Chapter 78 - The Fairy and the Maid
—To the ends of hell, for all eternity.
The blessing his younger sister-in-law spat out with a smile was akin to a parting shot.
The female fairy woke up.
*
Brown short bob, and a worn headdress. Ram-like horns protruding from both sides. A skirt and apron of a length that hid her feet. Among the servants of the Demon Lord's Castle, female demons with physiques close to humans were given maid uniforms.
Marche Brasca—the sheep clan maid attached to Demon Queen Elenoa—stood before the private room of Demon Lord Louis. She checked her appearance once more. Neither Louis nor Elenoa had yet emerged from within. She hoped one of them would wake and come out before she had to speak, but on the morning after Elenoa was brought here, Marche usually ended up barging in.
She had been waiting here for thirty minutes. It was her limit.
Marche was not alone. Three other maids and a female cook stood along the wall. It's fine. The Demon Lord should be in a good mood today.
They made eye contact. Everyone nodded.
Marche took a breath and raised her voice.
"I request an audience!"
Her voice was absorbed by the massive door. Before long, the door opened on its own.
"Pardon the intrusion."
She bowed and entered, then looked toward the bed.
In the morning sunlight streaming through the window, Demon Lord Louis, bare-chested, was tenderly cherishing his wife. He sat on the edge of the bed with a melted atmosphere, toying with the silver hair spread across the sheets with his fingers.
Marche thought, Put some clothes on.
He was an attractive male even by demon standards, but the scratch marks on his arms, shoulders, and the backs of his hands were vivid. Just how persistently had he tormented his beloved wife?
"I have come to offer morning greetings to Their Majesties. I am Marche Brasca, Head Maid. I am truly delighted to see you both in good health today as well."
Marche offered a lengthy, formal greeting, but this Demon Lord supposedly disliked stiff formality. In fact, he seemed to dislike being attended to by others in the first place. She had heard from Elenoa that he was originally someone who did everything by himself.
"Good morning. We will have breakfast here."
"I shall bring it promptly. What would you like for Elenoa-sama's breakfast?"
"Fruits with plenty of juice for her."
Upon receiving the reply, she signaled behind her back. The female cook and maids who had been waiting bowed and retreated down the hallway, their footsteps fading.
Next, Marche's eyes turned to Elenoa. Fruits with plenty of juice. She must have overused her throat.
How pitiful.
She thought so. Elenoa was the second strongest in the Demon Lord's Castle, but she could never resist the number one Demon Lord. Just from the back turned toward them, one could see she was completely exhausted, and as her maid, Marche wanted to voice at least one complaint.
"Please do not scold Elenoa-sama too harshly."
"Are you worried about her?"
"If I may be so bold."
Marche was always worried about Elenoa. Because she accepted the Demon Lord's heavy affection entirely, his mood remained good today, and the castle's peace was maintained.
If she strained her hearing, she could hear the faint, steady breathing, which was pleasant to Marche's ears. In contrast, this Demon Lord said,
"She is eye-catching. Fairies are an honest race; they become more beautiful the more I love them."
His voice was so sickeningly sweet, directed only at his wife, that it felt nauseating.
Despite the vivid remnants of their intimacy, she was beautiful. Louis did not want any men to see Elenoa at this time of day, so he absolutely never allowed men to approach in the morning. Therefore, even among the kitchen staff, which had many men, only women were assigned to come here. What excessive possessiveness.
Louis touched her wings, which were drooping to show their owner's fatigue, as if they were his property. He gently stroked her delicate, transparent wings, which looked like glasswork, from the base to the tips.
He said, as if he had just remembered,
"The intruder is in the underground dungeon, correct?"
"Yes. By Bismarck-sama's judgment, he has been temporarily confined to the underground dungeon."
"I will hear the details later. Tell Bis to come to the office later."
From beside him, a slight, nasal voice murmured, "...Mn."
Demon Queen Elenoa seemed to be waking up. Louis looked pleased, saying, "Oh my."
Elenoa rolled her sideways body onto her back, reflecting Louis's blonde hair in her eyes, and said,
"Lumina-chan."
"Please do not mistake me for her in your sleepiness."
He was sweet to his wife, but his responses were occasionally sharp.
"Good morning, Elie."
"Good morn... You smell like Louis's blood..."
"Because you inflicted countless wounds on me last night."
"Because you bully me even when I tell you to stop."
"Because you are cute when you lose your mind from pleasure. I pushed you too hard. Would you like to rest a little longer?"
