Chapter 6 #3
I blinked once. “Are those posters?”
The younger brother leaned over the couch trying to look outside better before groaning dramatically. “Oh no. The city found out already.”
Nina stared in disbelief. “Your PEOPLE made fandom propaganda overnight?”
One sign below literally read: THE HUMAN IS PRETTY.
Another: LET THE PRINCE KEEP HER.
And another, horrifyingly written: STRAWBERRIES MEAN MARRIAGE.
I covered my face instantly. “I need to leave this dimension.”
My demon was genuinely offended by the signs. “Why are they discussing fruit publicly?”
“That is your concern?”
One demon below noticed us standing near the window. Then screamed. The entire crowd erupted afterward.
Nina backed away from the glass. “OH MY GOD THEY’RE CHEERING.”
The younger brother looked delighted. “This is the happiest the capital has been in years.”
“That is deeply embarrassing for all of you.”
Meanwhile more demons kept gathering below while palace guards failed miserably at controlling the situation. Someone in the crowd released silver fireworks into the sky. Actual fireworks. Inside Hell. And the sparks formed glowing hearts before exploding.
I stared blankly out the window. “…Your kingdom is insane.”
“We prefer passionate,” the younger brother corrected proudly.
My demon was already one inconvenience away from mass destruction. “Who authorized fireworks.”
“No one,” Anderson answered tiredly while pinching the bridge of his nose. “That is significantly worse.”
Nina gasped dramatically while pointing downward. “WAIT. Someone painted your face on a banner.”
Then the younger brother completely lost control laughing.
Because the banner looked absolutely horrible.
A massive black cloth stretched across the street below showing an aggressively dramatic painting of me standing beside my demon while silver flames burned around us.
Whoever painted it had also added unnecessary sparkles.
“I hate this kingdom,” my demon muttered again.
The crowd below screamed louder the second he appeared near the window beside me.
And then, horrifyingly, they started chanting. Nina collapsed against the couch laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe anymore.
“No,” I whispered. “No, absolutely not.”
The chanting got louder.
“NAME REVEAL.” “NAME REVEAL.” “NAME REVEAL.”
The entire room went silent. My demon stepped away from the window. The younger brother instantly stopped laughing. Even Anderson was alarmed now.
I blinked once toward the crowd below. “…Okay that one feels illegal.”
Chapter 24
Eva POV
My demon was moments away from personally destroying the capital city. And honestly? Watching the terrifying Prince of Hell get bullied by his own kingdom was healing something inside me in every way.
“Oh my God,” Nina whispered while clutching the couch dramatically. “You’re embarrassed.”
“I am not embarrassed.” He answered quickly.
“You absolutely are.”
The younger brother had again collapsed into one of the chairs laughing while Anderson was already considering early retirement from existence itself.
“This,” Anderson muttered tiredly, “is why the rulers were worried.”
Outside the palace windows, more silver fireworks exploded over the city. One burst into glowing strawberries.
I covered my face. “No. No, absolutely not.”
The younger brother looked delighted beyond recovery. “The fruit symbolism spread faster than expected.”
“That sentence should never exist.”
Meanwhile my demon had gone completely still beside the windows in the dangerous way I recognized immediately now. One palace servant rushed into the room carrying stacks of parchment while breathing heavily. “Your Highness, the newspapers are requesting confirmation….”
“No.”
“The southern district started selling commemorative candles.”
“No.”
“There are songs now.”
The entire room went silent.
“…Songs?” my demon repeated dangerously.
The servant swallowed hard. “Mostly romantic ones.”
Nina slid off the couch laughing.
I stared blankly at the servant. “Hell has newspapers.”
“We are an advanced civilization.”
“You are a supernatural Tumblr.”
The servant was deeply deeply confused by that sentence. Meanwhile more servants kept appearing nervously near the doorway carrying increasingly horrifying updates.
“The market district renamed a dessert after the human.”
“The what?”
“Strawberry cream pastries.”
I narrowed my eyes at my demon. “This is your fault.”
“That feels unfair.”
“The city is literally romanticizing fruit because of you.”
One younger servant blurted out without thinking, “The palace staff thinks it’s cute.”
The entire room froze. My demon turned his head toward the servant. The poor demon visibly braced for death. Then surprisingly, my demon just sighed quietly and looked away again. It was interesting to watch him soften. Because the servants noticed it and their fear gave way to open fascination.
