Hilaire woke up. He groggily gazed at the azure sky ahead, where pure white clouds clustered together, forming giant cloud banks. Above the clouds were many pale-colored buildings, interspersed with soft, elegant plants. The entire scene looked like a town straight out of a fairy tale.

Where is this place?

Hilaire rubbed his eyes, looking at the unfamiliar scenery around him. It took him a while to remember he was going to the Celestial Realm for recuperation.

Is this the Celestial Realm? Where are the angels?

Hilaire looked around and realized he was still on the demonic beast’s back. He unfastened the straps securing his body, then stood up and walked towards the beast’s tail.

Because his wings couldn’t carry him, the only way for Hilaire to get down from the tall demonic beast was to be carried by his Papa or the other demons.

But the little demon had his pride too! He didn’t want everyone to carry him; instead, he explored on his own and finally found a way down via the beast’s tail.

Most demonic beasts have very long tails, almost dragging on the ground, as they are weapons used for threats, intimidation, and fighting. So, the little demon could slowly climb down the beast’s tail.

Although he was a little ball of chub, his weight was negligible to the beast, and wouldn’t cause pain or make the beast go berserk by pulling its tail.

The cyan beast felt a slight itch on its tail, turned its head for a look, and upon seeing the tiny figure on its tail, snorted once without much reaction, seemingly accustomed to this.

Lance noticed the beast’s movement and knew Baobao was climbing down the tail. “He’s awake.”

Finally awake!

The Archangel nearby struggled to calm himself. He had slept for over an hour! At first, he thought the other party was trying to intimidate them, but as time passed, he gradually realized he was genuinely sleeping.

On such an important occasion, all the angels and demons were waiting for him, one single demon, to wake up!

Heh~

The last time the Archangel felt so slighted was when the previous Demon King arrogantly ordered them to hand over their kin for him to use as skins for possession before starting the war. That foolish, laughable, and cruel demand was naturally rejected by the furious Archangel, leading to nearly a hundred years of war between angels and demons.

And this Demon King’s son was clearly the same type of demon as the previous King—cruel, selfish, arrogant, with an incomprehensible way of thinking! The Archangel’s evaluation of him plummeted again and again, clearly hitting rock bottom now.

Can we really coexist peacefully with such a demon?

Even if educated, could he possibly learn etiquette and respect?

If the other party is indeed a hidden danger, then perhaps they might have to resort to some drastic measures to eliminate the threat.

Just as the Archangel considered the worst-case scenario, he suddenly noticed the Demon King’s son still hadn’t come down.

What? Planning to go back for another nap?

He looked towards the other Greater Demons, only to find them all looking up towards the cyan beast. He also looked up but still saw no sign of the Demon King’s son.

“Excuse me, the Demon King’s son…”

Before the Archangel could finish, Bazel interrupted, “Aiya, what’s your hurry? Isn’t our Bao— our Prince coming down now?”

Bazel seemed to be frowning impatiently, but actually, the smile at the corner of his mouth was almost irrepressible, his whole face twitching as if suppressing laughter.

He knew these angels had also believed the rumors, thinking Baobao was a fierce adult demon. When Baobao came down later, he absolutely had to see the angels’ eyeballs pop out in shock!

Haha, it would definitely be interesting!

The other demons had clearly noticed, too. After all, mistaking the completely different Bazel for the Demon King’s son indicated that the Prince in the angels’ eyes truly matched that image. However, none of them said anything, instead preparing to secretly watch the drama unfold.

Demons, after all, were a bunch of bastards; they loved this kind of spectacle the most.

Only Constans, whose conscience hadn’t entirely vanished, walked up to the Archangel, wanting to tell him His Highness was currently midway down the beast’s tail and would be down soon.

Because the beast was too large and the cub too small, the Archangel’s initial scan was focused on seeing if any demon flew down from above; he hadn’t noticed the tiny black dot on the tail at all.

“Click clack.”

