"Ugh, I wanna go," Lilith moaned, and not for the first time. "Couldn't contact him for days. Something must have gone wrong. And you, you can handle things here, right?"
Given that Halaima was still standing—in fact, flourished.
They even moved to a new temporary office. Still not as fancy as a duke should have gotten. But this at least had enough space to enjoy their tea while the others worked out the finances.
So that's what she and Gabrielle did, like the classy little duchesses they were.
"I need you here," Gabby said without any enthusiasm. "And Konrad can take care of himself."
"Pfft. He got struck by a ballistic missile on his first day."
"Which underlines what I said," the angel smirked. "He survived. But if you leave, Kasserlane might fall. And then, he'd have nowhere to return to."
"Bullshit. If I brought him back to Earth, I can take him anywhere I want."
"And let his friends die?" Gabrielle asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sure he'd have an opinion about that. Don't get me wrong, it's a sensible plan. But you think you could face him after?"
Ugh, that woman.
"I never suggested I'd abandon them, or this place," Lilith scoffed. "All I said was that I want to visit Earth again, and that I'm worried. Kasserlane won't collapse if I'm gone for a few days."
"Wouldn't it, though?" The angel crossed her arms. "And then, Lucifer might go for him next."
"Pfft, I'd like to see him try," Lilith scoffed, but the truth was—she didn't.
That pesky little fallen angel was a pushover no longer.
He stole all his siblings' powers, including some of hers.
Given enough time, he could have become as strong as her.
Whether he could defeat her or not, if Konrad got caught in the crossfire—
"Believe me," Gabrielle said, crossing her legs and leaning back. "I'd be the first to send you away and have fun with your boyfriend until it's my turn. But I need your strength."
And after saying something so outrageous, she reached for her teacup.
Pinky finger raised like a noble's, and—
Wait. Right. She was one in this world.
And an annoying one, too.
"He's my husband," Lilith corrected her. "Not a boyfriend. And your turn will never come."
"Oh?" the angel smirked, putting the cup down after a single, tiny sip. "But he's my husband, too. We even made love to him, the two of us in that carriage, remember? It seemed like he—"
"Yes, yes, I'm sure he liked it," the demoness kept her voice down, blushing. "Now, shut up."
They were still in the office, and not exactly alone.
And as if to drive that point home, and make her embarrassment even worse—
"Lady Liliana, Lady Gabrielle," the purple-eyed puppy girl came bowing her head. "Here's our projected income and expenses for the next month. If you would please, take a look."
She ran things well, as usual, despite her big reveal.
No. If anything, she has been working much harder ever since to prove herself.
To show her worth. Find her place and purpose, other than what this stupid angel gave her.
As if she didn't already have one for a long time.
Ah, it pissed Lilith off—a lot.
Why did Konrad have to fall in love with her? Her Konny boy.
Saving her was fine. Enjoying her, too. But to become indebted to her? Infatuated with her?!
Ugh. And worst of all, deep down, Lilith liked her, too.
Unlike her creator.
"Did you show this to Princess Helena?" the very nobly-noble second wife asked. "And it might be worth cross-checking these numbers with Stella Nord as well."
What?! No freaking way she could actually tell what all those scribbles were.
Not from one glance.
"Understood, Mistress," Eyna bowed again, leaving them alone.
For the spirits. Everything about her was annoying.
"But that reminds me," Lilith noted as she fumed inside. "Stella can help you out while I'm away, too. And Zoltan. Meow Midori had finally whipped him into shape."
He figured out fire magic by himself, and his mana pool had expanded a lot in only a week.
And yet, Gabrielle shot her a glance that was offensive by itself.
"Yeah. What's next? Thrust Lucifer's puppets that they'd fight their master to their last breaths?"
"Well, I mean, that's exactly what my Konny boy is doing right now," she pointed out. "And so far, the Demon Lord gave us no reason to doubt his loyalty or motivation, either."
"No, he did not," the angel said. "Unlike you. And that's another reason I want to keep you close."
Okay, wow.
Now she was insulting her on purpose.
"When did I ever betray you, or anyone?!" Lilith demanded, slamming both hands on the table.
Gabrielle narrowed her eyes.
"You're aware that you corrupted Lucifer into a multidimensional threat, right?"
Ouch. Yeah, yeah, she got a point. But still—
"It's your fault that you angels were so stuck-up and arrogant in the first place. Someone had to teach you guys a lesson, and I stand by my actions," she claimed, puffing her chest.
To which the angel in blue rolled her eyes.
"Fine. In that case, take responsibility and help me defend Kasserlane from him," she said. "Or once you made your point, you'd leave the cleanup and the chaos to everyone else?"
"You're so annoying," the demoness went back to pouting. "What's with this world, anyway?"
After all, there had to be a reason why it was off-limits to the angels, and why Lucifer kept trying to invade it. Well, apart from the fact that they had so many of his puppets here already.
"You serious?" Gabrielle asked, staring her down.
And there she was again, treating her as if Lilith were stupid.
She crossed her arms, fingers drumming an impatient rhythm on the table.
"Okay, you are serious," the angel noted, leaning back on her chair. "Well, for starters, you were born here. And if that wasn't a big enough curse for this world, it's also very well located."
"Located? In the multiverse?" Lilith asked. "It's everywhere and nowhere at once, so how does—"
"How does it make sense?" Gabrielle asked. "It's like a focal point between dimensions. That's why it has such strong magic. And yeah, because we are here, too. Lucifer takes it, and—"
"He has everything," the little ginger mumbled. "But I don't get it. It's such a pain to portal here."
The angel sighed, playing with the handle of her cup.
"Yeah, it was Michael's Magnum Opus," she explained. "He locked this world down almost completely. But when Lucifer struck him down, the barrier was gone, too."
Oh. Right. She already said that, but since she had a dedicated vessel she could use here—
"So that's why he can send one agent after the other and open dozens of portals a day," Lilith moaned. "How the hell could he even find so many followers in such a short time?!"
Gabrielle shrugged.
"I'm as surprised as you are. But I guess his ability to rewrite minds has a lot to do with it."
Yeah. Fair.
"Good thing they're all pretty weak so far," she said, knocking on wood.
But she might have been too slow with it, as a massive surge of energy washed across the planet.
"Speak of the Devil," the angel sighed, pushing her teacup away. "This is why I can't let you go."