Even Though I Defeated the Demon Lord, My Wife and Daughter Treat Me Like Trash ~ I Found Out My Wife's Child Isn't Mine, and When I Confronted Her, She Got Mad and I Was Exiled. The Country's in Trouble Because the Demon Lord Came Back? Sorry, I'm Getting Remarried to a Princess, So I Can't Help. - Chapter 41: The Mysterious Girl

Chapter 41: The Mysterious Girl

How much time had passed since the Sensory Block spell wore off?

The world around me was dark, punctuated by the occasional forced moans—or maybe screams—escaping from my mouth.

A constant, squelching sound, pain and pleasure swirling together—this was all that remained of my reality.

I wanted to die.

But I couldn’t.

The Balance Ward magic, which I had once prided myself on as a superior ability, now clung desperately to life, forcing me to endure.

The alternating waves of pain and pleasure scorched my mind.

Yet, I still couldn’t die.

No…

I was already on the verge of death.

At the very least, I was losing the ability to recognize myself as “me.”

My thoughts and memories were crumbling away, piece by piece.

Aside from the sensations forced upon me, only two thoughts remained: the desire to die and the inability to do so.

In the midst of this endless torment, a flicker of an old memory surfaced.

For a brief moment, my consciousness stirred.

I understood then—this was the final, fierce blaze before the candle of my life was snuffed out.

Memories from nearly thirty years of life swirled together.

Ten years spent with my parents.

Ten years struggling alone after they were gone.

And ten years with my temporary family.

I had betrayed my parents’ words: “Live humbly.”

I had betrayed even my temporary family, and this was the consequence.

This was the result of following my own selfish desires.

—Then, I would follow my selfishness to the very end.

That man—

The Demon Lord—

Who had glanced at me with scorn and walked away.

(Bearing his child? I’d rather die first.)

◇◆◇◆◇◆

Some time after the battle with the Demon Lord was settled…

“Van! Are you unharmed?”

To my surprise, it was none other than the Emperor himself who appeared, accompanied by his men.

“Y-Your Majesty!? Why are you here?”

“I couldn’t just sit still. I couldn’t allow the tragedy of losing Emperor Vildreft to happen again.”

“Even so, you really should consider your position more carefully.”

“Hah, I could say the same to you.”

After that, I got a brief explanation.

Not long after I left to confront the Demon Lord, the Emperor had led his forces and launched an assault on the royal capital.

It seems that the Emperor had been quietly sending elite troops into the kingdom every day via teleportation magic, ever since receiving permission from their diplomats.

As expected from an empire that dominates the western region, these elite forces were incredibly strong, and most of the demons in the capital had already been wiped out.

I was pretty exhausted at that point, so fighting the remaining demons would’ve been tough—I’m glad they handled it.

“Also, we’ve rescued the King. He mentioned that he wishes for the kingdom to be annexed by the empire.”

“I see…”

It must have been a difficult decision to abandon their long-standing independence, but he was likely thinking of the welfare of his people.

It was a very king-like decision.

“Thank you for everything.”

“No need for thanks. After all, the greatest honor goes to you for defeating the Demon Lord. However… I’ve found something troubling in the capital. Could you come with me?”

“Of course.”

Sensing it might be serious, I turned to Emilia to ask her if she knew anything.

“What will you do? Emilia, you can wait here if you’d like…”

“No! I’m going with you!”

She clung to my arm tightly.

“Haha, you two seem very close.”

“Yes, we’re extremely close~.”

Seeing her smile warmed my heart.

I’m glad I did my best… really glad.

As we headed towards the lower part of the castle, we were greeted by the King.

“Your Majesty, it’s been a while.”

I started to kneel to greet him, but the King stopped me with a gesture, even bowing his head slightly.

“Van, thank you for coming despite your personal grievances. You saved this kingdom once again, and I can’t express my gratitude enough. And I apologize for the trouble my foolish son caused you.”

“No, it’s nothing. I only came to save my daughter.”

The King looked back and forth between me and Emilia, then smiled softly.

“Indeed… Emilia looks most fitting at your side.”

Without saying anything more, the King began to walk away.

I had braced myself for him to ask me to leave Emilia as the kingdom’s heir, but it seemed I didn’t need to worry.

As we walked, I decided to ask the King about Albert.

“Albert… his body was twisted beyond recognition for breaking the contract.”

The King, though probably reluctant to speak of his son’s death, still gave me an answer.

His body had been twisted…

Now that I think about it, I encountered an undead creature like that on my way to the Demon Lord.

“He claimed, of all things, that you had been seduced by Galforne.”

The King’s words connected with the discomfort I had back in the prison.

When Albert mentioned Galforne, he hesitated, as if something was off.

Maybe… when he went missing ten years ago, he had fallen under Galforne’s influence.

It’s rare for people to lie without any basis.

Perhaps he was projecting his own experience onto me.

Though, we’ll likely never know the full truth now.

The Emperor led us to a familiar church—the one where Camilla and Emilia had been taken care of.

Inside, there was a strange mass of flesh.

“Van, that’s it. When we found it, it was moving a little, but it seems to have stopped now.”

“Hmm… let’s take a closer look.”

Prepared for some kind of reaction, I touched it lightly with my hand.

There was no response.

Next, I used magic detection, channeling magic into the mass to see how it would react.

“Hmm, there’s a person inside… No, this magic… Camilla?”

However, the magic was much weaker than the Camilla I knew.

It didn’t seem like she was dying, but something was definitely off.

Squelch.

I plunged my hand into the mass of flesh and pulled the figure out.

What emerged was a young girl who still bore some resemblance to Camilla.

She looked to be about the same age as Emilia, maybe a bit younger.

Her clothes were adult-sized and torn in several places.

It seemed like she had passed out.

I laid her down on the floor and covered her with my jacket.