His gaze seemed strange as he looked at her. His eyes were hazy and sunken, like someone under the influence of drugs.

“You really don’t listen, do you?”

Despite his condition, he accurately pointed out that Rael had disobeyed him, making her wonder if he was still his usual self after all. Rubellan rose from the bed and approached the window with slightly unsteady steps.

“Unless you’re planning another life-threatening gamble, stay quietly in your room today.”

Rael nodded reflexively.

With those words, Rubellan leapt out the window. Though her room was only on the second floor, the ceiling height was considerable. Of course, this concern was entirely unnecessary—he was already soaring away using the sturdy wings that had sprouted from his shoulder blades.

“…Well.”

The situation was truly bewildering. After carefully reviewing everything that had happened today, Rael collapsed spread-eagle on the bed.

“What on earth is going on?”

Everything she tried to think about was a complete mess, and the aftermath of their intense lovemaking left her without the strength to think further. She fell into a deep sleep, practically passing out.

* * *

“Hmm hmm~”

Humming sounds tapped at Rael’s shallow consciousness. Her eyelids twitched before slowly opening. The sunlight streaming through the window carried a warm energy, suggesting she had already missed the morning hours.

“Are you awake?”

When she opened her eyes, she saw Esh and Kali. Rael first checked her clothing. Fortunately, she remembered putting on a nightgown in her sleep because she felt cold. Feeling embarrassed, she tightened the sash around her waist.

Esh was tending to Kali’s food.

“…Ah. I must have slept late.”

“You must have been tired. Would you like to have a meal now?”

As she slowly raised herself up, her head throbbed. It felt like yesterday’s shock was belatedly striking her skull.

“Are you in pain somewhere?”

“No, no. Just… had some bad dreams.”

It seemed easier to dismiss yesterday’s events as merely a dream.

“Hmm…”

Esh’s eyes narrowed. Rael met Esh’s intense gaze.

“Red…”

Looking at her red eyes, Rael felt an eerie chill down her spine. Unlike human pupils, those vertically slit eyes were familiar to her—from last night. The monster that had opened its mouth wide, trying to devour her.

“…”

She had forgotten about it because Rubellan’s sudden appearance had scrambled her thoughts. On the night of the red moon, Joseph’s shocking transformation and the monster that appeared afterward trying to eat her.

“How were you, Esh?”

“Pardon? How was what?”

Esh tilted her head curiously at Rael’s question.

“Last night.”

It was actually quite irritating. Yesterday she had tried to harm her, yet today she was smiling brightly, pretending nothing had happened.

“Oh my, I go half-mad when exposed to moonlight and lose my senses. Hoho. I don’t remember much.”

Rael twisted her lips at Esh’s response. The nerve of her!

“Well then, shall we have breakfast?”

“Isn’t the dining hall on the first floor a mess?”

She remembered that the dining hall wall had collapsed during Joseph and the monster’s rampage yesterday.

“Oh. That’s right. Everyone goes wild under moonlight. Let’s have the meal in your room then.”

Esh scratched her head awkwardly, appearing to have forgotten, and headed toward the door to fetch their meal. Rael spoke as Esh was about to leave.

“By the way, Esh, you don’t seem surprised that I know about the first floor being destroyed.”

Esh paused as she was opening the door. Normally, she would have immediately questioned Rael’s activities the previous night upon hearing that she knew about the first floor’s condition. 

Since protecting Rael was her duty, scolding would naturally have followed. That was how she usually behaved.

“You seem to already know I went outside last night.”

At Rael’s follow-up comment, Esh flashed her characteristically sweet smile and replied, “Sometimes it’s not so bad to bury each other’s secrets.”

Then she stepped into the hallway with light footsteps. Watching her leave, Rael’s expression turned completely disgusted.

“Demons will be demons, I suppose.”

* * *

A few days later, Rael was out in the front garden of the Demon King’s Castle for the first time in a while.

“Why on earth would you plant human flowers here?”

Esh, who had come along, was criticizing Yuswen, the garden caretaker.

“He was probably thinking of me. Esh, don’t be so…”

Surprisingly, Rael was now defending Esh.

“Look at this! Is this even a flower? It would be fortunate if it just withered from the toxic energy! What is this! You’ve created a complete hybrid! What kind of fertilizer did you use?”

Esh’s anger was justified. They had come out to enjoy the nice weather in the garden, but some flower had sprayed toxic liquid that soiled Esh’s luscious hair. The only fortunate thing was that the toxic spray hadn’t been directed at Rael. For Esh, it merely resulted in dirty hair, but Rael’s hair or skin could have melted away.

“I didn’t expect this to happen.”

Yuswen, who always walked around with shaggy hair covering his eyes, was typically quiet. Today, however, he was at least attempting to defend himself.

