Dungeon Defense (WN)

"You……."

I clenched my teeth. My face was probably twisted with rage by now.

I tightened my grip around Laura de Farnese's neck with my right hand. The Military Affairs Minister let out a faint groan of pain. It wasn't enough. This wasn't nearly enough. Compared to the pain Father suffered, this was nothing. I wanted to snap her slender neck right here and now.

"Because of you…… Father……."

And then it happened.

A sharp pain stabbed through my heart. My vision spun. The sudden agony drained all strength from my hand. Freed from my grasp, Laura de Farnese gasped, coughing and choking as she sucked in desperate breaths.

I clutched my chest with my left hand.

"Haah…… ngh……."

My heart still quivered from the aftershocks of pain. I stared down blankly at my right palm. It was Father's slave brand that stopped my hand.

Why can't I kill this woman?

No—I know why. I know all too well.

If Laura de Farnese dies, Father will fall into utter despair. He will curse the world. I know that truth far too well. And because I know such a future will bring harm to Father, I cannot kill her……!

And that's not all.

No matter what crime Laura de Farnese has committed, I can never tell Father about it. Because he would curse himself. He would take all the blame, convinced it was his own fault that the Minister of Military Affairs ended up like this.

Ah.

Ahh, ah…….

"……."

I rose to my feet feebly. Laura de Farnese glared at me, but I no longer cared about her.

Like a lifeless corpse, I left the Minister of Military Affairs' bedroom. She yelled something at me from behind. But whatever she shouted didn't even reach my ears. I quietly shut myself away in the corner of my room.

What should I do?

The die has already been cast. Father has no choice now but to choose either Barbatos or Paimon. But that's not the real issue. No matter whom Father chooses, the power balance within the Demon Lord Army will be shattered.

The Plains Faction, the Neutral Faction, and the Mountain Faction. This newly formed Demon Lord Army—structured around these three camps—is about to collapse. Father's power stems entirely from that balance. No matter whether Father kills Barbatos or kills Paimon, either way, he will lose his power!

A dilemma with no escape.

"……."

I tasted blood on the tip of my tongue. I looked into a mirror to see blood trickling from the corner of my mouth. Without even realizing it, I had bitten down hard on my lip. My face was completely expressionless.

……It was almost certain that Father would end up disposing of both Barbatos and Paimon.

That was the only answer. If only one person dies, either the Mountain Faction or the Plains Faction will end up monopolizing power within the Demon Lord Army.Either no one dies, or everyone does. There are only those two choices.Now that Barbatos has begun to fiercely oppose Paimon, the option of "no one dies" is no longer viable.

They will all die.

Both of Father's beloved lovers will end up dead.

"That can't happen."

The words slipped from my mouth before I realized it.

I know Father well.If he is forced to kill both of his lovers, there is no doubt in my mind—he willpersonallytake their lives with his own hands. Of course he would. He would deliberately commit the murders himself, to carve the weight of such terrible evil into his very soul.

Could he endure it?

Even someone like Father—could he bear the burden of such guilt?

No. He would not be able to withstand it. He's someone who has nightmares just from slaughtering people, even if they're completely unrelated to him. Someone like that could never bear the deaths of the women he loves.

Even if—by some means—he manages to endure it, there will be nothing human left in Father.

The truth is, the mere fact that Father hasn't broken already is nothing short of a miracle. If he kills his lovers, what remains will be nothing more than a puppet wearing Father's skin……. A machine, moving solely by ethical and logical calculation…….

Could I ever forgive such an ending?

That Father—the noblest of all men—would finally collapse beneath the weight of his own ideals? That such a fate will be the final act of the path he has walked—that it is inevitable? That no ending remains for him exceptthat?

Don't make me laugh.

I want Father to triumph. Between this entire world and Father, the one whodeservesto win is Father—without question. What has the world ever done for him? Why should I care about the world at all?

As if it weren't enough to inflict pain upon Father—now the world intends to bestow defeat on him too?

I will never accept such an ending.

What must I do?

How can I protect Father's throne and his soul?

Think, Daisy.

There must be a way.

