Demon King's Most Precious

Lulux

A day before, Brianna woke up.

In the pov of Alix Pangeran

I leaned back slightly on my chair and shuffled through the papers before signing the one on the bottom. I tapped the counter with my finger and sighed. This was too much.

My hands were full of reports regarding the increased magical beast occurrences and keeping the citizens at ease regarding Osharia. It seems like the magic concentrated there is leaking. We could live relatively at peace next to them before now, but now nearly every day, there is a two-meter lion with a flaming mane or a unicorn prancing around my kingdom.

I sighed once more and brushed my hair back from my forehead, and fiddled with the sleeve of the suit decorated with royal emblems of the Pangeran family.

Osharia has existed next to my country ever since there have been easily accessible records. The earliest records indicate that the monster country was founded over a thousand years ago after an empire called Krurus was destroyed. It is not clear who or what destroyed said kingdom. 

The details are shady, and as a kingdom that shares borders with the said country, it is quite troubling. 

No human has ever entered Osharia with permission. That is the problem. It is a country that almost nothing is known about. None of our citizens want to live next to the border, which leaves the area very unprotected as there are no cities nor towns. 

As the next king, I need to think about the threat the country poses, but there is nothing we can do. I don't know what I should do to protect my people. Is there even a way to establish diplomatic relations with a country ruled by monsters?

I was drawn out of my thought as a sharp knock could be heard from the door. 

"Please enter." The door opened, and a young man wearing a uniform stepped in. He was around my age with raven black hair and eyes. He had a blade on him, and as he entered, he bowed deeply in front of me. He showed me the utmost respect. As he could stay armed inside the castle, he was of a high rank. However, he wasn't a castle guard. He was someone I had to send out with a mission—my dear childhood friend and the Duke of this Kingdom, Oliver Baxter.

"Your Highness. I have come to talk to you regarding last time's case about the unusual movements of Baron Leontios." I gestured him inside. As I thought it was about that. 

I ordered surveillance on Baron Leontios as he was gathering high-class mages from around the kingdom. He doesn't have the rank to do such a thing nor the money, so it seems like he was rather desperate. He must have liquified all his assets to afford such a feat.

"Did something come about?" he nodded slightly and pulled out a document. I was getting worried. I had hoped he simply had trouble with a magical beast and needed help getting rid of it, but it doesn't seem to be the case.

"Yes, your highness. He was seen using the [[shackles of servitude]] on a young woman and left the royal capital with her on the tow. Your spies followed him, but they couldn't tail him further as he entered Osharia, my lord." 

I was shocked and fell into thought but then looked up to him. He couldn't be that stupid. They surely would not appreciate sudden human visitors. Those creatures don't like humans. They simply coexist not to cause problems, but they could crush us like bugs if they wished. Especially that true demon Zelron. It is problematic enough that a being like him unified those creatures and formed a country, but his hatred for humans is also famous. He doesn't think of us as anything more than irritable bugs. The baron really took a defenseless human woman to such a place?

I shook my head in worry and asked, "This young woman. Is she our citizen?" Oliver looked down, ashamed.

"We don't know. The spies didn't recognize her, but she wore strange clothes and had hair as bright platinum as the elves are rumored to have and eyes that looked like pure gold. However, the spies were certain that she is a human, even with such inhuman features." 

I sighed and nodded.

"So it is a fact that a human was taken to Osharia? Doesn't that break our agreements? No human shall be forced to monsters' lands as long as no human wanders into Osharia malice in their minds. Osharia shall not conquer others as long as they are allowed to live in peace. Those are the words passed down from the ruler of Osharia to humans. Those are the words that have kept us safe till now. A human indeed took her there, but under our agreement, she can't be harmed."

I bit my lip. Would Zelron go back on his word? No way. True demons are known for their inability to break promises. That doesn't mean they can't lie, and they are masters of finding loopholes, but if they state something as clearly as he did, there is no way he would break the promise first. There have indeed been human poachers that have breached Osharia's defenses, and that could, in theory, void our contract, but as we have punished all of them severely and he hasn't done anything about it, I doubt he thinks that as us breaking our promise. And it rarely happens anymore.

 Isn't there a possibility here? Hope-filled me, and I looked towards Oliver with excitement.

"I will send a letter to Osharia saying I wish to visit to lay down diplomatic relations as well as to inquire about the health of a human woman taken there against her will. True demons won't break their promises, which means the woman should be safe. I can use her as an excuse to get in."

Oliver's face warped as I talked.

"Your Highness! You cannot sacrifice yourself for something like that." I smiled.

"This is for our country. If I'm successful, we might finally be able to live peacefully next to that country. Making sure of our citizens' safety is the priority for me, and if I'm able to get a guarantee, a promise from him, we could finally be at peace. You know how true demons are with their promises. They can't physically break them. If I can get a promise from him, it would guarantee safety for our country. I need to do this." He bit his lip as he looked at me.

"But you are our next king. What will your father say?" I shook my head, silencing him.

"I have made my decision," I said to him firmly, and he could only accept my resolve to save the girl taken against her will and the will to protect our country.