“Completely unfamiliar magic fluctuations, so it must have been His Highness, right?”

“His Highness’s magic is actually that terrifying!”

“Yeah, killing all those monsters with a single blow.”

The demons discussed spiritedly. Even some members of the Demon King’s army who had seen the cub in the Forest of Calamity started to feel uncertain.

His Highness… wasn’t he a little baby? Did we see wrong?

Under the brainwashing influence of their surrounding comrades, the image of the adorable cub in their minds gradually transformed into a tall, imposing, invincible adult demon.

So, our eyes must have deceived us back then. The real Prince is so mighty, his magic so terrifying, instantly killing so many monsters! How could he possibly be a cub?

Rumors gain credibility when told by many. Coupled with countless demons swearing by these stories, the image of a tall, sturdy, fierce, and mighty figure who could slay hundreds of monsters with one strike became firmly welded to the little demon, impossible to remove.

The Archangel, upon hearing the news relayed by the little white bird—that the Demon King’s son instantly slaughtered hundreds of demons in battle—nearly fainted. Although unclear what those demons had done, killing over a hundred of one’s own kind in one go was simply insane! Cruel and inhumane!

The Archangel felt as if the great war between the Celestial Realm and the Demon Realm was imminent. What next? Would this son of the Demon King start looking for excuses to declare war?

Little demon Hilaire was unaware of the evaluations demons and angels had made of him. After that trip far from home, he returned to the Demon King’s Palace and grew up happily under the doting affection of his Demon King Papa and the various demons.

He finally grew from one thousand years old to one thousand and three years old.

“Dora! Dori! Dosh!”

Three white demonic beasts dashed past from the garden, running towards a small, three-heads-tall demon not far away. They finally stopped around Hilaire, panting with tongues out, tails wagging, sniffing him all over.

The little demon had grown up. From a babbling infant, he had become a three-heads-tall toddler who could walk and run. The black wings on his back had also grown a bit larger, and his tail was longer. His rosy-white cheeks looked chubby, but whenever he smiled, his hidden, sharp little chin would appear.

Even as a baby, Hilaire had big eyes. Now that his features had matured slightly, they looked somewhat different from his Demon King Papa’s eye shape.

Eris always had half-lidded eyes, partially obscuring them, making his expression unreadable and giving the Demon King an inscrutable aura. The little demon’s eyes, however, were large and round, with downturned corners, making him look innocent and cute.

Nearby, Constans was knitting. His bony fingers maneuvered two knitting needles with great dexterity, weaving back and forth. Occasionally, the yarn would get caught in the gaps between his bones, only to be deftly freed. He was knitting a white, one-piece sweater, interspersed with black yarn outlining a pattern.

He periodically glanced up at Hilaire playing with the Hellhounds, his hands never pausing, quickly completing most of the garment.

Bazel snorted disdainfully nearby. Remembering this guy was also strong in a fight, he secretly rolled his eyes. After thinking for a long time, he finally recalled that skeletons couldn’t fly, which made him feel considerably more balanced. Looking at the gradually forming sweater, he noticed the pattern on the back was actually a skeleton.

Well, I’ll be! This guy looked honest and simple-minded, but in reality, he knitted all sorts of clothes and dolls for Baobao, and now he was even knitting himself onto Baobao’s clothes! Was this a declaration of sovereignty? Signifying Baobao liked him more? Too manipulative!

As deeply scheming as Baph!

Bazel, unable to knit, was furious. Constans lifted his head, stared at Bazel—whose nose was practically smoking—for a moment, noticed his gaze fixed on the clothes in his hands, and asked curiously, “Click clack?” You want a sweater too?

“I wouldn’t wear that!” Bazel stomped his foot angrily.

But soon, an idea struck him. He sidled up to the skeleton and whispered, “How about next time you knit a dragon-themed outfit for Baobao? My dragon form is very imposing; Baobao would definitely look good wearing it.”

Constans imagined His Highness wearing little dragon clothes, felt it would be very cute, and nodded his skull in agreement.

Seeing the skeleton was cooperative, Bazel was finally satisfied. He looked up towards Baobao. The little demon nearby was laughing happily, running around, looking even cuter than before. However, the three chubby demonic beasts beside him were quite the eyesore.

That female Hellhound had been wild and untamable. After the pups were weaned, she kept trying to escape the Demon King’s Palace, even injuring guards. So, in the end, she was released back into the Forest of Calamity.

The three little Hellhounds, having grown up alongside Hilaire, were already accustomed to life in the Demon King’s Palace and adapted very well.

The only downside was that life was too comfortable.

Because they were Prince Hilaire’s beloved pets, just as Hilaire ate eight meals a day, the three Hellhounds also ate eight meals a day. Combined with insufficient activity, the Hellhounds—normally known for their agile bodies and graceful builds—had fattened into balls in the Demon King’s Palace.

Bazel hadn’t liked the look of them since they were puppies. “Are these still demonic beasts? They’re so fat they look like rubber balls stuck on four wooden posts. Lance even wanted the Hellhounds to protect Baobao’s safety! If they encountered danger, the enemy could probably send these three balls flying with one kick.”

