Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 227

227.

“I actually like the free-spirited nature of the demons.”

At the sudden, unexpected remark, Dezark stopped feeling embarrassed and wore a puzzled expression.

“I wanted them to live according to their own will as much as possible. Without worrying about what others think, causing trouble to their hearts’ content, making a ruckus here and there. Even if they earned the criticism of others, I wanted them to live a life they wouldn’t regret even if they died today. But… yes. It didn’t quite work out as I thought it would.”

A bitter smile touched his lips as he muttered to himself. At first, Dezark thought he was talking about Karyuhan, but soon realized that wasn’t the case. Dezark quietly watched him and said,

“I, too, am living as I wish, and I will die in the way I desire. There will be no regrets in that life.”

“…I see. It’s different from what I thought, but it’s true that he chose that path himself.”

Lucarim slowly nodded. His smiling face looked a little relieved.

“Then I should go and come to a conclusion.”

“I’ll come with you…!”

“No, why would you all rush over like there’s something to see? I’ll just go alone.”

His attitude of lightly patting Dezark’s shoulder conveyed a gentle refusal. Dezark stepped back and endlessly gazed at his retreating figure. What scene was it from? An illusion of a young demon trotting alongside him as he walked was superimposed on the image. It was Karyuhan in his childhood, looking quite different from now.

Lucarim cherished children without discrimination (although his way of cherishing them was different from the usual standards), but there were some he particularly favored. Dezark was one of them, and Deron was another, though he himself wouldn’t know it even in his dreams. Still, Dezark knew better than anyone that the affection he showed them combined couldn’t match what he had poured into Karyuhan alone. Lucarim’s affection for Karyuhan was so blatant at the time that no one was unaware of it. It wouldn’t be easy to bring him down with his own hands. Of course, that didn’t mean he would stop.

Dezark recalled what Lucarim had said a little while ago. He said he wanted the demons to live freely, but that didn’t mean he would tolerate everything. Freedom comes with responsibility. No matter what excuses Karyuhan made, he had to pay the price for his licentiousness and for deceiving the Demon God.

How brazenly he had smiled when he went to report the destruction of the egg. His teeth clenched again at the thought of it. Looking back, he had been cheeky since he was a child. Usually, younglings instinctively followed Dezark, the master of Karten, but Karyuhan had followed only Lucarim from the moment he was born. It meant he had an eye for strong demons, and it also meant he himself was strong.

If that was all, there wouldn’t have been a problem, but his obsession with Lucarim was abnormal. He would pester Dezark several times a day, asking when Lucarim was coming, which made Dezark very uncomfortable. When he saw him clinging to Lucarim’s leg and whining, he seriously considered killing him before he became an adult. Although Lucarim was very pleased with Karyuhan.

Usually, demons’ attitudes toward Lucarim were divided into two categories: fear or discomfort. Karyuhan was the first child to follow him comfortably without such feelings. Perhaps that was why. In any case, Lucarim was unusually lenient with Karyuhan. Even when his attitude changed after he ascended the throne, it was still the same. Rather, it seemed that the more rebellious and resistant he was, the more interested he became. In fact, he didn’t like obedient and docile demon kings.

Come to think of it, why did Karyuhan suddenly adopt such an attitude? Dezark slowly traced back his memories. Although he was often whiny, it was in the form of craving affection. For the most part, Karyuhan was very fond of Lucarim. Even after ascending the throne, he couldn’t shake off his habit of acting spoiled with Lucarim for a while, which greatly troubled his subordinates. Then, one day, he suddenly changed.

Perhaps Karyuhan had asked Lucarim for something at that point. Lucarim, who granted him whatever he wanted, was said to have been a little troubled at that time, so he remembered it clearly. The words Lucarim was known to have said to the Demon King at the time also came to mind clearly.

‘Yes, that’s what he said.’

