The battle was over, but the courtyard still hadn't calmed down.

Countless witchers searched around the courtyard like ghosts in the shadows against the backdrop of the dark night sky.

They were preoccupied with searching for the Primal Jealousy Demon that had been spun off from the Second Prince's body.

Claudia was still wearing the well-tailored witcher bodysuit.

The slender waist is elegantly tilted to one side, and one hand crosses the waist.

Half of his face, which was covered by red lines, was expressionless, and his eyes were as sharp as that of a predatory eagle, monitoring the courtyard all around.

She kept a watchful eye on the progress of the witcher's search.

In case the cunning demon of jealousy quietly escaped from the courtyard.

The Grand Prince stood on one side of the courtyard, looking at Claudia with complicated eyes.

The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and his fists clenched tightly.

The woman in front of him was both familiar and very strange to him.

The eldest prince was eager to come forward and ask about the true identity of the queen mother, the detailed charges of the second prince, and the fate of the second prince.

However, his gaze eventually fell on the cracked ground, hesitating.

But suddenly, a warm gaze fell on him, and when he looked up, he saw that the eyes of the queen mother were looking at him.

"What do you want to say?"

Hearing this, the eldest prince quickly stood upright, his waist straight.

He looked at the queen mother, but the question in his heart was still unanswered.

Seeing that the eldest prince was still so hesitant, Claudia sighed lightly.

The red streaks that covered half of her face faded away, revealing her young, beautiful face.

"Come here."

A gentle voice rang out.

Seeing that his mother's face had returned to its normal appearance, he felt a hint of familiarity with the eldest prince and took a deep breath.

Gradually relaxed, he walked towards Claudia's side.

“…… Queen mother. ”

The words slowly fell, and the eldest prince's gaze was fixed on Claudia's young face.

This face, the eldest prince remembers very clearly.

The mother's face has not changed for many years, and it is still the same as when she parted.

The two of them stood together, but it seemed that the eldest prince was a little older.

It's just that now, his heart is still full of questions, and he wants to raise them all in one breath to the queen mother in front of him.

The words came to his lips, but he was still entangled.

Claudia, however, had already seen what was in his mind.

She slowly raised her head, looked at the eldest prince helplessly, and showed motherly gentleness:

"Just ask whatever you want."

"I'll try to answer your questions."

Hearing this, the eldest prince was slightly stunned, and a wry smile rose at the corner of his mouth.

Is his intention still too obvious?

Taking a deep breath, the eldest prince still mustered up the courage to ask the queen mother the question he had been bothering for a long time:

"Why would Oweyser collude with the devil......

"And you...... Where exactly have you been all these years? ”

Why is it the way it is?

These questions have been haunting the eldest prince's mind for many years, like a lingering haze, but they are unpredictable.

Judging from the performance of the queen mother, she seems to have known what demon lurks in Oweyser's body.

Moreover, it seems that she and Victor have planned to join forces to eliminate the demons hidden in Oweyser's body.

Asked this question, Claudia looked at the eldest prince with a serious expression, and sighed.

"I knew you were going to ask."

She turned her head, as if not trying to make eye contact with Albney, at the demon hunters who were searching the courtyard for demons.

Armed with mercury in their hands, they meticulously searched the woods and corners of the courtyard.

As long as there is the slightest trace of demonic aura, they will be like hounds.

Follow the breath and search the entire bush, and even climb the towering giant trees to search.

Claudia's eyes, under this clear night sky, were as deep as an abyss:

"Because of jealousy, the demon was released by me."

Hearing this answer, the eldest prince's pupils suddenly dilated, and he seemed to have forgotten how to breathe for a while.

His mind went blank, confused and stunned.

What!?

The jealous demon was released by the queen mother herself?

The eldest prince instinctively didn't want to believe it, but Claudia's voice sounded one after another:

"So I left the royal capital and left the empire."

"Just to find a solution to the demon of jealousy."

Her deep gaze was filled with memories, as if she was reliving the pain of the past.

The picture in my mind is still fresh in my memory.

Lying in a pool of blood was the woman Oberley loved most in his life.

She was covered in bleeding wounds, and every inch of her skin was in pain.

But her bent arms still firmly protected the child in her belly.

The woman's eyes gradually lost their brilliance, and her body collapsed and collapsed weakly.

There are still those protective arms, and they have never let go.

Claudia could only kneel to her side, tears streaming down her face.

She watched powerlessly, but she couldn't stop anything from happening.

All calamities are brought about by her jealousy, everything is.

"The power of the devil is gradually eroding my body."

It was a demon called Jealousy, trying to transform her into a perfect vessel.

Unable to control the demon, she ends up imprisoned in the depths of the palace by Aubery.

Claudia could feel that the demon was eating away at her all the time.

If this continues, her entire body will be completely replaced by demons, and her body will be completely reduced to a container of demon flesh and blood.

Eventually, the Stoke family discovered her condition and brought her back to the family domain.

