“If this body had been a problem, I would already be dismembered and rolling somewhere in that fire pit.”

Rael shuddered at this brutal description. What kind of siblings tore each other apart and tried to kill one another?

“Don’t you hate your siblings?”

“What can I do about the way we were born? It’s more annoyance than hatred.”

“Annoyance…”

For life-threatening situations to be merely “annoying” seemed remarkable by Rael’s standards.

“Tell me if Sezl bothers you.”

“And then what?”

“You know how I deal with annoying siblings, don’t you?”

He had once mentioned tearing Juletan apart and throwing him somewhere in the Abyss. Whenever such cruelty surfaced, Rael felt an instinctive revulsion.

“That won’t be necessary.”

“That’s disappointing. I wanted to exact revenge on your behalf.”

It irritated Rael how lightly he spoke of matters that were literally life and death to her, even if not to him.

“I heard pregnant women shouldn’t take lives.”

“Who said that?”

“I don’t know. Some talkative person from the past, I suppose.”

It was merely a superstition passed down by word of mouth.

“Why don’t you try, at least until the child is born?”

“Try not to kill?”

“Yes.”

Would that be difficult for Rubellan?

Rael was curious about his reaction, wondering if he would be unable to suppress his demonic instincts.

“…Well.”

Rubellan’s answer came slowly.

“If that’s what you want, I’ll try.”

Surprisingly positive.

“Then what effort will you make for me?”

“Effort? Me?”

This was truly demonic behavior, giving one thing only to take another in return.

“Is there something I should do?”

“How about trying to love the child’s father a little more?”

“What?”

Astonishment flashed across her face.

“When parents love each other, the child feels more secure.”

“Where did you learn that?”

Rubellan’s gaze shifted to the book in front of him. Right, he had acquired unnecessary information.

“Will you make that effort?”

Looking at his mischievous smile, she felt trapped.

“…Whatever.”

Rael turned her head as she uttered this not-quite-affirmation. Who could win against this shameless demon?

“Do you want to sleep more? Your eyes are still heavy with sleep.”

Rubellan said as he stood up.

“Come here. I’ll put you to bed.”

He extended his hand toward Rael.

She watched his hand for a moment before slowly placing hers on it. Her body was lifted with gentle strength.

* * *

“Rael!”

The cheerful voice calling her name belonged to Sezl. Not yet expelled from the castle, she was walking down the corridor with a lively demeanor.

“Heading to the dining hall? Let’s go together.”

“…Don’t demons abstain from eating?”

“The dining hall is better than being bored.”

Sezl tried to put her arm around Rael’s shoulder, but Rael blocked it with her hand.

“Oh?”

Sezl tilted her head, looking at her arm stopped by the human’s hand.

“I’m not feeling well.”

They weren’t close enough for such familiarity, and Rael wanted to avoid anything physically strenuous. Planning to hide her pregnancy from Sezl as much as possible, she needed an excuse.

“My goodness, the air here is quite something, isn’t it? That’s why I’m so fond of the human realm. The demon realm is quite stifling.”

Sezl laughed heartily, seemingly unbothered. The more friendly she acted, the more uncomfortable Rael felt.

What ulterior motive did she have for pretending to be friendly? Rael didn’t want to get entangled in demonic affairs.

“Ah, let’s hurry along. Humans are such fragile beings, die if they don’t eat, don’t they?”

Though her words seemed concerned, they grated on Rael’s nerves. She sighed softly and headed to the dining hall with Sezl.

Upon their arrival, Chapir couldn’t hide his dismay at seeing Sezl. She gave a good-natured smile and joked that they shouldn’t mind her, then sat down across from Rael.

The situation felt awkward, but hunger drove Rael to reluctantly pick up her fork. As she took small bites of mostly salad, Sezl’s gaze followed her hand persistently.

The intense staring with each bite was uncomfortable, causing Rael to eat more slowly.

“Will your stomach be satisfied with such nibbling?”

Sezl finally spoke up.

“Humans don’t typically eat much.”

“Even among humans, you seem particularly extreme, don’t you think?”

This was actually due to morning sickness, but Rael chose not to mention it.

“I’ve never had a big appetite.”

“So, how did you end up at the castle?”

As soon as Rael spoke, Sezl seized the opportunity to ask what she’d been curious about.

“I wonder.”

“You’re a mage, right? Did you come to kill Rubellan?”

