I Took the Demon King as My Wife

Hans looked up at the officiant with wide eyes.
The officiant looked down at him with an expression as if asking why he was hesitating and gestured for him to hurry up.
At this, Hans, who had turned pale, pleaded,
“N-no… w-wait a moment…? I-I’ve never heard about this…?”
His lost eyes jumped around, seeking help from anywhere. Eventually, they landed on the chair where the Emperor was sitting.
“……”
However, the Emperor deliberately ignored his pitiful eyes and turned his head away.
‘Y-Your Majesty! This wasn’t in the plan!’
Hans inwardly cried out with a voice full of resentment. The officiant, unaware of his inner thoughts, continued to urge him.
“Baron…? Quickly….”
“N-no!”
Being both confused and wronged, his voice involuntarily grew louder.
While he was frantically turning his head, not knowing where to appeal his injustice, someone tugged sharply at his side.
“…?”
When he turned his head, what met his eyes was the face of the bride who had pushed her veil back.
At her face so close to his, his silly heart began to pound like a hammer again.
Eilena glared at him closely and whispered,
“Do it quickly.”
“…What?”
“Do you intend to drag this out any longer? After coming this far?”
“No! B-but…!”
“Shut up! Look around!”
Eilena poked him in the side. Hans, who automatically shrank from the poke, briefly looked around.
The questioning light embedded in the dozens, hundreds of gazes pouring toward the two began to intensify slightly.
“Ah… but….”
Hans, facing her again, moved his lips.
Though he knew, his body simply wouldn’t move.
They say there’s a world of difference between knowing something in your head and executing it in action—this was exactly such a situation.
“…Really.”
Eilena’s patience, which she had been barely maintaining, had reached its limit.
A low sigh escaped through her seductively shining lips.
Eventually, she reached out and firmly grabbed the nape of his neck.
“Wup?!”
She roughly pressed her lips against his, pulling him toward her with a jerk.
Hans’s eyes widened as if they would pop out at what happened so suddenly.
Eilena paid no attention and closed her eyes gently, tilting her head and slightly parting her lips where they met his.
“Woowup!”
Hans made a protesting sound while struggling at the sensation of the mucous membrane.
The feeling of something sticky entering between his teeth as the meeting lips opened slightly.
Just as Hans was about to lose consciousness, the meeting lips separated with a “Pah!” as if being torn apart.
“……”
Eilena, with her brow slightly furrowed, wiped her lips with the back of her hand.
Then, as if nothing had happened, she turned her head again and stared at the officiant.
“W-what is this!”
Hans, who had forcibly had his first(?) taken, covered his mouth with both hands, his eyes looking as if they would pop out at any moment.
At this, the officiant awkwardly cleared his throat and hurriedly concluded the ceremony.
“W-with this! I declare that the two are officially husband and wife!”
-Clap clap clap clap!
Applause rained down from all directions.
Amidst the pouring acclamation, Eilena naturally linked her arm with his.
After giving a sidelong glance at him, who was still staring at her with eyes full of bewilderment, she pulled his arm and slowly walked out to the terrace.
Hans, his mind completely blank, was unable to respond and was dragged to the terrace, lumbering along by her forceful hand.
“…Ugh!”
He frowned at the dazzling sunlight for a moment, then made a shade with his hand and looked around.
The crowd filling the plaza below came into full view. Everyone was cheering for the two with voices so loud they were difficult to understand.
Eilena waved her hand in response. This was part of the pre-planned actions.
There she was, already wearing a bright mask, responding to the people’s cheers.
Hans stared at Eilena. Her face, illuminated by the dazzling sunlight, shone so white it was almost painful to look at.
And in the midst of it, her bright red, glossy lips kept captivating his gaze.
“……”
He had been taught that a kiss was a noble act of love, sharing each other’s souls.
What she had just done was not such a noble action.
A rough and violent, base action. Like a hungry beast coveting meat, she had devoured his lips.
Love…?
Far from love, not even a hint of affection could be felt.
“…Really.”
And yet, why?
Why did such a greedy kiss, devoid of even a trace of emotion, feel so soft and sweet?
Why was his heart pounding so tumultuously when he should normally feel disgusted?
‘Are all demons… like this?’
Hans thought that perhaps demons had honey mixed in their saliva. Otherwise, it couldn’t be explained.
