Previously
Ariella and Ludvic finalize their contract, though Ludvic reveals he is illiterate and has never made a contract before. As they exchange names, a magical circle forms a physical contract and links their emotions, causing Ariella to feel Ludvic's inner thoughts.
Then it happened at that very moment.
“Insolent humans…!”
A voice boomed from high above their heads. Specifically, from the direction of the mast.
Most of those on deck failed to hear it, but one priest endowed with sharper senses sensed something amiss.
“Did none of you feel that just now?”
“Oh, Your Reverence! What strange thing could there be out on the open sea? Probably just young gulls circling about for scraps.”
Yet the priest tilted his head, listening intently.
“No… I heard a voice clearly. And there is a strange, foreboding sensation…”
“That’s only because you haven’t had enough to drink. Here, take another cup!”
Meanwhile, Ludvic and Ariella—dismissed as mere seagulls—stood perched atop the highest mast of the Imperial warship.
Because the night had deepened, no one noticed them climbing up there. They had even deliberately made noise to draw attention, to no avail.
When the reaction failed to go as intended, disappointment washed over Ariella’s face.
‘This is bad…’
The two of them were plotting a kidnapping performance right now. Or rather, a sham abduction. If they simply slipped away quietly as Ludvic had suggested, Ariella’s goal would never be met.
The witnesses had to believe it. They had to truly believe she had been kidnapped… by the Demon King, a walking natural disaster. Only then would her kingdom be spared unwarranted retaliation, and the Empire would never dare attempt a rescue.
Hence, staging a scene that felt genuine was imperative… yet the result had fallen far short of her hopes.
“Do you dare trespass upon the Demon King’s domain without fear?!”
Ludvic’s voice remained confined to the immediate vicinity of the mast. He was merely reciting the lines Ariella had fed him beforehand in a flat, expressionless drone, delivering his words to an inattentive audience without caring in the slightest about their reaction or engagement.
His delivery was utterly unbefitting a kidnapper—lacking any vitality or majesty, entirely cold and indifferent.
Naturally, Ariella flared up in irritation.
“Are you whispering now? How on earth are they supposed to hear you?!”
She jabbed the Demon King’s stomach with her elbow as she scolded him.
“Is this how you normally get angry? Project your voice more! Breathe from your diaphragm!”
The stage and the script were ready. All that remained was the actor’s performance.
Yet if the acting remained this pathetic, no one in the audience would pay any mind in the first place.
“Do it again!”
When Ariella hurried him along, Ludvic looked thoroughly disgruntled. He had suddenly found himself on the receiving end of orders.
He was indeed the Demon King without a doubt, but being ordered around on how to act like one? That did not sit well with him.
‘Why do I even have to listen to this human?’
He grumbled the thought internally, yet for some reason, he found himself swept along, doing as she said.
“Insolent humans, you dare defile my domain…!”
As she pushed him through one vocal exercise after another, Ariella thought to herself,
‘Who would ever believe this is the Demon King? I have to change the plan.’
They needed to seize their attention with a flashy, bold spectacle rather than this miserable acting.
So Ariella made a suggestion.
“Can you blow something up?”
Ludvic’s eyes widened slightly, as though welcoming the idea.
“Blow up? What and where?”
From his perspective, burning and blowing things up were far easier than playing around with words foreign to his nature, and it happened to be his forte anyway.
“Let’s start over there. How about blowing up one of those alcohol barrels?”
Ludvic answered with action instead of words. Without the slightest hesitation, he pointed a finger at one of the barrels stacked on the deck.
The very next moment,
Boom—!
A deafening blast rang out.
“Aaargh!”
“Wh-what is that?”
“Uwaaah!”
Towering tongues of flame surged as the massive wine barrel burst apart. Flaming alcohol scattered through the air alongside splintered debris, spraying bright orange sparks across the pitch-black night sky.
Screams of panic echoed from every corner, and the peaceful feast on deck instantly plunged into utter chaos.
“What happened all of a sudden?!”
“What lunatic set off fireworks here?!”
“Someone put out those flames this instant!”
Only then did Ariella smile, watching the turmoil unfold across the deck.
“Good. That’s not bad.”
Hearing the praise, Ludvic immediately cast another spell without being asked.
Whoosh—!
A long streak of flame burst from his fingertips, its curved tip tracing a gentle arc as it struck the deck.
The flames did not stop there; instead, they moved in sync with Ludvic’s hand gestures. Wherever he pointed, tongues of fire surged in that direction.
It resembled a serpent of fire slithering and coiling, leaving behind a scorched black trail in its wake.
