Prologue: The Demon Lord in Dismay
Prologue: The Demon Lord in Dismay
Cute giggles escaped the lone bedroom of the large, two-story house on the outskirts of Garaat. They filled the quiet, starry night as the nearby forest went to sleep, when only the rustling of leaves and the orchestra of crickets and cicadas should have been heard. The Scarlett children should have been long asleep, but this night was different than most.
“’Gain! Do the spinny ’gain!”
“You really love this dance, huh? All right, coming right up! Ready, Bram?”
“Let’s do it! Hold my hand tight, m’kay?”
The girls were having fun under the gentle light of the bedroom’s lamp. Looking over them with a mellow gaze was a white-haired, red-eyed young man—Anima.
“Here goes!”
“Time for the spinny, m’kay?”
“Kyahaha! So funny!”
His oldest daughter, Myuke; his middle daughter, Bram; and his youngest daughter, Marie. Simply watching over them was enough to put a smile on his face. His only wish was to keep watching them, always and forever. Unfortunately, however, life wasn’t quite so kind.
Luina had asked him to put the girls to bed while she brushed her hair. She was his wife, and he’d sworn to do anything and everything she requested of him. He’d sworn it, but he found himself enamored by the girls’ innocent smiles and cheerful giggles.
All good things must come to an end. Anima understood that the girls were excited because the next day was an important one, but nevertheless, it was time for them to rest. If they didn’t, the lack of sleep had the potential to pose a threat to their growing bodies. For their sakes, he had to bear the pain and put them to bed.
“Okay, girls. It’s bedti—”
“Daddy, come pay!”
“Of course! What are we playing?”
He broke. His resolution was wiped away by a single request. He couldn’t say no to the adorable little Marie asking him to play with her. He took her tiny hand, Myuke took his other, and just as they started dancing, the bedroom door opened.
“Oh, Anima…”
A beautiful woman with straight blue hair and gentle azure eyes entered the room. Anima’s wife, Luina, had walked in to discover her husband playing around with their kids instead of putting them to bed like he’d promised. At the sight of it, she merely smiled.
“Sorry,” Anima said with an apologetic look. “I couldn’t fulfill my promise. I wanted to put them to bed, I really did, but—”
“It’s okay. I’m not mad.”
“You’re not? Why? You have every right to be; I didn’t keep my promise.”
“I appreciate how much you love the girls,” she answered, still smiling. “It makes me very happy to know that you’re always so willing to play with them. I never want that to change.”
“It won’t. I’ll always be here.”
Time spent with his family was more valuable to Anima than anything else, so that was a promise he would definitely keep.
“Mommy pay too!”
“I’d love to! But this is the last time, okay?” Luina stepped forward and took the girls’ hands. They started dancing, and after a few full circles, they slowly came to a stop. “That was a lot of fun.”
“Uh-huh! You know, I did loootsa spinny with Myukey ’n Brum!”
“I’m glad you were able to play with them so much.”
“You’re a lucky girl to have such kind sisters.”
In response to Anima’s statement, Bram proudly puffed out her chest, her thick, silver hair fluttering as she did.
“Go on, let me hear those compliments, m’kay?”
“How ’bout you show some humility instead?” Myuke commented wearily, to which Bram cracked with a cheeky smile.
“Who, me? You’re the one who’s standing there all red and fidgety, m’kay?”
“I-I am not!”
“You totally are, m’kay?”
“Nuh-uh! What part of ‘I am not’ don’t you get?!”
“Uh-oh, she’s mad! I’m off to bed now, m’kay?!”
“You won’t get away from me! I’ll make you pay for mouthing off to your big sister!”
Myuke jumped on the bed after Bram and started tickling her. They both seemed to have been enjoying their little bicker-battle.
“Me too! Me too!”
Marie traipsed over to the bed to play with her sisters.
“Come here first,” Luina told her. “Let me comb your hair.”
“’Kaaay!”
Her hair had become ruffled and disheveled from all her playing just after getting out of the bath. Luckily, she loved having her hair combed by Luina just as much as she loved playing with her sisters, so she happily turned around and trotted up to her.
