Chapter 116
What’s this? For once he came up with a thoughtful idea… and then spoiled it with nonsense.
Ariella smirked at Ludwig.
“Regret? How could I? You were the only one who answered my summoning.”
“Hm.”
“Besides, we’ve met so many people since then—Philly, Grube, Richmond, Ulken, Geru, Cecile… and Pi too.”
All of them had become a big part of Ariella’s daily life.
She looked straight into Ludwig’s red eyes. Then, with a teasing smile, she raised a finger toward his face.
“And you.”
“…Me?”
“I think I was lucky. Out of all the Demon Kings, I got to form a contract with Ludwig.”
A flicker of emotion stirred in his eyes.
“Why?”
Ariella gave him a look that said, Isn’t it obvious?
“You’ve got unique powers no one else in the Demon Realm can imitate. You’re still young but already this strong. Just imagine how much stronger you’ll become.”
Her eyes gleamed with ambition.
“Better to invest in a promising horse that will only get faster, rather than one that’s already peaked and just waiting to get old, right?”
“…So now I’m not a Demon King, I’m a racehorse?”
Ariella laughed.
“No. I think you’re a fine Demon King.”
“…Huh?”
It was the first time he had heard such a compliment.
“Lately you really do seem like a ruler. You worry about your people. You’ve even started learning to read and write—though clumsily. You still have a long way to go, of course.”
Her voice softened.
“But you’re doing well.”
Ludwig stared at her smile.
To him, it felt like a promise—that everything would unfold as she planned, that she would truly build the prosperous nation she dreamed of.
Seeing that smile, Ludwig made up his mind.
If his contractor was working so hard, calculating and striving for the future, then he would fight just as fiercely—burning everything he had—
so he would never be ashamed to stand beside her.
Without realizing it, he spoke up.
“Ariella.”
“Yes?”
“Do you remember… what I said back on the deserted island?”
“What did you say?”
Just then—
“Ariellaaaaaa!”
A booming voice, followed by thud-thud-thud! of running steps.
From down the corridor, a golden whirlwind came racing toward them.
“Ariella! They stuck your room all the way in this corner, didn’t they? That’s dangerous if you’re alone! Don’t worry, I’ll stay with you!”
Ludwig ground his teeth.
“Alone? Am I invisible here? Damn reptile…”
But Ariella opened her arms with a bright smile and welcomed Pi, while Ludwig let out a silent sigh.
The little hatchling’s face was glowing with joy.
* * *
Schwarz’s chamber was quiet.
Before turning off the light, he stared for a long time at a perfume bottle on his desk.
Golden liquid shimmered inside the glass.
No strange effects, they said.
The best magicians had already tested it.
Without hesitation, he took one of the sticks and placed it in the bottle.
At once, a gentle fragrance spread through the room—
not too heavy, soft, strangely familiar.
He set it by his bedside, then slowly lay down.
Warm wind stirred.
The highest garden of the Demon King’s castle.
Schwarz turned his gaze. Blue vines, sunlight, leaves rustling in the breeze—
a silent space, free from machines and steel pipes.
And there, at a table, she sat.
Marianne.
Her silvery-blonde hair shimmered with faint violet under the sun.
Pale green-gray eyes, slender yet steady shoulders, a smile that warmed the heart.
“You’re a little late,” she said.
Schwarz sat down without a word. Marianne naturally held out a porcelain cup.
It was tea. He sipped it quietly.
“Perfect.”
A smile touched his lips—
not the polished one he had shown the southern guests earlier, but one with warmth and curve.
He chuckled.
“You used to brew the leaves like seaweed. So bitter it was undrinkable.”
His tone was light, one he rarely used these days even with aides like Echelon or Debel.
Marianne pursed her lips in mock offense.
“That’s harsh. How long ago was that? Imagine—someone who grew up in the human world never even touching tea, suddenly dragged into a Demon Lords’ tea party.”
“You went through a lot,” he said softly.
At those words of understanding, her expression eased.
“The tea parties weren’t so bad. It was harder to figure out your taste. You were so sensitive to scents.”
He laughed, raising his cup.
“Remember when Echelon panicked, saying it had to be poison, and stormed out?”
“And poor Debel, forced to swallow it all with a straight face.”
They both lifted their cups at almost the same time, like mirror images.
After centuries together, the Demon King and the human had grown to resemble one another.
Every afternoon at three, tea in the indoor garden—
their private tradition.
For a while, they simply sat there in silence. Not uncomfortable—only peaceful. Schwarz even savored it.
Ssshhh—
The breeze through the open window rustled the leaves.
Sunlight poured through the glass ceiling, warm on their teacups.
Marianne spoke first.
“Shouldn’t you return to your office? You’re usually busier. You’ve been sitting longer than usual today.”
He shook his head, gazing at her.
Then slowly, he raised a hand to her cheek.
Soft. Warm.
So real.
His lips moved.
“…I wanted to see you again. Even if only in a dream.”
Marianne lowered her eyes briefly, then met his gaze.
Her reply carried the weight of foreknowledge.
“This is the first… and the last, isn’t it?”
Schwarz closed his eyes in silent confirmation.
Even with his eyelids shut, the garden, Marianne, and himself remained clear.
Proof this was a dream.
“Yes. The last time.”
From the moment he used the dragon-fragrance, he had already decided.
Just once. Tonight only.
He had longed for it desperately, but…
In reality, Marianne had already left his side. Yet to him she remained the one person worth everything.
“Just once is enough.”
Not because the incense was dangerous, no matter what the magicians promised.
The danger was himself.
He didn’t want to live shackled to the past—
waiting for this dream every night, dragging through the day as an empty shell.
That wasn’t what the Marianne of his memories would have wanted.
“You understand, don’t you?”
Marianne nodded.
She leaned forward, pressing her smooth, unhorned forehead gently against his lips.
“Of course. After all we’ve shared, I can read your thoughts just by looking at your face.”
A Demon King’s contract with a human had an end.
No matter how long they stretched it, that fate would always come. Schwarz knew.
Knowing didn’t make it hurt any less.
“….”
Marianne closed her eyes. He sensed it through his own shut lids.
She spoke.
“Schwarz, I…”
The Demon King opened his eyes.
The room was still dark.
He sat up in silence.
A single tear traced his cheek before stopping.
Until morning came, Schwarz sat unmoving.
And when his servant knocked at the door, he removed the stick from the perfume bottle, sealed it inside a box, and handed it over.
A box he would never open again, by his own choice.
Ludwig stood before Ariella’s room.
After a full night’s rest, tonight they were to attend a welcome ball with their entire group.
“Ariella?”
The door was closed. From inside came lively voices—hers, Cecile’s, and Pi’s.
They gathered without me?
Normally, he wouldn’t care. But right now, it felt oddly like being left out.
He didn’t understand why it bothered him. He just pressed it down and knocked.
Knock, knock.
“Ariella, shall we go?”
“Ah, come in!”
He opened the door.
And froze.
“Ariella! You really surprised me!” Cecile was saying.
“Right?! You have to keep wearing that from now on!” Pi chimed in.
Between them stood their contractor.
“…Ah.”
So this is what it means to lose yourself in a moment.
Ludwig finally understood the phrase.
