Cucking The Demon King
Chapter 69: New teammates

Chapter 69: New teammates

Evangeline gnashed her teeth, then suddenly, her lips curled into a smirk.

Her pitch black eyes glinted with amusement, and she turned her attention back to Liam.

"I’ve been hearing some interesting rumors about you lately, you know?" She said, nodding her head.

Liam raised a brow, crossing his arms. "Oh?"

She tapped a finger against her lips, as if in deep thought. "I heard you’ve been quite popular in the academy lately. Especially with a certain noble girl..." Her smirk widened. "Elsa, was it?"

Liam sighed, already seeing where this was going. "Don’t try to change the subject."

It was an habit of hers, changing the argument whenever she gets even the slightest bit uncomfortable.

But the thing was that, she was very good at it, so catching her was quite easy.

Evangeline feigned innocence. "Am I?"

"Yes, you are," He said flatly.

He already knew he would become more popular in the academy after Elsa hugged him in front of everyone, so that didn’t come off as too surprising.

Besides, every one noticed how much he has changed compared to before, which was another reason for his rising popularity.

There was also the fight he had with Petras, which the shocking result of the fight had spread all over the academy.

Nonetheless, he didn’t care about any dumb rumours at this point, only worried about what really happened to the orphanage.

Evangeline pouted dramatically. "Oh, come on. So you’re telling me that the whole academy talking about how Elsa hugged you in front of everyone isn’t interesting?"

Liam merely shrugged. "It no big deal."

Evangeline studied him for a moment, tilting her head slightly. "You really have changed."

Liam leaned back, arms leaning against the bed. "You said that already."

"And I’ll say it again." She let out a small chuckle. "The old Liam would’ve turned red like a tomato if a noble girl so much as looked at him, let alone hugged him in public."

Liam shook his head with an amused snort. "That Liam is gone."

"I can see that," She murmured, eyes flickering with something deeper. A mix of pride, nostalgia... and maybe a hint of sadness.

A silence settled between them.

Then Liam’s expression hardened. "Now, stop dodging the question. What happened to the orphanage?"

Evangeline’s playful expression faltered. She averted her gaze, her fingers gripping the fabric of her dress.

"Evangeline." Liam called out, his tone stern.

She bit her lip. "...It’s nothing. Really."

Liam’s gaze sharpened. "You’re lying."

She let out a long sigh, tapping her fingers against her knee. "...I knew you’d insist."

Liam didn’t say anything. He just waited.

Finally, Evangeline relented. "There’s this... noble," she admitted, voice quieter than before. "Gugor Velmont."

Liam frowned. "Velmont... I’ve heard that name before."

Evangeline nodded. "He’s the third son of the Velmont family. Not the heir, but still powerful. He’s been harassing mom for a while now. He wants her to be... his concubine."

Liam’s fingers curled into fists, veins bulging at the sides of his forehead.

"She refused him, of course," Evangeline continued, letting out a low sigh. "But... he didn’t take it well. So now, he’s threatening to have the orphanage building demolished."

Liam’s grip tightened. "...Because she wouldn’t date him?"

"Yes."

"That’s it?"

"That’s it."

Liam felt something twist in his stomach.

How pathetic. How selfish.

"And no one is stopping him?"

Evangeline let out a bitter chuckle. "He’s a noble, Liam. Who would dare? Even if we reported it to the church, they wouldn’t care. A noble’s word carries more weight than a commoner’s. Even if we had proof, it wouldn’t matter."

Liam clenched his jaw.

Though he hated to admit it, he knew her words were right.

Since he was a noble, reporting this issue to the church wouldn’t work, neither will trying to get people to side with them.

No one was willing to go up against a noble, as each of the five noble houses possess terrifying power and authority within the kingdom.

At this rate, Mrs Wilshere might eventually be forced to marry him, and plunged into a life akin to slavery.

Liam, upon hearing this was infuriated, and disgusted.

He wondered how someone could be so selfish and evil, but remembering the kind of kingdom he was in, it actually made perfect sense.

