Chapter 3………………………………………………………..
The Human Realm
Zenya rubbed her eyes hastily. But no matter how much she rubbed, the man in front of her did not disappear.
“Zenya.”
She parted her lips, astonished, as she watched Lumière approach her as if it were perfectly natural.
“W-why are you out here?”
Zenya quickly assessed Lumière. He was wearing the robe he had given her before, but his arrogant face was completely unobscured.
After scanning the surroundings swiftly, Zenya tensed her stiffened body and strode toward Lumière.
She tugged on the hat perched on his forehead and exclaimed sharply:
“What on earth is this?!”
Her mind went blank with a mix of shock and surprise, and Lumière bowed his head slightly.
Zenya, nearly bumping noses at the sudden closeness, frowned and pulled back. She asked Lumière, who was smiling gently, with a crooked expression:
“Why are you smiling?”
“Just… I’m happy to see you come out to greet me.”
The casual answer almost made her snort with disbelief. Zenya looked up at him silently, and Lumière blinked once.
“Don’t worry. I didn’t run into any other demons.”
Squinting skeptically, Zenya felt Lumière wrap an arm around her shoulder.
“What is this?”
Although he held her hand often, this was the first time he had put an arm around her shoulder. Zenya panicked, and Lumière gestured toward the side corridor.
“Someone’s coming.”
Her heart plummeted to her toes. Zenya held her breath, anxiously watching the hallway.
“What are we going to do?”
If he came out here, he must have a plan.
Lumière smiled faintly at her question and led her behind a large statue along the corridor, hiding their bodies.
“Don’t move.”
Zenya was pressed between his body and the wall, breathing shallowly. His breath was so close that she could feel it ruffling the hair on the top of her head.
How long did they wait? Zenya, straining her ears, frowned at the absence of any sound.
‘Could he have lied?’
The thought brought to mind Lumière’s earlier words that he liked her.
She blinked in disbelief, and then she began to hear small voices:
“…Okay? Then tomorrow…”
If she had spoken immediately, it would have been embarrassing. Despite her attempts to act indifferent, she realized she had been paying close attention to Lumière’s words.
But even at this distance, couldn’t they just return to her room?
“We’ll win for sure!”
“What do you know? I trained a lot this time!”
“You’re ridiculous. You can’t even keep up.”
“Hey! If you get caught, you’ll die!”
The servants’ childish banter gradually faded into the distance.
After confirming they had gone, Zenya pushed Lumière and looked at him suspiciously.
But Lumière didn’t seem to notice her gaze; he just smiled innocently.
Of course, Zenya no longer trusted that sweet-looking face… but she didn’t want to make a scene over something uncertain.
‘I can’t let him know I’m worried.’
At the moment, returning to her room safely was more important than uncovering the truth. Zenya grabbed Lumière’s sleeve.
“Let’s go back to our room first and talk.”
Lumière, reluctantly being dragged, twisted her hand to hold it and said:
“We’ll know if someone comes. There’s no need to rush.”
She had just seen that herself, but Zenya didn’t slow down.
Even so, they were deep in enemy territory. Standing in the middle of the corridor like this was madness.
“Alright, but we should still be as careful as possible.”
“Then it’s better to go a little slower.”
Slower…? Zenya narrowed her eyes at Lumière, confused.
“…Wait, someone’s coming?”
“Earlier, we had a visitor in the room. So I slipped out to the terrace for a moment.”
“What did you say?”
What was he talking about now?
“It seemed like a servant. They kept calling for you, waiting for the door to be opened. Being inside and getting noticed would be troublesome.”
“So you came out to avoid being seen?”
Lumière answered calmly:
“I also wanted to come out and greet you, Zenya.”
Zenya awkwardly turned her head. Why did he have to make things complicated by liking her? There didn’t seem to be any special reason.
Wouldn’t it have been better if he just handled the Demon Lord and parted ways neatly with her?
His raw honesty was selfish and shameless. But since Lumière didn’t know limits either, she decided not to feel guilty.
