I Took the Demon King as My Wife

Inside the rattling carriage, only a heavy silence lingered.

The vibrations transmitted through the backrest shook his entire body.

Hans took a deep breath, trying to erase his anxiety.

“Whew… whew….”

However, no matter how much he inhaled, the anxiety that had risen wouldn’t easily subside.

Eilena, who was observing him intently from the side, murmured softly.

“Take it easy.”

“Ah, alright… whew….”

Though Hans answered that he understood, he still couldn’t calm his pounding heart.

Can I do well?
Won’t I make a mistake?
What if something goes wrong?

The rising nervousness and tension felt like they were pulling out his insides.

A heavy pressure weighed on his chest, making it difficult to breathe.

Hans pulled at the cloak around his neck, loosening it.

“Phew….”

A deep sigh escaped. Eilena immediately gave him a reproachful look, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Hans turned his head toward the opposite window and sighed heavily.

“We have arrived!”

After a short while, the carriage stopped, and the coachman’s resounding voice was heard.

“Mmm….”

Hans lowered his eyebrows. Soon, the carriage door opened, revealing the coachman’s grinning face.

Hans took a deep breath, strengthening his resolve. He grabbed the holy sword placed in front of him and slowly got out of the carriage.

-Thud.

His rugged boots touched the uneven stone floor. In the sky, the bright sun was shining so brightly it was difficult to keep one’s eyes open.
How long had it been since he’d seen such bright weather…?
Having lived a life without even the luxury of looking at the sky, he thought he might finally be getting a breather.
‘But this is just the beginning.’

Squeeze. Strength was added to his hand holding the sword.

“Let’s go.”

Eilena, who had followed him out, approached his side and spoke.
She still maintained her indifferent gaze.
She was wearing the black dress he had seen on the first day, not the outfit that had so captivated his attention yesterday.

Hans looked at her slender shoulders, partially visible.

“…Yes.”

With that response, he directed his gaze forward.

Step. He took his first step toward the high stairs.

“His Imperial Majesty the Emperor enters!”

With the knight’s resounding voice, the large door opened with a creak.

Soon, the Emperor appeared on the red carpet that was spread out.

He walked toward his throne in the center with leisurely steps, gradually shortening his stride.

The ministers standing beside each pillar bowed as he passed by, one by one.

Finally, as the Emperor took his seat, the ministers who had all bowed simultaneously opened their mouths.

“We present ourselves to His Imperial Majesty the Emperor.”

The 34th Emperor of the Empire, Adam Osborne.
He smiled broadly and rested his arms on the armrests. His slightly tilted head touched the back of his hand on the armrest.

“Thank you for gathering so early in the morning.”

“Not at all, Your Majesty. On the day when the hero who saved humanity returns, how could we remain idle?”

The Fourth Duke Minister said.

Following him, the Fifth and Sixth Ducal Houses also joined in saying they had been waiting for the hero’s return.

The Emperor smiled broadly.

He looked around the long audience hall.

‘Hmm…?’

Suddenly, his eyes fixed on the first seat on his left, closest to him, which was empty.

After confirming the location, the Emperor immediately frowned.

A faint anger began to frost over his lips, which had been full of smiles.

“Where is Duke Hartuk?”

“Ah….”

At the Emperor’s question, another minister standing by the second pillar, right next to the empty seat, answered.

“Well… that… Duke Hartuk….”

The minister looked nervously at the Emperor, as if embarrassed about something.

At this, as the Emperor contorted his expression, the minister could no longer hide the truth and confessed.

“He has gone to subjugate monsters, Your Majesty….”

“What…?”

The Emperor’s lower eyelids trembled. The minister who had answered bowed his head deeply, as if feeling ashamed.

“On the day when the nation’s hero returns… he went hunting?”

“T-to subjugate monsters….”

“Where are there monsters in Erwin? As far as I know, there are no more dangerous monsters left on our continent.”

“Well… that….”

