Soon, the attendants led Dioclyde to the Star Palace. We bid him farewell and returned to our room.
“Clyde. Did you mean what you said earlier?”
“What?”
“…You know what I mean. About marriage.” As I spoke with a teasing tone, Clyde chuckled.
“Why, you don’t like it?”
“There’s no reason not to like it. It’s just that… Are you okay with it?”
The last time we’d talked about marriage, he’d said he wasn’t sure he could make me happy or have the confidence to have a child with me.
Of course, I hoped that meeting Dioclyde would change his mindset in a positive direction. However, they had just met. It didn’t seem likely that the wounds and self-doubt that had plagued Clyde throughout his life would disappear in such a short time.
“To be honest, I don’t know. I don’t know if I’ll be good enough. I don’t want to make you regret…. I’m not sure yet.”
“Then why…?”
Clyde lowered his gaze for a moment without saying anything.
“…I don’t want to make the same mistake as my father.”
“…….”
“When I saw my Father, that thought crossed my mind. If I lose you, I might make the same choice as Father. Regretting endlessly, unable to keep you by my side…”
“…Clyde.”
Calling his name with a choked voice, Clyde weakly smiled and caressed my cheek.
“So, I made up my mind. If there’s no guarantee that I won’t regret either way, at least I want to do my best to hold onto you… and then we can regret together.”
“…You’re an idiot; why assume you’ll regret it? You said you loved me; you said you couldn’t live without me. Then, let’s live happily together for a long, long time,” I said with my face scrunched up.
Clyde’s eyes might have looked angry, but in reality, he was holding back tears.
“Besides, who said you could just leave me? I will never leave your side. Even if a child comes into the picture, it’s the same. Even if I have to go to the human realm and give birth, I will definitely take you with me. Try to run away then. Both you and I will end up dead.”
In response to my stubbornness, Clyde momentarily had a bewildered expression but then burst into laughter.
“Anyway, you’re really something.”
I thought his laughter, tinged with amusement, was quite pleasant.
“Do you understand now?”
“No, I knew it all along, from the day we met.” Clyde looked at me with affectionate eyes, then suddenly knelt in front of me.
“Uh….”
Clyde took my hand.
“Eila Rojasis, will you marry me?”
It was a polite gesture that made him seem like a different person. I was so stunned that I didn’t know what to do.
Clyde smirked.
“This is how you do it, right? I saw it when I was in Heremos. Peco, the guy next door, did it when he proposed to the bar owner’s daughter, Luina.”
“Uh, huh…. I guess.”
As I couldn’t meet Clyde’s eyes properly, he tilted his head as if something were strange.
“Why?”
“W-well, it’s embarrassing… that’s why.”
“But you were the one who asked for a formal proposal, Ruby.” Clyde said that, then immediately had a realization.
“No, I meant to call you Eila now.”
“Ruby is fine too. You said you liked that name. When you call me that, I feel entirely yours.”
I could feel my face growing hot. I lowered my gaze.
“Actually, I don’t care either way. Ruby or Eila… they’re both yours.”
“…….”
Clyde’s eyes took on a gentle glow. He stood up and pulled me into his arms. The firmness of his chest and the familiar scent surrounded me.
“I still haven’t gotten an answer.”
“I just said it. Didn’t you hear? I’m yours….”
“You didn’t say you’d marry me.”
“…Have you forgotten who it was that kept asking you to marry me before?”
“Tell me, Ruby. Eila.”
“…….”
My heart fluttered at the sound of his voice whispering in my ear.
I pulled away slightly from Clyde’s embrace and looked up into his eyes.
“Alright. I’ll marry you, Clyde Mezzer.”
Clyde’s eyes curved beautifully, and he gave me the brightest and biggest smile I’ve ever seen.
He scooped me up in his arms like he was picking up a child.
“Eek…!”
“I love you, Ruby. I’ll love you, and only you, until the day this world ends.”
Clyde’s eyes glistened as if tears were about to fall at any moment.
