Chapter 53

“…There is no need to discuss this with you. This… was done for profound reasons.”

I told a flat-out lie.

It couldn’t be helped. It’s hard for a man of my age to admit to something like love at first sight…

“Wh-! Wha-wha-! Wha-wha-wha—!”

Freise was excessively shocked. About twice as shocked as I had anticipated.

“I see… Indeed, there’s no way the Demon King would go out of his way to marry a human woman without a reason. You’re making it look like you’ve ended the conflict with the humans peacefully while actually preparing your next move… As expected of the Demon King, a terrifying existence… A cold-blooded, heartless, bloodthirsty beast…”

I’d appreciate it if she made it clear whether she was impressed or insulting me, because right now it’s hard to tell.

Besides, isn’t “cold-blooded, heartless” and “bloodthirsty” a bit contradictory? Or does she mean I’m thirsty for blood because I don’t have any? In that case, I’m just anemic.

Minor issues aside, this should have been enough to satisfy Freise.

“I cannot discuss the specific objectives with you. I shall take my leave now.”

However, this person named Freise was not someone to be handled so easily.

She stood directly in front of me, spreading her arms wide in a “you shall not pass” pose.

“I don’t care about your profound plans! I’m going to marry you and become the Demon Queen! That way, I can go from being a noble in name only to someone with actual power!”

“Ah, so you were aware of the ‘noble in name only’ part.”

The House of Dattle has a reputation for being particularly weak. Even if they are called relatives of the Demon King, they are essentially complete strangers.

“Leave me alone! Even with an annual income of only 3.5 million Demon Gold, I’m still a member of the nobility!”

That’s a painfully vivid number she just threw out… I think my rental income from properties is higher than that…

“Well, then… uh, good luck with that.”

I turned my back on Freise.

Escape was my only move. It was clear that the more I involved myself with her, the more troublesome things would become…

“I won’t let you get away! Marry me and give me power! Help me raise my annual income!”

With a hop and a jump, she blocked my path once again.

What is with this woman…? Is she an enemy you absolutely can’t run away from, like a boss battle?

“Look, I’m already married…”

“I don’t care if I’m just a mistress or whatever, please!”

She started saying desperate things!

“I don’t need one of those! I’m devoted to my current wife! Besides, it would cause problems for my ‘plan’!”

I couldn’t even imagine being with a woman other than Lateia!

But Freise lunged forward and clung to me. She was an incredibly aggressive demon…

“I won’t let go! Make me your mistress! And give me land or money!”

This relative named Freise might actually be a formidable foe… I felt like she was launching a fairly powerful mental attack on me…

That said, I am the Demon King. Our abilities as demons are on completely different levels.

I immediately shook Freise off.

“I’m afraid it’s impossible for you to rob me of my freedom.”

“Ow… I’m still a lady, you know… stop being so rough…”

Freise was clutching her arm. I felt it was her own fault, but I also felt a little bad…

“If I caused you any injury, I apologize. It may have been ungentlemanly behavior on my part—”

At that moment—

Freise’s eyes flashed with a sharp glint.

It wasn’t a metaphor; they literally emitted light.

“Ngh… my body won’t move…”

“I got you! That’s my specialty, ‘Paralyzing Flash’! You won’t be able to move for a set amount of time!”

I messed up. To think I would let this happen… I took a pointless hit at point-blank range.

I wouldn’t be able to break free for a while.

“Now then, from here on, it’s my time! Prepare yourself!”

“—And what exactly do you plan to do after freezing me?”

I glared intensely at Freise.

I could see goosebumps break out across her skin.

One must never underestimate the glare of the Demon King. Though, I felt like she had been doing nothing but underestimating me for a while now…

“I’m not entirely against letting what has happened so far slide. However, if you’ve gone as far as using an attack that immobilizes and causes damage, I have no choice but to hand down a severe punishment for lèse-majesté.”

In all likelihood, I could probably charge her with lèse-majesté based on her conduct up to this point alone, but that felt a bit petty, so I was willing to forgive her.

“Ngh… mmgh… It’s cowardly to bring up the fact that you’re the King!”

The cowardly one is definitely the one who forced me to stop moving.

“Even if you stop my movements, there is nothing you can do. That much is clear from the fact that you haven’t tried anything yet. Now, admit that you’ve run out of moves.”

I wanted to make this eccentric woman submit quickly. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know a moment’s peace.

“N-No… I can’t back down here! I’m going to get a mistress contract and get some money!”

Her determination seemed solid, but the reasoning behind it was pathetic.

“I can’t attack you, but I have a woman’s weapons! I’ll show you what reverse sexual harassment looks like with my feminine charms!”

She actually called it reverse sexual harassment herself; was she really okay with that?

Still, even a fool is troublesome when they have this much initiative.

Freise lunged forward and hugged me from the front.

A soft sensation pressed against my entire body…

Despite being such a hopeless demon, she was actually quite cute… There was a part of me, in the corner of my heart, that felt a little happy about this…

“Hey, cut it out! Stop this! Don’t do something so ridiculous… If you hold even the lowest seat in the House of Ryuzen, stop acting so shamelessly!”

“No, I will win you over! I’m going to put an end to a life where I only ever appear at the market on bargain sale days!”

The scale of her resolve had been small this entire time.

I desperately endured, trying to prevent any feelings of “happiness” from arising.

In terms of actual time, it shouldn’t be much. I could get through this!

Just then, I heard a familiar voice.

“Hey, Demon King. I need you to come back soon so we can check the ceremony details.”

It was Angelica!

This was bad!

Body, move already!

“Come on, don’t be so stiff, just relax~. Let’s create an ‘established fact’ together~.”

“I told you, stop saying unnecessary things!”

And then, just as I was finally able to move again—

Angelica appeared right in front of me.

She saw me in the middle of a perfect embrace with Freise (technically, I was being unilaterally hugged).

“…Demon King? What are you doing…?”