CH 65

“Apparently they found no sign of a modified teleportation circle.”

Frody was lying face down on his bed and browsing through a report that his subordinate had brought back. From the beginning to the end, it talked about a woman who had broken into the venue.

“That’s how the punks in the Demon King’s Palace work.” Frody got out of bed with a smug smile on his face. His pet snake followed after him by itself. The long gown that he wore which was still dragging along the edge of the bed left a scent of gold osmanthus in every place he passed by.

“Then, shall we get going then?”

“Will it be alright? They might get suspicious if you go now for no reason…”

“Rather, it’d be more suspicious if I don’t go.” Frody stepped lightly, readjusting the gown that had slipped off his shoulder again. “What would my little brother think if I didn’t show up when such an amusing story was circulating throughout the demon realm? Right?”

“I see. It was me whose thoughts were lacking.” The subordinate who gave the report retreated and lowered his head. “Have a safe trip.”

“Hehe~. I’m already thrilled just imagining it—just what sort of reaction will my little brother have?”

“…”

“And the reaction of the saintess who believes in my little brother without end.”

Frody hummed in a happy mood and slowly headed toward the Demon King’s Palace.

pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:

* * *

I shouldn’t have said that I’d try this on unnecessarily… I think this was the first time in my life I had worn something so embarrassing. I hadn’t even worn hot pants during my university days since it was uncomfortable…

‘As expected, a person really does become weirder when they start dating…’

It’s precisely dating, because even while being aware of the fact, you still get weirder, right?

“Is this really how you wear it…?” I flushed as I checked the clothes wrapped up underneath my gown.

“Of course.”

I had already asked several times, yet Solte had only given me the same answer with a gentle smile on her face.

“Uhh… I don’t think this is right…”

Knock, knock.

I was about to say that it would be better for me to take it off since it looked so awkward when a knock sounded at the door. I hurriedly rearranged my gown that had been partially taken off and wrapped it around my torso.

“Ara.”

Although I heard Lecht’s incomparably sweet voice, I couldn’t breathe. My heart felt as if it were about to jump out of my mouth with its pounding.

‘Why did he come over so quickly…?!’

It was after my desire to show Lecht and see his reaction had already disappeared. I mean, I didn’t look like a person who should be wearing something like this when I tried it on in the end!

However, Solte greeted Lecht with an excited expression on her face. “Miss is inside.”

Solte left the room as Lecht entered. “Have a good time.”

Although it was a courteous voice, there was still happiness that emanated from it.

Entering the room, Lecht was just as puzzled as I was. Holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand, he was in his polymorphed appearance since Song Ara seemed to have frozen and gone into shock when she saw his demon king appearance. Thus, I had asked him to maintain his human form only while the child was still here. And in precisely Lecht fashion, Lecht took that into consideration everyday.

“The child from the other world that I encountered in the garden earlier told me that I had to go and see you today.” He slowly approached me. Although it was the same behaviour as any other day, my heart started to beat faster and faster. “I heard you decided to sleep separately now.”

I guess Song Ara had already tipped Lecht off. I couldn’t figure out how much she had already told him, so I glanced at him with an uneasy heart. Nevertheless, he seemed to have heard nothing except that Song Ara had now decided to sleep separately.

“You said that you’d continue to stay by my side no matter what, so… why are you doing that?” Coming closer toward me, he had a worried expression on his face as he saw me wrap my gown tighter around myself and stiffen up.

“Are you cold?” He set down the bouquet he was holding onto the bedside table and clasped my shoulders with his large hands. Looking around the room, he stroked my shoulders with his long thumbs. “Why didn’t you wear something warmer?”

“It’s not that, but…”

“Or were you waiting for me to warm you up?”

“!”

My face flushed red at Lecht’s mischievous words.

Lecht smiled and kissed me briefly on my forehead at my reaction. “I’m joking.”

He seemed to be joking more often these days.

Ever since I had confessed to him, coupled with the fact that he was more at ease as well now that I had returned to the demon realm as well, Lecht seemed to be more enthusiastic and aggressive in his actions as well. Although he spoke quite bluntly, the joke clearly still contained some amount of sincerity. It was obvious that he had taken a step back and was waiting until I allowed him to come closer.

“I’ll feel quite troubled if you’re only joking.”

That’s why I felt like I had to take the initiative to approach him first.

Lecht, who was moving toward the heating equipment on one side of the room, suddenly stopped in his tracks. “What…?”

“That… it’s true that I was waiting for Lecht to personally give me a warm hug, so it’ll be troubling if you were only joking.” I spoke each word carefully to Lecht, who was wondering if he had heard correctly and asked me to repeat it once more.

Lecht stiffened for a moment. Staring at me with his eyes trembling violently, he spat out with bated breath, “Asking for a hug…”

Lecht cautiously asked once more, just in case he had misheard.

Instead of answering him with my words, I unwrapped my gown. When the cord was loosened, the gown naturally fell open, and the clothes I was wearing inside were soon revealed.

Lecht’s eyes widened slightly, his pupils shaking harder than a candle in front of a harsh gale.

As I watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down naturally, I allowed the gown to slowly slip off my shoulder. “I’m cold… Are you just going to keep looking at me like that?”

As soon as I asked sullenly with an expression that was not at all sullen, the distance between Lecht and I quickly disappeared. One hand that was cupping the nape of my neck quickly dug into my hair. His other large hand swept up my waist, causing the gown to slip off even further.

Without even giving me any time to be surprised, Lecht quickly swallowed my lips. The whole sensation made my heart pound to the point where even the air seemed to have become sweet. It felt as if this time and space only existed for us.

My body was pushed back by the force of Lecht, who was holding me tightly. As I was pushed back a step or two, my body hit the dressing table behind me, and he naturally sat me on top of it. As our eye levels had now become more similar to each other, he became even more unhesitating in his advances.

“Haa, mmph.”

Even the little sighs that I let out for a bit from between my lips were all swallowed up by him again as he held my lips in his mouth. A piece of flesh penetrated through that momentary gap and pushed its way into my mouth roughly.

It was much more intense than the kiss we had shared in the sky with the demon realm at our feet. He was always so sweet, but now I could finally see just how strongly he desired me and how much he had already endured. I could feel the desire of him waiting for a hundred years, and even after that, how much he had endured and restrained himself after that, in all its totality.

I grabbed onto his collar and pushed him away slightly at his sweeping kiss that was so intense it took my breath away. I thought he might have already lost all reason, but he managed to notice the strength I had put into my hand and parted from me momentarily.

“Haa, Lecht…” I was exhilarated at his heated eyes that stared at me from right in front of my nose as he leaned his forehead against mine.

Amidst all of this, my heart was filled with the affection and tenderness of him, who had cupped the back of my head with his hand so that it wouldn’t bump into the mirror. I couldn’t believe that someone could cherish me to this extent. Wasn’t it just one’s great fortune to be able to meet a person who could give this sort of love in their life? And the fact that it was Lecht also caused me to be happy beyond belief.

I raised the hand that was holding onto his collar and cupped his cheeks. I stroked his loveable face that was hotter than mine, and whispered, “I love you.”

Lecht’s breath, which had still been flowing out lightly, suddenly stopped. There was no expression of shock or fluster. On the contrary, he had just simply frozen out of shock.

After a moment, his pupils slowly began to waver, and his face gradually started to contort. It was an expression that appeared due to a happiness that was so great he couldn’t handle it anymore. It was a happiness that seemed to bring tears to his eyes, yet he didn’t want to cry, and made him want to smile, yet smiling didn’t seem to be able to express all the emotions he was feeling right now.

I knew that feeling all too well. Because I was feeling that same exact happiness right now.

“I love you, Ara.” He whispered with a scorching breath. He slid up his hands that had brushed my back and waist, cupping my cheeks affectionately, and whispered continuously, “More than you could ever imagine… I love you so much that I can’t even express it all with these words.”

“I know.” I kept stroking his face and smiling.

My nose kept scrunching up by itself, so perhaps my face even looked ridiculous right now since I was smiling slightly as well. Nevertheless, Lecht still looked at me with a gaze that seemed to think even that expression was so adorable it made him go crazy.

“I will try my hardest to love you as much as you love me.”

“…That’ll be tough. If you know just how much I love you.”

“That’s hard to say, since I think I’ll be able to.” Staring into his golden eyes that aroused me, I said, “Just how much you love and cherish me.”

“…”

“I think it’ll be too easy for me to love, and continue to love such a you, even more in the future.”

“Ara.”

“I love you.”

With all my heart.

He carefully kissed me again. It was a kiss filled with the utmost care, that was completely different from the one earlier, which had raged on continuously as if there was no tomorrow.

The hand that had been cupping my jaw swept past my neck and back and wrapped itself tightly around my back, dragging it towards him. I also wrapped my legs tightly around his waist.

It was the moment he held me so tightly it seemed as if the sound of our heartbeats had merged into one.

Crash!! Boom—!

The building shook slightly with the large explosion.

Surprised, I clung onto Lecht tightly and turned my head toward the sound while Lecht also hugged me, as if to protect me.

Soon after, a few sharp voices intersected one another.

