I Took the Demon King as My Wife

The Baron and Baroness Elbain spent several more days at the imperial palace. This was for a major renovation of their mansion.
During the Emperor’s visit the previous night, Eilena mentioned the incident of the broken stairs and requested compensation from the Emperor.
Though it could have sounded impolite, she had the talent to convey it in a way that didn’t.
With her eloquence mixed with appropriate consideration and gratitude, the Emperor willingly agreed to send people to repair the mansion.
Moreover, she managed to secure a promise not only for repairs but also for many servants to help with their future life in the mansion.
Thanks to this, the Baron and Baroness Elbain gladly accepted the Emperor’s kindness and experienced their first night at the imperial palace, something no other couple on the continent had ever experienced.
Of course, the Baroness spent it in the Ruby Palace annex, while the Baron himself spent it in the main palace, the Adaman Palace, separately.
And so, a week later at dawn.
Thanks to the generous workforce, the mansion completed all preparations in just seven days.
Upon being informed of this, a carriage was sent from the mansion to the imperial palace to bring the two back.
“It’s my pleasure to meet you, master. I am Wesley, the butler who will serve the Elbain family from now on.”
A well-dressed elderly man got off the carriage and bowed to the two.
“Ah… yes, yes!”
Hans, still unfamiliar with such situations, was at a loss when faced with the bowing elderly man and ended up bowing his head almost to the ground.
Of course, this wouldn’t look good in Eilena’s eyes.
Along with a whisper to “maintain dignity as a noble,” she firmly stepped on his foot.
Hans, who frowned at the sharp heel, felt a surge of irritation and glared at her.
Eilena ignored him and boarded the carriage first, guided by Wesley. Of course, she didn’t forget to thank the Emperor who had come to see them off multiple times.
Hans glared at Eilena with disapproving eyes and clenched his teeth.
The Emperor looked at Hans with a tired expression and let out a faint sigh. He placed his hand on Hans’s shoulder with a tap.
Hans, facing the Emperor, showed his contorted expression. The Emperor patted Hans’s shoulder and said,
“Well… do your best… if you need my help, just say so….”
“…Yes, thank you.”
Hans gave an uneasy response, bowed to him, and boarded the carriage.
Clunk. The door closed, and through the glass window, the two could be seen sitting opposite each other.
As if they had agreed in advance, the two were slightly tilting their heads in opposite directions with their eyes gently closed.
The Emperor tried to suppress the rising feelings of guilt and anxiety as he waved his hand with a smile.
However, the two, who had already closed both their eyes and ears, did not respond to his farewell at all.
“Heeyah~!”
The Emperor continued to wave at the departing carriage.
“…Worrying.”
Though he had woken up early, it seemed wrong to go back to bed now.
*
The carriage cut through the cold dawn air for a long while.
Though the weather was getting warmer, enough to make one sweat during the day, it was still a bit chilly at such an early hour.
However, what was even colder than the cool outside air was inside the carriage carrying the couple.
The heavy silence that had settled in the carriage was twice as cold as outside.
No, beyond chilly, it was enough to give one goosebumps all over.
“……”
“……”
With the lengthening travel time, the silence also extended.
The awkward and cold air filling the narrow carriage was becoming increasingly suffocating.
Trying to escape such an atmosphere, Hans was taking in the outside scenery with his head leaning against the window.
Following the rattling carriage, Hans’s body, leaning slightly against the window, swayed a little.
While traveling in silence like that.
-Thud!
The carriage momentarily jolted heavily after hitting a rock. Because of this, Hans slammed his head against the window frame, creating a dull sound.
“…Kuurgh!”
He trembled, clutching his throbbing crown. It seemed he had hit it properly on the pointed corner part.
At this, Eilena, who had been still as a statue, slightly moved.
She slightly lifted her firmly closed eyelids and looked at Hans.
He looked so foolish, gritting his teeth and rubbing his head vigorously.
“…That’s what you get for leaning your head against the window frame. How stupid.”
“…What?”
Hans, forgetting the pain, immediately opened his eyes wide and raised his head.
After maintaining silence for over ten minutes, the first thing she says is “Are you an idiot?”
Hans inwardly expressed fervent discontent, thinking that the wheel that should have hit the rock should have been on her side, not his.
As the throbbing began to subside, he lowered his hand that had been rubbing his head unsightly and adjusted his posture.
“…Tsk.”
A lamentation mixing pain and irritation bounced off his tongue and flowed out of his lips.
The sigh that popped out struck right between Eilena’s eyebrows. She contorted her expression and glared at Hans.
“What, do you have a complaint?”
Eilena spoke in a venomous tone.
Hans, who had been enduring firmly and repeating all his complaints internally, trembled his fist.
He tried to endure by gritting his teeth, but having already reached his limit long ago, he couldn’t help but speak.
“Complaint? You’re the one with complaints. What have I done so wrong?”
“……”
At his irritated voice coming through his teeth, Eilena closed her mouth.
Hans frowned deeply and continued speaking.
“If there’s something you don’t like, say it. Stop grabbing onto my words and stretching them out to provoke me.”
“If I tell you, can you even fix it?”
“No, this is really…!”
Suddenly, Hans clenched his fist and jerked his body forward.
After glaring at her with narrowed eyes, he closed his eyes tightly and released his clenched fist.
Phew, he let out a deep sigh and relaxed his body.
“…I’ll try to make an effort to fix it… if I’m doing something wrong, just… tell me.”
