* * *
It was as if he didn’t want Lucifer, who acted as if he knew everything, to see his true feelings.
His lips, wet from the long kiss, trembled confusedly.
Hayden, who could barely move or speak, sighed in exhaustion.
He tried to keep his eyes open to stay sober, his eyelids fluttering frantically, but then seemed to lose strength, lowered his gaze, and let his hand, which had been clinging to Lucifer’s back, drop weakly.
Lucifer’s gaze shifted slightly at the detached hand and then returned to its place.
Thud.
Soon, Hayden collapsed weakly into Lucifer’s arms.
Lucifer’s eyes, which had not received an answer, rested on the small head.
The head resting on his shoulder was oddly light, and there was no sign of the calmly closed eyelids fluttering open again.
Only the sound of steady breathing regularly reached his ears.
“I suppose I’ll have to postpone getting an answer until next time.”
Along with the blurry voice, Hayden truly fell into an exhausted sleep.
*
“Ugh…”
Hayden, who woke up, squinted his aching eyes and frantically rolled his gaze.
As a small focus formed in his pale violet eyes, he seemed to quickly regain his composure.
The first thing that came into view was Lucifer’s face, sleeping peacefully to his right.
His face, sleeping as if dead, was flawlessly handsome.
He subtly raised his gaze and saw the full moon shining outside the window.
‘Morning…’
The sky over the Ocules Forest, where the Demon Lords’ castle was located, was perpetually shrouded in darkness, and only the full moon was always visible, with no daybreak, making it incredibly difficult to distinguish one day from another.
Demons claimed to know the time by the moon, but Hayden, being human, couldn’t even imitate it.
It would have been so normally.
Thanks to receiving Lucifer’s Seal, Hayden could finally see the needle engraved on the moon.
A faint purple thin line served as the clock hand inside the white full moon, indicating the 24 hours.
Although it was tricky to read, unlike a regular clock, because it displayed 24 hours, the moon clock was always beautiful and mysterious.
“……”
Hayden, whose attention was briefly stolen by the moon, subtly narrowed his brow and looked at Lucifer again.
Morning meant a full day had passed.
Looking at the handsome face that seemed never to have experienced morning puffiness, Hayden recalled the previous night.
His momentarily stiff brain instantly rehashed the memories.
‘Unexpected.’
He had expected Lucifer to call Liefel or another attendant to send him away, but Lucifer had kept him by his side for the night.
Since a Demon Lord allowing someone onto his own bed was significant in itself, it was clear that Lucifer was quite fond of Hayden.
However, Hayden wasn’t one to be satisfied here.
Hayden continued to slowly roll his eyes, as if still assessing the situation, and then gradually widened them, as if remembering the previous evening.
He then quickly inhaled and bolted upright.
His slender body fell ungracefully onto the floor below the bed.
Thump.
“Ugh.”
Despite not falling heavily, Hayden quickly covered his mouth and immediately examined his body.
His clothes and hair were pristine and soft, as if they had never been wet.
When he wiggled his hips, the torn hole ached faintly, and his waist felt stiff.
Normally, he would have complained about the terrible aftercare, but reminding himself that it was his first sex in a long time, the feeling wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
‘Anyway, I should run away first.’
It would be exceedingly strange to passively wait for the partner who had forced himself on him to wake up.
Hayden glanced at Lucifer on the bed.
He was still motionless, but Hayden was certain that the Demon Lord, who was sensitive to small noises, was already awake.
As if this was his chance, Hayden carefully stood up and headed toward the door.
His hobbling gait was a little comical.
Hayden grabbed the long doorknob like a savior, pulled it open, and quietly closed the door.
He saw Lucifer slowly opening his eyes through the slowly closing gap, but pretended not to notice and pushed the door shut to the very end.
Hayden sighed in relief, as if a secret mission had been accomplished, and quickly started running down the long corridor toward his room.
The corridor was also monitored by the Eye-monster.
“Haa, haa…”
[Magical energy, detected. Mammon… is… ap… proaching.]
‘What?’
Hayden, who was running down the long corridor as if being chased, frowned at the unfamiliar voice and turned the corner.
Bumping into someone coming from around the corner, distracted by the voice, was an added bonus.
Clutch.
“Eek.”
It was a light collision, but the rebound was unexpectedly strong.
Fortunately, the person who grabbed Hayden and kept him from falling prevented him from hitting the floor.
Hayden casually offered an apology before even properly looking up.
“You must be very busy. Running around like this first thing in the morning.”
At the light voice, Hayden lifted his head sharply.
It was Mammon, with dark hair mixed with deep purple, deep purple eyes, who insisted on his signature partially-split hairstyle.
‘What luck.’
