Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Kiehl hastily tried to make excuses, but Bella’s words made it impossible to even make an excuse.

“No. Humans and animals cannot marry.”

In an instant, the atmosphere darkened.

Jenkins, a half demon, was glancing at the floor coldly. While Kiehl gazed at her with a little bewilderment.

She said the human Princess and the frog King did get married. Wasn’t it common in the animal kingdom?

After Kiehl’s birthday, the smell of lonely autumn and cold winter seemed to coexist in his mansion.

He thought for a while, remembering Bella’s words.

In the fairy tale she reads, it is said that a prince and a princess can live happily ever after. Is it really impossible for humans to connect with people in the Animal Kingdom?

Come to think of it, while he was being imprisoned in the Imperial Palace for three years and receiving the Crown Prince’s education, he had never heard of the Animal Kingdom.

‘It must be a closed place…’

All of the members are animals, and if there is an exchange, there is no way the Empire will not know about it.

‘Well, what does it matter? I’m not going to be an animal.’

He’s going to be a prince anyway. So, when he returns to the Imperial Palace, the relationship here will eventually live forever in the past.

‘…Yes, why does it matter?’

But, before he knew it, he was already lying on the sofa.

If Kiehl was a little dreary, Jenkins was on the brink of depression.

He was reporting his daily routine in Bella’s study, as usual. When suddenly, she sighed as she looked at Zhanbar, who was picking up fallen leaves through her window.

“What’s going on?”

Bella was worried about Jenkins, who had no power for the past few days. He’s the only one worth using in the mansion.

He thought for a while before opening his mouth.

“You said that last time on your birthday.”

“Oh, the happy birthday song?”

“No. About marriage.”

Bella peered into the air for a moment and remembered the events of that day.

“Why?”

“Humans and demons… Haa”

As Jenkins sighed as he spoke, it was only then that Bella realized that he was a half-demon. The demons hate humans, though since Bella was possessed in the first place, there was no way she could hate them.

“Hey, I’m not biased. At that time, it was because Pur was too much. Rather, I prefer a human.”

No matter how young children played, she didn’t like the idea of playing marriage games with Kiehl, who would later become the Crown Prince.

You could say that’s also Bella’s kindness.

“Jenkins, for real.”

However, Jenkins’s mood showed little sign of improving.

‘Huh. I can’t help it.’ Bella pondered.

“I will tell you the greatest secret.”

“….”

“Kiehl is actually the Crown Prince.”

Then, Jenkins frowned as he looked at Bella. ‘What kind of nonsense is that?’

“Ah…yes.”

“Really. I deliberately stopped because he was playing a wedding game, and I was afraid that he might make a mistake and make a contract with the demons.”

“….”

“Think about it. Your opponent is Pur, right?”

Jenkins thought it sounded more and more plausible the more he listened to Bella.

As he later found out, Pur didn’t even know what marriage was. Pur’s clan, a renowned general family, was slaughtered two hundred years ago, and she lived in the wilds of the underworld until young Bella found her.

So, she’s not much different from a three-hundred-year-old Jenkins, but she’s acting so young.

This was also the story Iwer told me, so he couldn’t believe it.

Even without such a background, he saw with his own two eyes that Pur was just creating accidents.

“I understand that it was because the young lady cared for the young master.”

Still, he couldn’t believe that Kiehl was the Crown Prince.

“The Crown Prince, I don’t think so. Aren’t all members of the royal family dealing with magical powers? The master had no talent for magic at all.”

Bella shook her head and said firmly. “Don’t you think he is smarter than his peers? Wouldn’t you have a head like that, if you were of the Royal Family?”

“…He could just be smart.”

“If you don’t believe me, don’t. Get out.”

And, she spoke quietly to herself, behind the suspicious Jenkins’ back as he left the study.

“I don’t deny that you are a half-demon. I said it because I trust you the most.”

He paused before glancing back at her. Bella looked at him for a long time without taking her eyes off, then said bluntly.

“What are you looking at? Get out.”

Sighing, Jenkins eventually left the study.

‘Anyway, you’re mean.”

Still, a smile spread across his lips. Unlike the previous Demon King, he was grateful for the way she looked after him without prejudice.

***

Jenkins gazed at Kiehl lying on the sofa and pondered.

‘Is it really? The young master is the Crown Prince.’

Confirmation was needed.

“Young Master, let’s go to class.”

Kiehl continued to lie on the sofa, ignoring Jenkins’ words.

“I’ll get up in a little while.”

“If you lie down right after you eat, you’ll become a cow.”

Then, Kiehl stared at Jenkins and asked. “Then, did you really become a cow? Does the Animal Kingdom even have such magic?”

“No way.”

The boy looked a little disappointed.

“Pur and Zhanbar didn’t lie down for fear that they would become real cows. In the animal kingdom, Bella’s words are the law.”

If there was such a magic, Jenkins would have used it earlier. Jenkins frowned slightly, and Kiehl stood up sullenly.

“I know you were lying down to become a cow.”

“Ah…yes.”

***

A few months have passed since then.