“Feels good!” she cooed with a contented smile. The soft brush gently gliding through her hair felt like it was petting her head.
“There you go, all done!”
“I’m pitty now?”
“Very pretty, just like a big girl.”
Marie burst into a big smile.
“I’m big girl!”
She rushed off to report the breaking news to Anima, who gently pet her head and confirmed that she most certainly was a big girl. The reason for her excitement was also what made the next day so important: it was Marie’s birthday. When she awoke the next morning, she would be four years old.
She had grown a lot since the first time Anima had met her. Moreover, her speech had become much clearer, even if there were still words she couldn’t pronounce correctly. It actually scared him somewhat to see how quickly she was growing. If she didn’t stop soon, she was going to grow up, get married, and the fateful day where she left Anima’s side would arrive before he had time to blink.
It was a sad future to come, but its shadow didn’t outshine the happiness of seeing her grow. Waiting for the next day to come filled him with excitement. After all, he and his family were going to celebrate the occasion by throwing Marie a birthday party.
A birthday party, huh? What a wonderful idea.
There was no tradition of celebrating one’s birthday in the world Anima was from, and even if there had been, not a soul would have celebrated the birthday of the tyrannical Demon Lord. If anything, the day he died would have been named a worldwide holiday. As a matter of fact, he’d lived half of his life without anyone who had so much as considered being happy that it was his birthday.
But things had changed. He’d found a family that loved him, and he wasn’t going to pass on the chance to celebrate his beloved daughter’s birthday. He was going to make Marie’s fourth birthday a memorable one, no matter what it took.
“I wanna pay s’more!” Marie sang just as he made that silent vow. Hearing that, Bram sprung up on the bed.
“I wanna play too, but we gotta go to sleep now,” Bram told her. “We don’t want you falling asleep in the middle of your party tomorrow, m’kay?”
“That’s right,” Myuke added. “What happens if you decide to take a nap and accidentally sleep in? You’ll miss all your presents! And you do want presents, don’t you?”
“I dooo!”
“Then will you be a good girl and go to sleep?”
“Uh-huh! I go night-night! Look!”
Luina and the girls watched as she hurriedly snuggled under the sheets and put her head down on the pillow, then commended her with a round of applause.
“Look at you, already able to tuck yourself in!” Luina praised. “You know, Marie, I got you a present for being such a good, smart girl!”
“Don’t worry, I got something for you too!”
“It’s okay to be excited for mine, m’kay?”
“Yaaay! I’m ’cited!”
Listening to them, Anima quickly went pale.
“Are you okay, Anima?” Luina asked. “You look sick.”
“I’m not.”
“Are you sure?”
“Completely. I cannot get sick.”
He smiled gently at her, but deep down, he was panicking like he’d never panicked before.
Presents?! What presents?! I don’t have any presents! He’d never known that he was supposed to get her presents, and the party was dangerously soon. His mind was racing; he couldn’t let himself go to bed for the night without first securing a present for Marie. I have to get something for her, and soon! B-But what should I get?!
He had to avoid disappointing Marie at all costs. Hurting her was something he simply couldn’t allow himself to do. He desperately wanted to find out what everyone had gotten for her, but asking them outright was out of the question. If he were to do that—or worse, show up empty-handed—his failure as a father would be revealed to the world.
“Seriously? You don’t have a present for her? Pathetic.”
“Daddy hasses me?”
I don’t want that…
He’d gone all the way to the capital and met the king himself to gain pardon for his run-in with Malshan. It had taken an incredible amount of work, but at last, there was nothing standing in the way of a peaceful life with his beloved family, and he wasn’t about to lose that. He had to get Marie a present—something that would make her happy. But what would he be able to find on such short notice?
There’s nothing I can do about it now; I have to get to bed.
As painful as it was, he had to fall asleep right away, lest the worst happen. If he overslept, he would miss his chance to act before the party.
“Goodnight, everyone.”
“Night!”
“Sleep tight, m’kay?”
“Night-night!”
“Y-Yeah. Goodnight.”
Anima pushed his troubles to the back of his mind and went to sleep.