I Took the Demon King as My Wife

-Knock knock.
Someone knocked on the door. Hans asked while hastily getting dressed.
“Who is it?”
There was no answer. Hans finished buttoning his shirt and went to the door himself to open it.
“…Demon King?”
Standing in front of the door was Eilena in her usual attire.
She was standing alone at the door without her personal maid, staring up at him intently.
“I was just about to go out, are you leaving early today…?”
“Change your clothes.”
Eilena abruptly cut off Hans’s words. To this, Hans blinked rapidly and asked.
“Change clothes… what…?”
“You need to come with me today. So dress up a bit, even if it’s just casual.”
“What? No, what are you talking about?”
“You’ll understand when we get there.”
With the words that she’d wait at the entrance, so hurry up, Eilena disappeared down the stairs, her skirt fluttering.
“…Tsk.”
Now accustomed to her reactions, Hans could only click his tongue and follow her disappearing hair with his eyes.
Returning to his room, he opened the wardrobe. The empty wardrobe only contained a few shirts in modest colors.
“Hmm…”
Hans rubbed his chin while examining the inside of the wardrobe.
Why did the instruction to dress up even casually sound so burdensome?
It was obvious that if he chose clothes arbitrarily, he would be criticized again.
But he couldn’t ask her either… so after much deliberation, Hans picked up the neatest black suit. It was the one that had been bestowed upon him on his wedding day.
“Surely… like this… or is it like this…?”
Not knowing how to wear it properly, Hans fumbled around, putting on and taking off the clothes several times.
After a while, thinking he would be scolded again if he was late, he hastily stuffed the top into his pants and hurried down to the first floor.
“…Hmm?”
Coming down the stairs, the first thing he saw was his wife’s face.
She was conversing with someone at the entrance. The cold mask she usually showed only to him was nowhere to be seen; her face was full of radiant smiles.
Hans, who had been glancing at his wife with disapproving eyes, soon shifted his gaze to the man she was talking to.
Noticing his gaze, the man ran up to him with sparkling eyes.
“Oh my, it’s been a while! Baron, Your Excellency.”
The man grabbed his hand firmly with his plump palm. As Hans carefully observed his face, his eyes soon sparkled as well, and he opened his mouth brightly.
“Ah…! You’re definitely the one who officiated at the wedding…!”
“Hoho! I’m honored that you remember me.”
The man was none other than the minister who had officiated at his wedding.
Thanks to his brilliantly shining crown that day, which shone more brightly than anyone else’s, he was quite firmly imprinted in his memory.
Because of that, it didn’t take long to recall who he was.
Hans asked, showing his delight.
“What brings you here?”
“Ah…!”
At Hans’s words, the minister gestured as if to excuse himself for a moment, and took out a small handkerchief from his back pocket.
The minister, who was wiping the beads of sweat from his crown, hastily put the handkerchief away and said.
“His Majesty personally ordered me to bring both of you. I don’t know the details either, so please ask His Majesty directly when you get there.”
“My goodness, this must be troublesome for you…”
“Haha! Not at all, I offered to come myself after overhearing what His Majesty casually mentioned. I was quite curious about how the two of you were living…”
The minister wiped his sweat with his bare hand, smiling brightly. Though it was still early morning and not that hot.
Perhaps because he was on the plumper side, he was continuously sweating profusely to the point where his back was soaked.
Watching the sweat flow down his bare sideburns, Hans said to him.
“Would you like a glass of cold water?”
“Oh my, I would be grateful if you offered.”
At Hans’s words, the minister bowed his head with a broad smile, as if he had been waiting for it.
Hans instructed Wesley, who was waiting at the entrance, to serve a drink filled with ice.
The minister waved his hands at his words, saying he would go and drink it himself, and followed the head butler to the dining room.
“Well, he moves surprisingly lightly on his feet.”
Hans smiled and watched the minister’s retreating figure.
His warm impression and smiling face made the viewer’s heart feel at ease.
Although he wasn’t someone Hans knew deeply… he felt genuinely pleased to see this man in many ways.
“……”
Eilena stared intently at Hans’s profile.
