It was a hopeless situation, so he had resolved to reveal his last hidden card to her.
*Swoosh*
His body soon became like the wind, beginning to sweep through the garden. With his originally outstanding agility compounded by Haste, Daemon's movements reached a point where they were barely visible to the eye. He took care not to break any flowers or trees as he circled in every direction, and dust rose thickly along the trajectory he ran. After roughly ten laps around the garden, Daemon stood before Daphne, catching his breath.
"What do you think? Was it worth watching?"
Unexpectedly, Daphne's eyes were brimming with tears. At this unforeseen reaction, Daemon's eyes went wide. Of course, what he had displayed was a type of magic that not just anyone could see.
"Why, why are you like this? Did I make you sad?"
"That's not it."
Unable to hold them back, tears began streaming down Daphne's cheeks. Watching this, Daemon felt his own chest ache faintly.
"Please don't ever use such magic again. Because you sped up your body's time, you've aged even more. That is something that breaks the laws of nature. To ask you to do such a thing simply to entertain my eyes... Daphne is terribly sad."
Having finished speaking, Daphne sobbed with her head bowed. But watching her, Daemon could not help but receive an even greater shock.
*'For this child to see through the secret of Haste...'*
The thought that Daphne's status was by no means ordinary suddenly flickered through his mind. Just from the fact that she had discerned the secret of Haste, she absolutely could not be seen as a mere maid.
However, at the sight of her bowing her head and sniffling, any desire to interrogate her vanished completely. He found it truly strange that he felt not the slightest trace of wariness toward her. Moreover, wasn't the very reason Daphne was crying because she was worried about him? Saddened along with her by the sight of her tears, Daemon silently patted her back.
"Ah, I understand. From now on, I will never use Haste in front of you. Don't cry."
At those words, Daphne raised her head, flustered.
"Really?"
"I swear it on my name."
Of course, on the battlefield, there was no avoiding the use of Haste. Not having noticed this, Daphne brought a gentle smile to her tear-stained face and extended her pinky. Daemon hastily turned his head away, trying not to look at her smile. But the moment he hooked his little finger with hers, without exception, a powerful Chain Lightning pierced through his entire body.
At the tingling sensation coursing through his body, Daemon let out a groan.
"Hurk."
"Does it hurt somewhere?"
"Ah, no."
Daemon's whole body trembled as he quickly pulled his hand away. He couldn't understand why his flesh shook like this whenever he touched her. Daphne wiped her tears with her sleeve.
"From now on, I won't ask you to show me magic."
"Mhm!"
Daemon nodded with a stiff expression. Sitting down beside him, Daphne soon began to open up about her childhood.
"I grew up in a small village overlooking the sea. The lord was very kind, and the villagers were all affectionate people, like one big family. Although I'm not entirely sure if I was born there, when I search my memories, I think I lived there from a very young age."
"Is that so?"
Daemon nodded silently.
"The ones who raised me were three grandfathers. Very kind and affectionate grandfathers who were sometimes very strict... They took on all the roles of a mother and father for me."
"I suppose you were an orphan?"
"I wonder? I suppose that might be the case. Honestly, I think I missed my mother's and father's faces terribly when I was young. But my grandfathers took such good care of me that I was able to forget about them quickly."
"Then that's a relief."
Listening to Daphne's words, Daemon recalled his own childhood. A growth process that could never be pleasant. For Daemon, being beaten by Shaolin monks and secular disciples had been a daily routine, and he had grown up all day amidst pointing fingers and jealousy. As such, it had also been a wretched youth in which he always flew into a rage at the sight of children raised through normal means, picking fights day in and day out.
Daphne continued to open up about her childhood growing up playing with the village children. Daemon, who listened silently, was gradually drawn into her story. It was a story anyone would see as monotonous and ordinary, yet he listened with full immersion, as if he were hearing magic theory.
"My grandfathers always had gloomy expressions. Faces as if they bore all the anguish of the world upon their shoulders. It broke my heart, so I always tried to ease their burdens."
"Your heart must have been compassionate from a young age?"
Daemon, who had been nodding, was startled in the next instant. That he was merely acting as a conversation partner for a young girl... Had it been his past self, this would have been something he couldn't even dream of. That he, who should be sharpening the blade of revenge at every opportunity, should have to listen to such worthless stories...
But looking at Daphne's face, he simply couldn't bring himself to speak. So Daemon stood up with his eyes squeezed shut. He vowed and vowed again that he must coldly shake her off. But regrettably, the words that came out of his mouth were anything but cold.
"It's not that your story is boring, but I have things I must attend to. I should be going now..."
"Can't you talk with me just a little longer?"
Daphne's plea seemed to pull at his heart of its own accord, but because he had closed his eyes, Daemon barely managed to shake off the temptation.
"I'm sorry. It can't be helped. I have very urgent business. So let's save the stories we couldn't finish today for when we meet tomorrow."
"I beg you. No one here listens to my stories. So you are the only one I can talk to. The others won't even acknowledge me, you know?"
At these unexpected words, Daemon opened his eyes. The first thing that met his gaze were Daphne's pupils, brimming with sorrow. At that sight, he felt a corner of his chest go numb.
The loneliness of people not engaging with you. Daemon was, at the very least, someone in whom that sorrow had eaten deep.
"These damned bastards? Don't worry, Daphne. The people here are all blind scoundrels with rotten eyes. Not engaging with a kind and pretty child like you—does that even make sense? If such men appear before me, I'll rip their throats out immediately, so don't you worry."
His anger surging, Daemon blurted out the words in his heart in one breath. His honest feeling was that if anyone treated Daphne recklessly, he would tear them limb from limb regardless of the reason. Reflected in the eyes of Daemon, who was grinding his teeth, was Daphne's startled appearance. The thought that a young Daphne would have a hard time bearing such coarse curses flickered through his mind.
