“Okay.”
The Prince wore a satisfied smile that he thought was pleasing. Grasping her waist like a doll, he leaned down and kissed her deeply.
He kissed thoroughly, until her neck had to arch back and drool escaped.
Of course… the Prince had to hurry to save the world, so naturally he couldn’t fool around with her.
This time, it wasn’t a light peck; it was like a dragonfly accidentally falling into the water, forced to surface, flapping its wings dry, then flying away.
After they parted, she pursed her lips, savoring the lingering warmth.
Like licking the last bit of cream in life.
Then…
Under her big eyes shimmering with pitiful tears, the man gently lifted her left hand and tenderly raised her ring finger.
With his right hand, he produced a ring from somewhere, with a diamond set in the center, radiating magic power.
Yelu swallowed her saliva as she watched the Prince gently slide the ring onto her left ring finger.
A wedding… ring?
She looked up, her face full of maidenly confusion, and more bewilderment.
‘I’m a man… am I going to be the wife of a dead man?’
‘But what I pursue is freedom, so it’s not entirely unacceptable… still…’
“This is a storage ring.”
“Oh.”
She was dumbfounded.
Then the Prince waved his hand lightly, facing the small stall area.
Almost all the shops’ girly trinkets—bags, plush dolls, jewelry, little skirts, even the store’s maternity products—were swept up by an invisible whirlwind.
In a pose more exaggerated than stuffing an elephant into a fridge, they were instantly sucked into her ring.
“Eh?”
What kind of move was that?
The ring suddenly felt so full…
Just… something felt off.
She looked back at the stalls. Unsurprisingly, everything had been cleaned out.
Even the merchants who had been bold enough to sit motionless on their stools, guarding their assets despite the attack on their homes, had their goods confiscated by the Prince.
…So tragic.
Those guys were glaring at her with hostility…
But they feared the Prince beside her and dared not approach.
‘Is this really necessary, Prince?’
‘And shouldn’t we pay first?’
‘Even if we’re in a rush to save the world…’
“Prince… ugh!”
She was picked up again!
‘Pay first! Prince!!’
She didn’t want to refuse the Prince’s kind gesture, so she kept quiet.
Even if she spoke, the Prince clearly wouldn’t listen.
With a speed that left no room for refusal, he hooked her leg bend and hoisted her onto his shoulder.
Same awkward position—arm propping up her butt, lower body draped over his back…
As she felt she might fall, she grabbed his clothes in panic, and her view rose silently.
Whoosh—cool~~~
Actually, she was blushing with embarrassment.
Below, even as they grew distant, she saw some merchants stand up, pointing at her, cursing out seventeen generations of her ancestors.
Sorry!
I’m so sorry!
It was all the Prince’s doing! Nothing to do with me!
Wuwuwu…
After it’s over, he’ll return it, right?
She didn’t dare look. She gripped his clothes tightly and buried her face against him.
With the Prince’s character as a young leader of the Celestial Demon race, after the battle…
‘It’s okay… it’s okay.’
Compared to that, his life safety clearly needed more attention.
As for where to start, Yelu lifted her head to the sky…
Dark clouds gathered.
Ah…
In the eternally dark Demon Capital, a rare crack opened, letting sunlight seep through?
It was narrow—a mere slit—but when she looked far, she could only see something like a dot, about the size of a child’s body.
The enemy was incredibly strong!!
Wuwuwu…
She wiped her tears and tried to look again, but the Prince’s speed was too fast. Once they left the darkness of the Demon Capital, she couldn’t see anything.
From what she felt, they were very high—higher than a hovercar.
She pressed against the Prince’s warmth.
When they reached somewhere later, she clutched his clothes and looked down.
It was one thing not looking, but when she did, the vertigo from the height almost scared her unconscious.
So scary!!!
“Prince, can you carry me like a princess?”
A last moment of tenderness, right?
She asked weakly.
He didn’t answer for a long time. Either he didn’t hear or…
Then, after just three seconds.
