Bribed by the Demon Lord Right Before the Ending

■ The Circumstances of That Succubus □

Half-succubus Camilla was taken in by the Demon King when she was five years old.

After her adoptive parents, who gave her both body and name, tragically passed away in a tribal war, she became one of the many wandering orphans on the roadside. It was then that the Demon King happened upon her by chance.

Camilla’s first meeting with the Demon King left a deep impression on her.

“Uncle has a daughter about your age. For some reason, I just couldn’t walk past you without doing something.”

After being saved by the Demon King, Camilla began a new life.

Initially, it seemed the Demon King intended to take her in as an adopted daughter, but Camilla declined this offer herself.

In her young mind, she vaguely believed that receiving too great a favor would make it impossible to repay in a lifetime.

Instead of becoming the Demon King’s adopted daughter, Camilla chose the path of becoming a maid, allowing her to serve him more closely. Under the harsh tutelage of senior maids and the head maid, she grew rapidly.

Fortunately, her outward appearance was no different from that of an ordinary succubus, so as long as Camilla kept silent, the fact that human blood ran through her veins caused no problems.

Ten years passed, then twenty, then thirty.

Camilla had grown into a beautiful woman with white hair and porcelain-like skin, a far cry from the frail figure she had been when first taken in by the Demon King.

The Demon King smiled inwardly at her fine growth.

Camilla was overjoyed by this.

She was delighted to bring joy to the Demon King, whom she admired, despite her humble lineage.

One day, however, a group of heroes sent by humans infiltrated the Demon King’s Castle to assassinate the Demon King.

When Camilla first heard the news, her heart sank.

She hadn’t yet repaid the Demon King for his kindness, and now it seemed he might pass away before she could do so.

Thankfully, her worries turned out to be unfounded.

Thanks to one of the heroes betraying their companions after being persuaded by the Demon King, word reached the other maids that the crisis had been averted.

That evening, Camilla was summoned by the Demon King.

He asked her if she could closely monitor the Grand Mage Caldlasth, one of the heroes’ former companions.

Camilla accepted the request.

Perhaps this was the perfect opportunity to repay the Demon King for his kindness.

Moreover, since not just anyone could be entrusted with such a task, it was also proof that she was trusted by the Demon King.

Although the Demon King said she could decline if the task seemed too burdensome, Camilla insisted she was fine and happily took on the surveillance role he assigned her.

This is how she met Caldlasth, the mage who betrayed humanity and the heroes.

Caldlasth was an unusual person.

He introduced himself as a mage, but his behavior resembled that of a seasoned soldier.

Under his green robe, he wore leather armor, and around his neck hung a pair of goggles. His blonde hair was cut short.

Calling himself a “small man,” his manner was peculiar.

While outwardly polite, he seemed to wrap himself in pretense.

But in Camilla’s eyes, though he called himself small-minded, he was rather bold, and yet not quite grand enough to be called magnanimous.

Among the people she’d encountered in her 35 years of life, he was the most peculiar.

They say geniuses often border on madness, and this phrase seemed to fit him perfectly.

Just one day after joining the Demon King’s Army, Caldlasth fought Ozma, the Demon King’s daughter.

While he may have thought it was merely a sparring match, from what Camilla observed, Ozma fought with all her might.

When she was easily defeated by Caldlasth, Camilla secretly felt a sense of satisfaction.

She harbored jealousy toward Ozma.

As the Demon King’s daughter, Ozma seemed uncomfortable with her position, which Camilla found particularly irritating.

Later, the Demon King ordered Caldlasth to be dispatched to the village below the castle.

The Demon King, known for his caution, was likely testing him.

And judging whether Caldlasth was trustworthy would undoubtedly fall to Camilla’s discernment.

Knowing this, Camilla exchanged glances with the Demon King before leaving the office and continued to closely follow Caldlasth.

Officially, she was there to assist him, but in reality, she was there to keep a close watch on his every move.

However, the magic Caldlasth displayed in the wheat fields while helping with farm work far surpassed what Camilla had imagined.

This only made her marvel once again at the Demon King’s foresight.

It was naive to believe someone with such power would join the Demon King’s Army without any purpose.

There was undoubtedly some hidden agenda.

Therefore, she resolved not to let her guard down.

That night, she was busy organizing documents to report to the Demon King late into the evening.

Suddenly, strange sounds began emanating from Caldlasth’s room.

Out of curiosity, Camilla sneaked out of her own room and peeked through the tightly locked door.

And she witnessed something…

…a world she had never experienced before.

“……”

I opened my eyes early in the morning.

Awoken by the chirping birds outside the window, I turned my head at the sound of quiet breathing beside me and saw Violet lying under the same blanket.

From last night’s passionate encounter, her neck was covered in red kiss marks.

Mine was no different.

Perhaps because it had been so long, her animalistic instincts kicked in, and in her excitement, she clawed at my shoulders and back.

After picking up the pants scattered on the floor and putting them on, I gently shook Violet’s shoulder to wake her up.

“Mm… honey?”

Still half-asleep, she rubbed her eyes and looked for her absent husband. Chuckling softly, I whispered into her ear,

“You’ll get caught by the village chief if you don’t get up soon.”

At that, her drowsiness vanished instantly as she abruptly sat up in bed.

In doing so, her ample chest, previously concealed by the blanket, was revealed—but now wasn’t the time to worry about such things.

Violet hastily gathered the clothes scattered on the floor, retied her hair that had been wildly undone the previous night, and was about to leave the room with the empty wine bottle and dishes when she suddenly stopped, turned back, and kissed my cheek.

“Last night was amazing.”

With a wink, she left, delivering what was undoubtedly the highest praise from a man’s perspective.

When it was time for breakfast, we gathered around the table again.

The village chief, whom we hadn’t seen last night, was seated at the head of the long dining table, with Violet, returned to her original form, sitting beside him.

The kiss marks I had left on her neck were hidden by her long hair.

Breakfast proceeded quietly.

Partly because there wasn’t much to talk about, but mainly because I was exhausted from the night’s activities and lacked appetite, forcing myself to eat bit by bit.

As I was pushing food into my stomach, Violet, who had been attending to the village chief’s meal, asked brightly,

“Master Mage, what time do you plan to start work today?”

Glancing at the wall clock, it was 8 a.m. Assuming it would take about the same amount of time as yesterday, it seemed best to work while the sun wasn’t too hot.

Having reached this conclusion, I glanced at Camilla beside me for any other opinions.

“……”

For some reason, Camilla avoided making eye contact with me.

I wondered if I had done anything wrong, but after reviewing the events of the previous night, nothing stood out.

We had conversed normally during dinner, after all.

Then I remembered one thing: Camilla’s room was right next to mine.

I had asked Violet if the room was soundproof only out of concern for being discovered by the village chief, but I hadn’t considered her presence next door.

Truthfully, I hadn’t had the time to think about it.

With a certain suspicion in mind, I leaned slightly to the side.

Camilla, who had been idly spooning soup, almost burying her face in the bowl, suddenly looked up startled when she felt my breath near her ear.

Making eye contact, I gestured with my palm for her to bring her ear closer. Hesitating for a moment, she reluctantly complied.

In a low voice, I whispered,

“You saw last night, didn’t you?”

Upon hearing this, Camilla’s pale face flushed crimson like a persimmon.