The excitement within the plaza continued to spread like wildfire after Vulcan's announcement and Lily smiled as she excitedly tugged on her big brother's sleeve.

"Big brother, look." She pointed at the crowd. "Everyone looks so happy. This party is the best."

"Yes, it is."

"Ehehehe~ I can't wait to start opening our presents."

Aster simply rolled his eyes with a smile on his face.

Unlike his cute little sister who still couldn't stop thinking about their presents, Aster's mind was preoccupied with something else.

He recalled everything Vulcan had said about the academy and his desire to improve the strength of the young demons.

'A tournament, huh?'

'That means many demons will battle against each other while the demon lords act as the judges.'

'I wonder if Mother will be officiating the tournament as well.' Aster pondered as he glanced at his mother.

But Vivian's attention was focused on the crowd in front of her.

She was still sitting with one leg crossed over the other while her chin rested on her knuckles, but this time, her eyes were focused on the crowd that was still cheering, eating, and drinking happily.

Seeing all these in front of her, a warm smile spread across the Queen's face as she slowly brought her gaze toward the Pyro Demon Lord who was now returning to his seat.

Vivian had genuinely been impressed with his speech because Vulcan's words had stirred the crowd up without him mentioning a single word about war or the spirit beast attacks.

Of course, some demons might have noticed the spirit beasts attack on their cities but many didn't think too much about it.

So instead of having a panicky and worried crowd, Vulcan had instead given everyone a goal that wouldn't terrify them but instead push them to grow stronger, while also preparing them for any unexpected events that might occur in the future.

Moreover, he had even used the Beastmen's arena method as a shield to protect the demon race from seeming like they were training their warriors for war.

That way, if the elves, angels, or merfolk were to complain or suspect that the demons were preparing for war, the demon council could easily say that they were simply following a structure that had been used by the beastmen for decades, and no one would accuse the demons of preparing for war.

Although, it might seem like Vulcan's speech was only aimed at the younger demons seeking to enroll in the academy.

In reality, his speech was directly aimed at every single demon on the continent.

Now, everyone had something important to fight for and that was their pride, dignity, and reputation.

No one would ever allow demons to be looked down on ever again

And if Vulcan's tournament were to grow into a success, there was even a high chance the youth tournament could get an adult-themed contest in the future.

Feeling satisfied that Vulcan pulled off his plan without ruining her children's party, Vivian brought her attention toward her son who was staring at the pyro demon lord who was conversing and laughing with the other demon lords.

Vivian could easily tell that Aster still had a lot of questions he wanted to ask, but that would have to wait for now.

Meanwhile, Little Lily patted her mother's lap to draw Vivian's attention toward her.

"Mama? Are we going to watch the tournament too? It sounds fun!!"

Vivian chuckled and gently pinched her daughter's cheek. "Ufufufu~ we'll see, my little dragon. We'll see."

The little princess giggled and nodded her head in response before lifting her gaze to the crowd cheering and dancing.

The music had slowly started up again and now the entire plaza was filled with laughter as the banquet resumed.

A few hours later, the banquet was finally reaching its conclusion, with so many demons returning home with smiles on their faces because their queen had given a special announcement as a thank you to everyone for making her children's homecoming party a special one.

Vivian had announced that for one full year, no demon in her kingdom was allowed to pay any tax and the demons instantly went crazy.

Commoners began to praise her like a goddess while nobles cried internally because they, too, wouldn't be collecting taxes either.

In the end, they couldn't go against their Queen's wishes and simply had to nod in agreement with what their Queen had declared.

And so, with nothing else to do, Vivian decided that it was time for them to head home.

She stood gracefully while holding Lily's hand and Aster followed at her side.

Her jack-o'-lantern knights parted the crowd as the royal family approached their carriage, but just before Vivian could step into the carriage, she suddenly heard a voice calling out to her from behind.

"Vivian!!"

Vivian instantly turned around to see Isabella approaching with a young female demon by her side.

A smile graced Vivian's lips as she waited for Isabella to get close to her.

"I did not wish to interrupt the banquet earlier, which was why I waited, but my daughter prepared something for your children, and she wishes to deliver it personally," Isabella said as she gently urged Astrid to step forward.

"Oh, thank you little one, and what is your name?"

The Frost Demon princess curtsied respectfully. "I-It's Astrid, Your Majesty. Astrid Belphegor."

Astrid had waist-length black hair with deep blue skin and crimson colored eyes.

Just like her mother, she was also dressed in goth-styled clothing. The princess also curtsied respectfully to Aster and Lily before stepping forward to offer Aster her present.

"Um… h-here. I… I made this. But… mother helped to make it look better…"

Her cheeks darkened into a bluish blush as she offered the present to Aster while lowering her head timidly.

