CHAPTER 53…………………….
“We have been together for a long time.”
Zenia let out a hollow laugh and asked,
“Why do you think that?”
The Demon King slowly looked her up and down.
“You just look the part.”
Zenia pouted.
“I’m asking what about me looks the part.”
Staring at her protruding lips, the Demon King replied,
“You talk too much. And your movements are busy and restless.”
Since he sounded like he was merely stating facts rather than mocking her, Zenia chose not to deny it.
Now that she had already been found out, it didn’t seem so bad to spend some time here.
She had nothing to do anyway, which made it even more perfect.
Zenia plopped down onto the sofa across from the Demon King. He stared at her as if she were ridiculous, but she remained bold.
“Since you’ve already noticed, I’ll sit for a bit before I go.”
The Demon King looked at her with an indescribably strange expression.
“Are you insane?”
“No. You said you’ve grown attached to me, so I figured you’d overlook at least this much.”
At her indifferent reply, the Demon King let out a scoff.
“And what if that attachment fades?”
He was old enough to call her an infant, yet he could be unbelievably childish.
“You’re not the type to give your heart so lightly, are you?”
At least that much, Zenia knew about him.
“I know Your Majesty just as well as you know me.”
The Demon King looked at her as if he had plenty to say. Worried he might throw her out, Zenia hurriedly opened her mouth.
“It seems Marquis Lerajie isn’t here. Did you send him on an errand?”
“Yes.”
“To gather information like yesterday?”
“And to take care of that bastard from the day before.”
“That bastard… a comrade?”
She had barely managed to push Lumiere out of her thoughts, and yet, uselessly, something about him had come up again. Zenia let out a long sigh.
“Why?” the Demon King asked.
“He was dragged off to the temple earlier.”
“And you just stood by and watched?”
The Demon King must have had the same question as she did. Why had Lumiere let the temple officials go?
Thinking the same thing, Zenia shot back,
“What else was I supposed to do?”
“Hm.”
The Demon King stared at her for a long moment, making a strange sound, then turned away without another word.
Unable to bear the anticlimactic reaction, Zenia asked,
“That’s it?”
“What more should I do?”
Shouldn’t he be warning her not to meet with her companion here, questioning her motives, threatening her to keep quiet—something?
“How long are you going to let this slide?”
“As long as they don’t strike first, I can overlook it.”
Since when had he become so generous?
Neither the Demon King nor Lumiere made any sense to her.
“And if they do strike?”
“I’ll think about that when the time comes.”
“What?”
Despite Zenia’s incredulous response, the Demon King remained indifferent.
“If you don’t want to be thrown out, keep your mouth shut and stay quiet.”
Her lips, which had been moving restlessly, snapped shut.
There were so many things she wanted to ask, but lacking the confidence to be alone with Lumiere, Zenia let her body go slack and leaned back into the sofa.
As long as they were staying at the same inn, the time Zenia could avoid Lumiere was limited.
‘Still, I didn’t expect to run into him like this.’
As Lumiere entered the Demon King’s room with Lerajie, Zenia hurried over to his side.
She was startled, but more than that, she was worried something might have happened.
Lerajie exchanged a glance of greeting with Zenia before approaching the Demon King. Watching him walk away, Zenia whispered softly,
“Did Marquis Lerajie call you?”
“Yes.”
She asked as if nothing had happened on purpose. Lumiere, too, treated her as usual.
Which meant he had brought her over while holding her hand.
Zenia didn’t shake him off and sat down on the sofa with him.
When she stole a glance at him, she found him looking at her as well.
After hesitating briefly, Zenia moved her lips.
‘Let’s talk in the room later.’
No matter how she thought about it, what had happened earlier couldn’t just be ignored. Now that she had calmed down somewhat beside the Demon King, she needed to talk about it.
As if reading her lips, Lumiere slowly nodded.
Just making that promise eased her heart. But that comfort shattered at Lerajie’s next words.
“A rumor that the Hero has died is spreading all over the capital.”
Zenia’s head snapped toward Lerajie in shock. At his words, the Demon King looked at him with keen interest.
“Oh?”
He let out a short laugh and asked,
“Do we know who started it?”
“It appears to have come from the imperial family.”
What? Zenia flinched, and Lumiere patted the back of her hand as if to reassure her.
Unable to look at him, she gripped his hand tightly.
Meanwhile, the Demon King and Lerajie continued their conversation.
“And the temple?”
