Chapter 6

3. Children of the Demon King’s Castle

In the western Empire lay the Ersioni Duchy, and within it, the grand mansion where the duke’s family lived.

Because it had been built on the ruins of an old, fallen kingdom’s royal castle, the place carried the air of an ancient fortress.

Rumors said the kingdom’s last tyrant had gone mad with black magic and turned into a lich.
That was why the world called the Ersioni mansion—

“The Demon King’s Castle.”

And indeed, the nickname seemed fitting.

The people who lived there were anything but ordinary:

• The duke, with his overwhelming presence and fearsome magic.
• His duchess, beautiful yet exuding the aura of a villainess herself.
• And their children, who inherited those very traits.

Truly, this villainous family was extraordinary in every way.

“Lirian, it’s morning. Time to get up.”

Of course, even an extraordinary villain family had ordinary routines.
Their days often began like anyone else’s—by waking up the sleepy youngest child.

“Eeeeh… five more minutes…”

“It’s already been fifty minutes since you said that, my daughter.”

Resa, hands on her hips, looked down at Lirian, who had turned herself into a plump little caterpillar under the blankets.

If it were Caesar, he’d have said, “Let her sleep, she’s just a kid,” and left her until noon.
But Resa wasn’t like that. No matter how young her daughter was, she wouldn’t allow such laziness.

“…No choice then.”

Resa decided to use her trump card.

“Looks like all of Lirian’s fried chicken will have to go to Jeryl today.”

“Hyap!”

The nightmare threat jolted Lirian upright.

“My chicken!”

“Good morning, sweetheart.”

Resa, hiding her laughter, kissed her daughter’s cheek.

Still half-asleep, Lirian blinked at her mother.

“M-Mom? Why are you here…?”

“The polite thing is to say, ‘Why are you here, Mother?’”

Resa stroked her daughter’s hair gently, smiling to cover the sadness in her heart.

“From now on, I’ll always be by your side.”

We’ll eat together, buy pretty dresses, go on outings—doesn’t that sound nice?

Lirian’s sleepy eyes cleared, sparkling.

“Really?”

“Of course. Really.”

“Truly?”

“Would you rather it be fake?”

Lirian shook her head furiously.

“No! I want to stay with you!”

Their room soon filled with bright laughter.

That morning was even livelier than usual.

“Our princess, did you sleep well? Mwah mwah mwah!”
—Caesar, never missing his daily morning kiss attack.

“Good morning, Lirian.”
—gentle eldest brother Seran.

“….”

Yuri stared at her for a long time, then—
poke.
He pressed her chubby cheek once, then silently disappeared.

Lirian, who had always found her quiet second brother the hardest to deal with, could only sit there blinking in confusion.

“Heh. Shorty!”
—And, of course, Jeryl was the same as ever.

“Let’s see who can eat fried chicken faster!”

“I won’t lose!”

“Bring it on!”

“You two, don’t play with your food.”

Seran tried to scold them gently, but the younger pair, holding their tiny forks like swords, glared fiercely at each other across the table.

“I was faster!”

“No, I was!”

Seran’s smile, watching them, slowly darkened.

“Kids.”

He stood quietly. Yuri, who had been silently eating, quickly shifted away in alarm.

Was it just his imagination, or did a black aura flicker behind his eldest brother?

“I won!”

“No, I did!”

Meanwhile, the two youngest were still oblivious.

Seran’s smile deepened.

“…Meals should be eaten quietly, right?”

Thump.

Before they knew it, he was behind them, hands gripping their shoulders.

“…!”

“…Hiccup!”

“How do we eat?”

“Q-quietly…”

“That’s right. Quietly. Understood?”

“Yes…”

“…Yes…”

And so, peace returned to breakfast.

Yuri muttered under his breath, “A true mastermind…”

Caesar chuckled and leaned toward Resa.

“Seran’s definitely your son. Smiling while angry—just like you.”

“You want me to show you the original right now?”

“…I’m sorry, I was wrong, okay?”

