Chapter 6

My head was swimming.

I couldn’t feel anything for the longest time. But slowly, I was gradually regaining my senses.

As soon as I felt my consciousness returning, I tried opening my eyes. My vision was blurry and I couldn’t see much further than a few inches in front of me without my glasses on. They must have fallen off when I passed out.

But I did notice in the swimming masses of my vision that there was something large slightly out of range of sight ahead of me. I tried to bring my hands to my face to rub my eyes and maybe even look for my glasses, but a bolt of pain shot through my body, preventing me from moving.

I winced from the immense pain. Then from above came a sound I was not expecting.

“Ah! You have finally woken up!”

Repeatedly, I blinked my eyes, forcing them to come to something of a focus. Over time, I was able to make out more of the details of the rounded mass above my face. It was spherical and quite sizable. It seemed to be covered in a red and black fabric of some sort. And strangely enough, it was rising and falling slowly up and down.

Pushing through the pain in my arms, I reached up to touch whatever it was. As soon as I grasped ahold of it, I was surprised by the warmth that emanated from it. Further bewildering was the springiness of the object, or rather objects as there were two of them, in my hands.

What in the world is this?

As I squeezed a second time, they seemed to jolt and pull away from my hand.

“You are quite forward, aren’t you? But, please, do not be so rough with me.”

It took a moment for it to dawn on me where the voice was coming from. Beyond the masses I was clutching was a blushing face shrouded in magenta hair with black horns sprouting from the sides.

I glanced between the face and my still groping hands. After a few moments, I finally pieced the puzzle together. My head had been resting on her lap and currently in my hands were her...

“Von Millionflame!” I jumped up in a moment and fell to the floor, bowing repeatedly with my forehead coming within a dust’s length from the stones below. “I am sorry! ! I am so sorry! Spare me! Please, spare me!”

“N-no! No! It’s qu-quite alright. As long as it was y-y-you…”

I barely raised my head from the floor to see if I had heard that right. With one arm wrapping herself under her chest, the Demon Lord held a hand to her face in an attempt to cover her mouth and blushing cheeks. Her fuchsia eyes were quivering, doing their best not to look directly at me.

How is she so cute?

At that moment, she looked like an absolute heartthrob. One that ancient poets would spend every waking moment attempting to put ink to paper to describe and feel utterly defeated when they failed to come close in their comparisons

That was a perfect description of the vision of beauty before me, minus the obsidian horns, scales covering her hands and wrists, and the red point-tipped tail that flick back and forth behind her.

I tried to raise my body higher in order to take in more of her beauty, but pain once again shot through my arm into my spine, felling me to the ground once again.

"Oh! Are you still hurt? Don't push yourself," the demoness rushed over and kneeled down in front of me. Once again, I was reminded of her sheer size, as she nearly eclipsed me with just her arms. I was terrified of her sudden movements.

I swatted her arms away and attempted to push myself away, even if my body was screaming in agony. She turned to look at me again, but with my faded vision I could tell the look on her face was not full of aggression as I expected. Rather, her eyes had gone soft and called out in fear and timidness.

But there was no time to think about that, I had to get away if I wanted to live.

I threw up an arm between us to keep some distance while scooting away with the other. “Get back! Stay away! I don’t want to die!”

I cried out, nearly in tears, but once I saw my arm, I stopped cold. It had since been cleaned and wrapped in a white cloth around the entirety of it. I struggled to remember why my arm would be bandaged up as it was, but I only recalled that it had been impaled with ice shards from my spell exploding.

But why has it been treated, and more importantly, by whom?

“Your arm,” Von Millionflame started moving slowly closer to me again, but this time she was moving in small steps, waiting between each and crouching down smaller almost to match my huddle mass on the floor. “When you passed out, it was bleeding badly. I didn’t want it to become infected or for you to bleed out, so I dressed it while you were asleep.” Gently, she reached out and held my arm using just her fingertips, putting almost no pressure on my skin as she did.

I looked between the Demon Lord and my bandaged arm once before noticing that I was only in my underclothes. My staff and bag were both missing as well.

My face felt like it was catching fire as I moved my hands to between my legs in order to better help cover up.

“Do not worry. Your belongings are on the bed still. I promise I treated them all with just as much respect as I have to you yourself.”

I glanced over to see, yes, they were there, folded nicely with my bag and staff on top of them all. I breathed a short sigh of relief.

“But did you really mean what you said?”

Curiosity got the better of me as I glanced over to see what she meant by that question. But I fell back hard from the surprise waiting there.

