Free Web NovelChapter 409: Chapter 33: I’ll Make You an Offer You Can’t Refuse
"We’ve arrived at the Royal Court Satellite Capital. Well now, so this is Serralis? It’s quite a sight."
Outside the City in the Lake, where maple forests intertwined with magnificent architecture, Westheid took in the full outline of Serralis as he disembarked from a Shuttle Ship hovering over the lake. Behind him were Luyetan, Elaine, Hecate, and the others. Westheid hadn’t made a grand affair of it, bringing only about a dozen people essential to the mission.
How had they managed to arrive at Serralis so openly? That wasn’t much of a puzzle. The defenses of the Demon Realm were, in fact, shockingly lax. Aside from a few rare exceptions, most of the Celestial God’s Shadows couldn’t care less about the doings of mortals.
As long as one avoided the core area of the City in the Lake and steered clear of the Grand Ensemble’s nodes, a force of several hundred, or even several thousand, could slip through undetected. And Westheid had only brought a dozen or so people. A small Floating Battleship of this size was more than enough for his group. Enhanced by layers of concealment Runes, it had traversed the Demon Realm unimpeded, reaching the territory of the Master of Greedy Banquet in just two or three days.
Once they were before the city gates of Serralis, there was no longer a need to hide. They simply approached the guards and struck up a conversation. Despite being complete strangers, the guards, while maintaining a proper level of caution, asked Westheid and his companions to wait a moment. They had gone to report to the city’s new master... no, its *old* master.
"This... it hardly looks like part of the Demon Realm."
As they waited, Elaine crossed her arms, surveying their surroundings.
"It’s more like an ordinary kingdom during a grand, festive celebration," she said.
Lands ruled and occupied by the Celestial God’s Shadows, while not necessarily tainted by Chaos Corruption, were always far from normal. This was because these extreme Demons would project their own preferences onto their domains. The mortals living there would in turn be influenced, gradually developing inclinations toward their master’s particular vices.
Bloodlust, warmongering, depravity, perversion... things of that nature. After all, they were the shadow-selves of Celestial Gods. How could any of them be good people? They’d hit you with the full spectrum of greed, hatred, and delusion.
This was why Eilvette considered the people of the Royal Court living deep within the Demon Realm to be defiled—a discordant remnant that needed to be purged.
Westheid chuckled. "Demons are not all the same. In essence, these Royal Court subjects aren’t entirely normal either... but the influence here is so trivial compared to that of other Demons that it barely counts as a problem."
’After all, what’s wrong with a fondness for pleasure? Isn’t that what people in the Mortal World live for anyway?’
After a while, the guards of Serralis returned and respectfully ushered Westheid and his companions inside.
"Lady Anise has been waiting. This way, please! The grand banquet has only just begun!"
Upon entering Serralis, the vibrant and bustling City in the Lake showed them the true meaning of a magnificent banquet. Long tables lined the wide, bright avenues. Every street, every courtyard, and every garden was a sea of people, all singing, dancing, and raising their cups in joyous celebration.
It was as if the Grand Ensemble was still in effect here; the song that echoed through the air was a light and cheerful melody.
Westheid made his way to the High Court in the center of Serralis. After climbing what felt like thousands of endless steps, he finally reached the heart of the banquet.
There, on a plush couch atop a dais at the far end of the hall, lounged a glamorous young woman with long, silver-purple hair. She had one smooth, slender leg crossed over the other, and she leaned lazily against a pillow. With one hand, she picked up a piece of fruit and elegantly popped it into her cherry-red lips. When she saw Westheid and his group enter the hall, Anise tilted her head slightly.
"I’m surprised you actually answered my invitation."
Westheid stepped forward. "Since Lady Anise extended an invitation, and we sent our reply, it would have been far too rude not to show up. Fortunately, it seems we’ve arrived just in time. Did we manage to catch the banquet?"
As Anise got a clear look at Westheid’s face, her beautiful eyes, which held a faint pink glow, lit up. She sat up straight.
"Hm? And you are? I don’t believe we’ve ever signed a contract, have we?"
At this, Elaine quickly stepped forward and bowed.
"Master of Greedy Banquet, please allow me to introduce him. This is the Monarch to whom I have sworn allegiance, Duke Qinghui Westheid. He is also the Yonglan Knight King, the Southeast Imperial Guardian, and currently an ally of the Thousand Laws Royal Court."
"I have a name. It’s Anise Thousand Lake. Don’t use that demonic honorific again."
Anise stood up from the couch and clapped her hands together with a smile. "This is the first time. Don’t make that mistake again."
Despite her smile, her words sent a chill down the spine.
"...I understand."
Elaine was a little confused, unsure how she had offended the Master of Greedy Banquet. Even though they had been under contract for a long time, she still didn’t really know her.
Westheid, however, wasn’t surprised. He understood the Celestial God’s Shadow before him. ’She hates being called by her demonic honorific... No, actually, most Demons hate it. They just hate revealing their true names even more, so they tacitly accept being addressed by their titles.’
’Anise is the exception. She openly shares her true name with everyone.’
"Oh! So you’re quite the impressive mortal," Anise mused, putting a slender finger to her lips and tilting her head. Her expression broke into a smile as she looked at Westheid. "I remember now. That Bone Demon died at your hands not too long ago, didn’t it? The news made the rounds in our little circle. Very nicely done."
