Chapter 6 #10
Dark silver horns curved through black hair while ancient shadows moved behind her like living creatures. Beside her stood a tall demon man adjusting his gloves calmly like he hadn’t just casually broken reality entering the room.
The palace guards instantly dropped to one knee. The council bowed instantly. Even Anderson was alarmed. And beside me, my demon whispered one deeply exhausted sentence:
“…They’re back.”
The demon woman’s ancient silver eyes moved across the destroyed lounge before landing directly on the attacker curled on the floor.
Then finally on me.
The room fell even quieter as the woman stared at the knife lying near my feet and her expression changed instantly from shock into something far worse. Maternal fury. She moved so fast I barely saw her cross the room.
One second she stood across the room. The next , the attacking demon was suspended violently against the wall by shadows wrapped around her throat.
The entire palace shook.
“Who,” the woman asked softly enough to terrify everyone alive, “touched my future daughter.”
Absolute silence. Even the shadows stopped moving. Beside me, Nina whispered:
“…Oh I like her.”
“Nina,” the younger brother muttered quietly, “now is not the time to cheer my mother.”
“She threatened someone for Eva. That’s family behavior.”
Meanwhile the entire lounge remained completely frozen beneath the overwhelming pressure filling the room. The attacking demon still hung suspended against the wall struggling desperately against shadows wrapped around her throat while my demon’s mother stared at her with terrifying calm.
There was no yelling and no dramatic rage, which made the entire thing feel far more terrifying.
The ancient demon man beside her finally sighed softly while adjusting one black sleeve. “We leave for two centuries and the palace becomes embarrassing.”
“That is unfair,” Anderson answered automatically. The man looked toward the destroyed lounge. One shattered wall. Three unconscious guards. Silver fire crawling across the ceiling.
“…Is it.”
Nobody answered. Meanwhile my demon had already moved directly beside me while checking me over with fast sharp movements like he was confirming I was actually unharmed.
“You’re bleeding.”
I blinked once before finally noticing the shallow cut across my arm where the knife had barely clipped me during the attack. I hadn't even noticed it until now.
My demon noticed it immediately and his expression changed at once. The warmth disappeared from his face, leaving something cold enough to make the entire room tense. Silver shadows curled across the floor beneath him, twisting harder with every second.
“Oh,” Nina whispered softly nearby. “That’s murder face.”
The younger brother nodded. “Yes. We avoid that face.”
But before my demon could apparently destroy someone publicly, his mother reached me first. Her expression softened the second she saw the blood on my arm. Without hesitation she took my injured arm carefully into her hands while ancient silver shadows wrapped gently around the shallow wound.
Warmth spread instantly beneath my skin. The cut disappeared completely.
I stared at my arm in shock. “…Okay that was cool.”
The terrifying ancient ruler smiled slightly.
“She likes her,” Nina whispered.
“You are unbelievable,” Anderson muttered.
Meanwhile the father had finally wandered farther into the destroyed lounge while studying the palace decorations critically.
“They changed the west chandeliers.”
One council member seemed nervous. “The previous ones exploded.”
“They lacked discipline.”
“…They were chandeliers.”
Honestly, I already understood exactly where both brothers got their personalities from. Then the mother looked directly toward my demon. And narrowed her eyes at him.
“You let someone attack her.”.
My demon stayed perfectly calm while everyone else in the room stared in horror.
“She was stopped.”
“That was not my question.”
The younger brother quietly leaned toward Nina. “This is why we both developed personal issues.”
“That honestly tracks.”
Meanwhile the mother had already moved fully beside me now while studying my face carefully. Like she’d already decided something important. Then softly, completely ignoring the entire terrified room, she asked me:
“Did he at least court you properly before causing international chaos.”
I choked. Nina snickered, laughing instantly.
My demon stared at her in utter betrayal. “Mother.”
“What,” she answered calmly. “You disappeared into another dimension perfectly unstable and returned with a human soulmate. I deserve details.”
The father nodded thoughtfully. “That is fair.”
“This family is insane,” Anderson whispered.
Meanwhile the attacking demon woman still remained pinned violently against the wall behind us completely forgotten. Then his mother glanced back toward her. Her expression hardened instantly again. The entire room went cold.
“She will stand trial for attacking royal blood.”
