Chapter 115

EP.115 Rest for an Old Love

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Meril was nowhere in the castle.

Yuria, who thought she might have returned to the mountain house, went to Tairat’s Audience Room.

He was still silently reading a book.

Yuria approached him with mixed feelings.

“Did you meet Margaret?”

“Y-yes, I did…”

“Judging by your expression, you couldn’t even bring up the topic of persuasion. You must have felt it too, right? Margaret doesn’t want to return to being human.”

Tairat, as always, could read her mind well.

Her pride was hurt. She had left so confidently, only to return feeling defeated.

Yuria clenched her teeth for a moment, then changed the subject.

“Where is Meril?”

“Why are you asking me about her whereabouts?”

“You’re the Demon King. You should know where demons are.”

“I’m not omnipotent. She’s probably at her house. Meril practices cooking secretly at night, so wait until then.”

The mountain is outside the permitted area. She had no choice but to wait patiently.

Yuria, shaking her head, was about to return to her room.

Then, she suddenly remembered what Tairat had said a few days ago.

He had told her to treat Meril well because she was a pitiful child.

At the same time, she also remembered that Meril’s parents had died two years ago.

“Why did Meril’s parents die? Were they eaten by another demon?”

“They were killed by humans.”

At those words, Yuria’s body trembled.

“To drive parents to their deaths while their child is still growing… You wicked…”

“You’re misunderstanding. I only ordered Meril’s parents to take good care of her. I made sure they didn’t participate in battles. As you said, Meril is a growing child.”

“…. Then why…”

“Apologize first for jumping to conclusions.”

“…..”

Indeed… she had lashed out at Tairat with preconceived notions.

Just like the prejudice she had against demons when she first met Meril.

It was awkward to apologize, but… she wanted to hear about Meril’s past, so she decided to swallow her pride.

“S-sorry…”

“Good job.”

“What?”

“It’s not easy to admit when you’re wrong. The more powerful you are, the harder it is. I appreciate your sincere apology.”

Yuria felt her troubled heart, which had been uneasy since meeting Margaret, calm down a bit at Tairat’s gentle tone.

Being praised by him made her inexplicably happy.

But she didn’t show it outwardly.

“Now tell me. Why did Meril’s parents die?”

Tairat closed the book with a thud and spoke.

“The Demon Realm is a place where eternal night persists. Meril’s parents always regretted that she couldn’t see the sun. Meril also whined about wanting to see the sun.”

Meril had never seen the sun before.

So, her parents must have gone through great lengths for her…

“Meril’s parents were killed by humans while trying to find a scenic sunrise spot in the human world for her.”

Just as she had expected.

“Then… does Meril know that humans killed her parents?”

“She knows.”

And yet, she still follows me, a human?

She really is a kind and pure child.

No matter how much demons understand the law of the jungle deep down, it wouldn’t be easy to act like that.

The more Yuria stayed here, the more she felt her values shifting.

Just as there are many types of humans, demons are the same.

They have emotions too.

They can love, get angry, and feel sadness.

Beyond these emotions, they feel a variety of other feelings.

Here, they follow the orders of the powerful unconditionally, so there’s little room for problems.

She had agreed before that demons were better than humans, and now she agreed again.

“Thanks for telling me… I’ll head back now.”

“Alright.”

Tairat opened his book again and focused on the text.

Yuria, who had said she was leaving, fidgeted at the steps of the throne.

Tairat glanced at her and asked.

“Do you have more to say?”

“Huh?”

“You said you were leaving.”

Yuria was startled.

She had been staring blankly at Tairat, who looked so much like the cool Jihyuk when he was focused…

Her face turned red, and she quickly thought of an excuse.

“Ah, well… I want to see Meril.”

“So you want me to expand the permitted area to the mountains?”

“Y-yeah… Can you do that?”

“Denied.”

Yuria’s eyebrows shot up.

She had been obedient so far, shouldn’t she be rewarded?

Well, strictly speaking, she had only avoided places she was told not to go and had been a constant headache for Tairat.

But still, she wasn’t in a bad mood, just a little disappointed.

It felt like he thought of her as a troublemaker.

Feeling rebellious, Yuria turned around and deliberately made loud footsteps as she left the Audience Room.

Back in her room, Yuria kicked off her shoes in frustration.

She flopped onto the bed and thought.

‘This is so annoying… I swallowed my pride and asked, but he still refused?’

She sighed deeply.

Her emotions were all over the place. Was this really okay?

After lying on the bed for a while, lost in thought, Yuria perked up at the sound of someone knocking on her door.

She rushed to open it.

*Bang!*

“Waaah!”

A strange scream followed the door opening.

Looking down, she saw Meril sprawled on the floor, scared.

Startled, Yuria quickly picked her up and brought her inside.

“Sorry. Did I scare you?”

“Y-yeah… I was scared…”

“I missed you so much…”

Meril, held in Yuria’s arms, opened her eyes wide.

“You missed me? Really?”

“Yeah. I missed you so much I was waiting eagerly.”

“Hehe…”

Meril smiled brightly.

She seemed happy that someone was looking for her.

Yuria set Meril down on the bed and took out a brush to comb her tails.

The three tails swayed cutely.

“Where were you?”

“At the mountain house. I was cleaning, so I was a bit late.”

