episode_0008

Episode 8

“Haa, haa, haa… The world is truly vast.”

Even while rolling on the ground in defeat, Chris smiled satisfactorily.

He had never imagined that being able to move freely would feel so good.

It was certainly surprising to discover another being with strength similar to his mother’s, but as strong as they were, the thrill of surpassing that barrier was equally significant, so it didn’t matter.

“How about it? Will you continue?”

Looking down at himself, Chris saw a young female demon who seemed slightly younger than him. Nevertheless, he expressed his respect to her, confidently guarding the position of the Demon King.

“No, I lost. I pledge my loyalty from now on.”

“Good. But remember this. Our demon pact is so much heavier compared to that of humans. Do not even think about breaking the oath; the consequences could be fatal.”

Chris had no intention of breaking the oath. Challenging for the position of Demon King was an equal right held by any demon without the need for betrayal.

“I knew it, but seeing it in person, they are indeed a unique race.”

Just as the head of a lion pride always accepts challenges from other lions, the Demon King never refused a challenge from another demon.

In retrospect, the Demon King was more lenient than a lion. Even if defeated in a challenge, one wouldn’t necessarily die or be driven away.

At first glance, the trial of becoming the Demon King seemed as dangerous and harsh as everyday challenges felt like child’s play.

“Having overcome such trials, it’s natural for the Demon King to be this strong.”

Due to the nature of demons following the strong, a defeated demon instinctively submits to the victorious one. Therefore, rechallenges rarely occurred.

Chris, transformed from a human to a demon, was currently experiencing similar feelings of submission.

If it weren’t for her obsession and love for Edward, she might have truly been broken in body and spirit. With these thoughts in mind, she stood up from her seat.

“So, what should I do next?”

“Before taking on tasks, build up your training. Your potential is considerable, so once you have a solid foundation, you will be given important responsibilities.”

“Oh, can I really? I was an enemy of the demons until recently.”

In response to Chris’s teasing question, the Demon King chuckled and replied, “Don’t worry. Even if you betray us, that would be the fault of those who trusted you. I will personally tear you apart.”

Though she didn’t show it, for a moment, Chris imagined herself being torn apart by the Demon King’s hands and shuddered slightly.

Smiling at her, the Demon King advised her to wash up and rest.

“I will inform the Demon Army instructor, so let her train you.”

“Huh? Wasn’t it supposed to be you, the Demon King, teaching me personally?”

“You speak nonsense. I am busy. Leave.”

Following the order, Chris left and on her way back to her assigned room, she encountered Seraphia and approached her from behind.

“Ugh.”

Sensing her presence, Seraphia turned around, startled to see Chris but the latter continued without hesitation.

“Seraphia! What were you doing? Where are you going?”

“Don’t act friendly with me!”

“Oh, come on, what’s wrong?”

Seeing Chris approaching cheerfully, Seraphia thought there must have been a mistake in the information they had known about her.

‘Why is she acting timid and quiet all of a sudden?’

As the professor had mentioned, the demon transformation did not affect one’s ego and rationality.

Since demons inherently possessed superior physical abilities compared to humans or other races, transforming and gaining strength could lead to temporary pleasure and excitement.

If these moments persisted, it was simply the individual’s original personality traits coming to the surface.

Therefore, the reason why Chris’s appearance is different from what is known is not due to a magic transformation but because she transformed into a demon and her original nature was revealed.

It’s annoying on either side, but that’s beside the point.

“Go over there! I’m busy!”

“Why is everyone so busy, including the Demon Lord?”

Since Sephia seemed determined to keep following if she didn’t tell her, she sighed and informed her about the operation this time.

The fact that she challenged the Demon Lord and came out of the room alive meant that the Demon Lord had decided to trust her, so there was no problem in telling her.

The reason for trust? Whatever it was in the past, now she is a demon.

After hearing about this operation from Sephia, Chris asked her with a subtle feeling.

“If something goes wrong, won’t the Demon Lord die?”

“He will.”

“But is that okay?”

“Huh? What? Oh, the Demon Lord passing away? Well, it would be sad if something went wrong, but we’ll just choose a new Demon Lord right away, so it’s not a problem.”

Is it really not a problem? Chris thought she knew but wasn’t sure.

—

“Did we raise our daughter wrong?”

“…I don’t know.”

Having cooled down enough with her husband, Hallie sat up. Due to giving birth to a child at a much younger age than her daughters now, she was still in her mid-thirties.

While her physical strength was solid due to rigorous training every day and conditioning since she was young, her eyes were filled with depth.

“I honestly felt joy while fighting with her. It’s because seeing Kristiana move so energetically was something I had never seen before.”

