Of course, Mohe wanted to stir things up.

Doro the Hero was a very troublesome person, and when interacting with him, this would be quite irritating. But if you're just watching the drama, his troublesome nature could be very interesting. After all, if he wasn't like this, how would he come up with those amusing and delightful antics?

She needed someone to fan the flames.

Someone who could stir up the girls' anger, and bring their conflicts to the surface.

"Noel! I order you to seduce Doro!"

To which Noel simply responded with: "?"

She knew that as the Demon King's maid, she didn't have any say in things, but her eyes behind the glasses showed large confusion: "Are you, are you alright?"

"Have you ever been in love?"

"Of course, I…"

Noel had not.

Logically, with her exceptional talent and noble status, she was considered a presence akin to the Thunder Emperor, and should have been sought after by many in the noble circles, not to mention the political alliances and such. There were plenty who wanted to introduce her to noble ladies, and once she met enough of them, she ought to find a partner she was fairly satisfied with—but at that time, the memory of the humiliation she suffered would always return to the Thunder Emperor.

So she continued to enhance her strength, never starting a family, and now when the Demon King asked her about it, she couldn't answer for a moment: "I may not have a lover, but my elder and younger brothers are both married and have their own children. I think I still understand love, after all, they did come to me for advice when they were in love."

"So you're a strategic advisor without a partner." Mohe nodded thoughtfully, "It might be a bit difficult for you to take the field. But aren't you tempted? If you got together with the Hero, you wouldn't have to fear me, after all, I was once killed by the Hero. If you allied with the Hero, you could even step over me. Aren't you interested?"

"I think allying with the Hero doesn't necessarily mean becoming his lover, don't you think?"

Noel's response was rather clear-headed: "Swearing loyalty to someone, does it only happen through becoming lovers? I believe there's no such reasoning in this world. If I decide to follow the Hero, then unconditionally, I would naturally be by his side, but doing so doesn't hold any meaning."

"Even if I don't say it, as a human, you should understand closeness and distance. Swearing loyalty and being family are two different things, aren't they?"

"Perhaps—Demon King, those who swear loyalty are more loyal, while family often harm each other."

"You're very disappointed in your family."

"When I was offered by my family to you, my expectations of them were already dashed. So far, what is there to expect? It's just maintaining a superficial peace for a reputation. As for my defeat in battle, I don't know how many are pleased or upset by it."

She seemed quite at ease with her defeat, at least much better than Rose did at first. After all, Rose had been transformed into a new biological form by herself, and accepting that was quite difficult, whereas Noel adapted fairly well.

Perhaps it was because Noel was older, after all, Rose was merely a young person. It was under the guidance of Hero A·Gedora that she embarked on a path of no return—though the result was quite hard to accept.

"Alright, I understand your thoughts now, I won't force you. Just focus on your responsibilities."

Noel hadn't done any serving work before, but recently she had been learning from Lisidorwei and Rose, and she picked up quite quickly, given that she was the Thunder Emperor, and no matter what she did, she aimed to be the best. Moreover, pleasing the Demon King did have its perks.

From the historical records of humans, aside from the scary descriptions about the Demon King, it clearly showed that when the Demon King was in the mood to reward, she wouldn't consider your race, ability, or background—she would just grant favoritism. And from the records in history, it can be seen that the rewards given by the Demon King were indeed very generous. Sometimes so much that it was unimaginable.

So, perform well and please the Demon King, and you might just receive unexpected rewards.

Since she chose to submit, she might as well do a good job.

She might need to establish good relationships with others in the mansion.

...

Mohe didn't get the answer she wanted from Noel, but she wasn't in a hurry; after all, there were plenty of girls in the mansion. They could all be used by her.

She found Rastina.

"Poor Miss Rastina, you've been hiding in the mansion for several days now. At least go out and enjoy some sun; the weather outside is very gentle. Now it's spring."

Rastina was indeed scared by Doro earlier—in fact, Rastina wasn't the only one in this situation, if the Thunder Emperor's troop didn't get psychological counseling after returning, they'd be practically useless.