The Archangel looked at the skeleton demon in black armor facing him, teeth opening and closing with clicking sounds, seemingly wanting to say something. He asked puzzledly, “Are you speaking to me?”

Oh dear, disaster! Angels don’t understand the skeleton language!

Constans looked helplessly towards the other demons, seeking a translator.

The Greater Demons met his gaze and immediately turned their heads away, Baph included. The good show was about to start; why was this bag of bones causing trouble?

The helpless Constans found no translator. After a few seconds of silence, he poked the Archangel with a finger bone, then pointed towards His Highness’s location, indicating for the angel to look there.

What is he trying to do?

Poked by the bone, the Archangel looked puzzledly in the direction indicated.

What does he want me to see? There’s clearly only that cyan beast over there; I didn’t see…

He saw it. Midway down the beast’s tail, he saw that small black dot slowly climbing down.

What… is that thing?

This angel finally saw His Highness! Constans nodded with relief, then stood aside, also watching His Highness, waiting for him to come down.

The Archangel watched the small black dot move slowly with a complex, bewildered expression, unable to comprehend yet filled with dawning speculation.

The other angels noticed the Archangel’s unusual behavior; the expression on his face was too complex, impossible to fully interpret. Puzzled, the angels also followed his gaze.

What on earth is the Archangel looking at?

The angels searched intently in that direction and finally spotted the little black dot, too.

“Is that some kind of demonic beast?”

“Not sure, never seen one like that before.”

“Looks like a demon; see, it has wings on its back.”

“Can’t be a demon, right? Which demon is that small? Probably a new type of beast.”

The angels hadn’t yet connected the little black dot on the beast’s tail with the Demon King’s son, assuming it was some small beast that liked clinging to other beasts.

There were simply too many types of demons. Even after fighting them for over a hundred years, the angels didn’t fully understand them.

They hadn’t even seen demon cubs before! At this moment, they were still watching the little black dot curiously, wondering when it would climb down.

Hilaire climbed very slowly. If the beast’s tail were the smooth, scaly type, he could have just slid down with a whoosh.

But this cyan beast’s tail had long bristles, making a smooth slide impossible; he might even tumble midway. So, he could only grab the tail hairs and climb down.

The black and gold robe got slightly caught on the beast’s tail bristles, revealing a chubby white calf. Hilaire searched diligently for footholds, one small black boot tapping below, finding a suitable spot, then the other boot continued tapping downwards.

When Hilaire’s boot touched solid ground, he knew he was down.

He let go with his hands and landed steadily on the ground with a soft pat.

Made it down!

Hilaire’s sadness from leaving home finally eased a little due to the accomplishment of climbing down from the beast all by himself. He looked up and saw the familiar demons waving at him.

And near the demons, there was an angel dressed in white with a pair of huge white wings, staring at him with a very strange expression.

Hilaire looked at the angel’s white wings with surprise.

Wings! Pretty!

The Archangel stared at the little black dot that had landed. Initially, he thought it looked small due to distance, but now, up close, the other seemed even smaller.

He was very short, his round face glowing white, a pair of golden eyes large and round, taking up almost a third of his face. At this moment, his small mouth was half-open, seemingly staring back at him in surprise.

The small black wings and tail behind him indicated he was genuinely a demon, and the face resembling the current Demon King Eris, along with the small crown on his head, seemed to confirm his identity.

“He is… he is…” The Archangel looked pained, struggling to voice the absurd yet true speculation, unable to speak for a long moment.

Bazel answered mischievously, “He’s the Demon King’s son, of course.”

De! Mon! King’s! Son!

Each word seemed deafening, echoing endlessly in the Archangel’s ears.

He’s the Demon King’s son?

How could HE possibly be the Demon King’s son?!

The Archangel almost turned his head away evasively, looked towards the other demons, and asked quickly, “How many Demon Kings are there in the Demon Realm?”

