Valen didn’t head to the training grounds, but to Argen’s bedroom.
A week had passed since he’d awakened, yet the times they’d truly spoken were few and far between.
What could possibly keep her so busy?
Argen would often drop by Valen’s room briefly at breakfast or lunch, exchange a few words, then vanish somewhere with the Elders.
The bedtime visits they’d shared every three days had naturally ceased after he woke.
Didn’t succubi die if they couldn’t absorb essence for a certain period?Come to think of it, how had she procured essence during the three months he’d been unconscious?
Surely she hadn’t found some other substitute to provide essence.
Or had other demonic creatures…
“…….”
Valen, striding out with long legs, abruptly halted in the middle of the Demon King’s Castle corridor.
Imagining Argen rolling around with other demon scum sent an uncontrollable wave of disgust surging to his scalp.
His insides twisted viciously.
His eyes sank frighteningly as he stared toward Argen’s bedroom at the end of the corridor.
Feeling a rough flame surge in his chest, he swept his hair back.
“How amusing.”
A bitter laugh escaped him.
Wasn’t this a contradiction?
If Argen had chosen another to be her regular provider instead of him, it would have been for the best.Besides, it was Valen who broke the contract first.
Despite having no reason or justification for his rage, his emotions refused to be controlled.
He felt disgusted with himself.
Valen ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek, then exhaled deeply.
He forced down the ugly feelings welling up inside him, then resumed walking.
Even a succubus might be able to endure about three months without essence, couldn’t she?
There was no trace of intercourse anywhere on Argen’s body.
Wasn’t she the one who, just three months ago, had suffered from severe love bites all over?
Damn it.
He didn’t know why he was analysing the traces of a demon’s lovemaking.
His mind was racing as if he were strategising for a major war.
Even he found this situation utterly ridiculous.
Not only that, but it was also absurd that it was all his fault that he had made mistakes yet that he was anxious about not being able to meet the other party.
“Aren’t you the one who has a lot to answer for?”
He was tired of agonising over Argen’s lukewarm response.
Today, he would finally hear how she intended to deal with him, the one who had betrayed her.Once his decision was made, his long legs moved forward more decisively than before.
But something felt off today.
Unlike usual, the Demon King’s Castle was in an uproar.
The demon folk were generally late risers.
At this hour, everything should have been dead silent, save for the kitchen.
The closer he got to Argen’s bedroom, the clearer the voices became.
“Do you even realize how chaotic the demon realm is right now?!!”
“Why are you making such a fuss over just executing one human…?”
“So you’re siding with the humans over us demons, huh?
Maybe it’s because you don’t have horns, that he suits you so well.”
Words that sounded like someone was being cornered poured out from behind the thick door.
These were voices he hadn’t heard before in the Demon Realm.
Valen instinctively knew they belonged to the old fools Nadol had mentioned.
It wasn’t hard to deduce that the human they were talking about was himself.That meant all those harsh words were being hurled at Argen.
Yet, even listening intently, he couldn’t hear Argen’s voice.
He could roughly guess the situation inside the room.
Now was not the time for Argen to listen to such nonsense.
Dealing with himself came first.
He could tell at a glance.
The ones called old fools were obviously stubborn, authoritarian types.
Valen could handle that sort with ease.
Valen shoved one hand into his pocket and knocked.
There was no need to open the door.
“My lord.
A young child has come to the castle, demanding to see you and causing a scene.”
The room fell silent for a moment.
The stream of insults directed at Argen abruptly stopped.
Shortly after, the bedroom door swung open.
Several pale-faced individuals spilled out first, while the remaining few rose reluctantly, sighing irritably.
Valen watched the throng rush out before entering the room.
Click.
He locked the door behind him.
“…You?”
Argen sat in the middle of the long sofa.
Not even a cup of tea was set on the table, and she couldn’t even lean back comfortably against the backrest.
The face staring straight at him looked terribly gaunt.
Valen sat down beside Argen as if it were his own seat.
Argen’s startled gaze fixed on Valen’s face and wouldn’t break.
Valen turned his head to meet hers.
“What are you staring at?”
“…I just couldn’t believe it was really your voice.
I thought I was hearing things.
But why did you do this?”
““Because I don’t want to give you up to the old fools.
There are a lot of things I want to hear from you.”
“You deliberately lied to drive them away?
What were you thinking, doing something so reckless?”
“No need to worry.
The more arrogant and self-righteous they act, the more dirty tricks they’re up to behind the scenes.” Valen tapped Argen’s nose with his index finger.
Argen blinked in slight surprise.
“Dirty tricks, you say…”
“Like a guy sneaking around to meet a young girl behind his wife’s back, or having an illegitimate child.
The reasons vary.”
Argen nodded, saying ‘I see,’ as if she’d learned something new.
“I should try using that myself sometime.”
“No, don’t use it.
You absolutely mustn’t do that.” Valen said firmly, overcome by an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
Argen pressed her lips tightly together, wearing a somewhat displeased expression, but didn’t argue.
A long silence followed.
A strange awkwardness hung in the air, though it wasn’t exactly unpleasant.
Then Argen spoke first.
“What is it you want to hear from me?”
She acted as if she would tell Valen anything he desired.
This attitude of Argen’s was not particularly welcome.
Valen turned his body completely toward Argen.
He propped one leg up on the sofa and draped his arm over the backrest.
It was a far cry from attentive listening, a decidedly slouchy posture.
But his gaze alone was infinitely serious.
Valen was scrutinising Argen’s face more calmly than ever before.
“Your honest feelings.”
“……”
“How you felt that day I tried to steal your parents’ keepsakes and run away, what you wanted to do, how you felt, why you saved me, why you removed the curse from my right arm even knowing the danger…”
“Wait, hold on.
That’s too much.”
“Why didn’t you tell the other demons I stole the heirlooms?
Why are you shielding me even after seeing those disgusting old fools humiliate you just now?
What the hell do you ultimately want from me?”
Valen’s voice flowed out without inflection or pause.
As Argen chewed over each of his words, her face gradually clouded over with confusion.
She seemed hard-pressed to keep up with the sheer volume of questions.
Once Valen actually voiced the doubts that had only swirled in his head, he felt even more flustered.
It was all so strange.
Why would she sacrifice herself to this extent just to protect me?
Was it simply because of my essence?
He had guessed that his essence was captivating to succubi, but he hadn’t thought it would be worth risking her life.
Then perhaps it was a matter of intelligence.
She didn’t know when to firmly reject, consumed solely by the peace treaty and unable to see anything else.If not for such reasons, Argen couldn’t possibly display such devoted behaviour.
“Because I want to cherish you.”
“……”
“There’s no other reason.
That’s all.”
Yet the answer that came from Argen’s mouth was unlike anything Valen had ever heard before.
His mind, which had been on the verge of overheating, went completely blank at her single sentence.
Valen stared blankly at Argen, forgetting even to blink.
An unknown emotion spread through him, cold enough to freeze his bones and guts solid, piercingly cold.
He couldn’t even move a finger.
“You?”
All thought was completely paralysed.
Valen, who had always shown exceptional resourcefulness in any unexpected situation, was now frozen like an idiot.
What reaction should he give?
What words should he utter?
What attitude should he take?
He had no idea whatsoever.
When Valen, who always sharply rebuffed her words, froze rigid, a flicker of bewilderment crossed Argen’s face.
Then, the space between her eyebrows gradually twisted, and her eyes widened in surprise.
“You… breathe.
Breathe!”