Marcel’s words from before kept buzzing incessantly in his ears.
〈Your Majesty didn’t just pretend to be fooled—you even created a non-existent rabbit and made things bigger, didn’t you? If it’s an innocent spirit, it would believe those words wholeheartedly and might try never to speak for its entire life. Moreover, it might be disappointed if it finds out Your Majesty deceived it.〉
“If His Majesty wanted to drive me out, someone like me would have been kicked out of the castle long ago. But His Majesty… has been incredibly kind to me. Giving me delicious fruit, cake, and even entrusting me with managing the greenhouse.”
Good. It seemed he’d definitely scored points with Beni so far. Ruan inwardly cheered in triumph, though he tried to maintain a calm expression.
“You overlooked my identity as a beastkin half-breed and even took care of me instead.”
Beni’s face, which had been downcast, lifted. Looking directly at the Demon King, Beni approached him first. Ruan swallowed his dry saliva and, uncharacteristically, leaned back slightly. His heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst through his skin.
‘Ah, already? The construction isn’t even finished yet. Should I have Marcel prepare Beni’s quarters on the fourth floor first? For now, I’ll quietly prepare for the wedding, and by next month my physical condition will be completely stable, so we can have a grand wedding ceremony then. Then where would be good for the honeymoon? The Surface… no, that’s still dangerous. Then to the warm western region…’
In just one second, Ruan planned out a peaceful newlywed life with Beni in his head.
Beni approached right up to Ruan, and Ruan calmed his heart that was ringing all the way to his eardrums, waiting for the sweet words that would come from Beni’s mouth. With this flow, the words that would surely come from his mouth were obvious, and the proper sequence would be to affirm and make a formal confession.
After all, he’d said before that there was someone he wanted to take as a mate.
“It was all because I’m a rabbit… I mean, because I’m a rabbit and cute… that’s why you overlooked everything and were so kind to me, right?”
Being a rabbit, he was definitely cute. So many demons had cared for and loved him with one heart and mind. Besides, Ruan had directly called him cute before.
Ruan was flustered by words completely different from his expectations, but he couldn’t speak because they weren’t exactly wrong either. Of course, Beni was cute and angelic either way, but with those expectant eyes shining intensely at him, he couldn’t deny it.
“Uh, mm, cute and all. But it’s not simply for that reason…”
Ruan belatedly tried to add his true feelings, but it was too late. Beni knelt down right there and burst into tears.
Ruan panicked, bending his knees and roughly wiping Beni’s eyes with his sleeve.
“Beni! Why are you suddenly crying…”
“I, *sob*, I really don’t know how to repay this kindness. Even knowing I’ve been deceiving you all along, you treated me kindly and didn’t drive me out… Your Majesty is truly the kindest and most generous person I’ve ever met in my life.”
“Be, Beni… that’s not it…”
Deeply moved by Ruan who was still caring for him even now, Beni bowed his head all the way to the floor with his forehead touching the ground.
“From today… no! From the moment I entered this Demon King’s Castle, I’ll abandon the Ravencoat name and live only as Beni, Your Majesty’s servant! I’ll devote my entire life here to become Your Majesty’s useful servant! When Your Majesty dies… I don’t know if I’ll still be alive then, but if I am, please bury me with you!”
He’d heard before that loyal servants were sometimes buried in their master’s tomb when they died. Trellou, who had told him this, had once said that when he died, Beni should definitely ask to be buried with him too. Because of that, for a while Beni had hoped Trellou wouldn’t die.
It was only much later that he learned it was an old custom practiced only in ancient times.
But with the Demon King, Beni felt he really wouldn’t mind being buried together. That’s how much Beni was currently in a heightened state of gratitude and emotion toward the Demon King.
“Beni, being buried together… I’ll probably die the day after you die, so it seems impossible. Don’t cry, okay?”
