MSH •

<CHAPTER 11>

The Cool-Headed and Rational Right-Hand of the Demon King

The day after Ehilie rejected Rek’s confession.

Even as the sun completely set, he did not come.

Well……

Being rejected for such a ridiculous reason, it was only natural.

She knew that, yet when someone who used to come every day stopped appearing, it felt strange.

“Did he start to dislike me?”

Startled by the thought, she quickly bit her lip.

Ehilie kept glancing out the window from time to time.

Whenever even a small sound came from outside, her gaze shifted to the door.

Before she knew it, night had fallen deep.

Why was the sky so dark today?

She stared blankly at the cloud-covered sky with not a trace of moonlight, then went to bed with a heavy heart.

The next day.

Ehilie began her day as usual.

But her thoughts were not the same as always.

Whether she was cooking or hanging laundry in the yard, someone kept coming to mind.

And once again, the day came to an end.

“He didn’t come today either……”

She murmured unconsciously, then flinched.

“What am I thinking? This makes it sound like I’ve been waiting for Rek all day!”

That would not do.

“Because you’re handsome.”

“……What?”

“Because you’re too handsome.”

Even when she rejected him, Rek had been gentle as ever, but at that moment, he had shown clear bewilderment.

His trembling red eyes and his lips parted in a daze.

She still vividly remembered how he staggered up with a shocked expression, and his unsteady back as he turned away.

The more she thought about it, the more her heart ached.

But……

She could not tell him the truth.

“Actually, I remember my past life, and this place is inside a dark 19+ romance fantasy novel I read, and I’m the heroine who gets toyed with by the male leads until she loses her mind, and I’m suspicious that you might be connected to those lunatics or be some dangerous mastermind.”

How could she ever say something like that?

Besides, she still did not know much about Rek.

His real name, where he lived, and why he was hiding his identity.

Amid all those questions, there was only one thing she knew.

That Rek liked her.

That much was certain.

The affection filling his red eyes whenever he looked at her could never be an act.

“Can someone really fall in love just because I let him stay one night?”

She could not understand it.

She liked Rek too.

But if asked whether it was love…… it was not.

Handsome, well-built, with a nice voice, and gentle.

Though his weak body worried her……

“Liking someone just for their looks isn’t real love.”

This was all because she had read too many romance novels in her past life.

She was not even a teenage girl, yet here she was, a grown adult longing for unconditional love.

Even she thought it was hopeless.

Thud! Crash! Thump!

A loud noise echoed from the chimney.

Something fell into the fireplace with a dull thud.

Inside, something covered in dust and soot squirmed.

“A crow……?”

A crow with purple eyes flapped its wings in surprise when it saw Ehilie.

After fluttering a few times, it suddenly trembled.

“You’re hurt.”

Though the dust made it hard to see, its wing seemed bent at an unnatural angle.

“I’ll have to catch it first to treat it.”

She picked up a nearby blanket and approached carefully.

When she got close enough, she threw it.

The blanket spread wide and fell over the crow.

She quickly wrapped it up.

“Caw! Caw! Caw!”

The startled crow struggled wildly.

She whispered as gently as she could.

“It’s okay. I’m not trying to hurt you. I’ll treat you, so just bear with it.”

“Caw! Caw! Caaaw!”

Of course, it could not understand human words.

“How do I calm it down? …Oh, right!”

She remembered a TV program from her past life saying animals see you as friendly if you feed them.

She carried the wrapped crow to the storage room.

There, dismantled corpses were neatly sorted by useful parts.

“Come to think of it, Rek organized all this……”

She remembered him struggling to cut a dragon corpse with a saw instead of a broken axe.

Her heart sank again.

“No! Stop thinking about Rek!”

Crows ate meat, so dragon meat should work too.

She held out a piece of black dragon tail.

The crow suddenly went quiet.

Its purple eyes seemed to shine.

“Here, try it.”

“Caw! Caw! Cawcawcaw!”

“Huh, you don’t like dragon?”

“Ghk. Gk.”

The crow chewed it like gum and glared at her.

It looked like it was saying, “Do you think I’ll fall for you just because of this?”

“It’s like a hissing cat eating treats.”

She chuckled.

Thanks to the cute crow, her mood improved.

* * *

“Do you think I’d fall for a human just because of this bribe?”

Herond lay in Ehilie’s arms, feeling the stinging holy power.

While she treated his wing, he gnawed on the dragon tail.

“I meant to sneak in through the chimney and hide.”

But he had slipped.

Still, it was fortunate.

His true form looked no different from a crow.

At the Demon King’s Castle, he stayed in human form for work.

This time, he had come as a crow to observe the human woman.

“This works out. I’ll watch her closely.”

To him, Ehilie did not look impressive.

White hair and blue eyes, like the humans who came with heroes.

“They call those Saintesses.”

Saintesses were tools to defeat the Demon King.

They sacrificed themselves using holy power.

Most died in the process.

“They’re basically suicide soldiers.”

Humans were hypocritical.

“There’s no way His Majesty truly loves a human.”

He decided to investigate her thoroughly.

“All done.”

Looking at his bandaged wing, he thought,

“I’m the cool-headed and rational right-hand man. I won’t fall for her tricks.”

“Want more dragon meat?”

“Trying to tempt me with food.”

“Caw.”

No need to refuse.

He nodded.

“Still, she’s not a bad human.”

* * *

Morning came.

Ehilie fed the crow minced dragon meat and muttered,

“Are we really going to drift apart like this……”

“Caw?”

“I hurt someone’s feelings.”

“Caw?”

“Rek… He’s kind and likes me… a good person. I can’t accept his feelings, but I don’t want us to grow distant……”

She sighed deeply.

Talking to a crow.

But that was why she could be honest.

“I didn’t want to lose him.”

But it was too late.

She had hurt him.

He would not come again.

She did not even know where he lived.

“Haah.”

The crow tapped her hand with its wing.

“Are you comforting me?”

“Caw.”

She gently stroked it.

Its soft feathers soothed her.

“So this is why people keep pets.”

Then—

Knock, knock.

A familiar sound.

She jumped up and rushed to the door.

She opened it.

“It’s been a while, Ehilie.”

Under the sunlight, Rek smiled.

“I had many things to handle, so I’m late. Have you been well?”

She stared at him.

All her words vanished.

Her eyes filled with tears.

“Ehilie? Is something wrong?”

“I-I thought you stopped coming because you hated me……”

She choked up.

He looked at her warmly.

“Don’t worry. Even if the sky collapses, I will never dislike you.”

She smiled faintly.

Then—

“More importantly, Ehilie.”

His gentle voice sharpened.

“What is that bird?”

His red eyes glared at the black creature in her arms.

Like a beast whose territory had been taken.