Meanwhile Nina had wandered back toward the windows while the younger brother followed her automatically without realizing he was doing it.
“They’re still chanting,” she informed us gleefully.
“That is not good news.”
One silver firework exploded outside again.This time forming a giant glowing heart above the city. The younger brother leaned beside Nina near the window, both of them watching the chaos below while silver light reflected across their faces.
“This is romantic,” he admitted.
Nina snorted. “Your standards are broken.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “You noticed.”
Her eyes lingered on him for one brief second too long. And the atmosphere near the window shifted slightly.
Oh. This was interesting.
The younger brother noticed too. His gaze dipped to Nina's mouth for the briefest moment before returning to her eyes.
Nina folded her arms across her chest almost immediately.
“You’re staring again.”
“You’re standing dramatically against fireworks.”
“That sounds fake.”
“It’s objectively happening.”
For one tiny second, the younger brother's hand rested against Nina's waist as he leaned over the balcony to point something out below.
Nina stopped talking halfway through her sentence.
Oh. OH. The younger brother noticed too late that his hand was still there. But neither of them moved.
Silver fireworks exploded softly outside the windows while the city below screamed about royal romance chaos completely unaware of the entirely different disaster happening beside the balcony. Nina glanced down toward his hand on her waist. Then back up at him again.
“…You’re doing the face too now.”
The younger brother blinked once. “What face?”
“The one where your thoughts stop being legal.”
The younger brother grimaced genuinely offended by that accusation. Then ruined it by tightening his grip on her waist slightly without realizing he was doing it. Nina was startled at his action.
Including the palace servants still standing frozen near the doorway holding newspapers about my apparently catastrophic love life.
One servant whispered quietly, “Oh no. The second prince bonded hard.”
The younger brother snapped instantly, “Nobody asked.”
The servant didn't appear the least bit apologetic. “Respectfully, Your Highness, the entire palace asked.”
Nina covered her face laughing while the younger brother finally removed his hand from her waist like he’d just remembered other people existed.
Meanwhile outside the windows, the crowd below got louder after spotting movement near the balcony again.
One voice screamed: “KISS HER.”
My demon sounded genuinely horrified. “Why are they encouraging such behavior?”
“Because your kingdom is completely unstable,” I answered.
“That feels like criticism coming from the woman who crossed dimensions for someone she met two weeks ago.”
“That was low.”
“It was accurate.”
Unfortunately, Nina and the younger brother had gone strangely quiet beside the windows now.
The younger brother kept looking at her like he couldn’t stop himself anymore, while Nina looked increasingly alarmed by the fact that she didn’t seem entirely bothered about it.
Dangerous combination in one woman. One silver firework burst outside again.
This time the glowing sparks formed two crowns.
Nina stared out the window blankly. “…Your city needs hobbies.”
“We had hobbies,” the younger brother informed her calmly. “Then my brother accidentally fell in love publicly.”
“I did not do it publicly.”
The entire room stared at him. Even Anderson.
My demon let out a weary sigh. “You are all exhausting.”
Before anyone could continue attacking royalty, the giant palace doors swung open again. Three palace attendants entered carrying enormous garment racks covered in black fabric and silver embroidery.
Nina blinked. “…Why does this look expensive?”
The attendants bowed carefully. “Tomorrow’s formal audience attire.”
My stomach dropped instantly.
“No.”
One attendant blinked in confused. “No?”
“I’m not wearing royal demon clothes.”
The younger brother seemed deeply amused. “That sounds exactly like something future royalty says before wearing royal demon clothes.”
“I’m going back to Earth.”
“No you’re not,” my demon answered automatically.
His expression shifted slightly after realizing how fast he said that.
The attendants had already started uncovering dresses and formal coats across the room before anyone could recover.
Dark fabric shimmered beneath silver firelight while intricate demonic embroidery curled across collars and sleeves.
The clothes were gorgeous. Which felt rude.
Nina grabbed one dramatically. “Okay wait. Evil people dress incredibly well.”
One older attendant lifted his chin proudly. “The royal family maintains high standards.”
Nina held up another outfit toward the younger brother suspiciously. “You would absolutely wear this while ruining someone’s life in every way.”
“That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
Meanwhile, another attendant approached me carefully, carrying a dress of deep black fabric threaded with silver patterns that almost resembled stars. I stared at it a second too long. My demon noticed my hesitation.