Now on all four, Von Millionflame was crawling towards me, with her face just inches from mine. Her eyes locked solely on mine, preventing me from looking away.

I could feel my body temperature rise drastically. The beauty from before now moving ever closer was more than I was capable of handling as my mind started to flutter.

“Whu-whu-whu-?”

“You said that you loved me. I heard you. And you said you did.”

I vaguely remember that altercation. I don’t remember saying it, but if that is what she has misconstrued from it, then this might work in my favor.

Since then, she has not tried to kill me, but instead has helped me recover from my injuries and my magic drain.

She reached up with a scaled hand, causing me to flinch. But instead of harming me, she used the tips of her fingers to brush my sweat-matted hair away from my eyes. A scent so sweet flowed from her and filled my senses that it practically drove me mad. Her eyes sparkled in a way I could only call romantically. Her lips looked so soft and delicious, I was incapable of breaking away from staring as she closed in closer and closer.

“Please, tell me. I need to know. Will you be true to your word?”

Even with my mind still reeling from all the stimulus, I did my best to carefully weigh my options. If I said no, there is a strong chance she could return to the beast she was before. Or worse. What is that old phrase Father always said? Hell hath no fury like a scorned woman’s wrath? I shudder to think.

On the other hand, If I say yes, then she will most presumably stay as docile as she is now. But does this give me an advantage? What was there possibly to do at that point that won't come back and bite me?

She won't be slain by that word. I couldn’t return until she was dead, could I?

With so many ‘if, then’s” rushing through my mind, I was incapable of coming up with an answer before I realized she had me cornered against a wall with her figure blocking all exits. Softly, she put one hand to my cheek and gazed deeply into my eyes.

“Please, give me your answer.”

“... Y-yes. I-I-I do… lo-love you…”

I spoke without my brain being involved at all. And now there was no withdrawing from it.

Von Millionflame’s face went a deeper shade of red as a smile gently grew wide on her lips. It looked like she was so overcome with joy, she might break into tears in front of me. But then a light flashed behind her eyes as she raised herself up to sitting on her heels.

“You confessed your love to me and I still don’t know your name. I believe I have already announced my name as Lillim Zeroth Von Millionflame. But what is yours?”

“Law…” I hesitated, but for what reason I couldn’t place, “Lawrence. Lawrence Larkdale.”

“Lawrence…” The Demon Lord, or rather Lillim, cooed to herself placing her hands together over her chest, “What a lovely name.”

“I guess so, but uh-”

I had no idea what to say. I had never been in a situation such as this with a girl, let alone one as intimidating as Lillim. Luckily (maybe that would be the word for it) my stomach let out a loud growl calling for food. I quickly held it back while giving a wry smile in embarrassment.

“You are hungry?” Lillim asked, rising to her feet and brushing dust off her dress as she went. “I shall have a meal ready for you right away. In the meantime, get dressed and prepare for the meal. Until then, I will take my leave.” She walked to the door on the far side of the room and exited through the door.

As the door latch clicked close, I let out a confused, “huh?”. I had come all this way, traveling for days, to slay the Demon Lord. And now she is currently making food for me? What in the world was happening? What is next, pigs flying?

While I was still thinking the thought, I moved quickly to shut the window’s shutters, so if that were to happen, my fragile mind was capable of handling it.

I turned to face the open room. The room held a spacious bed, a simple wooden nightstand, a massive wardrobe and a desk with a matching chair in front of it. For taking the details in its entirety, I had just noticed it was a spare room for guests. I grabbed my clothes and began putting them on piece by piece. But the thought kept running through my head.

Who is this place even for?

A castle this large needed several people for just the daily upkeep and cleaning. And speaking of food, there would most likely be several cooks for them to continue the work. And that wouldn’t include the servants tasked with contending to the Demon Lord’s every whim. A small army of Demons should reside in this Stronghold, but so far still, the only ones I have seen in the walls of the castle have been Lillim and myself.

Why is she alone here?

I adjusted my cloak on my shoulders as I finished dressing myself and began rummaging through my bag. All that I had arrived with was still there. Including my glasses, as I carefully placed them over my eyes, finally fixing my bleary vision. And since I had been dirtied during our fight, I was amazed at how clean my clothes were. Had Lillim done all of this for me?

I had no time to dwell on those thoughts as Lillim came bursting in through the door with a large silver tray held delicately in her hands. “Your meal is ready, Lawrence. Please, do sit on the bed and I shall set it out for you.”

I wanted to protest, or at the very least, politely decline, but my growling stomach answered for me. Left without a choice, I crawled onto the bed, which too was surprisingly high. Is everything in the Demon Realm this large, or am I really just that short?

