I Summoned the Demon King and Got a Dad - Chapter 46

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

46. A Princess’s Duty Is Not Kidnapping (5)

 

The first person Elisia saw when she opened her eyes was Theodor.

 

Just facing him somehow made her feel strangely reassured.

 

Her whole body ached, but this much would recover quickly once her divine power returned.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

When she nodded at Theodor’s voice, he approached and supported her.

 

Shuria also rushed into her arms, sobbing.

 

“Teacher!”

 

Shuria seemed unharmed for now, but that alone wasn’t enough to put her at ease.

 

Elisia examined every part of her body, and only after confirming there wasn’t a single scratch did she speak.

 

“Shuria, are you okay?”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m sorry.”

 

“Why are you sorry?”

 

Because the person who hurt you is my mom.

 

But those words couldn’t leave Shuria’s lips.

 

Because Theodor had stopped her from speaking.

 

He hadn’t thought that Shuria would feel guilty.

 

But Elisia seemed to interpret Shuria’s silence differently.

 

“Protecting a child is the guardian’s responsibility. You don’t need to feel guilty about that situation.”

 

Saying this, Elisia gently wiped Shuria’s tears and patted her back.

 

As if that patting was a trigger, Shuria began crying loudly, and Theodor couldn’t bring himself to comfort her.

 

It felt like his fault for not telling her that all of this was caused by Reina, who had stolen her mother’s body, not her mother.

 

What on earth was the right choice?

 

To Shuria, who had no memories from before meeting Reina, she was the only family in the world.

 

Despite not being loved, Shuria had loved her in the end.

 

Theodor had initially intended to tell her about Reina’s true identity.

 

But to do that, Shuria would have to face all the past she had lost, and Theodor was afraid of that fact.

 

Because he didn’t want to see that bright smiling face, that pure smile, tainted with sadness and anger.

 

Was this just his own selfishness?

 

Or was it another way of wishing for her happiness?

 

He had believed that hiding the cruel truth was the better path, but now he couldn’t even tell what was right.

 

Theodor simply wished that Shuria wouldn’t be sad.

 

It hurt his heart to think those tears were because of him.

 

Before long, Shuria had fallen asleep in Elisia’s arms, exhausted from crying.

 

As Theodor smiled softly while looking at her, his eyes met with Elisia’s.

 

At her gaze staring intently at him, Theodor took a step closer to her.

 

“As your employer, I have a duty to feel gratitude and guilt.”

 

Saying this, Theodor bowed to express his gratitude to her.

 

“Thank you for protecting Shuria.”

 

It was the first time he had sincerely expressed such gratitude to someone.

 

That’s how grateful Theodor was to Elisia.

 

The entire situation had been orchestrated by the Magical Diagram.

 

But the reason that intention was possible was because there was confidence that Elisia would definitely protect Shuria.

 

“What, not to that extent. Anyone else would have done the same.”

 

Theodor would have done the same too.

 

But that was because he was strong.

 

That’s why Theodor thought Elisia was remarkable.

 

“No, it’s not something just anyone could do.”

 

At Theodor’s words, Elisia smiled.

 

It was the same smile as usual, but there was somehow a strange relief in that laughter.

 

Elisia met Theodor’s gaze and spoke.

 

“If you’re really grateful, let’s have a talk. Grand Duke.”

 

It was just one sentence.

 

But in the time it took to utter that one sentence, Elisia’s atmosphere had changed.

 

Her pink eyes were piercing through him.

 

He couldn’t even guess how much she had figured out.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

At Theodor’s question, Elisia smiled again.

 

Though it was clearly the same person, it was completely different from the smile she had made moments before – the smile of a person in power, filled with composure.

 

A princess is indeed a princess, after all.

 

“No, rather than Grand Duke… it would be more accurate to call you Demon Lord now.”

 

At Elisia’s words, Theodor let out a quiet sigh.

 

She was definitely a troublesome opponent.

 

Elisia was confident that he couldn’t harm her, and that was accurate.

 

Was it not intuition, but instinct?

 

“I’ve been asking from before, but what exactly do you see in me that makes you act so boldly?”

 

“I trust the Grand Duke’s human side.”

 

“A human side in a demon? Do you think that makes sense?”

