Even the Devil Regrets it - Chapter 108

“The last proposal wasn’t real. This time, it is. Juliana, will you marry me?”

Juliana looked at Braeden, who was kneeling on one knee with his head slightly bowed. He waited in complete stillness, holding his breath for her answer, looking almost reverent.

She had not expected another proposal. The emotion caught her off guard and struck her heart with force.

Feeling tears threaten to rise, Juliana instinctively frowned, trying to hold them back. Her fingers tensed slightly.

Braeden noticed the small movement and raised his head. The silence had made him uneasy, and now, seeing the frown on Juliana’s face, his expression turned uncertain.

“Are you going to say no?”

He looked up at her in disbelief, his face crumbling. Even if they were already married, the idea of rejection still hit hard.

Juliana burst into gentle laughter.

“Of course not. Yes, I will marry you.”

Braeden let out a deep sigh of relief and slipped the ring onto her finger. He rose to his feet, speaking softly.

“If you had refused, I was going to keep following you until you said yes.”

His words made her laugh again. It all felt a little like they were falling in love all over again. Braeden leaned in and kissed her gently at the corner of her lips.

“Since I proposed again, I was hoping we could have another wedding.”

“A wedding?” she asked, tilting her head.

“Yes. A real one this time. I want to stand before God and make a promise with complete honesty.”

Braeden wanted to curse his old self for being foolish and careless, but instead, he kept it inside and smiled with quiet sincerity.

Juliana found the idea strange. It felt a little odd to hear a former demon speak of swearing truthfully before God.

Still, she understood what he meant and agreed with it. She also wanted their marriage to be genuine, free from any falsehood.

“Alright. Let’s do it. But nothing too grand. A simple ceremony here in the Citadel would be perfect.”

“Hmm. If that’s what you want.”

The way he hesitated made her think he had been planning something much bigger. She sighed quietly.

If others saw such a lavish event without knowing the full story, it might look excessive. She did not care about others’ opinions, but now that she understood Braeden’s true feelings, she did not want a flashy celebration.

“I’ll let you know once everything is ready.”

“Alright. I’ll be waiting.”

At that moment, Juliana had no idea that what she called a simple wedding would soon become a celebration for the entire North.

The Grand Citadel was alive with movement as preparations began for the wedding of the Grand Duke and Duchess.

Cheryl, who had been staying as a guest, planned to return to the capital after the ceremony.

She was not especially interested in the wedding itself. Her real focus was elsewhere.

The North had once been Belial’s domain, and Cheryl believed there were still treasures hidden throughout the region that she had not yet found.

Forming ties with the northern nobles would make it easier for her to get what she wanted in the future.

And something she had long wanted, something she had never managed to obtain, was hidden somewhere in this Citadel.

Using a walk as an excuse, Cheryl strolled near the inner court. From across the path, she spotted Lochlan walking toward her and smiled as she approached him.

The moment he saw her, Lochlan’s face went pale, but Cheryl ignored it and kept her smile.

“You’re hard to find these days.”

“Why are you even trying to find me?”

Lochlan answered curtly and tried to walk past Cheryl without stopping. But Cheryl quickly turned and began walking alongside him.

“Weren’t you heading this way just a moment ago?” she asked with a bright smile.

Lochlan stopped in place and looked at her, puzzled.

“People can change direction. It’s not that serious. Don’t worry about it,” she said with a wave of her hand.

Unable to argue with a former archdemon, Lochlan swallowed his irritation and resumed walking.

Matching his pace, Cheryl continued casually, “Have you thought about my offer?”

She was referring to the proposal she had made to recruit him. She had tried to entice him into becoming her vassal rather than staying under Belial. It was not the first time she had made such a suggestion, so Lochlan barely gave it any attention.

“I believe I already answered that a long time ago,” he replied flatly.

“But things have changed since then. Belial is no longer a demon.”

Cheryl’s voice grew soft and persuasive, subtly probing his thoughts. She had always excelled at finding and pressing weak spots.

Though she lacked physical strength, she was extremely skilled at manipulating thoughts and emotions. If Lochlan had not been bound to Braeden by deep loyalty, Cheryl’s charming, tempting voice might have worked on him.

