novelraw Chapter 144
Chapter 144
Episode 144
In a training ground within the always quiet and peaceful Lucifer Ducal Castle.
A girl with lush, abundant pink hair tied up high was angrily striking a training dummy before her with all her might.
"I don't want to go! I don't, I don't, I said I don't want to!"
Her voice, filled not just with determination but with sheer annoyance, seethed with anger directed at someone.
"Why! Do I! Have to! Go!"
The girl, continuing her training by fiercely striking the dummy, finally couldn't contain her frustration and channeled demonic energy into her sword, slashing the dummy.
Perhaps because her skills had improved since she first started learning the sword as a child, the dummy couldn't withstand the powerful force, and its support snapped.
Even as the dummy lost its balance and fell pitifully to the ground, she didn't stop fuming.
「That dummy has met its demise too.」
A red-tailed sparrow sitting on a dummy across the way, watching the training session, spoke. The sparrow with grey tail feathers next to it blinked its eyes.
「Pascal, watch closely! That skill in cleanly controlling demonic energy! She's only fourteen, yet she's already so magnificent. Imagine how radiant she'll be when she becomes an adult! My heart is already racing.」
At the praise, which bordered on blind adoration, Pascal showed that even a sparrow could make a disapproving face.
「Isn't this almost an illness......」
A tone of exasperation followed, but it was true that he still felt proud watching his master glaring at the dummy.
「Not a wrong thing to say. She's splendid, and the only thing left is for her to rise even higher. Yep, absolutely.」
As Pascal nodded, Janet smiled contentedly, as if she had expected him to say that.
Under the bright spring sunlight, the figure of the girl diligently swinging her sword and freely controlling her demonic energy was growing closer to the Mors they knew.
"Young Lady! Young Lady Flora!"
"Phew."
Hearing a voice calling her from afar, Flora wiped the beads of sweat trickling down her rounded forehead.
Her figure, wiping away sweat under the sunlight, had grown so splendidly that one couldn't find the trace of the seven-year-old who had first picked up a sword.
As if proving her Lucifer bloodline, she was taller than her fourteen-year-old peers, and her arms and legs were straight and long, likely from exercising since childhood.
Frequent training had left her hands with many calluses, unlike the typical daughter of a noble house, but her appearance was always accompanied by reviews that she was beautiful enough to make passersby look back, even fantastically so.
"What is it, Elena? If you're here to tell me to get ready because I have to go to the Temple, I'm telling you now, I'm not going."
"Unfortunately, the preparations for the trip to the Imperial Capital are finished. All that's left is for you, Young Lady, to finish getting ready."
"I'm not going."
"You know that's not an option, right?"
"Why not? I don't want to go."
Her strong-willed personality, where she had to say everything she wanted, was charming enough to be praised, making her truly a rising star within the empire.
"Young Lady, all noble young ladies have their busiest time in the spring of their fourteenth year."
Of course, Flora had zero interest.
"I know. It's for the debutante ball held in the Imperial Capital and the Divine Power inspection conducted at the Temple. I'm not interested in the debutante, and I don't want to take the Divine Power inspection."
"I can guarantee that among those gathering this time, no one will have a presence as outstanding as yours, Young Lady."
"My presence will surely be overflowing, since my Divine Power is zero."
It was a sarcastic remark, as a Great Demon like her couldn't possibly possess Divine Power, but Elena, unaware of the circumstances, couldn't know this.
"Young Lady, please. Don't speak like that."
Elena made a sad expression, her eyebrows drooping, as if Flora's words sounded self-deprecating to her.
"Of course, there have been no members of the Lucifer family with Divine Power until now, but nothing in the world is absolutely unchanging."
Flora wanted to retort that that was nonsense, but she held back.
Because, from her judgment as a Great Demon, the Lucifers were clearly full of Divine Power, yet she had heard the Temple's verification results were recorded as zero.
She had no idea why the Lucifers' Divine Power couldn't be detected, which was absurd, but it briefly crossed her mind that it might be a scheme executed by the Temple side to ruin the Lucifers' reputation.
