CHAPTER 03
She’d been happy about getting off work early, but it seemed she’d celebrated far too soon.
Close to midnight, Xenia was summoned by the Demon King.
“So inconsiderate.”
The Demon King likely had no interest in how cruel it was to call back someone who had already clocked out.
Xenia smoothed the expression that had twisted in frustration, swallowed a sigh, and opened the familiar door. Then, at the sight of the Demon King, she bit her lip.
Two horns had sprouted from his head, and demonic energy seeped out in slow waves.
As her skin prickled painfully where it brushed against that power, Xenia was dragged back into the past in an instant.
A blinding flash above the head of a child drawing lines in the dirt to pass the time, followed by a thunderous roar that shook the earth. A man standing behind her as she clutched her ringing ears—black wings spread wide.
Those crimson eyes gleaming ominously beneath a savage gaze, and the large hand reaching out toward her—
“You’re here?”
Xenia snapped back to the present. For a moment, she could almost still see the black wings not yet fully unfurled behind him, and the ruins of a collapsed temple.
But the agitation didn’t last long.
“You called for me?”
She had lived in the demon realm for ten years now. If she reacted emotionally every time she saw that sight, she would never have blended into the Demon King’s castle the way she had.
Nor would she have been able to work so casually in his office while waiting for his eventual end.
“Come closer.”
Ignoring the instinct screaming at her to run, Xenia stepped toward the Demon King. Wearing the practiced mask of a seasoned maid, she looked at his clothes, torn nearly in half.
“What happened to your clothes this time?”
Normally, the Demon King had no trouble controlling his strength. Ending up like this was unusual.
“Isn’t tearing clothes better than destroying a room?”
Since when had he ever listened so well to Eligos? Xenia suppressed a scoff and replied,
“A little stress relief is fine, but clothes with lots of buttons are a pain to clean up afterward.”
“You just find it annoying.”
If he knew that, she wished he wouldn’t do things like this. Xenia narrowed her eyes at the buttons scattered around her feet.
Did some roll under the desk too?
Instead of complaining aloud, she turned around, brought over a fresh set of clothes, and handed them to him. Taking the ruined garments—barely fit to be rags—she asked,
“Just in case, you’re not injured anywhere, are you?”
“No.”
He wasn’t stupid enough to vent his anger until he hurt himself, so the question had been meaningless anyway.
While he changed, Xenia pulled over the formal uniform from the corner of the room and fell into thought.
The horns on the Demon King’s head, the red envelope, the long meeting earlier. Putting it all together led to a single conclusion.
“So the battle’s being held after all.”
A battle—an absurdly crude method used in the demon realm to preserve the number of nobles famed for their strength.
Under the Demon King’s supervision, any injury short of death was permitted, making it a thoroughly barbaric way to resolve disputes.
As Xenia helped him into the uniform, the Demon King answered,
“The duke requested it.”
The black uniform trimmed with gold thread fit his body perfectly. And, of course, it had an excessive number of buttons.
Naturally, Xenia’s hands were far faster than his large ones.
She quickly fastened the buttons, tugged at his sleeves, checked that every gold button was secure, and stepped back.
“Are you leaving right away?”
“Yes.”
“How long will it take?”
Fights between demons—especially nobles—rarely ended in a day or two.
“If I endure it well, a week.”
The answer was more than satisfying. Whatever her true feelings, Xenia smiled as if nothing were amiss.
The Demon King being away for a whole week meant one thing: her holiday was about to begin.
“I see.”
But apparently, her thoughts were written all over her face. The Demon King clicked his tongue, clearly displeased.
“You look happy.”
“That can’t be true.”
Xenia replied smoothly, pure pretense.
“Shall I prepare some work in advance?”
She met his crimson gaze head-on and smiled brightly.
“…No need.”
Perfect. This is going to be a flawless holiday.
Xenia didn’t even try to hide her delight anymore and clapped her hands.
“Then I’ll just tidy up a bit and head back.”
Without a word, the Demon King turned around and spread his black wings wide. Wings twice the size of her body beat once, sending a violent gust through the room.
Her smile vanished as the papers on the desk scattered in every direction, as if joyfully fleeing to freedom.
Was that spite?
Otherwise, there was no reason for him to spread his wings inside the room instead of going out to the terrace. He’d had those wings his entire life—there was no way he didn’t know how strong the wind would be.
