Kidnapped Princess C9

Chapter 9

I allowed the princess to move about freely.

“Uncle, are you… an amazing person? The room is so big. There’s so much I’ve never seen before.”

“Hmm. This is called a bed. You lie down on it when you sleep—like this, see?”

She tilted her head and shook it.

She didn’t even know what a bed was? Seriously? A bed is a necessity! I stared at her blankly, then suddenly felt a surge of anger boil up within me.

“Then… how did you sleep at night?”

“I rolled up a blanket and slept on that.”

Well, at least she had a blanket. I quickly sat her down on the mattress, determined to teach her the greatness of beds.

“From now on, you’ll sleep here. Lie down and pull the blanket over yourself.”

“Here?”

“Yeah.”

She pressed her little fingers into the mattress. When she pushed down, the surface dipped, then sprang back when she released it. Fascinated, she poked it again and again, testing the texture.

It reminded me of how cats kneaded soft cushions. I couldn’t help but smile at her innocent curiosity.

“Your Majesty…”

“Hm?”

When I turned around, I saw Elvin trembling—barely holding back his indignation.

“No matter how much affection you hold for this so-called ‘bride’ you’ve brought home, I must speak my mind!”

“…Go ahead?”

His fiery tone startled me enough that I instinctively took a step back.

“Hey, human! How dare you call His Majesty uncle! You must address him properly as Your Majesty! No casual speech! Every sentence must end in sir or Your Majesty!”

“Amazing person… sir?”

Elvin immediately shook his head, frustrated. “No! Say: ‘Are you an amazing person, Your Majesty?’ or better yet—‘Is Your Majesty an amazing person?’”

The girl repeated his words softly to herself.

She’d had no one to teach her proper speech. Her birth mother—a maid—had died five years ago, and there had been no tutors or caretakers since. The only language she knew came from the servants who whispered insults as they passed by.

That’s why the first words she’d spoken to me were dirty, beggar, trash.

“…You said she was a princess,” Elvin muttered. “But she can barely speak.”

“She was basically abandoned,” I said quietly, careful that the girl wouldn’t overhear.

“Ah.” He smacked a fist into his palm in sudden realization. “So… she’s poor.”

I groaned. I kidnapped a royal princess, and his takeaway is that she’s poor?

“…You never cared to understand humans anyway.”

Meanwhile, the girl was still exploring the room, touching everything with wide-eyed wonder. Every object seemed magical to her. Elvin trailed after her nervously, warning her not to touch things, but she ignored him completely.

Her complexion already looked far healthier than when I’d first met her.

“Hey, are you hungry?”

“I’m hungry… sir,” she said, trying to imitate Elvin’s correction.

“That’s what I thought. But first, let’s get you cleaned up.”

I took her hand gently. I had wiped her down earlier with a cloth, but the grime still clung to her skin. Dirt under her nails, tangled hair, the tattered dress—she was a mess. I should’ve given her a bath before letting her explore, but she’d been so fascinated by everything that I hadn’t the heart to stop her.

With a snap of my fingers, two lower demons appeared—both in maid uniforms.

“Don’t be scared,” I murmured.

Low-ranking demons couldn’t completely conceal their true forms. These two had serpentine traits—their forked tongues flickered when they spoke, and their scaly skin gleamed faintly.

I lifted the princess and handed her over.

“Treat her with care. If you don’t, your lives are forfeit.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

It wasn’t an empty threat. I meant it.

“U-uncle…” she said, glancing nervously between me and the snake-like maids.

“You’re just going for a bath. You’ll feel fresh and soft afterward, I promise. These ladies will help you get clean, so come back looking all pretty, okay?”

I smiled and brushed her hair reassuringly. At last, she seemed to relax. When she was gone, I sank onto the bed with a sigh.

“Your Majesty,” Elvin began, “regarding the war—shall we focus on defense, preventing human intrusion, but not initiate attack?”

“Exactly. I’ve no interest in conquering the world anyway.”

Elvin nodded. “Understood. Also, I forgot to mention—Lady Lilith heard about your visit to the human capital.”

Lilith. The name alone made my shoulders tense.

“Good. Maybe she’ll finally give up.”

“She said she’s coming here. Should be arriving any moment now.”

“…What?”

My face went pale.

