Chapter 95: The Demon King’s Melody

Lamia heard a sound.

If her memory served her, the Demon King’s Castle had no such thing, no melodies woven from rhythmic words like rap, no gentle, power-devoid tunes the succubi might hum, ‘enjoying their demonic lives’ with songs pilfered from humans.

Such music was an affront to power-type demons.

Yet, a melodious, albeit slightly off-key, string melody drifted intermittently from beneath a large tree by the orphanage lawn. It wove together with the cicadas’ hum on a summer afternoon, a broken string carrying a naive persistence.

“What is that sound?”

Lamia paused, tilting her head to listen. A very peculiar sound—music. This sound was called ‘music.’

Most demons merely grunted or roared to flaunt their strength. Only a few would occasionally hum tunes they’d learned from humans.

To some demons, such powerless, soft melodies were an insult to their kind.

Wade heard it too. He pinpointed the direction and looked towards the large tree, where a child sat surrounded by various musical scores.

It was an instrument called a ‘guitar,’ a folk instrument that many children enjoyed.

“A guitar?”

Lamia repeated the unfamiliar word, her feet already moving unconsciously towards the source of the sound. Wade followed, as did Zelin, who had been watching them both from behind, maintaining a polite distance to join the fun.

In the shade beneath the tree, a boy of about ten years old sat. His skin was tanned dark from the sun, and he cradled a rather worn wooden guitar, strumming its strings with a joyful smile.

Around him were several sheets of music, clearly ancient. The paper was curled and yellowed, but fortunately, the notes upon them were still perfectly legible.

Lamia did not approach rashly. She stood a few steps away, watching quietly, her gaze fixed on the boy’s strumming fingers, then sweeping over the tadpole-like symbols on the music sheets, finally settling on the subtle vibrations of the guitar’s soundbox.

The boy noticed their gaze. He looked up, seeing Lamia and Wade, and then Zelin following behind. He found Lamia and Wade somewhat unfamiliar, but his eyes immediately lit upon Zelin.

“Mr. Zelin! What brings you here?”

The boy’s voice held a slight rasp, perhaps from being so engrossed in humming his tune.

“Ah, just, just out for a stroll, clearing my head.”

Zelin, still trailing behind Wade and Lamia, nodded politely to the boy, then to Wade and Lamia, his gaze finally resting on the guitar in the boy’s arms.

“Practicing?”

“Mhm!” The boy nodded vigorously, then his shoulders slumped. “But this chord is so hard; I always press it wrong, and the sound comes out muffled.”

“Oh dear… that’s quite a skill, isn’t it?”

Zelin offered an awkward, accompanying laugh, feeling a little self-conscious under Lamia and Wade’s curious gazes.

“You know this child?”

Wade looked at Zelin curiously, surprised that this playboy apparently had ‘connections’ even in an orphanage.

“Ah… yes, sometimes when I feel troubled, I come here to wander around, see the children and all. You know… when you grow up, you just start thinking—if only I could go back to when I was young, just for a look.”

Zelin scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed. His image was becoming less and less like the rumored playboy.

“Yes, I understand. Childhood is indeed worth remembering.”

Wade understood, but he didn’t often reminisce. He preferred to live in the present moment.

‘Childhood…? Hmm… going back to when I was young…’

Lamia listened to their conversation, pondering inwardly. But the more she thought, the more she suddenly realized that she truly had no childhood worth remembering—because she simply had never had one.

‘It seems I’ve been this way ever since I gained consciousness. I probably never had a childhood. I was born a Demon King, and I’ve been dealing with things like this ever since. So… I’ve been trying so hard for so long, huh. I’ve been a Demon King for this long, and I’ve always been recognized by everyone. It seems I’m quite amazing, actually~’

Lamia thought about it, and she didn’t feel sad about not having a childhood. Instead, she felt proud of always having been an excellent Demon King since birth.

Wade listened to her thoughts. Hearing that she had never had a childhood, he felt a slight pang of sadness and some concern for her mood. But then, as her thoughts shifted to pride, he could only smile helplessly.