Lance felt this question sounded strangely familiar. “Only one, Demon King Eris. You know him, don’t you?”

“The Demon King has other children, right?”

“No, he only has one child,” Lance struggled to suppress his laughter.

He remembered! Baobao asked the exact same questions when he first heard the rumors!

The Archangel forced himself to turn his head again, compelling himself to look at the stubby little demon. For the past three years, he had gathered much information about the Demon King’s son, gradually constructing an unbreakable image of a cruel tyrant in his mind.

If all that was false, didn’t it mean the feathers and hair he lost over the past three years were lost in vain?

Thinking of his increasingly sparse feathers, the Archangel felt overwhelmed and took two steps back.

“Archangel!”

The other angels hadn’t heard their conversation, only seeing the demons smiling strangely while the Archangel looked as if he had suffered a heavy blow, swaying unsteadily. They quickly rushed forward to support him.

“What on earth happened?”

“Archangel, are you alright?”

The angels already held grievances against the demons. Now, seeing these demons had clearly done something to upset the Archangel like this, one angel immediately looked discontentedly at the leading Greater Demons.

“What rude things did you say to the Archangel? We welcomed that Demon King’s son with the highest etiquette, yet not only have we not seen even his shadow, but you’ve also managed to anger the Archangel to this state!”

Except for Constans, who didn’t understand what the problem was, the other Greater Demons couldn’t hold back anymore, bursting into various strange laughs.

“Hehe, did you hear what they said?”

“Ohoho, they said they haven’t seen the Demon King’s son’s shadow!”

“Hahaha, these angels are hilarious! I’m laughing so hard my stomach hurts!”

The Archangel wanted to stop the angel speaking up for him, but his outstretched hand couldn’t match the speed of the other’s words. Watching him get mocked by the demons after speaking, the Archangel slowly closed his eyes, unable to bear watching any longer.

“I’m right here!” Hilaire, ignored by the angels, spoke up for himself.

But his voice was too small, drowned out by the demons’ loud laughter.

For a moment, besides a silver-haired angel in the back, none of the other angels heard him.

Baph composed his smile, walked over to Hilaire’s side, then half-knelt, gesturing with one hand towards the bewildered little demon. “Everyone, this is the sole heir of the current Demon King Eris, the next Demon King beloved by countless demons of the Demon Realm, His Highness Prince Hilaire.”

The little demon, whose identity was being introduced, proudly puffed out his chest, though the crown on his head was too heavy, making his head wobble slightly.

After Baph’s introduction, the angels, previously indignant and annoyed, suddenly fell silent. They looked at the small, short demon, their faces uniformly blanking out, as if witnessing something incomprehensible, their expressions unable to process the complexity of their inner thoughts.

“Hahahaha~”

On the deathly silent plaza, the demons laughed even louder.

The little demon didn’t understand what everyone was laughing at. He blinked, looking towards the group of approaching angels. These angels were all very good-looking, just as Baph had said.

This is the Demon King’s son?

The angels stared at the three-heads-tall, chubby-faced little demon with big eyes before them, unable to snap back to reality.

Didn’t they say he was a cruel and arrogant demon?

This?

Impossible!

The little demon suddenly took a step towards the angels, giving them a shy, bashful smile. His big golden eyes curved into crescents, his small pointed chin also becoming noticeable. He looked utterly adorable…

Stop thinking!

The angels immediately discarded that terrifying thought from their minds.

This is the Demon King’s son! That demon who stops at no evil! Mustn’t be deceived by appearances! Perhaps he uses this harmless exterior to lower vigilance, then kills those innocent demons!

The little demon noticed the angels were all looking at him with complex expressions, none smiling back. This was the first time he encountered such a situation. Usually, after he smiled at everyone, they would come to hug him, but these angels remained unmoved.

The undeterred cub reached out his hands towards them, wanting a hug. Since they weren’t taking the initiative, he would!

