The Former Demon Queen Gets A Smile and A Wink

After pretending to have a casual chat with the demons that had blocked the road, Mary suddenly returned to the wagon with a few of them in tow, approaching the driver and Snowpoppy.

"And this is that friend of yours?" Rizer, the demon with the tracking hound, asked, putting on his best attempt at a deep, intimidating voice.

"Yes," Mary said sweetly, clutching both her arms in front of her in a modest manner. The ruthless, red-eyed expression of the former Demon Queen was gone, replaced with the harmless, innocent look of Mary Fields.

"This is the friend I told you about. We're traveling together. We don't have any gold on us, and as you can see, our wagon is already missing a door. This poor driver doesn't have much to offer either. So please, kindly let us go."

Rizer pretended to think for a moment. His companions followed his lead, crossing their arms and putting on equally pondering expressions.

Snowpoppy remained completely deadpan, her demeanor barely shifting to reveal what the girl was thinking, while the driver sat there with his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

Mary, meanwhile, desperately hoped she could somehow get through this without arousing suspicion from either of them.

"Ugh, these people. They don't have any money," Rizer grumbled, trying to act tough as he spat onto the ground.

"All right. You may go," Rizer said. "Boys, let us be on our way as well."

Not wanting to accidentally piss off their former ruler any further by remaining in her presence longer than ordered, he and the remaining demons quickly gathered themselves and hurried away. Some took to the sky while others scampered into the forest, tails between their legs.

Seeing this, Mary breathed a sigh of relief, climbed back into the wagon, and sat beside Snowpoppy.

"You heard them. We can go now."

It took the driver a while to calm his nerves enough to get the carriage moving again. Even then, Mary had to hand him a few extra coins to encourage him to continue. He was still convinced that the demons might jump out at any moment and ambush them.

As the wagon resumed its journey, trotting along the road, the driver piped up.

"So, Miss. You weren't scared, huh?" the man said. "You really are crazy, walking straight up to those demons and talking to them like that. And what was all that with everyone falling down? It almost felt like an earthquake, but not quite."

Mary just smiled nervously, choosing to ignore all of his statements.

Snowpoppy looked over at Mary.

"So, you were able to talk to them?"

"Yes. I was able to speak to them and negotiate our freedom of passage."

Snowpoppy raised an eyebrow.

"How exactly did you do that?"

Mary froze.

Oh no.

Her mind immediately began racing.

What was she supposed to say?

She couldn't exactly tell Snowpoppy that she had ordered the group of mercenaries from the Demon Realm to go home because she was their former queen.

She needed an excuse.

A believable one.

Something that wouldn't raise any questions.

"Ahh..."

But before Mary could come up with anything, Snowpoppy simply reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay," she said gently. "Thank you."

Mary stared at her in confusion.

"...Thank you?" Mary repeated, not understanding why the girl had said those words.

Snowpoppy nodded, giving her a small smile.

"Yeah. Thank you for talking to them so we could get through safely," the bunny girl winked.

"...?!"

Mary was left completely speechless.

What did she mean by that?

Why was she so calm about this?

Was Snowpoppy onto her already?

Or was Mary just overthinking the situation.

Her thoughts trailed off as she stared at the bunny girl beside her. In return, Snowpoppy simply flashed her another wink and a smile. For someone who used to be so deadpan, she was certainly starting to show a lot more emotion all of a sudden.

Mary did not even know what to think anymore. Had the bunny girl really figured out her secret?

"Don't stress. Just tell the rest when you're ready," Snowpoppy said.

Oh gosh!

She had, hadn't she?

...

"Hey, look! It's Snowpoppy! And Mary?!"

The duo finally arrived at Sapphire Springs about an hour later. The journey had been mostly spent in silence, as Mary still couldn't fathom the fact that Snowpoppy had truly uncovered her secret identity.

The place was a large forest clearing filled with numerous campsites scattered throughout the area. Maria, who had been the one to call out to them, quickly began rushing over. The rest of the girls soon followed suit, briefly abandoning their campsite to come welcome them.

But before they all arrived, Snowpoppy leaned in to Mary's ear.

"Don't worry," she whispered. "Your secret's safe with me."