Silver Dragon Chronicles Chapter 42
“Oh my? He got that strong? But Delli, the Golden Demon Princess who had fallen here with him, was quite strong?”
Golden Demon Princess Delli Byan Baal.
She now bore the surname Delli de Diablo, but she had once been a successor to the Demon King who had garnered attention in the House of Baal.
Possessing mighty strength and outstanding intellect, she had been the object of everyone’s expectations that she would elevate the Golden Demon Kingdom further onto solid foundations, but one day, she abruptly married Debireuan, who was then the Flame Demon King.
And that very Delli was Hong Yuhwa’s grandmother.
“U-Uh-Uh-Uh…….”
Having heard the shocking past, Hong Yuhwa wore a blank expression.
“So your grandfather was a crybaby and a wimp.”
Jehwa drove a nail into Hong Yuhwa’s chest with an innocent face.
“No! How strong Grandfather is! He’s the strongest Demon King in Demon Realm history!”
“Just who is shouting and making a fuss here!”
Smack!
“Ack!”
Watching Hong Yuhwa shout with wide eyes, Jehwa scrunched up her face and unhesitatingly planted her fist into her face.
“Oh my? So living while getting beaten by the opposite sex is just like your grandfather, huh?”
Yeom Hwihyeon giggled and rendered Hong Yuhwa unable to recover.
***
In the Vermilion Bird’s palace, just like other palaces, there was a reception room for receiving guests.
“Princess.”
“…….”
Heukhwa let out a deep sigh and called to Hong Yuhwa, but she merely maintained a blank expression.
She was so dispirited that one could not imagine she was the usually lively Hong Yuhwa…….
Her grandfather had been an idol to Hong Yuhwa.
But the past of her grandfather she had heard today was nothing short of a shock.
On top of that, she had even gotten beaten like a dog by the person she liked.
Watching Hong Yuhwa, who was piling depression upon depression, Heukhwa let out a deep sigh and then called out to Jehwa, who was eating snacks beside them.
“Lord Jehwa.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
At Heukhwa’s call, Jehwa tilted his head and asked.
“Please offer her some comfort, even just a little.”
“Why me?”
“…….”
At Jehwa’s words, Heukhwa had no choice but to fall silent.
Come to think of it, Hong Yuhwa liked Jehwa, but Jehwa did not even pay any attention to her.
In simple terms, Hong Yuhwa was one-sidedly in love.
As Heukhwa looked at Hong Yuhwa with pitiable eyes, Hong Yuhwa’s eyes turned brutal.
“What?”
“Huh?”
“What’s with that pitying gaze?”
“Th-that is…….”
“Come here.”
“Huh?”
When Hong Yuhwa growled, Heukhwa put on a bewildered expression.
“Come here.”
Watching Hong Yuhwa speak in a low voice, Heukhwa hesitantly approached her.
“Why are you looking at me with those eyes!”
“Aaaack!”
In the end, Heukhwa became the target of her venting.
Heukhwa shouted inwardly.
‘She’s not pitiable in the slightest!’
It was Heukhwa, who had only now realized that she was the most pitiable one here.
***
The place where Hong Yuhwa met Yeom Hwihyeon again was the palace’s massive audience chamber.
Yeom Hwihyeon was seated upon a golden throne that shone with a red radiance.
“Welcome.”
“Why did you only call us now?”
Jehwa asked Yeom Hwihyeon, who was speaking with a smile, point-blank.
Of course, in informal speech.
At those words, Yeom Hwihyeon momentarily narrowed her brow.
But she quickly decided to boldly(?) overlook Jehwa’s informal speech and spoke with a smile.
“It’s because my daughter is such a rambunctious tomboy; she causes trouble like this every day, you know? I had to discipline her a bit……. Sigh, how nice would it be if she were as demure as me?”
You don’t look demure at all either, though?
The two demons excluding Jehwa thought so inwardly.
But they did not dare speak such words openly in front of a being whose power rivaled that of a Demon King.
“Yeah, your daughter’s a tomboy. But I think she takes after you.”
‘Ack! You thoughtless fool!’
Hong Yuhwa inwardly screamed.
“Ehh~ I’m so demure, and she’s such a tomboy; you think she takes after me? You’re quite the jokester.”
“You don’t look demure at all.”
With the eyes of a pure child, Jehwa was telling absolutely no lies.
Hong Yuhwa and Heukhwa surveyed Yeom Hwihyeon’s countenance with anxious hearts.
That was because, judging by the temperament of the one called the Vermilion Bird, if her mood soured, she seemed like she might flip the whole place over.
But unexpectedly, Yeom Hwihyeon was calm.
“No, I’m demure.”
“Hmm? That’s a lie.”
“I’m telling you, I’m demure.”
“…….”
Having once again denied Yeom Hwihyeon’s words, Jehwa tried to refute her once more as she emphasized her demureness.
But at the danger he instinctively sensed in that instant, he clamped his mouth shut.
“Hmm?”
“Y-you look demure…….”
“That’s right, good child.”
I don’t know whether I should call it impressive or petty that a being who is the Vermilion Bird resorts to force to overpower a child just to stubbornly insist on something like that.
In any case, Yeom Hwihyeon, wearing a satisfied expression, asked with sparkling eyes.
“So, what happened to Delli and Debireuan?”
“Grandfather became the Flame Demon King and ruled over the Flame Demon Kingdom, and Grandmother married Grandfather.”
