The Demon King's Contract Bride

King Ulric Greymont of Mistfall spent a sleepless night plagued with worries. There was a powerful army marching towards his country, yet that wasn’t what had kept him awake all night.

Rather, it was the agreement signed by his predecessor well over a century ago…

“Your Majesty, Demons are selfish creatures, who is to say that the Demon King would even deign to fight the battle for Mistfall.” A bearded advisor said loftily.

Ulric swept his gaze through his court of advisors who had yet to provide any meaningful advice.

The contract signed with the Demon King Caede stated that he would fight alongside them in exchange for a royal bride. Which would have been all well and good if Ulric hadn’t sired only sons.

“And if he does uphold his end of the agreement?” Ulric asked.

A dark cloud hung over his head, not only did he have to worry about the army marching towards Mistfall from the other side of the west, he also had to worry about a powerful Demon King.

No one had the answer to that, the bride had to be of royal blood, attempting to trick a Demon King would have untold consequences.

“…Duke Greymont may be of some help,” A quiet voice spoke up, drawing the attention of the room to himself.

King Ulric was far too troubled to pick up on the undertones in his courtroom. “My younger brother? He only has two sons.” He recalled, quietly cursing his potent bloodline.

Most Kings would be overjoyed to have such strong bloodlines, yet all it had done was bring him grief.

The advisor who had suggested that cleared his throat ostentatiously, “Everyone knows of the Duke’s promiscuous ways. It wouldn’t be completely out of the question for him to have a daughter or two out of wedlock.”

There were quiet murmurings and more throat clearing, but not a single noble official disputed the advisor’s words.

King Ulric was the only one surprised to hear this news, “Hubert? He…” He trailed off, trying to envision it.

His younger and only brother was married to his childhood sweetheart and they had sired two healthy sons. It was a difficult claim to accept but things were already dire.

He would prefer that they had a bride ready for the Demon King regardless of if the powerful entity chose to fight by their side or not.

So he hastily sent a messenger to summon Duke Hubert Greymont to the castle posthaste, even as the army of Mistfall prepared to face their enemies.

-+-

Miles away from the outskirts of Mistfall, the marching army of Avalan had faced an impenetrable obstacle.

The existence of demons were well known but very few had laid their eyes on them, which was expected as they rarely left their plane.

Yet standing in the path of their march was an immensely tall demon wielding a glaive, and without so much as a word of acknowledgement, he charged alone at the overwhelming army numbering in the tens of thousands.

The Marshals leading the infantry went pale at this sight. The rumors that Mistfall had signed away their country to a demon decades ago was prevalent, but it was just that, rumors.

No one in the past century had seen the demon bound to the Royal family of Mistfall, so naturally, the influence of the rumors started to wane.

No longer daunted by the rumors of a bound demon, the Kingdom of Avalan had grown brave and launched an attack on Mistfall.

Mistfall was a rather small country but it was incredibly prosperous, it sat on a rich gold mine which naturally lured in greedy Kings hoping to claim the country’s wealth for themselves.

In a matter of hours, the army had been decimated. So much blood was spilled on the grassy plain that red rivulets ran down, and in the midst of the massacre was a single demon.

Demon King Caede stood in the middle of the battle ground, his black-bladed glaive spotless despite how many lives it had taken.

He looked up at the reddening sky, the sun’s strength weakening as the day came to an end. His blade was incredibly sharp so blood slid off its serrated edge but his clothes weren't spared from the maelstrom.

King Caede was completely drenched in blood, it dripped off his hard, chiseled jaw, plopping to the red-stained grass beneath his feet.

Pleased at how quickly he had dealt with the nuisance, he lifted his glaive, preparing to return to the Hells.

“Not so fast, Your Majesty.” A shrouded figure appeared from thin air.

Vitalis, his trusted adjutant. The Demon wore a black robe with the hood over his head, a silver mask obscuring his features, it made him look all the more sinister.

Caede swept metal gray eyes over the silent battleground. “I didn’t miss anyone.” He pointed out the obvious, eager to return home.

“Indeed.” Vitalis agreed, his cold voice monotone. “However, you still have to collect your bride.”

His adjutant’s words reminded him of the second-half of his binding contract, the unsavory half.

But he had agreed to that as well, so he needed to uphold it. “Fine,” He expelled a breath, “Let’s go.”

Vitalis hesitated for a moment, “Straight from the battleground, Your Majesty?” He inquired, his cold voice steeped in judgment. “You will frighten your bride.”

Caede had already turned away from the battleground, not listening to him. The Demon King took a step forward and vanished, making the journey to Mistfall in a matter of moments.

King Ulric nearly felt his heart stop when the bloody Demon King was led to his throne room. He was still in the middle of discussing with his younger brother, the army of Mistfall had yet to even depart from the city gates.

“The enemy soldiers are dead,” King Caede relayed without fanfare, “Where is the bride?”

Ulric rose off his throne on shaky legs, attempting to regain his composure. “We’re incredibly grateful and forever indebted to His Majesty…”

“The bride?” Caede interrupted the human king’s flowery words, his patience running thin.

Ulric had hoped to have a discussion with the Demon King to explain the circumstances but it was clear a bride was very important to the powerful entity so he was forced to give an answer.

“In… In the temple of Solaris, the High Priestess Ayla is…” He didn’t get the rest of his words out because the Demon King had already vanished.