* * *
The Crown Prince sat with his back straight as if in meditation and closed his eyes tightly.
Agitated by this detached attitude—as if he were preparing for his final moments—the demon snapped in a sudden outburst.
“Stupid! That is nothing but a fetus smaller than a fingernail! Such a thing could be miscarried at any time!”
“If that child were destined to die so easily, you wouldn’t be so hungry for its soul. Isn’t that right?”
“Th-that is…”
Struck where it hurt, the demon stomped his feet in anger.
He had been dreaming of taking a soul far more delicious than the Crown Prince’s, but with the Crown Prince behaving this way—when he had expected him to cooperate—the demon felt like he was going crazy with impatience.
To a demon, human souls were the source of magical power.
A demon could obtain a soul from a human through a contract, and they gained magic proportional to the potential of the soul they consumed.
Furthermore, human souls were the only things a demon could actually taste.
The more potential a soul held, the more delicious it was.
To John right now, if the Crown Prince’s soul was like chicken, the child’s soul could be compared to high-quality beef.
When gold bars are laid out before you, who in the world would be satisfied with the silver bars already in their hand?
It was especially impossible for a greedy demon.
Demon John could not give up on that delicious soul like this.
The fate of an unborn child rested in the hands of the parents.
Therefore, if the Crown Prince would not accept the proposal, he simply had to persuade that idiot named Joel.
From what he knew, Joel was stupid and simple, and he was so head-over-heels for the Crown Prince that he had chased him for over three years.
Someone like that would surely offer up even a baby in his womb to save his lover.
Realizing there was no need to waste time arguing with the Crown Prince, the demon hurriedly left the Crown Prince’s dream.
He then summoned Sir Bennet and ordered him to secretly bring Joel to the underground mansion.
The demon licked his lips greedily once more, waiting for Sir Bennet to bring his dull-witted child.
“How many times do I have to tell you for you to understand? If you want the Crown Prince’s soul back, give me that soul in your womb!”
“No. Take my soul. Otherwise, I’m not making a deal with you.”
Demon John held his throbbing head and let out a deep sigh.
Contrary to preacher John’s expectation that Joel would be easier to handle than the clever Crown Prince, Joel had been stubbornly insisting for over three hours that the demon take his soul and save the Crown Prince.
At first, Demon John patiently explained to Joel that his soul did not have an exchange value equal to the Crown Prince’s.
And just as he had done with the Crown Prince, he tried to tempt Joel by saying it would be a waste to let his lover vanish, and that he could live happily with him if he just gave up the baby’s soul.
However, Joel would look tempted for a moment, only to repeat without fail: “Ah… but, can’t you just take my soul instead of the baby’s soul?”
He had been so busy being jerked around by Joel that he hadn’t noticed until now.
Looking back, Joel had been speaking to him casually for quite a while.
“You idiot! Your soul is worthless! If I trade it for the Crown Prince’s soul, I’m the only one losing out!”
“Why is my soul worthless! I made half of that baby you want so much! Open your eyes and look again!”
When John raised his voice in irritation, Joel slammed the table and got even angrier.
John had made deals with countless humans since ancient times, but he had never met a human this selfish and slow to understand.
preacher John felt his irritation reach the top of his head.
His head ached and his mouth was sore from making up all sorts of sweet talk for three hours. He didn’t even have the energy to talk anymore.
Exhausted, John muttered to himself, “Ha, this guy is a real piece of work, isn’t he?” Of course, Joel didn’t back down for a second, snapping back, “You’re no picnic either. Are you introducing yourself?”
John no longer had the strength to deal with Joel. He checked the golden hourglass with tired eyes.
Now, the Crown Prince’s lifespan had only about three or four hours left.
It would be nice if he could negotiate with Joel even after the Crown Prince’s soul fell into his hands, but demons were naturally impatient beings.
There was no way he could exercise patience the moment he became able to devour the Crown Prince’s soul.
In that case, should he just be satisfied with swallowing the Crown Prince’s soul?
But the problem was that he couldn’t give up after seeing the baby’s soul wiggling right in front of him.
While John was staring at Joel’s stomach with lingering attachment, Joel suddenly spoke in a tone as if he were being very generous.
“Fine. If I can’t swap my soul for the Crown Prince’s, I want to offer you a different contract.”
“What is it?”
Worn out, John replied with the mindset of ‘let’s just hear what nonsense he’s babbling now.’