The two began their flirtation, which was a common sight.
The Demon Lord, who finally remembered Marche standing there with dead eyes, granted permission to leave. Feeling relieved, she exited the Demon Lord's private room, saying, "Pardon the intrusion."
As a maid, she wanted to stay in the room with Elenoa, but she did not wish to watch the two of them from such close range, and since His Majesty desired to be alone with her, it could not be helped. She simply straightened her back and waited in the hallway.
A colleague arrived pushing a wagon. Like Marche earlier, she straightened her back sharply and raised her voice.
"I have brought breakfast!"
Marche stood straight-faced, watching her colleague exit the room with a flushed face after seeing what was inside. She was mentally prepared to be called at any moment.
Then, another guest appeared. It was Bis.
"Where is Louis?"
"He is likely still having breakfast. Elenoa-sama is with him today as well."
"Then it will take a bit longer, I suppose. Good grief..."
"His Majesty has instructed that Bismarck-sama is to come to the office later. If you have any message, I will convey it."
"A message..."
Saying so, Bis shook his tail. In his hands was a thick book. The binding was not particularly old, but perhaps it had been caught in a conflict, as dark red blood was caked onto it.
"That is..."
"This? The intruder had this book. I wanted to ask about it, but it would be rude to interrupt. ...Hmm. Tell him, 'Understood! I'll go to Louis's place when it's convenient, meow!'"
"Understood."
Thirty minutes later, Louis, who had perfectly prepared himself, finally exited the room.
Marche immediately conveyed the message.
"Your Majesty. Bismarck-sama visited earlier. He has a message. 'Understood. I will visit Your Majesty again later.'"
"Understood. Thank you for your trouble."
He brushed past her with a polite gesture.
When he passed, he said, "I leave her to you," which concerned her slightly. Usually, he would say, "As usual."
Did something happen?
When Marche entered the Demon Lord's private room, Elenoa had already risen from the bed.
She was bathing in the wind by the open window. The hem of her white one-piece dress filled with the wind. Her extended wings seemed to react to the sunlight, turning a faint rainbow color.
"Good morning, Marche."
Her master's smiling face, as she turned around, was indeed beautiful. It possessed a transparency unique to fairies, absent in demons.
With a human as King and a fairy as his Queen Consort, this was the current Demon Lord's Castle. Historically, it was quite a peculiar arrangement.
"Good morning."
"You came to greet us earlier, didn't you? I'm sorry, I was asleep."
"Not at all. If you are tired, I wish for you to rest a while longer."
"Is that Louis's order?"
Elenoa smiled, chuckling helplessly.
A sense of discomfort.
The Demon Lord's command crossed Marche's mind. —I leave her to you.
"It is His Majesty's command, but if I may be so bold, I personally do not wish for you to overexert yourself."
"I see, thank you. But it is fine. I rest plenty on a daily basis."
"Is that so..."
She felt she had to ask something.
Ever since she was assigned to care for her, Elenoa had always looked into the distance with a sense of resignation. Marche had been seen only as a 'monitor sent by her husband.'
Yet today, why were their eyes meeting so directly?
Surely Elenoa had gained some leeway. She had become able to tolerate the monitor. Her state of mind had changed. In just this one night?
"Did something good happen?"
Elenoa looked surprised at why she would ask such a thing, but she answered immediately.
"I found something I want to work hard at. So right now, I am just a little happy."
Is this a dangerous sign?
Marche kept a straight face as best she could and replied, "Is that so."
She had to report to the Demon Lord. That was certain, yet it was her first time seeing Elenoa's eyes so strong, and she began to feel as if she were doing something wrong. Would her report become the trigger that stripped Elenoa of her 'thing to do'?
Perhaps seeing through Marche's hesitation, Elenoa, who was kinder than the Demon Lord, gave her words of forgiveness: "You may report it."
"I will tell Louis myself eventually. Marche has to work too, so it doesn't matter either way."
"...I appreciate your consideration."
What was this? That freshness resembled a wife who had awakened from a long-term codependent abusive relationship and decided to divorce. It was too fitting for the refreshing morning, making it ominous instead.
A griffon chick flying past outside the window was suggestive indeed.
"I'm going to fly around there for a bit. I'll be around the castle, so don't worry."
Saying so, Elenoa lightly jumped out the window and flew away. Immediately after watching her go, Marche went straight to the Demon Lord. The Demon Lord was not always on the throne, and since the situation in the Demon Realm had stabilized, he rarely even entered the throne room. Moreover, recently, there had been an increase in matters that could not be discussed openly, so few subordinates were summoned.