Slowly rolling her eyes and scanning his entire body, she quietly approached his side.
She tugged sharply at the collar of Hans, who was absentmindedly staring in the other direction.
“…Ah!”
Hans, momentarily losing his balance, tilted forward and bent his waist in front of her.
His pulled face stopped abruptly, with just a hand’s width between them.
At such a close distance, where they could almost touch, they could even feel each other’s breath on their skin.
Facing Eilena’s face right in front of him, Hans’s face began to flush.
“Your clothes…”
However, the heat that was rising up didn’t even have a chance to show before it immediately cooled down.
“Are you half-dressed or what?”
Her frowning eyes scanned his body again. The irritation evident in her voice grated on his nerves.
Eilena thoroughly examined his attire and roughly released her grip.
Hans, free from her grasp, shook off his crumpled collar and complained.
“What’s wrong with my clothes…! I deliberately wore the same clothes I wore yesterday because I was worried about what you might say!”
“……”
At this, Eilena approached him closely again.
Silently placing her hand on his neck area, she began to unravel his tangled tie.
“Wh-what are you doing…!”
“If you don’t know how to dress properly, leave it to the servants. What kind of unseemly appearance is this?”
“N-no…”
Eilena continued with her sharp tone, berating him.
However, contrary to her tone, the touch felt through his clothes was incredibly gentle.
“……”
Hans couldn’t say anything more and just stood there, letting her hands work on his clothes.
Her elegant hands slowly moved down from his neck, fixing his clothes with neat skill wherever they caught.
It was swift and precise, yet so dignified and beautiful that one would be entranced just watching.
Hans, his irritation momentarily forgotten, was soon gaping in amazement at her skillfulness.
“…It’s done.”
“…Ah, yes.”
Only after fixing even the misaligned buttons to their proper places did Eilena gently pat his stomach and dust off her hands.
A peculiar smile bloomed through her stern expression.
Looking at her face where that subtle smile had lingered, Hans awkwardly swallowed.
“Baron, Your Excellency?”
“Gasp!”
At the sound suddenly heard from behind him, Hans startled and lifted his shoulders dramatically.
The minister, who had already downed a bowl of cold drink, was looking up at him with a refreshed face. He stuck out his head and stared at Hans’s flustered face.
“Why, what’s the matter? Your face is quite red…”
As he blinked and spoke, Hans hastily grabbed his mouth.
“Ah, yes, yes, yes! My goodness, the weather is quite hot today! I should have a glass of cold water too! Would you like another, Sir?”
“Wabuh wabuh?”
He shouted loudly and forcefully dragged the minister towards the dining room. Caught in his large hand, the minister blinked in confusion as he was pulled to the dining room.
“……”
Eilena, who had watched the whole scene, glared at his retreating figure with her cold eyes once again.
To treat a royal minister in such a manner…
She firmly resolved to give him a piece of her mind when he returned.
In the end, Hans had to endure a lecture throughout the entire carriage ride to the palace.
He resented his wife.
.
.
.
-Knock knock.
“Come in.”
At the Emperor’s words, the two people entered his office.
The Emperor put down his gold-rimmed glasses and abruptly closed his book.
“It’s been a while.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
After shaking hands with Hans, the Emperor immediately turned his eyes to look at Eilena standing next to him.
“I trust the Sovereign of the Green-Fingered spent last night well?”
“Yes, I did.”
“You’ve been working hard for policy every day, and I’m sorry I couldn’t give you even a day’s leave.”
“I’ve handled similar schedules before. Please don’t worry about it.”
Eilena answered with her eyes gently closed.
The Emperor nodded and left his desk to sit on the sofa.
“First, both of you please sit down.”
At the Emperor’s words, the two went to sit on the opposite sofa.
Once everyone was seated, the Emperor took out a rolled scroll from inside his garment and spread it out on the table.
“First, based on what we discussed until yesterday, we’ve established the basic laws. Though you probably already know this, please take a look anyway.”
The Emperor gestured with a smile, and Eilena received the scroll he had spread out and began to read it carefully.
