“Nooo! Lemme goooo!”
My brother and the human scum were rendered immobile with shock at the sight of an amused-looking prince holding a very annoyed little girl.
Some help over here, please?!
“You’re as amusing as ever. Why don’t you become my plaything?”
Calling someone amusing to their face… Treating me like a toy… He really is a demon, this, this… demon-prince!
“Waaalf…!”
Halfway to tears, I called out to my brother for help.
He finally came to his senses, but there was nothing Ralf could do to force the demon prince to release me until he felt like it.
“What if I make it so you can freely enter the royal palace whenever you like?”
At these words, I stopped struggling.
A free pass into the royal palace would mean I could play with Lars as much as I wanted!
The demon prince seemed to be fighting back a smile as if he could read what I was thinking on my face.
“Do you like Lars that much?” he asked.
“Larsh ish my fwend!”
Please, God, do something about this wretched lisp!
“I beg your pardon, Your Highness, but you can’t possibly be considering granting a child like this permission to move about freely within the royal palace…” the human scum protested.
Don’t you dare get in the way of my meeting with Lars!
“It won’t be a problem if it’s Nefertima. My father is also very fond of her.”
“Mishta King?”
“That’s right. Make sure you visit my father when you’re at the palace.”
Ho, ho, ho. Looks like I’ll have another chance to meet the king as well!
“Okay!”
“You seem to like my father well enough, so why do you hide from me?”
Isn’t it obvious?!
“Because you’re a demon prince!” I replied without hesitation. Apparently, my linguistic abilities improved when I talked crap about people. Turns out I have such a bad personality that I honestly have no right to talk about anyone else. Who would’ve guessed?
“I see. In that case, I suppose I should act appropriately demonic…”
That is an incredibly evil smile you’re wearing right now, prince…
Squeeze!
“Leggoooo!”
Don’t pinch my cheek! Can I cry now? It’s okay to cry, right?
“Pardon me, Your Highness. It’s almost time for Karna’s presentation, so might I ask you to return my sister now?”
Nice one, Ralf!
I was released from the pinch attack, but I couldn’t even begin to let my guard down as long as I remained in the demon prince’s arms.
Let me go, already! I beseeched from the bottom of my heart.
“In that case, I’ll join you.”
Th-Thanks, but no thanks!
You know what, scratch that, no “thanks” at all. Just NO!
“It would be our honor. However, I couldn’t possibly burden Your Highness any further by having you carry Nefertima around for me…”
You can do it, Ralf! You’re my only hope!
However, a child like my brother was no match for a member of the royal family.
“It’s fine. This is my toy now, so I’ll carry it myself.”
Ralf’s face was a mask of uneasiness as the demon prince made this blasé announcement.
Oh, man… I’m questioning if I made the wrong choice by agreeing to be reincarnated.
I’m sorry, Ralf.
“Tristan, be warned that Nefertima is under my protection. You’d do best to see to it that something like this does not happen again.”
The human scum jumped, alarmed, at the menace in the demon prince’s words. Then he went white as a sheet, finally realizing that he’d incurred the prince’s wrath.
Sucks to be you.
With me still a captive in the arms of the demon prince, we headed off toward Karna’s lesson.
Just how long is he planning on carrying me around for, anyway? It might not be that big a deal for an adult, but for a boy around my brother’s age, I must be pretty heavy…
Not that I’m fat or anything! …Well, I don’t think I’m fat…
“Aren’t I heavy? I can walk…” I said.
“Carrying you is a good workout.”
Tch! You…! I know I was the one who asked, but still! You won’t be popular if you aren’t kind and gentle to girls!
…Oh, right. He’s a handsome prince. Even if he’s a complete narcissist, because of his bright and shining future, there’s absolutely no possibility he won’t be popular with the girls.
I searched the demon prince’s face as I pondered this.
“Hm? Nefertima’s eyes are black?”
Where the heck did that come from?!
Oh, I see; it must’ve been because I was staring at him. I suppose with how close we are, it was inevitable he’d notice as soon as our eyes met.
“I believe they’re actually a very dark blue. So dark they almost appear black,” my brother responded smoothly.
Apparently, it sounded bad to say that my eyes were black, so my family doggedly insisted on calling them blue.
No one’s bothered explaining to me why that is yet… Buuut, in any case, let’s change the subject, shall we?
“Call me Neema,” I insisted.
Nefertima is really long, so I’d rather go by a nickname. But, you know, recently I’ve been thinking that “Nefer” or “Erti” would’ve been more obvious nicknames? It’s just occurring to me now how lazy and unimaginative it was to take my name’s first and last syllables to form my nickname.
“Neema, huh… In that case, you can call me Will.”
“Wiw…”
Damn, I still can’t pronounce L’s properly…
“…You’ll get there eventually. Until then, Wiw is fine.”
Did the demon prince just say something kind and considerate?! I’m starting to contemplate the possibility that he might not be all bad after all…
Oh no! Don’t tell me I’m falling under the demon prince’s evil spell?!