“We’re here. This should be Miss Yelu’s hometown. Because among the Succubus race, this is the only place with the strongest scent of Miss Yelu.”
“Eh?”
His words baffled her.
Until she slightly raised her head and caught the natural fragrance of the paperwhite narcissus unique to the Succubus Clan.
She wanted to confirm, but before she could see clearly, the Prince shifted her position, grabbed her under the armpits, and gently set her down until her toes touched the ground.
The moment they did, she was dumbfounded again.
Yelu rubbed her dizzy forehead and looked at the scene ahead.
How was she back at the village entrance again?
“Want to meet the in-laws? Eh, never mind. Work comes first.”
“Miss Yelu, things girls like on dates are all in there. Just probe in a bit of magic power to activate them. Take a good look through them.”
“Mm…”
“No, wait! Don’t go!! Of course I want to meet the in-laws! Meet them first before you leave… wuwu…”
He was gone.
She watched him disappear from sight, like a hero off to save the world.
And she…
Was the wife left behind, waiting for him to never return.
“Sigh.”
So lonely…
And cold…
Especially her legs—shivering violently.
She hugged her chest and crouched down.
‘Speaking of which… I want to complain…’
‘When girls wear skirts, they should be allowed to wear pants too.’
‘I don’t know how those people who bare their legs in winter can stand it.’
No kidding.
Every winter break in the Demon Capital, she saw plenty of them.
…
A nondescript village of the Succubus Clan.
The sky here was bright, the smell weird, her heels couldn’t touch the ground, and civilization was appallingly low.
She understood the Prince’s intention as a responsible husband—to place his weak wife somewhere safe before the battle, as an external concern.
That thought made Yelu feel extremely warm.
But…
Compared to here, she’d rather be at that school.
Or…
The Prince’s rental place in the Celestial Demon territory.
Even though it required a hovercar ride far away…
Very unrealistic.
By the time he settled her and went back, the Demon race would have been destroyed, right?
Then…
Both she and the Prince would get a fierce scolding.
More than a scolding?
Since that was the case, she had no choice but to step back into this home of hers.
“Whoosh—so cold!! Why is it always winter here?!”
She wore a cute, petite maid outfit, dressed more elaborately than when she returned last time.
Or rather…
The style was different.
Last time was like hanging out with a bestie, this time was a reward for a boyfriend.
She guessed the commotion from earlier had reached here too. The village was completely silent today.
Except for the occasional chicken crow.
No children were visible—all hiding inside their houses.
Very quiet.
Only Yelu was in the village.
She hugged her arms, walking along the muddy path, blowing hot air into her palms and rubbing them together to warm them up.
She looked up at the sky on both sides.
Her eyes were truly filled with the pure worry only a maiden could have.
‘He should be okay… right?’
Sure enough, a love-brain Succubus had no sense of self.
She wiped away the still-damp tears from her eyes.
Stopped walking, stared at her reflection in a puddle for a long time, fixed her makeup, and kept the best expression.
Then, sniffing, she slowly trudged toward home.
“Knock knock knock!”
Knocking…
“Dad… Mom… you alive?”
Less than three seconds after knocking, Mom’s footsteps were still fast.
As for the reason…
They liked doing things as usual: when she wasn’t home, they always stayed in the living room and openly did shameful things.
This time too, no doubt.
Sure enough.
When the door opened, Mom’s clothes were so disheveled she was unbearable to look at.
No need to guess—they’d had another big battle.
Yelu didn’t deliberately avoid eye contact.
But her face uncontrollably turned red.
Then she gripped the strap of her bag, drooped her eyelids, and looked at them with a helpless expression.
“Yelu?”
“It’s Yelu!!”
“My adorable daughter!!”
The moment her mother saw her, she always went for a close, mother-daughter hug.
Yelu hugged her mother back.
It was warm.
But now wasn’t the time to enjoy warmth. She gently pushed her away.
Before she could say what she wanted, her mother spoke first.
Then, using her little hand that had been doing who-knows-what and smelled of paperwhite narcissus, she grabbed and lifted Yelu’s hand.
