The first thing Sylas noticed that morning was that His Majesty was smiling.
The second thing he noticed was that the smile made him nervous.
Luceris Vael, Demon King, conqueror of the Demon Realm, inventor of the DemonOS, and public menace to everyone's peace of mind, was humming happily while scribbling glowing mana-code across a floating crystal screen.
"...Why is he happy?" Sylas whispered.
Caelum, carrying a stack of reports, didn't even look up.
"I don't want to know."
Enia closed a ledger with a quiet snap.
"I've learned something."
The three looked at her.
"When His Majesty is happy..."
She paused.
"...someone else's life becomes complicated."
"..."
"..."
"...Accurate," Sylas admitted.
At that exact moment—
"HAHA!"
Luceris suddenly sprang to his feet.
"I've decided!"
Every person in the room immediately felt a sense of impending doom.
Caelum pinched the bridge of his nose.
"What have you decided this time?"
Luceris pointed dramatically toward the doorway.
"Call Rex and Ria!"
Sylas muttered under his breath.
"...Poor children."
A few minutes later, the two young elves entered.
Rex bowed politely.
"Good morning, Your Majesty."
Ria followed a heartbeat later.
"G-Good morning..."
Luceris looked at them with undisguised satisfaction.
White hair.
Pink eyes.
Polite.
Didn't argue.
Didn't sigh dramatically every time he spoke.
Didn't tell him he couldn't sing.
Perfect.
He nodded to himself.
"Yes."
Everyone waited.
Luceris clapped once.
"I've decided to adopt you."
Silence.
Utter, absolute silence.
Rex blinked.
"...Pardon?"
"You heard me."
Ria looked around the room as though searching for hidden cameras.
"...Adopt... us?"
"Yes."
Luceris smiled brightly.
"I like you."
"..."
"..."
"...That's the entire reason?"
"Do I need another?"
Rex opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
"I... appreciate Your Majesty's kindness..."
"Excellent."
"...But we're adults."
"I noticed."
"...Adults usually aren't adopted."
Luceris waved dismissively.
"Details."
Ria timidly raised a hand.
"If... if we're adopted..."
She hesitated.
"...Do we call you Father?"
The room exploded.
Sylas doubled over laughing.
Caelum coughed so hard he nearly inhaled his own tongue.
Even Enia looked away to hide the twitch at the corner of her lips.
Luceris froze.
Father?
He looked at the two elves.
Then at himself.
"I'm..."
He frowned.
"...too young-looking to be called Father."
Sylas was still laughing.
"You are literally centuries younger-looking than everyone in this room."
"I know!"
Luceris thought very seriously.
"...Call me..."
Everyone leaned forward.
"...Boss."
Caelum immediately objected.
"No."
"Why not?"
"They're your children."
"They're adopted."
"They're still your children."
Luceris looked offended.
"I refuse to become old overnight."
Ria whispered to Rex,
"...Boss Father?"
Rex whispered back,
"...Let's... not."
Enia finally cleared her throat.
"Legally speaking..."
Everyone looked at her.
"...this is entirely within the authority of the Demon King."
Luceris snapped his fingers.
"See?"
Sylas sighed.
"Of course it is."
News spread through the palace in less than thirty minutes.
The Demon King had adopted two elves.
The reactions varied.
The dwarves nodded approvingly.
"Good craftsmanship deserves inheritance."
Nobody understood what that meant.
The vampires shrugged.
"As long as nobody adopts garlic."
The werewolves were confused.
"Can adults become puppies?"
Nobody answered.
The treemen needed three hours to process the information.
By the time they finished thinking about it...
The conversation had already moved on.
Meanwhile...
The two Grand Dukes met privately.
Veylar, the Vampire Grand Duke, sipped a cup of hot tea.
"I heard."
Vaelith Noctaryn rubbed his temple.
"He adopted two adults."
"...Yes."
Veylar looked thoughtful.
"...Honestly?"
"What?"
"I'm relieved."
Vaelith frowned.
"Relieved?"
"If His Majesty never produces an heir..."
He glanced around carefully before lowering his voice.
"...have you considered what happens?"
Vaelith became very quiet.
After a long pause...
"...The throne becomes... complicated."
"Exactly."
Veylar nodded.
"Our king is brilliant."
"He is."
"He unified the realm."
"He did."
"He modernized civilization."
"He has."
"..."
"..."
"...Do you honestly think he'll ever successfully court someone?"
Silence.
Very long silence.
Vaelith finally sighed.
"...No."
"I don't either."
Both men nodded together.
"The adopted children are good insurance."
Back inside the palace...
Luceris was proudly explaining absolutely nothing.
"So."
