Chapter 5: The Happiest Husband in the World

What are marriage and love? They are power struggles! They are battlefields! They are wars without gunpowder!

In his youth, Wade had never understood why some elders described marriage and love in such stark terms. Now, however, he finally grasped it—it was undeniably true.

He had married the girl who called herself Lamia Talia… No, no, not a girl at all. She was the Black Demon Lord!

She had taken the form of a human woman, precisely locating him and intending to become his wife. The situation had been too urgent for him to report to his superiors, leaving him no choice but to use this method to stabilize her.

The war had already begun, and the Black Demon Lord was right beside him. This was a battle for humanity itself: either he would find an opportunity to kill her and crush the entire Demon Lord’s Castle, or she would find a chance to kill him, robbing humanity of a crucial combatant.

But… to stabilize her, was a mere marriage certificate truly enough? If this creature intended to integrate into human society and become his nominal, true wife, wouldn’t there be further steps? A wedding, perhaps? And then, a seemingly tranquil daily life after marriage…?

Now that they were married, a marital home would be next, along with new furniture. Ideally, the house would have three rooms: one for them, one for guests or for sleeping separately during arguments, and another for future children. Such was the typical rhythm of family life, wasn’t it?

—Ugh, wait, what was he thinking?

He was actually contemplating a normal life with a Demon Lord?!

[So this is a human marriage contract. How curious. Just a piece of paper, devoid of magic, yet it binds humans together for life, to stay with only one person forever. I thought there’d be some kind of mind-control spell involved; how else could anyone stay for an entire lifetime?]

While Wade was still tense about their current predicament, Lamia idly shook the marriage certificate in her hand. Though her facial expression remained largely unchanged, her mind had already begun its internal monologue.

Long-term companionship, it seemed, was genuinely difficult for her to comprehend. Setting aside what ’emotions’ truly represented, her primary issue was her incredibly long lifespan as a demon. With hundreds, even thousands of years stretching before her, it was hard to say if her thoughts would remain the same after centuries flew by, or if she’d still be interested in the same thing.

Even a favorite food would become tiresome after centuries, let alone a heart, which could change at any moment.

Upon hearing Lamia’s thoughts, Wade’s brow furrowed.

To even conceive of mind-control spells… she was truly a Demon Lord, evil by nature. Any talk of marriage and children was undoubtedly a disguise, merely a ploy to infiltrate humanity through him.

[However—it worked! I’ve finally become the White Knight’s wife. All my prior preparations were indeed worthwhile. I can’t believe it went so smoothly.]

…

Listening to Lamia’s internal declaration, Wade’s frown deepened.

After they received their marriage certificate, both of them had stood blankly to the side, neither moving nor speaking much. The others, busy attending to other newly-matched couples, hadn’t rushed to disturb them. Yet, even without direct conversation, Wade had already heard many of the Demon Lord’s thoughts, and had done much thinking of his own.

Smoothly… was it?

She looked like a petty villain whose scheme had succeeded. What exactly was she planning?

While he should, for now, keep her stable and prevent her from resorting to desperate, destructive measures—could he kill her?

Though it might expose his identity as the White Knight before everyone, if he could defeat the Demon Lord, his identity would no longer be needed in the future. Exposure, then, was acceptable.

Should he take her life while she believed her scheme had succeeded, while she was distracted?

Taking such a risk might genuinely offer a chance to resolve all these years of conflict.

[Alright… now that I’ve successfully reached the marriage stage, there’s something I absolutely must do next.]

Lamia still seemed to be gazing at the bustling crowd nearby, lost in her own thoughts, completely oblivious to the murderous intent about to ignite within Wade.

Wade, meanwhile, was meticulously listening to Lamia’s thoughts. The moment the Demon Lord harbored even a hint of wicked intent, he, as the White Knight, would find a way to execute her on the spot.

After all, as a knight, eradicating demons and saving humanity was his inherent duty.

[So next—]

Lamia’s unspoken words filled Wade with extreme tension. He had no idea what she would say next—what if it was some utterly inhumane declaration? As a Demon Lord, anything was possible.

[—Next, I shall make the White Knight the happiest husband in the world!]

…?

Eh?

What…?

What was her objective?

As Lamia mused on this thought, she even looked up at Wade, observing how his furrowed brows had momentarily relaxed in surprise.

“What’s wrong, hubby?”

“—Huh? What—? No, what?”

The beautiful maiden’s smile was like a warm spring breeze. Even though Wade knew the girl before him was no ordinary person, but rather the hateful Demon Lord in disguise, that gentle smile still made his heart tremble.

Coupled with the declaration, ‘I shall make the White Knight the happiest husband in the world,’ this dual assault was potent. Were it not for Wade being a seasoned knight dedicated to humanity, and already aware of her true identity, his favorable impression of Lamia might have undergone a drastic reversal right then.

“You… what did you call me?”

He already struggled to decipher Lamia’s thoughts, and with this rapid turn of events, Wade truly felt his mind was failing to keep up.

“Hmm—hubby?”

Hearing Wade’s confusion, Lamia thoughtfully repeated the address. This, of course, was something Lilith had taught her, along with many other terms of endearment for various situations.

After Wade posed his question, Lamia mentally reviewed the useful human customs Lilith had imparted to her.

[Could ‘hubby’ be wrong? Should I just call him ‘husband’? Or ‘my lord’? Uhm… I think there were also terms like ‘the one at home,’ and ‘dear,’ and… ‘Daddy’?]

[These humans completely mess up generational order! How could I call a human who’s centuries younger than me ‘Daddy’? It’s preposterous!]

Wade stood there, his heart practically seizing as he listened to the Demon Lord’s internal drama. He could endure the first few terms, but the later ones forced him to take a deep, calming breath.

“Is that address inappropriate? Then, dear—”

“—It’s fine, it’s appropriate, this is good.”

Seeing Wade’s silence, Lamia assumed she had used the wrong word. Fearing her insufficient understanding of human customs might expose her identity, she hastily tried to switch to another term. However, before she could finish, Wade cut her off.

Still, if he was satisfied, then there was no problem.

As Lamia spoke, she reached out and looped her arm through Wade’s, her feigned affection making her seem truly like a newlywed bride.

“Don’t worry, Wade—I will strive to make you the happiest husband!”

Lamia, believing this to be a kind of vow, raised her voice slightly as she spoke. The moment the words left her lips, everyone around them paused, turning to look at the seemingly affectionate Wade and Lamia. Some even began to cheer and whistle.

Witnessing this scene, Wade’s face instantly flushed crimson. He wasn’t sure if it was Lamia’s actions and words, or the collective gaze of those around them, but he wished he could hide under a table right then.

Oh, heavens…

Could even his mortified reaction be part of this Demon Lord’s plan?

She truly was… too malicious!