Chapter 14…
The Birth of the Demon King — [Side: Yoann]
(Felicia…)
Watching Felicia sleep peacefully, Yoann let out a quiet sigh.
Felicia was in his castle.
That simple fact both thrilled and tormented his heart to the point of madness.
He gently took a lock of her silk-like platinum hair and brought it to his lips for a soft kiss.
The reunion with Felicia — something he had dreamed of for so long — was finally real.
Yoann’s life as the so-called “most terrifying Demon King”, secluded deep within the forest’s ancient castle, had begun because of a single tragic event.
He was born between the late king and his concubine, Lady Cecil.
Cecil was a woman of rare beauty and pure heart, loved deeply by the king.
However, as a newcomer among the concubines and the daughter of a mere baron, she was often the target of jealousy and cruelty from the queen and the other royal consorts.
When Yoann was three years old, the former king passed away.
By the time Yoann could form memories, his father had already been confined to his sickbed, so he had no recollection of ever meeting him.
After the king’s death, the throne was inherited by Yoann’s half-brother, Philip — the son of the queen.
But Philip was thirty-three years older than Yoann, and the two had almost no relationship.
In fact, Yoann could hardly even remember his brother’s face; their connection as siblings was all but nonexistent.
It is not difficult to imagine the hardships Cecil faced raising Yoann — a child born with ominous crimson eyes and overwhelming magical power — without the protection of the late king.
She had already been despised for her low status, and now people mocked her as the woman who had borne a demon’s child.
She endured relentless slander and harassment every day.
After the king’s death, King Philip dissolved the royal harem.
The other concubines, having borne no children, were all sent away from the palace.
But Cecil could not leave, for she was the mother of Yoann — a prince with a legitimate right to the throne.
There were few allies for Cecil within the castle walls.
Feeling guilty that she could not give Yoann a freer, happier life, she began secretly searching for a place outside the palace where they could live together quietly.
There were also those who insisted that Yoann, possessing such extraordinary magical power, should already take on the royal duty of maintaining the border barrier — a task normally reserved for adult royals.
Cecil had to fight constant pressure from the court to keep her son safe from exploitation.
Yoann, wanting to ease his mother’s burden even a little, devoted himself to study — not only in magic, but also in swordsmanship, martial arts, and every form of discipline he could learn.
He vowed that, aside from his appearance, he would never be the cause of his mother’s shame.
Just as Cecil endured her pain to protect him, Yoann wished to protect her in turn.
The two of them lived quietly in a small palace tucked away in a forgotten corner of the castle — modest, hiding from the world.
But when Yoann was eleven years old, tragedy struck again.
— Cecil was poisoned.