The scenery was so cute, it instantly reminded Aster of the countless anime scenes he had watched in the past where a little girl would offer a love letter to her crush after school hours.

Even though this wasn't really a love letter, her timid actions were still cute.

In her hand was a transparent crystal globe.

Looking closely, one could see two figures standing in the globe, but upon taking a better look at it, Aster noticed that it was an ice sculpture of him and Lily standing next to each other in what seemed like a snowy forest.

The ice sculptures were extremely detailed and lifelike as well, and the swirling snowflakes in the globe made it look even more beautiful and exciting.

"Thank you." Aster collected the globe, and the frost princess blushed even more, but Lily's eyes instantly sparkled after noticing something of interest to her. "Whoa, is that snow? How did you put the snow in there?"

Hearing this, Isabella instantly giggled then puffed her chest out with pride like a satisfied peacock. "Oh my, how impressive of you to have noticed that, Princess Lilian. Well, my daughter is a generational genius and that makes her the first Frost Demon to awaken both ice and snow magic affinities."

"Oh-ho~ that's truly impressive, Astrid." Vivian complimented Astrid and her blush deepened as a cute smile graced her lips.

"T-Thank you, Your Majesty," Astrid said meekly but Lily swiftly grabbed the princess's hand, causing Astrid to jolt like someone had pulled her soul out of her body.

"Hey, is it true?"

"H-huh?"

"Can you really make snow?" Lily asked as she excitedly squeezed Astrid's hands.

"U-um, y-yes. I can."

"Ohh!!" Lily's eyes shimmered with joy and she walked closer to Astrid with pleading eyes. "What about snowballs? Can you make them?"

"Y-yes,"

"And a snowman too?" Since Lily had spent most of her time in the hospital, the little princess had never really played in the snow like other kids her age.

However, if Astrid could cast a snow spell, Lily wondered if they could have fun playing with snow at the Dragon Queen's castle.

But Astrid tilted her head with a confused look on her face. "Snow… man…?" The Frost Demon princess seemed unfamiliar with that term.

Meanwhile, noticing what Lily wanted, Vivian couldn't help but chuckle as she said. "Lily dear, if you want to play with Astrid, wouldn't it be better to pick a date for her to make a proper visit?"

Lily gasped and instantly spun toward her mother. "Really, Mama? Can I?? Please??!!"

Vivian smiled warmly and assured her. "Of course, my little dragon. If you want, we could invite Astrid for a tea party, what do you think?" Vivian directed her question to Isabella.

"Hm, I don't see why not." Isabella nodded gracefully. "What do you think, Astrid? Would you like to have a tea party with Princess Lilian?"

"Y-yes, Mother."

"Very well then, in three days you can visit the Dragon Queen's castle… Is that acceptable?" Isabella asked Vivian and the Dragon Queen nodded in response, causing Lily to squeal with excitement.

A cute smile appeared on Astrid's face as well, then she stole a peek at Aster who was still staring at the globe he was holding.

With the play date sorted, Vivian and Isabella said their goodbyes.

"We will see you soon, Isabella. Goodbye, Astrid."

"G-Goodbye, Your Majesty," Astrid said while waving goodbye.

"Byeeeee!!!" Aster and Lily waved to them as well, and everyone went their separate ways.

Upon stepping into their carriage, the moment the door closed, the cheerful atmosphere around Isabella and Astrid died instantly.

Both ladies sat down, and a silence reigned between them as they lowered their heads slightly, causing their hair to cast a small shadow over their eyes.

"Mother… How did I do?" Astrid asked in a whisper.

"You did well. But what does mother always say?"

"Trust no one but yourself. Everyone, aside from Mother, is my enemy." Astrid replied as though she was reciting a sacred rule that she had said over and over again.

"Good." Isabella smiled ominously. "And what do you think of the prince and princess?"

Astrid's eyes hardened even more and her voice turned even more sinister. "They're my enemies."

"Beautiful. And what do you do to your enemies?"

"Never show weakness and never let them stand above you," Astrid stated in a chilling voice and Isabella's grin widened even more.

"Good." The Frost Demon Queen nodded with satisfaction as the carriage rolled away.

Meanwhile, heading back to the Dragon Queen's castle were four massive carriages with three of those carriages carrying thousands of gifts and tributes.

Within minutes, the carriages finally landed at the castle's entrance, and Vivian, Aster, and Lily instantly stepped out of the first carriage before walking into the castle.

Feeling eager to take a look at the gifts and tributes, both Vivian and Lily began to skip and dance happily along the hallway like cute little girls while singing. "Gifts, gifts, gifts!!"

"Presents, presents, presents!!"

On the other hand, Aster walked behind them with a smile on his face as he wondered how both ladies could feel so energetic after such a long and eventful day.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.