He hadn’t even scattered the bait, and the fish had come to him on its own.
Let’s see, Mammon was the Lord of Greed, wasn’t he?
Mammon was a Demon Lord who greatly coveted what others possessed and was extremely stingy about giving away his own things.
That meant he had a nature to particularly desire what he couldn’t have.
This implied that it was necessary to first form a relationship with other Demon Lords to attract Mammon’s attention.
‘Shall I lay some groundwork first?’
His momentary confusion at the unexpected encounter passed, and Hayden immediately pushed away Mammon, who was firmly gripping his shoulder, and retreated.
Mammon examined Hayden’s blue-bruised wrist and swollen lips with his violet eyes, then subtly curved the corner of his eye in a knowing smile.
Hayden quickly hid his wrist by pulling his arm behind his back.
Mammon naturally continued the conversation as if he hadn’t seen anything.
“Our sacrifice is quite strange. Yesterday evening he neglected his work and disappeared. Today he’s running around first thing in the morning. Just like—”
Mammon’s gaze turned toward the corridor Hayden had run from.
“—a bride escaping after spending the night.”
Did he know?
Hayden, unable to hide his astonishment at the probing tone, conspicuously looked nervous.
His trembling, rounded shoulders were full of fear.
“I apologize… Please excuse me.”
Mammon, who didn’t stop Hayden from running away, rolled his eyes coolly and habitually covered his mouth.
“Vicious.”
Lucifer’s magical energy lingered heavily in the space Hayden had just left.
*
Clunk.
Hayden, who had opened the door to his simple bedroom and entered, slumped down weakly, leaning his back against the door.
The Eye-monster, which unreservedly captured the sight of him wrapping his arms around his trembling body and burying his face between his legs in distress, blinked.
Hayden quickly racked his brain.
Since the Eye-monster monitored from above, this was a more efficient way to organize his thoughts.
‘Why was Mammon in Lucifer’s area?’
It was a question he had momentarily postponed while laying the groundwork.
The Demon Lords’ areas were strictly divided.
Liefel had once explained that while the Demon Lords had separate lands and castles in the Demon Realm, since the area was limited in the Intermediate Realm, their territories were more finely divided within the castle.
Up to the fourth floor of the castle were common areas, and ascending to the fifth floor led to a circular area with seven entrances connected to portals.
Each Demon Lord occupied a space within a single spire, and the Lords rarely entered each other’s areas.
They could simply summon an attendant if they had business.
‘That voice is strange, too.’
In fact, what concerned him more was that voice.
Although the choppy, static-like radio voice was bizarre, it had clearly announced Mammon’s approach.
[Magical energy… detected. Liefel’s… teleportation magic, in progress…]
Yes. Like now.
“Hayden.”
“…!”
Hayden stopped his thoughts and lifted his head sharply at the voice coming from in front of him. Liefel was standing right there with a calm expression.
Hayden narrowed his brow and glared fiercely at Liefel.
This wasn’t the first time Liefel had arbitrarily entered his room using teleportation magic.
Although it didn’t matter if Liefel suddenly burst in while he was being monitored by the monster anyway, the premise was that Hayden was unaware of the surveillance, and someone suddenly appearing in his room was harmful to his heart.
“Don’t look at me so fiercely. I was the one who handled your missed duty last night.”
Hayden averted his gaze and showed an awkward expression, like someone caught doing something wrong.
Liefel shrugged indifferently and stated his business.
“There is a change in your duties. Asking about meals will now be handled by the kitchen staff. You have been ordered to use that time to further assist the Demon Lords.”
‘Was that Lucifer’s doing?’
In fact, going around asking about meals was secretly tiresome.
Since his work was reduced, Hayden was happy about it anyway.
“And there is one more special instruction from Lord Lucifer. He has commanded you to receive vital energy while attending to Lord Lucifer’s morning service every day.”
“Vital energy…?”
“It is a high honor. It seems Lord Lucifer is quite pleased with you.”
Liefel smiled, saying it was an honor, and offered no further explanation.
“You can come down to the dining room right away today. Ah, and visit Lord Leviathan’s office after your meal. It seems he has something to say to you regarding the missed duty.”
Liefel, who only said what he needed to say, exchanged a look and instantly disappeared.
Hayden covered his face with both hands and let out a long breath.
It wasn’t because he was tired, depressed, or annoyed.
‘Vital energy every morning…’
He had asked, pretending to be innocent, but the meaning was clear.
A smile soaked in pleasure surfaced beneath the white hands covering his face.
Hayden, who had reaped a significant harvest, had completely forgotten the question about the voice he had heard earlier.
* * *
OMG new chapters!! Thank youuuu🫡🫡🫡🫡