There's no such thing as impossible. If anything in this world could be called impossible, it would be something like a Rank 72 Demon Lord defeating the one Rank 1 Demon Lord. And Father actually accomplished that. Compared to that, the escape route I seek now is nothing.

Think.

I devised twenty-seven strategies, but every one of them concluded as a failure in my head.

Think.

I came up with nine countermeasures, but judged them all to be inadequate.

Catch the formatted version at M|V|LEM_PYR.

I thought, and thought again. Before I knew it, an entire night had passed.

Yet I remained perfectly still, seated in my chair. My eyes stared into the void, as if even blinking had been forgotten. I slowly turned my head to look into the mirror. Reflected there was a girl with pitch-black eyes.

There is one way.

***

――If I become the sacrifice.

***

I will cover up Laura de Farnese's mistake. In exchange, I will make it seem as if I had secretly manipulated the Military Affairs Minister.

With that, Laura de Farnese will be exonerated. There will be no reason for Father to suffer from guilt. Even if Father ends up killing Barbatos or Paimon, the blame for it all will rest solely on me. It will no longer be Father's responsibility, but entirely the result ofmywicked deeds.

Father will curse me with every fiber of his being.

He'll resent me for daring to destroy his beloved, for even letting her die. And so, in Father's heart, I will remain someone he can never forgive. The name Daisy will forever be remembered by him as being synonymous with a devil.

But that doesn't matter.

So long as I can save Father.

If there's a way to rescue him from a catastrophic end……. Then I don't care what becomes of me.

I decided long ago to save Father from the world.

I've known for a long time. What Father needed was not someone to love—But someone he could unleash his hatred upon. This time, that hatred would simply grow larger. But my role remains fundamentally unchanged.

Still seated in my chair, I calmly spun the threads of my plan.

More than ever before, my thoughts were clear, sharp, crystalline. What I needed to do, how I should mend the flaws in my scheme, everything unfolded flawlessly, like a grand structure rising from the earth.

I took a bottle of wine in hand and stepped out of the Demon Lord Castle. Night had ended, and the glass-colored twilight of dawn spread across the land. I inhaled the biting morning air deeply. Perhaps, at that moment, even my heart was stained with that cold, glassy hue.

Good.

From this moment on, I shall deceive history.

Ordinary people, even if they manage to craft a plan, are incapable of carrying it out perfectly. That is because they bear on their shoulders a thousand intentions and ten thousand purposes. They can never reach their destination with such heavy burdens.

But I am different. My purpose is solely for Father. To deceive the world and history for the sake of one person, and one person alone…….

I took a sip of wine. A piercingly bitter aroma filled my mouth. With it, I washed away the blood that had lingered on my tongue all through the night. Then, I threw the bottle to the ground. The glass shattered brilliantly.

For Dantalian alone.

No—for my Father.

I offer up all life and soul.

Ο* * *Ο

First, I began the first stage.

I allowed Father to kill Paimon. After all, both the Mountain Faction and the Plains Faction needed to fall. Saving both factions was impossible.

Moreover, it was also clear to me that Paimon would eventually become a threat to Father in some way. It was hard to believe the balance between the Plains Faction, the Neutral Faction, and the Mountain Faction would last forever. In that sense, Laura de Farnese's suspicions weren't entirely wrong. Of course, the Military Affairs Minister was still an utterly foolish blonde woman.

Just as I expected, the moment Father tried to kill Paimon, he glanced at me and signaled, "Leave." But I calmly replied,

"I am your bodyguard, Father. Now that Miss Ivar is gone, I cannot vacate my position as well."

"In that case, you can keep watch at the door."

"This is unexpected. Did you not say that your side is where I constantly belong?"

Father fell silent. It was a tacit permission for me to stay.

He likely wanted to kill Paimon alone, purely by his own hand. He meant to shoulder the responsibility for Paimon's death entirely on his own. But I have the duty to witness the evil that Father commits. And Father acknowledged that…….

Unaware of anything, Paimon spoke.

"This lady is not confident that the archdukes will choose you over Barbatos at that time……. Oh, I am not saying that I do not trust you, Dantalian. I am sure that you will handle everything well, fufu."