After instantly reading through the long scroll, Eilena rolled up the corners and placed it back on the table.
“Yes, I think it can be proclaimed as is. Since modifications in the future are inevitable anyway, it’s better to apply it as soon as possible.”
“That’s right.”
The Emperor nodded and glanced at Hans.
“Do you not want to take a look?”
“Pardon…? Ah, yes… well.”
It’s not like I’d understand it anyway.

But thinking that he should at least check it as a formality, Hans awkwardly picked up the scroll.
“Article 1, Section 1… Regarding the common laws between demonkind and humankind…”
Hans squinted his eyes, staring intently at the paper.
Not understanding well, he began to read each of the small, densely written letters one by one. However, it wasn’t particularly helpful.
Eilena, who had been quietly watching him from the side, suddenly grabbed the end of the scroll and pulled it away.
“I’ll explain it to you separately later, so that’s enough. What kind of unseemly behavior is this in front of the Emperor?”
“No, wait a minute! I-I can read too!”
“Even a ten-year-old child can read! What’s the point of reading if you don’t understand?”
“I do understand…!”
“Stop talking nonsense and hand it over!”
“Ow…! I said let go!”
The two seemed to be engaged in a strength contest, playing tug-of-war with the tough scroll.
“Come on…! Enough! Enough!”
The Emperor quickly clapped his hands and separated the two.
Somehow, it seemed like the same scene unfolded every time the three of them met, but the Emperor decided to ignore it deliberately. He looked at Hans and said,
“For now, do as she says. That’s not the important thing right now, so let’s verify it gradually.”
“Ah… yes… yes, Your Majesty.”
Hans, who had been tussling over the scroll as if about to tear it, reluctantly let go at the Emperor’s words.
Whoosh! Eilena snatched the scroll from his hands, rolled it up, and vigorously placed it in a corner of the table.
Whether intentional or not, where she placed it was exactly beyond Hans’s reach.
‘Look at… look at what she’s doing…’
Hans slightly glared at Eilena, who had her lips firmly sealed.
Every time he saw that infinitely confident expression, he felt an urge to make that white forehead turn bright red.
Trying to calm his tearful fists, Hans asked the Emperor.
“By the way, what did you want to tell us? You specifically asked for me to come…”
“Ah… that…”
The Emperor paused for a moment, then adjusted his posture comfortably and spoke again.
“You need to go to the borderlands.”
“Pardon…?”
Hans raised his voice in question. The Emperor gestured understandingly and added an explanation.
“Now that we’ve set the policies, all that’s left is to implement them. Laws are finished once they’re proclaimed, but for practical policies, field surveys are absolutely necessary.”
“Field surveys, you say?”
At Hans’s words, the Emperor nodded.
“So, what exactly do we need to do there…?”
“Hmm… just wait a moment.”
The Emperor rose from his seat and headed to his desk. He opened a hidden drawer beneath the desk and took out a small box, then returned.
“What is this…?”
“My official seal.”
As he answered and opened the box, a silver seal wrapped in dark red cloth was revealed.
The Emperor held out the box to Eilena and said.
“This, I entrust to the Sovereign of the Green-Fingered.”
“…Yes, I understand.”
Eilena seemed to contemplate for a moment but then accepted the box he offered.
At this, Hans slightly raised his voice and said.
“No, Your Majesty! How can you casually give away your official seal!”
The Emperor lightly ignored Hans’s protests and said to Eilena.
“That seal is a kind of proof that you are my proxy. If you have any matters to attend to there, feel free to use it.”
“I will use it wisely.”
Eilena slightly dipped her head to convey her gratitude.
Once she had closed the box and pulled it completely in front of her, the Emperor finally turned his eyes to look at Hans.
Hans was glaring at Eilena, who had received the seal with a displeased expression.
“As for you…”
Eventually, when the Emperor addressed him, Hans quickly softened his expression and looked at him.
“There’s something you must do when you get there.”
“…Pardon?”
“Well… it’s not that difficult, it’s merely an extension of what you’ve been doing until now.”
“…?”
Hans looked at the Emperor with a puzzled expression.