The Demon King's Beloved Daughter

14

"Our Yaya looks so cute." Luca's eyes brightened, wanting to hug his adorable little cousin, but a maid stood in front of Freya defensively.

"Young master Luca, forgive my rudeness but hugging my lady right now will rumple up her dress." With a stern tone, the maid pushed her glasses up.

Freya was wearing a pure white ball gown with the embroidery of silver butterflies. Her long cotton pink hair swayed every time she moved. When she saw Luca, she beamed and ambled over. It seems like both her uncle and cousin have arrived.

"Brother Luca looks very handsome!" She praised. She stared at her cousin's light blue hanfu and tilted her head, "But why aren't you wearing silver?"

(hanfu= a traditional Chinese attire from the Han dynasty.)

Luca was stunned at her question, he was searching for a reason before a voice came from behind, "He rejected the idea of wearing matching clothes with me."

"Rebellion stage, or are you shy?" A hint of amusement flashed through her eyes. Luca couldn't tell whether Freya was teasing him or was she serious from the innocent smile on her face.

"No...it's just too flashy." Luca sighed.

"...Uncle is indeed very shiny...but still handsome." Freya blinked at Andrew who was in a silver hanfu. There was a mix of grey so it looked fine, but it was very eye-catching. Will Oscar be a block of gold?

"What's with the talisman on your forehead?" Freya looked at the yellow piece of paper with the calligraphy '封' on it. If she didn't remember wrongly, it means seal in Chinese. Her uncle is sealing himself?

"We all have to wear the complete attire for Oscar's crowning." Andrew sighed. So that's why her dad was taking so long...

The crowning ceremony requires all the demon kings to approve of the new demon king. The banquet was delayed for a month because Freya was sick and Arche needed to take care of her. Other than that, Oscar was busy dealing with all the work that Maddox left untouched.

"Freya, come here." Andrew picked her niece up. The maids at the side had their eyes widened, their masterpiece! Freya saw their souls leaving their bodies and mouthed a sorry. They spent a few hours dressing her up, they've worked hard.

"Her dress..." Luca mumbled and sighed. Andrew let out an 'oh' and smiled apologetically.

They had to wait for another 10 minutes before Arche walked out of his dressing room. His face showed his exhaustion from putting on the layers of clothing. He disliked having people touch him so he wore all of his clothes on his own.

Freya glanced at her father, she felt her heartache for her father. She didn't have to wear it to know how heavy the ornaments and coat were. Arche didn't know what his daughter was thinking about or else he would've laughed. This little weight meant nothing to him.

He looked very attractive nonetheless, he even styled his hair. Arche's cape fluttered as he approached Freya. His exhaustion washed away when he saw his daughter, he took Freya from Andrew and into his embrace, "So cute."

"Daddy's handsome too." Freya beamed and rested her head on Arche's shoulder, finding a comfortable position. 

"How nice, she's willing to wear matching clothes with you," Andrew complained and pouted.

"Time to teleport." Luca heartlessly cut him off.

In a blink of an eye, they were at the banquet hall. The demons chattering away all went silent and bowed. Most of them couldn't help but peek at Freya out of curiosity. She was the only one who hasn't attended any social events due to her young age.

Freya remained indifferent to their gazes, she only burrowed her face into Arche's chest like a cat. But Arche misunderstood and thought she was uncomfortable so he shot a glare at the demons, making them lower their gazes. They ascended the stairs and sat down on the thrones prepared for the four demon kings.

Each had its respective color. Freya has her own little throne next to Arche but he didn't let her down so she remained on her father's lap. She gazed at the demons, some of them didn't have human form but she wasn't particularly frightened by their hideous appearance. Some of them had black holes as eyes while some had a few layers of razor-sharp teeth.

"Freya." Caiden's voice reached her ears as she turned over. Freya smiled and greeted him. The nine-tailed fox approached and patted her head carefully so that her ornaments won't be messed up.

He was wearing his usual yukata and his hair was styled most of the time so there wasn't a big difference. The only difference was that he wore earrings and held a black folding fan.

"How nostalgic. It's been six years since the last crowning." Andrew sighed. "Time goes by in a blink of an eye."

"Caiden ascended the throne at 17?" Freya's eyes widened while Arche nodded and said, "He's an incredible kid."

"Thank you for the praise." Caiden chuckled.

They started chatting while waiting for the main stars of today's banquet. Finally, after half an hour, Oscar and his family finally arrived.

"Freya!" The twins, wearing hanbok excitedly went up to her while she patted their heads. "Are you better now?"

"I am, we can play next time you visit." Freya chuckled. Since she was sick in bed, whenever the twins visited, they could only read together. "The ceremony is starting, go sit down."

The twins obediently went to their seats while Arche sat her down in hers. The ceremony started with the demon kings giving their approval in front of everyone. The demon king's authority then entered Oscar, making everything official.

The banquet started after that, Freya silently observed some of the demons turning barbaric. They started drinking and gambling, making a mess of the hall.

Freya who liked cleanliness due to her previous life averted her gaze and endured the urge to beat the crap out of those drunkards. Thank goodness, her father and the rest were civilized.

Only a few of the strongest demons were allowed to enter. There were no nobles in the demon realm, one's rank was decided according to strength.

The scent of alcohol drifted into her nose which made her retch. She hasn't fully recovered so she was sensitive to many things. Caiden saw her condition and picked her up, he informed Arche before taking Freya to the balcony.

"...sorry for the trouble," Freya mumbled.

"What are you sorry for? If you don't feel well, just tell me. Don't keep it to yourself." Caiden put their foreheads together, checking her temperature.

Freya let out a noise of acquiescence before snuggling into his chest comfortably. Being a child has its advantages, she liked the feeling of burrowing and snuggling in an embrace.

Caiden smiled and said, "Southerners are quite energetic. They're known for their friendliness and passion."

Freya kept quiet as she recalled the scene in the banquet hall. Her expression turned sour thinking of the mess. Caiden saw this and let out a chuckle.

"...it's too messy," Freya murmured and rested her chin on Caiden's shoulder. Caiden hummed and nodded.

They appreciated the silence, no one spoke. It wasn't until he felt it had been quite long that he asked in a soft voice, "Are you better now? Should we head back in?"

Caiden didn't hear any response from the girl and peeked at her, she was sleeping. His lips curved upwards as he sat down on the sofa at the corner. He waved his hand and a blanket appeared out of thin air, it draped itself onto the sleeping child delicately.

Caiden snapped his fingers and a book appeared in his hand. The banquet was going to last until morning, it was still nine, he'll wake her up at ten. She wouldn't want to miss the desserts.

Caiden lowered his tender gaze and kissed the top of her head, "Sweet dreams."