DEMON KING'S Love Redemption

Chapter 20 The Aethelgard Star Festival

Freya froze, her face flushing not with anger, but from the intensity of his words. She tried to pull away, but Vann’s grip was unyielding. The tension was electric, a collision of light and shadow. Realizing he had backed himself into a corner—and that Freya might report him to the Inquisition by dawn—Vann knew he had to pivot. He needed to disarm her suspicion with something unexpected, something "normal" for students their age.

Vann took a long breath, summoning every ounce of his acting ability to play the part of an awkward teenager.

"Besides..." Vann released her hand with a move that was suddenly stiff. He looked away, scratching the back of his head. "It would be quite difficult to explain why the Great Hero of Aethelgard died from a mere goblin scratch when I still haven't settled my debt of taking you to the festival."

Freya blinked, her tears stopping as confusion took over. "Debt? What festival?"

Vann cleared his throat loudly, trying to mask a genuine surge of nervousness. "The Aethelgard Star Festival next week. You know... the one where everyone goes on dates and eats cotton candy."

Freya stood there, completely speechless.

She had just finished interrogating a man who was most likely the most powerful Demon King in history—someone who had just admitted to possessing the power of mass destruction—and now... the guy was inviting her to a cotton candy festival?

"Are... are you kidding me?" Freya asked, her voice jumping an entire octave. "Vann, I just finished accusing you of being a monster, and your response is to ask me out on a date?!"

"It is not a date!" Vann protested, his face flushing a deep crimson—a biological reaction he could not suppress even with dark magic. "This is... this is a follow-up interrogation! Yes, exactly. You can keep a constant eye on me at the festival. I will be out in the open, surrounded by crowds. You can even bring your sword if you want. It is the most effective way for you to investigate me, is it not?"

Freya stared at Vann as if he had suddenly sprouted a second head. His logic was utterly nonsensical, yet in a strange way, the offer provided an escape from the lethal tension that had nearly pushed her to a breaking point moments ago.

"So... you want me to accompany you to the Star Festival... as a form of surveillance?" Freya asked to clarify, her eyebrows knitting together.

"Precisely!" Vann answered quickly, his voice slipping back into his somewhat whiny teenage tone. "You can sample all the food you suspect might be 'weapons' I have prepared, and you can ensure I do not blow up the plushie stalls. That is a hero's sacred duty, right?"

Freya searched Vann's eyes for a long moment, looking for any trace of the terrifying aura she had felt earlier. However, the darkness that had once enveloped him seemed to have evaporated, replaced by the image of a foolish, nervous boy who had just fumbled through asking a girl out.

"You are truly bizarre, Vann," Freya muttered, wiping away the last of her tears with the back of her hand. She straightened her cloak, attempting to reclaim some of her shattered dignity. "Fine. I accept your challenge. I will be at that festival, and do not think for a second that you can hide anything from me. I will be watching you every single moment. Every bite of food you take, every step you make—I will be right there."

Vann let out a long, heavy sigh of relief, looking as though he had just narrowly escaped a death sentence. "Of course, Lady Freya. I will pick you up at seven o'clock in front of the girls' dormitory. Wear something... well, wear whatever you like."

Freya snorted and turned to leave the back garden. However, after walking a few meters, she paused and looked back slightly. "Vann?"

"Yeah?"

"That roasted lamb from yesterday... the seasoning was actually quite good. Just make sure you do not poison the cotton candy," Freya said before finally vanishing into the shadows of the academy hallway.

Vann stood alone beneath the Linden tree, letting his body slide down to lean against the rough bark. He stared at his trembling palms. He had actually managed to pivot a deadly interrogation into a date—something he had never even imagined in his thousands of years reigning as the Demon King.

"That was... utterly humiliating," Vann whispered, burying his face in his hands. "A Demon King asking a Hero for cotton candy? I must be losing my mind."

Yet, despite his embarrassment, a faint, genuine smile tugged at his lips. He had succeeded. Freya had not reported him. She was still willing to speak to him. More importantly, he had a chance to create new memories with her—memories that were not about blood and blades, but about festival lights and laughter.

Vann was unaware that behind a pavilion pillar nearby, Professor Mordred was watching them with a wide, predatory grin. "The Star Festival, eh? The perfect stage for a romantic tragedy," Mordred muttered, stroking the black crystal in his hand.

Vann gazed up at the night sky, where the stars were beginning to burn brighter. He made a silent vow: this first date had to be perfect. He would use every ounce of his power—not to destroy the world, but to win the biggest plushie for Freya.

But Vann forgot one thing: every time he intended to do something good, his dark mana always found a way to twist things into a catastrophe. And the Aethelgard Star Festival was no ordinary event; it was a night when the veil between the human and demon worlds grew dangerously thin.

"No matter what happens," Vann whispered to the moon, "I will not let anyone ruin my night with her."

Vann headed back to the dormitory with newfound resolve, unaware that inside his bag, the festival brochure he had been looking at had accidentally caught fire from his dark energy. It left behind a charred image of Freya and Vann separated by black flames—a grim omen that their date would be far more complicated than cotton candy and toys.

The interrogation was over, but a far more dangerous game of fate was just beginning beneath the shimmering stars of Aethelgard.