The minister couldn’t continue.

As the Emperor said, there were no dangerous monsters in the Erwin continent.

From the beginning, most monsters resided in the demon realm, and those that had been in human territories had long been exterminated as food during the prolonged war.

Duke Hartuk had indeed gone hunting, as the Emperor said.

And that, to another continent, two weeks ago.

“Even for the First Duke, this seems excessive.”

“……”

At the Emperor’s cold voice, the minister who had relayed the news found himself in an awkward position.

“Hah….”

The Emperor clutched his throbbing forehead with an irritated sigh.

‘Is this a direct declaration of war…?’

There were nobles who looked down on or ignored him for becoming Emperor at a young age.
Due to the sudden passing of the previous Emperor, he had hurriedly ascended to the throne without proper preparation, and by his own admission, he was an inexperienced Emperor.
However, regardless of all that, he was clearly a direct bloodline of the Osborne royal family, the only son of the previous Emperor.
As the bearer of the Osborne royal name, which stood shoulder to shoulder with the history of the continent, his name alone placed him in an untouchable position.

Those who harbored resentment toward him might gossip behind his back, but every one of them maintained a favorable attitude in his presence.

With one exception: Hartuk Omen.

Duke Hartuk, who had shown fervent loyalty to the royal family since the Emperor’s grandfather’s time, came from a long-established founding family.
If the Osborne royal family stood shoulder to shoulder with the history of the continent, the Omen family would be like the emblem attached to the royal shoulder.

The Omen family had served the royal family for generations.
It was none other than the Omen family who had taken the title of “Grand Duke,” originally held by only four people, divided it into 20 parts, and distributed it like dog food here and there.
The clear ranking system of First Duke, Second Duke, and so on also originated from this Omen family.
The head of a family with powerful authority that could easily overturn the foundations of the nation.

Having already served two previous Emperors, Duke Hartuk completely regarded a novice who had ascended to the rank of Emperor at a young age as beneath him.

It wasn’t just once or twice that he had missed the annual conference that all ministers were required to attend, and he had even returned the year-end gift containing the Emperor’s handwritten letter because it arrived later than that of the Second Duke.
Not just that, he currently had fourteen mistresses, and if he wanted a woman, he would take her as his own without any regard for whether she already had a partner or not—he was a lustful and shameless man.
If someone went against his wishes, he was a heinous person who regarded human life as less than an insect in the grass.
The reason he could behave so arrogantly was that most of the soldiers deployed in the current war were from his private army.
The companies supplying war weapons and resources were also affiliated with his family, and about 40% of the food produced on the continent came from territories he owned, which also played a role.

He had a different foundation from the novice Emperor who hadn’t properly established his position due to the sudden passing of the previous Emperor.

‘Well, perhaps it’s for the better….’
After organizing his thoughts, the Emperor clicked his tongue briefly and then composed his expression.

Although the man’s attitude of openly disrespecting him was enough to make him grind his teeth… in the current situation, it was actually better that he wasn’t present.

The only person who could bring a headwind to his planned “marriage” was Hartuk Omen, that man alone.

The Emperor took a short deep breath, trying to suppress his rising anger.

“Well, we must proceed even without him.”

He spoke to the ministers in a tone as if he had given up.

“Show them in!”

At the Emperor’s loud call, the two knights standing at the door each grabbed a handle and opened it.

-Rumble.

The thick doors opened laboriously, scraping the floor, and the sound echoed throughout the domed audience hall.

Soon, three figures appeared at once.

“Ooh…!”

The ministers standing closest to the door opened their eyes wide and smiled broadly.

Hero Hans.
Saint Lasia.
Mage Yeomje.

The hero’s party of three walked down the red carpet with imposing figures.

Hans in the center, with the two others at his sides.

Yeomje walked, trying to hide his tired expression by pulling his hat down low.

Lasia walked with her head slightly turned away from Hans’s side, hiding a somewhat uncomfortable expression.

