The Incubus Archduke Dreams of a Pet Human - Chapter 14

Theticia bit her lip and looked down at her arm. She’d already been swayed by sweet words once and made a contract with a demon. She couldn’t afford to make the same mistake twice.

“Even so! Living in the Demon Realm is out of the question! And besides, if you’re a demon, couldn’t you just keep me here by force? I don’t understand why you’re trying to convince me like this?”

What exactly is he plotting?. As Theticia glared at him, Asmod raised the corner of his mouth with calm certainty, as if he’d expected this.

Humans are creatures of choice. And predators who deal with such creatures have an instinctive understanding of how to be chosen.

Desire originates from the feeling of being specially regarded by another. That must be the origin of lust.

And Asmod happened to have the perfect bait for the human before him.

“You’re the first human who’s ever recognized my face.”

At those words, Theticia dropped the flower stem she had barely been clinging to.

“I’m… the first?”

“That’s right. Halima, how do I look in your eyes?”

Halima, who had been quietly observing the two, answered with a smile in her voice.

“Your hair is bright blue, and your eight eyes are white.”

As if to say, there you have it, Asmod let out a small scoff.

“Most people see me with the face they want to see. Sometimes it’s their ideal face, sometimes the face of someone they love. It’s an unavoidable trait of being an Incubus. But you… You saw my real face.”

Inside her small ribcage, her heart began to pound. It felt like finally meeting her own kind after a long time as an outsider. The joy of recognizing his face wasn’t hers alone, and the thrill of that realization surged through her.

At the heat spreading across Theticia’s cheeks, Asmod let out a leisurely smile.

“You said it was your first time seeing someone’s face. It’s my first time showing mine. If this isn’t fate, then what is it?”

The cleverer the predator, the more effort it spends on its prey. It lays traps, uses tools, and lures it gently into its mouth.

“That’s why my desire to keep you by my side is only natural.”

His voice, thick and sticky like malt, could not be told for a curse or a blessing. The sense of kinship blooming in her heart shook Theticia completely.

“Stay with me, Theticia.”

She knew how dangerous accepting this offer was, and yet her lips moved as if under a spell.

“…O-okay. But only until I find a way to cure my illness.”

There was no resisting the demon’s whisper. At that, the violet irises rimmed in gold curved in delight.

“A wise decision.”

But Asmod had no intention of letting her go. Capturing the heart of such a naïve human would not be difficult.

And once Theticia came to hold him dear, curing her illness would no longer matter at all.

Asmod tilted his head slowly and pressed his lips to her forehead like a brand. It was only a simple kiss, yet Theticia felt stunned, as if struck by an electric eel.

She had given in again. Or perhaps it might not be so bad. If all it took was food, shelter, and sleeping with him regularly, and in exchange, she could study rare demonic beasts to her heart’s content…

That thought had barely taken shape when Asmod called for Halima.

“I need to obtain His Majesty’s permission for Theticia.”

“Y-you’re getting permission? You’re not planning to take this girl in as a pet human, are you? The other nobles won’t be pleased…”

Flustered, Halima clasped her hands in distress.

“Are you saying there are those who would oppose my decision?”

At Asmod’s sharp rebuke, Halima acknowledged to having spoken hastily.

“O-Of course not, no one would dare oppose His Grace, the Archduke.”

“Then your role is clear.”

Asmod let go of Theticia’s hand and settled onto a plush sofa. Theticia, dumbfounded, remained standing in the middle of the salon.

“A-a pet human?”

Regardless, Halima began moving her eight arms and started taking Theticia’s measurements.

“If not as a pet human, what other status did you expect to enter the Demon Realm with? Living here requires permission from His Majesty the Demon King. We’ll need to make a public declaration that you are mine and prepare for your debutante presentation.”

At Asmod’s bombshell of a statement, Theticia’s eyes widened as she asked in disbelief.

“…Debutante?”

“Yes. …Don’t tell me you’ve never attended a ball before?”

A debutante and a ball, in the Demon Realm. Just hearing the words made cold sweat drip down her back.

Even as the daughter of a Viscount, Theticia had attended many social gatherings and balls several times alongside the twins. What would be a joyous occasion for an ordinary noblewoman had always been a thorny path for her.

In crowded places, it was difficult to distinguish people by voice alone. Constantly facing mangled, unreadable faces was exhausting. The unintentional rudeness she committed from not recognizing faces, and the cold reactions that followed, were unbearable.

“Do I… really have to go?”

“How else would you live in the Demon Realm?”

In conclusion, for Theticia, going to a ball was far scarier than living in the Demon Realm.