A Third Princess Wants to Become a Demon?
The castle was a pure, pale white.
Its walls rose like a mountain all around it, embedded with crystals that jutted outward like massed spears.
Should hordes approach the walls, they would be torn apart instantly.
The castle’s dining hall was brightly lit. There were no torches—only a luminous stone embedded in the ceiling, activated by feeding mana into a circuit.
Naturally, that was the servants’ responsibility. They had to activate it before any of their lords entered the dining hall.
Shaitan looked at the empty seats. Once again, she was the first to arrive.
She always arrived early so she could greet everyone as they came in, but this time she made a different resolution: she would only speak if spoken to.
Because she was loved by her father, Shaitan could sit anywhere except the sovereign’s own seat.
Some of the other children were loved enough to do the same, but Shaitan had arrived first, and they could not cause trouble over it.
There was one seat Shaitan had never taken—the seat directly opposite the sovereign. It was a position of near equality, one normally occupied by her eldest brother.
Since her mother preferred to sit closer to her father, that seat remained vacant until her brother arrived.
The cutlery was perfectly arranged, and the plates were spotless.
The aroma of the food was light and appetizing, yet Shaitan showed no expression.
She waited.
And waited.
About ten minutes later, one of her sisters joined her.
Lisa—her older sister and second in the line of succession.
Seeing the sleepy look on Lisa’s face, Shaitan wondered if she had been conducting some strange experiment again.
Lisa was one of the few people Shaitan did not hate.
She remembered Lisa helping her, even brewing elixirs and enhancers for her sake.
Shaitan did not realize she had been used as a test subject—every one of Lisa’s experiments had succeeded. Whether that was due to Shaitan’s luck or Lisa’s skill was unclear.
“Good evening, Shaitan. You’re going to the academy tomorrow, aren’t you?”
Lisa sat beside her. There was no particular reason to do so, but since their eldest brother would arrive soon, it was better to enjoy the show while it lasted.
“Yes, sister. I’ve already prepared my things and tested my academy uniform.”
The corners of Shaitan’s lips pulled upward—a fake smile.
Shaitan was not happy. It wasn’t a matter of no longer being happy—she simply had never been happy at all.
“That’s good. I heard some impressive news today. Do you want to hear it?”
Lisa adjusted her dress as she spoke.
“Really? What kind of news would be impressive enough to catch your interest?”
“Assir.”
A single word.
There was only one person with such a unique name. Shaitan knew him—knew him very well—and fear flickered through her as she waited for what her sister would say.
“Uh? So… what did he do?”
“Nothing much. He just shattered the academy’s old record in the first test—by a margin of thirteen times. It’s funny when you think that the old record belonged to his own great-grandfather.”
Phew.
Shaitan relaxed. She had thought something bad had happened to Assir.
This was good—no, it was excellent.
Despite Assir’s talent, no one had expected him to be so strong at such a young age.
“But the worst part is that his sister cleared the test instantly. Of course, the test for mages is different, but it still required an escape. I would’ve loved to see the teachers’ faces.”
Helene.
Assir’s sister held many secrets. She was a beauty equal to Shaitan herself. If compared directly, they would stand on equal footing—yet both would somehow lose to Anneliese.
Anneliese’s beauty was sinful.
It wasn’t made to compete. Even if the comparison were purely physical, one of them might stand a chance—but her expression, the aura of kindness, the eyes that ignited an instinctive urge to protect…
They had no chance against her.
Haa…
There was nothing to fear. Shaitan was well prepared.
A saint candidate would not interfere with her plans.
I will save the world—and destroy all demons, even if I have to become one.
“That was Helene, right? Well, that family is known for producing monsters.”
“True, hahaha. But ours has even more monsters, don’t you think?”
A smile spread across Lisa’s face, though her eyes did not smile.
“All right, Shaitan. I prepared some medicine for you. I want you to test it—it helps restore mana.”
Lisa glanced at her sister’s silver hair.
“You should take better care of yourself. Wouldn’t it be better to dye it blue, to hide the fact that you exhausted your mana?”
It sounded as though Lisa truly wanted to help.
“Thank you, sister. But I don’t want to dye my hair. I prefer it this way—it represents my failures, my mistakes.”
“Very well. Do as you wish.”
Lisa tossed two pills to Shaitan—one green and white, the other purple and yellow.
“The green-and-white one should be taken first. It will cleanse your diluted mana channels. I know you used all your mana. The others might find it easy to believe you simply locked yourself in your room, but not me. I know you too well—and I know your plans.”
If Lisa spoke of the monsters within their family, then she herself was one of them.
Lisa did not fear death. To her, it was an entertaining experiment. She had taken countless drugs to test resurrection.
At this point, even she did not know how thoroughly she would need to be destroyed to be unable to return.
That thought alone made her smile wider.
She wanted to see which sibling would take the throne—what they would do, and whether they would be capable of killing her.
Every test made her happy. Every experiment filled her with ecstasy.
“And the purple one?” Shaitan asked.
“I don’t know!” Lisa answered bluntly.
“Eh?” Confusion crossed Shaitan’s face.
“Either way, you’ll probably use it eventually. So do as you like. Use it—or don’t. Simple.”
The rest of the family began to arrive at the table.
Once again, Assir and Helene became the topic of conversation, until the discussion finally shifted to other matters of the kingdom.
Lisa, who had been expecting a scene, felt disappointed. Their father had arrived before their eldest brother, so there was no discord at the table.
Still, their eldest brother shot accusatory glances at Shaitan.
At least it’s entertaining to watch.
To Lisa, it was amusing to see him express his distaste through sideways looks.
“Yesterday, a demon horde was sighted in the southern region. We should dispatch officers there immediately,” the eldest brother said.
His name was Winter. He was skilled in strategy.
“I believe that’s unnecessary,” Cain countered. “We know the south is currently the strongest region. We should allow them to suffer some losses to bring them closer in line with the others.”
“I agree with our eldest brother,” another sibling added. “If the south were equalized with the other regions, they would have similar power—but they might also lose their fear and consider rebellion. With one region remaining stronger, any revolt could be suppressed by that region.”
Shaitan’s siblings were all intelligent in their own ways.
Shaitan had her own opinion as well—but she did not voice it.
She simply finished her meal and left.
No one tried to stop her.
Not even her father—he was too busy listening to her siblings’ opinions.
