## Chapter 223 – Clara’s Depression (7)
Having barely regained their reason, they dressed and prepared to leave without exchanging a single word. They had sought each other out more than anyone else in the night, crying out in ecstasy, but with the dawn came a wave of shame, it seemed.
Of course, neither Clara nor Ryu regretted it in the slightest. Even if they could turn back time, they would make the same choice today. That was how much yesterday’s memories would remain a meaningful recollection for them.
Only after they had completely changed their clothes did Clara finally muster the courage to speak, smiling awkwardly.
“Shall we go back?”
Instead of answering, Ryu blushed and nodded. They naturally descended the stairs together, closer than they had been yesterday, and headed to the first floor, where the landlady, with her eyes bloodshot, looked at Clara coming down from above with an emotional expression.
Clara tried to quickly leave the inn to avoid her burdensome gaze, but the landlady spoke faster.
“My Lady Demon King… have you finally found your partner? I have no regrets even if I die tomorrow.”
Clara brought her index finger to her lips and made a shushing sound.
“Oh, what happened today is a secret.”
When Clara made her earnest request, the landlady nodded as if to say not to worry.
“Yes, I will take it to my grave.”
Only after receiving the landlady’s promise of secrecy was Clara able to breathe a sigh of relief and leave the inn. Clara cautiously spoke to Ryu, who was walking beside her.
“Um… I’m sorry about yesterday. I think I got carried away and went too far…”
In fact, Ryu had been rougher with Clara’s body. Clara had only roughly shaken her hips and diligently sucked on his limp member until it was erect again, but Ryu had treated her body like a toy, biting her breasts with his teeth, leaving kiss marks all over her body as if branding her as his own.
Even now, Clara was wearing clothes that covered her neck, not her usual comfortable attire, to hide the traces of yesterday from the eyes of others.
Ryu deliberately raised his voice to prevent Clara from blaming herself.
“I’m fine. And I was happy to see a new side of you, Lady Clara.”
Clara puffed out her cheeks, unbecoming of her age, and spoke in a dissatisfied voice, but to Ryu, even that appearance overlapped with yesterday’s and looked cute.
“You’re teasing me again, aren’t you?”
“No, I’m not teasing you. How could I ever tease the Demon King?”
Clara looked at Ryu, who had become docile again, and opened her mouth in surprise.
“Really… are you the same person as yesterday?”
“That’s because you seemed to like it when I did that…”
Talking about what happened yesterday made her feel like the marks all over her body were heating up. They were both thinking the same thing, and their faces flushed simultaneously. They couldn’t maintain their sanity if they talked about this any further. They had to get out of this village quickly before going back into the inn.
They walked out of the village at a slightly faster pace, and as they faced the vast meadow and the beasts leisurely walking across it, they were able to regain some reason. Clara walked on the grass, paused for a moment, and opened her mouth.
“Are you really not going to regret it? What if Acer finds out? Won’t you be in a difficult situation?”
Since there was already an agreement with Acer, Ryu spoke in a tone that seemed to say not to worry.
“It’ll be alright.”
Clara nodded hesitantly with a dubious expression.
“I’ll trust you.”
First of all, she, who loved peace, never wanted the Demon Kings to fight. If others found out that it was a fight that started over a man, the Demon King’s position, which should be dignified, could become ambiguous.
“I was thinking for a while last night after hearing about your past. What if I had been the one to meet you instead of Acer?”
It was something Ryu occasionally thought about when he met other Demon Kings and became close to them. Imagining what he would be like now if he had been saved by someone other than Acer was quite interesting.
Ryu didn’t urge her and quietly waited for her next words.
“It would have been good for sure. It would have been fun to teach you, who knew nothing, how to harvest crops, how to care for livestock, and how to manage the territory, one by one, right? And how to handle me too….”
Clara spoke carelessly, then shook her head, shaking off the lewd thoughts from her mind.
“Ah, but I don’t think I would have sent you to the academy like Lord Row.”
“Why?”
Clara gave a slight squeeze to their clasped hands and spoke in a slightly jealous voice.
“Because I’d be worried about showing such a cute kid to other women.”
Before Ryu could open his mouth, Clara took a short breath and spoke again.
“But no matter how many times I think about it, I’m glad I wasn’t the first to meet you.”
Clara looked flustered at Ryu, who was making a slightly disappointed expression.
