"King?" I couldn't believe my ears as I gaped at him, wondering if I was hearing double. You know what happens whenever you believe you are hearing something, only for it to turn out you are hearing something entirely different.
"Yeah. What is your name, pretty?"
"Sera," I replied, still with a frown on my face as I wondered what the hell was going on.
Where the hell was the demon Lord I heard about? The one who will tear me to shreds the moment he sets his eyes on me? Where the fucking hell was he?
"Sera? What a beautiful name you have, my dear. I love it." He flashed a smile at me.
"Are you the king?" I asked once more, trying to understand what was happening because nothing was making sense.
Before I arrived here, I expected I would meet a tyrannical king who would yell, "Off with her head!" The moment I stepped foot into his throne room.
Who would have thought I would meet someone like him? Like what the freaking fuck is happening?
"Pardon?" He frowned at the question, looking offended by it. His blue eyes shone as he gaped at me. He looked like he was trying to figure me out, just as I was doing the same.
"Like the king of this place. Are you the one?" I looked around, expecting to see another king, one who would sit on a throne made of the skulls of all the wives that had been sacrificed to him.
Instead of such a throne, I saw one that looked ordinary, the only thing being the size. It seemed to have sprouted from a tree because of the leaves on it.
"Is that a dead tree?" I wondered aloud as I walked towards the throne. "That's a tree, right?"
It was then that I noticed the throne wasn't a chair like I thought it was. It was a short tree that looked dead. The leaves had all turned brown as if they were on the verge of falling off.
"Stop!" He blocked my path before I could proceed to the tree. "You can't go there," he said, his voice barely a whisper.
It made little sense to me, but he sounded scared. Squinting, I gaped at the man, still wondering if I was in the wrong place. Could I have taken the wrong direction and ended up in a different place?
What the hell is this place?
"Are you hungry?" He asked, bringing my attention back to him.
I squinted at his question, frowning as I looked around. "I don't think I'm in the right place. They sent me to the demon Lord. You know, the one that always eats his wives? Yeah, that's the one I'm referring to. Can you please direct me to his palace?" I demanded, keeping a smile on my face.
I wanted to leave as fast as I could. The more time I spent with him, the more likely it was for the damned Demon Lord, or whatever his name was, to choose another wife. I couldn't have that.
Not when I had already decided to join my parents. I needed someone to help me.
He looked pissed at my question. You would have thought I asked him to boil his mother for dinner with how dark his glare was.
For a moment, I felt something shift in the air. The mysterious glare on his face caused me to shiver as I rubbed my palm, wondering how his stare could be so freezing.
As suddenly as that look came, it disappeared. "Oh, I'm the one." He smiled, showing off that perfect dentition of his. "I'm the demon Lord. But as for the eating of the wife part, I'm afraid you have got the wrong person."
"Bravo!" I clapped my hands in glee, smiling at him. "Now, if you don't mind, can you please give me directions to the demon Lord's house? The one who eats his wives, precisely."
He looked puzzled by the question. "Why?"
"Why what?" I frowned, trying to keep my expression neutral. "I just need you to point out the directions for me. I'm not asking you to follow me, okay?"
"No, that's not it." He shook his head, still looking at me as if I had somehow gotten more than ten heads.
I had to touch my head to be certain it was normal.
"Then what's wrong? Don't tell me you are scared of him. Don't worry. You only need to tell me where he lives, and that's all. I won't tell on you," I promised, still smiling.
"Why do you want to go to him? Aren't you afraid of dying?" He whispered, "He's inhumane."
"Exactly! That's why I'm looking for him."
"What?!" He gaped at me. "Aren't you scared of him? Scared of having your head snapped out?"
"No, I'm not." Sighing, I ran my hand through my hair. "I'm not afraid of death, you see. That's why I came here. How else do you think I remained calm despite knowing where I was going?" I inquired, staring at him like he was a fool.
"I wondered about that. You weren't like the others who kept on bawling their eyes out. You are different," he mused, peering at me, his expression curious.
"Pardon? Who are the others bawling their eyes out? The other women who were sacrificed to him? Did you meet them? Were you the one who gave them directions?" I perked up at that, thrilled to know I was on the right track.
If he had seen them, it meant they walked through his palace to get to the home of the demon lord.
"… Well, you can say that." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Oh? That's great! This is wonderful!" I could barely keep my happiness to myself.
Had it not been for his height and size, I would have carried him up and twirled him in the air.
Finally, I was on my way to meet my parents. Soon, I would clash with the demon king, who would snap my head off and use it as a decoration for his throne.