Hans, standing in the center, approached the Emperor with determined eyes, walking firmly.
His firm lips held a strong resolve.

Soon, the three reached the Emperor. As Hans knelt on one knee, the other two also knelt, paying their respects.

“Hero Hans, Saint Lasia, and Mage Yeomje have just returned after completing the subjugation of the Demon King.”

The lowered voice effectively concealed the blatant lie.

Cheers spontaneously erupted from the ministers who had no knowledge of the inner workings.

Amidst the quickly growing commotion, the Emperor slightly raised his left hand.

At his single gesture, the hall instantly fell silent.

The Emperor rose from his seat and slowly descended the stairs, standing before Hans.

“Well done, Hero. So… where is the Demon King’s head?”

The Emperor asked with a smile. Hans immediately responded, bowing his head deeply.

“It is coming now.”

“…?”
“Coming…?”
“What… do you mean?”

At the hero’s words, the ministers blinked and looked at each other.

Through the murmuring ministers, Hans abruptly stood up and walked back toward the door with heavy steps.

“Oh, no….”
“Hero…?”

With each step he took, voices of confusion burst forth from the ministers.

Hans continued walking, disregarding them, and finally reached the end of the long red carpet.
Through the slightly open door, a strong light shone so brightly it was difficult to keep one’s eyes open. Hans slightly extended his hand toward the door.

Piercing through the curtain of bright light, a black-shining glove emerged. Slender fingertips gently brushed over the palm that had come to greet them and settled.
Hans gently enveloped the hand and slowly pulled her arm inside.
-Tap.
A clear heel sound echoed through the silent hall.
Soon, a black dress dragging on the ground tilted, and elegantly shaped toe tips emerged through the white wall.

“…!”

At that moment, the ministers’ eyes widened as if they would pop out when they saw the woman entering amidst a dazzling backlight.

Having completely withdrawn from the light, she revealed herself fully, her red hair fluttering.

“……”

Eilena, who had entered with her eyes gently closed, raised her eyelids as if blooming.

“A-a demon…?”
“No, more than that, that hair color is clearly…!”

Gasps erupted from various places.

Eilena slowly blinked and rolled her red eyes around.

Dozens of faces full of surprise and disbelief were visible.

Releasing the hero’s hand she had been holding, tap-tap, she walked on the red carpet.

Dozens of eyes moved in unison, following her as she slowly moved her feet.

No one could speak at this unbelievable sight, and everyone just stared at her with a dazed expression.

Drawing everyone’s attention, Eilena stood firmly in front of the Emperor.

The leisurely shining emerald eyes and the darkly burning red eyes collided in the air.

The two looked at each other intently, without blinking or speaking.

Soon, Eilena slightly closed her eyes, placed her hand on her chest, and bent her waist slightly in greeting.

“Pleased to meet you, Emperor Osborne. I am Eilena de Mephisto, the Demon King who rules the demon realm.”

“Oh… no…!”
“Huh… am I now…?”

At the voice that flowed from Eilena’s mouth, the ministers finally showed a delayed reaction.

It was twice as loud as when the hero’s party had first entered.

Amidst such ministers, Saint Lasia, standing behind Eilena, secretly cast a glance full of anger.

Eilena confirmed this with a sidelong glance but showed no particular reaction.

“Well… what is going on here? Hero?”

The Emperor asked Hans, who was following, with an artful tone. Indeed, his acting was superb, befitting the head of the Empire.

Hans, who had slowly returned to his place, moved close to Eilena and gently took her hand.

Eilena slightly rolled her eyes to look at his face.

Hans, whose eyes met hers, smiled slightly. After confirming his smile, the red eyes rolled back to face forward.

“Your Majesty.”

Hans raised the hand he was holding slightly and began speaking.

The Emperor widened his eyes, pretending to be quite surprised.

To this, Hans said,

“The Demon King… her, I will take as my wife.”

“Oh my….”

The Emperor hid his bursting laughter inside.