'No, Lucifer or not. It doesn't make sense for a Great Demon like me to have Divine Power, right? Unless I get caught for having demonic energy!'
Frustrated by what she couldn't say, Flora felt like pounding her chest.
'Why on earth did those damn heroes create such a troublesome event!'
The Philinawood Empire had a very special spring festival: an event hosted by the Temple for fourteen-year-old children.
Children who turned fourteen that year gathered at the Temple to undergo a Divine Power inspection, and based on the results, their higher education path was determined.
Ordinary nobles, possessing at least a small amount of Divine Power, were expected to receive not only related historical education but also higher education. Commoners, however, were different.
Most commoners were born without Divine Power and often didn't receive proper related education.
But since demon forests and magical beasts still existed in the empire, threatening humanity, personnel with Divine Power were important.
Therefore, commoners with Divine Power could, through this inspection, receive higher education and gain the opportunity to enter the Temple or the Executor Bureau. This was considered a blessing to find talented individuals and was conducted like a festival in the Imperial Capital.
'Even though the Executor Bureau is purely filled with nobles anyway.'
In Flora's eyes, it seemed like nothing more than a wicked act that only planted hope in commoners while widening the gap further, making her even more reluctant to attend.
On the other hand, others, unaware of her feelings, thought differently.
"I fully understand how you feel, Young Lady. But if you don't participate in such an event, wouldn't worse rumors start circulating around you? I'm so worried about that."
'Ugh.'
She knew it was said with genuine concern for her not getting hurt, but that was one thing, and this was another.
"And no matter how much you dislike the verification ceremony, you still have to go to the Imperial Capital for the debutante ball."
"I won't……"
"Although the Lucifer notoriety has lessened a bit lately, if we show any sign of hesitation, there might be those who start criticizing us again, finding something to pick on."
Elena had been serving Flora closely for nearly ten years now, and no other employee handled Flora as well as she did.
Elena, having said something to weaken Flora's resolve, placed a hand on her cheek and let out a low sigh.
"The businesses are going well, the Ducal House's prestige is higher than before, and the Duke and Young Master's faces are always filled with smiles……"
"......"
"If news of your absence gets out, the two of them will probably secretly blame themselves, thinking the reason you're not heading to the Imperial Capital is because of them."
"……That's not true."
"No matter how much you, Young Lady, say it's not, once that thought takes hold, it's hard to shake off. I even heard them discussing who would be your partner at the debutante ball……"
The rest was left unsaid, but Flora could guess the nuance.
'Listening to this, it does seem a bit… problematic.'
Now that the Lucifers were finally seeing some light in the world, hiding away instead of being active would likely spread malicious rumors quickly.
'But if my demonic energy is discovered, it would be a complete disaster.'
Separate from her dislike of the Imperial Capital and the Temple, this was a critical issue concerning her own and her family's safety, so she couldn't make a hasty decision.
「Master, is it really that serious?」
As she was lost in thought about what to do, Pascal, who had been quietly watching, flew over and perched on her shoulder, speaking.
'Huh?'
「You just have to not use demonic energy in the Imperial Capital, and you practiced a lot to hide your demonic energy for a day like this, didn't you?」
At Pascal's words, memories of her past struggles flashed through Flora's mind.
It was true that if she didn't use demonic energy in front of Temple or Executor Bureau affiliates, there wouldn't be a problem, but that only fooled those with lower abilities.
To achieve her future goals, she would undoubtedly have to interact with high-ranking officials of these organizations. To avoid her identity being exposed before she could even take revenge, she had practiced methods to seal her demonic energy.
「That's right. Weren't you happy, saying that even if priests or executors searched your body thoroughly, they would never find it?」
With Janet also agreeing with Pascal's opinion, Flora fell into serious thought again.
The time for sealing her demonic energy was a maximum of thirty minutes. During that time, she couldn't use it, but by the same token, others couldn't detect it either.
'But the inspection has to finish within 30 minutes for that to work. And what if I accidentally run into high-ranking officials…?'
Seeing Flora still hesitating, Pascal, unable to stand it, subtly threw in a remark.
「Master, are you… scared?」
It was a magical phrase, guaranteed to get immediate consent.