“Alright.”
Zenya stepped forward again, and Lumière stood by her side.
“You’re angry, right? About what happened in the garden.”
Now he brings it up? Zenya didn’t even look at him and replied:
“I’d be lying if I said I’m not.”
“I don’t want to apologize.”
She hadn’t expected an apology anyway, but his confidence still made her flinch.
Zenya stiffened her neck and pretended nothing was wrong.
“Fine. Don’t apologize.”
They walked silently down the corridor for a long while. After a few rounds guided by Lumière, Zenya stopped at the entrance to the hallway leading to her room.
“Is it safe to turn the corner?”
She whispered a protective spell and, fortunately, Lumière nodded.
“Yes, no one’s here.”
Zenya restrained her cheer and walked quickly.
He was right—there were no servants in front of her room.
“What’s this?”
But a box larger than her face sat in front of the door. Looking at it, Zenya asked Lumière:
“…What do you think it is?”
“It’s a magical item,” he answered casually.
“A magical item?”
Was he really saying that so casually?
“Doesn’t seem like a particularly important one.”
Important according to whom? If he meant himself…
Zenya stepped back and hid behind him, and Lumière didn’t hesitate to lift the box.
Zenya had closed her eyes, fearing a trap, but when there was no sound, she opened them again.
And she found Lumière looking at her with a cute smile.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
She let go of his robe and asked. He laughed out loud.
“Because you’re cute?”
Zenya cringed as if she’d heard wrong, pushed him aside, and flung open the locked door.
Lumière followed her, closed the door behind, and set the box on the table.
“Looks like the servant left it. They said they had something for you.”
“Probably.”
If they hadn’t planned this, they wouldn’t have let her handle such a suspicious item. Someone might have played a prank; otherwise, she’d have ignored it or called Beep.
Though she was slightly tense, Lumière being nearby reassured her. She trusted that if something happened, he’d protect her as before.
Zenya met his gaze.
“Shall we open it?”
“If you want.”
His confident, “open if you want” attitude made her trust him more.
Zenya untied the ribbon with a calmer heart. The box wasn’t packed tightly, so once the ribbon was undone, only the white box remained.
Without further delay, she opened it—and a black half-mask popped out.
“A mask?”
It was completely unexpected. Why would a mask be placed in front of her room? She hadn’t heard of any party.
Zenya tilted her head and reached for the box. A hand shot out and stopped hers.
“I’ll handle it.”
Lumière stepped forward, lifted the mask, and a paper fell onto the table from the strap.
He picked it up and showed it to Zenya. She leaned over, reading the tiny text.
“Instructions?”
“Seems to be a mask manual.”
- The mask size can be adjusted to fit the wearer.
- Hair color will change immediately upon wearing.
- The mask cannot be removed unless the wearer wishes it.
“Really just a normal mask?”
She was overflowing with disbelief. Even if it was an ordinary mask, she didn’t know who sent it.
As she crumpled the paper, Lumière pointed to the back.
“Zenya, here.”
A tiny signature was written there:
Eligos
Just a signature—but Zenya was certain it was Eligos’ handwriting. No servant was bold enough to impersonate him.
Zenya crumpled the manual and threw it back into the box. The already awkward gift felt even stranger.
Eligos had given a mask—especially after the Demon Lord said she could bring company on a mission. It was clearly meant with Lumière in mind.
‘We’re doomed.’
It was obvious Eligos and the Demon Lord knew something.
Zenya snatched the mask from Lumière’s hands and shoved it back in the box.
“Zenya?”
“Zizi,” she corrected.
She took a handkerchief and wiped Lumière’s hands.
While doing so, she realized she was treating him like a child—but Lumière didn’t mind and let her continue, even smiling faintly.
‘Did I get too casual?’
Zenya straightened up, handed him the handkerchief, and he took it silently, finishing cleaning his hands. Then he met her eyes and grinned.
‘Meanwhile, I’m stressed out to death.’
Zenya couldn’t help but laugh at his ridiculous grin, despite herself.
