The Hero Dreams
When I opened the door, the bathroom was filled with white steam.
Just how scalding had the water been?
Satin was on the floor, collapsed against the tub. She must have slipped without warning; she wore nothing at all.
"How did this happen?"
"I stepped on the soap trying to get into the tub."
Blood was running from her elbow. It spread red across the foam that had overflowed from the bath.
She was terribly thin. Her chest was nothing to speak of either. Was food that scarce in the Demon Realm? That couldn't be right.
I sat her upright and drew her elbow closer. The skin had split the width of a finger; she had hit it hard.
"Can you handle pain?"
"I can't."
"Try anyway."
When I poured disinfectant over the wound, her face crumpled.
"Hwaaah… haaap…. It hurts so much."
"What did they teach you in the castle? Didn't you at least hold a sword or a spear?"
"I was a princess. I never did any of that."
Among the Demon King's seventy-two successors, there had been princesses, hadn't there? As the only daughter, Satin should have been one of them. Why was she this frail?
"What about magic, then?"
"I don't know how to use it."
I studied her face in silence. Dense Magi lay buried in her eyes. She carried Magi like that and claimed she couldn't cast a single spell? Was a child of the Demon King's blood supposed to be like this? The doubt lingered, but it wasn't something to press her over.
I pulled out a large towel and wrapped it around her body.
"Can you stand?"
"Can't I sit a little longer?"
Only her arm was hurt.
"Your legs are fine."
"I'm too dizzy."
"Nothing's broken."
"I faint when I see blood."
"Faint?"
"Since I was little…."
Huh?
Her face went white, and her body folded without a sound. I caught her in both arms and carried her to the bed. When I lifted an eyelid, the pupil trembled faintly.
Was something wrong with her? I pressed my fingers to her forehead and checked the Magi; nothing looked out of place. A mental issue, then. Vasovagal syncope, or something like it.
I still couldn't believe the Demon King's only daughter had a body like this.
I gathered Magi at my fingertip and brought it to her lips. Color returned to the mouth that had gone bloodless.
"You with me?"
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I was doubting you, just a little. Wondering what I'd do if Lord Marcus wasn't a demon after all. Lately I couldn't feel even a trace of the Magi I sensed in the dungeon. But I was wrong."
She licked her lips and looked up at me.
"It's incredibly dense Magi. Only high nobility could possess something like this. I won't doubt you again."
Of course she wouldn't. Humans used Mana. Demons used Magi. That was the common sense of this world. Suspicion had no place here. What I handled, after all, was ancient Magi—power rarely found even on the Demon Continent.
"I have a confession."
"What is it?"
"Honestly, I don't think I'll live until the Adult Ceremony."
What was this now? Had she really contracted some deep illness?
"Where does it hurt, and how?"
"It doesn't hurt. They say I'm poisoned."
Poisoned? What kind of poison could the Demon King himself not cure?
"Mother and Father both said they don't understand it. They called several healing mages, but nothing worked."
I had gone to the trouble of kidnapping her only to end up with a terminally ill princess? If she died early, she would lose all value as a hostage. Unlikely as it was, if the Demon King decided she was already as good as dead and simply gave up, the whole affair would grow far messier.
This was not the moment for complications.
Satin took my finger in both hands. She drew it slowly toward her mouth and slipped it between her lips.
"What are you doing?"
"Lord Marcus…. Please don't abandon me."
Tears suddenly welled at the corners of her eyes.
"I know everything. That the successors would actually be glad if Father died. A demon as strong as Lord Marcus would never let a chance like that slip by."
"And so?"
"You brought me because of Father's resurrection. I really want to believe that. But it doesn't match anything I know. You should have rushed straight to the castle and seized the throne. Instead, Lord Marcus took only me and left the Demon Realm."
Tears rolled down Satin's cheeks.
"No matter how hard I thought, I couldn't understand, but I never asked. I doubted you alone for so long, and there was nothing I could do."
"You could have just asked."
"What if that made you angry? I'm alone now. There's no one beside me. I can't run back to the Demon Realm, and I can't live here by myself either. What am I supposed to do if even Lord Marcus abandons me?"
I opened my palm and brushed her cheek.
"Princess."
"……."
When I swept the wet hair from her face, clear eyes met mine.
"I will protect you."
I touched her forehead with the back of my hand. It was pale enough to seem transparent. I peeled away the strands stuck to her skin and held her gaze.
"At least until the Adult Ceremony."
I had to keep her alive. Three years until the Adult Ceremony. Until then, at minimum, I had to keep the Demon King from doing anything reckless. The fact that his only daughter was held in human hands could not be allowed to change. If this child died, he would know at once. He had that much power, at least. He would even find the location. He might send subordinates to watch Satin's movements—though he would never dare try to snatch her back.
