Chapter 22
Chapter 22
‘So they say he’s the Demon King’s close aide, but were they close enough to joke like that?’
Just as I was indulging in such a heartwarming thought… bang! A loud pop was heard.
‘No way.’
I didn’t want to turn around, but my head cracked back against my will.
Gasp!
I covered my mouth with both hands, eyes wide open. There stood Lucifer, brushing off his hands in irritation, and Regnator with a gaping hole in his stomach. This was the third time I had seen Regnator with a hole in his belly—ever since that time he made me cry.
“What the hell is this?”
Dry, crumbling leaf remnants dusted off Lucifer’s delicate, jade-like hands. From the large hole in Regnator’s abdomen, rather than the usual white powder, unidentified fluttering leaves spilled out.
“These are rare herbs meant for Lady Bella. I didn’t know when I might need them, so I carried them in my body.”
Regnator muttered as if mourning, “They were hard to come by,” while pouting at the disintegrating leaves falling to the floor.
“You carried that inside your body, and you were going to use it on Bella? Were you trying to kill her?”
“I’m not an idiot. I specially protected it to prevent spoilage. I even ensured no toxins could get in.”
“……”
“In any case, you killed me once already, so I’m not doing what you ask.”
Lucifer snapped off the last bits of the herbs with a scowl and glared at Hirpus. When I instinctively stepped in front of Hirpus to shield him from Lucifer’s glare, his brow twitched like a wave.
“Bella.”
“…Yes?”
The voice calling my name sounded uncharacteristically cold. My body flinched hard in fear, and Lucifer’s expression twisted even further. It seemed my fear bothered him more than the fact I was protecting Hirpus.
“You want it that badly?”
Though still irritated, his voice was slightly subdued. He must have seen my fear and reined in his anger. I nodded slowly. For the first time since coming here, I was being stubborn. For the first time, I was defying Lucifer’s wishes.
For the first time… I had met a creature as frail as myself. I wanted to protect it. I felt that if I kept this creature safe, I too could grow up safely. I knew it was a foolish thought. But somehow, deep down, I just knew: Lucifer shouldn’t have Hirpus near me.
“…Fine. I suppose I can’t take your first gift from you.”
After a long silence, Lucifer finally relented. He slumped lazily onto the sofa, resting his chin in his hand like he didn’t want to think about this anymore.
Though he looked like a masterpiece of beauty, his crimson eyes as he looked at me and especially at Hirpus were chilling. No, specifically when he looked at the Hirpus.
“Do as you please.”
He lifted one corner of his lips in tired amusement. “But… that mutt over there better not forget his place.”
A weak whine came from Hirpus. Startled, I stepped in again, shielding him from Lucifer’s gaze with my body.
I could feel the trembling from behind me, he was violently shaking. As I made another move to completely block Hirpus, Lucifer’s brow furrowed. But then he looked away, seemingly losing interest.
Thank goodness. Honestly, I didn’t think I could withstand that terrifying stare for long.
‘I’m grateful… so tonight, I’ll sleep holding Lucifer’s hand.’
After being denied a chance to sleep beside Hirpus, I’d rebelliously curled up with him on the carpet. Had I known that would foul Lucifer’s mood this much, I never would’ve done it.
‘He could’ve just said something if he didn’t like it…’
He always looked at me sleeping on the floor like I was absurd, but since he never forcibly moved me to the bed, I thought it was fine.
“Abubu!”
Feeling sorry for being stubborn and grateful that, despite his displeasure, he respected my choice, I offered my thanks to Lucifer with a cheerful shout. There had been a crisis, but it worked out, so I smiled from ear to ear.
‘Maybe I’ll grow up just fine after all.’
An unfounded confidence bloomed inside me.
“Still… why does that mutt look like he’s in agony every time Lady Bella hugs him?”
“……”
“Is it because he’s a mutant?”
Lucifer, who had been idly tapping his finger on the armrest with his chin propped, let out a small chuckle.
“He probably doesn’t want to die.”
His clearly mocking tone made Regnator tilt his head, focusing instead on stuffing his leaking abdomen. I didn’t understand why Lucifer had said that while looking at Hirpus, but maybe because of all the tension, drowsiness began to creep up on me.