Still, when the Demon King didn’t back down, Lucarim reluctantly accepted his request. And Karyuhan changed. He, who used to run with open arms when he only saw him from afar, began to distance himself from Lucarim more than anyone else and hated him. It was as if those words were a prophecy.

What did that mean? Dezark cast his gaze beyond the forest, following Lucarim’s retreating figure, which was no longer visible. Was it because he had been thinking too deeply about the past? He had a bad feeling.

* * *

“Oh my, who might this be? Isn’t it the ever-so-busy Duke Nam?”

Serpis, who was guarding the Demon King’s chamber, smiled languidly as she spotted the man walking towards her. The man, Lucarim, also wore a smile on his face as he looked at her.

“It seems like it’s been a while, Serpis. Since when did the mistress of the Western Territory become a gatekeeper of the royal castle?”

“Does it matter? What others do is their business.”

“That’s true.”

Lucarim readily agreed to her sulky reply. Serpis bit her lip, thinking that he was still a man whose thoughts were impossible to fathom. Getting angry was troublesome, but brushing it off as if nothing was wrong was just as unsettling.

“By the way, your arm looks fine? I heard that Duke Nam was severely injured by the Water Spirit King not long ago and became disabled. Was the rumor wrong?”

She slowly scanned Lucarim with a knowing gaze. From his leisurely smiling face to his firmly set shoulders, and the arm below with no trace of injury left. Finally, her gaze landed on the bracelet around his wrist and the ring on his finger.

“…Besides, you’re wearing things I’ve seen a lot.”

As Serpis’s eyes turned strange, Lucarim chuckled and held out his hand adorned with the accessories, as if telling her to take a closer look. Serpis’s face hardened as she realized their meaning.

“Are you thinking of challenging the King?”

“If you understand, I hope you will cooperate as well, Duke Seo [Duke of the West].”

“…Are you crazy! You weren’t interested in the throne, were you?”

“I still am not.”

“Then why…?”

“Just because I have no intention of becoming the Demon King doesn’t mean I can’t change who sits on the throne.”

The meaning of those words was clear. Serpis took a deep breath.

“Is your goal to depose His Highness Karyuhan?”

“It’s good that you’re quick to grasp the situation.”

Lucarim smiled and held out his hand to her. It was a gesture demanding proof [of her cooperation]. Instinctively stepping back, Serpis bit her lip.

“I, I can’t cooperate with such a thing.”

“Why? Challenging the Demon King is like an annual event, isn’t it? Everyone tries it whenever they feel like it.”

“That’s the case with the others! You’re different!”

Not just different. Even if all the demons in the Demon Realm took turns challenging the Demon King, it would only be a challenge in name. But Lucarim’s challenge was not like that. He was a being who could really change the throne if he set his mind to it.

Lucarim, the oldest demon in the Demon Realm and the master of the Southern Territory—Duke Nam [Duke of the South]. Anyone who knew about him knew that he was only staying in the position of Duke because he didn’t want the throne. When countless Dukes had challenged the throne as if asking for a duel, he had never tried to compete with the King. Of course, because he knew he would win. If he decided to bring down the King, it would really happen. No one calls a predetermined result a challenge. It was unfair. Lucarim also knew what she was going to say. He tilted his head.

“What’s the problem with that? Anyway, I have the right to compete with the King. Isn’t it stranger that I’ve been quiet until now?”

“Y, yes, but… why suddenly now!”

“That’s my business. Besides, Serpis, you were very interested in the throne, weren’t you? That seat is being vacated. It will be a good opportunity for you too?”

“No! I don’t want to be King anymore. I don’t want to serve another Demon King either. My King is only His Highness Karyuhan.”

“Oh dear, you’re really bewitched.”

Serpis wore a confused expression at Lucarim’s lightly clicking his tongue. Bewitched, who by what? It was a word she couldn’t accept or understand, but hearing it made her whole body tremble for some reason. It felt as if she had betrayed someone.

