"Ugh! Get out of here!" Katharina exploded as she appeared behind her mother, pushing her. Vergil watched the scene with an amused look…


    Katharina was using all her strength to try to push the woman in front of her, but she couldn''t! The ground began to crack, but she didn''t move!


    "Heavy!!!" Katharina shouted before…


    BONK!


    "Ow! My head!!!" She screamed, seeing the woman''s hand on her head after receiving a hard smack that made her mind shake.


    For a second, she felt like there was a punk band inside her head drumming… She got dizzy for a moment, but the woman''s hand stopped on her head and held her, lifting her up.


    "You''re really something, aren''t you? Where''s the respect?!" Sapphire said, looking at her as if she would kill her, but Katharina swallowed her fear and stared back firmly…


    "Oh… how cute," she said, smiling at her daughter''s determined


    face.


    "That bitch… One day I''m going to kill her," Katharina said to the wind, the womanpletely ignoring her words. "Hey, kid, how did you manage to do that?" she questioned, and Vergil looked confused.


    "What are you talking about?" he asked bluntly, making Katharina tremble; no one spoke to her mother like that!!


    "She''s really trying here; I think it''s the first time I''ve seen this," Sapphire said, pointing with her other hand…


    "Hm? She''s always like this; my wife is the best," Vergil replied with a shrug. To him, that was it; she always put in effort, and well… it was true… when it involved Vergil, of course…


    "Really? I haven''t seen that in about fifteen years…" Sapphire murmured, well, it was about Vergil, actually.


    Vergil started walking towards Sapphire,pletely ignoring her, carefully picking up Katharina''s body.


    "Excuse me," he said as he removed Sapphire''s hand from her head. Vergil picked her up like a sack of potatoes and walked to the nearest couch, sitting down, holding her in hisp… calmly…


    While Sapphire looked incredulously at what had just happened, she wasn''t alone… It was the first time in her entire life that she felt that… her existence was…


    "He… ignored the Strongest Demon Queen?" Novahmented, almost dropping the tray with some snacks… like sandwiches and other savory treats for them to eat, after all, they had been stuck in the training room for almost six hours and should be hungry.


    "Yeah… He just ignored Lady Sapphire," Vi said, just appearing with a pitcher of lemonade…


    "Does he want to die?" Novah questioned. "I think she wants to die now; look at her expression; I wonder what she''s thinking?" Vimented with a crooked smile, seeing that Sapphire had frozen…


    She was still in the same position Vergil left her arms, while one of her eyes trembled as if something was wrong…


    "Oh, a new maid; is she yours, Sapphire?" Vergil asked carelessly!


    Not only did Novah and Vi look at him, but Katharina''s heartpletely sank, and she turned with wide eyes!


    No one called the DEMON QUEEN BY NAME!!!!


    "W-w-w-wait…" Katharina stammered, worried as she looked at his face and her mother''s face… which now had both eyes trembling…


    "Yes, it''s me," he said as Katharina sat on hisp. "Hey, Novah, don''t just stand there;e on, bring the snacks; Katharina is hungry," he said, again acting carelessly and ignoring Sapphire.


    "Come here, Sapphire; sit down; let''s eat a bit. You''ve had a long trip, haven''t you? Come on, Novah knows how to make delicious sandwiches," Vergil said…


    Katharina looked at her mother again, who blinked several times, as if her operating system had crashed, but… soon, she returned, hoping her mother was upset, but to her surprise, her mother had a "happy" smile on her face.


    Seeing that smile, Katharina''s body shivered; she knew her mother very well, and from what she understood of her, she only showed that smile when she found something interesting…


    ''OH NO! DEFINITELY NOT!'' She kept denying it, but it was toote…


    "You… you really don''t know who you''re talking to, do you?" Sapphire finally managed to say, her voice low andden with a threatening tone, with a smile on her face.


    "Of course I do! It''s my mother-inw!" Vergil replied with an innocent smile, while Katharina began tough uncontrobly, trying to cover it with her hands. "Come on, you two need to rx. How about a snack? After that, we can get back to training. I''m getting hungry."


    Sapphire slowly sat on the couch.


    "SHE ACCEPTED THE ORDER?!!!" All the women in the room nearly shouted, their eyes practically bulging out of their sockets.


    "Come on, Novah," Vergil said with a smile, quickly bringing a tray of sandwiches and lemonade.


    He calmly sat down with Katharina on his right side while Sapphire settled on his left. He personally handed out the sandwiches, "Here, one for you," he said to Katharina, and then, smiling, handed one to Sapphire, "And one for my mother-inw."


