I’d ask her for help, she’d become convinced I meant in a nuptial way, and when I tried to tell her no, she’d bawl and bemoan her age. And on top of that, she stole glances at me with every sob. This woman was nothing if not calculating.
“So be it. I’ll have to use it, then.”
I had the shadow help me roll a hogshead cask of water over from another storeroom.
“What do you intend to do with this?” asked Rila.
“Just watch,” I said. “Real Nightmare.”
“Oh-ho. Now that is some magic I taught you long ago. Wonderful.”
I cast a spell on Serafin. She wasn’t any help to me while drunk.
“Look, Serafin, this is a legendary high-grade alcohol that won’t make you feel sick no matter how much you drink.”
“Really? Thank you so much, Mr. Roland… I knew in my heart that you weren’t the type to abandon a maiden, even if she’s a drunkard past her prime.”
Serafin gave me a humbled look with her hands clasped over her chest.
“Your age and appearance don’t matter. It’s what’s inside that’s important,” I replied.
“That’s right! You truly understand, Mr. Roland!”
Yeah. It was what was on the inside that counted. And I needed a way to deal with all the booze inside her.
“A legendary liquor… It smells wonderful…”
Serafin inhaled deeply through her nose. After she removed the cask lid, she punched it in half with a grunt.
“S-such vigor…”
“Serafin, that’s all for you, so I’ll wait upstairs. Let me know once you’ve finished all of it.”
“Understood!”
Serafin was so taken with the water that she’d forgotten there were two others in the room with her.
Rila’s shadow and I left and waited in a spare room in the castle.
“If she drinks it all, it should be enough to get the alcohol out of her system and make her easier to deal with.”
“Knave, when she realized I am the demon lord…do you think she tricked us into confirming it?”
“…”
“I appeared before humans during the war, but I do not believe any of them ever heard my voice,” she explained.
I clicked my tongue unconsciously.
“I can’t believe her…”
“I believe I understand why you think her so capable.”
Perhaps Serafin had expected this for a while. When she gave me the collar, she said it would be perfect for the demon lord. I was surprised she still remembered that.
She must have pieced things together when I recently asked about the collar. Even Tallow had heard rumors of the demon lord’s revival, after all.
“You are rarely outdone. It was a sight to be seen.” Rila chuckled, delighted.