CHAPTER 27………………………………………………….
The best course of action was to bring the hero into the imperial family.
But if his daughter failed to capture the hero until the very end…
If I can’t have him, then I’ll kill him.
The Emperor raised the corner of his lips in a cold smile as he looked at the Saintess’s indifferent face.
“For now, the imperial family will cooperate as well.”
“If that is what you wish.”
Of course, before putting anything into action, there was something he needed to confirm first.
“Saintess. You lived as the hero’s mother for ten years, didn’t you?”
He needed to know what the hero meant to her, and how severe the aftermath would be if the hero had to be killed.
“…Does it not bother you?”
It wasn’t just a day or two—more than a month had passed with no news.
The hero—your son—might already be dead. And you feel nothing?
At the question, the Saintess blinked slowly after staring at the Emperor for a moment.
“If I felt nothing, I wouldn’t be searching for him.”
That wasn’t the answer he wanted. The Emperor frowned.
“You know that isn’t what I meant.”
“Then what kind of answer do you want?”
Her eyes seemed to say, If you have a desired response, then speak it.
The Emperor fell silent.
Cold, dry eyes—completely devoid of emotion.
He stared into them for a long while, searching for any hidden meaning, before smiling softly.
“No… I’ve gotten my answer. I’ll be going now.”
Even as the Emperor abruptly ended the conversation, the Saintess only gave a slight nod.
“Take care on your way out.”
“Yes, yes.”
Leaving behind the untouched teacup, the Emperor exited the drawing room. Once he climbed into his carriage, ignoring the priests seeing him off, he clicked his tongue.
“The mother of humanity… what a joke.”
The woman who raised the hero destined to save mankind, guided by the will of God.
That was the title the Saintess earned after revealing the hero’s existence through prophecy and finding him in reality.
Kind, gentle, reaching out a hand to anyone—our beloved Saintess.
The Emperor’s lips twisted as he recalled the praises people sang of her.
“She is the last person who deserves to be called a mother.”
As the Emperor sneered with venom, his aide, who had been quietly bowing before him, asked:
“What shall we do?”
The Emperor watched the temple grow smaller in the distance and ordered:
“Keep a close eye on the temple’s movements. See if they’re hiding anything else.”
This time, they had noticed what the temple concealed quickly—but there was no guarantee they would next time.
They needed to plant more of their people inside the temple.
And most importantly…
“We must find him first.”
To prepare for every possibility, they had to locate the hero before anyone else.
“It’ll be easier to kill him while he’s still missing.”
Temple. Imperial family.
Whoever found the hero first would regain control.
A rest day that came once a week.
For the first time in a while, Xenya began her morning leisurely, free from the pressure of time—until a hand tapped her shoulder.
She turned around to see Lumiere smiling brightly as he held up the book she had been reading.
Xenya looked down at it, confused.
“Why?”
“Look here.”
She followed where his finger pointed.
“Your name is written here.”
“…It is.”
Half amused, half wondering so what?, Xenya nodded awkwardly.
But Lumiere was grinning as if he’d made an incredible discovery.
Seeing how happy he looked, she couldn’t bring herself to dampen the mood.
She forced a small smile, and Lumiere’s grin widened even more as he closed the book and stepped closer.
Suddenly, so close at her side, Xenya almost stepped back, but held herself still and asked:
“Why?”
“Because I just want to be next to you.”
“Ah… okay.”
“How has work been lately?”
“The same as always. Organizing documents, serving tea…”
His sparkling gaze made her feel like she had to add something more.
“And tying hair up, too.”
“…Tying hair?”
For a moment, his neat eyes seemed to crease slightly, though they remained gentle.
Xenya answered carefully.
“He can’t tie his hair by himself.”
“That’s… pretty stupid.”
Ah. This time it wasn’t her imagination.
As she stared at his twisted mouth, Lumiere lifted a few strands of her short hair.
“Should I grow mine out too?”