Ruan tried his best to calm Beni down, but the more he did, the more it backfired. Even in the midst of this, Beni’s face turned bright red as he bit his lips tightly to suppress his crying sounds, which made Ruan feel sorry for him, so he gently patted his back, and Beni said:
“From now on, *sniff*, I’ll, in rabbit form, try to be cuter, I’ll try harder, Your Majesty…”
It was the moment “being cute” was engraved as one of Beni’s uses.
With puffy, swollen eyelids, Beni sniffled while sipping warm cocoa, wrapped in a blanket over his shoulders. Only after Ruan coaxed and soothed him repeatedly was Beni able to stop crying.
“What are we going to do about your swollen face?”
Ruan stealthily touched and played with Beni’s soft cheeks and traced around his eyes. Beni, who had been quietly receiving that touch, asked:
“Should I transform into a rabbit?”
“Suddenly?”
“I cried too much so I’ve become ugly…”
Ruan let out a low laugh and kneaded Beni’s face with both hands.
“Don’t say such things, Beni. You’re cute in any form.”
Beni felt heat rising to his face somehow and avoided his eyes. Just how much did he love rabbits? It wouldn’t be strange if he had a collection of rabbit-related items somewhere. With the tips of his ears turning reddish, Beni kept gulping down his cocoa.
“Beni.”
“Yes?”
“If you’re okay with it, I’d like you to become my personal attendant.”
So far, he hadn’t interfered with anything so that Beni could live freely as he wished. If he left him like this for his whole life, it seemed he would be satisfied as his servant and never have any greed or ulterior motives.
At the words “personal attendant,” Beni’s eyes widened and his cheeks gradually began to flush.
“Does a personal attendant work by Your Majesty’s side?”
He knew roughly what a personal attendant meant, but he didn’t know exactly what work they did. He could only infer that it was a position closer to the Demon King than greenhouse manager.
“That’s right.”
Ruan was about to continue explaining when he noticed the cup that showed the bottom after finishing all the cocoa.
“Should I give you more cocoa, Beni?”
Beni pondered for a moment before shaking his head.
“I’m okay. Thank you for the delicious drink, Your Majesty.”
Beni smacked his lips at the sweet taste still remaining in his mouth and tried to get up to clear the cup, but Ruan quickly grabbed the mug.
“I could do it… thank you…!”
Ruan responded with a smile and was about to sit next to Beni again but hesitated. That lovely face sitting on his bed and staring blankly up at him. As long as Beni didn’t have different feelings for him, he had no intention of touching him.
But for Ruan, it was far too difficult to just pass this sight off as if nothing was happening. Though Ruan was suddenly staring down at him intently without saying anything, Beni was only a little awkward.
Ruan pulled up the corners of his mouth mischievously and rolled Beni up in the blanket, falling onto the bed as if collapsing.
“Ah!”
Beni was startled by Ruan’s sudden action, but his body was rolled up in the blanket so he couldn’t struggle. When he came to his senses, Ruan was lying on his side right in front of him, looking at him. His breath tickled his cheek faintly, they were that close.
“Your Majesty… I shouldn’t be lying here…!”
The slender arms that barely escaped through the gaps in the rolled blanket fumbled over the bedding, trying to sit up. But that feeble resistance didn’t last long. Because Ruan firmly grasped Beni’s waist as if restraining him and pulled him forcefully toward himself. The body he’d barely managed to raise collapsed in an instant as if being sucked in.
“Why not?”
The low voice tickled his ear. Even though he was wrapped in layers of blanket, Ruan’s hot body heat and the silhouette of his firm body were vividly transmitted through it.
It felt like he shouldn’t move his body even a little. Even though he’d been held in Ruan’s arms many times in rabbit form, being like this in his true form felt completely different.
Just because the form had changed, a dizzying vertigo swept through Beni’s mind. If he raised his head, Ruan’s face would obviously be right in front of him, so Beni froze, unable to even raise his gaze. Ruan hugged such a Beni even more tightly, burrowing into his embrace and whispering intimately:
“You’ve already spent several nights held in my arms, Beni.”