“Do not waste your powers on me. It’s pointless,” Lochlan said coldly, shutting her down before she could press further. Then he disappeared through the inner gates of the citadel.

“Tch. That didn’t work,” Cheryl muttered under her breath, lips pursed.

She clearly had no idea that putting up a wall like that only made her more determined. The harder they pushed back, the more interesting the challenge became.

“Well, there will be other chances,” she said with a sly smile and started walking again.

That was when she ran into Juliana.

Cheryl’s eyes narrowed slightly when she noticed the small demon shaped like a flame floating beside Juliana.

“Good afternoon, Duchess,” she greeted smoothly. Her tone was overly formal, a clear sign that she was mindful of who might be listening.

“Marchioness of Clemence, out for a walk, I see,” Juliana responded with a polite smile.

Though Cheryl was far more interested in hunting for treasure than enjoying a stroll, she nodded calmly.

“Once I return to the capital, I won’t have the chance to see the beauty of the North again, so I thought I should take it in while I can. And that is…?”

Her gaze landed on Plaurus. The little flame-like demon flinched slightly under her stare.

He was invisible to human eyes, but Cheryl, a demon herself, could see the strong aura emanating from him. It made him instinctively shrink back.

“He used to serve the Grand Duke. These days, though, he seems to follow me around instead,” Juliana said with amusement.

Cheryl immediately understood. Of course he would avoid being near Braeden. Even just imagining being in the same room as him was suffocating. When those red eyes turned on you, it felt as if the world became a personal hell.

If she felt that way, this low-ranking demon probably had it much worse.

“Poor thing,” she said, clicking her tongue in sympathy.

Plaurus muttered under his breath, “My master is merciful. So merciful.”
(What a bastard.)

“…”

Cheryl was momentarily speechless, then quickly realized what was going on. She had heard of demons marked with slave seals before.

“Plaurus, thank you for always speaking so highly of the Grand Duke,” Juliana said with a bright smile, completely unaware that his words meant the opposite.

She even gave him a friendly nickname. Seeing this, Cheryl exhaled through her nose in disbelief.

So, he wasn’t pitiful after all. He was cunning.

“You’re doing that on purpose, aren’t you?”

When Cheryl asked, the flame-shaped demon shifted colors with every passing moment and replied in a cheerful tone.

“I can’t help it if I want to give a compliment.”

He had to curse in order to praise. And since he wanted to praise, he had no choice but to curse. That was Plaurus’s logic.

“I’ll give you a piece of advice. Be careful. Show off too much and you might end up dead,” Cheryl warned in a cold, sharp voice.

Plaurus flinched at her threatening tone, but quickly turned into a soft pink flame and began circling around Juliana as he said,

“It’s fine. Her Grace will protect me.”

This cunning little demon had already figured out the food chain. And he had made up his mind — to serve the master of his master.

Cheryl let out a dry breath and this time stared at Juliana, as if studying her.

She had always known Juliana was special. After learning she was the Floreseco, she assumed that special quality came from her divine power.

But was that really all there was to it?

Thinking back, no matter whether they were demon or human, powerful or lowly, anyone who got close to her ended up completely enchanted. Gender didn’t even seem to matter.

“Looks like I’ve found something else I want. What should I do about that?”

A flicker of desire sparked in Cheryl’s eyes as she looked at Juliana.

Unaware of the kind of gaze she was receiving, Juliana tilted her head slightly and asked,

“Is there something you want? If you tell me, I might be able to find it for you.”

Before Cheryl could decide how to respond, Braeden suddenly appeared as if swept in by the wind. At a glance, it looked like he had happened to walk by, but that wasn’t the case.

Sensing danger, he had leapt from the second floor of the East Wing and come straight here.

“Do you want me to send you back right now?”

He stood in front of Juliana protectively and growled the words.

Cheryl immediately understood what he really meant. He wasn’t offering to politely send her home — he was threatening to rip open a space and throw her out.

Even after becoming human, he was still hot-tempered. Clicking her tongue, Cheryl replied bluntly.

“Will you calm down already?”

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