Upon receiving permission and entering, Bis was already in the office. He was in the process of handing the book he had been holding earlier to Louis.
Louis spread the received book on the desk and flipped through it, asking Marche, "Did something happen with Elenoa?"
"Elenoa-sama seemed somehow... as if she had made a resolution, more so than yesterday. She also mentioned finding something she wanted to do. She is currently wandering around the outside of the castle."
"'Something she wanted to do'..."
Louis turned and looked out the large window.
"It has been a while since I last saw her flying like that."
The Demon Lord's Castle was the closest to the sky in the world, and the office was located in a corner of the upper floors. Although not as high as Elenoa's room, it was sufficiently elevated, with the sky outside and cotton clouds extremely close. It was the domain of winged creatures.
Elenoa, who came into view, was playing happily with the griffon chick. —For about a year, perhaps gauging Louis's mood, she had only used minimal flight for movement, and had not flown freely like this.
Louis could not have missed a change that Marche could clearly identify.
As Louis stared at Elenoa, lost in thought, Bis asked, "Did something happen to Elenoa-san?" Since it was certain to be nothing good (or so Marche thought), she wanted to leave before Louis answered. She did not need unnecessary worry. She opened her mouth to say, "I should withdraw," but she was a step too late.
"If we turn the throne room into Fairy (Elenoa)'s Breeding Ground (Room), would there be any issues?"
See, nothing good.
Needless to say, this Demon Lord knew no restraint when it came to his wife.
That was why Marche was always worried about Elenoa.
"Purely out of curiosity, why? What were you thinking to arrive at that conclusion?"
"I am considering confining her soon. That place is suitable for raising fairies, and it is convenient for keeping someone locked up for a long period."
"Bismarck-sama, why don't you return to being the Demon Lord right now?"
"I was just thinking the same thing, meow."
Thinking of Elenoa as a Demon Queen with a spending habit made her shudder. Louis might have become a foolish king who tilted the castle by buying expensive things at his wife's whim.
Bis, who caught the ominous mutter of "Collar... chain...", said,
"If you forcibly confine her, won't she say she wants a divorce, meow?"
"I don't want that."
"Even if you say that, meow. In the first place, the fact that Elenoa-san married Louis is quite mysterious..."
"If I ask her and get her consent, there should be no problem."
Why go that far?
Unable to deal with it any longer, Bis decided to fulfill his original purpose.
"So, I thought this book might have been written by Louis, meow."
"How nostalgic. I thought it might be outdated by now, but I am surprised it has been passed down even with a new edition."
Annotations such as 'This herb is extinct' or 'It was mainstream at the time' were scattered throughout, suggesting the flow of time.
"Look at this. It makes him sound like some great historical figure."
Bis pointed to a certain part of the page. Marche was curious too, but she was not in a position to join the conversation and ask to see. She poured tea into a cup, gently placed it on the Demon Lord's desk, and stole a glance at the book.
The second-to-last page. Below a portrait of a balding old man with a beard, it read:
'L.S
Born into a lineage of sorcerers. Details unknown.
A world-renowned grand sorcerer, famed as the Founder of Modern Magic. He blossomed his rare talent from childhood and created many spells. He had a deep interest in fairies. This book is a modern translation and revision of his last remaining work, 'Affinity Study of Attributes, Herbs, Fairies, and Magic'.'
Bis, trying not to burst out laughing, asked,
"Hey, this, this old man, is Louis?"
"Apparently so."
"Amaaaazing! Louis is so cooool!"
He had forgotten the 'meow' at the end.
"It is likely an added illustration. The artist who drew this probably did not know me either."
Louis Stylus was known in modern times by his name as the Demon Lord. The fact that only the initials remained was likely due to that. Humans must have long forgotten the true name of this author. —Louis said something to that effect.
When Marche casually looked outside, she saw something white outside the window. It was Elenoa, peering in with interest. She had parted from the griffon chick, perhaps having heard their lively voices. Unaware that her husband was planning to confine her.
The handsome Demon Lord reading the book nostalgically, the adorable Former Demon Lord laughing hysterically, and the Great Fairy Demon Queen trying hard to steal a read of the book from the window behind them.
What was this?
Just by being in a position where she could see the entire room, Marche's worries never ceased today either.
She did not dislike these moments. What had become of the human world due to the monsters strengthened in the era of Demon Lord Louis was not something a mere maid needed to know.
She sincerely wished that such days would continue.