Hilaire looked expectantly at the angels with sparkling golden eyes, calling out in his milky voice, “Hug hug.”

The angels’ hearts thudded as if struck heavily. But having never experienced anything like this, they assumed the little demon was using some mind-affecting ability and actually took a large step back in unison!

The angel race had no cubs. They were born from the Tree of Samsara, already in adult form from birth, possessing inherited memories.

Thus, they were mature angels with memories from the moment they were born. Coupled with the very placid life in the City of Light, doing repetitive tasks daily, their emotions were similarly placid, without major joys, angers, sorrows, or delights.

During the war with demons a thousand years ago, even the cruelest demon wouldn’t possibly bring a cub onto the battlefield. This resulted in the angels having never seen what a demon cub looked like.

Or rather, they had never seen such a small demon.

They were clearly overwhelmed by cuteness, yet thought they were under attack!

The little demon watched in disbelief as everyone actually stepped back. His two small, flower-like hands slowly lowered. He pouted, looking aggrievedly at the angels, his little tail drooping behind him in disappointment.

The demons, who had been laughing at the angels, suddenly became unhappy.

Baobao wants you to hug him! That’s your honor!

How dare you stare at Baobao with those weird eyes, and even get scared back?!

What’s the meaning of this? Is our Baobao scary? He’s clearly so cute! No taste! Blind!

Bode, who always adored Hilaire the most, seeing this scene, immediately glared with his beady eyes and cursed angrily, “Are your hearts made of stone?! How can you resist hugging such a cute cub!”

Nick swooshed out a weapon from his shadow. “Hug him quickly!”

Baph looked at the angels’ varied expressions. “Does everyone have some objection to Prince Hilaire?”

The black goat’s expression absolutely did not resemble someone asking for opinions; rather, it felt like, if you dare have objections, I’ll eliminate you.

The Archangel had already suffered too many blows today. He looked pale-faced at the little demon, asking with a final shred of hope, “Prince Hilaire, I recall you should be over a thousand years old this year. Is your current appearance due to injury?”

The poor Archangel still hadn’t given up!

Appearance could be deceiving! The Demon King’s son that he heard about was over a thousand years old; which demon was still this small at over a thousand?

Perhaps during the recent attack, he was indeed injured, causing him to revert to this height and appearance?

Once he recuperated in the Celestial Realm, he would change back into an adult demon’s form!

An angel spoke to him! Hilaire looked up at the other and held up three fingers. “I’m one thousand and three years old!”

The Archangel saw a flicker of hope. Indeed, the age was correct!

But the little demon then put on a puzzled expression. “I’ve always looked like this!”

The flicker of hope was extinguished.

The light in the Archangel’s eyes also vanished.

Bazel was still laughing. “Hahaha, accept it! Those rumors are all false! Baobao is just this small! How could you believe such baseless rumors?”

The Archangel’s heart turned to dead ashes. His imaginary enemy all this time was just this chubby little cub! Forget doing evil deeds; he couldn’t even speak clearly!

“No! He’s too small! He really cannot recuperate in the Celestial Realm!”

Mentally and physically exhausted, the Archangel thought for a moment after turning his brain slowly, and actually refused to let the little demon reside in the Celestial Realm.

He originally thought the other was an adult demon; they could communicate through reason, and even if communication failed, they could ultimately suppress him with force.

But now the Demon King’s son turned out to be a cub!

Forget using force; he didn’t even dare raise his voice, afraid of scaring him!

Such a small demon—what if something happened to him here?

They absolutely could not bear this responsibility!

The Greater Demons looked grimly towards the Archangel.

What does he mean? Daring to refuse them? Are these angels looking to die?

Hilaire understood. He was being rejected! Although he had been crying earlier about not wanting to leave home, going home himself and being rejected were two completely different concepts!

The rejected little demon took a few steps forward, hugged the Archangel’s leg, and looked up at him with teary eyes. “I listen.”

I’m very obedient. Please don’t reject me.

T~T