Hernán felt like he wasn't even tasting the food he was putting in his mouth.
He had eaten many meals since being trapped in this strange place, but never had any felt as suffocating and awkward as this one.
"Huh… ngh…"
The muffled sobs next to him were filled with pain.
Potty could barely eat, even with all her favorite sweet treats laid out before her.
"Aren't you going to eat? It's the food you earned," Karine muttered coldly as she pushed a pie toward the wizard.
Potty took just a single spoonful under the warrior's glare. Every time she tried to swallow, her rabbit ears twitched in pain. But she forced herself to eat the pie, terrified of what Karine might do if she refused.
Her whole body convulsed as she chewed, her trembling ears slick with tears. Most of the food spilled from her mouth, and what little went in was mixed with sobs and shame.
Eventually, someone had to break the heavy silence.
"Hero," Marina, the saintess, said softly, "no one has an appetite for breakfast after what happened. Why don't we end the meal and move on?"
Karine nodded and declared they would begin discussing their escape.
But before she could continue, Marina gently held Potty's arm as the girl struggled to force down another bite.
"Before that… Potty's injuries are serious. Please let her rest in her room."
As she said this, Marina tenderly stroked one of Potty's trembling ears. She didn't even ask how the wizard had been so badly hurt—she focused only on easing her pain.
"I said we'd talk all day, right? This will only take a moment. She's just hurt, not dying," Karine replied coldly, staring Potty down.
Marina fell silent, holding back whatever protest had been on her lips. She simply wiped away the cream on Potty's face and the tears streaming down it, using her own clothes.
"As I said, the only way to escape this place is to have nineteen children."
"Are you serious?" Hernán locked eyes with his lover.
Karine had outright refused to even speak of such things the day before. She hated the idea of him sleeping with other women, and she had no intention of having a child herself—especially if it threatened her future claim to the throne.
Had she changed her mind overnight?
"This method takes too long," Karine continued. "They say five or six years, but it could easily take ten."
Ten years… that would be enough time for the royal succession to be decided without them. The world might have moved on. They might be forgotten.
"That's why I'll use the Demon King."
She glanced not just at Sharpie, but at Hernán too, her voice cold and matter-of-fact.
"If we escape, there may already be someone else claiming our achievements. Or a new Demon King might have risen. But what if I bring her back with me?"
"You're going to present me as a spoil of war," Sharpie said with a bitter smile, already anticipating the idea.
"Exactly. That way, we'll still be recognized."
The Demon King had been elected, but in demon society, the role was still one of absolute authority. Her return would throw both human and demon realms into turmoil.
It wasn't a bad plan in theory. But Hernán had lived through enough to know that Karine's strategies rarely played out as expected.
"What if I refuse?" Silnia, the elf, finally snapped, despite the heavy mood.
"You're telling me to have a child with a human? I'd rather die."
Karine's eyes narrowed. "Don't you want to return to your forest? If we can't escape, or if I don't become queen, you'll never go back."
"If I go back with a half-human child, I'll be exiled forever," Silnia shot back. "And if you do become queen, what—are you going to send an army to kill everyone who calls me a whore?"
Karine's response was chilling. "If that's what it takes."
Silnia recoiled in disbelief. "You… you humans…"
She didn't finish the sentence. She simply stood up and stormed out of the room.
Watching her leave, Sharpie muttered to Hernán, "Is your society really so different from mine?"
"And if you were planning on getting us pregnant anyway, why beat up the rabbit girl?"
"Because she did it before the hero gave her permission. Anyone who sleeps with me without Karine's blessing will look bad in her eyes."
Sharpie raised an eyebrow. "Ah, I see. A matter of chastity and betrayal?"
"Something like that," Hernán muttered, not in the mood to explain further.
"I'll go check on Potty," he added, standing.
"What, now? Aren't they still making their 'family plans'?"
"She talks a big game, but her actions always leave a mess behind."
Sharpie crushed her fifth candy and lowered her head, pretending to sulk.
