#1029 The Workaholic’s Wife  

I’m Arias.

Wife of Mamoru the Coveted, a Heavenly One of the Demon King’s Army.

I’m also the daughter of the previous Coveted-Heavenly One Ravilian.

My beloved Mamoru... or rather, Lord Mamoru getting chosen as one of the Heavenly Four is greatly related to my marriage with him.

You see, the selection process for this position still leans heavily on noble lineage.

But do not be mistaken; my beloved Mamoru was chosen because of his talent too!

He’s been working tirelessly under my father’s command since he was just a kid!

And while doing all that, he also managed to serve as my personal bodyguard, escorting me to and from the prestigious Demon Lady School every day.

Even though he was swamped with his duties as a Heavenly One aide, he always found time to take care of me. Such a diligent man, right?

There was one time, though, when I thought his schedule was too much, so I told him he didn’t have to pick me up anymore.

Hearing this, he turned pale as a ghost...

— “Did I do something to upset you, my lady?”

— “Or… did you find out that I secretly roughed up that demon noble who was trying to flirt with you?”

He was so serious about it that I had to let him keep escorting me after that.

Ever since then, I’ve thought of him as reliable but also kind of adorable.

We’ve known each other since we were kids, and when we were little, I even looked up to him like an older brother.

But, as we grew up, our positions in society started to tighten around us like chains…

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine we’d actually end up getting married.

In the end, I owe it all to my father’s colossal blunder.

At one point, I thought my father should drop dead and go to hell for trying to force me into a marriage with the Demon King himself. But, looking back now, it all worked out splendidly.

Now, here I am, living the dream with Mamoru, just as I always wanted.

Even the long-feared issue of an heir has been resolved, and life couldn’t be smoother.

It all seems perfect, doesn’t it? But…

...There’s still one thing that nags at me.

You see, the whole mess started with my father’s blunder that I mentioned earlier.

To put it bluntly, he lost a power struggle… or rather, it was more like self-destruction...

My father was desperate to rise above the Heavenly Four, and his grand plan to achieve that was to marry me off to the current Demon King.

That was the beginning of the end.

The Demon King already had someone he was madly in love with—Lady Astres.

There’s no room for anyone else.

But my stubborn father didn’t know when to quit. He tried to eliminate Lady Astres by force.

Of course, this only earned him the Demon King’s wrath. Instead of advancing his career, he was now facing ruin.

All his secret schemes were exposed, and it was game over.

My father was executed, as was his responsibility.

Even if he had somehow avoided that, he would’ve likely been banished to some far-off corner of the world for the rest of his life.

As his daughter, I was dragged down with him, destined to become the second wife of some random old man as a hostage.

At that point, I really cursed the fact that I was born as his daughter.

But then, Mamoru came to my rescue.

He had seen through my father’s doomed plan from the start.

So, he acted swiftly.

He was the one who reported my father’s shady dealings to the Demon King.

Thanks to that, the Demon King was able to see through everything and deliver a swift and decisive judgment.

It might look like a terrible betrayal, but Mamoru had a different plan.

By betraying my father, Mamoru earned the Demon King’s favor, and with that in hand, he was able to prevent the complete collapse of the “Coveted” faction my father had led.

After my father was ousted, the faction fell under Mamoru’s care, and thanks to his loyalty to the Demon King, it avoided total annihilation.

Later, when the Demon King was temporarily absent, Mamoru, alongside Lord Belphgamilia, managed to keep the Demon King’s Army in line.

For this, Mamoru was granted the title of the new Coveted-Heavenly One.

As for my father, instead of facing execution, he was allowed to retire quietly—a punishment that was incredibly lenient, all things considered.

And that’s all thanks to Mamoru, who pleaded for mercy with his forehead pressed to the ground.

So, dear Mamoru switched sides early on, all to get in the Demon King’s good graces and ease my father’s punishment.

Now, if he just wanted to take over the faction and become the big boss, he could’ve pinned all the blame on the old leader. But no, he had to go and put in a good word for my dad, even if it risked ruining his reputation.

