Dungeon Defense

“This imbecile…….”

I grit my teeth as I glared at Daisy.

I wanted to shout and slap her across the face that very instant. But anger could be unleashed at any time. Understanding how a mere slave had managed to obstruct my actions—identifying the cause of this anomaly—came first.

At this moment, three possibilities had already surfaced in my mind. My brain was at its peak, not flustered by the unexpected turn of events, but rather exhilarated—spinning faster than ever with fervent intensity.

First possibility: Ivar Lodbrok had assisted Daisy.

As head maid, Daisy wielded considerable influence over Ivar. I didn’t know what persuasion tactics she had used, but it was entirely plausible that she had obtained puppets through her. Ivar had kept her abilities as a puppeteer a secret, but if anyone could unearth such a truth, it would be Daisy, the venomous snake.

No need for hesitation. I immediately set out to verify the first possibility.

‘Status!’

Daisy’s status window appeared in a glowing blue hue.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Name: Daisy von CustosRace: Human　　 Master: DantalianAttribute: Neutral(0)

Level: 69　　　Fame: 8,122Job: Adventurer(A), Swordsman(AAA), Assassin(S)

Leadership: 100/100　　Might: 166/166 　　Intelligence: 117/125Politics: 95/95　　Charm: 100/100　　Technique: 81/81

Affection: 0Subservience: 0

*Titles: 1. Legendary Adventurer 2. Legendary Mercenary 3. Dungeon Breaker*Abilities: Tactics(A), Swordsmanship(AAA), Operation Arts(B), Persuasion(S), Horsemanship(S), Elemental Magic (A)*Skills: Volunteer Soldier, Clarity, Lethal Move Nullify

Current thought: This cannot be displayed due to the influence of the affection and subservience stats.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

My eyes swiftly scanned through the information.

‘No, this isn’t it.’

I clicked my tongue quietly.

Unlike Luke, whose abilities were severely lacking in areas outside of strength and charm, Daisy had reached the pinnacle in leadership, politics, and even technique. No matter how capable Ivar was, turning such a monstrous talent into a mere puppet was most likely an impossibility.

The girl standing before me, raising a greatsword, was undoubtedly the real Daisy. That much was certain. I immediately discarded the first possibility.

At the same time, the second possibility crumbled as well—Daisy had not used some unknown method to break free from her slave seal.

Daisy’s status window clearly stated that I, Dantalian, was her master. There was no room for doubt. I had suspected she had used some unknown means to erase the slave seal, but that theory was clearly incorrect. In that case…….

“You lowly human dare to cause a disturbance!”

At that moment, the Neutral Faction Demon Lords surrounded Daisy.

“You think you can desecrate this sacred court and live?”

Each Demon Lord unsheathed their weapons. It was clear that they had no intention of forgiving this sudden intruder. The moment they tensed their legs to lunge at Daisy, I roared.

“This girl is my daughter! Do not lay a single finger on her!”

My voice cut through the air sharply like a blade. The Neutral Faction Demon Lords froze in place.

I had unintentionally spoken in an informal tone due to being lost in thought for a moment. Even though I held power far beyond theirs as a Demon Lord, I still needed to show them respect, at least outwardly. Yes, I needed to get the situation under control first.

“……I apologize, my comrades. My daughter has acted out of line. Once this matter is settled, she will be punished accordingly. I ask for just a moment of your patience.”

“Of course, Dantalian.”

The Neutral Faction Demon Lords responded politely.

“We have no intention of offending you in the slightest.”

“Thank you. And…….”

I turned toward the Demon Lords seated at the tribunal and bowed my head.

“I humbly request a brief reprieve from Your Highnesses, the Electors. I, Dantalian, will take full responsibility for this incident.”

Marbas gazed at me solemnly. He studied my face carefully, as if committing it to memory, before giving a single nod. But that was all. There was no verbal response. He had granted me a reprieve, but only implicitly. Understanding this, I simply bowed my head in return.

I quietly turned my body.

“…….”

“…….”

A silent standoff formed between Daisy and me.

She stood in front of me as if shielding Barbatos. The hazy noise that had blurred my vision earlier had now dissipated. Thanks to that, I could see Barbatos clearly. The proud Demon Lord, the silver-haired girl, was shedding endless tears.

―A wave of nausea rose in my throat.

I wanted to vomit right then and there. But my fury toward Daisy, the rage over my meticulous plan and journey being so abruptly interrupted, barely kept the nausea down. Grinding out each word as if chewing them, I spoke.

“You wretch. Do you wish to die here?”

“I have never once wished for my own death.”

Daisy responded immediately. Unless I was mistaken, she was smirking. That insolence only added fuel to my fury. How considerate of her. Thanks to that, my nausea had completely vanished.

“The only thing on your mind right now, Father, must be this—how was I able to defy your will? Do you know the answer?”

“The orders given to you.”

I let my voice drip with anger.

“You must have exploited a contradiction between them.”

Do not harm me.

Do not harm those I cherish.

Never turn a blind eye when I or they are in danger.

Obey my commands.

Prioritize my life over your own.

Always and absolutely comply with the above orders.

From this, a simple conclusion could be drawn—’obey my commands’ and ‘never turn a blind eye when I or those I cherish are in danger’ were now in direct conflict.

Daisy was not permitted to obstruct my orders or my will.

