Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 567

The real difficulty had been deciding to return to Edina—getting there was the easy part.

In my beast form, entering and exiting the Temple was a piece of cake, not because I was an animal, but because it seemed like the guards had been informed beforehand that I was Ellen’s cat.

It felt like I had received an invisible Temple pass. I wasn’t sure if any wild animal could come and go as they pleased the way I could.

Once I left the Temple, I used the teleport scroll Harriet had crafted to return to Edina immediately.

Though it felt wasteful to use the scroll, I couldn’t summon Harriet to me since she didn’t know I had been taken to the Temple against my will.

After leaving Charlotte in charge and disappearing unexpectedly, my sudden comings and goings were not unusual, so no one was particularly surprised.

Naturally, the first person I sought out was Harriet. Despite the late hour, Harriet was in her lab and not her bedroom, engrossed in something.

She wouldn’t rest unless someone told her to.

Upon seeing me after my absence, Harriet explained that nothing significant had happened in Edina.

After I explained everything to her...

“You were dragged to the Temple?” Harriet asked.

“Yeah.”

When I recounted my experiences at the Allied Forces’ camp and my current situation as a cat, Harriet burst into laughter.

“You were caged?”

“Yeah...”

“You’ve become an actual pet, haven’t you...” Harriet remarked with a hint of distress, and I couldn’t deny it.

“Aren’t you worried you’ll end up staying in cat form longer?”

“I already am...”

“Oh.”

“Honestly, it feels a bit awkward now.”

“Is it that bad?”

“Yeah. I wonder why humans are so unnecessarily tall.”

“Wow...”

Now that I had returned to my human form after spending nearly a week with a low vantage point, it felt like the ground was swaying.

I shared what I had learned about recent events with Harriet.

I initially thought it was just about resurrecting corpses with dark magic, but it turned out that the alchemist Cristina was involved in the research project.

“Alchemy is involved...?”

“I can’t figure it out. What’s the connection between necromancy and alchemy?”

“Alchemy itself is a field with many forbidden practices, almost like dark magic... In fact, there are more madmen among alchemists than dark mages.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Remember Aaron Mede?”

“Hmm, right.”

Indeed, Aaron Mede, a low-ranking member of the Black Order, had been more of an alchemist than a dark mage.

“There are many alchemical practices related to dark magic, so they’re not entirely unrelated fields. If anything, they’re quite connected.”

It was almost like birds of a feather flocking together.

It was impossible to engage in forbidden research and dabbling in alchemy’s forbidden practices while avoiding dark magic, and vice versa.

If they were already conducting research that strayed from conventional morality, then it was essentially a matter of breaking every taboo.

That was why forms of alchemy based on dark magic had developed and also dark magic based on alchemy. The empire’s most recent research was likely something like this.

“So, what do you think the empire is up to then?” I asked casually.

Harriet’s eyes widened. “How would I know?” she replied incredulously.

“I-Is that so...”

I had this trust in Harriet, as if she would know all the answers when it came to magic. But perhaps it was unreasonable to expect her to be a walking answer machine.

“There are too few clues. Even if both alchemy and dark magic are involved, it’s still too broad.”

It was almost like asking, “What kind of magic are they using for their evil deeds?”

“Resurrecting corpses and alchemy...” Harriet pondered for a while, but couldn’t come up with a clear idea. “I might be able to understand it if there were two separate research paths, but thinking about them together is difficult.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“If it’s dark magic, it would involve forbidden practices related to the undead. If it’s alchemy, they might be making enhancement potions like Moonshine.”

It was possible that the dark magic and alchemy research were being conducted separately at the Magic University research complex. But if that were the case, there would be no reason for Cristina’s silence and lies.

Harriet was lost in thought, struggling to find the connection.

“I’ll think about it. Maybe the heads of the vampire families might have some insight.”

In hindsight, it was a bit ridiculous of me to return late at night just to demand answers.

“Are you going to go back to the capital right away? After all, you’re Ellen’s cat now. Wouldn’t Ellen be worried if her cat was missing?” Harriet teased, covering her mouth as if to stifle a laugh.

I glared at her. “Are you doing this on purpose...?”

“Of course,” Harriet said with a giggle, finding my predicament as a pet amusing.

“Or, why not stay with me tonight? I’ll send you back early tomorrow,” she said.

“What?”

“But you have to be in your cat form.”

“Ah? Why?!”

‘Enough! You win!’

“Come on. I’ll hold you tight.” Harriet spread her arms wide as an invitation

‘You seem to think the cat version of me is a completely different being! Why are you the one having this dual perception, and not me?’

“Please, stop...”

“What, you don’t want to? You don’t like me?”

“No... It’s not that... You know it’s not...”

“Then hurry! Hurry!”

Our relationship had somehow turned out like that. I ended up complying with whatever our little Thick-Skull said.

Our dynamic hadn’t been like this originally, but at some point, it had been completely reversed, and I couldn’t do anything about it.

Where did it all go wrong?

In the end, I ended up being doted on a lot.

***

It was late at night.

Inside the Kernstadt Army headquarters tent within the Allied camp, Louise von Schwartz was reviewing numerous documents by the light of a single lamp.

During battles, she was busy with combat and command, and outside of battle, she was busy overseeing the overall situation of the army.

This was the reality for Louise von Schwartz. The higher up you went, the harder it was to find proper rest, whether mental or physical.

This was the reality for the entire Allied Forces.

Those who were physically occupied included Ellen Artorius and Sabioleen Tana.

Those who faced mental challenges included the Emperor, Vertus de Gradias.

However, Louise von Schwartz was a Master-class warrior who also had to fulfill the role of a commander.

