<CHAPTER 24>
Cruel, But Not Heartless
Lucy’s eyes widened.
An engagement?
Did the Demon King have a fiancée?
She had never heard anything like that.
If what that woman says is true, then the Demon King already has a fiancée, yet he fell in love with a human woman…
It was a truly trashy romance.
No, wait.
If the Demon King really had a fiancée, there’s no way Herond would have stayed quiet all this time.
Lucy snapped herself back to attention.
Come to think of it, there had been countless impostors who had visited the Demon King’s Castle until now.
Redemberg Lu Edeltein’s alleged brothers, sisters, uncles, mothers, and even someone who claimed to be his daughter had appeared before.
Could Bella Adeline be the same kind of person?
– I told you to open this door right now!
There was only one answer Lucy could give.
“I’m sorry, but without the Demon King’s permission, I cannot open the door.”
– Can’t you understand what I’m saying?
– I’m the Demon King’s fiancée!
Bella finally revealed her true nature.
She raised her sharp nails and scraped the door with a harsh grating sound.
– Open the door!
– Open it!
– Open the door!
– Open it!
– Open the door!
But no matter how wildly she raged, the door wrapped in a barrier personally created by Redemberg Lu Edeltein did not budge at all.
Lucy took out the manual booklet and slowly read through it.
After quickly checking the entire manual, Lucy’s face crumpled into a troubled expression.
What should I do, Demon King?
There’s no response manual for when a crazy woman claiming to be the Demon King’s fiancée shows up…
* * *
There is an old saying.
If you stay still, at least you won’t be the worst.
So Lucy did nothing and quietly waited for Bella to leave.
From long experience, people who raged like that usually exhausted themselves and collapsed on their own.
– So you’re going to do this?
– Fine.
– I won’t move a single step from here until this door opens.
It was something she had heard countless times before, so Lucy did not take it seriously.
However, Bella’s persistence exceeded Lucy’s expectations.
Bella pulled out a blanket and spread it on the ground, then boldly lay down on it.
She even took out a pillow.
Demonkind overflowing with magical power could store objects in subspace.
Bella seemed to be a succubus with an extraordinary amount of magical power.
No matter what, who carries around a pillow and blanket?
Seeing Bella sprawled out as if it were her own bedroom, Lucy realized something.
Among all the demonkind she had dealt with so far, Bella ranked at the very top when it came to being unreasonable.
But Lucy was not an easy opponent either.
Thanks to the experience she had accumulated over time, Lucy’s ability to deal with unreasonable demonkind was unrivaled in the Demon Realm.
When facing a hopelessly unreasonable guest…
“I should probably get ready for bed soon.”
Ignoring them was the answer.
Lucy calmly returned to her room.
The night air of the Demon Realm was chilling to the bone.
So either that woman would give up and return home, or she would freeze to death.
Those were the only two possible endings.
I’m not going to end up cleaning up a frozen succubus tomorrow morning, am I?
She really did not want to deal with something that annoying.
I’ll leave it to Herond when he gets back.
Having devised her own solution, Lucy wrapped herself in a warm blanket inside her cozy room and soon fell asleep.
* * *
After flying through the night and arriving at the Demon King’s Castle, Herond landed while folding his tired wings.
Whew, I’m finally back.
As he was about to go inside, Herond tilted his head in confusion.
“Caw?”
What was that?
There was a lump of blankets in front of the castle gate.
More precisely, something was tightly wrapped up in blankets.
From the gaps between the rolled fabric, strands of what looked like red hair were sticking out.
Around the blankets lay numerous corpses of monsters, as if they had been brutally slaughtered.
Judging by the fact that the blood had not completely dried yet, it seemed a major commotion had taken place here overnight.
Herond frowned.
Who dumped corpses here?
Who would dare abandon bodies in front of the Demon King’s Castle?
What kind of reckless demon would do something like this?
As Herond, who had taken human form for cleanup, approached…
Swoosh—
A black tendril shot out from between the blankets and wrapped tightly around Herond’s neck.
“Ghk!”
“Oh?”
“What’s this?”
“It’s you, Herond.”
Bella peeked her head out and waved at Herond.
“Long time no see, Herond.”
“Ah, sorry.”
“I forgot to loosen my tail.”
Bella smiled coyly as she relaxed the tail that had been choking Herond.
“Cough!
Cough!”
Herond gasped for air, coughing violently as he sucked in breath.
“Still weak.”
“Is it because you’re such a pathetic crow?”
“I really don’t know why Redemberg keeps someone like you by his side.”