“If Lady Rael had been hurt, we’d both be finished! Burn them all immediately!”

Yuswen felt wronged in his own way. He had gone to the trouble of importing flowers that humans liked and planted them in the garden out of concern for Rael’s homesickness. But the demon realm’s toxic energy was too much; most flowers withered within half a day. So he had created his own fertilizer and injected it into the flowers, with disastrous results.

Kaak— Kak—

The flowers were not only spewing poison but making sounds too. This had clearly gone wrong in every possible way.

“Stop fighting, both of you. We’ll get poisoned again at this rate.”

Though Esh and Yuswen’s bickering wasn’t really her concern, Rael didn’t want to stand among these plants making “kak-kak” sounds.

“Let’s move over there for now.”

“You burn those things right now!”

“Esh, clean what’s on your hair first.”

Rael separated the two and headed toward the lake.

“I really don’t like that guy.”

“Not because of this incident, but just in general, right?”

“Oh my, was it that obvious?”

…Very much so.

Esh had maintained her initial stance that she disliked canine creatures from the beginning. She was certainly consistent—for a demon, that is.

After grumbling for a while, Esh approached the lake to wash the toxic liquid from her hair, while Rael sat down on a bench at the edge of the garden.

[Ugyagyagya!]

Just then, a familiar voice approached from the distance.

[Uah! What terrible luck! I’m dying!]

It was Joseph, flapping and fluttering as he flew rapidly toward the lake where Esh was. He was moving so fast that Rael’s eyes couldn’t follow as he zoomed past her.

Soon there was a splash, followed by Esh’s scream.

“Ack! You splashed me! What now?”

Curious about the situation, Rael approached the lake. Bubbles gurgled on the surface, followed by another splash.

[Puha! Wow! Who planted those crazy flowers in the garden?]

“I said stop splashing!”

“…”

Joseph had apparently also fallen victim to the flowers while flying through the garden. He was now rubbing and shaking off the poison that had gotten on his body. Esh was shaking the water from her clothes with an irritated expression.

[What was that madman growing?]

“Stop shaking yourself!”

What a mess.

Esh and Joseph squabbled about splashing each other, while flames began spreading in the garden.

“…Ah.”

It seemed Yuswen was incinerating the flowers. They had certainly looked like roses, but now they had become strange magical beasts. One could only pray these flowers would go to a better place.

“There’s never a quiet day here.”

Esh was right. Strangely enough, the Demon King’s Castle was full of commotion every day, big or small. It seemed almost deliberate, keeping her from getting bored.

“Where did Kali go, by the way?”

“Oh my, where did that mutt run off to?”

When they had arrived at the garden, Esh had thrown a piece of jerky far away for Kali, who had seemed restless. But she had underestimated her own arm strength. The jerky had flown so high it might have become a star, and Kali, being no ordinary dog, had dashed after it.

“Oh, she’ll be back soon. Let’s have some tea here.”

Esh waved her hand dismissively and opened the picnic basket she had brought.

“Nothing was splashed in there, right?”

Rael had no desire to depart this world while drinking tea.

“Hoho, don’t worry. I guarded this perfectly.”

Esh quickly arranged the tea set beautifully on the table. Joseph, having shaken all the water from his body, pushed his bottom onto the table.

[What’s the snack today?]

“Glutton.”

Though grumbling, Esh took out freshly baked bread from the basket and placed it in front of him.

[Oh, the mutt is coming back.]

Joseph, who had been fiddling with the bread, spotted Kali and spoke.

“What’s she carrying in her mouth?”

“…I wonder.”

It was quite strange to see Kali carrying something in her mouth—she would have swallowed the jerky in one bite upon finding it. Why did this suddenly feel ominous?

Kali ran quickly to Rael. Something round was clamped in her mouth.

“What’s that?”

When Rael asked, Kali dropped what she was carrying with a thud.

“Oh! Did it bear fruit?”

[Eck, that’s an eye fruit!]

“Eye fruit?”

The round fruit was about the size of a walnut. Its bumpy surface even resembled a walnut in a strange way. Rael wondered if Kali had eaten something like a peach and brought back the pit.

“What is it?”

“It’s a fruit that very rarely grows on eye trees in the demon realm. That’s an eye fruit.”

“What’s it used for? Why are you so excited?”

[You don’t know how amazing this is. If you eat it, you can read other people’s true feelings for a short time!]

Rael’s eyes widened at Joseph’s words. Could a fruit really grant such an ability?

“That’s right. The effect is very brief, but it works. Though it tastes absolutely terrible. Hoho.”

“That’s fascinating.”

Despite its beneficial effects, Rael hesitated to pick it up. She wasn’t particularly eager to eat something covered in Kali’s saliva, as the dog was still panting heavily.