episode_0019

Episode 19

Rumaniel stopped the sword.

If you were to ask why, it would only feel like the right thing to say. It wasn’t for the sake of winning in battle.

Her gaze, turned away from Hali Bell, was fixed on a certain point. A man who appeared demonic was swiftly passing through the forest with a human female warrior, bypassing the demon army.

No, he wasn’t a demon. He was none other than…

“Edward…?”

He was the one who taught her the emotion called love.

“Horns? Horns sprouted? But where are you going? Why are you leaving me and being with that woman?”

If she could think rationally, she wouldn’t have found it strange to see him running off with another woman while abandoning his kidnapper self and unlike his original wife.

However, the moment Rumaniel saw Edward, all rationality evaporated from her mind.

She was perplexed. She couldn’t understand why Edward was leaving her.

She was angry. Watching him move away from her, she felt a great anger rising within her.

“No.”

As the hand holding the sword tightened involuntarily, life force began to flow out from her and swirl around.

The dense life force emanating from her made everyone watching the battle from afar—the demon army, the Bell family’s territorial army, and even Hali Bell facing her—tense.

“First, let’s cut off your legs. Then we can talk. It’s okay. I’ll listen to whatever complaints you have. I’ll do anything you want. So, so don’t leave me!”

With tears welling up in her eyes, Rumaniel was about to leap towards Edward. She planned to go to him, cut off his limbs, and then take him to the demon castle.

Sensing the dense life force heading towards her, Edward, who had been about to move forward, stopped in his tracks. He turned the tip of his sword in Rumaniel’s direction, which further provoked her.

Although she had never intended to hold back, Rumaniel, who had become increasingly unable to contain herself, was on the verge of leaping. Hali Bell, who had moved simultaneously to block her, felt a sense of confusion in the next moment.

Rumaniel, who seemed ready to pounce on Edward with a ferocity akin to a hunting beast, remained motionless, not moving to strike him immediately.

Everyone present instinctively turned their heads in the direction of her gaze. There, Layla, who had stepped forward as if to protect her demon husband, was glaring at Rumaniel.

“Come to think of it, that woman doesn’t seem to mind Edward’s change…?”

Layla’s appearance, stepping forward to protect her demon husband, shocked not only Rumaniel but all demons present.

Demons were inherently rejected beings. They were feared not only by humans but also by other races.

Just a few hundred years ago, they had been treated as slaves solely because they belonged to a minority race with horns and strong bodies.

Since the advent of the first Demon King, demons had never experienced division, remembering their history for this reason.

“This is unbelievable.”

Recalling the history of persecution and oppression of demons, it was inevitable that the sight of a human protecting a horned individual would be shocking.

It was truly a moment that could make one lose track of reality.

“Edward! Now!”

Although Layla, as a human, couldn’t fathom why the Demon King and demons were so shocked, she could sense an opportunity to escape had arisen.

She tried to run towards the territory of the Bell family’s army, but for some reason, Edward didn’t move.

“Why are you doing this? You’re not…!”

“Don’t worry. It’s not what you think.”

Edward, who raised his head to reassure his wife, afraid she might abandon him and go the other way, looked directly at Rumaniel.

There was a considerable physical distance between the two, but that distance was as good as nonexistent.

“……sigh.”

Lumaniel, facing Edward, rummaged through her bosom. Startled by her sudden movement, Hallie and Laila were on high alert, but what she pulled out was a key that she had been wearing as a necklace.

With a casual gesture, Lumaniel tossed the key she retrieved to Edward.

“It must be uncomfortable being bound in chains. Release yourself.”

“Thank you.”

“But do not be mistaken. Just because you unlock it doesn’t mean you are free. I will come back for you someday.”

Edward intervened to stop Laila, who was about to rush forward emotionally at the bold declaration of kidnapping without equal, and used the key he received to unlock the chain wrapped around his ankle.

Lumaniel, with the sword sheathed, silently watched their actions.

Until Edward joined the army and left the demon realm with them.

She just watched quietly.

—

Upon returning to the Bell family mansion, my mother-in-law called for me and Laila.

“You’ve been through a lot, son-in-law. And you.”

With a thud, Laila flew sideways and slammed into the wall. From what I could gather, it seemed like an impromptu intrusion into the demon realm without any consultation or notice.

Now that Chris had left, Laila had become the sole heir of the Bell family. Although it was to save me, her recklessness remained unchanged.

As I was in a rescued position, I couldn’t say anything, and Laila, knowing her own fault, did not offer any excuses.

After Laila emerged from the wall, she went up to my mother-in-law, expecting to continue the punishment, but surprisingly, my mother-in-law just let out a light sigh.

“What’s done is done. Ultimately, you managed to escape unharmed, and there was no real harm done. However… that horn of your son-in-law might pose a problem.”