He gently rubbed his furrowed brow and leaned his body against the carriage wall.
“Anyway, starting today, whether we like it or not, we have to live under the same roof, and we can’t just keep flushing red every time our eyes meet.”
“……”
Eilena turned her gaze to the window and silently listened to his words. Unlike a moment ago, her expression seemed somewhat relaxed.
“And….”
“…?”
Hans twisted his words as if he had something more to say. At this, Eilena glanced at him.
Hans, facing Eilena, took a deep breath.
But he only moved his lips slightly, then froze, unable to continue his words.
To his words that had already started, Eilena asked in return,
“…And, what are you saying?”
“…Ah.”
When Eilena asked, Hans, who had been staring at her blankly for a moment, slightly turned his head and covered his mouth with his hand.
“Ah, it’s nothing….”
He waved his hand and turned his head, leaning against the window frame. In the distance, the familiar mansion began to appear.
“It, it seems we’re almost there….”
“Well, I suppose so.”
Hans stared at the sun peeking over the mansion.
For a moment, he seemed lost in the scenery.
But that was only for a moment, as his black eyes, which had started to roll on their own again, turned to the opposite side.
“……”
The faintly glowing red eyes and the bright red hair that slightly peeked out from under the shade shone brilliantly.
She, like him, was leaning her face against the window, staring blankly at the outside scenery.
Perhaps still not fully recovered from fatigue, her half-closed eyes blinked up and down.
The subtly shining sunlight began to settle on her face.
Hans’s eyes, which had been staring blankly at her, eventually touched her reddish lips. The small lips shone glossily.
“…!”
At this, Hans flinched, trembled, and opened his eyes wide.
“…Hmm?”
How was she always so good at noticing his gaze?
Barely avoiding Eilena, who was turning her head toward him again, Hans hurriedly turned his face to the window.
Perhaps he wasn’t too late this time, as Eilena watched him for a moment and then turned her head back to her window.
As the gaze directed at him was withdrawn, his eyes, still not having regained their senses, rolled again, unable to resist.
‘That….’
His gaze, which kept turning on its own, pointed toward her lower face.
‘Even after… doing that….’
Whenever he faced those small, soft lips, his own lips would tingle. It felt as if the sensation from that time was vividly reviving.
‘Is she… not bothered at all…?’
For him, it was his first time.
‘…Argh!’
Hans shook his head slightly at the rising irrelevant thoughts.
‘I’m not a ten-year-old girl, what is this….’
He had never been like this in his entire life.
It even felt somewhat unjust that he kept losing all his senses to such trivial things like a fool.
‘Th-this is all… because of those books….’
That princess something, that noblewoman something.
It’s all because of those bewitching novels.
Indeed, it was both amazing and foolish how much a person could be influenced by mere scraps of writing.
‘No, is it just me…?’
Perhaps, as she said, he truly was a fool.
Come to think of it, it was also something he had heard from Yeomje to the point that his ears had calluses.
Because they were close, he had thought it was just a kind of joke….
‘Maybe he was serious….’
Hans was preoccupied with such foolish thoughts and engaged in all kinds of internal Q&A until they arrived at the mansion.
The conclusion he reached by the time they were to exit the carriage was that even this was a foolish thought.
‘Am I a fool…?’
It seemed, after all, that he truly was a fool.
-Creak.
The carriage stopped, and the door opened.
“Master, Madam. Please alight.”
Wesley gestured with a bright smile. Eilena said, “Thank you,” and gently took his hand to get down.
Hans, belatedly discarding all his trivial thoughts, grasped the carriage ceiling and jumped down as if leaping.
“…Hmm.”
Hans looked up at the high mansion with its blue roof.
How many days had it been?
Surely they hadn’t been away for long, yet why did it feel so welcome and familiar?
In fact, the period they had stayed at the imperial palace was longer… but somehow, he felt a comfort in this mansion that he hadn’t felt there.
The stability provided by the burdensome word “my home” was truly remarkable.
Hans suddenly had such a thought.
While Hans was standing in front of the stairs, lost in sentiment, Eilena had already climbed halfway up. Hans belatedly followed her up the stairs.
Eilena, who was walking slowly, suddenly stopped. Then, she called out to Wesley, who was returning after sending the carriage back.
“Wesley?”
“Yes, Madam.”
At her call, Wesley immediately climbed up to her, taking two steps at a time. Eilena stared at him and asked,
“I heard you were the chief supervisor of the mansion repairs….”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Wesley raised his neat mustache and smiled broadly. Eilena continued immediately,
“I want to ask first if all the parts I requested have been accommodated.”
“Ah, yes. His Imperial Majesty had already given me prior notice. All the requests you made, Madam, this Wesley has checked without exception.”
“Have they been accommodated?”
When Eilena asked again, Wesley, with his eye wrinkles crinkling in a smile, climbed the stairs past her.
“Let me explain everything step by step after we go inside.”
Wesley said as he lightly opened the front door.
The door, which had sounded like pushing a heavy rock on the first day, opened very smoothly.
At this, Eilena smiled slightly and quickly climbed the stairs.
“Well… I think I know without an explanation.”
She opened the other door and gave Wesley a meaningful smile.
Wesley, as if he understood her intentions completely, just smiled without speaking.
“What…?”
Hans, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, came up the stairs belatedly and asked. Both of them looked at him.
“Well… there’s something like that.”
“There is, something like that.”
“……”
Only then could Hans be certain.
It wasn’t that he was a fool, but that these people had made him into one.
Indeed, that was it.