Chapter 115
A few hours before Schwarz gave orders to his subordinates—
Ariella and Ludwig walked down the corridor after leaving the meeting room.
The black marble floor gleamed, while the brass-inlaid walls glowed softly under crystal gas lamps.
“Your companions should already have been assigned rooms. I’ll take you to one near theirs,” said Debel, their guide.
Ariella nodded.
“They must be exhausted after such a long voyage. It’s been ages since they last touched solid ground—they’ll want proper food, and a bath will be urgent too.”
“Please don’t worry. We’ll do everything to make their stay as comfortable as possible.”
Even with ancient blueprints and magic on their side, bringing a crew of inexperienced sailors safely across the sea had been close to a miracle.
Ariella was grateful for that—and deeply fond of the sailors who had followed her so faithfully.
“Thank you,” she said with a smile.
Debel, watching her, thought to himself:
She’s the Demon King’s contractor, second only to him in rank. And yet she truly cares for her people.
After a while, they turned a corner—
and there were the orc sailors’ quarters.
Ariella tilted her head.
“Why are they all outside?”
She had told them to rest well tonight. She expected them to have collapsed into bed by now.
Instead, all ten orc sailors were gathered at their doors, arguing in deep seriousness.
One of them pointed at the door.
“Someone’s hiding in there. No doubt about it.”
Hiding?
A moment later, Ariella understood what they meant.
An orc nervously stepped forward, touched the handle—
Ssshhk!
The closed door slid open by itself.
“Wha—?!”
“L-Look at that!”
“It’s cursed!”
No one had touched it, yet the door opened—automatically.
When nobody entered, the door smoothly closed again.
The orcs gasped and began arguing loudly.
“Has to be magic. Some spell that makes the door open and shut by itself.”
“Don’t be stupid. Who’d waste magic stones on something so trivial as opening a door?”
“Yeah, we may not know magic, but we know how expensive those stones are.”
“Damn right.”
The majority leaned toward it not being magic.
“…If it’s not magic, then there’s only one answer.”
An orc youth narrowed his eyes.
“Someone’s inside the walls, pushing and pulling the door!”
That thought spread like wildfire.
“The one inside must be tiny—maybe a fairy?!”
“Damn it, then we can’t rest easy! It means we’re being watched the whole time.”
One orc even shouted at the door.
“Hey, you! Stop hiding in there! We’ll close the door ourselves!”
“Yeah, quit spying from inside the wall and show yourself!”
The scene quickly turned into chaos.
Debel had to step in.
“Everyone, calm down. It’s just an automatic door.”
“…Automatic door?”
“Yes. A device powered by hydraulics. Steam pushes through hidden pipes to make it move.”
The orcs stared blankly. Of course, none of them understood.
“I don’t know the details myself,” Debel admitted, “but it has nothing to do with magic or fairies.”
“So… no one’s hiding in there?”
“No. The wall is empty.”
Still suspicious, the orcs exchanged uneasy glances.
At last Ariella had to raise her voice.
“You heard the explanation! Stop wasting energy and get inside to sleep!”
Grumbling, the orcs shuffled into their rooms.
Ariella sighed and shook her head as she followed Debel farther down the hall.
But then—another commotion. This time, from Cecile’s room.
“Cecile?”
The door was wedged open with a chair.
And Cecile herself was on top of that chair, precariously balanced, wearing her monocle and staring intently into the gap above the door.
She muttered to herself, lost in her own world.
“So… it’s pushed by hydraulic pressure, that part I get. But how is the pressure released to close it again? And how does it detect someone approaching?”
Ariella pinched the bridge of her nose.
I told them to rest. Not a single one is actually resting.
Debel looked awkward. Ariella barely held back a long sigh.
Why was it always her job to feel embarrassed?
Please, gods. Let her not dismantle the door or break the wall.
Praying she wouldn’t end up paying for unexpected damages, Ariella followed Debel into a quieter section of the castle.
“This is your room,” Debel said, opening a door.
“If there is anything unsatisfactory, please let us know immediately.”
But the room was nothing short of luxurious.
It rivaled the chamber Ariella had once used as a princess.
Soft light filled the room. Curtains shimmered like silk. A carpet woven with golden thread spread across the floor in the pattern of climbing roses.
At the center stood a grand canopy bed.
On the pristine sheets, pink petals were scattered. Candles on a silver tray filled the air with warmth and fragrance.
Why scatter petals like that? Just makes more to clean up. Trash, really.
Keeping her thoughts hidden, Ariella asked plainly:
“Which of us?”
“…Pardon?”
Debel blinked in confusion.
“Between the Demon King and me,” Ariella clarified. “Who is this room for?”
“T-This is the room for both of you, of course.”
“…What?”
“…What?!”
The stunned looks on their faces told Debel something had gone wrong.
“Don’t tell me… the two of you sleep separately?”
“Of course we do!” Ariella shouted, flustered. “Why would I share a bed with him?!”
Ludwig muttered under his breath, staring at the ceiling.
“No need to act like you just stepped in something foul…”
Debel looked even more flustered than Ariella.
“My mistake! I simply assumed… Please wait here. I’ll prepare another room right away!”
Stammering apologies, Debel rushed off.
And so Ariella and Ludwig were left alone in the hall.
“….”
Ludwig stood silently. Ariella fidgeted, sensing the awkward air between them.
She broke it with idle words.
“This is funny. Strange, even.”
“What is?”
“The way he said ‘of course.’ …Was there ever a precedent here in the North of a Demon King and contractor sharing a room?”
Ludwig answered firmly.
“I wouldn’t know.”
“That wasn’t really the point. Ugh, forget it.”
They fell silent again.
Both turned to look out the window.
Unlike the South, the North had massive panes of glass stretching from floor to ceiling.
So much expensive glass, just plastered across the walls.
The quality was flawless. Outside, the Demon King’s city lay in perfect view.
She had admired the scenery on the way here, but from this high up it was breathtaking.
Buildings of brass and steel, chimneys venting steam, crowds of people moving like clockwork.
The whole city felt like a finely tuned machine.
“A different world entirely,” Ludwig said, breaking the silence.
Ariella agreed.
“Exactly. It’s more advanced than anything I’ve read about. Overflowing with people, with technologies not even seen in the human world.”
Then Ludwig asked the question that had been on his mind.
“What would it take to raise our own land to this level?”
His tone was serious, genuinely curious.
Good. He’s being inspired.
Satisfied, Ariella answered without hesitation.
“First, stable politics. And that much we’ve already achieved—by cutting out the rot at the start.”
Ludwig nodded.
“Second, balanced economic policy. Agriculture, trade, and industry must grow together, so that daily life is secure.”
That was the part Ariella had poured most of her energy into.
“And last, a strong defense and unity of the people. That’s why we came here for black iron, isn’t it?”
Ludwig studied her for a moment before nodding again.
“I’ll remember that.”
Then, after a pause, his lips twitched.
Ariella noticed.
“If you have something to say, just say it. Since when do you hesitate?”
He spoke at last.
“Ariella… do you ever regret it? That if you had to form a contract, you didn’t choose a richer Demon King like this one?”