“Yelu, did you feel that powerful commotion just now? Mom and Dad here were quite worried. We were afraid those nasty foreign humans attacked the school to destroy our clan’s main force. Seeing you safe… Mom’s relieved.”
“Mm… it’s nothing serious… so, be at ease. Just…”
She wanted to comfort her mom.
But she accidentally recalled the memories of the Prince playing hero, and the more she thought, the deeper she sank.
Gradually.
Her eyes grew astringent, and tears threatened to fall again.
Luckily, she held them back in time.
By the Prince’s side, she could play the spoiled, demanding wife and put on an act.
But at home, how could she?
She quickly shifted her attention internally.
‘Right…’
‘I’ll go inside and take everything out to play with.’
Even if the bedroom would burst at the seams.
And the ring on her left hand—it was icy cool.
There had to be lots of fun stuff inside.
“Eh? Yelu?”
“?”
Her mother, puzzled, lifted the hand with the ring and inspected it closely.
‘Crap, Mom noticed the ring…’
“Mm…”
Yelu didn’t dare meet her eyes.
Because the ring held so many things. If her family knew she’d stolen them, they’d be disappointed…
They were usually lenient, but very principled.
“My—is that a ring on your left ring finger! No way! Did Yelu get married?!”
“Of course…”
Married?
She tried to answer, but stammered.
She was about to say ‘Of course not!’
But then she thought of that wedding dress and hesitated.
To her surprise, her Mom, being her usual clever self, immediately understood something.
Softly yet quickly, she ran back with a standard housewife pose.
Yelu wanted to stop her, but soon heard Mom’s cheers from inside.
“Married!! What do I do! I’m so happy!! I thought she didn’t like men, but she’s become an adult faster than me… so amazing! Wuuwuwuwu…”
…Huh?
What the hell?
The door was open, Yelu saw everything clearly.
Mom seemed to have forgotten the disaster just moments ago and threw herself onto Dad, who was lying on the carpet.
Dad had only hastily thrown on some long johns—probably afraid his daughter would suddenly come in.
Mom didn’t notice; she just nestled against his chest, pouring out her emotions.
Yelu stood frozen on the spot…
The light in her eyes faded.
‘The world is so hard to understand…’
‘But what’s harder to understand is Mom.’
‘No, it’s the entire Succubus Clan.’
Both men and women.
Why were they so absurd?
Except for her, of course…
But then, listening to her mom’s outpouring, she thought about it carefully.
If she put it that way, it wasn’t really a problem?
The only issue was when she was in the Prince’s little rental place.
The Prince had put a beautiful wedding dress on her.
Then…
Just as they were about to put on the ring, his dad—that uncle, the vile Lord Zai’e—had barged in.
Ruining the perfect plan.
No, no, no…
Not perfect.
He just ruined the Prince’s plan…
So…
As a woman, if no man proposed to her, wasn’t she still unmarried?
And from childhood to now.
Whether playing games as a man interacting with beauties.
Or loving otome games as a woman now.
Didn’t the male and female leads in those games only get together after some naughty stuff, then slowly progress to marriage?
How could they marry instantly?
Right…
No one just gets married like that…
‘Maybe, when the Prince returns… I should ask him to be my boyfriend first?’
“Boyfriend… that’s still not right. I’ve already gotten pregnant…”
Anyway.
She clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and wished for the Prince to come home safely.
Opening her eyes, she ignored her mother’s shock.
After closing the door, she took off her shoes and placed them in the shoe cabinet for dirty shoes.
Her bare feet, clad in stockings, stepped onto the floor.
Very cold.
The floor was clean. She didn’t want to dirty it.
“Um… Yelu? Is that a maid outfit… right? So cute~ Is it… specially for your husband? So… where is your husband?”
When Mom saw Yelu come in, she stopped mid-sentence.
The tone of her question was especially quiet, not like her usual boisterous self.
“He went to save the world.”
“I see! So it’s to save the world?!”
‘Don’t believe it so easily, hey!’
“Mom has more questions—”