The Villainess Proposed a Contractual Marriage

Status: 5/week mon-fri

Illustrations: posted in discord

Meanwhile, in the reception room where the meeting was divided, Elphisia was eloquently continuing her speech.

"Though demons and humans are said to be enemies, at most there are only occasional small-scale conflicts. The wars with urgent exchanges have already become history book material. Of course, for most of you long-lived beings, it might just be a memory."

The High Priest, who had lived for a long time, twitched his eyebrow. But he kept his lips in firm silence, seemingly having no words to refute.

"Even if we declare a ceasefire, not much will change. Only the pointless conflicts will disappear. Neither race will lose anything."

"Will the humans follow the Empire's lead?" the Demon King raised a question. Still, Elphisia's answer was refreshing.

"They will. Absolutely. The leader of the human alliance is undoubtedly the Empire, and as long as lines aren't crossed, public opinion won't waver. The Empire will endure forever."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Though I hate to admit it, the child who's about to take the throne is wise. Probably one of the most notable in human history, short as it is."

Elphisia wore an empty smile. It felt absurd to her, acknowledging Yulian.

It couldn't be helped. That was Elphisia's true feeling.

Even if she hadn't been kidnapped by the Demon King in the past before the regression, she would have raised her hands to Yulian's strategies. The adult Yulian had sharply pierced Elphisia's expectations.

That's why she had to acknowledge the cheeky brat who had beaten her as the victor of the era.

"I can see that your words are true. However..."

Still, the Demon King furrowed his brow and rejected Elphisia's proposal.

"I see no compelling reason to mingle. There's no loss, but no gain either. Moreover, your proposal, coming from those bound to us by bad blood, rings hollow."

"I completely agree."

"...What?"

The Demon King asked in confusion at Elphisia's immediate agreement. However, Elphisia didn't rush to speak her next words. She just waited, stacking her hands like a tower.

"If there's no loss and no gain... then I should create a situation where there's no loss but there is gain."

Quite some time had passed since the substantial talk began. Elphisia firmly believed that the right moment was approaching. And as if answering her belief, the door to the reception room was flung open without warning.

Bang!

The intruder's entry was instantaneous.

"Haa... haa..."

"Letitia...!?"

The intruder was Letitia. She had beads of sweat on her forehead as if she'd run through the castle, forgetting her dignity. Her disheveled black hair and trembling dark eyes spoke volumes about her state of mind.

Good. Elphisia, certain of this, gave a soft eye-smile.

"Finally, all the main guests are here."

"What is this..."

While the demon side was experiencing bewilderment, Elphisia once again extended her proposal.

"Let's create mutual benefits."

---

---

Inside the reception room, now reorganized with the addition of one person.

Elphisia opened her mouth with a friendly smile.

"Did your reunion with your son go well?"

The Demon King made an expression as if he had goosebumps at her demeanor, which didn't have even a speck of hostility. But Letitia, who hadn't had a chance to look at her companion's face, responded with pure joy.

"Ah...! So you're the 'Vice Director' Glen mentioned. I've been wanting to thank you for taking such good care of Glen all this time."

"..."

"..."

Letitia's innocent statement simultaneously struck the hearts of two beings.

One was Elphisia, who had mercilessly abused Glen, and the other was the Demon King, who knew of Elphisia's past actions.

In truth, the Demon King had hidden the memories of the time before the regression, not wanting to upset Letitia. So from Letitia's perspective, Harte and Elphisia were nothing short of lifelong benefactors.

"There's no need to thank me. The one who actually took Glen in was him..."

Elphisia glanced sideways at Harte. At this, Letitia brightened and directly offered Harte a handshake.

"Oh, so you're the 'Director'? Glen spoke of you so proudly... Thank you so much for saving our child from danger."

"It, it was nothing..."

Harte hesitated but shook hands with Letitia. Since Harte wasn't involved in Glen's suffering before the regression, the Demon King didn't feel his insides burning up.

"I was truly surprised. Not only did you hide him knowing his background, but you even raised him like a minor nobleman... I don't know how to repay this kindness."

"...Letitia. There's no need to be so deferential. They only took him in because they knew."