But despite that, there were still some in the faction badmouthing Mamoru.

— “Oh, he betrayed his master just to climb the ranks,” they’d say.

And if that wasn’t enough, some had the nerve to come up to me and say, “Oh, you poor thing, being forced to marry a traitor.” Or worse, “How about I marry you instead, and we kick out that betrayer?” Can you believe it?

Naturally, I reported every single one of those jerks to Mamoru, and we made sure to squash them.

...Yeah, Mamoru has been through the wringer, even before becoming a Heavenly One Four, and it’s been non-stop ever since.

He’s been busy proving his loyalty to the Demon King and other factions, all while his own people called him a traitor. He’s been holding things together.

And yet, without a single complaint, Mamoru keeps working tirelessly for the Demon King, the Demon Kingdom, and our faction.

Frankly, he’s way more qualified to be one of the Heavenly Four than my father ever was.

But compared to him, I always feel like I’m not doing enough.

Sure, marrying me got him the qualifications to be the Coveted-Heavenly One, but…

Is that really all I’m worth?

I want to be more helpful to Mamoru.

After all, he’s been protecting me from the shadows since we were kids. I owe him that much.

That’s why, when we finally got blessed with a child recently, I felt such a huge relief.

You know how it is—people start getting noisy if you don’t have kids after being married for years.

I agree that an heir is a big deal for nobility, but some people think it gives them the right to say whatever they want!

Honestly, I would’ve been perfectly happy spending the rest of my life with just Mamoru, but no, everyone had something to say!!!

— “Why, Queen Astres has already had her second child!”

Or, “Thank goodness Lady Arias wasn’t made Queen after all.”

But no one actually wants to be queen, okay?!

Even right after my father’s fall from grace, there were rumors about me becoming the Demon King’s third wife… I can’t even.

...Lady Glasya, who ended up as the second queen, at least had a fierce love that drove her to wedge herself between the Demon King and Queen Astres.

...But honestly, I’m not even remotely interested in the Demon King.

My type is… well, someone who’s always looking out for me and protecting me from behind the scenes.

So, when we finally had a child, the first thing I felt was just pure relief.

Mamoru was absolutely overjoyed.

And that’s when I decided I needed to step up as the wife of a Heavenly One.

Apparently, both Queen Astres and Queen Glasya are pregnant too.

It feels like babies are popping up everywhere.

I think it’s the perfect time to congratulate them and announce the birth of the first child of the Coveted-Holy Sword lineage.

It’s the kind of thing worth reporting in person.

When I brought it up, Mamoru, naturally, started panicking…

“No, no, let’s not! We have no idea how the queens feel about you, my lady…!!!”

Again, I’m not just your “lady” anymore, right?

Mamoru’s been avoiding letting me meet Queen Astres since the day we got married.

Not even once, you know?

Women have their own way of interacting, after all.

It looks pretty bad that the wife of one of the Demon King’s Heavenly Four hasn’t even met the Queen, the highest-ranking woman among the demons.

Sure, my father and Queen Astres were political rivals back in the day, constantly trying to overthrow each other.

Maybe she does hold a grudge against me as his daughter, but we can’t just avoid each other forever!

Mamoru’s in the same boat when it comes to dealing with grudges!

The way I see it, if he has to face the Demon King every day, I can’t just hide out in the safe zone!

Thanks to his hard work, the Coveted faction has regained much of its status, and things have settled down internally, too.

Honestly, it’s even bigger than it was when my father was in charge.

If I can meet the Queen and establish some sort of connection, it’ll secure my beloved’s position for the future! At the very least, it’s better than having no connection at all!

So, Mamoru! Please, arrange a tea party or something with the Queen!

Even though you’ve been protecting me since we were kids, I always end up leaving the important stuff to you.

...A few days later.

As expected, he managed to secure a meeting with the Queen.

Huh

A yakiniku party?

Well, I did say anything would do, but a meat-grilling party wasn’t exactly what I had in mind...