The Little Demon King is Too Bothered by Her Brave Dads

The emperor was displeased, but he could not refute the argument.

The people of old Carolingian had no good feelings toward the Descartes Empire.

The Empire had allowed the Carolingians to fall.

Nonetheless, the former Carolingian territories became a part of the Empire because of the presence of the Empress and Lakius.

The royalty of Carolingian had all perished defending the country, and the people of the former Carolingian had followed and respected them deeply.

The Empress and Lakius were the only ones left with the blood of the royal family.

Now that the Empress has passed away, Lakius is the only one left. …….

And then.

I stiffened my shoulders in a panic.

‘Ah, no wait.’

I reflexively clamped my mouth shut at the fishy taste rising in the back of my throat.

“Cough, cough, cough!!”

A violent coughing fit erupted.

‘Again.’

I stared at the blood soaking through my hands through clouded eyes.

Apparently, the demonic energy had been a little quiet lately…….

“Tatiana?!”

A startled Siegfried grabbed my shoulder.

Behind him, I caught glimpses of a horrified Cesar, Kirios, and the emperor and the queen.

And Lakius looked like he was…….

‘Oh, dear, you must be very surprised.’

I clicked my tongue as I stared at Lakius’s pale white face.

But now that I’ve coughed up blood, I’m going to take full advantage of the situation.

“……Siegfried.”

I looked up at Siegfried, tears welling in my eyes.

“Tati…… is not a liar.”

At the sound of my thin voice, Siegfried’s eyes widened.

“Miss Tatiana!”

Just then, Cesar rushed through the crowd toward me.

Hey, you’re just in time.

I grabbed him by the collar with trembling fingertips.

Red handprints dotted the hem of his pure white shirt like stamps.

His gray eyes, always so gentle, were sharp.

“……your hands and feet are very cold. You need to be moved to a place where you can rest immediately.”

Cesar lifted me into his arms immediately.

In his arms, I mumbled in a hushed voice.

“Dear warriors, I don’t want you to worry about…….”

“Don’t say anything more, you need to be as calm as possible,” Cesar soothed me.

Something deep in my chest burned, like I had just swallowed a fireball.

Ah, it hurts like hell. Pain-induced tears trickled down my cheeks.

“But…… the second Prince called Tati a liar, and tried to hit me, and…… I was scared.”

Look, Cesar. He tried to hit me, and he accused me of being a liar!

That’s why I’m under so much mental stress, and that’s why I look like this!

Will you punish that jerk, Rudolph?

I looked up at Cesar with a desperate gaze before my vision faded to black.

* * *

Tatiana was immediately taken to the imperial guest bedroom.

The emperor offered to send an imperial physician, but Cesar quickly refused.

“I will examine Miss Tatiana myself.”

Cesar was so agitated that even the emperor had to back down.

The next day.

After examining Tatiana himself, Cesar narrowed his eyes and spoke.

“Her energy was out of balance.”

He couldn’t say the words ‘demonic energy’ in the imperial palace, so he mumbled it roughly.

The warriors understood the words well enough.

“I think it’s because she’s suffered a great mental shock.”

“If it’s a mental shock…….”

“It must be because of the Second Prince.”

Cesar’s voice trembled as he replied, unable to control the anger he was feeling.

“Tati…… is not a liar.”

“Dear warriors, I don’t want you to worry about…….”

“But…… the second Prince called Tati a liar, and tried to hit me, and…… I was scared.”

Her voice faded, as if she were about to die.

Kirios, who had been remembering everything Tati had said before she collapsed, muttered murderously, “How could that Rudolph bastard…… even think of hitting this little kid?”

Considering this was an imperial palace, it was probably best to be careful with titles.

Neither Siegfried nor Cesar gave Kirios a second thought.

“And to accuse the kid of being a liar, the damned bastard……!” Kyrios gritted his teeth again.

Cesar gave a short sigh and spoke again.

“At least the body was not completely unbalanced.”

“Oh, really?”

That was good to hear.

Turning to Kirios, who had brightened, Cesar nodded and replied, “Yeah. She should recover after a little rest.”

“……That’s good.” Kirios breathed a sigh of relief.

Siegfried looked down at Tatiana, who was still sleeping. Her cheeks were flushed with fever, her breathing heavy.

Suddenly, he remembered what he had said when he had brought Tatiana back from the Demon Castle.

“Instead of getting depressed and assuming that she’s already on her deathbed, we should start thinking about what we can do for her.”

To be honest, that thought hasn’t changed.

But–

“…….”

Carefully, Siegfried reached out and wiped the beads of sweat from the child’s forehead.

The child made a small, pained sound at the touch.

“Ugh…….”

“…….”

The golden eyes sunk deeply into silence.

‘This child must continue to suffer like this…… periodically from now on.’

The only way for the child to escape her suffering was to take control of the demonic energy herself.

However, even they, the undisputed heroes, cannot help the child control the demonic energy.

…. He had never felt so helpless.

Siegfried bit his lip until it bled.

And then.

A knock. A polite knock on the door broke Siegfried’s thoughts.

“What, who is it?”

Kirios narrowed his eyebrows and strode briskly toward the door.

Bam.

Kyrios opened the door, looking somewhat surprised.

“The First Prince?”

It was Lakius.

Judging by the paleness of his face, he was obviously quite surprised that Tatiana collapsed.

“Excuse me. How is Miss Tatiana?”

He sounded concerned.

Kirios shrugged.

“Well, better than she was earlier.”

“Ah…….”

For a moment, Lakius looked distinctly relieved.

Kirios blurted out his question in response.

“Is that what you came here to ask?”

“Kirios, you should go inside.”

Siegfried shoved him back inside.

After all, this was the one and only legitimate prince of the Imperial family.

It was not enough to keep such a prince standing in front of the door, to think that he would continue to ask questions like an interrogation.

Although, that probably means Kirios’ nerves are on edge…….

“Please come inside.”

“Thank you.”

Lakius stepped into the room, careful not to make any footsteps.

In the distance, he could see Tatiana lying on a large bed. She looked like she was having a hard time breathing.

A dark shadow fell over his beautiful face.

‘ … because of me.’

A child as delicate as an artifact made of glass. From what he has heard, Tatiana was very weak.

She shouldn’t be pushing herself.

It looked like that happened to her when she was trying to protect Lakius from Rudolph…….

“Maybe…… once Miss Tatiana has recovered a bit more.”

Perhaps that was why.

Lakius, who would normally have said nothing more than greetings, spoke on impulse.

“May I pay her a visit to say hello and send my regards?”

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

The three warriors quietly exchanged glances.

At the same time, they were convinced that they were on the same page.

‘I don’t like this boy.’

It wasn’t that they disliked Lakius, per se. No, it was more like they pitied him.

He was only eight years old.

The loss of his mother early on must have been painful, and he’d been left to fend for himself in the imperial palace under the watchful eye of the queen and the indifference of the Emperor.

And yet, Lakius was so unworthy of……

“First Prince……?” A weak voice called out.

It was Tatiana.

“Kid!”

“Tatiana!”

“Are you okay?!”

The three warriors rushed to Tatiana’s side.

She blinked a couple times, frowning, as if her vision was blurry.

Tatiana quickly nodded.

“I’m fine.”

Then she looked around with a feverish face, mumbling, “I heard the voice of the First Prince…….”

For a moment, the three warriors had a peculiar look on their faces.

‘Somehow it feels like we’re being robbed of Tatiana.’

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