The next morning, when Lucifer's eyes fluttered open, he immediately became aware of the two tiny girls sleeping peacefully on either side of him. They looked about five years old—small, rosy-cheeked, and utterly adorable.
Nestled right beside them were their mothers: Severina on his right, with little Severucia curled against her chest, and Nocturna on his left, with Noctalia tucked safely in the crook of her arm.
The second bed—where Veronica and Zyrene had slept the night before—was now completely empty.
Lucifer smiled softly. With infinite tenderness, he gently woke his two daughters. The moment their eyes opened, both girls—Severucia and Noctalia—latched onto him like little koala bears, wrapping their small arms tightly around his neck and burying their faces in his chest. Lucifer didn't hold back; he showered them with love—kissing their foreheads, stroking their hair, murmuring sweet words of affection until they giggled and snuggled even closer.
After a few minutes of pure, heart-melting cuddles, he gently roused Severina and Nocturna as well. Soon, the five of them stepped out of the wooden cabin-like tent. Lucifer waved his hand, and the entire structure folded neatly into his spatial storage, vanishing without a trace.
Outside, the others were already waiting—Aleric, Cesar, Zyrene, and Veronica—standing ready beside the chariot. The horses had been re-hitched, everything packed.
They had spent the entire previous night camped in Torren Village. Now it was time to move on.
With everyone aboard, the group set off westward toward Westirifer Duchy.
During the journey, Lucifer proudly introduced Noctalia and Severucia to the rest of the party.
Cesar and Aleric stared in open bewilderment. Last night there had been only five adults—Lucifer, Veronica, Zyrene, Nocturna, and Severina. Now, somehow, overnight, the group had grown to seven. They exchanged glances but didn't press the matter. They had long since accepted that when it came to Lucifer and his Shadow-wives, the impossible was simply routine. With warm smiles, they welcomed the two little girls, cooing over them and offering gentle hellos.
While the chariot rolled steadily forward, Veronica sat near the front, cradling Severucia and Noctalia in her lap with obvious affection—stroking their hair, kissing their cheeks, making silly faces that drew delighted giggles from the children.
Then, suddenly, a question that had been nagging at her mind resurfaced.
The previous day in the royal court, Lucifer had declared that the day after tomorrow, Westirifer would march on Purefield Duchy in a full crusade. But Westirifer shared borders with HolyCross Duchy, Keilname County, Redbarn Duchy, Hecktor Duchy, and Florence County. Purefield Duchy lay far to the southwest, its capital Whitefen City an immense distance away.
True, Purefield was so vast that even from its distant southwestern position, it still touched the kingdom's borders. And roughly in the middle—between the kingdom and Purefield—lay the City of the Dead, Mortheveil, sharing boundaries with both.
Veronica couldn't stop wondering: How exactly would Westirifer's army reach Purefield while passing through so many intervening states? And even if they somehow did… after yesterday's events, she doubted Lustbound Kingdom would lift a finger to help Westirifer. At best, they might simply stay out of it; at worst, they would actively interfere.
So the core question remained: How would Westirifer's forces ever reach Purefield Duchy?
Finally, she turned to Lucifer. After all, she had spent the last twenty-five years as Queen of Lustbound Kingdom. Even though she now had no ties to it, her knowledge of politics and geography was unmatched.
"Lucifer…" she began quietly. "There's something I don't understand."
He glanced at her. "What is it?"
"Yesterday in the royal court, you said that the day after tomorrow you would launch a crusade against Purefield Duchy."
"But how will our army even get there? And even if we do reach them… no matter how many powerful individuals we have, our numbers are tiny compared to theirs."
"Westirifer may be wealthy—our treasury might even surpass the kingdom's—but compared to Purefield? We can't compete. And look at the size of our duchy. It's barely one-tenth the size of Purefield. How are we supposed to fight them?"
Lucifer listened carefully, then replied with calm certainty.
"Veronica… you're not thinking or seeing from my perspective."
"In my eyes, Purefield Duchy isn't even half the size of Westirifer."
"They don't have more treasury than us. They don't have a larger army."
Veronica blinked, realization dawning. What Lucifer was saying flew in the face of every map, every report, every known fact.
"Lucifer… explain your perspective to me."
He smiled faintly.
"It's simple, Your Highness. Eat. And repeat. And repeat… until nothing remains to eat."
Veronica frowned. "Meaning?"
"Look, Veronica. Purefield lies to our southwest. So when we launch our crusade southwest, which state do we encounter first?"
"Keilname County," she answered immediately.
"Exactly."
"Before I got news of your call, Mitalda,who was envoy for keilname county already told me about them: Keilname County has already refused cooperation."
"So in my eyes, they are already an adversary state. They may have more soldiers than us—even as a mere county—but we prioritize quality over quantity."
"The crusade force I'm sending will be led by Artemis, Mara, and Almyth, accompanied by two members of my spy units."
"Those five people *are* our army, Veronica. We don't need much more."
"First, the five of them enter the county. Then the two spies from my units—M and O—immediately change their appearance. You may not know this, but they can alter their form completely… including gender… once a month."
"So imagine: Artemis, Mara, and Almyth enter with M and O. The moment they're inside, M and O shift disguises. They infiltrate the count's household."
"So far, so good."
"They gather information: Who really holds decision-making power? The nominal ruler? An elder? A guardian? After one or two quiet days of observation, they report everything to Artemis."
"Then Artemis goes directly to the count's mansion—either to negotiate… or to deliver the final warning."
"The envoys we already sent were offering cooperation—the first warning: Join us willingly as allies, keep your autonomy, become friends."
"Artemis's visit is the *last* warning: We are no longer asking for cooperation. We are demanding your entire state in exchange for your life."
"Now watch, Veronica. If the ruling family agrees—fine, all is well. If not… the moment the conversation ends, that ruler ceases to exist in this world."
"My spies will assume the ruler's appearance. The county will suddenly declare readiness to submit to Westirifer."
"Yes, there will be some commotion from the sudden change—but the deed will be done."
"And once everything quiets down, the family is either dissolved… or completely eradicated. No bamboo left, no flute to play."
"See? Westirifer's size increases. Treasury grows. Territory expands. And not a single soldier of ours dies in battle—so our army grows too."
"We've just 'eaten' one state. We repeat the process… until we reach Purefield."
"And Veronica, we won't always need this hidden approach. Once our army is larger, we can fight conventional wars on one front… while infiltrating and dismantling ruling families on the other."
"Win even one of those battles, and the state loses both wars simultaneously."
"That's what I call: Eat. And repeat. Until nothing remains to eat."
"So tell me, Veronica darling… whose duchy is bigger now? Westirifer's… or Purefield's?"
"Who has the greater power?"
"Exactly the same path lies ahead. Hecktor Duchy and Morgen Duchy also refuse cooperation. Along with Bexihound Barony and Ironford County."
"Understand this: In the next thirteen days—except for Ironford—we will bring every single adversary state under control."
"I'm leaving Ironford for last… because it serves no real purpose right now. Killing Rotveil's followers means nothing to me. I want to torture Rotveil slowly, make him suffer… and kill him within these thirteen days. That is my solemn promise to Seren."
"And before I kill Rotveil… I will leave the Purefield family in such a ruined state that either they hand over Christopher and Sarah to me themselves… or I wipe them out before they can even beg the kingdom for help."
"After all… without Purefield Duchy, what are Christopher and Sarah?"