In some ways, she was arguably the busiest person in the entire Allied Forces.

Heinrich von Schwartz had been observing Louise since the occupation of Serandia. He had already reported on the situation at the Royal Class camp and had seen what the war had taken away.

It was devastating, but those who survived had to do something.

At the moment, Heinrich von Schwartz was scrutinizing documents. He had been through so many that his eyes felt like they were bleeding.

Though it was long past bedtime, the sound of pages being softly turned filled the command tent, where only the two of them remained.

In truth, Heinrich’s scrutiny of the documents didn’t speed up the work, but those documents provided an overview of the entire situation of the Kernstadt army.

Troop status, supply status, supply plans, minimum winter supply requirements, and so on... Just understanding the information in those documents was meaningful.

Louise glanced at Heinrich as she reviewed the documents. His eyes were wide open, but completely unfocused.

Louise had come to realize that her son wasn’t particularly strong when it came to doing such work.

It wasn’t just about memorizing numbers—it was about assessing what was needed, what was missing, what was sufficient, and how to manage limited resources and troops. It also required judgment on whether the reports from each unit commander were truthful.

The real task was reading between the lines, but Heinrich’s approach—trying to memorize everything—was a bit too straightforward.

His efforts felt clumsy and... endearing.

Louise often had to hold back a laugh.

Of course, she wasn’t disappointed in him.

Having just one exceptional skill was already more than enough. Many people didn’t even have that.

Heinrich wasn’t doing this because he knew he was the true heir of the Schwarz royal family. It wasn’t ambition or duty that drove him to learn these things.

He just wanted to be helpful, and Louise understood that that was his only motivation.

THat was why his awkward attempts at something he clearly wasn’t good at felt so endearing to her.

“Why don’t you go rest? You must be tired,” Louise said.

“I’m doing fine,” Heinrich replied.

The two of them still did not share personal conversations, but something was gradually changing.

If things kept changing little by little until the end of this war, perhaps they could finally have a normal parent-child relationship. Louise found it almost amusing—they were anything but ordinary, yet what they both wanted was something ordinary.

And still, Louise had yet to have a proper conversation with her son.

“Heinrich.”

“Yes?”

“I heard about your friends... It’s unfortunate.”

Louise had heard about the situation at the Royal Class garrison. It wasn’t something she needed to concern herself with, but since Heinrich was worried about them, she made sure to keep up with the news.

Death and injury were common on the battlefield, but it was never easy to bear the pain when friends were involved.

Louise’s words left Heinrich in a slight daze. He flashed a bitter smile.

“It can’t be helped...” he muttered.

His words were mixed with self-deprecation and resignation.

No matter how much one tried, there were still things one couldn’t change.

The situation was sad, but he seemed to be trying not to dwell on it. It wasn’t that he wasn’t sad, but rather that he was trying not to feel the sadness.

This was a common experience on the battlefield. Since thinking about it was painful, those left alive ran away and avoided thinking about it.

“Thank you, sister.”

Heinrich gave her a forlorn smile, grateful that Louise cared, and returned to looking at the documents.

Louise found her son’s actions endearing, but the cold truth was that it didn’t actually help.

Just as she hadn’t had proper rest for a long time, neither had her son.

“I’m sure you know that some personnel, though not all, are permitted to return to the capital or their hometowns during the winter,” Louise said.

“Yes.”

This winter would likely be the last chance for rest. During this long break, Allied Command was unusually allowing select individuals to return home for an extended leave, as long as their hometowns were safe.

“Return to the Temple for a while.”

Heinrich looked at Louise with a bewildered expression, as if hearing something unexpected. “Sorry?”

“I’m suggesting that you have a proper break before returning to the army. The major battles are over, and you’ve earned the right to rest. You haven’t had a proper break for so long.”

The unexpected order to take leave left Heinrich a bit stunned.

“I’m fine, sister. There might be emergencies...”

His willingness to stay in case of emergencies was commendable. But Louise wasn’t suggesting this just for the sake of rest.

“The king will be visiting soon.”

Heinrich’s eyes widened in surprise at the announcement.

The man he had believed to be his father, but who was actually his grandfather—Constantine von Schwartz—was going to visit as soon as the situation stabilized. But it was Louise von Schwartz, not the king, who was the commander of the Kernstadt army.

“I have things to explain to His Majesty, Heinrich. It would be uncomfortable and dangerous for you to be around.”

The moment was approaching when she would have to explain to her father about the brothers she had killed, whose deaths had been disguised as desertion.

Whether she would reveal the truth or not was uncertain, but either way, there was nothing for Heinrich to gain from being there.

“I’m suggesting that you avoid this situation altogether.”

This offer of leave was actually a temporary escape, serving both as a time for rest and a way to get away from the camp while the king was around. Louise was making this suggestion because she cared for him.

“Sister... will you be okay?”

There was a slight hesitation. “I’ll be fine.”

Although admitting the truth would be hard, she kept her reply brief.

Heinrich understood that staying by Louise’s side wouldn’t help her at all during the upcoming visit.

“Again, it’s not just about this visit. I’m asking you to rest.”

Heinrich had also been pushing himself for a long time without any proper rest. He hadn’t reached the level required to access Mana Reinforcement, yet he had been much more active than most other combatants. The accumulated fatigue must have been immense.

Louise’s thoughts wandered to the Temple. It would be nice to see it with her own eyes. She had a strong desire to visit the place where her son had spent almost all of his life. But it was just a wish—there were too many things she had to take care of first.

This winter, Heinrich would return to a place far from the battlefield to rest, but Louise von Schwartz’s place was here.

Who could say what would happen? After this war ended, there might come a day when she could finally set foot in the Temple herself.