On the other hand, the second choice was radical.
To kill Andromalius and thus ridding the cause of the problem entirely, the direction of that plan itself was not wrong. The problem was the ripple effect.
‘ A Demon Lord has murdered another Demon Lord.’
Due to such an incident, people would gather their attention onto me. People’s gazes would uselessly be focused on myself. As a solution, this caused too much commotion.
I preferred dealing with problems a bit more quietly. Such as assassination. That side was more to my preference. However, I didn’t even know where to hire an assassin…… Did I have to select number 1?
Looking at the cold atmosphere enveloping the plaza, I could tell that Andromalius had no popularity. The demon races here seemed to despise that lecher. It was a problem. If I were to get on friendly terms with Andromalius here, then my own image would fall as well. Reputation was like the life line of politicians. If possible, I wanted to keep that as clean as possible.
But, was any choice besides 1 attainable? To murder Andromalius and also avoid receiving attention. Could I make such an ideal result happen……? It was impossible to completely avoid the attention. But if I was able to shift the gaze to somewhere else……
“Your highness?”
Lapis Lazuli’s voice brought me out from my thoughts.
I swiftly turned my head.
“Lala. Do you still have the ring on you right now?”
“Yes?…… this one does have it on for now.”
“Let me confirm it real quick.”
Without any warning, I grabbed Lapis Lazuli’s left hand. I could feel a small bump over her white glove.
There was a ring on her annular finger.
Publicly, Lapis Lazuli was known as my concubine.
Demon Lord Dantalian had fallen for his half-breed lover so much, that he didn’t turn to political affairs. That kind of rumor. Of course, it was nothing more than a wild rumor that we had made on purpose.
The ring was bought in order to further flesh out that distorted rumor. A few days ago, I had spent 1,600 gold to purchase two luxurious rings.
They were a pair of couple rings with a 5 carat azure colored diamond embedded into each of them. There were writings on the back written in Frankish. ‘I do not desire anyone but you(AUTRE NE VUEIL).’
In other words, a typical engagement vow.
In the public eye, Demon Lord Dantalian was the world’s biggest fool. A simpleton who had bought a ring for his lover as soon as he had gained some money. But look at this now. It was good that I had prepared this beforehand. A use for the ring has already appeared. No matter when, an ounce of prevention was worth a pound of cure……
“Don’t think you’ll ever be able to do business in this neighborhood ever again, you old fart! You piece of moldy trash.”
Andromalius was still abusing that old man.
There was an evil smile on that guy’s face. It seemed he quite enjoyed beating people up. That naive complexion was enviable.
Regardless, playing by yourself will quickly get boring, Andromalius. Please do let me partake in your fun activities.
Do not worry. I have a knack for making drinking parties delightful. A mere moment ago, with my ornate eloquence, I was able to petrify the witches. You too, will soon be flailing on the floor convulsing with laughter. I shall make you into an amazing supporting character to a romance story.
Finally, I confirmed with Lapis Lazuli.
“Lazuli. Does Andromalius have a group that is protecting him?”
“As far as this one knows, there are none.”
“Is there another Demon Lord he is peculiarly friendly with?”
“There are none. Even amongst Demon Lords, Andromalius is treated as a disgraceful failure.”
“Splendid.”
In other words, I had nothing to worry about.
I raised my beer glass.
One. Two. Three.
After counting down in my mind, I dropped the glass—