Chapter 39…
The Demon King Is Intoxicated by the Mirage Princess (Side: Yoan).
At the very top of the tower was a small chamber, where every night Yoan would pour his power into maintaining the barrier that protected the kingdom.
To be honest, Yoan didn’t care much about the fate of the kingdom itself—but if he thought of it as protecting the land where Felicia lived, his motivation surged.
And so, for more than ten years, he had continued this nightly routine.
The one always in his heart was Felicia. Everything he did was for her protection.
When he opened the window, a cool night breeze swept in. In the distant sky, one patch of light glowed faintly brighter—the lights of the royal capital.
That was the place he had both abandoned and been abandoned by in the past.
Closing his eyes, Yoan focused his consciousness on the barrier covering the entire realm.
The chill of the night air wrapped around him, sharpening his magical senses.
He pictured the barrier growing stronger in his mind and poured his magic into it.
Using magic consumed not only his mana but also his physical stamina.
Thanks to his daily training, this ritual was nothing difficult for him—but if fatigue accumulated, it could still take a toll.
However, ever since Felicia had come to the castle, such worries had disappeared. Likely thanks to her sweets and her embroidery.
Felicia claimed her magical power was faint, but it seemed her healing energy was particularly well-suited to Yoan.
(Felicia is a goddess in every way. She’s so beautiful, so precious, she fills my heart with warmth—and on top of that, she heals my body too. I want to grow stronger for her sake. Tomorrow, stronger than today; the day after, stronger than tomorrow—strong enough to protect her from anything that might harm her.)
Yoan furrowed his brow tightly.
Felicia seemed to believe that Yoan wanted to protect her merely out of gratitude for saving him, but the feelings he held toward her were unmistakably romantic.
When she had first saved him, what he felt might have been pure gratitude and obligation—or so he thought. But now, looking back, even that was doubtful. Perhaps the very moment he realized she had saved him, he had already fallen in love.
In any case, as he watched over Felicia’s growth through his familiar, the wish to repay her kindness slowly transformed into firm affection, and then into love.
Her pure heart, her earnest attitude toward everything, her kindness toward others—each was more than enough to make anyone fall.
And of course, her outward beauty, flawless beyond words, hardly needed to be mentioned.
Yoan became fully aware of his feelings when Felicia was betrothed to his nephew, Alexis.
At that time, Felicia was eight years old, and Yoan fifteen.
Realizing he had such emotions for a girl seven years younger filled him with self-disgust—but he couldn’t stop loving her.
Yet Felicia and Alexis’s engagement was already decided. The moment he became conscious of his love, he also knew he had to seal it away.
Even so, Yoan, who had never planned to appear before Felicia again, chose instead to continue watching over her from afar.
At all times, no matter what happened, he swore—and truly lived by that oath—to risk his life to protect Felicia.
That was why, a month ago, when he learned Felicia was to be married off to a lecherous count from a neighboring country, he couldn’t remain calm.
There was simply no way he could believe such a marriage would lead to her happiness.
