I Took the Demon King as My Wife

The imperial palace was very busy from early morning.
A large terrace opening toward the central plaza.
This space, which had been used as the Emperor’s official reception room, was now transformed into a splendid wedding venue.
“Move quickly!”
“Here! This way!”
“Over there! Hold it properly!”
From apprentice maids to high-ranking knights, all personnel in the imperial palace were deployed for wedding preparations without exception.
Women replaced tablecloths on dozens of tables one by one and set up scented candles and tableware.
The banquet food that followed began to pile up one by one on the beautifully decorated tables.
Men carried white marble pillars one by one and lined them up along the long red carpet.
They climbed ladders to the high ceiling and hung long curtains full of pure white decorative flowers.
As the work caught fire and began to take shape, a beautiful banquet hall was completed in an instant.
Afterward, the Emperor, having received the report, belatedly left his bedroom and headed to the reception room that had been transformed into a banquet hall.
“Oh…”
He looked around and couldn’t help but admire it.
“Overnight, it has truly become unrecognizable.”
“You flatter us, Your Majesty.”

The person in charge of decorating the banquet hall answered softly from behind and bowed his head.
The Emperor walked forward casually with a smile filling his lips.
“It’s not flattery, it’s truly perfect. I’ve never seen such a beautiful venue before. I don’t think it was this good even at my own wedding.”
With a joking laugh, he slightly turned to look at the decoration manager.
As he was the person who had been in charge of everything at the Emperor’s wedding too, he was momentarily confused and couldn’t continue speaking.
At this, the Emperor chuckled and patted his shoulder.
“It’s a joke, my good man. I just wanted to say thank you for doing such a good job.”
“Y-Your Majesty….”
The manager, who had momentarily felt his heart sink, wiped away the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead with a sigh of relief.
“Are the guests all prepared?”
“Yes, all the ministers from the ducal houses, except for the First Duke, are waiting downstairs.”
“…It seems he hasn’t returned yet.”
“Well, isn’t that actually a good thing?”
The manager, who somewhat understood his intentions, answered with a grin.
The Emperor also responded with a smile and said,
“That’s right, having gone out to subjugate monsters at this crucial time… he’ll have to bear the consequences entirely on his own.”
“Those are wise words.”
“Have the people all been notified?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Notices have been posted everywhere, so no one should have missed it. Moreover, according to the knights who went on street patrol, most of the people seem positive about the marriage.”
The manager smiled and handed the Emperor a notice that had been posted on the streets.
The Emperor read the paper carefully, stroking his chin.
“Well, that’s an expected result… the people are more tired of this tedious war than anyone else….”
The Emperor neatly folded the paper and put it in his pocket, intending to show it to Katrina as well.
Walking to the wide terrace, he glanced down at the plaza below.
Already, a large crowd was beginning to gather.
“It seems everything is ready….”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Everything has proceeded without the slightest deviation from your plan.”
“Hmm… I wonder….”
“…?”
When the Emperor let out a dubious mutter, the manager who was following behind opened his eyes wide and said,
“Is there… a problem?”
“No, it’s nothing… just a baseless worry….”
The Emperor avoided answering and walked past him.
‘If only it could go as Katrina said….’
He headed back to the bedroom where the Empress was, trying to erase the anxiety that kept welling up.
*
The Ruby Palace, an annex, was where the Emperor’s secondary consorts had traditionally resided.
The first Emperor had over 40 secondary consorts, so at the time of construction, it was a building comparable in size to the main palace, with massive capital invested.
However, as generations passed, the trend of having secondary consorts decreased, and by the time of the current Emperor, who declared he would not take any secondary consorts, the Ruby Palace had become an empty shell that no one used.
But no matter how unused a building might be, this was still the imperial palace.
Moreover, it was a space full of rosy fragrance where hundreds of outstanding women had resided.
Their luxury items, perfumes, cosmetics, and clothing were still intact.
This boasted a more extensive variety and diverse quality than most clothing stores in the capital, and the perfumes and cosmetics brought from other continents were astonishing items that even the maids who did the makeup were surprised by.
“My goodness, you’re so beautiful!”
The maid who was patting powder on Eilena’s face clapped her hands loudly and exclaimed.
To this, Eilena kept her eyes gently closed, held her head stiffly, and answered,
“…Thank you.”
“You’re speaking so modestly, but you’re about to become a baroness, not the Demon King anymore! Oh my, I’m so envious!”
“……”
The maid holding the mirror behind her exclaimed excitedly.
Besides them, eight maids were clustered around her, helping with her adornment as if handling a large glass artwork.
Led by eight pairs of hands, she had been standing still like a wooden doll for hours.
Being dressed and undressed several times like a stuffed toy that children play with was hard to endure, but even more difficult were the eight mouths chattering from all directions.
“Oh my, how, how can this be? A person?”
“Well… strictly speaking, she’s not a person, right?”
“How can her skin be so flawless… Are all demons like this? Or do you have a special care secret?”
“If I could… I would want to make her my wife! At first, I was envious of the Demon King marrying the hero, but now I’m envious of the hero!”
They would talk among themselves, giggle, and then throw such frivolous jokes at her, the Demon King, and laugh loudly again.
Do they even know that I am their main enemy?
Are all the women working in the palace gathered fools? Or are humans inherently this frivolous?
Eilena kept her eyes and mouth closed, maintaining silence in response to the maids’ chattering. Regardless, the maids continued her adornment with their best efforts.
“There! It’s done! Would you like to open your eyes?”
After another long while, the talk show that seemed like it would never end finally concluded.
As the hands that had been sticking to her face and body one by one detached, Eilena took a small deep breath and slowly opened her eyes.
“……”
“How is it? How is it?”