“Cleaning?”

“There were traces of someone sleeping there.”

Yuria looked worried.

“Who was it? Did they steal anything?”

“No, I don’t think so. They just slept there. It was a smell I’d never encountered before… It was really scary.”

“Did some wandering demon show up?”

“I don’t know.”

Meril was calm despite finding signs of an intruder.

Yuria really didn’t want anything to happen to this innocent child.

“Just live here. With me.”

“The Demon King wouldn’t like that.”

“I’ll talk to him. Like last time…”

Meril crossed her short legs, deep in thought.

“Hmm… I have to protect the house…”

An intruder would be delighted if Meril was guarding the house.

Meril was very weak. They’d kill her and take it as their own nest.

Yuria put on a sad expression and asked.

“Do you not like me?”

“No! I like you a lot!”

“Then why don’t you want to stay with me? I’m really sad…”

Meril fidgeted, looking at Yuria’s expression.

She hurriedly shook her head and tried to comfort Yuria.

“I’ll stay with you, Yuria! Let’s play hide and seek! Let’s cook together… So don’t cry!”

“Promise?”

“Yes! Promise…”

Meril held out her pinky.

Yuria smiled and hooked her finger with Meril’s.

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The two of them ransacked the entire castle under the pretext of cooking practice, even making a mess of the kitchen.

After producing all sorts of food, they went to the dining table to taste their creations.

Yuria had practiced various dishes on Earth for Jihyuk, and Meril also had talent, so the food tasted decent.

As they chatted and laughed, Meril’s ears perked up.

She sensed a fellow demon. It was, of course, Tairat.

*Creak…*

The dining room door opened, and as expected, Tairat appeared.

Meril jumped off her chair and ran to him, bowing her head.

“Demon King! Hello!”

Tairat patted Meril’s head in response.

Meril smiled brightly and pointed to the food on the table.

“Yuria and I made this!”

“I know.”

“How?”

“It was noisy. I heard all the kitchenware falling.”

Meril looked downcast. She was sad thinking she had disturbed the Demon King.

Yuria stood up, annoyed.

“Noisy…? This child dreams of being a chef, and you allowed her to practice here!”

“If it’s noisy, I’ll say it’s noisy. What else should I say?”

“You should consider a child’s feelings!”

“Hmm…”

Tairat stroked his chin and nodded.

“Fair point. I apologize, Meril.”

Meril’s face brightened immediately.

Yuria was surprised that Tairat acknowledged her words and apologized so quickly.

For a man so full of pride to say sorry… It was refreshing.

Was this the mercy only an absolute ruler could show?

Her heart raced. She wanted to emulate that composure…

‘Should I ask now…?’

Tairat seemed somewhat gentle in this state.

So… there was a high chance he would grant her request.

“Um…”

“Hmm?”

“Meril said there was an intruder at her house. It’s dangerous for her to go alone… and I can’t go to the mountains… Can Meril stay here with me?”

“An intruder? What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. It seems someone stayed overnight at Meril’s house and ran away. I’m worried, so let her stay with me for a few days.”

Tairat pondered for a moment.

Yuria waited anxiously for his answer.

“Permission granted.”

At those words, Yuria sighed in relief, and Meril cheered.

“Yay!”

Tairat chuckled at their different reactions and used his magic to pick up a spoon to taste the soup.

Meril quickly stopped him.

“Demon King! I’ll get a new one!”

“It’s fine. It’s done.”

“But… it’s cold…”

Ignoring Meril’s concern, Tairat brought the soup to his mouth.

He savored the taste and nodded a few times.

“It’s delicious.”

Meril jumped around excitedly.

A faint smile appeared on Yuria’s face.

She felt like the current situation was like a family’s daily life.

Tairat as the father, herself as the wife, and cute Meril as the daughter.

She knew she shouldn’t think like this, but the warm feeling pushed those thoughts away.

As she was lost in thought, Tairat scooped another spoonful of soup and spoke to Meril.

“If there was an intruder, I’ll send my subordinates to investigate tomorrow.”

“Hmm… I don’t like others coming to my house… Oh, but you and Yuria can come!”

“Then…”

Tairat looked at Yuria.

Yuria’s eyes sparkled, clearly expressing her desire to go.

Yuria pulled Meril close, folded her ears, and quickly whispered.

“We’ll just check the house and come back right away. I won’t try to run away. I haven’t convinced my mom yet.”

“If that’s the case, I’ll permit you to go to the mountains.”

“R-really…?”

She hadn’t expected him to agree. What a surprise!

“Alright. Go with Meril. If there’s any danger, report back immediately.”

Yuria nodded, trying to suppress her joy, and asked.

“Got it… Aren’t you coming?”

“I trust you.”

*Thump!*

Yuria’s heart raced with a good feeling.

Being acknowledged made her feel proud.

She suddenly didn’t want to hesitate.

She wanted a clear answer from Tairat.

To know if what she was expecting was correct.

Holding Meril, who was wriggling with her ears folded, Yuria gathered her courage.

“I want to know… the truth.”

Even though her question was vague, Tairat understood perfectly.

“Not yet.”

“…..”

She wanted to protest, but she feared Tairat might get angry.

In the end, Yuria could only reply with an “Okay.”

To be continued―――――――――――――――――――――

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