At my mother-in-law’s words, I untied the cloth covering my head.

Indeed, it was as expected. It was impossible for humanity as a whole to accept something like Laila’s horn so nonchalantly.

It was connected to the skull, so how could it be removed?

“Could you cut it off with your power, mother-in-law?”

“From my experience fighting demons, horns are akin to their lives… unless they die, they won’t be cut off.”

Seems there are things even my mother-in-law’s power can’t do. Feeling troubled, I was thinking about it when Laila, who had been listening nearby, spoke up.

“No problem, Mother! Edward will never leave the mansion in the future, nor will he show himself to others!”

If my wife, who was talking about confining me for life so casually, looks cute, then it must be abnormal.

I wasn’t normal. I knew that.

“Don’t talk nonsense. While Dylan and I are active, it might be possible, but once you become the head, it won’t be. There are many places where you need to show yourself, including official events.”

“If his body is weak…”

It would be problematic if it became known that the head’s husband was so weak that he couldn’t move properly, so my mother-in-law fed Laila a honeyed drink, thinking about it.

“That’s only for a day or two, right? Do you think you can do that for the rest of your life? Besides, are you really planning to confine Edward to the mansion for life?”

“Yes!”

She got hit again. This time, it seemed like my mother-in-law didn’t control her strength, as Laila, having drunk the honeyed drink, sank into the ground.

“As long as dirt doesn’t get in my eyes, I can’t watch a member of the Bell family live like that. Moreover, the soldiers and knights within the territory have seen Edward. Even if we issue a gag order, rumors will inevitably spread.”

On this point, both Laila and I agreed. You can’t shut people’s mouths with a lock.

“Then what should I do? There’s no other way, is there? Even if you’re my mother, if you’re going to tell me to divorce Edward…!”

The third knock hit Layla’s head. Layla, who was wrapping her head in pain, was told by her mother-in-law with a bewildered attitude.

“It seems that in your eyes, this mother only appeared as an obstinate woman. Once someone becomes a member of the Bell family, the head of the family does not abandon them for reasons other than betrayal. Remember that well.”

The mother-in-law, who had silenced Layla impressively, now turned to me.

“I’m sorry to have just come out of hell, but it seems I have to go to the Law Kingdom as a special envoy.”

“A special envoy?”

“Huh?! What are you talking about, Mother!”

Although Layla was truly angry at being told she had to part ways as soon as we reunited, her mother-in-law did not intend to send me away without a plan.

“You mentioned something about being a demon hunter. After it became known due to the incident with Chris, Penelope searched for similar cases in various countries. The investigation revealed that although rare, there are a few cases being discovered here and there.”

Indeed, a unprecedented event of humans turning into demons. It’s natural for human nations to be on alert and conduct investigations.

In other words, does this mean I have value as an experimental subject?

“Before entering the demon realm, I was consulting about a suitable candidate to be sent as a special envoy to the Law Kingdom from Penelope. Since the laws of the Law Kingdom are most effective for demons, they seem more suitable than the demon realm this time.”

As a mother-in-law, she hadn’t even considered the possibility of me turning into a demon, but now that things had turned out this way, she said it would be best for me to go to the Law Kingdom personally to return to normal.

“I want to go too!”

“Don’t talk nonsense and stay here.”

Layla, who burst into tears instantly, looked at me, but considering how many people had been inconvenienced because of me, I couldn’t ask everyone to vacate the territory for a while.

Instead, I asked for a few days of rest and preparation time. It was to comfort Layla, but also because I wanted to spend some time with her.

After immediately going up to the room, Layla and I put all our efforts into making up for the time we had been apart.

After a day of married life that made it impossible to leave, I held Layla in my arms on the bed and said, “Don’t worry. There’s nothing I can’t handle when I’ve survived in the demon realm and now I’m going to the Law Kingdom.”

“I’m not doubting you. It’s just that I can’t trust the women who will approach you.”

That’s certainly unavoidable.

“Even so, no matter what happens in the future, you will be my first priority, Layla.”

“Yes. Make sure you never forget that feeling right now. I don’t want to see you truly lose your mind.”

I almost blurted out whether I was sane right now, but somehow managed to hold back.

I didn’t think Chris or Rumaniel would easily give up on me. I’d rather they were just delusions of grandeur, but they would surely come looking for me wherever I was.

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, I seemed to have some understanding of how to deal with them. Even if they came back again, I would try to endure as much as possible, but I wasn’t sure if I could hold out until the end.

So I’ll say it to Layla. You are the one I love the most.

…Come to think of it, it doesn’t feel great to become a man who wields women, but there’s nothing I can do about it.

Three days later.

I went alone to the Law Kingdom. Waiting for me at the end of the short journey was…

“Uh, uh, uh, uh, hello!”

She was a woman who looked somewhat unreliable.