“I feel the same way, Clyde.”
I wrapped my arms around his face and kissed him.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
After a while, the entire Demon Realm was abuzz with astonishing news.
One was the return of Dioclyde, the former Demon King, to the Demon Castle, and the other was the story that the current Demon King would marry a human.
Both were unprecedented events in over a thousand years of demon realm history.
According to rumors, Dioclyde is the current Demon King’s father; he was born as a result of an affair with a human woman.
Unlike human kings, demons didn’t age or die of old age. The only time a new Demon King would ascend to the throne was when someone stronger than the previous one appeared. It meant that the current Demon King was the most powerful compared to any previous Demon King.
The authority of the Demon King through generations was absolute, and the commands of the Demon King were the law.
However, no king had ever shaken the fundamental foundations of the demon realm like this right after ascending the throne.
The fact that two Demon Kings were staying in the Demon Castle caused a significant disturbance in demon society. Even if one of them was a former Demon King who had already retired, it was still a shock to the system.
There could only be one absolute ruler in the demon realm, and the new king could only ascend to the throne through the complete destruction of the previous one. Metaphorically, it was no different from a priest worshiping two gods.
Moreover, to marry a human woman
Already, there were rumors circulating that the new king had human blood. The lack of strong opposition was due to his legitimate ascent to the throne and his overwhelming magical power, unparalleled among the previous Demon Kings.
However, accepting a human as a queen was a story not easily accepted. If she became the Demon Queen, it meant that she, like Dioclyde, would be embraced with the same reverence as the Demon King.
The majority of demons considered humans inferior beings and prey. So, the idea of a human becoming the Demon Queen was as shocking as Dioclyde’s existence.
This news naturally reached the ears of the High Lords, who ruled over the entire demon realm.
“Well, well, it gets more and more chaotic as we go.”
Vanderyl frowned at Giyu’s muttered words.
“That’s blasphemy, High Lord Giyu.”
“Blasphemy? Me? No, Vanderyl. If you stay silent and do nothing even in this situation, that would be a true dereliction of duty as a High Lord,” Giyu said sharply.
Vanderyl was still reeling from the Demon King’s declaration of truce and the resulting shortage of blood, which he had so bluntly described as ‘a minor loss for Sinfarels to bear’.
Even now, as soon as he heard the news, he rushed to Zataia, where Giyu was, to complain about the new king.
“To be disrespectful about such matters? There’s a limit to shamelessness.”
Giyu clicked her tongue and licked his lips.
“…So, do you have any good ideas?”
“Not yet. But we must do something; that’s for sure.”
“So, what do you plan to do?”
Without answering Vanderyl’s question, Giyu lifted his glass and drank. Then he muttered quietly.
“It’s like a human custom.”
“…What did you say?”
“Marrying a human woman and calling back the father who stepped down from the throne long ago. Well, I suppose it’s only natural since he was born and raised in the human realm.”
“…….”
Although Vandell’s expression seemed to want to say ‘blasphemy’ again, this time he didn’t utter the word.
“Tainting the sacred demon castle with the scent of humans, putting an end to the war with the human realm… It wouldn’t be surprising if the next step is to hand over this entire demon world to humans.”
“…High Lord Giyu.”
Vanderyl’s eyes widened in horror.
“Why? Do you think I’m wrong? Considering the king’s actions so far, such an absurd prediction may not be entirely baseless.”
“…Be careful what you say. You don’t know who might be listening.”
Vanderyl said in a low voice.
Giyu smirked with a twisted smile.
“This Pendril Castle is filled entirely with my subordinates. Before worrying about unnecessary things, it might be better for you to clearly state your own position.”
“What position are you talking about?”
Giyu emptied her glass, placed it on the table, and flicked it with her fingers, making it topple over. With a clear metallic sound, the fallen glass spun around.
“Either you will join me in rebuilding the fallen order of the demon world or not.”
Vanderyl’s face turned white at the words.