"S-sorry. I spoke without thinking..."
"It's all right. Rather, your heart that worries about me touches me deeply. Thank you so much for caring about me."
Having finished speaking, Daphne raised her head and planted a loud kiss on Daemon's cheek. Then she lightly rose and ran off as if flying away.
"Since you have urgent business, I shall take my leave. Well then, mister, see you tomorrow."
Her fluttering figure as she ran was like that of a celestial fairy, but Daemon had no room in his mind to entertain such thoughts. His face turned red as a ripe radish, and he froze on the spot.
The cheek where Daphne's lips had touched felt as though it was no longer his own. Frozen in a rigid posture, cradling his cheek, Daemon didn't move an inch. Only after a long while did he part his lips, and a voice burst from them.
"H-her lips... th-they were truly soft."
Still cradling his cheek, Daemon slowly rose to his feet. Carefully looking around in all directions to see if anyone had witnessed the spectacle, he then shot away without delay.
Only then did shame surge in like a flood. Such absurd conduct from a great demonic lord like himself. Daemon was someone who wished to avoid such behavior even if it was only under the gaze of a Trubenia native.
Having returned to his quarters, Daemon had switched back to his old cold-blooded mode. Though he had been a gentle lamb before Daphne, the current Daemon had transformed into a ferocious beast with anger surging through his head.
*Bang!*
A sturdy-looking table was smashed to pieces. The attendants and maids had already hidden themselves long ago at the sight of their master running wild.
"Me? For this Daemon to show such a shameful sight to the world..."
The more he thought about it, the more unbearably ashamed he became of himself. Time was short enough as it was to take revenge on the Dragon. To think he was wasting time messing around with a mere girl when he should be immersed in magic training...
Daemon prided himself on possessing a firm iron will and endurance second to none. As such, he hated himself to a ridiculous degree for falling for Daphne. Grinding his teeth repeatedly, Daemon made his eyes gleam coldly.
"Let's think this through from the beginning. Why is it that I can't budge an inch in front of that girl..."
But the moment he thought of Daphne, his heart softened again. Especially the sensation of the kiss he had received as a parting gift still lingered faintly on his cheek.
Daemon let out a deep sigh, as if the ground would cave in, and sank deeply into his chair. Strictly speaking, the time he had spent with her could actually be seen as a truly happy moment for him.
The burden of revenge persistently tightening around his head, the fear of having to face the Dragon, the doubt regarding an unknowable future. But if he was with Daphne, Daemon could be free from all of it. He could forget everything and remain in an extremely tranquil state of mind.
"Come to think of it, no girl has ever treated me so intimately. Could it be that she has feelings for me?"
He even felt like simply ravishing Daphne. If he saw her wailing beneath him, he might be able to compose himself to some degree. According to Daemon's logic, women were all the same once stripped bare. But Daemon soon shook his head.
"No. I can't do that."
No matter how much he thought about it, he absolutely couldn't see himself acting forcefully toward her. It was Daemon's honest feeling that he didn't want to do even the slightest thing she would dislike. Lost in deep thought, Daemon once again exploded in anger.
"Damn it. This is exactly the problem. To break free from that girl's chains, I must steel my heart. That is the only way I can be free. If things go wrong..."
Daemon's eyes flashed.
"I'll just kill her. Only then can I devote myself to training..."
In his eyes, a light clearly resembling killing intent slowly spread. But regrettably, the Sevenfold Heart-Severing Art did not activate.
"Do you happen to like delicious food?"
"I wonder? I haven't had much experience eating proper meals..."
"Is that so? Then this mister will make you a truly delicious meal."
Thumping his chest as he made the promise, Daemon had already transformed back into gentle lamb mode.
He was the same Daemon who had brought Power-Up Gauntlets to tear Daphne apart. Though he couldn't kill her because of the Sevenfold Heart-Severing Art, he had resolved again and again to at least rip that seductive face to shreds. He thought that only then could he escape from her devilish clutches.
But the moment he saw Daphne's face waiting for him, such feelings vanished as if washed away. The resolve he had steeled himself with was nowhere to be found, and an uncharacteristic smile even rose to Daemon's face.
Of course, had anyone else seen it, Daemon's smile was awkward enough to send chills down their spine. It seemed this was because he had almost no experience smiling. But Daphne's perspective seemed completely different from that of others.
"Your smiling face is truly nice to see, mister."
"My smiling face?"
Daemon's gaze suddenly turned blank. It had been over ten years since he had chanced to see his own reflection in a mirror—after which he had never sought one out again. He had even shown neurotic reactions to the point of smashing any mirror he saw first thing. To that extent, he hadn't wanted to look at himself. Of course, Daemon's aesthetic sense was no different from that of other people, so...
And yet here was this crazy girl saying his smiling face was nice to see... Daemon suddenly burst into a hearty laugh.
"I-is that so? Perhaps my looks have changed a bit over time?"
It was Daemon, vowing repeatedly to look in a mirror as soon as he returned to his quarters. Of course, it was obvious that the poor mirrors would end up smashed in droves, but...
"Anyway. Wait here a moment. I'll display my skill and prepare some food. You'll probably taste a delicious dish unlike anything you've experienced before."
"Really?"
"Of course. I'll go and return in a flash."
Daemon shot away like a flying tiger. He was Daemon, who wanted to please Daphne by any means necessary.
Of course, that feeling didn't take long to change.
"Damn it! Why am I doing this?"
Daemon, who had been throwing meat into a pan and stir-frying continuously, furrowed his brow. He had rushed to the banquet hall's kitchen in one breath, but now that he was actually cooking, he was suddenly overcome with doubt about his own actions.