He folded his arms.
"My children."
Rex flinched.
Ria looked embarrassed.
Luceris continued anyway.
"You shall now represent the Demon Realm."
Rex blinked.
"...Today?"
"Yes."
"So soon?"
"Growth."
Ria timidly asked,
"Where are we going?"
"The Human Realm."
"Oh."
Luceris looked toward the room.
"Caelum."
"Yes."
"Enia."
"Present."
"You two escort them."
Sylas looked up hopefully.
"...Not me?"
Luceris smiled.
"You have paperwork."
Sylas almost cried.
The four left through the teleportation circle.
Luceris watched them disappear.
Then nodded to himself.
"They'll be fine."
Everyone agreed.
After all...
Enia was there.
Caelum was there.
They were the two most stable people Luceris knew.
Nothing could possibly—
Two hours later.
BOOM.
The office doors flew open.
Caelum stumbled inside.
His expression...
Was blank.
Utterly blank.
The kind of blank expression worn by soldiers returning from hopeless battlefields.
Luceris didn't even look up.
He was already coding.
Hundreds of glowing mana symbols floated around him.
"Hm?"
Click.
Click.
Click.
"I've almost finished the enemy AI..."
Click.
"...Needs better pathfinding..."
Caelum remained silent.
Luceris continued writing code.
"...Maybe explosive mushrooms..."
Silence.
Luceris finally frowned.
"...Caelum?"
No response.
He looked up.
Caelum stood there.
Perfect posture.
Perfect silence.
Dead eyes.
Luceris slowly put the coding stylus down.
"...Why do you look like that?"
Caelum inhaled.
Very deeply.
Then spoke in the flattest voice imaginable.
"...Your Majesty."
"Yes?"
"...The children are gone."
Luceris blinked.
"...Gone?"
"Missing."
"..."
"..."
"...Explain."
"We entered the capital."
"Mm."
"Enia negotiated with a supplier."
"Reasonable."
"I purchased lunch."
"Also reasonable."
"Rex and Ria wanted to photograph flowers."
Luceris nodded.
"...Still reasonable."
Caelum looked him directly in the eyes.
"When we turned around..."
A pause.
"...they weren't there."
Silence.
"..."
"..."
Luceris stared.
"They..."
His voice cracked slightly.
"...wandered off?"
Caelum nodded once.
"We searched."
"For how long?"
"Two hours."
"And?"
"We found..."
He reached into his pocket.
"...this."
It was a crystal phone.
Ria's.
Luceris immediately stood.
"...No."
The room grew cold.
Not because of magic.
Because everyone suddenly realized...
The Demon King was angry.
Not loud.
Not explosive.
Just...
Very quiet.
"Where?"
"The eastern market."
Luceris picked up the phone.
The gallery was still open.
The last photograph showed—
A basket of flowers.
A smiling little girl.
And, reflected faintly in a shop window behind them...
A man wearing a black cloak.
Watching.
Luceris's golden eyes narrowed.
"...Interesting."
Enia wasn't careless.
Caelum wasn't careless.
Rex wasn't reckless.
Ria wasn't irresponsible.
Which meant...
"This wasn't an accident."
Caelum nodded grimly.
"I believe they were taken."
Silence filled the office.
Even Sylas stopped breathing.
Luceris slowly placed the phone into his pocket.
Then reached for his coat.
Sylas hurried forward.
"Your Majesty."
Luceris fastened the collar.
"I'm going."
"We'll gather the army."
"No."
"The Grand Dukes—"
"No."
"The guards—"
Luceris smiled.
It wasn't a cheerful smile.
It wasn't even sarcastic.
It was the smile he had worn...
The day he conquered the Demon Realm.
"They stole my children."
Nobody corrected the word children this time.
Not one person.
Luceris adjusted his gloves.
"I only adopted them this morning."
He opened the teleportation gate himself.
Mana surged violently through the palace.
"I haven't even had time to spoil them."
The portal roared to life.
Luceris stepped toward it.
Then paused.
Without looking back, he spoke quietly.
"...Whoever thought kidnapping two elves connected to me was a good idea..."
His smile returned.
Bright.
Beautiful.
Absolutely terrifying.
"...is about to become tomorrow's educational example."
The portal swallowed him.
Leaving behind a silent throne room.
Caelum looked toward Sylas.
"...Should we warn the humans?"
Sylas considered it.
"For their sake?"
"Yes."
Sylas slowly shook his head.
"...Too late."
Far away, in the bustling streets of the Human Empire...
Someone was about to discover the single worst mistake they could have made.
They hadn't kidnapped two ordinary elves.
They had kidnapped Luceris Vael's freshly adopted children.