subordinate is here!”
Camilla did not dare disobey. Trembling, she struggled to lift her head. The moment she met those pure golden eyes, her heart nearly stopped.
“You just touched my things.”
(Referring to messing up the documents, right? (X))
“Your subordinate deserves death! Your subordinate deserves ten thousand deaths!” Cold sweat instantly soaked through Camilla’s back. “I did not know Your Majesty was here, please forgive me!”
“Oh?” Hera tilted her head. This slightly innocent gesture belonging to Lilia now carried an eerie sense of oppression. “So if I weren’t here, you could do as you pleased?”
“No! Your subordinate would not dare!”
Camilla was on the verge of going mad.
Why was the Queen possessing this lowly Maid?
What was going on?
“You’ve always been quite bold.” Hera slowly paced forward, stopping before Camilla. Using the tip of Lilia’s small leather shoe, she lightly nudged Camilla’s shoulder. “Not only daring to touch my things, but also daring to question my decisions.”
“Your subordinate… only…”
“Only felt that working with a Maid was an insult to you?”
Hera finished the latter half of her sentence.
Each word was like an icicle piercing into Camilla’s heart.
“Your subordinate would never dare think such a thing!”
“You’re not that you don’t dare to think it—you just don’t dare to say it.” Hera chuckled softly and withdrew her foot. “I sent you here to work, not to watch you vent your pitiful jealousy.”
She paused, as if thinking about something.
Lilia’s suspended consciousness could not clearly perceive anything, only vaguely sensing it all.
“Originally, this task was assigned to you upon her recommendation.”
Hera’s voice sounded again.
Camilla froze, her face filled with disbelief.
That person… recommended me?
“She said that in establishing order and understanding people’s hearts, you are the most suitable candidate in the entire Palace of Eternal Night.” Hera spoke in a flat, emotionless tone. “She said your abilities should not be wasted on meaningless jealousy.”
“I…” Camilla was completely stunned.
“I accepted her suggestion.” Hera moved behind the desk, looking down at her from above. “But now it seems she may have misjudged you.”
“Your Majesty!” Camilla grew anxious, lifting her head abruptly despite her fear. “Your subordinate can do it! Your subordinate can complete the task!”
This was her chance to prove her worth!
She absolutely could not let the Queen think she was inferior even to a Maid’s judgment!
“Very good.”
Hera seemed satisfied with her reaction.
“Then clean up the things on the ground.”
Using Lilia’s hand, she pointed at the scattered ink stains and documents.
“And then assist her in completing the task I assigned.”
“If any document is still unfinished before sunrise tomorrow…”
Hera paused, a trace of amusement flashing through those golden eyes.
“You will go to the ‘Confinement Room’.”
As her voice fell—
That immense, suffocating pressure receded like a retreating tide.
The golden glow within Lilia’s body quickly dimmed, and the crimson color once again filled her eyes.
Control of her body returned.
An overwhelming wave of exhaustion and the aftereffects of mental tearing struck instantly. Lilia’s legs gave way, her body tilting backward. Fortunately, she managed to grab the edge of the desk in time, preventing herself from collapsing to the floor.
She gasped heavily, her heart pounding wildly.
Everything that had just happened felt like an unbelievably real nightmare.
She raised her head and looked forward.
The Succubus Duke Camilla still maintained her kneeling posture, but had already lifted her head.
That stunningly beautiful face no longer held its earlier mockery and killing intent. In its place was a complex expression mixed with fear, humiliation, and extreme confusion.
She looked at Lilia as if she were some kind of monster wearing human skin.
The two stared at each other in silence within the deathly quiet study.
After a long time.
Camilla moved her dry lips and said one sentence.
“You… okay?”