“I’ll give you my soul, so let me see the Crown Prince.”
At the absurd proposal Joel offered, John—who had been nothing but irritated—immediately looked interested.
Even if Joel’s soul was worthless, this was a deal where only he stood to gain.
“Really? You’re giving up your soul for just that? What are you going to do when you see the Crown Prince?”
Joel stared intently at the demon, who was showing a tempted expression for the first time.
He knew how foolish and stupid he was being right now.
But he was worried to death about the Crown Prince, and since this guy John wouldn’t let him see the Prince no matter what, he had no other way.
And honestly, he had a vague hope that if he met the Prince, explained the situation, and joined forces, they might be able to get through this.
Hiding those thoughts, Joel made up a smooth excuse: “I want to discuss with the Crown Prince first whether to trade the baby’s soul or not. If he agrees, I’ll give up the baby’s soul too. But if he refuses, I won’t sacrifice the baby to save the Prince either. And if he refuses, I want to stay by his side until the very end. I’ve died once, so I know—dying alone is a pretty miserable thing.”
“…If that’s the case, I have nothing to lose.”
“If you have nothing to lose, hurry up and bring out the contract. You said the Crown Prince doesn’t have much time left.”
“Fine. Let’s trade.”
And so, Joel made a contract with John, using his own soul as collateral. John seemed to be in a good mood after getting Joel’s soul for almost nothing.
When Joel worried, “What happens to this baby’s soul if I die before giving birth?” John informed him, “You have a long life left, so you don’t need to worry about that.”
Joel followed John, who had stood up, to the lower floor of the mansion.
As they descended the grand marble stairs, the number of torches on the walls gradually decreased until finally, the only light left was the golden hourglass floating beside John.
As he followed John down the stairs, a basement appeared before Joel.
It was funny that an underground mansion had a basement, but it was clearly a basement of the type commonly seen in ordinary houses.
When John opened the basement door, a barred cage inside was revealed.
Finding the Crown Prince slumped over inside the cage, Joel cried out in a shocked voice, “Your Highness!”
The iron door was open, and Joel ran into the cage and held the Crown Prince.
Totally focused on the Prince, he didn’t notice the iron bars clicking shut behind his back.
“Your Highness, Your Highness. Wake up.”
No matter how much he shook him, the Crown Prince’s closed eyes showed no sign of opening.
As the Prince’s head swayed helplessly at his touch, Joel got scared and placed his hand on the Prince’s chest. Fortunately, the Crown Prince’s heart was still beating.
“Why won’t His Highness wake up?”
When he turned back to ask John urgently, John replied in a relaxed tone from outside the bars.
“I wonder. Was the sleeping pill your father secretly gave him quite strong?”
Joel was appalled that his stupid father had done such a thing, but now was not the time to worry about that.
“Quick, wake the Crown Prince up.”
“Why should I?”
“What do you mean why? The Prince has to wake up so we can discuss whether to make a deal with you or not. Wasn’t getting my soul for a bargain price enough? Keep your promise properly!”
“I don’t know why I have to hear such accusations from you. You asked to see the Crown Prince; you didn’t ask to be able to talk with him, did you?”
“You scammer!”
Realizing he had been tricked, Joel ran to the bars and grabbed John’s collar, but with one simple gesture from John, he was thrown to the opposite wall.
When John gestured in the air, an invisible hand had grabbed him by the neck and tossed him.
“As I promised you, I will let you stay by his side until the Crown Prince’s time is up. Watch carefully as his pitiful soul turns into a single meal for me. If you want to save the Crown Prince, stamp your thumbprint there. And you’d better decide quickly. I have no patience, so I won’t wait even a single second once the given time is up. I’ve been hungry for too long.”
John sent the hourglass showing the Crown Prince’s lifespan and a single contract flying toward Joel. Then, he turned away with a satisfied smile.
From the beginning, he had no intention of letting Joel talk with the Crown Prince.
Since both the Crown Prince and Joel didn’t want to sacrifice the baby anyway, letting them wake up and talk would only provide them a chance to say goodbye.
Demon John, born with a cruel nature, did not want to show such mercy.
To induce Joel to stamp his print, it would be better to push him into a corner without even giving him a chance to talk to the Prince.
Dealing with Joel directly was such a headache that it was no longer possible.
John ignored Joel, who began pouring out all sorts of curses and insults, and left the basement with a light step.
* * *