Lamia’s gaze, however, never left the guitar. Even if she tried, she was still curious about the peculiar instrument.

‘It should be called a musical instrument, right…? I’ve never touched anything like this before. Demon Kings don’t need such instruments. So, besides the clinking of forks on plates, I’ve barely heard anything like it.’

So, she took two steps forward and asked softly, “Could… could I see it?”

The boy blinked, looking at Lamia, then at Zelin. Seeing Zelin smile and nod, signaling for the boy to let her try, the child generously handed over the guitar.

“Here! Big sister, can you play? It’s clean.”

“No.”

Lamia took the guitar, replying, “But I’d like to try, if I may.”

The guitar felt surprisingly heavy in her hands. Its wood was warm to the touch, and several spots on the neck and fretboard were polished smooth from wear.

“Of course you can! I hadn’t seen a guitar before I saw this one either. I only realized how interesting it was after I started playing. Big sister, if you like it, you can play for a while. My fingers are a bit sore from practicing just now.”

The boy wasn’t overly cautious. He shook his aching fingers, looking at Lamia expectantly, hoping she would figure out the tune he hadn’t quite mastered.

“Alright, thank you.”

After nodding her thanks, she mimicked the boy, cradling the guitar, and tentatively plucked a string.

*Zheng—*

A note rang out, not exactly melodious, even a little dry. Yet, the boy was delighted, as if he’d found a fellow instrument enthusiast.

“Hold it like this! Your fingers go here, this is the fret. Press here, then pluck this string with your other hand… that’s it!”

He eagerly leaned closer, beginning to teach Lamia the most basic posture for holding the guitar and plucking the strings. Children were often like this; once they learned something, and then found someone else who also wanted to learn, they would excitedly rush over, spilling everything they knew, afraid the other person wouldn’t grasp it.

Lamia learned with intense concentration. Her crimson hair fell over her shoulders as she bent her head slightly, her eyes fixed on the position of her fingers and the strings, adjusting her angle and pressure.

Wade and Zelin, unwilling to disturb them, leaned against another nearby tree, watching the scene. Zelin stroked his chin, saying with a hint of admiration,

“Brother Wade, your wife learns incredibly fast. I heard him say she’s never seen a guitar before, so she must be a sheltered young lady from a wealthy family. Yet she immediately understood how to hold and adjust the guitar. She doesn’t seem like someone touching a guitar for the first time at all.”

Wade didn’t speak. He simply offered a smile, then watched quietly.

Under the boy’s guidance, Lamia progressed from stiffly plucking strings to gradually producing several clear, distinct notes. Then, she tried pressing her fingertips onto the fretboard, coordinating her right hand to play simple single-note melodies.

Her speed of improvement was visible to the naked eye. This kind of focus and almost instinctive learning ability once again caused a subtle ripple in Wade’s heart.

‘Is it like this? First, put me here, then…’

Lamia followed the little boy’s instructions. She was nothing like a haughty, legendary Demon King. She even engaged in learning with a human child, despite being tens, even hundreds of times his age.

“Yes, just like that, Big Sister! Your hands are bigger than mine, so it should be easier for you to play. The bard who taught me to play the guitar before, his hands were bigger than both of ours put together, so he played incredibly well! When I grow up, my hands will definitely be as big as his, and then I’ll be able to play such beautiful tunes!”

The child recalled the bard who had taught him music, imagining his own future. He pictured himself, guitar in hand, traveling from south to north, singing the heroic tales penned by humans. This dream for the future was the romance of their childhood.

“Okay, I’ll try.”

‘The bigger the hands, the better the playing? Then, what about my Demon King form? A Demon King in armor holding a guitar…’

As she thought this, she subconsciously glanced at Wade, who was talking to Zelin nearby.

Wade noticed Lamia’s gaze and waved at her, signaling that he was still there, so she didn’t need to worry and could focus on her guitar.

‘Alright, I still can’t turn into the Demon King. If I did, this little kid next to me would probably be scared away.’