"What are you saying? If they took him in knowing, that's even more reason to be grateful! Considering what royals of Baskhill go through in the human realm..."

"What I mean is... Hah, how should I explain this."

Letitia's reaction, unaware of the truth, was reasonable. If anything, it made the Demon King, who wanted to treat Harte's group coldly, look like trash.

But he didn't want to reveal the truth from before the regression and plant bitter guilt in her. This only deepened his dilemma.

"By the way, what brought you rushing here? I thought you'd want to talk more with the child."

"I have a favor to ask of you."

"Judging by how urgently you came, it must be an important matter. If it's not confidential, please tell us."

The ceasefire between the two races, which originally should have been negotiated over a long period. Letitia breathed a huge influence into this delicate meeting.

"I want to interact with humans."

"Letitia...?!"

"What."

It was like a spark in a powder keg. The Demon King and High Priest groaned simultaneously.

On the other hand, Elphisia revealed a moment of joy while covering her lower jaw.

"That's not impossible."

"This is ridiculous!"

"Starke!"

Letitia almost forcibly covered the Demon King's mouth. Then she began to recite her conversation with Glen.

"Our child... says he can't live in the demon realm."

"What..."

"He says he has too many precious people in the human realm now to move to the demon realm... He can't give up those people."

"That's a problem...!"

Just as he was about to say it's not a problem, the Demon King realized it was indeed a significant issue.

Normally, Glen's residence could be forced by the Demon King's will.

That's how royalty works. In exchange for vast authority, there's also an undeniable loss of freedom.

Nevertheless, there were two reasons why Glen couldn't be bound:

First, the man protecting Glen was humanity's last line of defense.

Second, he too was a husband and father to a woman.

Though he pretended to be firm not wanting to make Letitia anxious, in truth, the Demon King was also a parent who wanted to run and embrace Glen the moment he saw him.

Such a person wouldn't want to incur resentment from the blood relative he had just reunited with. But reality was always harsh.

"...Letitia. I'm sorry, but even I can't do anything about this. Even if we officially declare a ceasefire, interaction is impossible."

"Ah..."

As Letitia let out a sigh, Elphisia quickly interjected.

"It's possible. It'll just take some time."

"Really?"

Elphisia nodded firmly to the brightening Letitia.

"First comes the ceasefire. Then, after a certain interval, if the demon side proposes interaction first, extremely limited exchange might be possible."

This was a loophole in the Human Defense Agreement. While it was a violation for humans to express intent for interaction first, there was no clause about the opposite.

If demons were to open the channel first, agreement among the heads of state would take priority. Elphisia believed Yulian would handle that coordination well.

"How long of an interval..."

"At least 5 years. Generously speaking, you should look at 7 years or more. This is just an intuitive calculation, so I'll need to analyze it further."

"I see."

"Trust is like sediment, you know. It can't be helped if it takes a long time."

Of course, it only seemed long from a human perspective. For demons with their sense of time, it was just a moderate period.

In other words, to the Demon King's sensibilities, it was as good as saying he could properly face Glen in a short time.

'Though there's high variability depending on their political capacity, the plan itself is plausible. However...'

The Demon King was conflicted.

As Elphisia intended, there was no loss and there was gain. But this time, the problem was the lack of justification.

Any policy needs a justification to be implemented, but it was difficult to push for interaction with humans solely on the grounds of wanting to see one's blood relative.

Moreover, the gain was close to a bitter pill to swallow, so it was natural for his inner thoughts to be complicated.

"Your Majesty."

At that moment, Harte, who had been quietly observing, called out to Letitia.

"Did Glen talk about me a lot?"

Startled by the sudden change of topic, Letitia hesitated before speaking.

"...Yes. Half of his talk was about the 'Director'. Though our conversation was brief, it was clear how much the child respects you."

"Is that so?"

Harte turned his gaze to Elphisia. And Elphisia immediately recognized Harte's characteristic look of sheepishness.

Her husband was about to do something impulsive.

By the time she noticed and tried to stop him, Harte's lips were already opening of their own accord.

"High Priest."

"What is it, youngster?"

Resolving to honor the weight of respect he received from the child, Harte didn't hesitate.

"I will engrave the baptismal name vow."

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