Chapter 49
Exchanging only hesitant glances with Asmod, Glacia returned through the open window.
“I brought back a letter from His Majesty the Demon King!”
Glacia cried out brightly and spun around the ballroom ceiling before landing at Theticia’s side.
“A letter from His Majesty the Demon King? Surely…….”
“Yeah! His Majesty is coming to the party too.”
Her heart, which had been stirring, froze rapidly.
‘……This will be serious trouble when I return to the Human Realm.’
She had dreamed of someday returning to the Human Realm, but not only was there the contract, she was even to have an audience with the Demon King. The thought surged up that it might be irreversible.
Feeling anxious, Theticia gently stroked Glacia’s head.
If she were to live in the Demon Realm, there would have been no reason to treat this chronic illness, but the reason Theticia remained here was to cure her sickness.
‘If I cure my illness and return to the Human Realm, Lord Asmod will have to go back and forth between the Human Realm and the Demon Realm. It will be quite troublesome for him.’
Theticia looked at Asmod’s profile as he read the Demon King’s reply.
‘Is Lord Asmod……. all right with someone like me?’
To call it fate was burdensome, far too burdensome.
There might be a human better than her. Just being able to see his face felt like receiving regard beyond her station for someone as lacking as herself.
***
Before long, the curtain rose on the party.
The coming-of-age ceremony itself was like a social gathering. Throughout the preparations, she had thought she was playing the role of hostess, but once the event began, there was nothing for Theticia to do at the forefront.
“Thank you for coming.”
All Theticia had to do was stand quietly beside Asmod as he greeted the guests.
If there was a difference from the previous ball, all the demons in attendance were favorable toward Asmod. There were no demons who openly looked Theticia over, pointed at her as human, or wondered how she might taste.
Of course, that only meant it was not done openly, and when she came face to face with a wolf knight, the drool dripping from his muzzle sent a chill down her spine.
“Sir Beo, mind your mouth.”
A cow-headed demon woman with a massive build, dressed in a pink lace dress, smacked the wolf knight with her fan.
“Lady Minolta, it has been a long time since I have seen such a vivid human, ever since the battlefield…….”
Sir Beo, who had been trying to laugh it off, stiffened at the smile of Glacia approaching from afar. When Glacia gave a light tilt of her head as if to say, shall we have a word, Sir Beo followed with his tail hanging low. Being a knight, the thought followed that his shin would be bitten quite hard.
With a reliable ally beside her, even Theticia, who always kept her head lowered at parties, gained confidence. Theticia straightened her posture so as not to be a burden to Asmod.
A hippopotamus-headed woman standing beside Lady Minolta flared her nostrils as she observed Theticia.
“My, she is adorable. The way her eyes roll about is like a doll.”
“Miss Hipora. Mind your manners.”
At Hipora’s whisper, Lady Minolta checked her surroundings once more. Then she softened her large eyes and dipped her head slightly toward Theticia.
“As a 사프롱인[1], I will apologize in Miss Hipora’s stead. It has been a long time since anyone has seen a pet human.”
At the embarrassing designation of pet human, the corners of Theticia’s mouth trembled.
At social gatherings in the Human Realm, no one had ever bowed their head to Theticia, so seeing such a greeting being offered, she thought the Archduke’s authority must be considerable.
“Ah……. I-it is fine. It is understandable that you would be surprised.”
At Theticia’s thin smile, Hipora and Minolta let out quiet sounds of admiration.
Not all demons sustained their lives by taking life force from humans. Ordinary demons without great greed could live sufficiently on the mana distributed throughout their domains, and so they had not often seen a human this lively.
Such treatment could have been unpleasant, but since it was her first time being invited to a tea party, excitement came first.
“It would be wonderful if His Highness the Archduke would attend our tea party. Everyone is curious about the pet human His Highness has taken in.”
“Ah, yes. If Lord Asmod permits it!”
Theticia glanced toward Asmod. Asmod was occupied exchanging greetings among the demon gentlemen.
As Theticia was about to ask Asmod for his opinion, she wrinkled the bridge of her nose at a familiar scent.
“If, if you have time, would you like to c-come to my g-greenhouse f-first?”
“Ah……. Hello, Lord Levia!”
T/N:
[1] ↩
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