Slave of the Demon King’s Castle 18

## Chapter 18 – Acer. Jealous # 2

“What are you two doing right now?”

Charlotte, only then noticing Acer entering the dining hall, nodded without a word.
Number 25 also put down the coffee he was drinking and immediately stood up, bending at a 90-degree angle to give a polite bow.

In response to Acer’s question, Charlotte began to speak.

“Number 25 said he was a bit hungry, so I was giving him a quick snack before breakfast. Is there a problem?”

“No… not really.”

There wasn’t a problem. Snacks were set aside in a corner of the dining hall so they could eat whenever they wanted. She had no intention of saying anything about him eating them.

“I’m sorry….”

However, Number 25, unaware of the situation, reflexively apologized.

What truly upset Acer was the fact that Number 25 didn’t rely on her first. From the moment she saw that, negative emotions began to bloom in Acer’s heart.

‘Why? If you’re hungry, you can come to me and tell me, right? I can feed you too. I’m your owner, but why do you only show that side of yourself to Charlotte? Why not me? I’m the one who likes you the most in this castle. You should like me too.’

She grew increasingly confused. Negative emotions consumed Acer, causing her to think in a way that was completely different from usual.

Acer stared down at Number 25, furrowing her brow and adopting an overbearing attitude without even realizing it.

“Didn’t you spend your whole life starving in a trashy slave market? Can’t you even endure that much hunger and eat before your owner?”

Acer harshly spat out words she didn’t mean to Number 25, her heart burning black with anxiety. Immediately after speaking, Acer regretted it, wondering, ‘What did I just say?’ with a look of dismay.

She tried to salvage the situation with a flustered expression, but once words are spoken, they’re like water spilled, impossible to take back.

Number 25 also began to tremble, looking quite bewildered. Sensitive to the emotion of ‘anger,’ he could sense the anger of others faster than anyone else. Acer was angry at him right now.

As a slave, angering his owner was directly linked to a threat to his life.

Charlotte, too, was more flustered than usual, not expecting Acer to say such things. Charlotte stood up and stood in front of Acer, asking,

“Why are you like this from the morning? I’m the one who brought him here because he didn’t want to eat. You should scold me instead… Did you have a nightmare or something unpleasant happen?”

If she were to say something unpleasant happened, it definitely had. But she couldn’t say it. Getting angry over such a trivial matter wasn’t something someone in the position of the Demon Lord should do.
Besides, she couldn’t say to Charlotte, ‘I don’t like seeing you with Number 25!’ Saying that would be the same as declaring, ‘I’m crazy.’

Acer couldn’t think of anything to say right away. She didn’t even notice Charlotte’s worried face.
Her eyes were only fixed on Number 25’s face, standing behind Charlotte’s skirt, looking as if he was about to cry.

Looking at that face made her feel suffocated, as if someone was squeezing her heart.
In the end, Acer chose to leave the scene.

“Never mind…. Let’s talk later.”

Acer’s sharply angled shoulders, along with the sound of her heels clicking as she left the dining hall, felt much smaller than usual.

Seeing Acer’s retreating figure, Charlotte immediately followed her. Although she was sad to interrupt her pleasant time with Number 25, her first priority was to stay by Acer’s side.

“S-shouldn’t I go too?”

Number 25 said with a tearful voice.

Having Number 25 come along in this situation would be counterproductive. Charlotte sat Number 25 back down and said urgently,

“Why don’t you look around the castle by yourself for a bit? Just don’t go too far.”

Leaving those words behind, Charlotte immediately chased after Acer.

There was only one place Acer would go. Charlotte headed straight to the third floor without looking anywhere else and knocked on Acer’s door. There was no answer from inside, but she could sense someone was there. Carefully turning the doorknob, she entered the room.

With all the blinds down and the lights off, the room was quite dark, even though it was morning. It wasn’t so dark that she couldn’t see an inch ahead, but it was difficult to make out shapes.

But even in that situation, she could spot one unusual thing that she usually wouldn’t see in Acer’s room.

Something was bulging out strangely in the center of the bed. When Charlotte carefully pulled back the blanket, she found Acer sitting inside, curled up with her knees to her chest.

She was aware that her actions reminded Acer of her impatience. But she didn’t know it would lead to this result. Charlotte took a deep breath and spoke to Acer.

“Demon Lord, are you alright?”

In response to Charlotte’s question, Acer replied with a listless voice, like a dying old woman.

“No….”

It was the first time Acer, who always tried to show a confident and bright appearance, had shut herself in her room and covered herself with a blanket, looking so depressed, as if she had become a little boy.

Charlotte sat next to her and tried to start a conversation.

“Is it because I was with Number 25?”

Since no one else was there, Acer revealed her feelings more honestly than before.

“Yeah….”

It couldn’t be just because they were together. There must be another reason, but she didn’t bother asking right now. She could ask about the circumstances later when Acer was in a better mood. Right now, the priority was to soothe Acer’s feelings.

Charlotte gently began to stroke Acer’s blonde hair.

The sight of the head maid comforting her master as if she were a boy was a situation that others couldn’t understand, but this was something Charlotte had often done for Acer since she was young.

“I told you, if you keep being so passive, someone might steal Number 25 from you, didn’t I? I’m deliberately showing you that I’m getting close to Number 25 to give you a sense of urgency. I would never think of laying my hands on your things first, so don’t worry.”

Acer rolled her golden eyes to the side and stared straight at Charlotte’s face.

“Really?”

“Have you ever seen me lie to you, Demon Lord?”

There were many times. But she didn’t want to argue about it now. Acer didn’t answer and buried her face back between her knees.
Charlotte came up with a good idea to comfort the depressed Acer.

“If you’re that worried, how about going for a walk with Number 25 in the back mountain? There’s a valley there, so wouldn’t it be perfect?”

At Charlotte’s suggestion, Acer’s eyes lit up and she raised her head, but she was soon frustrated by the wall in front of her.

“What about work then?”

“I can handle the work you do with my eyes closed, so don’t worry about that.”

The worries didn’t end there. Every time she thought about the harsh words she had said to Number 25 earlier, Acer’s own heart ached more.
She should have thought a little more before speaking, she shouldn’t have made Number 25 make that face… Regret washed over her every time that thought came to mind.

“Would Number 25 even like it if I went for a walk with him now?”

This is why a clueless person with no experience with men is tiring. Being afraid and not even trying is the worst, regardless of gender. Charlotte sighed and said in a slightly firm voice,

“How are you going to win a man’s heart if you don’t even try? Don’t you know the saying, ‘Only the brave win the handsome man’? And apologies are always better sooner rather than later. Just because Number 25 is a slave and you’re the Demon Lord, if you start putting it off for a day or two out of misplaced pride, the emotional rift will grow uncontrollably. By then, Number 25 will obey your commands, but he will never give you his heart. If you want that kind of relationship, then keep staying cooped up in this room like you are now.”

Acer’s eyes began to sparkle as she listened to Charlotte’s words, which she had blurted out without taking a breath.

Acer got off the bed and said to Charlotte in a brighter voice,

“Thank you, I think I see a way forward thanks to you.”

After finishing her words, Acer immediately went to find Number 25. Charlotte waved her hand, seeing Acer off.
Everything seemed to be going well.
Acer, who had regained her energy, and the two people who would soon have a good time.

As the head maid who must wish for the Demon Lord’s happiness, could there be anything more joyful than this?
But in the corner of Charlotte’s heart, a small seed of anxiety sprouted, that she might completely lose Number 25 to her, that Number 25 might not give her even a shred of a chance.