Rael frowned slightly at Sezl’s words. She seemed to be imagining something like a hero coming to defeat the Demon King. What era did she think this was?

Heroes reckless enough to try killing Demon Kings only existed in myths.

“There’s no princess here to rescue, so why would I?”

“Princess? Ah! Haha, right, right. Then were you searching for treasure?”

“Your ideas seem stuck several hundred years in the past.”

“Hmm, is that so? I apologize. It’s been over a hundred years since I last saw a human.”

“…Anyway, nothing like that.”

Whatever grand story Sezl was hoping for, Rael had no magnificent tale to satisfy her imagination, at least from her perspective.

Despite Rael’s lukewarm responses, Sezl couldn’t hide her intrigued expression. She placed both arms on the table and rested her face in her hands.

The way she stared up at Rael was so uncomfortable that what little appetite Rael had was rapidly disappearing.

“What does Rubellan want from you?”

Sezl knew her brother Rubellan well. It wasn’t difficult to guess that if he kept a human by his side despite being indifferent to everything, that human must possess something he wanted.

All her siblings were close to being insane, but if asked to choose the craziest, Sezl would pick Rubellan without hesitation. That’s how much of a madman he was, in her view.

For such a madman to keep a human close, wasn’t the full story intriguing?

But the human before her either had a tight lip or found her intimidating, as she wouldn’t open up easily.

Watching Rael quietly push salad around with her fork and knife, Sezl grew impatient. The human showed caution toward demons, perhaps from living with Rubellan, but displayed no fear. What experiences had she had in the Demon King’s Castle that she didn’t even blink at the presence of a greater demon?

Normally, humans would fall to their knees just feeling Sezl’s aura. No one in the world would respond so tepidly to her questions. Yet Rael’s reaction actually delighted Sezl.

“I know Rubellan well. He doesn’t like humans. No, actually, human or demon, I don’t think there’s any living being in this world that satisfies him.”

She thought it absurd that Rubellan, who tore apart even his own family, could care for anyone. He was closer to being devoid of emotions.

“You seem to know him well.”

Just as Sezl was about to respond to Rael’s comment, the dining hall door opened. Both women turned toward the sound of friction as the door swung open.

“That’s unlikely.”

A low, calm voice joined the conversation. Sezl raised her hand in greeting to Rubellan as he approached.

“Brother, it’s been a while.”

As Sezl greeted him with narrowed eyes, Rubellan’s usually upturned lips dropped slightly.

His gaze toward Sezl was markedly different from how he looked at Rael, cold eyes without a trace of emotion. But Sezl was accustomed to such looks from him.

“Our senior’s appetite seems to have dropped significantly.”

Rubellan went to Rael’s side and placed his hand on her shoulder. Before him lay food that showed barely any signs of being touched, making one wonder if she had eaten at all.

“You’re not suggesting I’m the cause of that, are you?”

Sezl was taken aback by Rubellan’s subtle reproach.

“Our senior has a sensitive stomach.”

At Rubellan’s words, Sezl let out a hollow laugh. Yet she was curious about the term “our senior” that came from his mouth.

“Senior? Why is a human your senior?”

“You don’t need to know that much.”

Rubellan picked up the fork in front of Rael and served a piece of meat onto her plate. Covered in sauce, it was a dish she usually enjoyed.

Sezl was astonished by this behavior, which seemed like waiting on a human, and how natural it appeared to both Rubellan and the human before her.

“What made you curious enough to follow us to the dining hall, dear sibling?”

“How could I miss such a good show?”

“There’s hardly anything interesting to see.”

“The sight of a Demon King serving food to a human is so fascinating I might fall over backward.”

Though Sezl spoke teasingly, Rubellan paid no attention and simply observed as Rael’s fork moved toward her mouth.

“I don’t care how you roam around the castle, but I’d appreciate it if you refrain from bothering our senior. That is, if you want to preserve that precious body of yours.”

His tone was gentle, like someone concerned about health, but the content was utterly brutal. This finally made him seem like her brother. More impressive was how the human didn’t even blink at such threatening language.

“Look at you, Rubellan. When you talk like that, you make me misunderstand. It almost sounds like you’ve fallen in love.”

At those words, Rubellan’s gaze, which had been fixed on Rael’s hand, quietly lifted toward Sezl. The coldness in his red eyes was a complete 180-degree turn from the warm May sunshine with which he had been looking at the human just moments before.

“Ha.”

The scene was enough to draw an involuntary scoff.