It has been 3 weeks after their trip to the demon land. Not long ago, Frederic got a task to take down a trafficking group. The people they kidnapped were both humans and humanoids. They also auctioned several exotic beasts. Not only in their country, it also operated in their neighboring country.
Because of it, he has been particularly busy. But despite that, Noel stayed around him and accompanied him anywhere he went. Even though Noel would just sleep around at wherever spot near him that was comfortable.
In this period of time, Frederic was often baffled by the strange occurrences in their mission. For example, the traffickers already passed out when they raided their hideout. When the traffickers tried to ambush them, those people would get into some misfortunes or freak accidents that exposed their locations. If they encountered any beasts, instead of attacking them, the beasts would retaliate and attack their retainers.
If it wasn't because he didn't see any black smoke, he would already suspect it was Noel's doing.
Because of these absurdities, Lugio, the commander from the neighboring city even dubbed him a mobile charm. If he wasn't a prince, he suspected that that guy would recruit him into his unit.
Another title he gained was the Doll Keeper because of the doll-like demon following him around. As beautiful and delicate as a doll as well as 'lifeless' as a doll. Noel's garments also further enhanced this title of his.
"Frederic, this part of the city has been swept clean. Leave it to us to find these kids' families. You need to go back for your King and Queen's birthday banquet, right?"
The blonde man next to Frederic was wearing a different uniform. He wielded a pair of guns, safely put in the holster on his waist.
"Then I will leave it to you, Lugio. Several of my men will stay here to assist."
Lugio nodded, "I will interrogate the traffickers to find out their base. Hopefully, it's not in the demon world, or else those pretentious bastards will definitely take over."
"Both us and Interworld Safety Control are working to keep the peace and safety of this world and to prevent another war from happening. Don't pick a fight with them just because of mere achievements." Frederic lectured him.
"Yes, yes, it's my wrong. Don't be so uptight, Sir Doll Keeper," Lugio patted Frederic's back, "Right, speaking of that birthday banquet, Princess Louvina will also attend as our country's representative. She's famous here for being very shy. A tip from me, make sure to strain your ears when talking to her, or else you won't be able to hear a thing. If you ask her to repeat what she said, she will be too embarrassed to do it."
"…I will take note of that."
After everything was done, Lugio returned to his office while Frederic went back to the royal family's mansion where he was staying. The royal family would have at least one mansion in the capital city of most countries.
When he first decided to pursue a military career, many people around him disagreed and tried to talk him out of it. It was unheard of that a prince became a militant since the royal blood in his vein was very precious. But this statement sounded strange to him since every life in this world itself was priceless.
In fact, he realized that his royal blood was perfect for this job. Not only because he has strong inner energy, but his movements also were not very restricted like other commanders because he has authority over himself. The only people he needed to listen to were the General and his parents. He never needed to worry when he dealt with nobles and money was never a problem.
There were also many other small benefits like this mansion for example.
Frederic reached the mansion at sundown. He promptly entered Noel's room and woke him up for dinner.
Noel rubbed his eyes and floated up, "Welcome back, Eric."
Eric smiled, "I'm back, Noel."
They went to the dining hall to eat.
"Father and Mother's birthday is next week. I'm going to look for birthday presents tomorrow. Would you like to come with me?"
"Same day?" Noel tilted his head.
"Yes, they were born on the same date in a different year. They said it was fate. They even made it their wedding date and coronation date." Eric explained.
"Eric?"
"Mine's already passed this year, the second day of Month of Fire, Land Period. What about Noel?"
Noel swallowed his food, "Don't know."
Frederic's movement paused, "You forgot?"
"No, all of us don't know," Noel thought for a while, "No date yet."
One year in the current dating system was divided into 3 periods: Sky, Land, and Sea. In each period, there are 4 months: Fire, Earth, Water, and Air. Each month has 28 days divided into 4 weeks of 7 days.
This system has existed since the great war of the 3 worlds which happened 2 thousand years ago.
Frederic already knew that Noel wasn't locked in the tower when he found him. Kahel contacted them once through Noel's necklace, which apparently was a communication device among the 7 brothers other than a storage device.
Kahel explained to him about his mishaps on his experiment that led Noel to be transferred to the mortal world. At the same time, he also asked them to search around the tower for the item he was looking for. Because the location was far and he was still busy, Frederic hasn't had time yet to help. Fortunately, Kahel wasn't in a hurry, and they could do it at a later date.
Since Frederic found out Noel and his brothers were the fabled devil ancestors of the demon race, he stopped guessing how old Noel was. But from what Noel just said, he was more than 2 thousand years old.
"Then, were you born in the day or at night?" Frederic changed the question.
"Day. All of us."
When it was time to sleep, Frederic took a bath and changed his clothes. Once he left the bathroom, he saw Noel was already lying on his bed with his oversized pajamas.
Ever since they slept together in the demon world, Noel has been coming to sleep with him every night. He would only go to his own room during afternoon nap or when he was out for work.
At first, he tried making Noel go back to his own room but wasn't successful. He couldn't even act rough to Noel, much less force him away. In the end, he resigned to his fate. Now, he was already used to it.
Noel saw Frederic was done washing and patted the spot next to him. In the demon world, he liked to hug his nice soft pillows to sleep, but now he found something more comfortable to hug. Unlike the pillows, Frederic's body was very warm that made his body feel all fluffy.
Frederic entered the bed and covered the 2 of them with the bed cover. Noel scooted closer and wrapped his arms around Frederic's torso. He rested his head on Frederic's chest and listened to his heartbeat.
"Good night, Eric."
Eric relaxed his body and also used his arm to encircle Noel's cold body, "Good night, Noel."
In the morning, Frederic opened his eyes near dawn as usual. He carefully freed himself from Noel and positioned his body comfortably before tucking him back. He did his morning routine and came back to wake Noel up for breakfast.
Noel came with Eric to buy birthday presents for the King and Queen.
The Queen liked to collect transcripts while the King was fond of swords.
Frederic already ordered a custom-made sword to a veteran blacksmith before he met Noel. This time, he wanted to find a general gift for both of them and go to the auction house for the Queen's present.
Lugio recommended him a trusted shop with high-quality items and so they visited it to have a look.
The clerk saw the royal crest on the carriage and hurriedly welcomed them, "Welcome to our shop. How may I help you?"
"I am looking for a gift for my parents. Is there anything you can recommend?"
"Then, I recommend checking our couple items section. All of them are magic tools and blessed artifacts aimed for lovers." The clerk motioned them to follow her.
The clerk brought them to the upper floor. In the room, there were many items displayed in clear glass cases. Most of them were jewelry, but there were also devices or artifacts with their respective functions.
Noel looked around curiously while the clerk explained several items to Frederic. Then, his eyes immediately noticed a familiar item in one of the glass cases.
Frederic was studying a pair of pendants when the back of his clothes was tugged.
"Did you find something you like, Noel?"
Mih465· Nov 8, 2022
Carol· Nov 20, 2021