‘So—I just need to overcome it. I’ve overcome so many difficulties up to this point, so what’s a guitar? This is our Demon King, after all. No matter what she does, she strives to achieve her goal, working diligently until it’s successful.’

Lamia inwardly encouraged herself, her fighting spirit immediately ignited.

She quickly managed to stumble through the basic chord changes the boy had been practicing. Although her rhythm was unsteady and her finger pressure wasn’t firm enough, at least the melody was emerging.

“Wow! Big sister, you’re amazing!”

The boy exclaimed in genuine admiration, his eyes sparkling as if he had seen an idol.

‘It took me several days to get this far. Hmph~ I knew I was amazing. This is a piece of cake for me!’

Even though it was a compliment from a child, Lamia was delighted. She proudly lifted her chin.

She played the short tune again, and this time her notes came out more smoothly. The boy’s gaze beside her became even more envious.

Next, she continued to look down at the open, old sheet music. The symbols on it were originally foreign to her; she had never systematically studied music and didn’t know what the notes meant.

But combining the boy’s demonstration with the actual sounds from the guitar, her brain functioned like a high-speed analytical machine, quickly inferring and matching the symbols to finger positions and pitches. After all, she was the Demon King.

Since she was a dignified Demon King, how could she not deduce the meaning of these symbols based on the existing conditions? Decrypting codes was something she was naturally good at.

She extended her slender fingers, her movements becoming more stable. Her fingertips pressed and plucked the strings, trying to play through these few sheets of music. Her very first attempt was a success; a fluid and clear melody emerged from the simplest introductory exercise on the sheet.

As a short tune emanated from the guitar, the boy’s mouth fell open.

Wade and Zelin, who were watching, were also stunned.

*How long had it been?*

*A few minutes? Ten minutes?*

From touching a guitar for the first time to playing a complete piece in ten minutes?

“I say, Brother Wade, your wife is truly a genius, isn’t she?”

Wade was also speechless, unable to utter a word.

Sewing, cooking—these were relatively simple tasks that could be learned by following diagrams. But a guitar, music, these were more abstract, more ‘feeling-based.’ Moreover, for sewing and cooking, she had professional guidance. For this guitar, she had only received a few introductory explanations from a child, and she could already play it?

Lamia noticed Zelin and Wade’s astonished expressions. She smiled at them, completely unmasking her pride. Wade quickly snapped out of it, smiling back and applauding. Zelin also gave a thumbs-up, not stinting on their praise.

She then took a deep breath, refocusing her attention. After finishing the practice tune and observing the boy’s reaction and Wade and Zelin’s responses, she knew that she had understood what these notes represented. As long as she used this as a reference, the rest of the sheet music would be no problem.

Subsequently, she replayed the practice tune, confirming that her hands had found the ‘feel’ of the music. Her gaze then swept towards another slightly more complex children’s song on the sheet music.

She stared at the score, her brow furrowing in concentration. Her fingers moved, pressed, and plucked the strings. At first, there was some unfamiliarity and hesitation, but after only two or three repetitions, by the fourth and fifth time, a simple yet lively children’s rhyme was perfectly rendered, the entire piece unfolding beneath her fingertips, even imbued with a rhythmic quality she herself hadn’t consciously added—it sounded beautiful.

This was Lamia’s own thought. Her response told her that she understood. This was it; the rest of the music sheets would be no problem.

One could say she was arrogant, but it was undeniable that she was truly talented.

Lamia hadn’t listened to many songs. She didn’t know what this was called, only that it sounded cheerful, happy. Yes, this was music, music without borders, a melody that all people, and most creatures, could understand. Even though Lamia was not human and had not been exposed to this art, she could still understand the joy in the tune.

Wade, not far away, looked at her, his lips curving into a smile. He, too, felt the joy in the melody. He felt Lamia’s undisguised happiness and excitement at successfully reproducing the song. Music, it was truly magical.

Just then, several children playing nearby were drawn by the guitar music and ran over.

