The devil found Emmelyn sitting with her legs crossed elegantly like a princess on the dining chair. With a wave of his hand, all the guards that had been watching over the girl quickly dispersed.
As soon as she saw the devil's presence, Emmelyn quickly rose from her seat with her hands akimbo. Her face looked furious.
"Why did you let your men harras me?!?"
Before the devil could scold her, Emmelyn had scolded him first. Her action left the man speechless.
"…."
"What? Cat got your tongue? You are unbelievable! Your men told me I am not allowed to go anywhere. Didn't you say I'm free to go wherever I want? So, why did they arrest me? Are you someone whose words shouldn't be trusted? Is Prince Mars Strongmoor of Draec a liar?!"
The devil was surprised to hear her and he twitched his brows.
[Aren't I supposed to be the one who is angry here?] he complained inwardly.
"They said you tried to escape, okay. So, of course, they have to detain you," he said with his deep voice before he took a seat across from the girl. After his initial shock, the man had managed to keep his cool and sat there nonchalantly.
Emmelyn rolled her eyes at the man and plopped her butt on her chair.
"I wasn't trying to escape. I was just doing an exercise. Have you heard of wall climbing? It's good for your health. Try that sometimes." The truth was, Emmelyn did try to escape the castle earlier, but since they caught her, she must find an excuse to justify her action.
"Were you?" The devil smirked when he heard her excuse. He didn't believe her one bit, but he was not one to make a fuss over a small thing.
"Yes," Emmelyn replied firmly.
"Okay, then. I will take note that you like wall climbing as a sport. We can do it together sometimes. I want to see what is so good about it." The devil's eyes glint with pleasure as he saw the little woman pout in annoyance.
Obviously, they both knew she was trying to run away, but since the devil pretended to believe her, Emmelyn had to keep up her lies. "Fine."
After a while, the devil tilted his head and looked at the girl intently. "Have you eaten dinner?"
Emmelyn was suddenly reminded that the devil said she was too thin to give birth to his children. Of course, every time they met he would ask her to eat. He just wanted to prepare her for her role.
"So?" The devil repeated his question because he didn't hear an answer. Normally he didn't like to repeat his words. He was too impatient for that.
Emmelyn finally responded. "Yes."
"Was the food good?" The devil asked again.
Emmelyn shrugged. "I've eaten worse."
The devil furrowed his brows. This girl seemed to intentionally make things difficult, he thought.
"Have you made the list of food you like to give the cooks?"
"Not yet."
[I didn't write the list because I didn't plan to stay.]
"Okay, make that list by tomorrow." The devil crossed his arms on his chest. "I don't want to hear you complain about food if you don't want to let me know what you like in the first place. Failure to do so by tomorrow will result in punishment."
He didn't want to beat around the bush and thought he was too old for the girl's childish behavior. He was a man with a mission, and in order to achieve his mission, he must impose discipline.
"Punishment? What punishment??" Emmelyn suddenly felt suffocated.
"I told you we will start the baby-making work tonight. Do you know how much work it takes to produce an heir?" The devil narrowed his eyes. "We both have to maintain our health. That's why you have to eat well to keep your physique in tip-top condition. If you failed to do so, the project will fail and this will put me at a disadvantage."
"…."
"For me, time is precious. I could have used the time to make babies with you to do other important things. So, if you intentionally hinder the process, I will hold you accountable for wasting my time. You must know by now that I'm not a kind man who forgives his enemies."
[Shit.] Emmelyn could only curse inwardly. She knew very well this devil's reputation. He wouldn't be deemed the devil by his enemies for no reason.
"Fine. I will make the list tomorrow." Finally, she had no choice but to comply.
"Also… I do give you freedom around the castle, but you are not allowed to go out without me or without my permission. I don't trust you," the devil quickly added. "If you tried to run away again, I will give you a punishment. Every time you try to escape, I will add one more heir for you to bear. That is non-negotiable. Imagine how many children you have you carry for me if you tried to escape 10 times."
[Thirteen *gulp* babies…?]
"You…!" Emmelyn let out a long sigh. "I am not a breeding cow, okay?"
"No, you are not, but that's what you will be if you chose to make things difficult for us." The devil smirked in satisfaction when he saw the girl looking defeated. "As I said, I can always find you if you decided to run away. So, it is for your own benefit to be a good girl and follow our agreement."
Emmelyn looked at the man dejectedly.
Their agreement. She didn't mean it this morning, but apparently, the devil was serious about it.
They both made an agreement this morning after breakfast. She would give birth to his three heirs and he would give her three wishes.
The truth was when she gave him her conditions, she didn't really intend to keep her words, because.. who kept their words with the devil? The devil was not worthy of her commitment.
However, now, it seemed she was forced to keep her end of the deal since the devil took her words seriously. She really didn't have a choice now. It was really either her head or her womb.
Would she ever be able to kill the devil and escape from here? If she wasn't immune to the devil's curse, the answer was no. She was only alive because she could give birth to his children.
Realization finally dawned on her that their agreement was real and binding. Was this how her life would go? Maybe it's time for her to see reality and accept it? Make the best out of her situation like what she said this morning?
This man was so desperate for heirs; she was desperate for her life… and her revenge. If she was alive, she could someday get her revenge. Plus, getting her kingdom back would be a nice bonus. If she was dead, she could forget about all that.
Death would be easy. Staying alive was hard.
"Fine. I won't try to run away." Finally, Emmelyn nodded, looking resigned.
"Good. I know you are not dumb." The devil nodded in satisfaction. "Okay. Since you already have dinner, let's go."
He rose from his chair and approached Emmelyn.
"Let's go where?" Emmelyn asked, not understanding what the devil wanted to do.
"Let's go make babies."
.
.
>>>>>>>
From the author:
So, the choice is yours, Emmelyn. Do you want to be a breeding cow or not.
