episode_0013

Episode 13

Rumaniel was feeling discomfort that she had never experienced in her life.

‘Dare. Dare, dare, dare, dare!’

It was uncomfortable, very uncomfortable. It was different from facing challengers vying for the position of the Demon King.

No, there was no discomfort in facing challengers; it was necessary from the start. A king periodically needed to demonstrate the strength to lead their group.

Not only herself but also past Demon Kings had not refused challenges for that reason.

Even if defeated and stepping down from the position of Demon King, if someone stronger than oneself led the demons, there would be no complaints.

‘But why!’

Rumaniel, who had driven Chris away, naturally turned her head towards the man on the bed. Edward. The husband of Bell’s daughter, whom she had taken a liking to and brought herself.

‘Rather than being taken by other females.’

Logically speaking, since she had taken him herself, saying she was being taken was inappropriate, but logic was meaningless to Rumaniel at that moment.

Rumaniel walked slowly towards the bed. Her eyes had already transformed into those of a female ready to mate with the male in front of her.

‘There’s nothing difficult about it. Just tear off the clothes and do as you please!’

It was hers. Whatever she did, it was her decision.

Thinking simply seemed to refresh her mind.

As she felt the freshness resulting from this, she chuckled and reached out to the male on the bed.

“It must have been tough, Demon King.”

Edward stretched out his arms and pulled Rumaniel towards him, embracing her.

“?!”

In a situation she had never imagined, Rumaniel stiffened completely and became rigid. However, Edward didn’t care and began to gently stroke her head as he held her.

“There is no place where one standing above others can truly let their guard down. Even in one’s personal space, fools like subordinates might burst in like just now.”

His fingers moved down and up along her hair repeatedly. Edward’s touch on Rumaniel felt as if he was handling a precious item.

‘Wait a minute. What’s this? What? Huh? I was clearly about to attack just now?’

She couldn’t understand. Rumaniel couldn’t comprehend the current situation at all, but what she couldn’t understand the most was that she was enjoying his touch.

This feeling was also something she was experiencing for the first time in her life. Unconsciously, Rumaniel buried her face in his chest.

At that moment, Edward brought his lips close to her forehead and whispered softly.

“I won’t ask you to trust me. But I’m like an item you’ve brought in anyway. If I’m an item, then I could probably tell you things that others can’t, right?”

“That…?”

It didn’t seem like a wrong statement. Anyway, unless she allowed it, he couldn’t leave this room under any circumstances.

There was no risk of going somewhere and telling someone else, so she could bring out all the words inside her.

From venting about maintaining dignity or not knowing that being a Demon King involved so much work to the trivial worries she hadn’t even shared with her only friend.

Thinking like that, there seemed to be no more comfortable companion than him.

“You don’t have to spill everything at once. We have plenty of time. I’m still not familiar with you either, but let’s get to know each other little by little.”

“Oh, okay…”

Although her expression wasn’t visible, she felt he was pleased and smiling at her words. At the same time, she exerted strong force in Edward’s arms, who was embracing Rumaniel.

In the current situation where a man was holding her, not as a woman but as a man, Rumaniel felt confused.

‘Oh, oh, oh? Is this how men are supposed to be? I’ve never heard of this from Aisha!’

It was natural that she hadn’t heard of it. Opposing common sense, not entirely, but usually in relationships between men and women, it’s the woman who takes the lead in bed.

Rumaniel, who had some basic knowledge, thought something was strange, but being embraced by Edward felt so good that she couldn’t help but feel better.

‘Then, is it time to do that now?’

Rumaniel, swallowing nervously, wondered whether she should make the first move or wait for Edward to move first according to the current mood.

However, Edward disappointed her in a different way.

“Take care from now on. Goodnight, Rumaniel.”

‘Uh…?’

As unexpected words flowed out, Rumaniel raised her head blankly. Blinking as if demanding something, she looked at Edward, but he was really falling asleep.

‘Well, considering it was his first day waking up in the Demon King’s castle, he must have been tired.’

Thinking it would be better to heal each other’s wounds and regain strength before doing anything, Rumaniel found it understandable that Edward had fallen asleep.

‘Should I sleep too?’

Feeling the warmth enveloping her, Rumaniel gradually closed her eyes.

Then she woke up.

‘D-Did he just call my name?! Did he remember?’

Realizing this fact belatedly, Rumaniel tossed and turned for a while unable to fall asleep.

—

…Did I finally fall asleep?