“N-No, it’s not that I don’t like you! Rather, if I could, I’d like to be with you forever!”
Only after stuttering and finishing her explanation to Ryu was she able to continue with the next explanation.
“It’s just that if I had met you earlier, I would have treated you the same as the other children. Then I wouldn’t have known my own problems properly, and I wouldn’t have had the chance to think so deeply about the love I’ve given so far.”
“How is it now? Do you know for sure?”
Clara smiled brightly, bent her knees, and kissed Ryu on the cheek.
“Yeah, thanks to someone.”
“I’ll let you know again if you ever lose confidence.”
Clara hugged him so tightly that Ryu was buried in her chest and whispered in his ear.
“I’ll look forward to it.”
●
Clara cautiously opened the door to the villa where Acer was waiting.
“We’re back. We’re a little late, right?”
Acer could infer one thing from the sight of the two people, who hadn’t returned even after a day, holding hands tightly.
She let out a deep sigh, put her hand on her forehead, and muttered in a weak voice.
“You already did it…”
Clara, who had no idea about the complicated relationship and circumstances between Acer, Ryu, and Charlotte, was flustered by Acer’s appearance, as if she had noticed right away, and began to make excuses first. It was a protective instinct that came out of concern that Ryu might be at a disadvantage with Acer.
“Acer, what happened was…”
Acer reached out and stopped Clara from apologizing.
“Ah, there’s no need to apologize.”
Charlotte, who had appeared from behind, suggested.
“Wouldn’t it be better for Lady Clara to know as well? The more allies we have, the better.”
Clara, who couldn’t understand their conversation, tilted her head and let out a question.
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
Acer slumped into a chair and pressed her temples. Acer sat down and ate the refreshments prepared by Charlotte, and told her everything about the mission Ryu was carrying. Clara, who had heard something that was difficult to accept right away, had a bewildered expression on her face.
“I-I see. That must be tough.”
The Demon Kings all knew about the problem of the Outer Gods. Ryu was sharing the power to fight against them by having relationships with women? Clara couldn’t feel the change in her body right away, so it didn’t feel real.
Rather, what she could understand most deeply right now was that Acer was in a pitiful situation, being in a position to have her man stolen right in front of her eyes.
Clara was fortunate to be in the position of having just stolen him, but if Ryu had been her man from the beginning, she wouldn’t have been able to hand him over to another woman so easily.
In another sense, she felt that Acer was amazing.
At that time, Acer’s luggage came into Clara’s eyes. She couldn’t hide her regret and asked right away.
“Are you leaving now?”
“Yeah, I should be leaving soon. I can’t leave my territory entrusted to someone else forever.”
“I see… you’re leaving.”
Clara could say for sure that she would miss meeting Ryu. Seeing Clara looking at him with a melting expression and sending him a hot gaze, Acer took Ryu into her arms and grumbled.
“He’s my man. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t look at him like that.”
Had she unknowingly sent him a longing gaze? Clara quickly apologized with a flustered expression.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
At that moment, the door to the entrance burst open without a knock. At the same time, what appeared was Heart’s subordinate.
“Lady Clara!”
Everyone gave him a puzzled look. If something had happened, Heart himself would have come. Heart’s messenger, as if he had come all the way here without resting, barely opened his mouth in a breathless voice.
“O-Outer God…! Lord Heart is dealing with it right now, but…!”
At those words, everyone’s expression hardened. Clara instantly erased the silly smiling expression she had been wearing all along and asked back with an appearance that showed the dignity of a Demon King.
“Outer God?”
It didn’t make sense.
The place where Outer Gods mainly gathered and attempted to invade was District 2. That’s why it was also the district where Row directly managed the barrier. It wasn’t that it never happened in other districts like this, but it was a rare occurrence. She had never seen it happen even once since she had been enthroned as Demon King, let alone her predecessor.
“Guide me for now.”
Acer followed Clara, who was immediately preparing to leave.
“We’ll go with you too.”
Ryu wondered if it was his fault. He briefly thought about it, and unfortunately, he was right.
Even the Outer Gods who had lost their minds knew. In the first place, they were beings who had once been called heroes. They, who possessed extraordinary power, were instinctively feeling it.
The growth of a man who was gradually increasing his power inside the barrier.
The fact that the sword to punish them was being completed accordingly.
