CHAPTER 12
How did Dracon introduce Ares again? I can’t remember.
But really, he said he was embarrassed?
‘Where did he even learn such slang from commoners?’
Lette let out a faint groan and rubbed her forehead.
“Duke, how exactly did you teach him etiquette?”
Minte scoffed at Lette’s mumbling.
“Do you really think he even knows what etiquette is?”
It seemed the Duke’s family had completely let the child run wild.
But more important than his choice of words was something else:
The fact that regret was now beginning to show in the boy’s eyes.
“Even when we first met, and now, when I kept saying nothing…”
“Ah…”
“I didn’t know what to do.”
“……”
“But I didn’t mean to go that far…”
Ares bit his lip and cleared his throat. He looked like he was about to cry out of shame but was holding it in out of pride.
“Sor—rry.”
But Ares had already broken down.
Pushing him any further would be too cruel.
“…Alright. I’m sorry for hitting you too, Ares.”
I smiled and reached my hand out to him.
‘Phew, that should do it.’
Ares hesitated with a bright red face, then firmly grabbed my hand.
His hand, slightly bigger than mine, was soft and warm. It felt nice.
My old habits kicked in, and I found myself scolding him like a grown-up.
“Later, you have to apologize to Minte and Lette too!”
“…Okay.”
“Oh, and one more thing!”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t make fun of my name.”
Ares pouted at my request.
So fast to recover his energy—impressive.
“But it’s really hard to say. It’s long.”
At that, Lette gritted her teeth and muttered:
“Then you should just call her ‘Princess’…!”
Ah… Poor Lette, but I agreed with Ares on this one.
‘Elysion’ was a beautiful name.
But it felt too grand to be called all the time.
‘More than anything, it feels like I stole it from someone else.’
All this beauty and warmth was meant for the “Demon Princess.”
Yet the saint of the Divine Kingdom had taken it—it was ridiculous.
Maybe I could shorten the name a bit.
“…Just call me Sion, then.”
“Sion?”
“Yeah. Just Sion.”
“Sion…”
Ares’s embarrassment faded, and another emotion sparkled in his eyes.
I flinched at the look.
‘What emotion is that…?’
It didn’t seem like a look a child would usually have… Eh, he’s just a kid anyway.
Ares gripped my hand tighter.
“No take-backs.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Sion, I’m sor—eh, ahem, sorry.”
“Hehe. Thank y—”
Drip.
Something started dripping from my nose.
And because I’d opened my mouth, the nosebleed went straight in.
“Ugh. Ew…”
Even though I pinched my nose, there was nothing I could do about what had already gone into my mouth.
“Sion?!”
“P-Princess!”
“Get the royal physician! Now, quickly!”
Ah… seriously.
Just when I thought I had solved one problem, my body gave out.
At this rate, my second life might end soon from blood loss alone.
* * *
The Ismenios territory in the north of Tartarus was usually quite peaceful.
Aside from the occasional dragon burning down the forest, it was livable.
“What in the world happened, Phobos?!”
But one day, the former Duke’s furious roar echoed through the manor.
Everyone in the mansion held their breath at the heavy pressure.
Phobos, bearing the brunt of that fury, stood motionless.
“Ares harmed the Princess? Before Erebus no less—how dare he!”
“Ares lost control, Father.”
The former Duchess gasped in worry.
A mana outburst was a disaster that occurred when a demon was pushed into a corner.
And the stronger the demon, the worse the aftermath.
“Ares lost control and summoned fire that not even the marquis’ knights could stop. In the process, Princess Elysion…”
Phobos ran a hand roughly through his hair.
The Princess, once clinging to Erebus.
A baby who looked exactly like an old friend.
‘And now she can’t even use her mana properly?!’
At this point, Ares’s mana outburst seemed the most likely cause.
‘If not that… then what on earth is blocking the Princess’s mana?’
Just then, the former Duchess’s trembling voice cut through Phobos’s tangled thoughts.
“So… what did Erebus say? The punishment…?”
“We’ve avoided punishment on the entire family.”
“As expected! Thanks to your loyalty over the years…”
“However, Ares will be sent to serve under Sir Epikus.”
“What are you saying!”
“Until his sins are absolved, he’ll train as a squire under the Princess’s palace guard.”
The former Duke was speechless.
“Sir Epikus’s skill, sure, but sending him as a squire to the marquis instead of using our own knights?!”
“Father. This is an extremely lenient judgment.”
The Duke held his forehead, but Phobos’s face remained cold.
‘If the Princess hadn’t survived…’
If he hadn’t warned Erebus of his brother’s powers in advance—
No one could have stopped the Demon King’s wrath.
Phobos walked with heavy steps toward Ares’s room.
‘…This brat is still my precious little brother.’
Though their parents had spoiled him too much, even Phobos himself had coddled Ares.
Proud and passionate like fire—Ares was the most demon-like of all demons.
When Phobos entered the room, Ares was waiting with a serious face.
‘Surprising. This kid didn’t even make excuses at the palace.’
Ares pouted slightly, reading his brother’s expression.
‘I didn’t mean to upset the Princess. I really just…’
He had counted down the days to meet Elysion.
Tartarus had been full of hardship—his mother’s death, the war with Halkion…
But then, the Princess had miraculously awakened from her coma.
The nobles all hoped to see her even once.
‘So I wanted to see her too.’
He wanted to find out if she was someone better than him.
Ares had always been gifted with fire.
Even without that, he was quick and fearless—even with Dracon.
All the nearby noble kids were cowards.
Even when they cried and ran, Ares never shed tears.
His parents were strict, but his siblings all adored him.
Yet sometimes, he felt a fluttering emptiness in his chest.
A feeling that made everything seem meaningless.
‘What was that feeling? That hollow ache…’
If he had been a little more mature, he’d know it was loneliness.
So one evening, whenever the family talked about the Princess—
He started listening closely.
‘Why is she so important? Is she really that special?’
As special as him?
Or even more?
‘Is she someone who can quiet that fluttering feeling inside me…?’
Since then, Ares sang the same tune every day:
“Brother, I want to meet Princess Elysion.”
“What? You think she’s a dragon in the front yard or something?”
“Come oooon, I really want to meet her!”
“You little brat!”
Eventually, his wish came true.
When Ares was invited to be the Princess’s playmate, he pretended not to care—but he was thrilled.
His heart pounded the entire way there.
Then he saw her, peeking out from Erebus’s arms—platinum hair like a doll.
‘So small… is she even real? Can she even run?’
She looked like she’d cry the moment a dragon got close.
But when he met those turquoise eyes, he couldn’t look away.
If someone told him to stare into those eyes forever, he thought he could do it gladly.
At least, until Phobos embarrassed him in front of her.
