The sun had only just begun its descent behind the horizon, casting golden streaks across the estate's tiled roofs, when the air turned thick with something ancient—something wrong.
A quiet chill whispered across the rose courtyard.
The maids froze.
The birds vanished.
Even Drakana, mid-debate with Princess Seraphina about who knew Rei's blood type better, suddenly stiffened. Her dragon pupils thinned to slits, and she turned her head toward the distant gate.
Seraphina stood from her velvet seat on the garden patio, tea trembling in her hand. "What… what is this pressure?"
"It's her," Rosette muttered from behind Rei's chair, where she'd been quietly refilling his cup with imported hibiscus tea. "The final flag."
Rei blinked, still in his embroidered silk pajamas from the post-duel nap. "Uh. Her who?"
Before anyone could answer, the wrought-iron gates of House Eligos creaked open.
Not burst. Not shattered.
Opened.
With the leisurely ease of someone entirely unconcerned about opposition.
A woman walked through them.
No chariot. No infernal wind. No guards, no pomp, no thunder.
She simply walked. And the earth beneath her heeled like a loyal hound.
Clad in a gown woven from threads of living shadow and obsidian silk, the figure approached with the unhurried grace of royalty and executioner in one. Her pale skin glowed faintly under the setting sun, framed by hair black as starless night, cascading like a velvet waterfall past her waist.
Twin horns, curling like thrones of judgment, crowned her regal brow.
Her golden eyes, slitted like a serpent's, locked directly onto one person.
"Rei Eligos," she said, her voice a paradox of silk and steel. "My betrothed."
Rei's jaw dropped.
"Oh HELL no," Drakana growled, wings flaring out, knocking over a garden table.
"She cannot be here!" Seraphina stepped forward, drawing a rapier seemingly out of thin air. "This is the heart of Eligos territory. The royal estate! Who even let her in?!"
"She didn't need permission," Rosette murmured. "She's the Demon Queen."
Lilia appeared in a blur, her silver hair tied back, still wearing her ceremonial wedding rehearsal gown. Her hands glowed with high-tier healing magic, ready to reverse damage she hadn't yet inflicted. "Explain. Now."
Lucivella, Demon Queen of the Obsidian Wastes, finally halted five feet in front of Rei. She ignored the hostile auras bristling around her like a pack of wild cats.
Instead, she tilted her head slightly… and smiled.
It was not kind.
It was not sane.
It was absolute.
"I have come," she said, "to retrieve what is mine."
Rei gulped. "Uh. Hi. You're not lost or anything, are you?"
"No," Lucivella replied. "I have waited seventeen years for your soul to reincarnate. I have paid blood, time, and prophecy. I have converted ten thousand paladins into blood fertilizer. You, beloved, are the final piece."
"Piece of what, exactly?" Rei tried to stand. Rosette held him down by the shoulders.
Lucivella continued. "My eternal husband. My destined sovereign. The dark throne beside mine has gathered dust for long enough."
A second later—
A pink teacup shattered against Lucivella's cheek.
The tea didn't even stain her gown.
Seraphina's arm was still outstretched. "He is not your husband. He is my fiancé. We swore oaths at age five!"
"Blood oath trumps childhood pinky promise," Drakana snapped. "Back of the line, goat horns!"
Lucivella's smile didn't falter.
"Are you… rejecting my claim?" she asked mildly.
The air pressure dropped. Reality wobbled.
A hundred ghostly shadows rose from the earth behind her like phantoms of hell, each one armed, armored, and kneeling in silence.
"No need for drama!" Rei said quickly. "We're all friends here! All, uh… violently possessive friends who really need boundaries!"
Lucivella leaned down until her lips were inches from Rei's ear.
"I will give you three days, Rei Eligos," she whispered. "Three days to prepare your estate… for our wedding."
Lilia's eye twitched. "Wedding?"
Lucivella straightened. "You may all fight for second place, if you wish. I am not greedy. But he—" she placed a black-gloved hand on Rei's shoulder, "—will be mine. The final wife."
Rosette vanished.
Seraphina started murmuring to herself in royal high Elvish.
Drakana cracked her knuckles, literally summoning molten sparks.
Lilia was already flipping through wedding law scrolls, muttering, "Illegal… illegal… heretic clause..."
Rei slowly stood. "Listen, Lucivella. I appreciate the confidence. Really. But I'm trying to live a peaceful life. No murder. No dark empires. No surprise weddings—"
Lucivella placed a rolled parchment in his hand.
"Marriage License," it read.
Below it: "Signed by Goddess Eris."
"Of course she'd do this," Rei muttered, rubbing his face. "Of course."
"I'll see you at dinner," Lucivella said with finality, turning and walking into the estate as though she'd always lived there.
Not a single maid stopped her.
Not a single door resisted her touch.
Not a single girl in the garden exhaled.
The Demon Queen had arrived.
And she was already planning the seating arrangements.
To Be Continued…