Of course, he didn’t win that round.

After breakfast, Seran prepared for the Academy.

It was a school for noble children eight and older, so at his age, he attended regularly.

“I’ll be off now.”

“Take care, Seran.”

The family gathered to see him off.

Perfectly dressed, necktie straight, beret tilted at a precise forty-five degrees, Seran gave his siblings a final warning before stepping into the carriage.

“No climbing high places—you’ll get hurt. Don’t go near fire. Chew your snacks properly so you don’t choke—”

“Got it! Leave it to me!”

At Jeryl’s loud reply, Seran’s expression dimmed slightly.
Still, he patted Lirian’s head with a kind smile.

“All right. I’ll be back.”

“Come back soon.”

“Bring melon sherbet!”

And with that, he was gone.

Yuri, with dark circles under his eyes, was next.

“I have research to do, so I’ll head inside.”

“…Isn’t he only seven? Why does he look so worn down?”

“Yuri, I know you love reading, but make sure you eat with us. And you are sleeping, right?”

“Yes.”

He gave a curt reply and trudged away.

The duke and duchess turned to the two youngest.

“Jeryl, Lirian. Play without getting hurt, okay?”

“Yup.”

“Yes!”

And so, the four children of the “Demon King’s Castle” lived their daily lives—
Each with such strong traits that you could tell them apart just from their eyes.

The eldest, Seran.
The leader of the siblings, with his gentle smile that charmed everyone.

But according to “anonymous reviews” from those around him…

• “Big Brother is… a control freak.”
• “A smiling mastermind…!”
• “He gives me lots of chocolate, so I like him! But if I don’t brush my teeth after, he squeezes the toothpaste onto my brush until I do!”

The second, Yuri.
Cold, expressionless, and frighteningly intelligent.
So much so that even the proud Mage Tower had shown interest in him.

Again, the “anonymous reviews”:

• “Yuri drinks way too much caffeine. I’m worried he hardly sleeps, never exercises… Maybe I should make him a daily schedule?”
• “A science-type mastermind…!”
• “He keeps poking my cheeks every day! He says they’re like jelly. Jelly! He says they look yummy!”

…Well, anonymous in name only.

And finally, the “diabolical duo”—

“Are they gone?”

“Mm. Don’t see them.”

The six-year-old and five-year-old pair.

They had waited until their parents were out of sight, then turned to each other.

“Hey, shorty.”

“Dummy.”

They grinned.

“Tree climbing contest?”

“Of course!”

“Let’s go!”

“Yeah!”

Six and five years old—
with endless energy and freakish athletic ability.

No one on earth could stop them.
They were natural-born little disasters.

“Oh no, young master! Young lady! That’s dangerous!”

The two had latched onto a massive oak tree, thick enough that ten Lirians couldn’t have wrapped around it.

They scrambled up like squirrels, racing to see who reached the top first.

Even grown men would struggle with such a climb, but these two scaled it with ease.

The servants watching nearly fainted.

“Move! I’m first!”

“No, me!”

Jeryl tugged Lirian’s cheek.
Lirian yanked Jeryl’s hair.

Their eyes burned like fire until—
their hands touched the top branch at the same time.

“Hmph!”

“Humph!”

And just like that, the fight stopped.

“Fine. This one’s a draw, shorty.”

“Agreed.”

“So next—?”

“Of course, another match!”

And they leapt from the tree.

“Kyaaa!”

“Young masters!”

The servants screamed.

But the two landed flawlessly—
one hopping down branch by branch,
the other dashing straight down the trunk like it was a wall.

The servants could only stare in shock.

“This time—race to the kitchen!”

“Yaaah!”

They took off like a storm.

At that exact moment, the butler, touring the mansion, spotted them.
He spoke calmly to the servants nearby:

“Tell the chef to put out the oven fire. Immediately.”

“Yes, sir!”

Naturally.

After all, Lirian had nearly burned the mansion down once already when she was four.

And so, the weary sighs of the household staff multiplied yet again.