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CHAPTER 08
#8. After Dying from Overwork, I Became a Princess of the Enemy Nation (8)
Erebos moved to a different room with Phobos.
Young Ares had just been sent to the garden to become friendly with the princess.
“Did you really have to ride in on a dragon?”
Erebos shook his head at this reckless duke.
Though Phobos was his dearest friend in the world, he had to look at him objectively.
A walking social disaster…
Phobos Ismenios was, in a sense, a dragon himself.
A lunatic who tamed dragons that even high-ranking magicians feared.
And, in his younger days, a partner-in-crime who once turned the entire eastern region upside down with Erebos.
Phobos pouted as if he were being wronged.
“Your Highness personally summoned the duke’s youngest to be the princess’s playmate! Obviously, I had to ride in on a dragon!”
“Really now… You’re all talk.”
“Well, I need to talk to breathe!”
“…I should stop talking.”
Erebos chuckled at the absurdity.
Phobos smiled at the lightness returning to his friend’s face.
“I’m glad you’re looking healthy again, Your Highness.”
“Yeah. Thank you.”
“And the princess looks well too. But… isn’t she a spitting image of Ria?”
“…”
Phobos was the only person in the world who could speak to Erebos so casually.
He was also the only one who could say the late queen’s name in front of the king.
“…Yes. She resembles Ria a lot. It’s fortunate.”
“I miss her.”
At Phobos’s blunt remark, the two men fell into silence.
There were many things they missed.
The radiant childhood and youth the three of them had shared.
The illusion that they would always be together.
The one who had left them.
Those who remained had to carry on, bearing the wounds.
Whether those wounds healed or not, time passed mercilessly.
It was Phobos who cleared his throat and spoke again.
“…But I heard the princess doesn’t speak.”
“That’s right. There’s nothing wrong with her body, though.”
“Could it be that before Ria died… those Halcyon bastards did something—”
“…”
Phobos shut his mouth.
The restrained fury radiating from Erebos was palpable.
Cursing his own slip of the tongue, Phobos rubbed his face.
If something else had happened while Ria was pregnant… Erebos would’ve ignored her dying wish.
And Halcyon would probably still be burning even now.
Phobos quickly changed the subject.
“Anyway, Your Highness! You should take a proper look at my youngest sibling.”
“Hmph.”
“Sure, he acts wild sometimes, but he’s popular among his peers, you know?”
“Wild, you say?”
“Well, our old man spoiled him a bit too much.”
The late duke was known for being strict with his children, including Phobos.
But he had been overly indulgent with the youngest, Ares.
That’s how he’d perfected that arrogant expression.
“Also, that kid already knows how to use magic.”
“You taught him?”
“Nope. He figured out how to ignite things on his own. Last month, I think.”
“That’s… quite impressive.”
Erebos looked surprised at that.
It’s not uncommon for demons to show minor magic from a young age.
But what Phobos had seen was on a whole different level.
That kid mimicked the firelight from a stove just because he thought it looked pretty.
Phobos hadn’t been happy at all when he saw that.
A power only royal blood should possess had appeared in a duke’s child.
And with the political climate still unstable…
If someone speaks carelessly, the entire family could be in danger.
More than anything, the young princess would constantly be compared to Ares.
Or worse, Ares might develop arrogant ambitions.
Better to have him grow up as the princess’s subordinate from the start, under Erebos’s watch.
The Ismenios family was loyal to the Demon King to the bone.
Phobos shrugged nonchalantly.
“It’s not like we’re at war anymore—what good is that kind of power? For a duke’s youngest, a quiet life is best.”
“Hmmm…”
“I may not look it, but I’m a pacifist. I’m done with unnecessary battles, Your Highness.”
“Haha.”
Erebos let out a low laugh.
This was the same man who once blew away an entire mountain of Charon.
Hard to believe he was now preaching peace.
So he wants to prove he’s not plotting anything.
Erebos smiled at his overly cautious friend.
“Well, Elysion needed a playmate anyway. Just make sure he knows his place.”
“What are you saying, Your Highness? They’re still kids!”
“I met Ria when I was three.”
“That’s different! You’re weird! You and that Epikus girl are the only ones who worship that wild tomboy like a goddess!”
“…”
“You’re completely blinded!”
“And you’re one to talk, Phobos. You didn’t ride that dragon here for the princess or me, did you?”
“…!”
Phobos’s face crumbled under the accusation.
“I—it wasn’t like that! I came in style just to meet the princess!”
“You didn’t come because Sir Epikus was assigned to guard the princess?”
“Your Highness, please don’t stab where it hurts…”
“You toyed with me before I got engaged, and now you—”
“That was just for fun—ack!”
As Erebos reached out a hand, a dark aura smacked Phobos on the back like a cane.
Clutching the back of his head and shoulders, Phobos cried out,
“Your Highness! Please avoid senseless torture!”
“Why don’t you say that stuff in front of Sir Epikus instead?”
“She’d slice me in half with her sword aura!”
“…”
“Do you remember how many mountains she’s blown up?”
There was no need to answer.
Erebos’s geography department had been overworked dealing with the aftermath, and they’d redrawn the maps five times.
Just as both men were shaking their heads, a hexagonal silver sigil appeared in the audience chamber.
It was a voice transmission spell used by the Epikus sisters.
—Your Highness! Forgive me!
“Lady Epikus, what is it?”
—There’s been a dispute between the princess and young Lord Ismenios…!
“…Oh no.”
Erebos clicked his tongue.
Anyone else might’ve just handled it under the Epikus name.
But with Phobos here, even the Epikus sisters would hesitate to act rashly.
Cursing himself for not delegating more authority, Erebos replied urgently.
“I’m coming at once, Lady Epikus. Phobos, you come too.”
“Aaaah, Ares…!”
Phobos let out a quiet scream and clutched his head.
Damn that little brat! How’d he pick a fight with the princess so fast?!
He’d brought him here to make friends, not to cause trouble.
All that nagging on the dragon ride over had clearly been useless.
Honestly, raising ten dragons would be easier than this!
But it was already too late.
Phobos followed Erebos, bleeding internally.
* * *
“…”
“…”
Let me try to describe the atmosphere when two kids with no connection are left alone.
It’s so awkward I want to run away.
Ares and I had been silently staring at each other since we arrived in the garden.
To begin with, I could barely remember playing with a friend.
After being locked up in the temple at age ten, I was always alone.
And now I was supposed to befriend the younger brother of a demon who burned down Charon?
Completely absurd.
Though, I can somewhat guess why this is happening.
The twin demons had clearly distanced themselves on purpose.
They must think I might open up more to another child, since I don’t speak to adults.
If I were truly “Elysion,” that kindness would’ve been touching.
But one day, I have to leave this place.
On the other hand, Ares looked equally grumpy.
All that stuff about singing to meet the princess must’ve been exaggerated.
Still, it’s a bit of a shame. He’d be cuter without that scowl.
He had the chubby cheeks of a child, but his features were already striking. A handsome little lord.
If I had my original body, I probably would’ve patted his head.
Anyway, what was he so cranky about?
“…Hey.”
And what gave him the right to talk down to me?
