Chapter 5：Inside the Devil's Cave

Adeline kept on trotting inside the cave while looking at all the marvelous creatures that she had never seen before. Some had wings, some had tails, and some had completely different appearances.

She walked down the corridors searching for her father but he was nowhere to be seen. When she reached the end of the corridor, she came across a large wooden door which had several carvings of the devil. The door was slightly open. Adeline pushed the door and went inside.

Adeline was amazed to see a large garden inside that room. Moonlight fell from the dome-shaped glass placed above that garden. Beautiful flowers of all colors were blooming. There were small trees that bore variety of fruits. And right in the middle there was a beautiful fountain, glistening in the moonlight.

And across that garden there was yet another door. The door was wide open and the place was well-lit. "Father must be there." Little Adeline mumbled and then made her way towards that room.

Inside that room a tall man was standing below a beautiful chandelier which had almost 50 candles lit on it. He was holding a book in front of his face with his one hand while the other was resting on his back. He was wearing a long black robe and a matching pajama made out of silk.

Adeline was now standing right in front of that man. But he didn't seem to notice her as she was too small.

But soon his attention was caught by a small voice, "Hello! Have you seen my father?"

The man moved the book away from his face and looked down to see a toddler. He narrowed his eyes as he was confused by how a child was able to make it to his room. But then he noticed an invisibility spell on that child, which explained how she walked past the guards.

He pulled the corners of his perfectly proportioned lips to form a devilish smile and said, "I've not seen anyone called 'father' here. Are you lost, little human?"

Adeline shook her head and innocently said, "He said my father is here. So I came here to play with him."

Adeline started to walk around the room looking at different things like vase and statues that were kept for decoration purpose. The man started to follow her; concerned that Adeline would break something. He was not used to having anyone roaming around his room.

"Who said you could find your father here?" He wanted to make sure that she was not a child of one of his human servants.

"The man who brought me here" Adeline replied in her baby voice as she kept on scanning the room.

He understood that she was abandoned by somebody else. This had happened a few times before as well. Few of his human servants were found this way and he had decided to let them stay there rather than send them back to their cruel family.

His defined brows knitted in a tune when he mumbled to himself, "Have humans become so evil that they abandon a child in front of my cave, even when they hear rumors saying I'll devour them?"

All of a sudden Adeline turned around to face the man. "You are so beautiful. What is your name?" Adeline asked in her curious baby voice.

This remark from the toddler in front of him made him chuckle. Yes, he was very handsome but he never expected to hear praise for his looks from a child.

He gave a playful smile and said, "I'm Theodore. May I also know your name?"

"I'm Princess Adeline. I live in the palace." Adeline's dimples could be seen prominently when she smiled at the beautiful man.

"What a coincidence! I am also a Prince." Talking with a child brought out Theodore's mischievous side. In an attempt to scare Adeline, he looked at her with smoldering eyes and said in a deep voice, "A Devil Prince."

Adeline was never taught that there were evil beings in their Kingdom. And she did not know what 'Devil' meant. But she knew the meaning of Prince and Princess. So she was happy to hear that he was also a Prince and asked naturally, "My father said I can be friends with a Prince. Can I play with you?"

Before Theodore could protest, Adeline walked near to him and reached out her small hand. Then she grabbed his index finger, her hand looked very tiny when she did so. She pulled Theodore and started to walk towards a carpet that had a pattern of dragon on it.

No one ever dared to touch Theodore. To speak the truth, he hated physical touch. And when Adeline held his hand he felt like he was ambushed, "Oh! We are holding hands already."

If anyone else had dared to touch him without his permission first, then he would have already punished that person. But he could not do anything to the unsuspecting toddler and quietly followed her.

Both of them sat on the luxurious carpet. Adeline was a very imaginative child and she immediately began to create her imaginary world. "I am the Queen and you are the King." She gestured to the carpet they were sitting on and said, "And this is our Kingdom." She pointed to one of the corner and continued, "We have been attacked. We have to save our people."

Theodore was amazed by the way Adeline was talking. He was now sure that she really was a Princess. "Okay, what do you want me to do?" He played along.

"We have to stop the fights. Come." Then she crawled to the corner that she had pointed and pretended to hit the enemy by swinging an imaginary sword. Theodore copied Adeline and pretended to fight the unseen enemy.

When the two of them were goofing around, two maids came to the room with a small dinner table and appetizing dinner. But they were confused when they saw Theodore frantically swinging his arm in the air. They could not see Adeline, so they thought their master was sick.

One of the maids cleared her throat and asked, "Master, are you not feeling well?"

Theodore instantly maintained his poise and turned towards the door to see the maids. "Set the table and leave."

The maids were afraid to ask any further questions so they quickly set the dinner table and left the room.

Theodore glanced at Adeline with a smile and asked, "I hope you are hungry, little Princess."

Adeline had eaten a few pieces of bread and milk about three hours ago. And looking at the dinner table which had delicious foods, she felt hungry. So, she nodded.

"Come, let's eat then." Theodore sat on a cushion laid in front of the table and patted on another cushion next to him. Adeline obediently sat beside him and kept on staring at the food in front of her.

Theodore was already eating but he noticed that Adeline was not touching anything. "What happened? Why aren't you eating?"

"I don't know how to use the knife. Hawisa and Osanna used to cut the food for me." Then she looked at Theodore with puppy eyes which almost melt his heart.

Theodore smirked and mumbled, "Definitely a Princess." Then he cut the piece of meat into small bite-sized pieces and placed the plate in front of Adeline. "I've never done this for anyone else. You're very lucky, little human."

Adeline glanced at Theodore and smiled very sweetly. Then she picked up a fork and started to eat.

Theodore kept glancing at Adeline and thought, "I'm not sure if I can make her one of my servants."