Being able to take Claudia, who was about to turn into a demon, was able to take her away, showing that the Stoke family was anything but extraordinary.

The Stoke family is actually a group of witchers hidden within the empire.

Her demon hunter father, ready to summon the demon inside her and kill the demon.

But at that time, Claudia had completely lost consciousness.

Possessed by demons, she became a pure demon vessel.

However, when she woke up again.

All members of the family were killed, and no one was spared.

"My father, your grandfather, was a good witcher."

"But he didn't realize that there was a demon lurking in me, called jealousy."

The jealousy of the Seven Primordial Demons is extremely powerful.

It's not something that a simple witcher can solve.

No matter how good this witcher is.

Eventually, Claudia, who had no impressions or memories, was able to guess the reason for the family's demise.

In the fight against the demon of jealousy, they failed.

Everyone was slaughtered by her, who had turned into a demon, and Claudia became the sinner who exterminated the race.

It's just that after waking up, she regained consciousness.

But the reason she regained consciousness was not because the demon was destroyed.

Rather, it was because the demon attached to her was forcibly banished.

There is an irreconcilable conflict between the power of the witchers and the demons, and the presence of jealous demons has led to the destruction of the Stoke family.

In the end, the entire Stoke family was left with only Claudia, who was still alive.

Claudia received the power of her dead father, and the power of the witcher was incomparably powerful to forcibly disperse the demons in her body.

"It's just as you can see."

Claudia turned her head slowly, her gaze deep at the Grand Prince.

One of her eyes gradually became filled with scarlet color, and there seemed to be a deep light flowing in her red pupils.

Slender red lines emerge from Claudia's neck, with tiny spikes extending out in all directions.

The lines wrapped around her neck like thorns, crawling up half of her cheeks and around the red pupils.

"As long as I use this power, the traces of that demon that have left in my body will be revealed."

The Jealous Demon was not completely detached from her body.

After it had completely taken over Claudia, even though the witcher's power had banished the demon from it.

She's no longer a pure human being.

But it is precisely because of this demonic residual power that Claudia is one of the strongest witchers.

"Because of this, I know the demon of jealousy better than anyone else."

With that, Claudia looked at the eldest prince's eyes that gradually trembled, and laughed helplessly.

If the former Aubery could have given her a little more love, if her jealousy had not been so strong.

If Oberly hadn't imprisoned her, he would have disposed of the demon in her body in time, so that the demon would not have a chance to eat away at her body.

So will the ending change?

But no "what if" can change reality.

So, Claudia put on her mask again.

Just so that no one else would be frightened by the sight of her half of her face, which was covered in lines.

Through the silver-white mask again, her voice slowly sounded:

"In the end, the Stokers were wiped out."

"But in order to ensure that it does not cause panic among the people, the reasons cannot be said."

The majesty of the royal family cannot be compromised, so the queen must not be condemned as a sinner.

Therefore, the reason for the collapse of the Stoke family was declared to be the family's collusion with foreign forces to accumulate a large amount of wealth.

In the end, he was killed by the wise Empress Claudia.

Soon after, Claudia left the Empire, but the true reason for her departure is unknown.

The eldest prince felt a little confused after listening to the queen mother's story.

He could only watch his mother say this lightly.

Any one of these details is heart-wrenching.

But at this moment, the eldest prince was speechless and could not express the grief in his heart.

In the silence, there was a faint friction in the ears of the two of them.

Following the sound, several witchers were slowly moving a large block of ice from the ruins of the banquet hall.

And above this ice block, there is a faint golden light.

When the ice was moved to Claudia, the witchers bowed deeply to her:

"My lord, we found this in the ruins."

Claudia looked down and saw that the ice cube that emitted a mysterious golden light showed no signs of melting.

The more carefully she looked at the ice, the more her brow furrowed in confusion.

Because, from this block of ice, she saw a person.

It was a girl.

She had waist-length blond hair, and she was dressed in elaborate and gorgeous clothes, lying in the ice.

The girl curled up, her hands crossed around her body, her eyes closed, and her breathing was steady and even, as if she had fallen asleep.

And the eldest prince also squinted his eyes, carefully looking at this somewhat mysterious golden ice cube.

But suddenly, his mouth opened wide and his eyes widened with doubt and shock.

Just as the two of them focused on the golden ice, a light footstep gradually approached them.

A nobleman appeared in front of the golden ice cube and said respectfully to Claudia and the Grand Prince:

"Your Royal Highness, Your Majesty the Queen."

"It's getting late, the matter is settled, and we nobles should leave......"

Before he could finish speaking, the nobleman's eyes couldn't help but glance at the huge block of ice.

What he was about to say suddenly came to an abrupt halt.

Because after seeing the girl in the ice cube clearly, the nobleman's eyes widened, and a shocked voice blurted out:

"This ...... Isn't this the daughter of Duke Rivi!? ”