As time went on, Kiehl wanted to know more about the Animal Kingdom although he found nothing. It would be most accurate to ask Bella, the Princess there, but…

— “I’ll let you know when you’re a little bigger.”

And so, he refrained from asking questions.

After that, everyone seemed to be very reserved about the Animal Kingdom.

He tried to approach the innocent Pur, but she started running away, saying, ‘I don’t know, oh!’ when she heard only ‘ani’ in the animal kingdom.

‘I wonder if there is more information in the Imperial Palace…?’

It was the place where all knowledge was, like the Empire, so there might be hidden knowledge. To do that, he has to establish himself faster than before. That means that he couldn’t stay locked up in that room as before. In order to freely investigate, Kiehl needed the strength to protect his life.

‘Until now, I have relied on the divine power of the pendant.’

He was determined to learn swordsmanship properly. Coincidentally, it was the same as Bella thought.

‘I have to teach him martial arts a little earlier.’

Some danger may come to him because he has no divine power. He went to the Imperial Palace to learn swordsmanship properly and heard that he was a genius in the setting, but on his last birthday, Kiehl realized when he was playing tag.

‘Too slow ‘

He forgot that his opponents were all demons.

‘Well. Lions drop their cubs off cliffs’.*

Bella called Jenkins.

“Jen, I think you should buy some swords. Can you?”

“A sword? Who will use it?”

“Kiehl.”

He pondered before answering. “First of all, it is difficult to find a good sword in a country like this. If possible, it would be better to look for it in a big city.”

“Really? Then prepare the carriage.”

Jenkins thought that carriages would not be readily available in this country.

“The innkeeper was willing to give it to me. I was told to use it anytime.”

“Huh? So be it.”

“I heard that the Young Lady scolded him for selling a haunted house.”

She snorted her nose and crossed her arms before continuing. “It’s a protest. I asked if there was any story about this house, but he said no. It is clearly a violation of the duty to notify.”

“So the innkeeper asked for ten gold. If you don’t, the ghosts there will be released.”

“….”

“The innkeeper said that the lady at that time was like that ghost. It’s bloody.”

At his words, she kicked Jenkins in the knee.

“Be quiet and get ready to leave.

After a while, as Kiehl came out of the mansion’s entrance, Bella looked at him and pondered.

‘It’s the sword Kiehl will use anyway, so why don’t we go together?’

“Bella, where are you going?”

“Huh. I’m going to go buy some swords for you to use. Shall we go together?”

Kiehl gazed at Bella with slightly startled eyes. He was just thinking about when to say he wanted to learn a sword.

“You don’t want to learn?”

He shook his head quickly at her question and quietly climbed into the carriage. As Jenkins climbed up to the driver’s seat, Iwer leaped up into the carriage as well.

“Ah, if Jenkins goes, I’ll have to go, too!”

Watching Bella sit quietly, Kiehl asked. “Why does Iwer follow Jenkins?”

“I put my heart in Jenkins. If I’m not by his side, Jenkins is dead.”

Jenkins glared at Iwer, then slammed the carriage’s door shut.

Usually, when making a contract with a human, the human heart is put into the devil. In that state, if a human dies, the devil also dies, and the devil dies even if the human is not with him.

It was a kind of insurance for humans, and Iwer used it against it and put it in him.

‘If you think about it, Iwer is also smart.’

Maybe it’s because she’s been in contact with a lot of people. She seemed to be thinking, unlike Zhanbar and Pur who were like wild beasts.

‘If there are more like her, would the Demon Realm be worth living?’

Bella crossed her arms as she observed Iwer flirting.

They were heading towards the nearest metropolis, ‘Daisy,’ which would take about a full day by horse-drawn carriage.

“Daisy is a duchy, so there will be a lot of good stuff.”

“Then, that’s a relief.”

Kiehl looked at the scenery outside and asked Jenkins one by one. “Jen, what is that?”

“That is a temple. It is a place where God is worshiped.”

“So, is that the largest temple in the South, the Temple of Heritia?”

“Yes. It is the place with the most relics.”

Relics were objects that contained divine power.

The human world disrespected the demon world and worshiped the heavenly world, so it was only natural that there were many holy things in the human world.

“It is a holy thing.”

“Bella, let’s go to the temple next time.”

At that, she answered unexpectedly to Kiehl’s sudden suggestion.

“Oh…? All right.”

Jenkins, who was on the other side, opened his eyes wide and said, ‘What are you going to do?

“If we get a chance?”

“It is said that there are loots brought from the Demon Realm in the Temple of Heritia.”

“Wow. Really?”

It was a soulless reaction, but Kiehl did not notice and continued to gaze at the temple.

“Yeah! The Temple of Heritia is the only one with loot in the temple.”

‘What kind of relic are you calling loot?’ Bella shrugged as Jenkins and her eyes met.

That was then,

All of the sudden, Iwer’s scream was heard from the driver’s seat.

“Kyaak!”

And, suddenly, the carriage rattles and loses balance.

The carriage overturned, and Jenkins rushed over Bella.