"There is no need for concern, Paimon. It is all the truth, after all."

"Pardon?"

Blood sprayed into the air.

Father killed Paimon, then pressed his lips to hers for a long kiss. After that, he tore a piece of her clothing. He soaked the cloth in her blood and tucked it into his breast pocket, as though storing a handkerchief.

It was his way of carrying her death in his heart—forever.

"……"

This confirmed it.

In that moment, I was thinking of something entirely different from Father.

The commands Father engraved into me are six in total:

Do not harm me.Do not harm those I hold dear.Never turn away when I or they are in danger.

Obey my commands.Place my life above your own.Always, absolutely comply with the above orders.

Just now, Father killed Paimon. What I witnessed was an act that directly violated the command, "never turn away when I or they are in danger." And yet, my slave seal did not react.

This held profound significance.

If Father willingly chooses to kill someone he holds dear, my slave seal does not respond. In other words, the slave seal recognized Father himself as far more important than those he holds dear.

This was precisely what I aimed to confirm in stage 1.

Fortunately, the first hurdle was cleared with ease. Father didn't suspect at all what I was thinking. He likely believed I had merely played the role of a bystander. A good start.

Next, stage 2.

I began the experiment by sacrificing Luke.

I deliberately hid Father beneath my bed before calling Luke in.

To Father, it must have seemed like a spontaneous and impulsive act. In reality, it was a thoroughly calculated crime. I hurled words and deeds so cruel they shattered my brother's mind from the very core.

"That's why I decided to tell you the truth today, Luke, my brother."

"Ah, uh, ah……ahh……."

"You're a son of a bitch who indifferently raped your blood-related little sister for the past five years."

My soft-hearted brother couldn't endure it as he broke down completely. Even as all of this unfolded, my slave crest didn't react.

Thus, I succeeded in drawing two conclusions.

First. Luke was someone "Father held dear." I directly defied an order and harmed Luke. And yet, the slave crest didn't respond. In other words, as long as Father himself takes priority, I am fully capable of harming the people dear to him.

Second. Even if Father witnesses such an act unfold right in front of him, the slave crest still does not respond.

What's more, Luke learning the truth and falling into corruption stood in direct opposition to Father's plan to eventually raise Luke into a hero. Yet I went against Father's will and broke my brother.

Even if Father disapproves, even if it goes against his plans—as long as I determine that it is something necessary for Father, then…… I can act beyond the constraints of the slave crest.

In short, the slave crest does not operate based on Father's judgment, but rather, is governed entirely by my own judgment.

Success.

Following the first stage, the second stage was also a success.

I feel sorry for my brother, but it was important for him to realize what he had done. Whether he was aware of it or not, he had violated me indirectly. From now on, he needed to take responsibility for that.

Thus began the third stage.

"I'm sorry, brother."

Not long after, I told Luke the truth.

About Laura de Farnese's mistake. About Paimon. And the truth that, if things continued like this, Father would inevitably be destroyed. I told him everything. Luke listened to my story calmly from beginning to end.

I looked straight into his eyes and asked him.

"For Father's sake, fall into hell with me."

"……Then."

Luke parted his lips with difficulty.

"If I do that, Daisy…… will you forgive me?"

"I never resented you in the first place. So there's nothing to forgive."

"……."

Luke closed his eyes. A long silence settled between us.

Then he opened them again and looked at me. His jaw moved slightly.

"My life was granted to me by Father and you. So it's only natural that my sword be used for Father and for you. Daisy. I'll follow your orders."

The third stage was a success as well.

We siblings embraced each other gently. I patted Luke's back, and Luke held me, shedding silent tears. There was sin in that moment. There was forgiveness. But more than anything, there was a steel-like resolve for one person in this world.

With that, half of the plan was complete.

And my script surged forward, without hesitation, toward the remaining half.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I don't have much to say. I'm overheating. Why'd the rainy season end so fast… IT'S SO HOT THESE PAST FEW DAYS. AHHHHHHH.

I'll see you guys in the next melting chapter.