"You said your mother taught you to value humans? Why did she teach you that? I thought all demons despised humans."
"It's not that I don't want to tell you, but it's also one of my secrets. If you become my wife—"
"How can I marry someone who has so many secrets? What if your secrets end up bringing me harm?"
"Makes sense. But trust me—my secret will actually benefit you."
"You know, your words just make it even harder for me to trust you."
"Really? Is there something wrong with the way I speak?"
Kelsey slapped her forehead with her palm. This peculiar Demon King, really! She couldn't deal with him.
Seeing the girl shake her head in resignation and sensing her frustration, Luca smiled softly. "I didn't expect you to trust me from the start. Just letting me close you like this and have a casual conversation is enough to satisfy me. At least I still have hope."
"Who gave you hope?! Hmph!"
Even her pouting face was adorable. Luca could now tell when she genuinely disliked his advances and when she was only pretending.
Time passed quickly, and the sun was nearly setting. Even though Kelsey and Luca had been alone outside for hours, no one came looking for her—as if no one had even noticed she wasn't home.
If this had been her usual day, her mother would've come searching for her, telling her to go inside since she easily caught colds when night fell. The fact that her mother hadn't looked for her at all, Kelsey was sure it was Luca's fault. Still, she didn't grumble and enjoyed their conversation.
Coming as the son of her father's old buddy—without any titles—was definitely more comfortable than casually chatting with the Demon King in front of commoners.
"Luca, we have to go now." Iom approached them once the sun had set.
"Does it have to be now?"
"You forgot you have an appointment tonight."
"Really? Isn't that tomorrow?"
"…"
Kelsey didn't know whether to laugh or get upset at the unreasonable demon beside her. "Tell me, is he really your father?"
"No. That's my right-hand."
"Even the demon clan has a right-hand?"
"The ancestor of the demon clan once lived in Human Land and was drawn to the royal system there. Since then, the demon kingdoms in the four regions have adopted the same system as the humans." Luca glanced at Iom in annoyance after hearing the minotaur demon's loud cough.
Iom looked away awkwardly, afraid of incurring his master's wrath once they returned to the palace.
"Don't make things difficult for him like that. If you have business, you should go back."
"But… I still want to be with you."
"It's not like we won't meet again."
Like a child, Luca's face lit up. "Are you willing to meet me?"
"As friends. Just friends are okay."
"Then, you can't give me a cold shoulder when we meet again."
"Okay."
"Promise?" He offered his little finger to Kelsey.
"You even know the human pinky promise?"
"There's nothing in this world I don't know. Promise?"
Kelsey laughed at the childish expression on the Demon King's face. "Promise." She intertwined her pinky with Luca's.
The two of them walked back to the house following Iom. Luca cracked a joke that made Kelsey laugh lightly. Her cheerful laugh didn't go unnoticed by Har and his wife. They were dumbfounded—it was the first time they'd seen Kelsey laugh so freely.
They'd seen her smile kindly before, but it was always a hollow, joyless smile. It was as if she didn't know how to have fun. Kelsey didn't even know what she liked or desired. But this time, Kelsey laughed. Her eyes looked more alive—and it was all thanks to Luca?
Although reluctant to admit it, the mother boar had to acknowledge that the arrival of Iom and his family was a good thing for Kelsey.
After the Minotaurs said their goodbyes, the house fell silent, with two pairs of eyes watching Kelsey closely. She noticed their curious stares but acted clueless.
"Mother, are there any meals left? I'm so starving."
"Of course. There's still some golden horn fish soup in the storage room. I'll warm it up for you."
"Aren't we down to four servings of goldfish soup? I thought you would serve it to our guests." Kelsey knew her parents didn't like goldfish and always gave her all the portions because she liked them. She didn't expect them not to serve it to their guests either. She had thought her father valued his friendship with Iom. At least, she was sure Luca had bewitched them somehow.
"Kelsey, there's one thing you don't know. Only high-ranking demons can digest goldfish. For lower-ranking demons, it's toxic."
"WHAT? Why didn't you guys tell me before? Then I―"
"Don't worry. Nothing will happen to you."
"How can you be so sure?" Kelsey didn't recognise the feeling surging inside her. She felt betrayed but refused to believe her parents would harm her. Yet strangely, her heart reacted with such quick hatred toward the boar couple—as if she already hated demons.
"Kelsey, do you remember how we discovered you?"
"You said I was seriously injured and dying. You did everything you could to save me, but nothing worked. Then you discovered a medicine that finally helped me."
"Actually… it wasn't us who found the cure. It was you."
"Me?"
"When you had a high fever, you woke up and told us that only goldfish could save you. Goldfish medicine was expensive, and we could only afford one serving of goldfish soup. Although it wasn't a cure, we gave it to you three times a day for three days. It cost us most of our fortune, but we did it. Gradually, you recovered and— Oh, why are you crying?" Her mother immediately hugged her as she suddenly burst into tears.
Kelsey felt guilty. She shouldn't have been so quick to blame them. They had done so much to care for her over the past three years, even though she wasn't their biological daughter. How could she still be suspicious of them?
"Why are you crying? Don't cry. We're not telling you the truth to make you miserable."
"You spent your fortune saving a stranger you didn't even know. Why are you so kind to me? I feel unworthy."
For three years, the boar couple had never asked for anything in return. Instead, they expected Kelsey to ask them for more—as a child would ask her parents. If she were their real daughter, she wouldn't hesitate to ask for anything. But she wasn't. No matter how kind they were to her, Kelsey felt like there was a wall between them. One she didn't know how to tear down.