I don’t know if he was struggling with desire or what, but the Demon King, who had been moving around while I pretended to sleep, seemed to have finally fallen asleep now.

Hearing his regular breathing, I opened my eyes and confirmed that the Demon King had indeed fallen asleep before trying to pull my arm away.

“Ugh.”

The Demon King let out a whining sound, gripping me even tighter. The force pulling me towards him despite the cute sound was no joke.

To put it bluntly, I would have been dead if it weren’t me.

“Sigh.”

Giving up on escaping, I lay back down and gazed at the ceiling, letting out a small sigh.

After Chris was driven away, I instinctively sensed danger when the Demon King’s gaze suddenly changed.

Those eyes weren’t just saying they would violate me. Although he didn’t seem aware himself, if I had left things as they were, he would have surely harmed me.

So, I quickly changed my words and actions to show that I understood her. Looking back now, it seemed quite convincing, but surprisingly, it was well received.

“……”

Lowering my gaze to the Demon King sleeping peacefully in my arms, I watched him. Although our bodies were close and reacting involuntarily, it was fine for now.

It was tough to endure earlier. This part is just a physiological response; there’s nothing I can do about it.

“I want…”

Watching her like this, she just seemed like an ordinary woman. She had horns, but they weren’t as bothersome as expected.

At least at this moment, she didn’t seem like the enemy of humanity, the queen of the demon race.

Perhaps because of that, or maybe because I glimpsed a hidden side of her through her deceptive words.

I feel like my resolve is weakening.

Of course, that shouldn’t happen. This woman is the Demon King. She attacked the royal palace, abducted me from Leila, and brought me here against my will.

…But still. Since I’m tired, I decided to sleep first and think later.

Closing my eyes, this time, a deep sleep truly overtook me.

Feeling the warmth enveloping me, I quietly surrendered to sleep within the embrace.

—

“Why can’t we do this!”

At Leila’s outcry, which seemed like she might vomit blood, Penelope felt guilty.

I have no intention of claiming to fully understand her feelings, but I knew she must be enduring unimaginable pain as a woman who had lost her husband.

I knew, however, that I had to remain composed. As a queen, I couldn’t risk endangering the kingdom with personal emotions.

“Calm yourself, Leila.”

“Your Majesty!”

“Makia and Saint have declared their neutrality in the war. We cannot win against the demons with just Dweor and Amazones.”

Those who defied Dweor’s intentions, Makia and Saint, would face sanctions for a while. Despite knowing this, they refused to participate in the war.

They probably thought that losing in the war against the demons would be greater than defying Dweor. Penelope understood Makia and Saint’s choice as a ruler.

That’s why she was struggling to console Leila.

“Don’t you know better, Leila? Even the regular soldiers of the Demon Army can easily handle three human soldiers alone. Their basic physicality is different.”

While there are strong beings like Hali Bel on the human side, the same applied to the demons. History had shown that without humanity concentrating all its strength, they couldn’t defeat the demons.

However, Leila wasn’t advocating for starting a war without reason.

“The Demon King personally came to attack Your Majesty! This is an act that no knight can ignore, a clear provocation towards Dweor! If we don’t act now, the demons will gain momentum, and other nations will mock us as cowards!”

When a nation takes the lead, its external image becomes crucially important.

If it appears weakened or inferior to before, it provides opportunities for those who seek to surpass the current stature of Dweor.

In short, it signifies the emergence of a new conflict.

“I may not understand what you’re trying to say. But for now, it’s better to take such risks.”

“Well…!”

Though her heart was moved, Leila closed her mouth without expressing it.

A queen who had already made up her mind could not be persuaded by any words.

If one couldn’t rely on the nation’s power, there was only one option left.

“…Understood. Since the meeting is over, I will return to my territory now.”

“Very well. You’ve worked hard.”

Leila bid farewell to the queen and left the palace. Instead of boarding a carriage, she rode a horse towards the Bell Duchy’s territory.

More precisely, she intended to go straight beyond that.

“It doesn’t matter. I will save my husband!”

The moment she entered the Bell Duchy’s territory, her mother, Hali Bell, would undoubtedly try to stop her.

Hali was never cruel.

Knowing that there was no one else but her to succeed the Bell family after even Christiana had disappeared, it was a decision she had to make as the head of the family.

Understanding this, Leila ran.

“Just wait a little longer, Edward. I will definitely save you!”

For her, a world without her husband held no value. The family, the country, the title of a knight—all were for Edward, and their meaning lay in his presence.

To reclaim her husband, who was the world itself, Leila ran forward.