“It’s like when you raise your daughter well, and some rogue takes her away. That’s exactly how I feel right now. I can let you off the hook for leaving my authority, but now is not a good time. I’m saying this for your own good, not mine.”

“W, what are you talking about?”

“I don’t want to waste unnecessary energy, so I’m telling you to cooperate obediently.”

His hand was extended again. As Serpis stepped back, Lucarim’s eyes darkened.

“Or do you want me to kill you and forcibly obtain the qualifications [to challenge the throne]?”

“……”

Was Lucarim originally this scary? Serpis tried to recall his original demeanor. But she couldn’t quite remember what it was like. Even though he was someone she had known for so long, it was as if she had never met him before.

She inadvertently raised her head and made eye contact, causing Serpis to swallow hard. They were clearly the same red eyes as hers, but they looked black. Just looking into those eyes felt like being dragged into a pitch-black darkness. Devoured! Just as she squeezed her eyes shut in overwhelming fear,

“Do as he wishes, Serpis.”

“……!”

At the voice that came from an unexpected place, Serpis reflexively turned around and widened her eyes. The door that had been tightly closed until just now was open, and a man was standing in front of it. The young man with long black hair hanging down and an icy impression was the Demon King Karyudrian, who had rarely left his bedroom recently.

“Your Highness Karyuhan.”

Seeing him, a sense of relief washed over her, and the fear that had been pressing down on her faded away. She desperately wanted to be embraced in his broad arms, but Serpis was a woman who knew how to discern things. Now was not the time. She guarded Karyuhan as if protecting him, while being wary of Lucarim.

“But if I give him the certificate, that person….”

“You can’t handle him with your power anyway. It’s just a matter of going a little easier or not. You know that better than anyone else, don’t you?”

“T, that’s….”

“I don’t care, so let him have it. Still, it’s quite commendable that he’s trying to get the certificate. I thought he would just ignore such procedures.”

“W, what are you saying! Challenging the King without the certification of the Dukes is treason!”

“Well, I wonder if such rules apply to him. Our great Demon God would change the rules as much as he wants for his agent. Wouldn’t he, Lucarim?”

Unlike his leisurely voice, Karyuhan’s gaze at Lucarim was blazing as if it would burn. Lucarim lightly shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, maybe. But I don’t want to make things bigger here. Even this much is already going to be troublesome enough.”

“Well, if you don’t even make a pretense of formality, your existence will be too noticeable. You want to stay quiet if possible. That way, you can secretly monitor everyone. Was that the role you were assigned?”

“Thank you for understanding.”

A blatant taunt was followed by a nonchalant response. Their gazes were relaxed, but the air between them was as taut as a thread pulled to its limit on both sides. Only Serpis, who did not understand the conversation, looked back and forth between the two demons with a confused face.

“It would have been better if you had stayed quiet since you knew. I’m really sorry that this day has come, Your Highness.”

“It took you longer to notice than I thought.”

“I agree. You are surprisingly talented at concealing things, Your Highness. I was honestly a little surprised.”

Lucarim held out his hand to Serpis again. It was an action that clearly revealed his purpose and was also the last chance he was giving her.

Instinctively grasping the meaning, Serpis flinched and looked at Karyuhan. He nodded in agreement, and Serpis hesitated and reached out her hand. Soon, a red earring was placed on Lucarim’s palm. After lightly tossing it into the air and catching it as if snatching it, Lucarim wore the earring just like the other certificates.

With this, all the certificates except his own were collected. Lucarim wrapped his hand around his neck. The magic power gathered in his hand created a white necklace that looked like it was woven from thorns after a while. It was the certificate of the South and the last certificate.

At that moment, the other certificates that had been worn first began to resonate with the necklace. They vibrated, emitting black light, and then crumbled like dust. The powdered certificates gathered together and gathered on Lucarim’s forehead, seeping in as if spreading, leaving a single imprint. A wing pattern with only a black outline. It was the seal signifying an approved challenger. It was only an outline now, but the inside would be filled with color once he took over the throne.