Chapter 195: The Daughter of Redwood

Eileen hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty, apart from the demon skull, did you lose anything else?"

The Lion King shook his head, frowning. "Just... just the demon skull."

Eileen straightened up, speaking sternly, "If Your Majesty wants a trustworthy friend, then you must be trustworthy as well."

The Lion King's cracked lips twitched slightly as he chewed over Eileen's words, then he spoke the truth, "The female thief is a demon race—"

"I could almost guess that," Eileen tried to steady her nerves, putting on a façade of control to half-comfort the Lion King and half-comfort herself. "The existence of the demon race is not surprising. Commoners might not know the truth of the dimensional world, but Your Majesty surely understands that if there are God Races, there must be demon races. Besides, a demon race summoned by twilight believers alone cannot stir up much trouble. If necessary, I will personally deal with that demon race—"

The Lion King waved his calloused hand, his face full of pain, "The problem isn't the strength of this demon race, but that she effortlessly sensed and found where the demon skull was stored—"

When he said "stored," the Lion King paused, almost unable to breathe.

Eileen finally understood that the loss of the demon skull was one thing, but what truly troubled the Lion King was the place where the demon skull was stored. Losing the demon skull was certainly a mistake and responsibility for the Lion King, but the throne would not punish a king too harshly for it. It was clear that the Lion King's pain came entirely from personal emotions.

She couldn't help but ask, "May I ask Your Majesty, where did you hide the demon skull?"

"...In the tomb."

The Lion King paused for a long time before squeezing the words through his teeth, "In the late queen's tomb."

A wave of anger surged through Eileen's body, making her dizzy. She had to hold onto the magical barrier to stand, and the transparent barrier trembled at her touch. "You placed such a thing in my... in the queen's tomb?! You knew there was a risk of desecration by the demon race!"

The Lion King hung his head, like a wounded old lion. He seemed unaware that Eileen's anger had crossed the line and only self-blamed hoarsely:

"This was my selfishness at work. You might not know, the demon skull has a special effect that prevents corpses from decaying. I used it to preserve the queen's appearance to ease my longing... No one knew about this. The twilight believers in Stonerock City were all burned by me, but I didn't expect any remnants of the twilight believers to remain in Stonerock City! When the demon race stole the demon skull, the tomb was opened, and the queen's..."

A tear trickled down his wrinkled face as he gritted his teeth, "The queen's body turned to dust in the wind."

Eileen couldn't support herself any longer and collapsed to the ground. She didn't know what to grieve for. In her heart, her younger sister had long since passed away, but hearing the Lion King's words still felt like a calamity, as if she had returned to twenty years ago when she received the news in the Holy Light Sisterhood that her sister died in childbirth—

The Lion King suddenly grabbed her arm, causing her so much pain she nearly cried out.

"I will kill that demon race, kill the one who summoned her, kill everyone involved in the theft of the demon skull!"

The Lion King's face turned ferocious, "If you won't help me and report this to your Holy Light throne, then I will kill you now!"

Eileen finally understood the Lion King's strange behavior earlier. This man's pain was entirely due to his deep longing for her younger sister.

Thinking of this, Eileen suddenly laughed—Phoenix Lady, no matter how smart and manipulative you are to climb into the Lion King's bed, true love is something you can't obtain with just cleverness! From the start, the Lion King saw you as a substitute! While he was with you, his mind was on the queen! You lost! You lost from the very beginning!

The Lion King angrily glared at the laughing Eileen, shouting, "What are you laughing at? Do you think I don't dare to kill a mage of the Holy Light Sisterhood? Hmph, to commoners, you may be the closest to the divine, but to me, you're just a bunch of hypocritical madwomen."

"Madwomen, I wouldn't dare agree with that."

Eileen stopped laughing, "I just figured something out, so I'm especially happy for my family. As for Your Majesty's request, I swear I won't stand by and do nothing."

The Lion King looked warily at Eileen, his iron grip still on her arm, turning her skin purple. "Do you really mean that?"

"How could I deceive my king?" Eileen said.

The Lion King finally relaxed his grip, but his lion-like eyes still watched Eileen closely, as if he might pounce and snap her neck any moment.

Eileen struggled to pull her arm from the Lion King's grip, "But, Your Majesty, Eileen has a condition."

