"Rise," said the old man in white robes in a gentle tone.
They stood up.
"Greetings, Your Eminence. I have brought Princess Marie back from her mission... and she has brought a demon with her," said Rose firmly, with a hint of hesitation.
The old man, though aged and wrinkled, still had a sharp gaze. His eyes glanced towards Morgrath with an expectant surprise.
"Ahh... are you the demon who saved my child? I am very grateful to you, demon. What is your name?" he said softly, as if speaking to an ordinary person.
Rose's and Marie's eyes widened at His Eminence's reaction. They expected His Eminence to scream for the guards and imprison them. Then execute them publicly for daring to bring a demon into this holy place. But the opposite happened; he looked calm and as gentle as ever.
"My name is Morgrath, a Duke of Hell. And who might you be?" Morgrath returned his gentleness.
"Hoho, my name is Abraham Goldenbell. Pleased to meet you."
Marie and Rose looked at each other in profound confusion. Their looks seemed to hold a silent conversation.
Marie cleared her throat. "Ahem... Grandfather, he's a demon, you know," Marie said hesitantly.
Abraham turned his head slowly. "Hm? I know. I was actually expecting his arrival." Ignoring the shock of the two women, Abraham continued. "I received a prophecy from the Goddess concerning his arrival. The prophecy said that he would bestow a guardian of humanity's light."
Marie couldn't contain her surprise. "A prophecy... that means..."
Abraham gently stroked her head. "Yes... I am now certain that the light of humanity referred to is you."
"When we first met, I always felt there was something inexplicable within you, Marie. I thought you were very special, but I never imagined you would be this special."
"You sound frightening, old man," Morgrath narrowed his eyes.
Ignoring that, Abraham asked Marie, "So, how did you meet him?"
Marie then recounted all the events she experienced in Ertama Village, starting from the disappearance of the platoons to her meeting with Morgrath. Everything was told in detail, missing nothing. Marie also told them what happened to her troops, to Ades, and how terrified she was being the sole survivor of the Satyr's massacre.
Marie held back her tears to appear strong. However, their sacrifices were not in vain. She was still alive, and she was grateful.
Rose hugged her warmly and tried to cheer her up. Abraham stroked his beard as he listened to her story. Meanwhile, Morgrath only listened in silence.
"Your adventure sounds very exhausting, Marie. Please rest in your quarters."
With that, they parted to attend to their respective duties. Abraham with his ruler's affairs, and Rose with guarding the fortress.
After learning that Marie and Morgrath had formed a master-servant contract, he decided to appoint Morgrath as her personal servant and her new knight. Of course, his identity as a demon was kept secret from the public; it would be dangerous if news got out that a high-ranking demon was in the royal palace.
Therefore,Morgrath was currently using the form of a man in his early thirties. His body was muscular, full of authority, with short, dark purple hair combed back. A long scar split his skin from his neck to his left cheek, leaving a wild and intimidating impression—as if reminding anyone who saw him that this man had been through countless battlefields.
Marie's face drastically reddened, her eyes wide open, and her mouth slightly agape from the visual shock she felt. She hurriedly covered her mouth with her hand, as if not believing the man in front of her was really the terrifying demon she had accidentally met. Marie felt her nose might spurt blood just from looking at him.
Immediately, she jumped onto her soft bed and buried her face deep into the pillow.
"Are you quite alright, Miss Marie?" Morgrath asked with concern.
Marie didn't look back but still answered. "I'm fine. By the way, just call me Marie. I'm more comfortable being called that."
"Very well, Marie. Here is the orange juice you requested, with its cookies."
Morgrath placed a tray containing Marie's order on her bedside table. He took one cookie and ate it without hesitation.
"Now that I think about it, it would be weird if I kept calling you Morgrath. What would you like me to call you?"
Morgrath fell silent, remembering an old memory of his beloved. Back then, she had said the same thing and given him a nickname.
"Morgan. Just call me Morgan, then." Morgan gave a small smile.
Marie noticed the small smile but ignored it. "Alright, Morgan. You can't take food from someone without asking first!"
"Really? But I made these, so they're mine." Morgan took another cookie and put it in his mouth again.
Marie's face froze, not expecting that a demon—usually a bloodthirsty creature fond of slaughtering humans—could bake cookies. The idea of a demon who could bake cookies sounded funny to her. She let out a small laugh.
She got up from the bed and took one of her cookies to taste it. Shocked, her eyes widened; the cookie was incredibly delicious. Not too sweet and not too bitter, very crispy to the point it made a crunchy sound when bitten. This might be the best cookie she had ever eaten. The cookies she usually ate were very sweet, too sweet, but these were perfection.
"From your expression, I'm sure it's very delicious, isn't it?" Marie didn't want to admit it, but it really was tasty.
"Shall I make some more?"
slurp