A simple farce.
Ye Lu had thought that this would be some important occasion concerning herself, which was why he brought her along.
But in the end, it was just attending a meeting on the way back with him.
The meeting content was roughly that the Human Army had recently begun to launch organized attacks on the Demons, 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 was always to live happily in her limited time, to do what she wanted, and to build an environment where she could securely rely on for a lifetime.
After the meeting, the Prince brought her back to his residence.
Passing through a boring, backward town where simple daily necessities and food were sold on the streets.
She lowered her head, stepping on his shadow step by step.
Passing by piled-up garbage heaps, crossing a district still under construction and renovation, finally she was picked up sideways by him and stepped over a sticky mud puddle.
They walked for a long time on a short, flat dirt road.
Finally, at the end, under a willow tree, a small yard with a fence appeared before her eyes.
…
But…
‘It feels like playing a horror game?’
‘Everything around here is so creepy.’
Ye Lu groaned inwardly.
The sky above was covered by an endless purple-black barrier.
Probably because of the excessive accumulation of Demon mineral deposits, there was not a trace of fresh air to be smelled.
No matter where she went, the place was filled with a pungent smell like industrial waste.
Almost no wind blew, which eliminated the risk of her skirt being lifted, but… in exchange, it was damp and humid.
‘How annoying…’
‘What girl would want to marry here?’
‘Luckily, I’m a man, so I can barely accept it, right?’
‘But if in the future… I’m forced to be strangled and bound into what they call Lady Princess, forcibly tied down in this godforsaken place.’
‘She would rather drag the Prince and rent a small apartment in the Demon Capital to live together, with herself acting as the mother.’
‘Just kidding, no such plan…’
‘Sigh.’
‘The constant “Lady Princess” was making her feel so high and mighty.’
She originally thought that following him to this Celestial Demon territory would let her enjoy a fairytale-like treatment.
Now it all seemed like wishful thinking.
But it was still good for something, right?
At least she could show off to others that she had set foot in the Celestial Demon territory.
“Creak—”
The sound of a wooden door opening and closing rang out.
Siye was the first to push open the gate, then turned back to look at her, his eyes signaling her to enter.
“Okay.”
She stepped forward cautiously.
With every step, she carefully checked for any terrifying beetles on the ground.
Once inside the yard, most of the ground was still made of purple Demon ore, with a layer of soil spread over it.
Looking around, the items in the yard were scattered messily.
From this, she could tell that the Prince was actually quite slovenly.
Huh?
She spotted a toy excavator.
A plastic excavator.
Wasn’t this the toy excavator she had bought for him with her own money?
The gift she had put thought into was just tossed carelessly on the ground?
Hmph, the more she thought about it, the angrier she got!
Ye Lu walked over, carefully picked it up, and placed it on a 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 skipped a beat, and she quickly followed.
The living room was quite large.
The walls were entirely covered with solid wood, making it look much cozier.
The floor was also made of wood, and overall it wasn’t much different from the decoration style in the Demon Capital—at least much better than the uniform Demon architecture.
So the Prince was a man who knew how to adapt.
But…
It was super messy!!
Trash bags piled up like a small mountain!
Unbelievable…
Aren’t you a Prince?
Shouldn’t you at least have a castle or something?!
…
However, aside from the trash pile near the bathroom, she noticed many books scattered at her feet.
Curious, she crouched down and grabbed one.
E-en…?
Only You Makes My Heart Beat?
When she flipped open a page, she realized it was a manga.
The first page showed a soft and cute female protagonist under a willow tree, holding a lunchbox, smiling happily with curved eyes as she fed the man beside her.
The scene was unbelievably warm.
Was this a healing manga?
“This is…”
Siye turned back and caught sight of what was in her hand.
He seemed to want to say something or even snatch it back, but in the end, he stopped himself.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing… It’s nothing. It’s my father’s. He left it with me for now.”
Who believes that!!
Just before turning into the room, the Prince poked his head out and explained slowly,
“Miss Ye Lu, we’ll have to wait about two more hours for my father to finish his official business. Then you will officially be the Lady Princess, and also the wife I, Siye, cherish the most.”
The words were ambiguous, but there wasn’t much emotion in his voice.
Or rather, he seemed distracted.
Ye Lu stood frozen, murmuring,
“Wife?”
“Hey!”
Before she could finish her words, that guy had already walked into the inner room by himself and slammed the door shut with a bang.
The manga slipped from her hand and fell to the floor.
She snapped back to reality, dumbly looking at the messy living room, and then… at the closed door.
“No way!!”
“Pr… Prince! I want to go inside too!”
“You may.”
His voice came from inside the room, sounding extremely busy, as if he was doing something in there.
Getting permission, she turned the knob and opened the door.
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 were piled everywhere.
The walls were plastered with soft, cute girl posters.
The girls were wearing wedding dresses, princess gowns, and various adorable skirts.
The girls… were in an elaborate female-oriented art style, holding flowers in their hands, their eyes filled with starlit seas.
And… every manga had a tag?
The name of each female lead was labeled!!
Was the Prince an ultra otaku!?
It was her first time entering a boy’s room, and she felt a bit nervous… Wait, no!!
It was her first time entering the Prince’s room, and she was filled with a sense of exploration.
Continuing to look, there was a whole box of cola from the Demon supermarket on the carpet.
The desk was also piled with manga, most of it aimed at a female audience.
What made Ye Lu a little happy was that the plush doll she had given him last week was neatly placed at the head of the bed, and it had even been changed into a delicate, cute little outfit.
But the next second, she felt a pang of jealousy.
He actually liked other girls so much…
…
…
But she didn’t really care about these things.
After all, they were just personal hobbies.
Just a few days ago at home, she had been fangirling over male protagonists too.
Let her see what else was on the bed…
Hmm… A necklace?
A girl’s necklace?
A necklace with beads only half strung?
‘For whom was it made?’
Not only that, at the foot of the bed… hung a girl’s skirt.
Cartoon style, fluffy skirt hem, delicate pink, like a girl’s Lolita dress.
If worn, whose little cake would it be?
‘Whose is it!!’