Chapter 5

A cake with plenty of cream and fruits. Colorful macarons with a soft hue.

Oh, how wonderful.

Is this heaven?

"Prisear, didn't you promise Theana to choose one thing you like?"

Theana wipes the cream off my cheeks with a handkerchief.

"If you eat so much, your stomach will hurt again, you know?"

"It's okay! It's delicious!"

Ah, so happy.

To be able to eat so many sweets that I couldn't eat in the temple!

I even thought I could live here forever... but then I suddenly remembered that this place is the Demon World.

No, no.

I have to escape this castle before I'm found out as a holy maiden. Who knows what the demon king will do to me...

It's been three days since I woke up in this castle.

Thanks to Theana's care, my body has recovered quite a bit.

I can even run around the room now.

But maybe because of malnutrition, or because my body has turned into that of a five-year-old.

I'm not sure what the cause is, but I can't stay awake for very long.

I get tired and fall asleep quickly...

I often fall asleep while eating.

This probably made me look even more like a child.

Theana seems to really believe that I am a five-year-old.

Today, when I whined about wanting sweets, she prepared so many desserts for me.

I feel bad lying to Theana, who has taken such good care of me, but if she finds out I'm a former holy maiden, it would be bad. Life is precious.

In the end, I still haven't met the demon king who brought me to this castle.

He's apparently not in the castle right now because he's busy with work.

I saw this as an opportunity.

Life is the most important thing.

Before enjoying a normal life, I have to escape this castle first.

"Oh, are you sleepy?"

My hand had stopped moving while I was thinking.

Theana must have thought I was sleepy, so she took the fork from my hand and picked me up.

"Then, let's go back to bed."

Theana seems to really love children.

She can't seem to stop taking care of me.

For these three days, she has been taking care of me non-stop.

When she put me back in the canopy bed, Theana turned off the lights.

The Demon World has a lot of convenient things.

The room lights are managed by a mysterious device, and you can turn them on and off just by touching them.

It feels like the culture here is more advanced than in the human world.

Well, I haven't been outside the room, so I don't know much about the rest.

"Good night."

Theana kissed my cheek and gently stroked my head until I closed my eyes, then she lowered the canopy and quietly left the room.

"..."

Is she gone?

She's really gone, right?

After confirming that Theana had left the room, I jumped up. If I'm going to do it, I have to do it now, because Theana might come back soon.

I got out of bed.

"Ouch!"

Maybe I was too hasty, but my body fell heavily.

The stuffed animals by my pillow fell with a thud.

I grabbed the rabbit and ran to the window.

When I opened the window and looked down... good, no one is there.

The garden below is visible, and even from here, I can see the beautiful flowers.

"Hehe. I jumped off a cliff, so I'm not afraid of anything anymore."

Still, I'm a bit scared that the flying magic might fail again, so I decided to take the rabbit with me.

This is fluffy, so it might cushion my fall if I drop.

I opened the window and put my foot on the sill.

I glanced back at the room one last time.

I'm sorry, Theana.

Thank you so much for being so kind to me.

You're the first person to be so kind to me.

I was happy when you said my eyes were beautiful.

I'll never forget you.

I turned my gaze forward, closed my eyes, and concentrated.

The feeling of my body floating.

Yes, I can do it.

At that moment, I jumped out of the window with a burst of energy.

However.

Instead of floating, my body suddenly plummeted.

"Ahhh!?"

I'm going to die!!!

I'm so tired of this scenario!!!

Despite my desperate prayers, my body continued to fall.

"Ahhh!!"

But when I fell to a certain point, I suddenly felt as if my body was floating.

Then, I slowly fell to the ground.

Huh?

What's happening?

When I realized it, the floating sensation was gone.

It seems I had fallen to the ground.

But I didn't feel like I was on the ground.

It felt like I was in someone's arms.

"..."

I cautiously opened my eyes.

"!"

My feeling was right.

Instead of falling to the ground, I was snugly in the arms of a stranger.

"Uh..."

I was taken aback by the beautiful face looking down at me.

His hair, which was as black as the night, was silky and reached his shoulders.

His eyes, the same color as his hair, were slightly slanted and had a sharp, obsidian-like gleam.

His skin was as white as snow and as smooth as a woman's.

His features were so perfectly symmetrical that he looked like a doll.

Maybe it's because he's wearing all black.

When I saw him, it felt like the world had lost color in that spot.

"Where were you going?"

As I blinked, the man asked me in a calm voice, sounding a bit exasperated.

"Um..."

Thank you for saving me.

But your gaze is scary...

"I, I had some business outside..."

As I stammered, the man sighed.

"Did I ever give you permission to do that?"

Huh, huh?

Permission? I don't even know who you are.

"Did Theana give you permission?"

No way. That's impossible.

I shook my head vigorously.

"Theana has nothing to do with it!"

"Your caretaker is Theana, right? She will be held responsible for everything."

"Wh-What? No, no!"

"What do you mean?"

"I, I just... did it on my own..."

As I spoke, I felt more and more cornered.

My voice got smaller and smaller as I fumbled for words.

Not knowing what to do, I hugged the rabbit tightly.

The man sighed at my silent, dejected form.

"So you left your room on your own?"

"..."

Reluctantly, I nodded.

The man, who had been looking scary, finally softened his expression when he saw my teary face.

Ugh.

Who is this guy?

As I fidgeted uncomfortably, the man's mouth came close to my ear.

"You're a naughty girl, Prisear."

"!"

His sweet, smiling voice made my body shudder.

Why does he know my name?

While I was blinking in surprise, the man started walking, still holding me.

"Um, excuse me..."

The man's long coat-like garment flapped in the wind.

He crossed the garden and entered the huge castle with a confident stride, as if he owned the place.

I was surprised by his actions, but this was the first time I had seen the inside of the castle beyond my room, so I was amazed by its size.

This is probably the entrance.

The ceiling was incredibly high, and the hall was spacious enough to hold hundreds of people.

Many people were bustling about.

They might be the castle's servants.

But when they saw me and the man, they opened a path and bowed deeply.

Why are they doing this?

Is this man important...?

"Oh, Prisear! Thank goodness!"

A familiar voice.

I saw Theana running down the corridor, looking worried.

Her expression brightened when she saw the man holding me.

"Your Majesty, welcome back!"

"Yes, I just returned."

Huh.

"Why is His Majesty carrying Prisear?"

W-What?

His Majesty...?

Cold sweat trickled down my face.

"I saved her when I found her falling from the window."

"F-Falling from the window!?"

Theana was speechless.

I was speechless too.

His Majesty.

The king who rules the Demon World.

The enemy of humanity.

Oh no, it's over...

I'm going to be killed...