As the head of the Bell Duke family, he knew it was an emotion he shouldn’t harbor. He also knew that if a defector emerged from the family for any reason, they had to be eliminated immediately.

“But I couldn’t do it.”

“Yeah.”

Bell couldn’t. Absolutely. Whether it was the family’s position or the fact that his daughter had become a demon, for whatever reason, it didn’t matter.

Kristiana, who had never properly learned swordsmanship from a young age, was now a demon. How many times had his heart been torn apart by the sight of his eldest daughter?

Counting each time was foolishly excessive.

But it was not a role that could simply leave the direct line of the Bell family, now turned into demons, alone.

Sitting naked on the windowsill, Hallie spoke to her husband with a pipe in her mouth.

“Raising a child is still difficult even as time passes, Dylan.”

“I agree, Hallie.”

The couple’s worries deepened endlessly.

—

My parents were killed by monsters shortly after I was born, so I have no memory of their faces or voices.

But if I could convey a message to the two who might be in heaven, I would like to say this now.

Mother, Father. I am serving the Queen right now.

“The little lady has grown up so much already and is marrying off her husband. It’s quite touching.”

Sitting on the throne, the Queen looked down at me and Leila with one knee bent, chin resting on her hand.

Penelope King D’Wear. Also known as the ruler of the strongest human nation under the name of the D’Wear of Gulgung, she boasted of beautiful beauty.

Despite being in her early thirties, she was as beautiful as Leila, if not more so.

No, isn’t it amazing that my wife, who turns over dirt every day, eats all kinds of good things from the fertile land, and receives various treatments, is as pretty as a queen?

“Edward said that. Aren’t you having a very disrespectful thought right now?”

“No, Your Majesty.”

I was momentarily surprised that my thoughts seemed to be read, but I managed to maintain composure and respond.

I’m good at this, huh.

“I wish. Seeing Leila grow up like this makes me realize once again how sad it is that I’m an old maid.”

“It’s a joke. But, Your Majesty, regarding my sister, the defector…”

“Ah, isn’t that just like an accident? Uhaeng won’t commit the folly of doubting the loyalty of the Bell family over such a trivial matter.”

A defector has emerged from the kingdom’s ducal family, concluding it as an accident. The Queen was as refreshing as her appearance.

“Rather than that, make sure to request good protection during the upcoming meeting in a few days.”

“I will dedicate my life to carry out the task.”

“You don’t need to sacrifice your life. If anything happens to you, that guy won’t stay quiet.”

After finishing the audience, Nawa and Layla came out together. I was extremely nervous when the Queen suddenly asked me to come along, but it ended more smoothly than I had thought.

“By the way, Layla. Are the Queen and your mother-in-law friends?”

“Yes. It seems they became friendly when the Queen inspected each territory while I came to the palace for protection, or when she received decorations.”

When she mentioned decorations, another alias of my mother-in-law came to mind. She was probably known as the hero of Ereumus.

“At that time, I was still a child, so I don’t know the details, but roughly about a dozen years ago, there was a large-scale battle between demons and humans at Ereumus Plain. Our mother killed the demon king at that time and defeated the demons.”

Impressive. Considering the bloodline, it’s understandable why Layla is so strong.

Moreover, Layla is still getting stronger. When her prime comes, she will be much stronger than me.

Thinking about the incident with Chris, I feel insecure once again.

“Don’t worry unnecessarily, Edward. You just need to be by my side.”

Today, I felt like I was being watched frequently as I walked around the palace and the capital with Layla.

Unlike my wife, who sometimes comes to the capital following my mother-in-law or for missions, I, a natural-born country bumpkin, couldn’t take my eyes off everything that was visible.

Enjoying exploring here and there, gradually the voices of nobles, especially the nobles scattered throughout the capital, began to be heard.

“Isn’t that Lady Bell?”

“It seems so. Hmph, even though they are from a ducal family, they are still rural nobles. Still rustic.”

“On such a topic, with a man hanging around… Eek?!”

Unintentionally glaring at them, the nobles were startled and ran away. Perhaps because there was no fighting or combat, the women in the capital seemed quite masculine.

“Edward, it’s okay to ignore them.”

Layla was pleased that I got angry, but she remained composed. Normally, I would respect her opinion, but not this time.

“I’m not okay.”

Although Layla seemed familiar, I couldn’t act that way. Of course, I couldn’t chase after them and start a fight.

“Hmm.”

I never intended to compete with masculine women or agree that Layla was rustic, but it was true that I always wore armor except when sleeping.

“The Queen also wanted to show her face in social circles, right?”

“That’s true… Edward?”

In addition to wanting to shut up those guys cursing behind us, I naturally found myself suggesting going shopping after seeing a different side of my wife.

“Let’s go shopping.”