I lay down on my side next to Hirpus, who was curled up, and petted his soft fur. Grasping his front paw like we were holding hands, I closed my eyes. There was a little twitch, like resistance, but he didn’t pull away. Maybe he didn’t actually hate it.
I felt content.
Even a mere beast has emotions.
And I was starting to feel that I wasn’t the only one giving affection.
‘You’re my friend now.’
Let’s survive this cruel demon realm together. With that vow to protect this demon in my heart, I let sleep take me.
⋆⋆⋆
Lucifer had recently grown quite displeased with the daily demon realm council meetings. He was beginning to wonder if this nonsense still needed to continue all because of Bellatrix, who was likely still sound asleep in his chambers.
Though the meeting was in full swing, Lucifer had his eyes closed, using magic to watch Bellatrix in another room.
‘She should be waking up by now.’
As expected, the blanket he’d tucked her under began to rustle. Despite being so tiny, not even the length of an arm, her sleeping habits were atrocious. Even while asleep, she’d kick the covers off, roll around, crawl into his chest, and occasionally even kick him in the ribs.
Of course, it felt no more harmful than a butterfly landing on a flower. Lucifer actually liked her rowdy sleep habits. Like they say, a habit born in the womb doesn’t fade, she was kicking even in her sleep.
He’d put protective wards around the bed just in case she fell off. Even if she did now, she wouldn’t get hurt, but safety precautions never hurt.
“Um… Lord Lucifer. How should we proceed with this agenda item?”
Lucifer’s brow twitched at the voice disrupting his pleasant thoughts. He kept his eyes closed. Bellatrix was now sitting up, nodding off. Her large head wobbled forward on her tiny body.
Whenever she flopped forward and jolted awake, she’d immediately look around as if checking if anyone had seen. No one could enter Lucifer’s chamber except himself, but she always did the same.
‘Well… aside from that demon.’
He frowned at the thought of the white animal he didn’t want to think about, but the displeasure quickly faded at Bellatrix’s next move. She rubbed her eyes with chubby hands, yawned deeply, and smacked her lips.
Watching her wake up this way while attending council was one of Lucifer’s little recent hobbies. Of course, the fact that he did all this during meetings was a bit problematic.
“Lord Lucifer?”
At the second interruption, Lucifer opened his eyes with a frown. His eyes, as pure and red as freshly spilled blood, pierced the room.
“What?”
His response, sounding almost like a declaration of distraction, made the nobles in the room clamp their mouths shut. They all had things they wanted to say but no one among them had the guts to tell Lucifer to ‘please focus’.
They’d simply grown used to this behavior over the past few months. The noble who had disrupted Lucifer’s hobby swallowed hard and tried to calmly explain the agenda again from the top.
“A tear has formed in the boundary of the western forest, allowing the demonic beasts to escape. We believe it was caused by a unicorn that escaped during Regnator’s previous subjugation of the Beast Lords…”
He glanced nervously at Lucifer.
Although it had been Regnator’s blunder, the act had Lucifer’s tacit approval, it had been a mission to secure a gift for the Demon King’s daughter, still unseen by the others.
Everyone now knew how sensitive Lucifer was when it came to her.
“And?”
The noble swallowed dryly several times and continued.
“There are now more than ten escaped unicorns. The breach is wider than expected, and over half the demonic beasts in the western forest have fled.”
“So?”
“If we don’t act, the rift could widen, and even demons might start slipping through.”
The long-winded point was simple: they needed to repair the boundary.
“Are there still morons slipping through that rift?”
He wasn’t expecting an answer. Lucifer said it with one eye shut again. Through it, he saw Bellatrix, who had now climbed down from the bed and was rolling on the floor with that primitive white beast.
Irritation surged again.
If anything was ruining his small joy these days, it was that white creature constantly clinging to Bellatrix. He only wanted to see her, but because they were always glued together, he had to see that beast’s face all the time too.
He opened his other eye.
“I asked what kind of idiot is sneaking through the rift.”
Though phrased as a question, his voice now clearly dripped with annoyance. The atmosphere in the room grew heavy, making the nobles hold their breaths.
“P-perhaps… it’s the demons desperate to grow stronger,” a noble finally stammered. He bowed his head deeply as if praying to survive the reply.
