Chapter 339: The Twins' Mistake

"Do you seriously have that much free time to be strolling around here?" Ryan questioned.

He observed Ophelia with a raised eyebrow, maintaining his relaxed and bored posture in his seat.

She let out a cynical laugh, making herself very comfortable on the cold armrest of the throne.

But before the demon queen could respond to her host's irony, Helen and Mirian reacted immediately.

The two girls were not willing to tolerate this enormous lack of respect toward their lord's personal seat. For them, the throne was a place that no one else should touch with such familiarity.

"What the hell is she doing here again," Mirian complained aloud.

And Karol struck the hard stone floor with the tip of her staff, showing her evident annoyance at the interruption.

"Hey, this isn't your house to stroll through freely whenever you feel like it," Helen demanded with a lot of aggression in her tone of voice.

The swordswoman made a quick leap. She reached out her hand abruptly and tried to grab Ophelia right by the shoulder. Helen's clear intention was to forcefully pull her down from there for disrespecting Ryan in such a casual manner.

But before Helen's hand could even brush the fabric of her clothes, the demon queen disappeared from her spot. Ophelia's body vanished, turning into a dense cloud of darkness that dispersed through the cold air of the hall in a single second.

The next instant, the dark mana condensed again over the carpet. She appeared standing right in front of Beatrice, a few meters away from the throne.

"Fufufu, you are progressing day by day, little one," Ophelia praised with a smile, ignoring Helen.

The queen easily noticed the constant increase in the dense dark mana surrounding the infernal girl's body.

Beatrice smiled at her a little at the surprising compliment. But the infernal girl didn't reply aloud in order to maintain her strict professional posture in front of the human guests.

Meanwhile, William and his group of outsiders were greatly astonished by the presence of the woman who had just appeared without any prior invitation.

They watched every one of Ophelia's movements with much nervousness.

Delia and Alina began to murmur to each other, feeling a strong magical pressure in the environment.

"She is the true demon queen of the Morrisen nation," Alina murmured with evident fear in her words.

The heroine of Varvylon remembered the terrifying stories told about the long reign of that powerful woman. However, unlike his frightened companions, William smiled. His face showed a strange mix of genuine surprise and deep respect.

Because what was said about Ryan throughout the human world was something very hard to believe. But now the blond hero was seeing it with his own eyes.

Although it was true that the human believed in most of those exaggerated rumors of power, reality exceeded his own expectations.

The new ruler of Kowarre didn't just have a clear alliance with Ophelia. She behaved with him as if she were just another companion in the group, joking freely in his own throne room.

"Answer right now, what the hell are you doing here," Helen demanded, spinning on her heels to face the elusive intruder.

The swordswoman tightened her grip on her weapon's hilt, refusing to overlook the sudden appearance of this problematic ally.

Ophelia ignored the swordswoman's hostile tone for a brief moment.

The demon queen took her time to closely look at everyone present in the wide hall. She observed the dragoness Lise, who was blocking the main entrance. Then she looked at William and his tense group of heroines in the center of the red carpet.

And finally, Ophelia made a very peculiar gesture with her eyes upon seeing the small Dryad near them.

After her quick inspection of the place, she turned toward Ryan. And then, she slightly shifted her gaze toward the annoyed Helen.

"I asked the twins, Roly and Poly, to place a teleportation mark in Ryan's throne room. But apparently, they placed it in his personal room," Ophelia explained in a very thoughtful tone.

She brought a finger to her chin, as if trying to remember the exact instructions she gave her young subordinates, revealing her initial arrival point in the castle.

Ryan blinked a couple of times, truly surprised by that security flaw in his own fortress.

'At what moment did that pair of brats enter my room?' Ryan thought with great annoyance.

He promised himself he would check every corner of his private chambers later.

"What are you saying!" Helen shouted, losing what little patience she had left upon hearing that revelation.

"You perverted woman, what the hell were you doing in Ryan's room?" the swordswoman questioned, clenching her fists very tightly.

Helen's jealousy and distrust became evident to everyone present in the tense room.

The rest of the girls from Kowarre also reacted to the news. Mirian shook her head at the guest's audacity, and Chloe looked away toward the floor with a noticeable blush on her cheeks.

"I already told you, apparently it was a mistake by the twins, I think," Ophelia defended herself.

She shrugged her shoulders, showing an innocent smile that convinced no one in the room.

'And what I think is that she had other intentions by appearing directly in my room,' Ryan thought, knowing his ally's twisted personality very well.

The serious and dark atmosphere of the meeting had suddenly turned into a ridiculous fight of jealousy, direct accusations, and vague defenses.

That unusual and informal situation in the castle of a feared demon king made the blond hero lose his composure for a second.

Almost unintentionally, William let out a burst of laughter that echoed clearly throughout the place.

All eyes in the room immediately locked onto the human, who quickly coughed to hide his amusement and lowered his head.

"Wow, you truly are incredible, new demon king," William praised, looking at Ryan with a wide smile of fascination.

Then, the blond hero locked his eyes directly on Ophelia and gave a deep bow out of pure diplomatic instinct.

Alina, Delia, and Iris imitated him instantly. They lowered their heads in total synchrony before the imposing presence of the ancient ruler.

"I never thought I'd have two Demon Kings in front of me in the same room," William admitted, slowly straightening his back.

"Much less did I think it would be in this peculiar way," the human added.

"Don't get distracted because of me," Ophelia requested, waving her hand in the air to downplay her surprise arrival.

"Continue with your official meeting, what you were saying was very interesting," the ancient demon queen encouraged.

"So, you heard everything we talked about here?" Ryan asked, evaluating how much information had leaked to his ally's ears.

"No, I only heard a part of the conversation, but if you are truly planning to infiltrate the elven nation, I want to help you," the demon queen offered with total willingness.

Ophelia's words echoed in the king's analytical mind.

'With improved equipment, we could infiltrate that human tournament without any problem,' Ryan thought.

'I mean, we could hide our true stats and all our abilities. I think my own blacksmiths can make better relics now, but I really wasn't planning on doing any of this,' Ryan reasoned, linking all his plans together.

He looked at William, then at the Dryad, and finally at the ancient demon queen who was waiting for an answer by the side of his throne.

'I wanted to get this over with quickly but...'

Ryan rested both elbows on the cold stone armrests and crossed his fingers in front of his face, hiding a small, icy smile.

'Perhaps this is a good time to travel there, assassinate Udriela, and while I'm at it, take control of the elven nation.'