“They have an ‘it was bound to happen’ atmosphere. It seems the rumor was already circulating within the temple as well.”
“Can we confirm whether he’s truly dead?”
He asked that so smoothly, even though he knew full well. Zenia barely held back a curse.
“It’s certain he hasn’t shown himself for over a month.”
“Hm.”
After casting Zenia a meaningful glance, the Demon King looked away again.
“Fine. We’ll leave that matter for now.”
That’s it?
A rumor was spreading that the Hero—Lumiere—was dead, and that was all?
Zenia finally couldn’t hold back and looked up at Lumiere. When their eyes met, he moved only his lips, just as she had earlier.
‘Let’s talk in the room.’
Right. They had promised to talk. For now, they needed to focus on Lerajie’s report.
With a snap of his fingers, Lerajie handed a document to the Demon King.
Flipping through the pages carelessly, the Demon King asked,
“What else?”
“The schedule is likely to change, now that the rumor has spread. I’ll inform you once it’s finalized. And the portrait is here.”
What’s that? As Zenia stared curiously at the painting handed over, the Demon King waved his hand dismissively.
“Good work. You may leave.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
What was it? Wasn’t he going to tell her?
As she frowned at him, the Demon King, eyes fixed on the portrait, spoke.
“You stay. The one beside you can stay or leave.”
At that, Lumiere remained firmly in place.
What on earth was he about to say that required Lumiere to stay as well? Anxiety rose in her chest as the Demon King gave a mischievous smile.
“A grand event will soon be held at the temple.”
“…The Hero is supposedly dead.”
“All the more reason to hold it. And the entire royal family will attend.”
Was this the schedule the Demon King had been waiting for?
“And that will be our chance to enter the imperial palace.”
The Demon King handed Zenia the documents and the portrait.
“Read the documents later in your room—”
Lumiere, standing beside her, took the portrait instead. As Zenia examined it and her body stiffened, the Demon King burst into laughter.
‘So that’s why he said Lumiere could stay.’
His personality was truly awful.
Back in the room, Zenia lightly opened the conversation as Lumiere removed his mask.
“Isn’t it uncomfortable? The mask.”
Brushing his dazzling blond hair back with his hand, he replied,
“It’s fine. I’m used to it.”
“I forgot to mention—he knows it wasn’t Eligos who gave it to you.”
Zenia sighed, pointing at her hair.
“He said the hair color’s different.”
“What did he say?”
“Nothing much beyond that.”
After that, an awkward silence fell again. Not just what had happened that morning, but also what had taken place in the Demon King’s room weighed heavily on the atmosphere.
After hesitating, Zenia finally spoke, as if throwing caution to the wind.
“We said we’d talk, didn’t we?”
“Yes.”
“Shall we start with that?”
“Alright.”
This time, they had to talk properly—no more avoiding it.
“Let’s go over the events in order. Starting from how we first met.”
When she looked at him to confirm, Lumiere immediately began explaining.
“Did I mention there was an accident?”
“Yes.”
“That’s exactly what it was. The mage we saw yesterday went into mana rampage.”
“Mana rampage?”
“Do you know what that is?”
She couldn’t use magic, but she had seen and heard enough to know.
“It’s the same as what the demon realm calls mana overload. When a mage loses control.”
A rare phenomenon that occurs when a mage feels their life is in danger—losing control and either detonating the mana within their own body or drawing in surrounding mana to destroy everything nearby, friend or foe alike.
“Yes. That mage who was taken away today experienced mana rampage.”
Zenia recalled how perfectly fine the man had seemed and asked,
“Then why does he look so normal?”
If luck ran out, mana rampage twisted the body’s mana circuits beyond repair, and the mage usually died as soon as the rampage ended.
“No, more importantly, were you fighting demons again at the time?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
If it wasn’t a fight, what could possibly cause a mage to go into rampage? As Zenia frowned, Lumiere replied as if it were nothing.
“He ate something he shouldn’t have.”
What on earth did he eat to cause mana rampage? At the casual response, Zenia’s eyebrows shot up.
“Did he pick and eat poisonous herbs again, like before?”
If that were the case, she was fully prepared to smack that useless mouth of his for scavenging trash again. As her eyes flared, he quickly waved his hands.
“No, it wasn’t that.”
“Then what?”
She felt like she was going to explode from frustration. If only he would answer properly without being prompted. Narrowing her eyes, Zenia glared at Lumiere.