However, from Daisy’s perspective, Barbatos was undoubtedly the person I cherished most. She was forced to choose between obeying her master’s orders and protecting Barbatos.

“As expected of you, Father. As always, you’re brilliantly mistaken.”

Her face remained expressionless, but the sneer lingering at the corner of her eyes mocked me.

It was, in all likelihood, a mere bravado.

Arrogant girl. If she thought I would go easy on her, she was sorely mistaken. She had dared to insult me, Barbatos, and all the Demon Lords in this sacred place. That crime would not go unpunished.

“I issue a new command!”

I bellowed with certainty.

“From this moment forth, Barbatos is exempt from all orders! Do not consider her my beloved when following commands! Now, surrender the sword at once, you fool!”

I reached out my hand, waiting for Daisy to obediently return Baal’s sword.

But one second passed, then two, then three—Daisy did not move. She should have been writhing in unbearable pain for defying my command, yet she didn’t so much as twitch an eyebrow. Instead, she gazed at me with a relaxed expression.

“…….”

Why?

Why was she unaffected? How was she so effortlessly violating my order?

Daisy spoke flatly.

“Didn’t I already tell you? Father, you are brilliantly mistaken.”

“You wretch……. Answer me. How are you defying my command?”

“Unfortunately, ‘that command’ is still valid for me.”

The faint nuance in Daisy’s voice was, as expected, laced with ridicule. She was provoking me. It was a blatant provocation, yet undeniably effective. I had to be extremely careful not to lose my composure.

Stay calm.

Daisy wasn’t the type to taunt others without reason. She was trying to enrage me, to cloud my judgment, and gain something from it. She had a hidden objective. I’d be dancing to her tune if I fell for it now.

“It started with de Farnese, the Military Affairs Minister.”

“……What nonsense are you spouting?”

“Laura de Farnese. The precious young lady you cherish so much, Father. Have you already forgotten?”

See? She was lacing her every word with mockery. What a fool, her words were having the opposite effect. With such an obvious attempt at provocation, all she was doing was helping me remain calm. Had she forgotten what I had taught her? How pathetic.

But Laura? This was the real question. Why had her name been brought up? The cooler my head became, the deeper my confusion grew.

“I wanted to test the extent of Father’s commands. For the past five years, I’ve tried various poisons and traps. However, any method that I judged to be truly harmful to you was impossible to use.”

That, I already knew.

Daisy would slip harmful substances into my tea whenever she had the chance. The problem was that the potency of those so-called poisons was so weak that calling them toxins felt embarrassing. Besides, I was a Demon Lord. My body naturally neutralized poisons. No matter how many times I ingested the substances Daisy offered, they had absolutely no effect on me.

“So, I thought in reverse. If I couldn’t shake Father directly, what about those around you?”

“What……?”

“A basic strategy. If an enemy fortress is too powerful and impenetrable, one must target its surrounding satellite fortresses first. Isn’t that a strategy you personally taught me, Father?”

Daisy continued, utterly at ease.

“There was no opening with Prime Minister Lazuli. Teacher Jeremi didn’t seem particularly important to you. But Minister de Farnese? She was the perfect prey. I slandered you every time we were alone.”

“…….”

“It couldn’t be too obvious, of course. Whenever the topic of you came up, I slowly, carefully, made it clear just how much I despised you. I even told her about the little pranks I played on your tea.”

Daisy’s lips curled into a faint smile.

“Didn’t you find it strange? The Minister of Military Affairs originally liked me. But at some point, she became wary of me, avoided me, and took every opportunity to nitpick. Did you really think she would torment your adopted daughter for no reason?”

A scorching sensation climbed up my spine and seared the back of my head. The rage I had barely suppressed was surging up once more.

“You……don’t tell me…….”

“Yes. I led her to that point. When you ‘unexpectedly collapsed’ at the Batavian residence, Minister de Farnese openly suspected me. With you unconscious for over three days, she worried that I might have played some trick in the meantime.”

The curve of Daisy’s lips deepened.

“A while later, the Minister of Military Affairs summoned me and asked. Did you tamper with the medicine? That was when I knew for certain—this poor minister had fallen into the web I had spun. So, I answered her. I laughed in her face and told her directly.”

“…….”

“‘Do you have any proof that I did such a thing?'”

At last, Daisy let out a laugh. Perhaps it was just a breath, a mere exhale. After all, she had maintained a cold expression the entire time. But to my ears, to my eyes, it was nothing less than an unmistakable sneer.

“That was more than enough to send that girl mad.”

“…….”

“I wish I could have shown you the sight, Father. She wept, sobbing endlessly like a broken music box, repeating over and over again—‘My lord, my lord, how dare you—’ From that day on, the Minister of Military Affairs tortured me……but honestly, her skills were so abysmal that I could only laugh.”

My hands trembled with fury.

“What do you think, Father? Isn’t she truly a woman devoted to you with all her heart?”

***

TL note: Thanks for reading the chapter. This should’ve been up yesterday, but I was so exhausted after coming home from my dad’s final funeral rite that I just tried to rest instead. Apparently, it’s a tradition here in Korea to give a final send-off on the 49th day after passing. That’s when he finally passes on fully to the other side. But the graveyard is about 3 hours from me, so I basically spent 6 hours just on transportation yesterday. I still feel exhausted. In any case, this means I can start putting my mind off this and return back to my normal life…

Ugh, complaining aside, I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.