Hearing Eileen's condition, the Lion King actually relaxed, "Great, a deal is what I like to see most. What condition? Speak freely!"

Eileen took a deep breath and quickly said, "I want Your Majesty to make a will, passing the throne to the crown prince."

She initially wanted the Lion King to distance himself from Phoenix Lady, but removing Phoenix Lady wasn't the ultimate goal. The real focus of the Redwood and Firebird families' struggle was the throne's succession. As long as the throne passed to the crown prince, no matter how clever Phoenix Lady was, she would be powerless. So Eileen seized the opportunity to directly state the core demand.

"How dare you!"

The Lion King's disheveled golden hair floated up without wind. Battle Qi and energy swirled around him. He raised his hand and choked Eileen, pushing her against the magical barrier, his strong body pressing against her ample figure.

"You're just a small figure in the Holy Light Sisterhood, yet you dare threaten me and interfere in my family affairs?"

The Lion King tore her Holy Light robe, exposing her white thighs, "Doesn't the Holy Light Sisterhood value chastity the most? I can ruin you right now!"

Eileen felt the storm-like pressure, barely able to breathe under the Lion King's rage. A pale yellow magical shield naturally formed on her Holy Light robe, but she immediately removed it, relaxing her body completely, and said calmly:

"My king, I am indeed a minor figure in the Holy Light Sisterhood, but I am not threatening you as a mage of the Holy Light Sisterhood. I advise you to patiently hear me out before deciding whether to ruin me."

The Lion King's rock-hard face twitched. "Eileen, who can remain calm under such circumstances, is indeed worthy of being a Grand Mage of the Holy Light Sisterhood and a trusted envoy of the throne. However, even if the throne were here, it wouldn't dare interfere with my decision on the crown prince!"

He moved his massive body off Eileen, but his wary expression remained. "Besides, a woman like you doesn't arouse me. But since you asked, I will give you a chance to speak. If you can't justify why you want to interfere in a king's family affairs, I will have Lionheart's guards check if a Holy Light Sisterhood member is truly a virgin."

Eileen panted a few times, then covered her torn dress and smiled lightly, "A woman of my figure, appearance, and age certainly can't compare to Phoenix Lady, but I am not interfering as a mage of the Holy Light Sisterhood."

The Lion King, still angry, coldly questioned, "If not as a member of the Holy Light, then you have no right at all."

"Actually, I do have that right."

As she spoke, Eileen undid the first button of her Holy Light robe's bodice. Her ample bosom immediately revealed two soft, round breasts and a deep cleavage.

The Lion King looked at her in confusion, "What are you doing? I said I'm not interested in women like you."

Eileen took out a multifaceted ruby necklace from her bosom and handed it to the Lion King, "I am the late queen's elder sister, Eileen Redwood."

The Lion King was stunned, immediately retracting his Battle Qi. He took the necklace and examined it carefully, finally breaking into tears. "Yes, the queen had a necklace just like this… Are you truly the queen's sister?"

He finally looked closely at Eileen. Although her figure was somewhat out of shape and there were a few wrinkles on her face, her facial features and eyebrows indeed resembled the late queen.

Eileen knew the moment was right and quickly bowed deeply, "If Your Majesty doesn't believe me, you can summon my father, Redwood patriarch, to confirm."

The Lion King shook his head vigorously, "No need, I believe you. I felt you seemed familiar when I first saw you. Your reaction to the desecration of the queen's tomb actually already revealed the truth—just now, I really shouldn't have—cough!"

With a sigh, the Lion King bowed his head in shame.

Eileen slowly approached the Lion King, knowing this was the moment when a man was most vulnerable and in need of comfort. She boldly placed her hand on his broad shoulder and said softly:

"Your Majesty, Eileen doesn't mind what happened just now. You are the king of Stonerock, the king of Redwood, and my king, just as you were my sister's king. Both my sister and I are daughters of Redwood, so no matter what you do to Eileen, she will have no complaints or regrets."

"I'm sorry for your Redwood family."

The Lion King said with a hint of guilt, "But there is one thing I don't understand. Why did you hide your identity? If you had revealed it earlier, I wouldn't have done something that made both of us uncomfortable."

"To be honest, Your Majesty, I was just following my father's advice to keep a low profile," Eileen smiled faintly.