The Hero Stole My Lover, So I Decided to Steal the Hero's Lover Instead - Chapter 72-73

Chapter 72: The Demon King’s POV

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Some days later. The four members of the Hero’s party, who had been handed over to the national army, were sentenced to death. From what I heard, they had pleaded for their lives, but of course, their pleas were ignored.

On the day of the execution.

The execution was to be carried out in the public square of the royal capital, Seintill. Sharon, Elna, and Elma—the three who had captured the Hero’s party—were invited to special front-row seats at the execution grounds.

A large crowd gathered in the square, eager to witness the deaths of the four. Sharon cast a glance at the crowd cheering like it was a festival and thought to herself.

Honestly, how tasteless…

However, she felt no sympathy for the four. No matter how miserable their deaths might be, there was no room for pity. That was how many unforgivable crimes they had committed.

They were seated at the execution ground’s special seats. From here, they had a clear view of the four having their heads taken by the guillotine. She had invited Luke and Alicia as a courtesy, but they had politely declined. Sharon hadn’t expected them to come anyway, so she wasn’t particularly bothered.

Luke and Alicia didn’t need to see this. This was something unnecessary for their lives. As she chatted casually with her two subordinates, Chester—the man who had recently become the King of the Holy Kingdom—arrived.

“Thank you for inviting us.” 

Sharon said politely.

“So you are the ones who captured the Hero’s party?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any idea where the Holy Sword might be?”

“No, I wouldn’t know.”

Sharon feigned ignorance. In truth, she did know—or rather, she was the one keeping the Holy Sword. But she had no intention of telling the truth. 

That sword was the bane of demonkin. There was no way she could allow it to fall into someone else’s hands.

“…I see. Well, never mind.”

Chester didn’t press the issue and backed off, changing the subject.

“Are you all adventurers?”

“Yes, that’s right!”

Elna answered cheerfully while Elma nodded silently.

“Adventurers strong enough to capture the Hero’s party… You must be quite renowned, no?”

Chester had probably done some background research on them. Despite their considerable strength, the trio had few records of accomplishments as adventurers. That discrepancy must have seemed suspicious.

“Well, we really don’t have much of a track record yet, but we’re hoping to start making a name for ourselves from here on out.”

Elna replied, a little flustered. Her poor acting seemed somewhat suspicious.

“I see. By the way—”

Chester’s gaze sharpened.

“I met you once long ago… But you haven’t aged a bit since ten years ago.”

“This me—ahem, me? Are you sure you’re not mistaking me for someone else?”

The sudden surprise made her default first-person slip out.

“I don’t believe the world holds two such beautiful women as yourself.”

“My, you’re quite the flatterer.”

She smiled elegantly as she racked her brain. This wasn’t her first time visiting the Holy Kingdom. She had been here a few times before. But where had they met ten years ago…?

Ten years ago… He would’ve been around eleven or twelve…

She narrowed her eyes and looked at Chester. Sharon mentally pictured a younger version of the current Chester. Then she began sifting through her memories for a boy who might have been him.

And then—

“No way, you’re that brat from back then!?”

“So you remember.” 

Chester said, clearly pleased.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Chapter 73: The Demon King’s POV + the Prince’s POV

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Ten years ago.

While walking through the royal capital, Sharon spotted a boy about to be abducted by a filthy-looking man. The boy had the refined air of nobility. The clothes he wore were clearly of high quality. The filthy man was likely involved in human trafficking—kidnapping children to sell them.

“Somebody! Help me!”

It was a deserted street. Had Sharon not taken that route on a whim, the boy would probably have ended up sold to some pervert. The filthy man had a knife, which he used to threaten the boy.

Sharon spoke in an unnaturally calm tone.

“Hey, let the kid go.”

“What the hell do you want? Stay back! If you come any closer, I’ll kill this brat!”

The man shouted, pressing the knife to the boy’s neck. Sharon crouched down and picked up a small stone from the slightly damp ground. Then, she flicked it with her index finger.

The stone hit the man square on the forehead, and he collapsed backward.

“…Huh?”

The boy turned around and checked on the man, now lying face-up on the ground. It was hard to tell whether the man was dead or just unconscious. The only certainty was that he wasn’t moving. The threat hanging over the boy’s life had vanished.

“Um…”

“That was close.”

“Thank you so much.”

The boy bowed his head. It was a polite and graceful gesture. Sharon led the boy to a more populated main street. Here, there would be no dangerous people like that filthy man from earlier. And even if there were, they wouldn’t dare commit a crime in such a public place.

“Be more careful from now on.”

Just as she was about to walk away, the boy called out to her.

“Um… Could you tell me your name?”

Sharon turned around and said.

“My name is Sharon.”

“What do you do, Sharon-san?”

“I am… Hmm, let’s see… I’m the Demon King.”

She grinned mischievously as she said it, clearly joking, and then walked off for good. As she made her way through the crowd, she wondered who that boy had been.

He’s probably a noble’s son who ran away from home.

Her guess was quite close to the mark—but unfortunately, it was wrong.

◇◇◇

Shortly after Sharon left, two guards came running up to the boy. They were drenched in sweat and out of breath. They must have searched all over for him.

“We’ve been looking for you, Prince Chester!”

“Thank goodness you’re safe…”

The two of them let out a deep sigh of relief. They looked like they were about to cry. If anything had happened to the prince, not only would they lose their jobs, but they might also literally lose their heads.

“Why did you run away from home?”

“Well… I just wanted to walk around the city by myself…”

Chester replied timidly. Then, looking like he was about to cry, he bowed his head to the two of them.

“I’m sorry. I won’t do something like this ever again…”

“If you want to go into the city again, please tell us first, alright?”

“Can you promise us that?”

“Yeah. I promise…”

To avoid causing the two any further trouble, he decided not to mention the fact that he had nearly been abducted by a filthy man. As he returned to the royal castle with the two guards, Chester thought back on what had just happened.

The person who saved me… Sharon-san… Is she really the Demon King?

Anyone would assume it was just a joke. But the way she said it so casually—maybe, just maybe, it was actually true. Of course, he didn’t tell anyone about Sharon either.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー