/
As Julia was left alone while pondering on what to do, she finally decided to say a normal morning greeting instead.
“Did you sleep well, Demon King?”
“I already told you not to get out of bed without my permission.”
“That is……”
His frosty voice pierced through Julia’s head. He must have been displeased since she had disobeyed his last night’s orders.
‘Nevertheless, I’m still the key in my own way, so wouldn’t it be okay if I were to complain that it had been a health problem instead? It really does hurt……’
Maybe it was because she had been sitting uncomfortably on the edge of the bed until she fell asleep or perhaps due to the fact that she was supporting Bael’s heavy arms all night long.
She didn’t think that any emotional appeal against him would actually work, but she decided to give it a try anyway.
“I never intended to disobey the Demon King’s orders. However, my back hurts so much that I thought it would get better with just a little walk. But for some reason, the demons were all gathered…”
Bael stared at her without uttering a single word at all. Everyone was already on their knees while she was just standing alone, so she wondered if she might have stood out like that. Nevertheless, the size of those demons had been so enormous that there was no difference in height in comparison to when they knelt down or even when she was standing alone.
Anyway, Julia tried her level best to get out of the whole situation.
“I was thinking of going back in just a minute—I really do.”
“So, you actually dare lie to me?”
“Lie?”
“Don’t you mean that when you’re trying to get out of my bed without even waking a single soul after all?”
How could a person be twisted on the inside? …no, how could a devil interpret those words in this manner?
But her thought only remained as a thought since she was aware that she could straight away depart to the underworld if it was emitted from her mouth. Julia shook her head frigidly, but Bael had spoken far faster than that.
“Remember, you are mine.”
As he walked slowly, he pointed to the heart right behind Julia’s robe. It didn’t even touch the slightest of her skin right away, but her heart was already pounding really fast.
“And I’ll say this once again. I’m not generous enough to share what’s mine with others.”
“I’m sorry. Then, next time…”
“I can’t believe that humans can actually eat lies. One will just have to wait and see, so stay in my nest from now onwards. If you don’t want to be tied down, you’d better behave.”
“Master, my apologies, but what do you mean by ‘nest’?”
Just as Julia was about to protest, Barbatos had stepped out instead. The word ‘nest’ could be applied in several meanings depending on the situation itself.
For the low-ranking demons, who could not even approach the nearby area, the entire neighborhood—including the castle and the tower as well—was the Demon King’s nest and for the high-ranking demons, who had a certain access to some degree, the castle that Bael had built himself was the nest in itself. However, if it was limited to only Bael, then the meaning became infinitely narrower.
Bael snorted at his words before grabbing onto Julia’s slender waist. After he put her in his arms, the corners of his lips twisted in return.
“I need some more sleep, so just don’t disturb me and go back.”
[▷Barbatos
With this, it’s obviously clear that he is in possession of the key, so it’s a good thing, but don’t tell me that they really did spend the night……]
While all kinds of dialogue windows were popping up at random within Julia’s vision, the door was slammed shut in Barbatos’s face and they all ended everything at once.
Julia was eventually dragged to the bed without being able to have run away successfully before she got forcibly laid down by Bael. On top of that, he fell asleep right away and Julia had to watch him for a long time under those heavy arms of his.
* * *
Bael, who had already fallen into a deep sleep, woke up all of a sudden with an unexpected feeling of drowsiness. It appeared that his arms were empty and the magic, which got assimilated into the Magic Stone’s wave, seemed like it was trying to run rampant once again.
The first thing that came into his line of sight when he woke up was the Demon God’s Tower. The magic crystal that had been sleeping at the top was longing for an explosion as always and the formulas that were engraved on the entire corridor glowed intermittently as if to block it all while emitting an enormous amount of light.
But even with the same scenery as always, he felt a cool and empty feeling in return. His gaze then shifted slowly.
‘The key’s not here.’
At the spot that was right next to the bed, there was a small wrinkle of the right size for the key’s petite body. However, it seemed that it had been quite a while since she left since there was no warmth left in the space he looked at.
‘Did she run away?’
Bael’s eyes immediately narrowed. He already knew the eyes of those who courted death. He had seen it countless times until the time he wiped out the Demon Realm before erecting a nest right here.
‘There are many demons who hate me within this Demon King’s castle. Did you know that? A lot of demons as well as beasts had come every night to kill me.’
‘If I just get out of this room right now and return to my bedroom, I could then die. And free myself from your hands…’
The key’s weak voice had crossed his mind and his gaze suddenly turned to the outside of the door. Although their power was far from reaching his toes, he could still feel the flow of magic from those many demons that were gathering outside.
Bael got up from the bed quickly as if he was possessed by something. An unpleasant feeling for no apparent reason had lifted his head. Just as if he was being urged by some other thing, his pace grew faster and quicker.
“I’d rather cut off their limbs and put them in cages.”
During the brief time he had crossed over the room, Bael eventually concluded so. It was now clear why he was really offended: to dare wield against the King when she had just been a trivial human was absolutely rude and disgraceful.
Just the fact that there was an existence which he had to pay much attention to made him so annoyed. He couldn’t even predict the time he would finally be able to find the way to use the key, but up to that point, he still couldn’t keep his mind on the key every single time.
“……”
However, just before opening the door, he paused.
He could feel that the key’s heart was fluttering lightly just beyond one step away. That particular feeling had been transmitted through the engraving itself.
Bael looked down at his palms that were full of magic, not knowing the reason why. It would be all over with just one simple gesture, but for some reason, it felt like someone was pulling his hair from the back of his head. It was such a strange feeling that he had never felt before at all.
‘Why? She’s merely a human who could die in just a snap anyway.’