The Incubus Archduke Dreams of a Pet Human - Chapter 37

“Quite…… a persuasive argument. It could be that carrying too much mana is the cause of your illness.”

Coming back to his senses, Asmod belatedly replied to Theticia’s claim. Theticia nodded repeatedly.

“Exactly. So, you said I’m the only one who can see your face, right? Among the demons, is there anyone who can see Lord Asmod’s face? For example, someone whose mana is similar to or greater than Lord Asmod’s.”

For someone he had thought was a dullard, Theticia’s question struck close to the mark. As she said, only the former Demon King had ever been able to see Asmod’s face properly. There was no need to lie, but neither was there reason to hide the truth and lose her trust.

“Yes. His Majesty can see my face. But other than him, you are the first.”

Instead, Asmod emphasized once more that she was a special existence. He had expected her to be pleased. Yet Theticia paid it no mind and began flipping through the pages of the bestiary.

Then she crawled forward on her knees and held the opened page right in front of him.

“I saw it in the bestiary. This demonic beast, the Selekion. It looks like a lizard, but demonic beasts with little mana and small bodies cannot perceive a Selekion’s camouflage and get eaten. Could Lord Asmod’s constitution be something like that?”

To associate the camouflage of a low-grade demonic beast like the Selekion with the magic in an incubus’s blood was deeply insulting. Yet losing his temper at a human who knew little about the Demon Realm would have been just as undignified.

When Asmod reached out and lowered the book, her eyes filled with expectation were waiting for his answer.

“……You could say it’s similar. Well found.”

“Ah, right? And something happened that supports that theory……The truth is, when I went to the ball, I saw faces.”

The hand that had been about to pat her head stopped in midair. A sense of accomplishment spread across Theticia’s face, as though she had achieved something great.

“What faces?”

Even at Asmod’s displeased tone, the joy did not leave her flushed face. It was a rapture that made the skin crawl, just like when she had first met him.

“I could see the demons’ faces, one by one. I still cannot see human faces, though.”

Theticia cast her gaze far beyond the field of blooming Moon Trumpets. Her eyes were like those of a stray dog that had been unable to belong to any pack and looked as though it had found a new place to stay.

Asmod recalled Theticia’s dream filled with crushed faces. No. The place she should live was not the Demon Realm. It had to be his embrace. Only then would this precious resource not run away.

“……Did you not say you could not recognize faces?”

“Yes, my whole life. I thought it would always be that way…… but I could see demons’ faces. Maybe the reason I can see Lord Asmod’s face is because Lord Asmod is a demon.”

A large hand yanked her forward. Her body fell into his broad chest.

Up close, Asmod’s face came into sharper focus. A deep line had formed between his neat brows.

Feeling as if she had done something wrong, Theticia gave an awkward smile.

“Still, I think Lord Asmod is the most handsome. Maybe because you are an incubus?”

At her innocent question, Asmod’s lips parted slightly, then closed.

Between the silver-white strands gleaming in the moon trumpet light, the nape of her neck glowed red, like that of a sunburned country girl. The urge to bite into that soft flesh shook Asmod.

It was nothing.

From her expression, from her reaction, it did not seem as though she would run from his arms merely because she could now see other demons.

A mere human, yet Theticia did not move according to his will. For her, Asmod needed to be the only existence. And yet, was she not saying that Asmod was the same as the other demons?

A sharp displeasure rose.

His hard fingertips pressed down on her nape. Breaking her neck would take only an instant, yet Asmod pulled her in and kissed her.

“Mmng…….”

At first she did not know what to do. Soon her small tongue tangled with his, matching his rhythm. The shift scraped irritably at his nerves.

He swept along her dull, small, herbivore-like teeth and sucked at the soft flesh as if venting irritation. The shoulder he held trembled again and again. Her hands, unable to decide whether to push away or cling, seized his hard chest.

“Ah, Asmod…… why, hhhn……”

When the thick flesh burrowed into the delicate membrane, strength gathered in her thighs. Held tightly by the nape, she felt like a kitten. Each time she turned her head to breathe, Asmod followed after her fiercely and stole her breath.