"Lord Marcus. May I ask one favor?"
"Speak."
"Will you take me with you wherever you go? Don't leave me alone? Like Father did, leave me in a dungeon…."
She couldn't finish the sentence.
"I will."
"Really?"
"That's why I made you my chamber slave. So I can keep you at my side at all times."
"Ahh…. So that was it? I thought that was a little strange too."
Satin shifted into a proper sitting position.
"From now on I will never doubt you. No matter what happens, I will trust Lord Marcus. I'll work hard so that anyone who looks will believe I'm a chamber slave. Everything about me being alive is thanks to you."
"How dangerous is it?"
"They say my lifespan shortens every time I faint. I've been careful, but I fell again. Like an idiot."
I let out a long sigh. She was going to need far more looking after than I had expected. I still had to go to the Imperial Capital—what was I supposed to do? There would be a Saintess, priests, and even an Archmage sensitive to Magi. Hiding Satin's existence from the humans was just as necessary. There would be those who coveted her. She was different blood from the demons I had casually captured before.
She suddenly seemed to notice she was still undressed and curled in on herself.
"Rest."
I left her in the room and stepped out into the living area. The list of preparations had grown. If I had to take her with me, the entire plan needed changing. Showing her just enough would be safer than locking her away completely. A decent idea had already occurred to me, and there had been one small problem to begin with.
Proving the Demon King was still alive would put Satin in a difficult position. She had to believe he was dead. Yet accepting Hero William's lie was equally troublesome. The bastard would claim ownership of the Magic Towers. He was the hero who had slain the Demon King, after all. With greed like his, the Towers might not even be the end of it—he could set his sights on the Imperial throne itself.
The return of Mage Liris and Saintess Helena was another factor to weigh. Both of them wanted the Magic Towers more than anyone. The calculations had grown a little more complicated. At least a method had come to mind.
I sat in the chair and leaned back. Sunlight slipping through the curtains filled the study with a gentle light. I closed my eyes and stayed still.
The road into the Imperial Capital was packed with people. The cheering was thunderous. Crowds shouted William's name in a frenzy.
"The Demon King is dead!"
"The Hero's party conquered the Demon King's Castle!"
"Hero William!"
"Our savior!"
William opened the carriage window and looked outside. Amid the cheers, memories of the Demon King's Castle rose unbidden.
It had been so hot he could barely breathe. The Demon King's sword had been aimed straight between his eyes. Behind him, the corpses of demon knights had been piled like mountains. He had wanted to run, but he had no strength left.
The Demon King had been strong. No matter how hard William swung his blade, the fight never ended. The alchemist's face had flashed through his mind countless times. Juin Marcus. If that bastard had been there, William would never have ended up in such a state. Running away alone like a coward.
Mage Liris had been out of mana; Saintess Helena's Holy Power had hit bottom. Barbarian Princess Bella had been just as spent. Completely useless women. Good for nothing but dragging into bed—and that was still true now.
William slowly looked over the three women inside the carriage. Greedy to the end, they were already eyeing their rewards.
"Liris, what the hell are you doing? Put up an ice wall in front of us!"
"I'm out of mana. I already drank every potion I had."
"Helena! Top me up with Holy Power!"
"Do you think I have any left? Even if I squeeze, not a single drop comes out now."
"Bella! Throw your axe at least! Distract him so I can do something!"
"You've been harassing me all day—I have no strength left! How many times did I tell you we should finish this quickly?!"
The Demon King had been drained as well. William had no strength to stand, yet he had endured for that very reason. One solid strike and he could take the head. Fuck, maybe he had overdone it. Three rounds each made nine. No wonder his legs had given out.
Regretting it, he forced himself up. He knocked the incoming Demon King's sword aside and drove the Holy Sword home. By some miracle, it worked.
"I acknowledge you. Of all who have entered the Demon King's Castle, you are the strongest."
The Demon King dropped to one knee and lifted his head.
"To die by the hand of the strong is a demon's honor. Take my head. I will accept it."
Feeling as though miracle had been stacked upon miracle, William swung the Holy Sword. The Demon King's head rolled free. At the same instant, Magi flared like fire and consumed the body. William picked up the head—and from that point, his memory simply stopped. When he opened his eyes, he was at the edge of the Demon Continent, and the campaign was over.
The carriage halted and the door opened. With a resounding blast of trumpets, the Imperial Guard raised their banners.
I definitely killed the Demon King. The world is mine now.
William lifted his chin arrogantly and looked toward the palace. In the distance he could see the Emperor—the old man who would soon surrender the throne and be driven from the Imperial House.