Lillim sat down beside me and offered the tray to me. I was first expecting a meal for prisoners, such as gruel, but my ideas had changed over time to simple home cooking for the sick and ailing, like soup and bread. But this was far out of even my wildest fantasies.

On the tray was a succulent steak larger than my own head and dripping with a creamy butter sauce, several sides of potatoes, grains and a salad with more toppings than I thought was possible for a bowl to hold. At the far end was a golden goblet filled at least four fingers deep with a bright red wine. This wasn’t a simple meal, this was a feast fit for a king.

“Uh, Lillim?” I began to question how she could have prepared such a piping hot meal in such a short amount of time, but once again I was cut off guard by her actions. Without me noticing, she had taken a silvery fork from the tray and topped it with a bit of the tender steak and potatoes and slowly moved it closer to my mouth.

“Lawrence, say ‘ah~hh’,” Lillim hummed softly like a mother speaking to a child. I think my psyche was breaking as without hesitation I opened my mouth and accepted the offering. Unfortunately, she was a bit rough on her entry and almost shoved the fork to the back of my throat, causing me to gag.

“Oh no!” Lillim gasped as she raised the cup to me, letting me sip to heal my aching throat. “I knew I should have just had soup made. I knew I shouldn’t have listened.”

“Hack! No! I-it’s quite- COUGH! Fine. I am alright, I promise.” I was finally able to respond after settling my throat with the sweet wine. “Actually, it was delicious. I mean it. This might be the best tasting wine I have ever had.”

I was quite surprised. Though I had only half a second to taste the food, it had tasted quite good, considering the amount of time it was supposedly prepared. Not to say that I had expected Lillim to be an awful cook, rather, I had expected it to be burnt to a crisp stemming from her propensity to turn anything around her to cinders.

“Oh, thank goodness.” Lillim sighed, placing a hand over her chest as she watched me pick up my silverware once again and begin to eat, this time safely and slowly. “I was sure that I had upset you. I never want to do that, so I was worried I had ruined that so early in our relationship.”

Though the steak was so delicious and tender it melted in my mouth, I almost choked over the word relationship.

“U-uh… Lillim? W-what is our r-rela-realtionship specifically?”

Another smile spread across her lips as she leaned in close to my face again. “We are betrothed. But first we shall commence the courting rituals in order to solidify our unity. Then we shall…”
Her words began to trail off at the end as her eyes closed, and her lips began to gently pucker out towards me. I had no idea what to do, but I had been told by Father that in these situations to kiss her in return. Convenient that he had this lesson prepared beforehand. What did he get up to in his free time?

Once again, I felt like I was engulfed in flames while I struggled to form my lips in a kissing shape to answer hers. Quickly, my lips pressed against hers, and we began to kiss passionately. But I had to admit that it was not as soft as I thought it would be.

I halfway opened one eye to see if it was good for her, since I was sure to screw that up. It was my first time, after all. But I soon noticed I wasn’t kissing her, or at least not her lips.

Rather, before I kissed her lips she had placed her hand between us, and I was kissing her fingers. She had since turned her head to the side, with her cheeks a more vibrant color than her hair.

“I-I-I-It’s not time for that now!” In a hurry, she stood to her feet and moved her hands over her dress as if to correct any unsightly creases created in it. “I-In fact, we shouldn’t even be in a room together such as this. Too scandalous. Far too scandalous! So, you… uh… you stay here for the night and I shall return to my quarters until the morning. Excellent plan, Lillim. I mean, you enjoy your meal and night. Sleep well.”

In her hurry to break from our kiss, she had made several mad laps around the room like one would do when struggling to come to answer. All the while, she refused to lock eyes with me for a mere second, without becoming further flustered and babbling more incoherently.

Finally, she reached the door and opened it, almost tearing it off the hinges, “I shall take my leave now.” With that, she slammed the door behind her. I was left with my lips still partly puckered, trying to comprehend what had just transpired before the door slowly creaked back open again.

Peeking only her head in through the small crack in the doorway, she stood there sheepishly as I saw her tail flicking behind her in frustration. “I… I am sorry for that, Lawrence. I-I just can’t do… that now. My heart can’t take it. Maybe sometime soon. I-I-I promise. Good night, until then, Lawrence.”

She timidly stayed there, waiting for a reply I expected.

“Good night, Lillim?” I asked, unsure what to do.

“Good night, Lawrence. I love you. Truly I do!”

Once again she seemed as if she was waiting for me to echo her love, but before I could, she slammed the door once again with rapid footfalls echoing further away down the hall. Still clearly, I heard her call out “stupid, stupid” repeatedly to herself until she was far enough out of ear shot.

