The Incubus Archduke Dreams of a Pet Human - Chapter 28

At the all-too-gentle voice, Theticia was startled and lowered her head.

It looked no different from the balls of the human world, and now she could even see their faces. At this rate, Theticia felt she might manage to act like an ordinary young lady.

“Th-Theticia Pelloni!”

Her spirited self-introduction drew a soft chuckle from the two demons, as though they found her adorable. Unsure if she had done something wrong, she only flushed deeper. At her side, Glacia wagged her tail and stepped forward.

“Hello. Archdukie Mammon, Cellis!”

“Y-you’re an Archduke……?”

To think she would meet one of the six Archdukes, save only His Majesty the Demon King, so soon.

Startled, Theticia whispered, hesitating whether she ought to give her greetings again. In that moment, the red-haired demon, called Mammon, strode closer.

Slender fingers pressed firmly against Theticia’s cheek before letting go.

“You. It seems Asmod has invested quite a bit in you. Almost perfectly in your right mind. You’re not even afraid of me.”

“Oh, ah. Th-thank you.”

Theticia nodded in a daze.

For a human to maintain their sanity in the Demon Realm was exceedingly rare, and deliberately keeping one’s reason consumed so much mana it bordered on luxury, or so Asmod had once explained.

Though she had heard it during their intimacy and the memory was hazy, she remembered clearly that she must hide the fact she could remain sane even without Asmod.

—“If they find out, other demons may covet you.”

Covet? Just how would they covet her? The innocent question passed through her mind, but right now facing the demons before her was more urgent.

The green-haired demon, Cellis, let out a sharp, dissatisfied scoff at Theticia, who was buoyed with a kind of noblewoman’s sociability.

“Why would Lord Asmod lavish such effort on something so worthless? I don’t understand it. It seems her face is the only decent thing about her.”

Though laced with scorn, in such moments being sensitive would only backfire; letting it pass was best. Back in the Human Realm, just seeing blurred faces was enough to make her break into a cold sweat, and she had never once managed to cope with it skillfully…….

But these two demons, aside from their pointed ears, looked so much like people that she thought she might be able to try.

“Ah, L-Lady Cellis, you are also beautiful. And Lord Mammon, you are so! Handsome!”

She meant it, in her own way. Perhaps demons had such beautiful appearances precisely to beguile people.

‘Lord Mammon is indeed a great beauty…… but still, Lord Asmod seems far more handsome. ……Ah! Is this what people mean by taste?’

At the new realization Theticia broke into a bright smile.

Seeing Theticia, far from being frightened or cowering, but instead smiling foolishly and bantering back, the two demons exchanged a baffled look.

When Mammon gently pressed against her cheek earlier, the mana he had released should by now have clouded her mind, yet Theticia was staring at him with eyes wide and unclouded.

Exchanging a glance with Cellis, Mammon addressed her with sly ease.

“Asmod must be close to finishing his audience. Cellis, escort this young lady to him.”

“Follow me, human.”

Before she knew it, Cellis seized Theticia’s wrist without permission. At the sharp, static-like sting, Theticia furrowed her brows.

“The Archdukie’s already out? Let’s go, Shon-ni!”

“Glacia, I need to discuss the northern front with you. Will you spare me a moment?”

Mammon, striding quickly, blocked Glacia as she moved to follow. Caught between Mammon and Cellis, Theticia looked back and forth between the two demons, at a loss.

“Uh, excuse me……”

Remembering Asmod’s warning to stay with Glacia, Theticia hesitated to take a step.

Mammon, with a genial smile, asked for her understanding.

“This is a matter for demons, so I would like you to step aside.”

“Y-yes…”

Answering in a daze, Theticia was led out of the ballroom, still caught in Cellis’s grasp.

“Come to think of it, how did you and Lord Asmod meet?”

“Ah, by accident……”

She could hardly say it had begun with an intrusion into his villa and harassment.

“An accident, you say. What a frivolous beginning.”

Crossing the corridor, Cellis guided Theticia down a staircase.

“Um, I don’t think it’s this way……”

The faint scent of sandalwood was drifting not from below, but from the upper floor.

“What are you talking about, Lord Asmod is down here.”

Knowing her instinct was nothing more than baseless suspicion, Theticia hesitated as she descended the stairs.

The place where the seemingly endless steps finally ended was before a massive door.

So long and narrow it was impossible to gauge its height, the door was carved all over with countless bas-reliefs of naked demons overlapping their bodies.

“Um, is he really here?”

At the ominous foreboding, Theticia flinched back.

Cellis seized her wrist firmly.

“Humans really are full of doubt.”

With that, Theticia’s body was thrust inside, and the door shut behind her.

“Gasp!”

The sight that spread out within made Theticia clamp her hand over her mouth to stifle a scream.

Under the dim glow of mana lamps, naked demons were pressing their bodies together, wet sounds sloshing in the air.