The contact lasted maybe half a second. Still, both of us froze. The servant visibly horrified for reasons I didn’t understand. Unfortunately the younger brother noticed too.
“Oh,” he said wickedly, with a lopsided smile on his face. “Oh that’s progressing fast.”
Nina frowned. “Why did everyone react like they watched something illegal happen?”
Nobody answered. Which meant I was about to hate the explanation. My demon took the folded clothing from theservant instead before his expression tightened slightly. “Leave.” The servant disappeared instantly.
I crossed my arms. “No explain this .”
The younger brother looked deeply entertained already. “Physical contact between bonded royals in front of witnesses carries significance.”
I blinked once.
“…I’m going to need you to say that in less haunted wording.”
Nina gasped dramatically. “WAIT. Did we accidentally witness demonic flirting.”
“It was not flirting,” my demon answered flatly.
The younger brother faced him innocently. “You stared at her hand for three full seconds afterward.”
“That proves nothing.”
“That proves yearning.”
My demon was moments away from murdering his own family. He frowned down at the folded palace clothes in his hands. “What exactly counts as significant here?”
The younger brother answered. “Touching. Gifts. Public protection. Sharing food. Staying in private domestic spaces together.” Silence spread across the room . Then Nina faced me.
“…Eva.”
I already knew.
“Oh no.”
The younger brother lit up. “You accidentally completed about half of the ancient royal courting traditions before arriving in Hell.”
I covered my face. “I need everyone in this palace to stop talking forever.”
My demon quietly muttered, “I tried warning you humans were terrifying.”
Chapter 23
Eva POV
“I bought candles during a breakdown,” I informed him pointedly. “That should not legally count as supernatural marriage behavior.”
The younger brother remained deeply unconvinced. “You also fed him strawberries.”
“I was being NICE.”
“You offered him domestic fruit in a private residence.”
“That sentence sounds fake.”
Nina had doubled over against one of the velvet couches, laughing again, while the nearby palace servants seemed more alarmed with every passing sentence.
I couldn’t even blame them for reacting like that. I grabbed the folded palace clothes directly out of my demon’s hands before the conversation became more humiliating. “Okay. Great. Wonderful. I’m done learning things today.”
