Nina narrowed her eyes. “What are traditional courtship gifts?”
Silence stretched for a second before he answered carefully, “…weapons.”
Nina blinked twice . “You know what, fruit feels romantic.”
I was still staring at the strawberries because he remembered. Something that small. Something completely unnecessary. And the quiet thoughtfulness behind it hurt worse than half the political disaster downstairs.
My demon stayed near the doorway instead of coming farther into the room, still giving me that careful distance like he was afraid of taking too much from me again, and the restraint made me want to drag him closer and yell at him at the exact same time.
One of the older council members lingering outside the door leaned slightly toward another and whispered, “He brought her strawberries again.”
“I can HEAR you,” my demon said flatly without turning around.
Neither ruler gave any sign of embarrassed. Actually, one of them appeared actively delighted by the entire situation, which felt deeply concerning for everyone involved.
Nina pointed accusingly toward the hallway. “You people are absolutely gossip addicts.”
“We prefer informed observation,” the older ruler corrected calmly.
“That is stalking with vocabulary.”
The ruler ignored her completely while still watching me and my demon with alarming interest. “He has never done a courtship offering before.”
My stomach dropped instantly. Slowly, I turned to my demon. His expression had gone completely blank in the way that meant he was internally suffering. Interesting.
“You brought me demon strawberries twice?” I asked carefully.
“They are normal strawberries.”
“That is not the point.”
The younger brother collapsed farther into the couch laughing while my demon was moments away from throwing himself into another dimension voluntarily.
Nina gasped dramatically. “OH MY GOD. The scary demon prince has rituals.”
“I do not have rituals.”
“You absolutely have rituals.”
The older ruler near the doorway nodded thoughtfully. “He once threatened a servant for moving flowers his mom gifted him.”
My eyes widened. “Flowers?”
My demon stared at all of them in utter betrayal. “Why are all of you speaking?”
The second ruler glanced at him sideways, “Because this is the most interesting thing to happen in centuries.”
For the first time since arriving here, I actually felt relaxed.
Before my demon could recover, palace servants entered carrying enormous silver trays covered with food. The secondthey properly noticed me and Nina, every single servant froze in place before the entire room dissolved into panic. One servant nearly dropped an entire tray while another bowed so fast he almost slammed directly into the floor.
I blinked in confusion. “Why are they acting like we bite people?”
The younger brother answered. “You’re the humans who perfectly compromised the royal family.”
“That sentence should not exist.”
One terrified servant placed a tray onto the table before whispering quietly toward another, “She’s holding his attention without magic.”