 

“What’s wrong with that? It’s just one way of expression, and you understood what I meant, didn’t you? That’s also a human side.”

 

She still didn’t back down from a single word.

 

Should he admire that boldness, or feel insulted that he appeared so easy to her?

 

Or should he kill her right now and escape this place?

 

But the most important problem was that even while hearing such words, he didn’t feel bad.

 

Theodor eventually burst into laughter.

 

Why do both this one and that one act like they know him so well?

 

“So, what do you want to hear?”

 

At Theodor’s question, Elisia spoke.

 

“Why did you end the war?”

 

“Because I can’t be in the Mortal Realm as a commoner.”

 

Theodor added that he wouldn’t have done it if he had known it would be this troublesome.

 

“The reason you kidnapped Cantabile’s princess?”

 

Had she figured that out too?

 

“The princess made a wish, asking to become family.”

 

The matter of demon summoning had to be hidden.

 

Because he still couldn’t fully trust Elisia.

 

But at Theodor’s answer, Elisia nodded as if it made sense.

 

“Demon summoning?”

 

At her answer, Theodor’s eyes widened in surprise.

 

“How did you know?”

 

“Doesn’t it appear often in fairy tale books?”

 

Should this be considered fortunate?

 

Thinking that they had given magic too direct a name, Theodor roughly answered that it was correct.

 

At his answer, Elisia hesitated for a moment before speaking.

 

“Did you divorce Reina?”

 

Ah!

 

If he continued answering questions one by one like this, it would definitely never end.

 

Having made his decision, Theodor explained all the events that had happened to Elisia.

 

“…I see.”

 

After a while, having heard the entire explanation, Elisia understood the situation and nodded.

 

“So Shuria intercepted the Demon Lord summoning ritual that Reina created, and you became her father.”

 

“Right.”

 

Some compromise was necessary, though I had talked about summoning to a certain extent.

 

Although I had only discussed summoning to a certain degree, there was nothing about what would happen if I refused Shuria’s request.

 

“What was your reason for helping me? When there’s nothing in it for you.”

 

At first, it was certainly to erase Shuria’s magic power.

 

But now…

 

Theodor unconsciously avoided Elisia’s gaze.

 

“After I leave, someone was needed to protect Shuria.”

 

With that answer as the end, Elisia, who had been slowly going through all the situations, finished organizing her thoughts and opened her mouth.

 

“The Duke tends to create unnecessary trouble for himself.”

 

It was a conclusion without a single wrong word.

 

There were more than one or two things he had unnecessarily gotten himself involved in.

 

Theodor felt a little sad.

 

“I’m grateful though.”

 

Thanks to that, the war had ended, she could abandon her divine power, and she had also escaped the pressure of marriage to some extent.

 

And though Theodor didn’t seem to realize it, by Elisia’s standards, he was already a good family member and father.

 

That was also the reason she had trusted him.

 

She had become convinced that Theodor wasn’t a bad demon, and if his purpose was to become good family to Shuria, Elisia was willing to help him.

 

Because she still needed him too.

 

Elisia, who had risen from the bed, opened her mouth.

 

“From now on, I will help… assist more with the duchy’s affairs.”

 

At the awkward formal speech, Theodor burst into laughter.

 

And she says she’s going to teach Shuria while talking like that.

 

“There are many watching eyes and listening ears. Please speak comfortably.”

 

“Really? Thank you.”

 

As if she had been waiting, Elisia readily accepted his suggestion and smiled.

 

Theodor felt strangely like he had lost.

 

Usually, don’t people refuse once?

 

But Elisia, who had no way of knowing such thoughts, only smiled.

 

“If Shuria grows up well and you can return to the Demon Realm, I’ll take responsibility for Shuria.”

 

Still, that answer was reassuring.

 

If she stayed by her side, Shuria wouldn’t be lonely even without him.

 

So Theodor also decided to fulfill his responsibility to her.

 

“I will also take responsibility and remove your divine power.”

 

At Theodor’s words, Elisia extended her hand to him.

 

A contract, seal, or witness.

 

Such things weren’t necessary.

 

Because the two trusted each other’s sense of responsibility, humanity, and conscience.

 

They clasped hands.

 

The deal was made.

 

It was a transaction from an equal position, where Theodor’s opinion was accepted.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————