Your dad is... Who?!

Lilin and Annie returned to their room at the inn after a very, very long day. Lilin hadn't succeeded in getting money out of anybody, and she had stopped trying after encountering the person who was utterly defeated. She felt empty, like something had hollowed her out. She sat on the bed, not even laying on it as she finally undid the masking magic to let her demonic parts relax.

The thing that was bothering her the most was Euwelyn's words. A doomed world? Hopelessness? No, the Demon King wasn't going to destroy the world. He was leading it, and he was doing it in a way nobody else could. It was harsh, but it kept things together. It was better than the constant barbarian and monster attacks from before his rule. It had to be. It was.

"Dear, is something bothering you?"

Annie's words were like glass shattering. Lilin jolted, looking up and instinctively brandishing her claws. She quickly realized it was simply Annie speaking, and she sank down into the bed once more.

"Goodness, that bad?" Annie asked. "Do you want to talk about it, Lilin?"

Lilin knew she should say no, but she found herself desperately wanting to say yes. She started to shake, and then something happened for the first time in a very, very long time. Her breathing started to shake, her hands clenching into fists as she forced herself to inhale. A tear began to roll down her cheek, her teeth gritting as she realized she was crying.

"Oh, dear... Lilin, may I...?"

Annie slowly sat next to Lilin, cautiously looking at the distressed demon to make sure she wasn't going to lash out. She wanted to do more, but was uncertain where Lilin's boundaries were. She moved slowly, wrapping an arm around Lilin's shoulders. Lilin tensed up and flinched away, but slowly relaxed. Finally, she began to sob. Annie could see a familiar restraint in Lilin's face as she cried. She'd seen how Madeline scrunched her entire face up to try and resist crying when it hurt her pride, and that was almost the exact same thing Lilin was doing now.

"Lilin... Don't hold it in. You can cry, I'm not going to judge you for it."

"Y-You think I'm weak, don't you? You're barely squeezing that a-a-arm, and... I-I didn't k-k-kill anybody. You saw it... I-I act all t-t-tough, b-but... I can't do anything, really...."

"That's nonsense, dear," Annie replied, "you've done many things."

"Then why can't I do ANY of it right?!" Lilin half-shouted. "All I've wanted to do is make my father proud, and look where it's gotten me! In a fucking nowhere town with nothing! I can't make people scared of me, I can't get them to pay, I can't fight a General with only a damn handful of Mana left, I can't kill somebody, what the fuck am I good for anymore!?"

"Dear," Annie said cautiously, "there are so many things you do well, it's a shame to hear that you're only looking at the things you've been unable to do recently. For what it's worth, I think it's good that you haven't killed anybody!"

"It's not!" Lilin yelled back. "It's horrible! The fact that I can't even kill somebody who's literally asking for it is driving me insane!!"

"Well, dear," Annie replied nervously, "despite that, wouldn't your father be proud of you just knowing you became a highly regarded servant for the Demon King."

Lilin stared at Annie in utter disbelief. "A-Are you... Kidding? What the hell do you mean? The Demon King is my dad!"

Annie's expression warped completely. Her soft eyes went wide, her arms loosened as her somewhat forced yet gentle smile completely faded until it her lips were slightly ajar with shock and horror.

"How the f-f-fuck did you not pick up on that?" Lilin wasn't sure if she was still sobbing or laughing, but the pit in her stomach dropped even further. "Th-That's, like, the mo-most obvious thing ever!"

"How?" Annie asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"W-Well, for one," Lilin spat with a sniffle, "I'm his servant. That's like, the easiest thing ever for one of his kids. S-Secondly, wh-why do you think he calls me Lilim? H-He gave me the damned name, of c-course he wants to call me by it. Th-The biggest clue really should have been that I l-listen to him. Y-You really think so-somebody like ME would become a MAID if it w-weren't because that was the e-easiest thing?"

Annie shook her head. "I... I don't... In my world, p-people don't... Use their children as slaves."

"Your world?" Lilin scoffed. "Don't fucking try to pull that. I know you're not one of those."

Annie couldn't handle more revelations right now. "N-No, dear, sorry, I... Misspoke."

"Good," Lilin said. "Ugh... Well, I guess, if you didn't know before, that makes sense. That's wh-why I wanted to do this job so bad."

"To... Make your father, the Demon King, proud?"

"Yeah."

"Lilin... Do you not see that your father is... Horrible to you?"

Lilin glared at Annie. She pushed her away a bit, not wanting that arm on her shoulders anymore. "Annie. Choose your words carefully.

"What. Do you mean. By that?"

Annie gulped. Her body was shaking, but she kept her gaze firm. She took a deep breath, making sure to think of everything she was about to say twice.

"Lilin... Your father hasn't shown you kindness in all the time I've been here. He's doubted your capabilities, he's made you feel like you were lesser than me, and he's sent you to be away from him to do dirty work for himself."

"Yeah," Lilin spoke with a slight heat in her voice, "because he didn't trust me at first, and now that he does, he's showing me he trusts me by putting this in my hands!"

"No, he is doing this to lead you on," Annie replied. "He's trying to... Move the goalpost. Uhm, what's another way to say it... He's making it so that you always have to be better, that you're never enough."

"You haven't seen him when he praises me," Lilin growled through her teeth. "You're just like the damned witch, thinking you know everything about him. You don't know the first thing about my father, so don't act like you do!"

Annie looked directly into Lilin's eyes and saw an intense determination and devotion. It was like a stab to her heart, realizing that Lilin was so fully dedicated to this.

"Lilin... You're being abused," Annie finally said.

"Like hell I'm being abused!" Lilin shot back, "he's never hit me! NEVER, not ONCE!"

Before Annie could reply, Lilin stood up and walked towards the door. "You know what? Fuck this town, and fuck you. I'm going to go and get the taxes right now, and you'd better not try and stop me, okay?!"

And with that, Lilin stormed out the door, not bothering to mask herself.