Chapter 44: The Date

There she was.

Elizabeth Blackwood stood at my door, and for a second, my brain just stopped working. She wore a dress the color of a midnight sky, a deep, dark blue that was almost black. It was simple, cut sharp and clean, falling just above her knees. Silver glitter, like a dusting of crushed stars, caught the dim hallway light. Her hair was pulled back, showing off her face. Her eyes, intense as always, seemed to burn a little brighter. She looked good. Way too good.

If only she wasn’t completely obsessed with fighting.

That was the catch. The giant, glaring, five-hundred-pound catch. She was beautiful, but she was also a walking battle-royal. Her entire family was the same way, a whole lineage of beautiful, smiling psychos who communicated through sparring. I could already picture it. Thanksgiving dinner turning into a full-on brawl over the last slice of turkey. Christmas morning presents being decided by a fight to the death.

A weird thought short-circuited my brain. Our future kids. My God. Was I actually thinking about having children with her?

The idea was terrifying. A tiny Elizabeth with her mom’s laser-beam focus and my Absolute Defense. The world probably wasn’t ready for that. I was getting soft. This whole thing was making me weak. This was stage one of falling for her, and it felt like walking off a cliff.

“Eksu-kun, is something wrong?”

Her voice cut through my internal spiral. I had been staring. Definitely staring. Long enough for it to get weird. My face felt hot.

“No. Nothing.”

Damn it.

She tilted her head, a small smile playing on her lips. It was the kind of smile that made you feel like you were being analyzed for weak points.

“You like the outfit?”

My own voice came out as a weak whisper.

“Yeah. It’s cool.”

“I chose it specifically for you.”

“Th-that was a good choice.”

Smooth. Real smooth. She took a step closer, and I instinctively braced myself, half-expecting a punch to the gut disguised as a friendly greeting. Instead, she just looped her arm through mine. Her touch was surprisingly light, but her grip was like steel. There was no escaping.

“Let’s go. I don’t want to miss the opening.”

The party was already in full swing when we arrived.

The academy’s grand hall was packed. A thousand shimmering lights spun from enchanted globes near the ceiling, casting shifting patterns across the floor. A bass-heavy beat pulsed through the room, so loud you could feel it in your bones. Students were everywhere, clustered in laughing groups, dancing like their lives depended on it, or lining up at a massive table overflowing with food. It was loud and overwhelming. All I wanted was to find a quiet corner and just chill.

No such luck.

A cheerful voice cut through the noise.

“There you are!”

Lilith bounced over to us, her bright pink dress a stark contrast to Elizabeth’s dark blue. She was holding two glasses filled with a bubbly, purple liquid that looked vaguely radioactive.

“I saved you some of my special punch!”

Oh, no.

I knew what her “special punch” meant. It meant a concoction brewed with ten different kinds of explosive berries, a pinch of powdered griffin claw for “zest,” and probably some kind of questionable slime mold she’d scraped off a dungeon wall. The stuff was a legit biohazard. My Absolute Defense tingled in warning.

Elizabeth’s smile was tight.

“Thanks, Lilith. That’s so thoughtful.”

She took a glass, her eyes fixed on the swirling purple liquid. She was a master strategist. I knew she was already calculating ten different ways to dispose of it without actually drinking it. I, on the other hand, had no such option. Being rude to the Demon King’s daughter felt like a spectacularly bad idea.

“Yeah, thanks.”

I accepted my fate in a glass. I took a sip. It tasted like fizzy grape soda mixed with battery acid and regret. My throat burned, but my defense skill immediately kicked in, neutralizing the poison before it could do more than make my eyes water.

I forced a smile.

“It’s great.”

Lilith clapped her hands together, totally delighted.

“I knew you’d like it! I added a secret ingredient.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Elizabeth expertly stumble near a potted plant and empty her glass into the soil. The plant instantly shriveled, its leaves curling and turning black before dissolving into a puff of smoke.

She was a genius.

Elizabeth grabbed my hand.

“The dance floor is open. Let’s go.”

She pulled me toward the center of the room, weaving through the crowd. The music got louder, the lights brighter. It was a swirling vortex of people and noise. This was my personal nightmare. Elizabeth, however, looked right at home. She thrived in chaos.

She turned to face me as we found a small space, her expression a mix of excitement and challenge.

“You know how to dance, right, Eksu-kun?”

“Not really.”

“It’s easy. Just try to keep up.”

The music shifted into something faster. Elizabeth moved with a fluid grace that was both amazing and terrifying to watch. Every step was perfect, every turn sharp and precise. It looked less like dancing and more like a high-speed combat kata.

I, on the other hand, probably looked like a newborn deer trying to walk on ice.

I shuffled my feet, trying my best not to trip over them or crash into the people around us. Elizabeth spun, her dress flaring out. She didn’t just dance; she attacked the dance floor. She expected me to keep up, to match her energy. All I could do was try to stay upright.

Her voice was a low murmur over the music.

“You’re stiff.”

She grabbed my hand, pulling me closer. Her other hand rested on my shoulder. We were suddenly very close. I could smell her perfume, something light and clean that was way different from the orchid scent Siegfried swore she loved. He was such a liar.

My heart hammered against my ribs.

Across the room, I spotted Siegfried. He was standing with Sophia, the quiet maid from the kitchens. He was actually smiling, a real, relaxed smile. He looked… normal. Happy. They were just talking, sipping normal-looking punch, enjoying a completely chill party.

It was everything I wanted.

A pang of jealousy hit me, sharp and unexpected. He got to have that, while I was stuck here, in the crosshairs of a beautiful disaster who thought dancing was a competitive sport.

Elizabeth dipped, pulling me with her. My feet tangled, and I nearly sent us both crashing down. I flailed, grabbing her waist to steady myself. My Absolute Defense flared, protecting me from the impact of my own clumsiness. We ended up in a ridiculously dramatic pose, my arm around her, her hand on my chest.

She whispered, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

“Nice save.”

My face was on fire. This was awful. This was embarrassing.

But as I looked at her, laughing, her face flushed from the exertion, a strange thought bubbled up. This was also… kind of fun. My stomach did a weird flip. The chaos was electric. Maybe, just maybe, I didn’t want the quiet corner after all.

The song ended, but we just stayed there for a second too long.

Then, from the edge of the dance floor, I saw him. Lucifer. He was standing with his arms crossed, a thunderous scowl on his face, radiating pure, unfiltered “Dad Mode” energy.

His glare could have melted steel.