“Huh? Delli married Debireuan?”
“Yes.”
“Heh……. So he managed to get married despite living while getting beaten by Delli, too.”
Watching the admiring Yeom Hwihyeon, Hong Yuhwa recalled her grandfather and grandmother.
Her grandfather had not been someone with a very good temper either. Not a single person who had gone against his words had met a good end.
But even such a grandfather of hers had been infinitely weak, again and again, especially in front of her grandmother.
Seeing that, Hong Yuhwa had thought it was because her grandfather truly loved her grandmother.
But upon learning the truth…….
‘So this was the past behind it all…….’
Hong Yuhwa, who had thought her grandfather had been kind to her grandmother because of love for her and had yearned for the couple’s love, felt like an utter fool in that moment.
No matter how much a demon she was, she was still a woman, and thus she had yearned for the emotion called love.
The marriage between a successor to the Demon King and a successor to the Demon King had been the first in Demon Realm history, carried out by Hong Yuhwa’s grandfather and grandmother.
She had thought that such two people had truly loved each other……. What was this?
“Every story I’ve heard today has been nothing but shocking……. Hahahahaha…….”
Hong Yuhwa laughed weakly with a devastated expression.
“What’s with her?”
Watching that, Jehwa asked Heukhwa, who sighed and spoke.
“How should I put it……. The Princess had been yearning for the beautiful love between the previous Flame Demon King and the Flame Demon Queen. However, after hearing that person’s past story……. I believe she has received a shock.”
“Life(?) is a cesspool…….”
Hong Yuhwa muttered with a depressed expression.
Yeom Hwihyeon, who had been watching Hong Yuhwa whose voice was laughing but whose face was depressed, turned to look at Jehwa after a moment.
“Hmm…….”
Then she soon opened her eyes wide.
“You……. are you human?”
“Hmm? Yeah, I’m human.”
At Yeom Hwihyeon’s question, Jehwa smiled and nodded.
“Human……. a human…….”
Yeom Hwihyeon narrowed her brow before breaking into a grin and speaking.
“Well, if you yourself think so, then you must be human.”
“……?”
At Yeom Hwihyeon’s words, Jehwa tilted his head.
At that sight, Yeom Hwihyeon wiped her smile and spoke.
“But you see, child.”
“Hmm?”
“You are, after all, different from humans.”
“What’s different? We’re the same.”
“Listen to your elder. Certainly, the current you is human. But another you is not. It seems your fate is not to live as a human, but to live as a different being.”
“…….”
At her words, Jehwa made a blank expression before soon speaking with a serious face.
“Don’t suddenly make a serious face and say difficult things. No matter what you say, your past isn’t going to disappear.”
“…….”
He had made a sharp and precise point, unlike himself.
And at those words, Yeom Hwihyeon’s expression hardened stiffly.
“Oh my? What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said.”
Snap!
At Jehwa’s words, a vein popped on Yeom Hwihyeon’s forehead.
“Come here for a moment?”
“Hmm?”
At Yeom Hwihyeon’s call, Jehwa trotted up close to her.
Whack!
“Aack!”
Without the slightest hesitation, Yeom Hwihyeon swung her fist at Jehwa, who had approached close to her, and Jehwa let out a scream from the punch.
“Damn it! That lady!”
Jehwa rubbed his head and grimaced fiercely.
At that sight, Hong Yuhwa spoke.
“You got what you deserved.”
“What?”
“…….”
At those words pouted out from her lips, Jehwa’s face twisted fiercely.
Intimidated by that momentum, Hong Yuhwa avoided Jehwa’s gaze and began to act nonchalant.
Though Hong Yuhwa possessed the greatest strength among her peers, not only among demons but other races as well, she could not even show any spirit in front of Jehwa.
After glaring at Hong Yuhwa for a moment, Jehwa tilted his head and asked.
“But what happened to the Sacheondangga?”
“As for that, Lady Yeom Hwihyeon has taken care of everything. Sawollin and I Seolhye are safe.”
“That’s a relief.”
As Jehwa spoke with a smile, Hong Yuhwa’s expression turned fierce.
“Jehwa.”
“Hmm?”
“What do you think of Sawollin?”
“What do I think of her?”
At Hong Yuhwa’s words, Jehwa was bewildered.
“Damn it! I’m asking if you like her!”
“I like her.”
“What?”
When Jehwa nodded without hesitation toward Hong Yuhwa, who asked again with a slightly annoyed expression, Hong Yuhwa made a blank face.
“I like that girl.”
“…….”
At those hammering words, Hong Yuhwa staggered for a moment.
And to the devastated Hong Yuhwa, Jehwa grinned and added,
“Because she buys me delicious food every time we meet. If I stick with her, I get to eat delicious things.”
Snap!
In an instant, she broke free from her devastation, grabbed Jehwa by the collar, and shouted fiercely.
“Hey, you brat! Don’t confuse a demon!”
“Wh-what?”
Watching Hong Yuhwa suddenly grab his collar and scream, Jehwa was startled.
“You, you! You damned Silver Dragon brat!”
Hong Yuhwa, whose personality had been somewhat subdued because of Jehwa, had now exploded and was currently in a state where nothing was visible to her eyes.
“Hey, aren’t you letting go?”
“Shut up!”
At Jehwa’s words, Hong Yuhwa shrieked with flashing eyes.
Before anyone knew it, her eyes had turned red.