‘Enough, what am I thinking now….’
Following her, Hans also belatedly waved his hand.
Perhaps because he was trying to force an awkward smile, his lips kept tingling.
*
“You can rest in this room until the evening banquet.”
The minister who had officiated said, opening the door.
The two entered the most luxurious guest room in the imperial palace according to his guidance.
Hans looked around the room, while Eilena immediately greeted the minister.
“…Thank you.”
“It’s nothing. Congratulations to both of you once again.”
“……”
“……”
Whether they didn’t hear or not, neither of them responded.
The minister scratched his head, told them to rest comfortably, and closed the door.
-Click.
With the sound of the door closing, held-back sighs burst simultaneously from the mouths of the two.
“……”
“……”

Eventually, their eyes met.
The bride with her veil and gloves removed and the groom with his tie loosened were visible.
The two, who had been silently looking at each other, turned their heads in opposite directions as if by agreement.
They walked away, Eilena sitting on the large bed and Hans on the spacious sofa.
“Hah….”
Hans ran his hand down his face and sighed repeatedly.
He slightly rolled his eyes, glancing at the bed.
“……”
He could see Eilena gathering her disheveled hair to one side while brushing it.
Hans, who had been glancing at her only with his eyes, found himself turning his head without realizing it.
“…?”
As if she had eyes on the back of her head, Eilena suddenly turned her head.
At the sudden meeting of eyes, Hans was startled and quickly turned his head.
“……”
Eilena stared intently at the back of his head, which was turned in a strange posture. Her brow furrowed as if by habit.
“…What is it?”
“Wh-what do you mean…?”
“Were you peeking because you had something to say?”
“P-peeking? Who’s peeking!”
Hans, who had been caught right on the mark, shouted loudly and turned his head again.
However, upon facing her again, he slightly averted his gaze and lowered his eyes.
“…Urgh.”
A groan involuntarily escaped from his lower face, which he covered with one hand.
His fluctuating heart continued to pound irregularly.
He didn’t know why he was acting this way himself.
He had never experienced this in his entire life.
“……”
Eilena’s brow furrowed at Hans’s increasingly suspicious reactions.
She seemed to have a general idea of why he was acting that way… but the reason was so trivial that it only made her feel more unpleasant.
Hah. A sigh naturally poured out through her lips.
Eilena stared at Hans and said,
“You. I’m asking just in case… are you a virgin?”
“Ku-kuhub!”
At her question that came like a punch in his defenseless state, Hans choked on his own saliva and coughed until his face turned red.
“Wh-what are you saying! Now!”
“Well….”
At the sight of Hans, whose veins were bulging as he yelled, Eilena involuntarily contorted her expression.
It was a face full of clear disgust.
Eilena looked at Hans with her mouth corners dropped down in disgust.
“What have you been doing all these years…?”
“N-no! Hey! This is just too much…!”
Hans exploded in anger, jumped up from his seat, and strode toward her.
He stood towering over her with a distorted face. Eilena didn’t move an inch.
Hans raised his hand and opened his mouth as if to argue with Eilena.
“…Y-you! …How much!”
However, he couldn’t utter a single proper sentence and could only stammer with his mouth opening and closing.
Eilena slightly raised her eyes and stared at Hans intently.
At her dry yet somehow spiteful gaze, Hans’s under-eyes involuntarily trembled.
“…Sigh.”
He dropped his fist powerlessly with a thud, unable to hit or even effectively threaten her.
It had been a long time since he had been genuinely angry at someone, and the fist he had raised without realizing it was quite a shock.
‘You should never resort to violence against women, no matter what happens. Do you understand, son!’
Those were his father’s words.
He had lived believing that everything his respectable father said was correct, but this time, he wanted to believe that he was wrong.
‘I’m a fool for being momentarily attracted to something like that….’
No, even if his father was right, the woman glaring at him right now would surely be an exception.
‘Look at those eyes….’
Even if not violence…
If he could, he wanted to give her a hard flick on the forehead, enough to make it turn red.
No, maybe one or two.
Hans shook his head, sighing repeatedly.
Until just a moment ago, his heart had been pounding so hard he could barely face her, but now he was strangely calm.
No, beyond calm, he was cold. How could he be so detached?
When learning the qualities of a hero, he had been taught that anger was one of the seven great evils that must be suppressed, but it didn’t seem entirely true.