The psycho demon looked terrified now. “She corrupted him.”
That was the wrong thing to say. A very wrong thing to say. Before anyone else could react, my demon’s mother smiled slowly, and the calmness of it made her look even more terrifying. And it was ancient, dangerous and absolutely horrifying.
Then she answered softly:
“No, darling.”
Her arm wrapped lightly around my shoulders afterward while she pulled me gently closer against her side.
“He was already doomed the second he fell in love.”
Chapter 30
Eva POV
By midnight, the palace felt less like royal headquarters and more like a deeply dysfunctional family reunion. Which seemed medically concerning for Hell.
Nina had fully stolen one of the enormous velvet couches in the western lounge while the younger brother lounged beside her with her legs thrown across his lap like they’d been doing this for years instead of days.
Meanwhile his mother sat across from us beside the silver fireplace looking completely elegant while teaching Nina ancient demonic insults over tea.
“No no,” she corrected calmly. “That particular phrase implies their ancestors lacked combat ability.”
Nina gasped softly. “That’s incredible.”
“It caused three wars.”
“I love this dimension.”
The younger brother was exhausted already. “Mother, please stop encouraging her.”
“Absolutely not.”
I understood why both brothers would rather fight a dragon than discuss emotions.
Across the lounge, the father sat in one enormous black chair reading palace reports while occasionally making deeply judgmental noises under his breath.
“…Who approved these curtains.”
One servant froze nearby. The princes both ignored this completely. Apparently this behavior was normal.
Meanwhile my demon sat beside me on the long velvet couch near the fire, one arm stretched lazily behind me while silver firelight reflected softly across the dark rings on his hands. That felt more dangerous than the intense moments earlier. His mother noticed me watching him and smiled warmly.
“Oh yes,” she said calmly. “He gets attached embarrassingly fast.”
My demon frowned. “That is inaccurate.”
“You cried when your childhood raven disappeared for three days.”
The entire room went silent.
I turned toward him. “…You cried over a bird.”
“It returned.”
“That did not answer the question.”
Nina collapsed laughing across the couch while the younger brother was delighted beyond recovery.
“Oh this is valuable information.”
“You are all horrible.”
His father finally looked up from the palace papers thoughtfully. “The raven was aggressive.”
“That makes it worse,” I informed him.
Meanwhile, his mother had already moved beside me on the couch like we’d known each other for years instead of hours. Honestly, the woman was terrifying. She adjusted one of the silver bracelets on my wrist absentmindedly before speaking again, her voice softer this time.
“You fit here easier than expected.”
The words settled strangely into my chest. Because that was the problem, wasn’t it? I did fit in here now. Way too easily. Before I could answer, Nina spoke from across the lounge without her usual joking tone.
“…That’s the scary part.”
Silence settled quietly afterward. The younger brother’s fingers slowed slightly where they rested against Nina’s leg.
His mother noticed as well, and after a brief pause she asked the question gently, without a trace of pressure in her voice:
“What are you both thinking about?” The room felt even quieter after that.
Nina stared down into her tea for a second before shrugging lightly. “Earth feels weirdly far away already.”
Nobody interrupted her, so she continued, her voice quieter this time.
“I thought I’d miss normal things more.”
Her fingers absently played with one of the younger brother’s rings while she spoke.
“But honestly? My apartment sucked. My boss sucked. Half my family only called when they needed money.” She laughed softly afterward. “Hell is remarkably stable compared to my old life.”
The younger brother’s expression shifted slightly at that, not with pity but with clear understanding, and then his mother turned toward me more carefully.
“And you.”
I stared into the silver fire for a second before responding.
“I think…” Tiny pause. “I stopped feeling connected to Earth before I even summoned him.”
Beside me, my demon went completely still. I glanced at him. But kept speaking anyway.
“My parents weren’t bad people.” I shrugged lightly. “Just busy. Everything always felt temporary. Work, relationships, friends.” My fingers tightened slightly together in my lap. “Then I summoned a demon into my apartment and that felt more real than most of my actual life.”
His mother watched me quietly for a long moment afterward before speaking gently.
“That feeling does not make you cruel.”
Something about the certainty in her voice almost hurt. Because maybe part of me still felt guilty for adapting here so quickly. For loving this place. For loving him.