Chapter 19
Chapter 19
Morus couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of doubt. Why had she chased after that kind of guy for thousands of years, hoping to become his mate? It wasn’t even the years already wasted on him that she regretted. What terrified her more was the thought of wasting her future on him, too. How on earth had she fallen for a psycho like that?
If there were a most pitiful demon in the world, it would have to be her and her thoughts made her scoff bitterly. And now he was talking about being a nanny? Whatever that was supposed to mean.
“… Do it all you want,” she muttered.
“If you, who knows so much about humans, get involved, my position might be in danger. Lady Bella is very fond of me, but who knows? You’re a female demon, and when Bella grows up… you two might find you understand each other better.”
“I’m not interested in that kind of position. Being a nanny? What even is that?”
“Among humans, there’s someone, aside from the parents, who raises the baby. They’re called wet nurses or nannies. Like a second parent.”
But it wasn’t even being a real parent so why did he sound so proud of holding that role? The way he smugly shrugged his shoulders, as if genuinely pleased with the title, made her stomach churn. Morus narrowed her eyes, feeling a vein twitch on her forehead.
It disgusted her to look at him but in the end, she was the fool who fell for him first, the one who always ended up getting dragged along. She had worked hard for years just to earn the title of ‘friend’. She wouldn’t give that up and watch him drift further away just because the Demon King’s daughter entered the picture.
Morus’s mind began to spin fast.
“Nanny, huh… But then, shouldn’t there be one more? Don’t parents come in pairs?”
“Hm? There is only one nanny. It’s a singular position.”
“You said it yourself human babies are born from a ‘mom’ and a ‘dad.’”
“But Lady Bella no longer has a mother. That’s why Lord Lucifer decided to be both her father and mother.”
Well… if it’s the Demon King, replacing two roles would probably be easier than killing a human in his sleep. That, she could understand. Still, something didn’t sit right with her. That so-called ‘second parent”’role Regnator was so obsessed with… it was starting to tempt her too.
She didn’t want to be rivals with him. And yet, despite how insignificant the title seemed… she wanted it. For some reason, she just did.
‘If it’s a parent, then it implies a couple. Though I guess human dynamics don’t exactly apply here…’
Still, seeing Regnator flaunt it in front of her stirred a surge of competitive fire deep in her gut. She had already been thinking of meeting the Demon King’s daughter soon anyway. This was her chance.
“I want to do it too.”
At her words, Regnator’s expression, which had softened slightly, turned instantly cold.
“I said there can only be one nanny.”
Even as he exuded dangerous killing intent, he carefully kept his demonic aura contained. She remembered him saying he was training to suppress his power so he wouldn’t harm the child when he held her. Did he really care that much about the Demon King’s daughter?
This was the same demon who never once hid his overwhelming aura, even when it caused others to avoid him like the plague.
Moruouldn’t tell anymore if her swelling pride aimed at the Demon King’s daughter she hadn’t even met, or at the annoying bastard standing in front of her?
“I told you. Parents come in twos.”
“So?”
“I’ll be the other one.”
“…The other?”
“You be the wet nurse or the nanny, I’ll be the wet spouse.”
“…Wet what?”
She casually dropped the term used in the human world. The sound of it was awkward,like the name of some food,but when she thought of the meaning, it didn’t seem so bad. Becoming ‘parents’ alongside Regnator… that sounded fun.
Of course, she didn’t bother to explain that becoming ‘parents’ meant being practically married in the human world. Demons were hedonists. They weren’t particularly curious like humans, but they’d do anything if it seemed fun.
Watching Regnator’s conflicted face, Morus flashed a triumphant smile.
“Like you said, I often go back and forth between here and the human world. I know a lot about humans, don’t I?”
“….”
“I’m not trying to take your place. There are two parent roles. Just give me the one that’s still open. If I share my knowledge with you, it’ll help you too, right?”
“…That’s not for me to decide.”
“But if you ask Lord Lucifer, he’ll probably allow it, don’t you think?”
“Hm.”
Seeing Regnator slowly give in, Morus smiled and added the final push.
“Unlike me, every time you visit the human world, you have to use the official dimensional gate which takes forever, right? Don’t you want more firsthand information about humans?”
Demons were naturally gifted with silver tongues so Morus used hers with the delicacy of a breeze brushing an itch you didn’t know you had.
“Wouldn’t Lady Bella feel sad with only one second parent?”
“Of course she would! Among humans, children get teased for not having a mom. What if she grows up and asks why she only had one parent? One parent and only one nanny?!”
Regnator flinched at the vivid image, as if he could already hear Bella’s voice accusing him in the distant future. He shook his head violently.
