I Took the Demon King as My Wife

#020
Ku was wielding a duster, beating the cupboard.
Though not a speck of dust came out no matter how much she swung it, she kept dusting noisily.
This was not the Demon King’s castle but a baron’s mansion, a space where humans swarmed outside.
She deliberately created noise to be conscious of others.
In short, it was like a smokescreen for secret conversation.
Eilena, sitting on the bed, stared at her for a while before opening her mouth.
“The clothes suit you quite well.”
“Please don’t tease me… really….”
Ku said, glancing at her while busily moving her arms. Eilena slightly raised the corners of her mouth and chuckled.
“No, I’m not saying empty words, I’m sincere. Perhaps it’s because I’ve never seen you all bundled up like this in my entire life. It’s refreshing.”
“Well… that’s….”

Ku twirled around once to examine herself. The white frills hidden beneath the black layer scattered beautifully.
“I find it a bit… suffocating….”
“A maid can’t go around naked, can she?”

“You make it sound like I used to go around naked before….”
“That’s not wrong, is it?”
Tsk. Ku closed her mouth.
“Can’t I at least take off the gloves…?”
“Would that be possible?”

“Hmm….”
Ku continued cleaning, moving her white-gloved hands busily with tears in her eyes.
Eilena watched her, gently swinging her legs.
“Ku.”
“Yes, Demon Ki… I mean, Madam.”
“Thank you for coming safely, I’m truly grateful.”
“It’s nothing, it wasn’t a difficult task at all.”
“Still, thank you very much.”
Eilena spoke with a somewhat unclear expression. Her mouth was smiling, but her eyes looked somewhat sorrowful.
Then she dropped her head and stared at her feet swaying in the air.
At her behavior, Ku slightly opened the eye hidden on her forehead.
“……”
Ku telekinetically fixed the duster she had been swinging, then gently sat down beside her.
“Is something wrong…?”
“Hmm…? Ah… no, nothing….”