Herond ground his teeth and glared at Bella.
“Why are you here!”
“Why else?”
“I came to see my lovely darling.”
“I nearly froze to death last night.”
Bella slowly rubbed her arms and shivered dramatically.
Despite claiming she almost froze to death, she looked far too healthy.
Herond snorted inwardly.
As if.
You were probably protecting yourself with magic the whole time.
She was shameless beyond belief.
Herond looked closely at Bella, whom he had not seen in a long time.
True to her nature as a succubus who seduced others and fed on their vitality, she possessed a slender yet captivating body.
Her slightly upturned eyes gave her a catlike, coy atmosphere, and her full lips were undeniably alluring.
But within her bright yellow eyes lurked a viciousness, like that of a snake watching its prey.
What a venomous woman.
“So where is my darling?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“How cold.”
“Surely you can tell me that much, given our relationship.”
“What relationship?”
“Stop talking nonsense and leave.”
“Have you forgotten what His Majesty said?”
“Of course not.”
“I remember every word my lovely Redy said.”
“The last thing he said was, ‘If you bother me again, it won’t end with just one wing.’”
Bella lightly fluttered the wing that still bore a torn scar.
“That just made me like Redy even more.”
“I like strong men.”
“You don’t love His Majesty.”
“You’re just after his magical power.”
Magical power inherited from parents was passed down to children.
When two demonkind with strong magical power married, their child was highly likely to be born with powerful magic as well.
And in rare cases, a child could even be born with slightly greater power than their parents.
Because of this, what most demonkind valued most in a marriage partner was their magical power.
Everyone who had approached Redemberg Lu Edeltein with marriage in mind belonged to that category.
“That’s right.”
“So what?”
Bella shrugged.
“The weak are weeded out, and only the strong survive.”
“That’s the law of nature.”
“Love is nothing more than an illusion for fools.”
She declared it confidently.
“In the end, the one who will remain by Redy’s side is me.”
“I’m the perfect partner to stand beside him.”
She wasn’t wrong.
Bella Adeline was the masterpiece born of the incubus once ranked second strongest in the Demon Realm and the Succubus Queen.
Her mother had been cruel.
Each time she gave birth, she measured the child’s magical power, and if it did not meet her standard, she absorbed it.
The amount of magic parents could pass down was limited, and she saw no reason to waste it.
Children who had their magic drained quickly grew weak and died.
But she did not care.
Because after countless deaths, the result that satisfied her—Bella—was born.
She even took pride in the deaths of the children sacrificed along the way.
“You and Redy are the same.”
“We’re here because of our siblings’ deaths.”
“We’re alike.”
“Perfect monsters created through countless sacrifices.”
“That’s why only I can understand him.”
Herond clenched his teeth and shouted.
“Don’t spout such nonsense!”
“His Majesty is nothing like you!”
The demonkind called Redemberg Lu Edeltein a cold and cruel Demon King with no blood or tears.
“His Majesty, I am nothing but a useless crow.”
“Someone as weak as me will only be a burden if I stay by your side.”
“So?”
“What?”
“I’m keeping you here.”
“Do you have a problem with that?”
“Ah, no.”
“That’s not it, but…”
“Enough nonsense.”
“Go fetch some water.”
He was strong toward the strong, but warm toward the weak.
He crushed those who challenged his authority with force, yet showed mercy to the weak.
Cruel, but not heartless.
That was why Herond followed Redemberg Lu Edeltein with all his heart.
“His Majesty does not trample the weak to climb higher!”
“He looks at essence, not appearances!”
“You will never understand His Majesty!”
Bella blinked her bright yellow eyes and tilted her head.
She soon brushed back her cascading red hair and burst into laughter.
“Ahahaha!”
“What’s wrong with you, Herond?”
“Did something happen to your head?”
“Spouting sentimental nonsense like a human.”
“Well, I guess it can’t be helped.”
“You’re weak, after all.”
“…Yes.”
“I’m weak.”
“But when it comes to His Majesty, I know him better than anyone.”
“I’ve been by his side far longer than you.”
Bella’s lips twisted.
The smile vanished completely from her bright yellow eyes as she glared sharply at Herond.
“I let you slide for too long.”
“Now you don’t even know your place.”
In an instant, a chilling aura spread.
Red magical power gathered at the tips of Bella’s sharp nails.
A violently swirling mass of magic rushed toward Herond.
At that moment…
Whoosh!
“Y-Your Majesty!”
Redemberg Lu Edeltein appeared in an instant and stepped in front of Herond.
