The Demon King's Disguise
As expected, she had noticed from the very beginning. Belzebeuty, the chancellor of the Demon Kingdom, appeared alongside an unfamiliar beauty. In that moment, her expression—usually carrying a somewhat prickly air—shifted into one of clear amusement as she addressed me.
“I apologize. It seems my younger sister grew a little nervous and committed a minor discourtesy...”
Belzebeuty spoke while gently drawing the fidgeting demon woman beside her into a soft embrace. Then, with a honeyed smile, she continued.
“Meeting the famous Hero must have made her quite tense. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive this child’s mistake.”
“It’s fine. Something like this isn’t worth making an issue over.”
Honestly, it hadn’t even been rudeness—just a simple greeting. I brushed it aside without a second thought. I knew there were plenty of fastidious nobles in the Falcon Empire who would raise hell over far less, but I had neither the reason nor the temperament for such pettiness.
Watching my reaction, Belzebeuty released the woman from her arms and offered me a bright smile.
“This child’s name is Esther. She is my cousin, and today marks her first appearance at a royal palace party.”
“I-It’s a pleasure… My name is Esther.”
The demon woman named Esther spoke to me in a slightly stiff voice. To be honest, her appearance made her look younger than Belzebeuty, but with Elisa as a perfect example already, I knew full well that demons often had a significant gap between their looks and actual age.
After the introduction, I offered Esther a polite bow.
“I am the Hero, Elan Savior. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Esther.”
“Mm…”
Esther gave a rigid nod in response. One glance was enough to tell she was extremely nervous.
‘Is she this tense just because she met me? Well, I suppose I’ve done quite a few things under the title of Hero…’
Just as I was wondering whether I had become rather famous among the demons, Belzebeuty suddenly pulled out a pocket watch and spoke in a hurried tone.
“Oh my, look at the time already… I’m terribly sorry. As a member of the Royal Guard, I must go attend to His Majesty the Demon King’s protection right away. I’m afraid I have to take my leave.”
“! W-Wait… just a moment.”
At the same time, a flicker of panic crossed Esther’s face, but Belzebeuty simply turned to leave, calling out in a cheerful voice.
“Well then, Esther, this big sister has to go to work. Have fun with the Hero. See you later.”
“Huh? W-What do you mean…?”
“W-Wait…?”
Belzebeuty had dumped Esther on me in the most unexpected way. The suddenness left me feeling as though I had been struck from behind.
‘What the hell… She shows up out of nowhere, shoves her “sister” onto me, and just runs off?’
If it had been someone I was normally close with, maybe, but this was the same woman who had always regarded me with suspicion. Her behavior left me deeply puzzled.
Left alone with Esther in this rather awkward situation, I was still reeling when she spoke up.
“…Um…”
“Y-Yes?”
The next moment, Esther carefully approached me. She reached out, lightly grasped the hem of my clothes, and gave a gentle tug before speaking in a small voice.
“Could you… come with me for a moment? It won’t take long.”
“…Well… all right.”
With her face flushed bright red, Esther made the earnest request. Though filled with questions and wariness, I decided to follow her for now. After all, if I wanted to understand what was really going on—specifically, why Belzebeuty had orchestrated this—I would have to step into the tiger’s den.
‘There’s no way Belzebeuty did this without some kind of plan. What exactly is she after?’
With that thought in mind, I glanced at Esther walking beside me. She was a stunning beauty, and even at a glance it was obvious she was tense. If I weren’t already involved with the Demon King, I might have found myself genuinely interested. Then a sudden hypothesis formed in my head, connecting her beauty to Belzebeuty’s earlier behavior.
‘Don’t tell me… this is that kind of scheme? They’re trying to drive a wedge between me and the Demon King by sending this beauty my way…’
Given the circumstances, the Demon King had likely told Belzebeuty—her trusted aide—about our relationship. For Belzebeuty, who had always been wary of me as a human, that news must have been far from welcome. It was entirely possible she wanted to separate us by any means necessary, and had brought her own relative, the beautiful Esther, to my side for that purpose.
‘Seduction… but it feels too sloppy for that, especially with the Demon King sitting right there earlier. So maybe persuasion or coercion? “I’ll give you this beauty, so break up with the Demon King”…’
The details would come soon enough. We were heading toward a secluded area, and though Esther was putting on a timid act, she was probably cunning enough to be entrusted with this kind of task.
While I was busy turning over possibilities in my mind, Esther finally stopped and slowly turned to face me. We had arrived at a small, secluded garden on the outskirts of the Demon King’s Castle. No one else was in sight; only the faint chirping of insects filled the quiet space.
Standing there beneath the moonlight, radiating breathtaking beauty, Esther looked at me and spoke.
“…This should be far enough. There’s no one watching us now…”
Her tone was completely different from before. I realized she was finally about to drop the act now that we were alone, and I answered with heightened caution.
“Indeed. Here we can speak freely. So then… what exactly is the reason for this little game? Would you mind explaining in detail?”
“As expected… You noticed from the very beginning? Truly worthy of the Hero’s insight.”
Esther’s reaction seemed almost pleased. I smiled, feeling as though I were facing a boss praising the player before a duel.
“It’s nothing impressive. Belzebeuty wouldn’t entrust her sister to me without leaving plenty of openings.”
“Is that so?… Still, I wondered if seeing this appearance might make you waver just a little…”
“Unfortunately, even if I look like this, I already have someone. I’m not so spineless that I’d let myself be swayed by another.”
I answered firmly. After all, as someone who despised NTR to the extreme, betraying the Demon King—now my lover—was never an option. No matter how beautiful the other party might be, giving in to such temptation would be a vile act that denied both my beliefs and my entire life.
At that moment, instead of showing hostility or displeasure at my clear rejection of her supposed seduction, Esther’s cheeks flushed slightly and she let out a small laugh.
“As expected… It seems Jim’s worries were nothing more than needless anxiety.”
“…What?”
The next instant, Esther spoke words that felt strangely off from what I had anticipated. A sense of dissonance washed over me, but she continued without pause, her face still wearing a gentle smile.
“My apologies, Hero. It was not my intention, yet I ended up deceiving you as well. However, this too was a necessary step for the sake of our future relationship. I hope you will not take it too poorly.”
“Wait, what are you—?!!!”
Through her words, I began to realize something. The very next moment, a wave of confusion and bewilderment crashed over me as I finally grasped the truth. Carefully, I ventured a question.
“U-Um… D-Demon King… Your Majesty?”
“Hm? What is it, Hero?”
‘Holy shit… She was serious…?’