    "Oh, and don''t forget this," Vergil said, picking up a ss of chilled lemonade.


    "Vi..." Novah called herpanion.


    "Yes, I''m seeing it too... The Demon Queen eating human sandwiches and drinking lemonade," Vi replied, clearly ufortable. She knew her mistress better than anyone, and this scene was nothing short of disturbing.


    Katharina still couldn''t believe what she was seeing—her mother, the feared Demon Queen, sitting on the couch, eating sandwiches and drinking lemonade like it was the most normal thing in the world. She nced at Vergil with a mixture of disbelief and admiration; how could he remain so unnervingly calm in front of her mother?


    "Are you okay, Mother?" Katharina asked hesitantly while taking a bite of her own sandwich.


    Sapphire nced at her, still with that same enigmatic smile. "I''m... curious, Katharina. Your husband... he''s peculiar." She took another bite of the sandwich, chewing slowly. "Never thought anyone would treat me with such casualness...


    and boldness."


    Katharina swallowed hard. "This can''t end well..." she thought.


    Meanwhile, Novah and Vi exchanged looks of sheer confusion. In all their years serving Sapphire, they had never seen anything remotely like this.


    It was as if the bnce of power in the room had been flipped upside down, and somehow, Vergil was now the one controlling the situation.


    Vi, usually reserved, couldn''t help but whisper to Novah, "If he makes it out of this alive, I''m asking for a vacation. I need to process this."


    Novah chuckled nervously. "Vacation? If he keeps this up, we might need to renegotiate our understanding of what''s possible—and our contracts."


    Sapphire, still savoring the sandwich, turned to Vergil. "You really aren''t afraid of me, are you?" Her tone was calm, but the intensity in her eyes made it clear there was more at stake.


    Vergil, ever nonchnt, smiled as he took a sip of his lemonade. "Afraid? Of course. Why wouldn''t I be? You''re my wife''s mother. Family is something to be respected but not feared.


    And yes, you''re an incredible monstrosity." He shrugged as if his answer was the most natural thing in the world.


    Katharina watched her mother, expecting an explosion of rage, but instead, Sapphire let out a low chuckle—something she rarely did.


    "Family, huh? You''re more than I expected, boy." She nced at Katharina, a hint of satisfaction gleaming in her eyes. "You chose well, daughter. He''s a remarkable man."


    "WHAT?!!!" This time, the scream was unanimous from every woman in the room. No one had expected this oue, much less...


    "YOU''RE APPROVING HIM?!!!" Katharina stood up,pletely stunned and out of sorts. She looked at her mother, her eyes clearly saying, "You must be kidding!"


    "Hmm?" Sapphire, mid-bite, didn''t directly respond, but there was something in the air—something dangerous yet promising. She nced at Vergil, who continued to eat calmly.


    "Vi!" Sapphire suddenly shouted, calling the girl who instantly froze, trembling, but quickly returned to her senses. This was the mistress she knew!


    "Y-Yes, My Mistress!" Vi stammered, straightening up like a soldier, puffing out her chest as she quickly ran to Sapphire''s side.


    "Thank you for apanying me here and informing me about my daughter. You''ve done a good job," Sapphire said while gently patting Vi''s head, leaving the maidpletely stunned.


    "M-M-M-Mistress?!" she stuttered, not understanding what Sapphire was trying to do. This isn''t her... she never acts like this!


    "But now I want you to do something very important for me," Sapphire whispered something into Vi''s ear, leaning in closely.


    "Yes, ma''am! Consider it done! In less than a week! No, three days!!" Vi responded with the sharpness of a soldier receiving orders, then dashed out of the room.


    Vergil and Katharina exchanged nces and shrugged. "M-Mom… now that you''ve seen him, what are you—"


    "Tch, I''m on vacation, don''t bother me," Sapphire interrupted,pletely shattering her daughter''s expression.


    "Ugh! Go away! Why are you still here? This room already smells like ancient relics! Shoo, shoo!" Katharina finally snapped after all the absurdity.


    "Tch, go to bed," Sapphire said dismissively, throwing a cushion right into her daughter''s face, almost knocking her off the couch.


    "This is my house, I''m in charge here," Sapphire dered, crossing her arms defiantly.


    "So cute..." Vergil murmured to no one in particr, causing everyone in the room to stare at him.


    "You..." Sapphire growled as her eyes gleamed red, much more intense than before. "What? You are cute," Vergil said.


    Well...


    The next moment, he was sent flying through the air, crashing through several walls one after another.


    -------


    <Author''s Note>


    Hey, remember to use your Golden Tickets and Power Stones to help the work reach new heights!