Ariella’s eyes widened in astonishment; it was the swiftest and most precise fire magic she had ever witnessed in her life.
Meanwhile, Count Igor let out a bloodcurdling shriek.
“Aaaargh!”
The flames had brushed within a hair’s breadth of him, scorching him with searing heat. His sweat-drenched wig began to singe and shrivel from the blaze.
“Hah!”
His legs gave way and he collapsed onto the deck. He reached up toward his burning hair, only to jerk his hand back in terror from the intense heat.
Clutching his scorched palm, he stammered,
“Wh-what in the world…?”
Those strange flames had fallen from above, and naturally, every pair of eyes turned toward the sky.
Toward the source of the fire… the top of the mast.
“Look over there!”
An unexpected sight met their eyes.
“Who is that?”
“Good heavens! Is that Princess Ariella?!”
“And who is that man with her?”
A woman who had no business being there. Atop the mainmast, the princess stood alongside an unknown man. Bafflement washed over every face.
Who was that mysterious man? And why was the princess with him…?
The man facing their bewildered gazes with utter detachment was draped in black cloth.
It was a length of silk scavenged from the baggage, used to conceal Ludvic’s outfit that looked meant for a tropical resort. Thanks to his tall frame, the haphazardly draped fabric actually passed for a genuine cloak.
Yet what drew their gazes so intensely was not his attire, but something else entirely.
“Look at his head!”
The priest pointed a trembling finger at the two horns protruding from the top of the man’s head.
A symbol marking the identity of a specific race.
“He belongs to the demon clan!!”
That scream acted like a detonator. Panic swept through the crowd.
“A demon has kidnapped the princess!!”
At last, things were unfolding precisely as Ariella had planned.
“Save the princess!”
Soldiers rushed onto the deck, drawing their bows and aiming skyward. But one of them halted them at the final second.
“Hold! What if you hit the princess?!”
The sea winds were howling and the night was pitch-black, making it difficult to even discern the target. Weapons were impossible to use under such conditions.
The priest instinctively stepped forward to take action.
“Disaster! A… a demonic creature?!”
The drunken flush on his face drained away in an instant, as though the alcohol had vanished clean out of his system.
With a heavy tongue, the priest stammered hurried incantations to exorcise the abhorrent fiend.
“Hold on, Princess! I shall punish this wicked demon!”
In the next instant, a silver flash erupted from his body, shooting straight upward toward the sky where the Demon King stood with Ariella.
However…
“…Hm.”
Ludvic furrowed his brow as if mildly annoyed and gave a light flick of his wrist, like someone brushing dust off a sleeve. In a flash, the light vanished into nothingness, leaving behind no trace whatsoever, as though it had never even approached him.
The priest gasped, his eyes going wide with shock.
“It’s no use! That is no ordinary demon!”
“Wait, if he’s no ordinary demon, does that mean…?”
Just as an ominous dread began to seep into the hearts of the Imperials, Ludvic spoke with a frozen expression and a tone even stiffer than his face.
“Ha! Ha! Ha! Only now do you realize? Insolent humans, do you dare challenge the Demon King?!”
Ariella felt an abrupt headache.
‘No… that wasn’t the line we agreed on…’
Yet she sighed internally.
‘Well, fine… this is enough.’
The Imperials were in such deep turmoil that they had no time to scrutinize the Demon King’s acting, not when they were on the verge of burning to ash along with their ship.
“The Demon King?!”
Terror and chaos mounted around them. Amidst the clamor, Ariella leaned close to Ludvic’s ear and whispered like a director coaching an actor on stage,
“Now!”
Vwoooom—!
Ludvic rose into the air without any incantation or preparation.
While Ariella was still marveling at his ability to fly without chanting a single spell,
“Ack!”
A choked gasp tore from her throat.
As Ludvic surged upward, he suddenly seized her by the scruff of her neck and hoisted her violently toward him. His rough grip held not an ounce of mercy.
It felt as if her neck were being throttled and her eyes were about to pop out of their sockets, her body dangling in midair and thrashing violently like a fish caught on a hook.
Infuriated, Ariella flailed and gasped, then planted a punch squarely into Ludvic’s stomach. Only then did the pressure around her neck ease slightly.
“Have you lost your mind?!”
Ariella screamed, seizing the opening.
She had indeed asked him to carry her and fly, but she had never meant in this manner.
“I’ll be dead before we arrive! Who carries someone like this? Is this your first time kidnapping anyone?!”
Ludvic knitted his brows and snapped in annoyance,
“Then what was I supposed to do?”
“Adjust your grip a bit and… aaargh!”
Ariella never managed to finish her sentence.
END