Though she said that, her expression was clearly not nothing.
“I came to help you. Tell me.”
Ku bent down and looked up at Eilena’s face.
Eilena, who was glancing at Ku, seemed to contemplate for a moment and let out a short cough.
Then, hesitantly, she barely parted her lips.
“How… have the others been… doing?”
“Um… by others, do you mean the Four Heavenly Kings?”
“…All of them.”
Her voice was so indistinct it was hard to tell whether she was spitting out or swallowing her words.
Beyond lacking confidence, it was a voice tinged with guilt.
Ku immediately understood the meaning of “all” that she spoke of.
And she could also grasp the intention behind such a question.
“They’re all safe. The Four Heavenly Kings, the Demon King’s army, the people—they’re all more worried about your safety than their own.”
“……”
“No one blames you, Eilena. No one.”
“Even empty words can be comforting….”
Eilena answered with a forced smile. However, her eyes were still full of despair.
A soft palm touched Eilena’s hand, which was limply sprawled.
“These aren’t empty words.”
Ku gently stroked Eilena’s hand, comforting her.
The Sovereign of the Green-Fingered.
The Beauty of Ice and Snow.
The Jade-Flame Demon King.
The world uniformly referred to her as a figure standing high and alone.
But Ku knew.
The world’s evaluation only spoke of the aspects of her they wanted to see.
Her years of life had been years spent with Ku.
She had watched her more closely than anyone.
She knew very well that ‘Eilena’ as a woman was quite different from the world’s evaluation.
Unlike being called the Sovereign of the Green-Fingered, she had her clumsy and naive aspects.
Unlike being called the Beauty of Ice and Snow, she was a woman who knew how to wear a warmer smile than anyone.
Unlike being called the Jade-Flame Demon King, she was a person who valued each and every life more than anyone else.
But all of this was known only to one person in this vast continent: herself.
As a sovereign, as a leader, she thoroughly concealed her true self.
She vowed never to reveal it again, whipping herself countless times to remind herself.
“In the history of demonkind, there has never been a leader like you, Eilena. You’ve tried enough and already proven many things, so….”
You can now put down your burden and rest.
Ku swallowed the last words she couldn’t utter.
“……”
No matter how much she pleaded, there was nothing she could do about the great burden grandly seated in her heart.
“Thank you, Ku, for saying that…. With you by my side, I feel like I can breathe a little now.”
“…Eilena.”
Ku felt her insides crumbling as she looked at her still-darkened face.
If only she could have, she should have followed her when she left the Demon King’s castle back then.
‘You stay behind and organize this place. For now, I have no choice but to follow his words… but I will… I will definitely return. So, you stay behind and organize this place for now. When the time comes, I will call you back to my side.’
The sight of her lord worrying about those left behind even as she was being dragged to enemy territory.
How could she refuse that look full of resolute will?
She wished she wouldn’t.
She wished she would put down her burden.
Rather, she wished she would escape from everyone and live unburdened.
All these were ‘her own wishes.’
No matter what her own thoughts were, if that was her lord’s will, she would merely follow it.
It was not her place to judge whether that path was right or wrong.
“…Now, I’m here. I’ve come back.”
She just needed to silently follow her will.
“Command anything.”
No matter what path it was, she was already prepared to obey.
At Ku’s determined words, Eilena slightly raised her head to look at her.
“…Thank you.”
“…It’s nothing.”
A bright strand of smile bloomed on Eilena’s face, which was stained with darkness.
Ku slightly shifted her bottom to sit right next to Eilena.
“So, what’s your plan going forward?”
Ku, who had quickly returned to the appearance of the maid ‘Ryuku,’ asked. Eilena briefly coughed as if contemplating, then opened her mouth.
“Well, for now, I plan to visit the imperial palace and discuss policies with the Emperor.”
“Hmm… then what about me? What should I do during that time?”
Ku asked with eyes full of enthusiasm. To this, Eilena answered with a brighter smile.
“Just be my companion like this, that’s enough.”
“That’s a given. Policy discussions don’t happen overnight, right? I can’t accompany you to the imperial palace either… shouldn’t I be doing something while I’m here?”
“Hmm….”
At Ku’s words, Eilena nodded involuntarily and touched her chin.
“Indeed, there is something you could do for me.”
“Just say the word.”
Ku said, pounding her chest. Eilena smiled slightly and answered,
“Become friends with the other servants in the mansion.”
“What…?”
Ku, who had maintained a confident attitude, blinked at the unexpected answer. Seeing her expression of incomprehension, Eilena added an explanation.
“Rumors… are truly frightening things. Regardless of their truth, they quickly become distorted and establish themselves as facts. Nothing spreads more rapidly or is more easily believed… do you know where they start?”
“I… suppose?”
“Originally, all rumors start from the whispers of subordinates.”
“Ahh…!”
As if finally understanding, her previously blinking eyes began to sparkle.
“Understood. I, Ku, will diligently report every move, every word of all the humans in the mansion to Demon Ki…! No, to Madam!”
Ku spoke with a voice full of determination. Eilena patted her shoulders, trying to calm her down.
“Yes, yes, thank you. But don’t overdo it. Above all, approach naturally, like flowing water, that’s the best way. Understand?”
“Of course!”
Ku nodded vigorously and showed her clenched fists.
At the sight of Eilena suddenly bursting into laughter, even the slight worry she had held earlier seemed to melt away like snow.
Eilena said she had stayed too long and sent Ku away, saying they might arouse suspicion if she didn’t return soon.
She grabbed the duster that had been dancing in the air, smiling broadly, and opened the door.
“Ah… but….”
“Hmm…? What is it?”
Ku hesitated in her steps at something that suddenly came to mind. Eilena, who was seeing her off, widened her eyes and asked.
“That… that man… what about him?”
“That man?”
“The hero guy, I mean.”
“Ah….”
Eilena belatedly realized that she had overlooked the most important fact.
*
Early morning.
The clattering sound echoed loudly in the middle of the dining room where the soft sunlight was shining.
“M-Master… there’s plenty, so take your time….”
Next to Hans, who was sitting in the middle of the long table, more than ten plates were stacked.
-Clatter!
On top of the precariously stacked plates, a hot new plate was added.
Hans, who had devoured a bowl full of stew in less than a minute, roughly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and shouted at the chef who was standing beside him with his mouth open.
“One more bowl!”
“Ah… yes, yes….”
The chef scratched his head and went into the kitchen, and the maids working as kitchen assistants struggled to carry the mountain of plates.
Normally, Hans would have offered to carry them himself, but not now.
Having been completely intoxicated by food worthy of the name after such a long time, he couldn’t even think of such things.
“How nostalgic a picture this is….”
Perhaps it tasted even better because he was hungrier after his morning training.
But more than that, the fact that today’s menu was a nostalgic food he had often eaten as a child played a bigger role.
As the royal banquets had only served strange foods he had never eaten before, he had desperately missed such simple and modest food.
Hans waited for the new stew with a heart pounding with anticipation, holding back tears of emotion.
Though he had already eaten who knows how many bowls of the same food, why was his heart still fluttering?
‘Is this… love?’
He even thought that the emotion of ‘love’ he had learned about while reading novels the day before might be something like this.
“Hmm… smack.”
With his stomach still not satisfied, Hans licked his lips and waited for the kitchen door to open.
At that moment, a dignified voice came from behind him.
“Master? A guest has arrived.”
“Hmm…?”
When he suddenly turned his head, Wesley was smiling at him, his mustache twitching.
“A guest…?”
“Yes.”
But there was no one who would come….
After the wedding, all the visitors to the mansion were those seeking his wife, the Sovereign of the Green-Fingered.
Only a few sharp-witted families would occasionally visit to curry favor with her, getting a step ahead. Most didn’t move, wary of the non-existent Duke Hartuk’s reaction.
But now Eilena had gone to the imperial palace from dawn for policy discussions, so she wasn’t home.
“Isn’t the Demon Ki… ah, no. Isn’t my wife not at home right now? If I ignorantly receive guests without any discussion, it’s obvious I’ll get an earful when she returns, so I’m sorry, but could you ask them to come back la….”
“The guest isn’t here to see Madam.”
“Huh…?”
Before his words could finish, Wesley smiled and cut him off.
While Hans was confused, not knowing what was going on, the dining room door swung open in the distance.
And, a familiar staff appeared.
A curved staff with a slightly burnt end.
“Ye-Yeomje?”
It was his only friend, the mage Yeomje.

“You’re living a life of ease, aren’t you, you bastard….”
Yeomje entered, supporting himself with his staff in trembling hands. He looked even more haggard than when Hans had last seen him.
“You bastard… you… you really…!”
Thud! Yeomje, who had barely been able to walk with the support of his staff, collapsed on the spot before he could finish his words.
“Ye-Yeomje!”
Hans hurriedly approached him and lifted him up.
“He-Hey, wake up! Yeomje! Who on earth did this…!”
Hans shook his shoulders vigorously with a distorted expression.
At this, Yeomje, who had barely held onto his consciousness, lightly grasped Hans’s collar with his trembling hand.
“You… you… son… of… a….”
Bitch.
“Yeomje!”
In the end, he lost consciousness without being able to utter the final word.
“Damn it…! Who on earth…!”
Hans, who hadn’t heard the swallowed word, poured out his anger at an imaginary enemy.
He hurriedly carried the collapsed Yeomje to his room.