Free Web Novel“That one’s mine...”
Jiele Xiyin suddenly spoke, startling everyone. “...No, wait. After you killed me last time, it disappeared for some reason!”
She jerked her head up, staring at Vieya. “So it was you who picked it up?”
I picked it up?
Vieya paused, then shook her head. “One of these keys was given to me by Elizabeth, and the other was mailed to my house by a stranger. Also, the two of you—turn back into your human forms when you talk to me. I don’t want anyone mistaking my house for an animal museum.”
With that, she sat on the desk, arms crossed, waiting for the two Demon Kings to respond.
“Master...”
Jiele Xiyin spoke softly, her human form appearing just a step away from Vieya. Her pupils were cold, her crimson-tinted eyes lined with a seductive trace of killing intent.
“You said this key was delivered to you... through the mail?”
For once, she actually said the word Master calmly. Not only was Elizabeth surprised, but even Vieya blinked with curiosity.
Still, as expected of a Demon King—those eyes were terrifying, as if she could whip out a dagger from under her skirt at any moment.
Vieya quickly pulled the nearby elf girl in front of her as a shield. The elf tilted her head in confusion, her expression clearly asking: What are you doing?
Using you as cover.
Vieya cleared her throat and continued.
“Yes, that’s right. So what’s special about this key?”
“Each of the Seven Demon Kings has one,” Elizabeth cut in. “At the time, I thought you were a time fragment of the Great Demon King who’d come back to life, so I wanted to test you. But, well, you seemed familiar with the key yet had no idea what it actually does.”
Jiele Xiyin glanced at the red-lipped girl beside her and continued, “After I inherited the title of Demon King, the key appeared in my hand. It seems deeply connected to the Demon King’s throne. I tried researching it, but made no progress.”
“Until one day...” Jiele Xiyin fell silent for a moment, then went on. “The Great Demon King Flaviel came to me and said she wanted to borrow my ‘World Key’ for a while.”
“She asked to borrow that thing?” Vieya said, her tone strange as she held the key between her fingers.
“Yes.” Jiele Xiyin lowered her eyes and said lazily, “I refused, so she took it by force. I didn’t expect her to return it—but one day, it just appeared in my hand again...”
After a pause, she added, “That was the day she was killed by the former wielder of the Holy Sword.”
Vieya said nothing, simply staring blankly at the key in her hand.
“That woman actually asked to borrow it?” Elizabeth blinked her wine-red eyes, realization dawning. She covered her mouth in surprise.
“So that’s it! I thought I’d lost my key! Turns out she stole it. No wonder it suddenly came back to me after being missing for years—so that’s what happened.”
This Demon King was even more ridiculous.
Vampire Queen, huh? More like an idiot queen.
Vieya lifted her gaze slightly, then lowered it again, deep in thought. Apparently, it wasn’t just humans who were a mess—there were just as many slackers among the Demon Kings.
No wonder the two sides, humans and demons, had been at war for so long and were still stuck in the same stupid stalemate.
Other people’s battle royales already had a winner crowned, while these clowns were still comparing how many potions they had left and who could outlast the poison circle longer.
A bunch of idiots...
Vieya pocketed the two brass keys, hopped off the desk, and clapped her hands. “That’s enough for today. You two can pick any room on the first floor to stay in. Just make sure you’re up early tomorrow morning.”
...
Later, back in her room—
Vieya lay on her bed staring at the ceiling, her mind replaying countless fragments of the past—every detail of Flaviel she could recall. Sleep refused to come.
For no clear reason, she began to miss the warmth of Flaviel’s body, the faint scent of flowers, the softness of their lips when they met.
Her body began to heat up... countless memories and sounds echoed through her mind.
The whole world blurred, and she thought she could almost see... pink hearts popping above her head.
No, no, no!
Vieya scrubbed at her own cheeks furiously. What am I even thinking?!
My daughter’s right here sleeping next to me!
So indecent! What’s wrong with you, brain? Control yourself! CONTROL!
You’re a slime girl now—worldly desires shouldn’t even concern you!
No good. Her body felt hot. Too hot.
Great, now my head’s full of dirty thoughts.
Vieya curled up, chanting the Ice Heart Mantra silently over and over again. After dozens of repetitions, what little drowsiness she’d had was completely gone.
Still no use...
She quietly crept out of bed, slipped on her slippers, and brushed aside the sweaty strands clinging to her forehead. Glancing at Jasmine—breathing evenly, drooling a little in her sleep—Vieya smiled helplessly.
“Never thought I’d have trouble sleeping, too...”
“Guess I’ll go take a cold bath.”
Sighing softly, she tucked Jasmine’s blanket in and tiptoed out of the bedroom.
In the bath—
Vieya filled the entire tub with ice-cold water. Clumsily, she undressed and lowered her pale, jade-like body into it.
“Hisss... cold!”
The slime girl sucked in a sharp breath, but the heat in her body finally began to cool.
Hey... this actually works.
Her panic gradually faded as the warmth drained away from her body, replaced by calm.
“Phew...”
Vieya exhaled slowly. Her flushed cheeks glowed faintly under the moonlight, her silvery-white hair wet and plastered against her delicate face, collarbones, and shoulders.
“What’s wrong with me... Ugh, am I just too lewd? Uuuu...”
... ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
The next morning—
The bathroom was a complete mess. Clothes were scattered everywhere, soaked through with water. Vieya was still in the tub, completely naked, leaning against the rim fast asleep, unaware that dawn had already broken.
In the bedroom, Jasmine woke up to the sound of Aislin knocking. She rubbed her eyes drowsily and mumbled, “Come in...”
Aislin pushed open the door—then froze.
“Little Jasmine, did your mom not come back to sleep last night?”
“Eh... I don’t know.” Jasmine looked around, noticing the clear impression of someone having slept beside her. “She probably did come back... maybe she went out early to make breakfast?”
“I just passed by the kitchen and didn’t see anyone,” Aislin sighed, turning to leave. “I’ll look somewhere else.”
Click.
The bedroom door closed again, cutting off Jasmine’s view.
She sat blankly on the bed, reaching out to touch the spot where her mother usually slept—cold.
Eh?
Did Mom really not come back last night? Where did she go...?
Elsewhere—
Elizabeth wandered about yawning, clearly having overslept.
She had expected to see the white-haired brat’s smug face and icy tone first thing in the morning, but after waiting nearly half an hour, still no sign of her.
“Hey, cat. You know ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ where your Master ran off to?” Elizabeth sprawled lazily on the sofa like a queen, crossing her legs. She grabbed a carton of milk, drained it, crushed the box, and tossed it aside.
“Meow... I don’t know...”
The black cat shook herself and raised a paw, running upstairs. She didn’t want to stay under the same roof with those two dangerous creatures for another second!
No, from now on, she had to stick close to Vieya.
In this cold world, only the white-haired girl’s side gave her a sense of safety.
Wait—she hadn’t seen her all last night, and not this morning either.
Where could she be? Did she oversleep?
As soon as the cat reached the stairs, she ran into Aislin, who was also looking for the missing girl.