I was once again left with a completely slacked jaw, as my brain steadily unpacked all that had happened. It did make the rest of my meal uncomfortable as I chewed slowly on it.

***

Slowly, the time had crept by. Though when I had started eating my meal again, it was alright nighttime, I was still in the darkest parts of the night.

I had since placed my plates to the side and laid in the bed. Though it had provided great comfort to lay on, I never once got relaxed enough to drift off to sleep. In fact, I never felt comfortable enough to get undressed again, so I laid with my jacket and all still on.

For what felt like several hours I stared at the ceiling, replaying the events that led up to me laying on a bed in the Demon Lord’s Stronghold, lackadaisical. Even though I had lived through them, none of it made the tiniest bit of sense to me

“Betrothed? Courting?”

Several times I repeated those words Lillim had said to myself that they slowly made even less sense. And honestly the more I thought of her actions and mannerisms it seemed as if she was so confident in herself and her ideas. That was until we almost… kissed. At that point, she shrunk down on her own and tried to escape. Was it possible she was confident in the concept of love, but not the practice?

Yet another item on my ever-growing list of concerns I had acquired recently.

I sighed and swung my legs off the bed and sat still for a moment. An idea had crossed my mind several times so far that night, but I had quelled it at each encounter.

But now, it was winning out with my curiosity.

Quietly but with great haste, I made my way to the door and slipped out.

Several halls and doors leading to the wrong destination, I passed in frustration. But as my quest guided me upward, I finally made it to a large door at what I was assuming was the tallest point of the spire. Though my legs were indeed aching, I pressed on through as if it was nothing.

I did hesitate for a moment before quietly opening the door, making sure the noise it inevitably made was minimal. In the room glowed the pale moonlight that peeked in from behind the clouds through an open window that took up most of the far wall.

In the center of the pool of light was a large bed of silken white, crowned, and a sheer veil draped around it from the ceiling. It was hard to make out what exactly was in there, but through the slit of the veil I could tell.

I deftly made it across, making now sounds as I moved. As I approached the veil, I softly parted the two halves and slowly poked my head through.

Hidden amongst the sheets and numerous pillows littering the bed was a figure dressed in what appeared to be nothing but a rosy pink, thin nightgown. The fabric of the nightgown was large on her body, but currently hung tightly on her in all the places that accentuated her femininity.

It was clear by the magenta hair and black as night horns that glowed in the moonlight. This was the Demon Lord, Lillim.

One man might be tempted to have his way with this sleeping woman. To reach in, grab hold of her and subjugate her to his wills. But that was what any crazed man would do.

I, on the other hand, had made different goals.

As her chest rose and fell with each of her soft breaths, I made my way closer to her, retrieving the object I had pilfered on my way up from my coat pocket. Standing over her, I unsheathed the dagger from its scabbard.

Originally, I had planned on carrying the knife she had provided me with my meal, but I had found a better suitable blade on one of the many statued knight suits that lined the numerous halls.

Inspecting the blade, I found it to be sufficiently sharp enough to do what I had planned.

I raised my arms together with the dagger clasped between them high above my head. All I had to do was bring it down. Bring it down hard and fast onto her heart. And that would kill her.

That would kill her, right?

I struggled to get further than this in my mind. I always jumped from bringing the dagger in and skipping straight to escaping the tower as quickly as possible. Never had I actually imagined doing the deed.

But here I was, sweat dripping from every pore of my body as I struggled to move from this position.

Suddenly, I sucked in and began the swift movements of my hands downward. I hadn’t noticed I had done it until it was set into motion.

But as my arms began their descent, Lillim rolled over in her sleep. I was already hard on my path, and found it nearly impossible to change my course. That was until some sleepy murmurs slipped out from Lillim’s lips.

“Lawrence… I … love you… please…”

My arms came to an incredible halt. Suddenly, all the energy I had left me. I kept trying to raise my arms up, but that came to no avail. After several minutes of trying to steady my breathing and ready my mind, I was finally able to move my hands.

They reach down beside her and grab one of the many pillows surrounding her. Carefully, I lifted one of her arms and placed it on her chest. A soft smile spread over Lillim’s lips, and she began to embrace the pillow tightly, snuggling her face against it.

“Lawrence…” she mumbled again.

I let out a sigh of relief once more and sheathed the dagger. From there, I quietly paced my way back to the room set for me. Crawling into the bed once again, I stared back up at the ceiling. I think I got some sleep that night, but I am not quite sure.