“Wow, a cool big sister has arrived!”

“This is… that one, isn’t it? ‘Golden Waves and Our Home’!”

They watched curiously as Lamia played. When they heard the familiar children’s rhyme, a little girl was the first to recognize the song’s name, excitedly tugging at the sleeve of the little boy next to her.

“I’ve heard this one too!”

Another boy on the other side chimed in.

“The nun sister taught us this before!”

“Right! I even sang it during last week’s performance!”

The children surrounded Lamia, chattering excitedly. Lamia looked at their eager faces and their ready-to-burst expressions, and she, too, smiled like a child. She took the sheet music and began the intro to the children’s rhyme, drawing them closer to her.

First, a little girl, following the rhythm of the song, sang out in her tender voice.

Then, another boy joined in.

Soon, clear, childish voices sang in chorus, accompanied by Lamia’s still-developing but remarkably accurate guitar playing, echoing beneath the large tree.

“Golden wheat waves, gently sway~

White clouds, like cotton candy, drift and play~

Let’s sing together, happy and carefree~”

The children clapped their hands, swayed their heads, and sang with joyful abandon. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled light on their smiling faces, on Lamia’s slightly trembling purple eyelashes, and on her focused, strumming fingers.

Just like a princess in a fairy tale with her children, not only did more children gather, but little birds also landed on the branches. They tilted their heads curiously, observing the large and small figures beneath the tree.

The old guitar in Lamia’s arms seemed to be infused with new life, no longer producing difficult practice notes, but melodies filled with innocence and joy.

Lamia lowered her head, her red eyes fixed on the vibrations of the strings. In her ears was the pure singing of the children. She found herself smiling along with them. The cheerful rhythm made her instinctively smile, until her lips felt a little stiff, and she realized she had been smiling so wide that her teeth were showing.

But she didn’t stop. The smile remained, and the music continued. In that moment, the heavy strangeness of her ‘Demon King’ identity faded considerably. She was like an accidentally older ‘child,’ clumsy yet earnestly engaging with this new thing, gradually filling the blank slate of ‘Lamia’ with these fragments of life.

Zelin nudged Wade with his elbow. “I never thought your wife would be so brilliant. You really married a treasure when you brought her home.”

Wade didn’t reply, he just smiled. He had previously regarded Lamia as a ‘hot potato,’ but now, his feelings were subtly different.

He watched Lamia play the guitar amidst the children’s singing, with sunlight and tree shadows dancing around her. Another small stone, named ‘possibility,’ had been cast into the complex emotional lake within his heart.

A possibility for the future of a demon and a human. And with this ‘Demon King’ identity, Lamia could live a life where she understood ‘perfection.’ This kind of perfection she possessed wasn’t just about enabling her to become a ‘Demon King who could turn wishes into reality’; it was also about finding happiness and joy for herself.

She could perfectly learn music because she loved it, and perfectly play tunes because she was happy. Your perfection shouldn’t be a burden to you, Lamia. You should be happy about it.

The children’s rhyme finished, but they weren’t satisfied and clamored to sing again. Lamia looked up at the boy who had first taught her, his face flushed and sweating from singing. She looked at him with an inquiring gaze towards the sheet music.

The boy excitedly pointed to the next page. “And this one! This one’s good too!”

Lamia nodded, her gaze falling back to the sheet music. Her fingers returned to the strings.

A new melody began, a little raw the first time, like she was still getting used to it. But it quickly improved, and the children’s laughter and singing once again filled this corner.

Wade leaned against a nearby tree, listening to the simple joy of the intertwined guitar and children’s voices, watching the focused purple figure. He suddenly felt that this afternoon, along with this old guitar, these slightly off-key choruses, and Lamia’s overly serious profile, were precious moments worth etching into his soul.

Beyond the grand conspiracies, heavy responsibilities, and opposing conflicts, there existed such simple moments that didn’t require many reasons, yet could soften the heart. And he wasn’t averse to sharing more such moments with his Demon King wife.

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