Appropriate anger seems to help people come to their senses.
“What’s the point of talking with you….”
Hans let out a deep sigh, stroking his cooled chest. Deliberately aiming it slightly downward.
“…Ugh.”
Eilena, who brushed away her bangs in the wind he created, closed her eyes and flinched her shoulders.
At that sight, Hans’s heart momentarily fluttered again.
As his cheeks began to heat up unnecessarily, he hurriedly returned to his seat.
‘…Damn it.’
Because of the unnecessarily zealous maids, he found it utterly distasteful that he kept foolishly falling for that well-decorated mask.
There was nothing more foolish and stupid than a man’s instinct.
‘How foolish….’
At this moment, he resented being a man.
*
Late night.
“…Urgh.”
“…Hah.”
After an evening banquet that lasted much longer than planned, the two returned to their room completely exhausted.
If the morning event had been for the nobles, the evening banquet was for the common people.
The banquet, held in the central plaza in the urban center, attracted even more people due to the morning’s preview.
The two’s job was to portray a loving couple and a fresh newlywed atmosphere to the people visiting the banquet.
For something that almost led to a divorce lawsuit(?) right after the wedding, it concluded without any major issues.
They should have exchanged words of appreciation to each other, but both were in a state where neither the energy nor the heart for it remained.
In the end, the two sprawled out on the bed and sofa respectively.
Just as they were stretching and catching their breath, someone knocked on the door.
“Are you resting well?”
“Y-Your Majesty?”
“…What?”
Soon after, the Emperor appeared with a gentle voice.
At his sudden visit, the two hurriedly rose from their seats and sat up properly.
The Emperor gestured for them to rest comfortably, closed the door, and sat across from Hans.
As the Emperor sat on the sofa in silence as if he had something to say, Eilena belatedly tied her hair and sat next to Hans.
The Emperor, who had been staring at the two sitting side by side, smiled and broached the subject.
“First of all… thank you for your hard work. You too, Sovereign of the Green-Fingered… ah, now I should rightfully call you Baroness Elbain.”
“Call me as you please.”
At Eilena’s answer, the Emperor nodded.
“There are no more schedules to trouble you two today, so rest comfortably.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“……”
Unlike Hans, who answered immediately, Eilena kept her mouth shut. Finding this strange, the Emperor asked,
“Is there… something uncomfortable?”
“…Perhaps.”
Eilena quickly seized upon the Emperor’s words, as if she had been waiting.
“…Could I be provided with the room I stayed in yesterday again?”
“What? Ah… well, it’s not a difficult matter….”
The Emperor looked at her with a puzzled expression. Eilena glanced sideways at Hans and said,
“Please do so, it seems this person absolutely cannot stay in the same space with me, even if it means death.”
“…Pardon?”
The Emperor blinked and answered. Then he turned his gaze to look at Hans.
“N-no! I just…!”
Hans waved his hands as if wronged. He immediately turned his head to glare at Eilena, who was wearing a shameless face.
“Hey, when did I…!”
“Didn’t you say earlier that you don’t even want to exchange words with someone like me?”
“When on earth did I say that!”
“It seems your memory is being sealed too.”
Eilena deliberately ignored the gaze pouring on her and gently closed her eyes.
Hans trembled, raising one corner of his mouth crookedly.
“Huh… have you decided to be openly insolent now? Huh? Is that what you want?”
“Have you thought about who was insolent first?”
“Hey! Demon King! I’m now…!”
“Now, now! Enough! Enough!”
At the intensifying atmosphere, the Emperor clapped his hands loudly and pulled down the escalating flow.
Hans, who had half risen toward Eilena, turned his body completely to the opposite side and sat down with an irritated lament.
Only then did Eilena slightly open her eyes that had been closed.
“You two… after treating each other so affectionately during the day… how can you be so….”
The Emperor asked the two with a distorted expression of respect.
At this, the two flinched simultaneously and answered the Emperor at the same time.
“It was acting!”
“It was just acting!”
At the sight of the two shouting in anger, the Emperor was startled and raised both arms halfway.
“I-I see….”
How could they make such similar expressions?
Looking at them this way, one might think they were actually a well-matched couple.
In conclusion.
‘Katrina, it seems you were wrong….’
He was only endlessly worried about the future.