The hair slipped softly from his fingers as he narrowed his eyes and ruffled it again.
Nothing would really look bad on that face, but still…
“…Why?”
“Just… I want to try tying it up too.”
It seemed he’d never done it before.
If his hair grew longer, would Xenya end up having to deal with it?
Ridiculous.
Lumiere wouldn’t stay in the Demon King’s castle that long.
He couldn’t.
“If you want to grow it out, I won’t stop you.”
It was his own hair, after all.
“Do you like short hair or long hair better?”
As he asked, Lumiere naturally wrapped his hand around her wrist.
Since revealing his identity, the biggest change in Lumiere was his constant physical closeness.
It had started in earnest a few days ago when they ate stew together.
At first it was awkward, but after it kept happening, she’d begun to just accept it.
Is it a habit? Or… is this some kind of seduction tactic?
He was still subtly trying to extract information from her.
Maybe that was why he asked such pointless questions, too.
Looking down at his thumb gently rubbing her wrist bone, Xenya answered:
“If I had to choose… short hair.”
“Hmm. Then I’ll just leave it.”
He backed off as if it didn’t matter, confirming he hadn’t truly cared about hair length.
Just as she thought that, Lumiere suddenly jumped up, grabbed a comb from the vanity, and held it out to her as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
“…Why?”
She took it automatically, but had no idea what he wanted.
Was this some sophisticated insult, like you look awful, fix yourself?
She glanced at his face, but he was smiling brightly, with no trace of negativity.
Then what…
As she tried to figure it out, Lumiere smiled sheepishly.
“Comb my hair too.”
“…What?”
She repeated it, even though she understood, because it was too absurd.
But Lumiere was shameless.
“My hair.”
Xenya stared at his golden blond hair, like melted gold.
It was still short, though slightly longer than when he first arrived.
And he wanted her to comb it?
She could, but…
Why?
Was this just an extension of their earlier conversation?
Xenya looked between the comb and Lumiere.
“How about doing it yourself?”
“I want you to do it.”
He didn’t hesitate.
Hadn’t he just called it stupid not to be able to tie your own hair?
The words Are you joking? rose to her throat.
But those calm blue eyes made it impossible to refuse.
With a deep sigh, Xenya gave him her chair and moved behind him.
Then she began combing through his thick, flawless hair, not a single tangle in sight.
As she did, Lumiere continued:
“What do you usually do on your days off?”
“I read, or I go visit Beef.”
“That head chef? You’re close with him.”
She knew it wouldn’t help the hero’s opinion of her to admit friendship with demons…
But she didn’t deny it.
“Well… yes.”
“You said you’ve been in the Demon King’s castle for ten years. When did you become friends?”
“Hmm. About a month and a week after I arrived.”
“That’s very specific.”
“Exactly one month after I was kidnapped, the Demon King came to see me. He realized my ability was more useless than he expected… and lost interest.”
The annoyance and faint curiosity in his red eyes.
How lukewarm. Still… it’d be a waste to kill her.
And then, whimsy.
“So the servants lost interest in me too. After that, I got hungry and started working.”
“…They starved you?”
Lumiere turned in shock, but Xenya pushed his head forward again, pretending she hadn’t finished combing.
“I’ve told you before—the servants here are lazy.”
She didn’t want him to see her expression.
“No one takes care of someone they decide isn’t important.”
Demons hadn’t changed. Not then, not now.
“Anyway, while I was helping with chores, Eligos found out within a few days.”
Elegant shoes stopping in front of her as she crouched on the floor gripping a filthy rag.
“Why are you doing this work?”
The sigh that escaped when she claimed there was nothing in her room.
“Eligos knew exactly what the servants were like.”
Even if he ordered them to treat her well, he knew this would happen again.
“So he just made me a servant officially. Honestly, I was only ten. Even as a servant, there wasn’t much I could do.”
What could you possibly demand from a child who couldn’t even use half the strength of demons?