“I don’t even want to imagine Lady Bella resenting me.”
Still, he muttered darkly that if anyone dared to say something like that to her, he’d tear their mouth open all the way to their ears. Morus pretended not to hear and held out her hand.
“Then let’s do it well together.”
She only extended her hand because she knew he had already agreed in his heart. Regnator, now all smiles, as if the earlier hostility had never existed, took her hand.
“Let’s be good wet spouses, Morus.”
Mors laughed, unable to hide her excitement. Her red lips curled into a crescent, the mole beside them arching charmingly with her smile.
‘So it is easy when the Demon King’s daughter is involved, huh, Regnator?’
He had never once blinked at her seductions, not even a single chance. And yet, he had eagerly accepted this suggestion. Clearly, the Demon King’s daughter was someone special to him. The Regnator she had fallen for was brilliant, perfect in every way, close to the Demon King but emotionally indifferent to anything outside of his tight circle.
And until now, that circle had consisted of only one person: the Demon King himself.
‘But now… it must include the Demon King’s daughter too.’
Morus had always wanted to enter that circle. And though Regnator was a genius, he was also surprisingly ignorant about most things he didn’t care about. That’s why he didn’t know what she did in the human world. He didn’t know how much she knew.
Among demons, Morus was feared as the reaper of the battlefield. But in the human world, she had another name.
“…Didn’t you say you can enter human dreams? Is that why it’s so easy for you to come and go?”
“Exactly. Humans starve for dreams that give them what they desire. I enter those dreams, grant them their fantasies and in return, I take just a little power.”
“Well, humans have always been a species that dream far beyond their means.”
Morus gave him a seductive smile and nodded.
“I hope my information proves… invaluable to the Demon King’s daughter.”
Regnator’s earlier distress over Bella’s injury seemed completely gone now. Instead, he looked genuinely joyful at the thought of being of even greater help.
***
(Break)
Thanks to Lucifer’s terrifyingly attentive care, I had to stay in bed for two more days before I was finally set free. I only won that freedom after thrashing around in bed, begging to be let go. Of course, Lucifer looked completely dissatisfied.
His eyes said he wanted to keep me in bed for another week, but I ignored it.
Any longer and I was going to develop bedsores.
“Hoo-ah!”
“Can you move now? Does your head still hurt? Are you feeling another nosebleed coming?”
Regnator hovered around me, fussing with all kinds of questions. Apparently, I’d been unconscious for four days and I didn’t know anything about that, of course. Now I understood why Lucifel had looked so grim when I first woke up.
Since then, I’d spent two more days in bed, and Lucifer hadn’t left my side even once for an entire week.
‘I thought he only stayed a day or two…’
I didn’t think he’d actually abandon his duties for a whole week. Maybe that’s why, though he didn’t seem happy about it, he reluctantly gave me my freedom and then had to spend all day outside catching up on work.
“If you feel even the slightest discomfort, tell me immediately. This time, I will protect you.”
Thanks to Lucifer’s absence, Regnator got to flourish. After all, he could stay by my side all day. What more could he ask for? His smile was dopey with joy, but his words were oddly intense.
“I’ve made full preparations.”
I wasn’t sure what that meant until I noticed a neatly folded red handkerchief sticking out of his back pocket and an entire lineup of strange medicine bottles on the table.
Did he take first-aid lessons or something?
“Abuah!”
As Regnator flailed around dramatically, I pointed to the ankle bracelet Lucifer gave me. I appreciated his effort, but this bracelet meant I’d be fine now. At least, that’s what Lucifer said. And he was the Demon King. Surely, it had some power.
“Ah…”
Regnator saw the bracelet on my ankle and visibly stiffened. Then he gave a short sigh. I tilted my head at his strange reaction, and he immediately put on a bright smile.
“I see. Now that you have that, you’ll be safe, Lady Bella. I suppose I won’t need to intervene anymore.”
Wow, he actually understood right away. Judging by his reaction, Lucifer’s words must’ve been true.
“Still, your body is fragile, Lady Bella. I won’t remove my preparations, they are for just in case of emergencies.”
I was in a great mood from finally escaping the bed, so I nodded easily. My cheeks jiggled a bit from the weight they’d gained in four days of eating and sleeping. Wondering if I’d gained too much, I started pressing at my cheeks when suddenly, a weird sound came from beside me.
“Ughk!”
Regnator, who’d been clinging to me annoyingly all day, suddenly clutched his chest and gasped.
“Lady Bella, you grow more adorable by the day. I don’t know how my heart can take it. Not that I have one, of course.”
“…”
What do you mean, you don’t have a heart? I wanted to argue, but then remembered… This was the Demon Realm. And he was a demon.
