Rip.
The letter Valen wrote was slowly torn in half by another’s hand.
It didn’t end there.
He gathered the torn pieces together and tore them apart again.
“It’s too sad!” The one who tore the letter to shreds was Finn.
The paper scraps fluttered down like large snowflakes.
Argen absentmindedly reached out and caught a few pieces.
“You should have gone to my office.” She said it as if comforting Valen, who sat beside her.
This letter they could take it or leave it.
Valen sank deep into the sofa, staring listlessly at the shredded paper scraps.
No wonder—this was already the sixth time a letter had been torn up.
They said they’d let me send a letter to my brother.
Just looking at the three demonic bastards in front of him made his irritation boil over, so he finally averted his gaze.
Sunlight poured in through the wide-open window.
Half-finished knitting lay scattered everywhere.
The medical bag he’d seen countless times sat open, its contents laid bare.
This was Nadol’s office.
Suddenly, the three demons swarmed in, declaring they would inspect the contents of Valen’s letter.
This was due to concerns that, given his history of escape, he might request an army from the human realm.
But at some point, the essence of the inspection began to blur.
Thud!
Finn slammed his fist roughly on the table.
“Where are you going to die?
Why are you sending me a letter as if you are leaving soon?
Can’t you just write hopeful, good stories?!” Finn shouted with moist eyes, while Nadol and Zephyr, sitting beside him, wore expressions of agreement.
“I don’t want to make him wait indefinitely.”
“Do you want to sit here for the rest of your life?
We said we would let you go!
Even though we said we would let you go, why are you telling your brother to go to your parents’ grave alone?
Do you want your younger brother to completely forget about you?!”
“Forgetting is better than longing.” Valen spoke with a face showing no trace of regret or lingering attachment.
He seemed utterly detached, as if he had lived a harsh life solely for his brother yet desired nothing in return.
“Heartless, heartless.
You’re colder than a snowy mountain in midwinter.”
Argen moved her hand as if slicing through the air.
The torn letter pieces gathered together like they were drawn by a magnet, quickly reassembling into its original form.
“Do you want me to send this?” Argen asked, holding the stiffened paper.
“Yeah.”
Valen’s face still bore a look of distrust as he answered.
Just knowing he could inform Leto of his fate felt like a heavy burden lifted from his heart.
But who could deliver this letter?
“Is there a mail carrier in the demon realm?”
“We have an excellent messenger bird.”
Argen gave Nadol a nod.
Nadol whistled, his expression still displeased with the letter’s contents.
Then, the wind seeping in through the window grew increasingly fierce.
Items from the royal medical bag began tumbling across the floor, papers scattering everywhere.
What swept in with terrifying force was none other than a massive tornado.
The natural disaster, poised to engulf the office, halted before the window.
“Ugh, you don’t tell me that thing is the delivery person?!”
A fierce wind swept into the office, completely disheveling Argen’s hair.
Valen instinctively wrapped his arms around Argen.
“To avoid human eyes while delivering, moving in the form of nature is the safest.”
Come to think of it, considering its size, the wind’s intensity was actually on the tamer side.
Argen slipped what she held into an envelope addressed to the recipient and sent it flying.
As if snatched by an invisible hand, the letter was sucked into the tornado.
The tornado, seemingly possessing its own will, gradually drifted away as if its business was done.
“Isn’t it a bit too large to be avoiding eyes?” Valen stared blankly at the now-quiet outdoors.
As if the tornado had never passed, the sun beat down brightly outside.
“It’s a clever one, so it’ll choose its weather wisely.”
“Can we really trust it?
It seems like it might deliver it to the wrong place.”
“I’ve never heard of it delivering incorrectly.
Let’s just wait and see.
Once the messenger bird completes its delivery, it will return to the front of Nadol’s office.”
“……Could we even get a reply?”
“Unfortunately, that’s unlikely.
Ordinary humans don’t possess magic power.
Even if someone were born with it, compared to demons, it’s a mere speck.
It would be woefully insufficient to command a messenger bird.
I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologise.
I was just saying…….” Valen couldn’t finish his sentence.
Suddenly, he sensed the surroundings were unnaturally quiet.
Turning his head at the suspicious feeling, he saw three demons staring at him and Argen with expressions of utter shock.
Only then did Valen realize how he must look.
A long time had passed since the tornado had swept through, yet he was still clutching Argen as if trying to crush her.
“……”
Valen, no different from the three demons, gasped in shock.
His expression stiffened.
Why did he instinctively wrap himself around Argen whenever trouble arose?
Not just once, but every single time.
And to anyone watching, it clearly looked like he was forcibly holding her.
Yet, none of the feelings he’d felt before—the murderous intent, the disgust—had crept in at all.
Instead, the physical contact felt comfortable, even pleasant…….
“This is impossible.” A confused Valen muttered under his breath.
Even now, he didn’t release his arms wrapped around her.
Finn stormed out, slamming the door loudly, while Nadol scratched his head awkwardly.
Only Zephyr remained with a blank, dazed expression.
He’d wet the bed again.
Damn it.
This time it didn’t end with just ejaculating in his dream; he’d soaked the bathroom floor three times over.
Valen stared down at his semen-covered hands, sinking into deep self-loathing.
His mind and body were both falling apart.
The desire within him was growing sharper.
It was growing to such an immense size that denial was no longer possible.
Meeting Argen only in dreams was no longer enough.
He wanted to touch her, feel her, penetrate deep inside her body.
His brain was soaked in lust, and even her breath, her blink of an eye, felt like maddening stimulation, driving him on.
“My Lord, the messenger bird has returned.”
He wanted to lick up the joy in her eyes as she entered his bedroom without knocking.
The image of those small lips wrapped around his cock still lingered behind his eyelids.
“They say a man about a hand shorter than you, with short brown hair, received the letter.
He opened it absentmindedly and burst into tears right there.
If it’s brown hair, it couldn’t be your brother… It must have been someone special to you?”
“Ben.
He’s a servant working at the mansion.
He’s looking after my brother.”
“That’s a relief.”
Watching Argen relax as if it were her own matter, Valen finally admitted it.
He no longer disliked Argen.
Even though she was the demon who kidnapped and assaulted him, he found it pleasant when she spoke to him, and the feel of her taking his hand first wasn’t unpleasant.
After informing his brother of his fate and acknowledging his feelings for Argen, the tangled mess in his head that seemed impossible to untangle began to calm.
His heart, which had been beating wildly in confusion, not knowing where to go, had finally found one path.
Just while staying in the demon realm… Just for that long, I’ll do as my heart tells me.
Valen pulled Argen’s waist and sat her between his legs.
“Since you helped me, I want to do something for you too.” He pressed his lips to her earlobe and whispered.
“It’s fine.
I didn’t do it expecting anything from you.”
“I can’t just let it go.
You sucked the curse off my right arm, didn’t you?”
“It was nothing.”
Nothing?
His hand, veins clearly visible, dug between Argen’s thighs.
He was openly groping her, yet Argen showed no particular reaction.
“But the only thing I can give you is my body.”
Valen bit down hard on her earlobe, painfully.
When Argen’s shoulder flinched, the corners of his mouth curved into a satisfied smile.
“……”
“Got plans later?”
Valen could see the exposed part of her ear and the nape of her neck peeking through her hair turning a fiery red.
Just as she hesitated, seemingly about to say something, Valen grabbed her cheek and turned her head.
Then, as if to cut off her words, he pressed his lips against hers.
His tongue swept broadly across her tender mucous membrane before pulling away.