She’d said she’d clean up before leaving, and he’d only created more work.
You damned bird bastard.
While she cursed internally, the Demon King calmly took off through the open window and vanished.
“Hah…”
Letting out a hollow laugh as she surveyed the wrecked room, Xenia sank to the floor and began picking up papers, consoling herself with thoughts of her upcoming holiday.
Finding a few buttons under the desk was a small gain, but it didn’t bring much joy.
Taking a page from her superior’s pettiness, she decided not to bother sticking her hand further under the desk to check for more.
As she stacked the scattered documents back onto the desk, her gaze naturally fell to the signature at the bottom.
Marbas
King of the demon realm. Her boss. And someday, the demon who would be defeated by the hero.
Xenia stared at the name with cool detachment until her eyes felt dry. Only then did she check the time and leave the room. It was already far past her usual bedtime.
“At least one whole day of just sleeping.”
As she stepped out, Xenia resolved to enjoy her sudden holiday to the fullest.
But plans and reality rarely align.
She’d sworn she would rest—so how had things ended up like this?
Sighing at the sight before her, Xenia slowly retraced her steps in her mind.
There had been no problem while she walked through the dark corridors—she wasn’t afraid of the dark.
But the moment she entered her room, she’d felt something off.
What is it?
At a glance, nothing looked different. Yet the instant she stepped inside, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
The room lay silent, save for the sound of wind slipping through an open window.
…An open window?
Xenia narrowed her eyes and stared at the slightly ajar window.
I didn’t leave that open.
Then had someone broken in? Who?
She couldn’t think of anyone who openly hated her—but it would be foolish to assume she had no enemies at all.
Run.
She had no concrete proof, but she decided to trust her instincts. Keeping her eyes on the room, Xenia carefully stepped backward.
There was no sound as she slowly pulled the door open. Once outside, she planned to run straight to Eligos.
She would have—if not for the brightly gleaming blond hair visible through the window.
Blond hair?
Now that it was clear someone was hiding on the terrace, she should have felt fear or shock. Instead, her heart began to race with anticipation.
Xenia stared blankly at the blond hair that captured her gaze.
She didn’t know why, but she felt compelled to confirm who its owner was.
Blond hair shining brilliantly even beneath the demon realm’s night sky, lit by a red moon unlike that of the human world. It looked exactly like the hair described in rumors.
Hair more dazzling than starlight…
A voice she’d once heard echoed in her mind.
And so, though it was truly insane, Xenia pushed the door she’d been holding shut back closed.
Click.
With the sound of the lock engaging, her chance to flee disappeared. Ignoring that, she slowly walked toward the window.
Rustle.
Her clothes brushed together as her heart pounded so hard it felt ready to burst from her chest. The closer she got to the terrace, the stronger the pounding became.
Biting down on her lip, Xenia slowly reached out. And the moment she opened the terrace door, someone inside the room collapsed straight to the floor.
“Ah.”
He was a man who suited radiant blond hair perfectly. So beautiful that even Xenia—long accustomed to the refined looks of nobles—froze at the sight of him.
His clothes were soaked in blood, his face splattered with it, yet none of that mattered. His face was overwhelming enough to eclipse everything else.
But what truly rooted Xenia in place was the lightning-like realization that struck the instant she saw him.
The hero was in her room.
Rumors about the hero had begun circulating around this time two years ago.
“They say the hero’s appeared.”
“The hero?”
The source, shamelessly enough, was a group of servants slacking off in the middle of the grand first-floor hall. Xenia, who had been walking past them, sharply inhaled at the unbelievable word.
“Don’t you know the prophecy? The one that’s super famous in the human world.”
The prophecy. Could the hero they spoke of really be the hero she had been waiting for all this time?
“I don’t.”
“Basically, it says a human will appear who can defeat His Majesty.”
“Talk nonsense.”
Several servants burst out laughing. But Xenia didn’t hear their mockery at all.
“You should believe it. I heard nobles talking about it.”
“Which noble?”
“Marquis Leraje. They say he’s come down with lovesickness because of the hero’s looks.”
“…What?”
“They say he’s so beautiful it takes your breath away the moment you see him. Flashy looks, great body, too—”
“Hey, is that really what matters right now?”
It didn’t matter. Xenia didn’t care whether the hero was ugly or handsome. Just knowing the hero had appeared felt like gaining the entire world.
“How is that not important? It’s extremely important!”
“…Is it?”