“Sir Frody! Just what are you doing right now?!”

“You white, peeled potato bastard!”

It was the voices of Tanma, who would never normally raise his voice, and Muso, whose voice was filled with anger.

Awoo—! Woof! Woof!

Kiiik—!

With Kelber’s howling and the fierce hissing of snakes, the cause of the disturbance was easy to understand.

Krrrk—!

I heard the sound of teeth grinding from beside me. It sounded so loud to the point where I was worried their teeth would break, so I turned my head back in surprise. “Calm down, Lecht.”

Patting a tendon that was protruding from out of his jaw, I said, “I’m sure they’re having another meaningless argument again. Let’s go check it out together.” I picked up my clothes that were in the dress room next to the dressing table and pushed Lecht slightly. “Just wait a moment. I’ll be right back after changing.”

“Haa…”

Doing a once over on how I looked, Lecht sighed deeply. He rubbed his angular face that had an annoyed expression that was rare for me to see on his face. Although I’m not sure if it was intentional, the black mana that curled up from his feet to his waist was quite a frightening situation as well.

“Don’t go down by yourself. Don’t you dare. Since I’m scared.”

To say that I was scared was a lie. But I thought he’d probably break Frody’s neck straight away if I let him go down alone like this.

Perhaps because my lie worked, Lecht nodded and took a few steps back.

“I’ll wait.”

Although he said those words as calmly as he could, it was a voice that emanated a deep rage.

* * *

By the time I changed my clothes and went down outside with Lecht, the situation had already turned chaotic.

Kelber, who had already inflated himself to the size of a house, and Frody’s five-headed snake, whose size wasn’t any less either. Neither of them could hide their agitation and were in a state where they were littered all over with injuries, perhaps because they had already had a major fight.

Muso’s sharp wind was also circling around the garden. Even Tanma, the butler, was carrying a weapon – a crossbow. His pink eye that was hidden behind his monocle shone in a particular light.

Frody stood in front of him. With Song Ara in his arms.

“I’m just here to greet the protagonist of the rumours who I’ve been so curious about, so isn’t this reaction from everyone just too overexaggerated?” he whispered in a tingly voice, as if asking what he had done wrong.

“You’ve stirred up too much of a racket for this just to be a greeting.”

“Oh, Saintess? So you were with my little brother?” Frody smiled at me, pretending to be innocent as soon as I interrupted. He clearly would’ve been able to sense Lecht and I, yet he pretended to be unaware.

I gripped onto Lecht’s hand tightly at the sight of the black haze that was emanating from Lecht’s body becoming thicker. I tried to convey with my fingertips to ask if he was alright and if he could calm down while looking at Frody.

“Why is that child in your arms?”

Frody was hugging Song Ara lightly in his arms with a princess carry. Seeing that she didn’t seem to wake up with this disturbance and how it didn’t seem like she had simply fallen asleep, a thought flashed through my mind as I frowned.

“What have you done to such a young child?”

Taking Frody’s ability into consideration, I was immediately concerned about the child’s condition. Friday’s ‘enchantment’, which robbed one of all their senses and eventually eroded their mind, would simply be too powerful for an ordinary child to shake off.

“What do you mean what have you done? Just what kind of person do you see me as?”

A bastard who could even use a young child for their own amusement?

“Regardless of what you think, I’d never use my ability on a kid like this.” Perhaps because my expression had revealed my true thoughts, he said in a voice that seemed to have been wronged, “I had just arrived but then found the child sleeping in the garden. That’s why I was just trying to take her to your room.”

Song Ara liked to look at flowers, so that didn’t seem to be complete nonsense. Nevertheless, I didn’t believe it entirely either.

“I understand, so I’ll take the child now.”

“But since seeing this rumoured kid, I suddenly had a thought.” I stretched out my hand, but Frody ignored it and brought up another story. “An unidentifiable way of appearing. Black hair… and apparently even black eyes? Hearing all of this, doesn’t it remind you of someone?”

I frowned once again since I couldn’t understand all of his words at once. However, Tanma and Muso flinched, as if they knew what he was talking about. Their flusteredness could be seen in the wind and the direction in which the crossbow was aimed in.

With a smile that raised the corner of his mouth, Frody said, “Little Brother, it seems like your lover from a hundred years ago has returned again. What are your thoughts on that?”

Only then did a small sigh flow out from between my teeth.

Come to think of it, why had I never thought of that? A child who suddenly appeared out of the blue. Black hair and black eyes like that of the woman a hundred years ago. An immense amount of sociability that captured the hearts of many people. And… the name, ‘Ara’.

A sliver of anxiety that I had never felt before suddenly swept through my heart.