"I may have made a few political missteps," she pouted, "but nothing fatal!"
"Sure," Hernán replied dryly, pushing her horn aside. "I believe you."
"By the way," Sharpie said, shifting the conversation, "you've already made babies with two women. Who's next?"
"My lover, obviously."
"Really? Are you sure she's going to let you?"
Hernán's face stiffened. "Karine agreed to the plan. She knows we need nineteen people."
"So she's getting pregnant herself?"
"She says she won't give birth—but that it's okay for the others to carry my children," Hernán replied, frustration in his voice. "Even if demon culture is different, it still sounds absurd to me."
"You're too naïve about politics," Sharpie teased, trailing her tail over her own breast. "Want to touch these to relax?"
"No."
Hernán turned his head, still ashamed to see the body of a woman who wasn't his lover.
But Sharpie didn't give up. She pulled down the fabric covering her chest.
"When you're nervous, touching my body helps. Then maybe you'll be calm enough to talk to Karine."
"I said no," Hernán snapped. "Potty's right there."
His hand accidentally brushed her tail, making Sharpie gasp.
"Ahh!"
Before he could ask if her tail was sensitive, Hernán noticed Potty twitching.
"Sharpie! Stop. Get your hands off her!"
"Huh? What?"
The candy powder that had been slowly dissolving in Potty's mouth now spilled out as Sharpie jolted from surprise.
"Cough! Cough!"
Potty burst into a coughing fit, her eyes wide with pain.
"Kyaa! My eyes! It burns!"
"Don't rub them!" Hernán shouted, grabbing Sharpie's wrists.
"Ugh… they're sticky!"
Hernán could only wonder—if they really brought this woman back as a prisoner, would the demons mourn? Or would they give a standing ovation?
Karine's plans always sounded perfect. But in reality, they were full of unpredictable setbacks.
Like the failed surprise attack on the Demon King, which ended in them being trapped here in the first place.
And now this—trying to make her a prisoner and breed nineteen children? It was a disaster in the making.
"I'll shake off the powder. Open your eyes," Hernán said, trying to blow air into Sharpie's face to stop the melting sugar from blinding her.
"Mm... mmph!"
Their faces accidentally collided.
Hernán froze as Sharpie's lips met his.
She burst out laughing.
"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to. It's just… your lips were too tempting."
"Do it yourself," Hernán grumbled.
Now that Potty had stopped coughing, it was time to call the saintess.
He had to leave anyway. The conversation between Karine and Marina should be over by now.
"Are you going out?" Sharpie asked, wiping her eyes.
"You too. Go to your room."
Sharpie trailed after him, dropping the rest of her candies beside Potty.
"When you get the chance," she said casually, "ask your lover if she plans to get pregnant too."
Strangely, Hernán's head felt lighter now.
"Saintess."
He stepped into the living room and saw Karine and Marina sitting in silence.
"If your talk is over, could you check on Potty?"
"The Demon King… oh, she's already there," Marina replied as Sharpie passed by and returned to her room.
The saintess rose to her feet, her face tight with concern.
"What did you talk about?" Hernán asked.
Karine turned her eyes toward him.
"Take a seat."
He sat down beside her.
"What did you two discuss?"
"My plan," she answered briefly.
Hernán hesitated. "Then… let me ask something."
He looked straight into her unreadable eyes.
"Are you going to get pregnant too?"
"Of course I'm not."
Her answer was immediate—and cold.
"I'll only have a child after we're properly married."
"Marriage…"
"Yes. If we go back, any child born here would be a bastard. None of these women will proudly call it your child, except maybe the Demon King."
Hernán didn't know what to say.
"I hate the idea of you being with other women. But I understand…"
Karine's voice cracked slightly, and her fists trembled.
"Because I can't help it."
Her ambition was stronger than he had imagined.
"You're not going to change your mind, are you?" he asked.
Karine reached out and gripped his hand tightly.
"So tonight," she said calmly, "sleep in Marina's room."