A simple farce.
Ye Lu thought this would be some important occasion related to her, which was why he brought her along.
But in the end, she was just following him back and happened to attend a meeting on the way.
The gist of the meeting was that the Human Army had recently begun organized attacks on the Demon race, and the Demon high command vaguely suspected that a new Hero Party had been born behind the scenes.
But none of that had anything to do with her.
As an ordinary person with a short lifespan, her task had always been to live happily in the limited time she had, do what she wanted, and build an environment where she could settle down and rely on it for the rest of her life.
After the meeting, the Prince brought her back to his residence.
They passed through a boring, backward little town.
The streets were lined with simple daily necessities and food stalls.
She lowered her head, stepping one by one in the shadow of his back.
They passed piles of garbage, walked through a construction zone that was still being renovated, and finally he scooped her up horizontally in his arms and stepped across a sticky mud puddle.
They walked a long way on a short, flat dirt path.
Finally, at the end, under a willow tree, a small courtyard with a fence appeared before her eyes.
…
But…
‘It feels like I’m playing a horror game?’
‘The surroundings are so eerie.’
Ye Lu complained inwardly.
The sky above was covered by an endless purple-black barrier.
Probably because there was too much piled-up demon mineral; no fresh air could be smelled anywhere.
No matter where she went, it was filled with a pungent, industrial waste-like odor.
Almost no wind blew, which ruled out the risk of her skirt flipping up, but… the trade-off was dampness.
‘So annoying…’
‘What girl would be willing to marry here?’
‘Good thing I’m a man, so I can barely accept it, I guess?’
‘But if later… they force me by the neck, tie me up as their so-called Princess, and bind me here in this godforsaken place…’
She would rather drag the Prince along and rent a small apartment in the Demon Capital to live out their days, with herself playing the role of Mother.
Just kidding, no such plan…
‘Sigh.’
All that constant “Lady Princess” talk had made her nearly dizzy.
She had originally thought that following him to this Celestial Demon territory would allow her to enjoy a fairy-tale treatment.
Now it seemed like nothing but wishful thinking.
But at least there was one benefit?
She could brag to others after going back that she had actually set foot in the Celestial Demon territory.
“Creak—”
The sound of a wooden door opening and closing.
Siye was the first to push open the door.
He turned back to look at her and signaled with his eyes for her to enter.
“Okay.”
She stepped in nervously.
With every step, she carefully checked the ground for any scary beetles.
Entering the small courtyard, most of the ground material was still purple demon ore.
But a layer of soil had been spread over it.
She looked around; the things in the yard were scattered in disarray.
It seemed the Prince was actually quite slobby?
‘Huh?’
She spotted an excavator, a plastic toy excavator.
Wasn’t this the toy excavator she had bought for him with her own money before?
The gift she had put thought into, and he just threw it on the ground like that?
‘Hmph, the more I think about it, the angrier I get!’
Ye Lu walked over, carefully picked it up, and placed it on the small iron stool nearby.
Just as she finished tidying up, she looked up and saw that the Prince had already entered the house.
Her heart panicked, and she quickly followed.
The living room was quite spacious.
The walls were covered in solid wood, making it look much cozier.
The floor was also made of wood.
Overall, it wasn’t too different from the decoration style in the Demon Capital—at least much better than the monotonous demon-style decoration.
It seemed the Prince was someone who knew how to adapt.
But…
It was super messy!!
Garbage bags piled up like a small mountain!
‘Can’t bear to look at it…’
‘Aren’t you a Prince? You should at least have a castle!!’
…
But besides the pile of garbage near the bathroom,
she noticed many books scattered at her feet.
Curiously, she crouched down and grabbed one.
‘Hmm…?’
“Only You Makes My Heart Beat?”
She flipped open a page and realized it was a manga.
The first page showed a soft, cute heroine holding a lunchbox under a willow tree, her eyes curved in a happy smile as she fed the man beside her.
The scene was so warm it felt unreal.
Was it a healing manga?
“This is…”
Siye turned back, caught a glimpse of what she was holding, seemed about to say something or reach out to take it back, but ultimately held back.
“What’s wrong?”
“N-nothing… It’s my father’s. He left it with me for now.”
‘Who would believe that!!’
Before turning into the room, the Prince stuck his head out and explained slowly: “Miss Ye Lu, we’ll have to wait about two more hours until my father finishes his official business.”
“Then, you will officially be the Lady Princess, and also my most beloved wife, Siye.”
The words were flirtatious, but there was little emotion in his tone.
Or rather, he seemed distracted.
Ye Lu stood frozen, murmuring, “Wife?”
“Hey!”
Before she could finish, the guy had already walked into the inner room by himself, and with a “bang,” closed the door.
The manga slipped from her hand and fell to the floor.
She snapped back to reality and looked around the messy living room in a daze… then fixed her gaze on the closed door.
“Wait!!”
“P-Prince! I want to go in too!”
“You may.”
His voice came from inside the room, sounding unusually busy, as if he were doing something in there.
After getting permission, she twisted the doorknob.
As soon as the door opened, the sight stunned her.
‘This… this… so many toys!!!’
The room had a faint woody fragrance.
The bedroom wasn’t large, but manga books were piled everywhere.
The walls were plastered with posters of soft, cute girls.
The girls were wearing wedding dresses, princess gowns, and all kinds of adorable little skirts.
The girls… were drawn in a refined, feminine art style, holding bouquets of flowers, their eyes filled with stars and vast seas.
And… every manga had a label?
The name of each heroine was marked!!
‘Was the Prince some kind of super otaku!!?’
It was her first time entering a boy’s room, and she was a little nervous… No wait!!
It was her first time entering the Prince’s room, and she was full of curiosity.
Looking further, on the carpet was a whole box of happy water, the kind you could find in any Demon supermarket.
The desk was also piled with manga, most of which were shoujo.
What made Ye Lu a little happy was that the plush doll she had given the Prince last week was placed neatly on the headboard, and it had even been changed into a delicate, cute little outfit.
But the next second, she felt a twinge of jealousy.
‘He actually likes other girls this much…’
. . . . .
. . . . .
But she didn’t really care that much; after all, they were just personal hobbies.
A few days ago, at home, she had been fangirling over male protagonists herself.
Let her see what was on the bed… ‘Hmm… a necklace? A girl’s necklace? Beads only halfway strung?’
Who was that for?
Not only that, but at the foot of the bed… hung a girl’s dress.
Cartoon style, fluffy hem, delicate pink, like a little Lolita dress.
Who’s was it!!?