Nobles abusing their power to steal from commoners was practically an every day occurrence.

And the church, despite being a supposedly holy organisation never cared about it.

The matter would simply be swept under the rug, and whether there were witnesses or not didn’t even matter at the end of the day.

Any person who tries to go against that order would be said to have sinned, and would be condemned to death by stoning.

The most ironic thing about the whole thing was that those same commoners, whose lives and resources were stolen every day would be the first to cast the stone.

They felt that since the church was the house of the holy goddess, fighting and protecting them from demons, they shouldn’t dare go against them.

They should only live as the church wishes, for the wish of the church was the wish of the goddess.

But then, Liam didn’t care about that.

Whether it was a sin or not, he wouldn’t just sit still and let a noble demolish the orphanage Mrs Wilshere struggled to keep running.

Evangeline easily read the thoughts going through his mind from his expression alone, and she sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"I didn’t want to tell you because I knew you’d react like this." She gave him a pointed look. "Liam, listen to me. Don’t do anything reckless."

Liam didn’t answer.

She leaned forward, her tone more serious than before. "My mother and I are already trying to find a solution. We’ll figure something out. Just... trust us, okay?"

Liam met her gaze.

He didn’t believe her.

Not because he doubted their efforts, but because he knew the reality of this kingdom. There was no escaping the clutches of the church. There was no "solution" against a noble’s power.

But he didn’t argue.

Instead, he nodded. "Fine."

Evangeline studied his face, searching for any signs of deception. She must have found something because she sighed again. "...I don’t believe you."

Liam smirked. "I don’t believe you either."

She groaned, rubbing her forehead. "Just... don’t do anything stupid, okay?"

Liam didn’t reply.

Because he knew—no matter what—he was going to make that noble pay.

The conversation eventually drifted to lighter topics, and after some time, Evangeline finally took her leave.

***

Days passed quickly.

Before he knew it, a week had gone by, and the day they would be assigned their missions had arrived.

The academy’s grand chapel was filled with students, all standing in neat rows before an enormous statue.

The statue was massive, towering over them with an overwhelming presence.

It depicted a six-winged being, its body sculpted in flawless white marble. Its expression was serene, yet its sheer size exuded power.

The six large wings stretched wide behind it, carved with such precision that each individual feather seemed almost real.

A golden halo floated above its head, and in its hands, it held a massive sword, its tip resting against the ground.

It was a statue of a Seraphim—one of the divine beings that stood by Seraphina, the Holy Goddess.

The believers claimed that statues like this increased the chances of the goddess answering prayers.

Liam didn’t care.

He stood in the crowd of students, his expression unreadable as the head priest called their names in groups of ten. Each group stood before the statue, received a prayer, and was then led into another room by the nuns.

One by one, the students were assigned their missions.

After several minutes, fifty students had already been grouped, leaving only Liam and seven others.

Liam scanned the remaining students—and immediately noticed something.

Neither Elsa, Lela, nor Grace had been called yet.

Instead, they were still standing here.

With him.

Liam glanced at Elsa, and as expected, she was already looking at him.

She flashed him a cheeky smile.

Liam narrowed his eyes. She planned this.

It wasn’t difficult to figure out. Elsa was a noble. She had influence. She must have manipulated her group placements just to make sure they ended up together.

Troublesome woman.

Before he could say anything, the head priest turned to them.

His gaze swept over the eight of them, his expression unreadable. Then, he spoke.

"You will be the final group," he declared. "However, since your numbers are incomplete, two more will be joining you."

Liam frowned slightly. ’Two more?’

He didn’t have to wonder for long.

Two figures emerged from the church entrance, stepping into view.

Liam’s eyes instantly recognized them.

Bright red hair.

’Emma... Rex...’ He thought.

There was no mistaking it, those two were none other than the Silvagold twins.

Since he didn’t see any of them in the confession, he had been wondering where they went.

But to think they would later end up as his teammates in this mission.