The maid holding the long full-length mirror asked, stamping her feet as if she was more excited.
At this, the eight maids walked over to stand in front of Eilena, huddled together, and slowly looked her up and down as if admiring her.
“Oh my….”
“A masterpiece… this is a masterpiece…!”
The small lips that had barely stopped began to move one by one.
Eilena, receiving all the gazes pouring on her, stared at her reflection in the mirror.
“……”
A pure white dress, completely opposite to her usual attire.
Her face, fully adorned with cosmetics she had never seen before in her life, felt like a stranger was in the mirror.
Her hair was so meticulously styled that she suspected each strand had been individually treated, and the glossy silk gloves were so light and soft that she couldn’t remember when they had been put on.
She had thought the eight maids rushing about were just a nuisance, but indeed, they were people deserving to be called experts.
“…Thank you, you’ve worked hard.”
Eilena, who had been touching her face with her gloved hand, spoke to the maids with a faint smile on her lips.
At this, the maid holding the mirror put the back of her hand to her forehead and slid backward.
The other maids caught her as she collapsed. Then she spoke with an ecstatic expression.
“I can die happy….”
“Emma! Get a hold of yourself! You can’t die here!”
“I’m not dying! I need to see them living happily together before I die!”
Blood trickled from the collapsed maid’s nose. While the rest of the maids held her and made a fuss, Eilena silently opened the door and went out to the corridor.
She walked with firm steps along the slightly dark corridor.
About halfway through, dazzling sunlight shone through the long, tall windows.
Eilena, slightly covering her eyes with her hand, slowly lowered her hand and approached the window. She brushed the dusty windowsill and rubbed the dust that had accumulated on her finger.
“Marriage… huh….”
She dropped the clump of dust onto the floor with a thud.
Through the dazzling window, the main imperial palace building, rising high, came into view.
Looking at the brilliantly rising architecture.
Suddenly, whether it was regret, worry, or for some unknown reason, a man came to mind.
.
.
.
At the same time.
Unlike the warm (?) atmosphere of the Ruby Palace, a dispute was in full swing in a room in the main palace.
“H-Hero…! T-time is…!”
“…Ah, I understand, just stop nagging!”
“Why don’t we just come in and….”
“No, absolutely not!”
“But…!”
Like Eilena, eight maids had gathered in Hans’s room to help with his adornment.
Each holding clothes, perfume, simple cosmetics, and a razor, they were anxiously shifting from foot to foot in front of the heavily drawn curtain.
Unlike Eilena, who had taken a long time to create the best appearance through various attempts, Hans hadn’t even changed his clothes yet, even though it was already nearly noon.
-Dong~ Dong~
“Hero!”
As the bell announcing noon finally rang, one of the maids who couldn’t wait any longer grabbed the end of the curtain to pull it open.
“No! I said no!”

