DKFTI 17

Maybe it was because he was someone who had always wielded a blade. The vegetables were cut evenly, and the meat was cooked to perfection. Through him, Sibel learned that the kitchen in the Demon King’s castle actually had controllable fire.

To be honest, the cooking itself was a little… enjoyable.

Of course, maybe that feeling came only from the fact that he could fill his belly with delicious food.

Sibel cooked with Aizen in the kitchen, and even ate his fill there. They both tasted and judged the freshly made dishes, stuffing themselves full.

“It’s… raining.”

On the way back after tidying the kitchen, Sibel looked up at the sky beyond the wide open arched pillars of the corridor. Flashes of light flickered now and then across the dark sky.

“Yeah.”

Aizen answered indifferently.

But to Sibel, the weather felt unfamiliar. Ever since he had been born in the Demon King’s castle, the weather had always been good.

“It feels creepy.”

The cries of monsters in the distance, which he had started to find almost cute after some time, now sounded frightening.

Sibel quietly shifted toward the inside of the corridor.

Sure enough, it was better for guests to walk on the outer side with the view. For this moment at least, Aizen had been promoted from intruder to guest.

“What are you doing?”

He was caught trying to sneak sideways. It might not have been a big move, but since Aizen was a swordsman, he reacted sensitively to others’ movements.

“Hmm, nothing.”

Sibel absolutely refused to say he was hiding because of thunder and lightning. So he quietly kept his place.

They were walking forward when Aizen suddenly stopped and fixed his gaze on the arched window.

Kwanng–!

The moment a powerful bolt of lightning struck, the entire window was dyed black.

“Huh?”

And then Sibel’s body was pulled toward the window. It happened so suddenly that he had no idea what was going on.

A thin hand with red nails slowly descended past his cheek.

What is this, a horror movie?

“Eek!”

Thinking a ghost had appeared, Sibel shrank in terror. Something cold touched his forehead, then cold fingers coiled around his neck.

Thump, thump, thud, thud.

His heartbeat grew faster. Sibel’s body trembled.

Lacking the courage to look behind him, Sibel shot Aizen a desperate look for help. But Aizen, his face tense, was staring past Sibel, out the window.

“Ugh…, s-save me…”

Before Sibel could even finish asking for help, sharp red nails brushed lightly across his plump lower lip.

“Eek!”

His hair stood on end with goosebumps. Three seconds before he burst into tears.

Aizen reached out his arm, and a golden aura flickered from his hand.

Kwang–!

But his action was blocked. A massive arm smashed through the window pillar and slammed him against the wall.

“Khk.”

Aizen took a heavy blow but clenched his teeth, summoned his holy sword, and cut off the grotesque arm that held him down.

Thud, he dropped to the floor and immediately gripped his sword again. He was about to leap forward to save Sibel.

“Hello, cutie.”

A sweet voice rang in Sibel’s ear, and a heavy rose fragrance spread around him. Something soft pressed against his back.

“Hm?”

It was a scent he had smelled before.

Blinking in confusion, Sibel turned his head.

He met a pair of seductive red eyes. And lips, just as red and full, curved into a smile.

“Senior?”

The one floating in the air, clinging to Sibel from behind as if embracing him, was the beautiful Lilianthes he had seen at the Demon King Forum.

Meeting Sibel’s gaze, Lilianthes lightly pinched his cheek.

“You’re still so cute, my cutie.”

As she stretched his cheek back and forth, playing with him, Sibel tilted his head.

Since when had he become her cutie?

Behind Lilianthes, a huge wyvern beat its wings and pulled away from the window. In the sky beyond, hidden until now, were countless monsters with wings like wyverns.

With a soft pop, Lilianthes let go of his cheek.

She crossed her legs in the air seductively, draped an arm over Sibel’s shoulder, and looked at Aizen, who seemed ready to charge at any moment.

Her eyes swept up and down his figure. After observing him for some time, she hummed and brushed her red nails across her lips.

Every movement was suffocatingly decadent.

“You’ve a horned colt at your side.”

Her mocking tone twisted Aizen’s face in a frown.

“Wild, and arrogant on top of it.”

Her voice was soft as it echoed, but Aizen felt the killing intent pierce into his skin.

“Senior! What brings you here?”

While Aizen was facing death, Sibel greeted Lilianthes with a bright, clear voice. Just like an innocent animal wagging its tail.

In answer to Sibel’s question, Lilianthes said,

“I came because I wanted to see my cutie.”

The rose fragrance floating around her grew stronger. At her reply, Sibel beamed and clapped his hands together.

“Senior Lilianthes, are you the one who brought the thunder and lightning?!”

With eyes sparkling, Sibel asked her, full of excitement at the thought that she might be strong enough to control even the weather.

At his words, smoke swirled in her hand, and the black fan she had carried before appeared again. It matched the black dress that wrapped her body.

“Not exactly, but I did come because of that problem.”

She winked and tapped her folded fan against her cheek.

“Now then, shall I be entertained by our new Demon King’s hospitality?”

“Yes! Yes! I’ll bring tea right away! Ruru! Shanti!”

Calling for Ruru and Shanti, who must have been somewhere in the castle, Sibel hurried toward the reception room.

“Welcome, Senior!”

Seeing Sibel run off like an excited puppy, Lilianthes unfolded her legs, and her sharp heels clicked against the floor of the corridor as she stepped down.

She moved toward Aizen and stopped in front of him.

She leaned forward until her face was right before his, studying him closely. Her red eyes seemed to pierce all the way through to his soul.

With her folded fan, she tapped between Aizen’s brows.

“……”

Aizen glared at her.

“Relax, I won’t eat.”

She left the subject out, so it was unclear who exactly she wasn’t going to eat.

“There are a lot of strange things here.”

Humming a tune, Lilianthes walked toward where Sibel was bouncing along in the distance.

Only when she moved away did Aizen finally feel his stifled breath ease. Running a hand through his tousled hair, he followed after Sibel and Lilianthes.

He didn’t bother to question why he was automatically heading to the reception room too.

What mattered was that he absolutely did not want to leave those two contradictory figures alone together.

***

“How did you get here?”

“Hoho.”

Seated before the quickly prepared tea, Lilianthes kneaded Sibel’s soft cheeks over and over.

There was a perfectly good chair beside him, but she chose instead to sit on the table next to the chair Sibel occupied.

Sibel looked up at her and obediently held still in a stiff posture, offering up his cheeks.

Meanwhile, Aizen stood with arms crossed, leaning against the closed door, silently watching the two of them.

After playing with Sibel’s cheeks for a long time, Lilianthes finally spoke.

“The rainy season is coming.”

“Rainy… season?”

Her hand left Sibel’s cheek. She picked up her steaming teacup and took a sip.

“And it suddenly occurred to me that I should worry about my junior Demon King experiencing his first rainy season.”

“The rainy season, that means it rains, right?”

Sibel rubbed his tingling cheeks with his palms as he answered.

“Simply put, yes. But the rainy season in the Demon Realm is a little… different.”

Sibel tilted his head.

“Aha! You’re worrying about me!”

Sibel knew well that he still lacked much knowledge as a Demon King. So he was grateful that Lilianthes was thinking of him.

“Mm… well, you could say that.”

With a flick of her hand, Lilianthes made a box drop onto the table. Sibel flinched in surprise and stared at it. She tapped his nose lightly with her fingertip.

“But I wonder if my little cutie Demon King knows how hard it was for me to come all the way here.”

Hoho, her distinctive laughter rang out. At that moment, a flash of lightning lit up the window outside.