Fortunately, psychological counseling in this world was quite advanced, not only were people from the church offering help, they would use Divine Art to calm people's hearts.

In this regard, Divine Art was indeed highly effective, and Mohe wondered if she should use Divine Art to calm Rastina down. But then she thought it over and decided not to; Rastina would already have guessed her identity, and using Divine Art now might only make her think more irrationally, becoming more fearful from the heart.

"I... I think it's better for me to stay here. I'm not going anywhere."

Saying such discouraging words out loud.

"I know that some of the things Mr. Doro did frightened you, and that was my oversight. I shouldn't have let you and Rose go to the Elf Kingdom together," Mohe said apologetically in a sincere tone, "I did overestimate the composure of the daughter of the Gold-Seeking Commerce Association's president. To think you'd be so frightened merely by meeting a strong person. Rest assured, I will absolutely not let you face such risks again."

She spoke softly to comfort.

But in reality, it was reverse psychology. Someone as astute as Rastina, of course, recognized it immediately, but she couldn't tolerate it.

Even though she had run away from home due to marriage issues, it didn't mean she'd disregard the honor of the Gold-Seeking Commerce Association... She believed her father was a great person, who single-handedly built such a vast commerce association—even if it was nothing in the eyes of this young girl, it had always been her pride since childhood.

"I'm not afraid at all!"

She stubbornly said these words, even finding it a bit ridiculous herself. After all... was it even necessary to say?

"Speaking of which, you had some dealings with Mr. Doro before, right? What was the content of that transaction, would you mind telling me?"

Mohe didn't necessarily want Rastina to be the one getting involved in Doro's affections. Rastina was her precious chief financial officer here, after all—you couldn't expect a man like Doro to manage the wealth of the estate, right? As for others... Rose? Ah Xion? Just the thought of them made Mohe's head spin.

Among the princess maids from 1 to 6, there might be someone with talent in this field, but as of now, they're all pampered and not trustworthy at all. And as for the Snow Elves?

Perhaps only Elf has a bit more expertise in this area... but the form in which Snow Elves exist makes their trade very primitive. In the Northern Lands, their internal transactions are even conducted and achieved through barter.

Unreliable.

Rastina is a very important person! The assets of Miss Mohe's estate cannot shrink due to poor management.

Therefore, comforting Rastina and getting her back on her feet is a very important task, that's why Mohe came here.

"He promised to help me set up a commerce association and surpass the Gold-Seeking Commerce Association—"

"...So have you and your plans been executed?"

Rastina bowed her head: "Before leaving the estate, I had just managed to get the commerce association's badge; I hadn't even truly established the association."

Mohe nodded: "In that case, how about we, the Fallen Vineyard, officially join your commerce association?"

A commerce association, essentially, is an organization jointly formed by many merchants—a commerce association needs to have numerous merchants join, and correspondingly, a certain management fee will be charged. When issues arise, it takes on a certain degree of coordination management.

Of course, when a commerce association expands to a certain scale, the power of the association's president begins to rise accordingly. In some sense, it's not much different from the meaning of a kingdom, though limited to within the association.

"Miss Mohe..."

Kindness from the Demon King.

Rastina could deeply feel that Mohe wasn't joking at this moment; she was genuinely serious about this matter and truly intended to do so. But it was indeed something that filled one with immense trepidation. What does the Demon King's kindness truly mean?

As a merchant—one who had been well-trained by her father, Rastina had already passed her father's test at the age of twelve. The content of this test was actually quite simple.

"The dangers of the Demon King."

From a merchant's perspective, to summarize and analyze the finances during the battle to subdue the Demon King.

She studied a lot of information and ultimately concluded that—for merchants, the most important stable and established economic system is nothing but something the Demon King can destroy at a whim. Just like the fall of Star Tear in history.

What significance does the economy of that city hold?

It was all wiped out anyway.

She witnessed the same scene in the Land of the Ancestors.

Rather than fear Doro, it was more about fearing her own value being negated.

Under such powerful and terrifying force, what is left for a merchant? Civilization can be easily obliterated, so in the hands of such beings, what is the meaning of wealth?

The things she had long insisted on, what meaning do they hold?

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