But immediately, due to Hans’s strong grip, she gave up without being able to open it even a little.
“T-there’s no time…! If we can’t help you with your adornment, Hero, we’ll be scolded by the head maid!”
The maid who had been pulling the curtain pleaded desperately, but Hans continued to struggle inside the curtain, absolutely refusing to let them in.
“H-Hero…!”
Out of frustration, the other maids also approached the curtain and raised voices of protest.
At that moment, a dignified voice was heard from behind them.
“I wondered why it was taking so long….”
“…!”
“Y-Your Imperial Majesty…!”
The maids gasped at the sight of the Emperor who had entered the room without making a sound, and hurriedly bowed their heads before him.

“Y-Your Majesty…?”
At the commotion beyond the curtain, Hans peeked out to look outside.
Indeed, the Emperor, dressed in formal attire, was glaring at him while tapping his foot.
At Hans’s dumbfounded expression, the Emperor shook his head gently and let out a small sigh.
Then he spoke to the maids who were lined up against the wall with their heads bowed.
“You may leave.”
“What…? Ah, b-but….”
“I will speak well to the head maid, so don’t worry. Ah, leave all those grooming items here.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
At the Emperor’s words, the maids did not ask further and filed out one by one.
Clack. As the last maid closed the door, the Emperor locked it and entered the curtain with the grooming items.
“What a spectacle… really….”
“…I’m ashamed.”
The Emperor pressed his forehead and shook his head at the sight of Hans sprawled on the floor, looking like a lizard that had failed to shed its skin, whether he had dressed or undressed.
“Stand up first.”
“Ah, yes….”
With his large build and many scars all over his body, his body had lived at odds with flexibility.
Such intricate formal attire, different from what he usually wore, was a tremendous ordeal for him just to put on.
Moreover, since the mark containing all the hero’s power should not be carelessly shown to anyone, he couldn’t undress in front of others.
The series of events that had just unfolded were all for this reason.
“…Even I am startled every time I see it, how much more so for the maids.”
The Emperor helped remove the clothes tangled around his arms, almost tearing them off.
The hero’s mark shining brightly on his right side, along with the terrible scars consuming his entire body, involuntarily made one frown.
“Setting aside the duties of a hero… I’m sure you wouldn’t want to show such a body to others either… I would feel the same if I were you.”
“……”
Hans, who began to undress one by one with the Emperor’s help, listened to his words with his mouth tightly closed.
With the Emperor’s skillful and quick hands, Hans soon changed into a black suit and looked in the mirror while tightening his tie himself.
Behind him, the Emperor, who was spraying perfume, casually said,
“Last time… you said you wouldn’t regret it.”
“Pardon…?”
Hans, who had just fixed his tie, suddenly turned his head. The Emperor continued speaking as he carefully placed the perfume on the table.
“This marriage… you said you wouldn’t regret it, didn’t you?”
“…Ah.”

“Did you mean that?”
“……”
At the Emperor’s resolute gaze, Hans closed his mouth for a moment.
After seeming to contemplate, blinking his eyes a few times, he finally opened his mouth.
“Yes, I will absolutely not regret it. Even if time were turned back and I returned to that moment… I would probably make the same decision.”
“…I see.”
The Emperor wore a somewhat meaningful expression as he gently dusted off Hans’s shoulders and turned to leave first.
He turned the locked doorknob with a click and slowly opened the door.
Suddenly, the Emperor, who was about to step toward the door, stopped abruptly and slightly turned back.
“That decision….”
“…?”
Hans, who was finishing up, looked at the Emperor who suddenly trailed off. Once again, his clear emerald eyes turned toward him.
“Was it for yourself? Or for everyone?”
“……”
At the seemingly casual tone, Hans slowly straightened his posture.
Then, without a moment’s hesitation, he spoke in a firm voice.
“It’s for everyone.”
“……”

At his answer, the Emperor smiled slightly and waved his hand.
“That’s good, I said something strange unnecessarily. Please hurry, everyone is waiting for the main characters to appear.”
“…Yes.”
Click. The door closed with his response.
Hans stared at the place where the Emperor had left, seemingly lost in thought, standing still for a moment.
Following the dazzling sunlight shining beside him, he naturally moved to the window.
“Marriage… huh….”
The splendid Ruby Palace visible below caught his eye.
Looking at the shadowy building, overshadowed by the main palace.
Suddenly, whether it was anticipation, worry, or for some unknown reason, the image of a woman adorned entirely in red formed in his mind.