Lilith—of course. Even when I was human, her name was infamous. A powerful demoness, eternally beautiful, dangerously seductive, and impossibly ancient. No one knew her true age—because anyone foolish enough to ask never lived to repeat it.

“Don’t tell me…”

“Yes,” Elvin said grimly. “She interprets the prophecy the same way humans do. They don’t know it, but you too were once blessed by God, weren’t you? She’s one of the few who knows you’re from another world. That will make her pursue you even harder.”

Right. She had always hovered near me—half teasing, half serious. But with this new prophecy, everything would change.

I could already hear her voice: ‘I’ve always wanted to rule the world.’

It’d be just like the first thing she ever said to me when we met.

She’d helped me ascend to the throne once. Without her, I might never have become Demon King. But still… she terrified me.

She’d once been the Demon Queen herself, only to abandon the throne when her lust and mischief got the better of her. Probably the only demon in history to leave the position alive. That alone was… impressive, in a way.

I worried briefly that she might harm the princess, but then I pictured the girl’s face and relaxed.

Lilith adored beauty, and the child was undeniably beautiful. She’d probably fall in love with her on sight.

“The only one truly fit to be Queen beside you is Lady Lilith,” Elvin said stiffly. He still couldn’t accept the idea of the princess being my bride.

“Elvin, it’s not official. Calling her my bride was just to keep others from touching her. And didn’t you once say Lilith wasn’t your type either?”

“She’s old,” he muttered. “Hardly a match for Your Majesty. I only said she’s the least bad option.”

I sighed. Elvin would probably disapprove of anyone I chose.

“Oh my, did someone just call me old?”

A cascade of rose petals fluttered through the air, and Lilith appeared—flanked by two stunning demons, each as beautiful as herself. She waved a jeweled fan gracefully, her smile dazzling yet cold.

“Your Majesty,” she purred, “I heard the news. You found yourself a bride, didn’t you? After rejecting me, no less. How adorable.”

She tapped my chin lightly with her fan and leaned close, her breath brushing my cheek. If I hadn’t stood, she’d have pushed me right back onto the bed.

“Such hostility,” she teased when I shoved her away and rose.

I sighed deeply. How could anyone call her Queen material? She lives to mess with me.

“All right, Lilith. What do you want?”

“I merely wish to see this ‘princess’ of yours,” she said sweetly.

“No.”

“So cold… You wound me.”

“She’s young and impressionable. Who knows what trouble you’d cause?”

She smiled innocently, the corners of her eyes curving with practiced charm—the kind that could break a man’s resolve in seconds. Luckily, I was immune.

At that moment, hurried footsteps echoed outside the hall.

One of the maids burst in, drenched from head to toe. I took one look at her disheveled state and knew something had gone wrong.

“What happened?”

“The princess resisted violently, my lord.”

“…”

Water dripped from her clothes, pooling on the floor. Red welts marred her arms where fingernails had raked her skin, and her hair was a tangled mess.

I imagined the small child’s strength. How had she managed that? Then it struck me—it wasn’t strength. It was divine energy.

When demons touched holy power, it sapped their strength. She must have flailed instinctively, not realizing the effect.

The fading traces of magia around the maid confirmed it. Normally, demon wounds healed instantly. These lingered because her vitality had been drained.

I’ll have to teach her how to control that power, I thought grimly.

Then came a loud pounding at the door.

Of course—it was the princess. Too short to reach the handle, she was pounding furiously instead, demanding to be let in.

I opened the door, and the instant it swung wide—

“Urk—!”

She crashed straight into me, headfirst, like a tiny battering ram. Elvin gasped.

“Y-Your Majesty!”

“I’m fine… What’s wrong? Did those ladies hurt you?”

Her clothes were barely hanging from her shoulders, her small frame trembling. Whether the dampness on her cheeks was water or tears, I couldn’t tell.

I glared daggers at the soaked maids. Low demons had little restraint; they followed instinct more than reason. I’d thought my command would keep them in check—but apparently not.

They sweated under my gaze, trembling. I took the child’s tiny hands gently in mine.

“Hey, it’s okay. Tell me what happened. Did they hurt you? Or did you just not like the warm water?”

Maybe she’d never even bathed before.

“No…” she whispered.

“Hm?”

“Mommy said… I mustn’t let anyone see.”

Her small hands clutched at her collar, trembling in fear, protecting her modesty as if her very purity had been threatened.