Hilaire’s ears twitched. He looked over warily. “Fat?”

He was going through a sensitive phase recently. Because he ate so much every day, he had developed a round little tummy, and his arms and legs were all soft baby fat, his face also round. Whenever any demon mentioned the word “fat,” he assumed they were talking about him.

Sucking in his little tummy hard, Hilaire sadly discovered that the moment he relaxed, it would immediately reappear.

A few days ago, during a physical check-up at Gorgon’s, he had secretly told him about not being able to fly. Hilaire had worriedly thought something was wrong with his wings, but the other had just chuckled and said he was simply too fat for his wings to lift him.

Devastated, Hilaire almost cried, deciding he needed to diet properly; he couldn’t be a flightless fat little demon.

These past few days, he had diligently reduced his eight daily meals to seven and even took the three Hellhounds outside for exercise together, but it hadn’t had much effect.

“Baobao, I wasn’t talking about you. I meant those three Hellhounds.” The demons had long noticed what the cub was doing, but they didn’t think he was fat. After all, a soft, chubby Baobao was just too cute; little demons who hadn’t reached adulthood should be like this.

“They’re not fat!” Hilaire loudly defended the three Hellhounds. Even though the flesh on these three beasts jiggled when they ran, and they had recently failed to brake while running and sent Nick flying, their little master still loved them dearly.

“Alright, alright, not fat, not fat.” Bazel was a parent who spoiled the cub excessively; he wouldn’t refute anything the cub said.

Hilaire turned his head, looking at the three demonic beasts—taller than him now—playing ball nearby. Their broad bodies completely blocked the sunlight. It seemed they really were, perhaps, slightly… chubby.

“It’s okay, I’ll help you guys diet too,” Hilaire whispered.

“Baobao, Baobao, come quickly!” Bode shuffled over from outside the garden carrying a box. “Look, I brought you a little cake! The cakes from this shop are delicious; I saved this specially for you.”

Hilaire’s face lit up, then he remembered his diet and immediately refused. “I can’t eat it.”

“I heard from Baph that you haven’t had much appetite lately. His cooking must not be good. I’ve tasted this shop’s cake; you’ll definitely like it.”

“But… I need to diet.” Hilaire could already smell the cake’s fragrance, but looking down at his little tummy, he still tried hard to refuse.

“It’s fine! Cake is a snack. Eating snacks doesn’t make you fat; eating proper meals does! You’ve been eating less during meals recently; you’ll definitely slim down after a while.”

Bode opened the cake box, took out the small cake and a fork, and handed it to Hilaire.

The weak-willed little demon swallowed hard. “Then I’ll just have one bite.”

“Okay, one bite, one bite.”

…Staring at the empty plate, the little demon dazedly recalled how Bode had just tricked him into eating the entire small cake. Tears welling up, he asked Bode with a final glimmer of hope, “Bobo, eating snacks really doesn’t make you fat?”

Bode, clearing away the empty plate and fork, wobbled his body. “Nope! Look at me, I eat so many snacks every day, and I’m so skinny!”

Looking at his perfectly round body without a single edge, Hilaire let out a loud wail.

“Bobo tricked me!”

The little demon sat in his Demon King Papa’s lap, hugging his waist and crying grievously about being tricked into eating cake.

“It’s alright. You’ll slim down when you grow up,” Eris comforted his son, hugging him. “You inherited the Succubus/Incubus physique. When you grow up, you definitely won’t get fat, and you’ll become very good-looking.”

“Really?”

“Adult Succubi/Incubi all have very well-proportioned figures.”

Hilaire was comforted. Sitting on his Papa’s lap, he swung his chubby little legs, happily bobbing his head as he imagined becoming handsome when he grew up.

“Papa, I want to go play outside.”

“Okay, go ahead.”

“Outside the Demon King’s Palace.”

Eris fell silent. The demon hiding in the shadows still hadn’t been found. Three years ago, they had investigated the raw materials of the seal-dissolving potion, thoroughly checking all distribution channels.

The origin and destination of every batch of ingredients checked out, so they lost the trail. As long as that party remained unfound, it wasn’t safe for Hilaire to go out.

The little demon tilted his head up, looking at his Papa, blinking his innocent puppy-dog eyes, then rubbed his head hard against his Papa’s chest, acting cute. Two small bumps had recently appeared on top of his head.

Gorgon said he was about to grow horns. Hilaire hoped his horns would grow as thick and handsome as his Papa’s, so he paid extra attention to the top of his head.

But these two little bumps itched. When they did, he would rub his head against the demons or place their hands on his head, asking them to scratch for him.

Even the Demon King couldn’t resist such tactics. He not only agreed to let him go out but also helped Hilaire scratch the itchy little bumps where his horns were about to sprout.

–

Hilaire wore a white shirt and a small black vest, his little leather shoes polished till they shone, looking like an exquisite little demon.

He was going out today! He had always stayed within the Demon King’s Palace before. Even though the bustling main city was right outside, he had never been there. After begging his Papa for a long time, he could finally go out once!

“I’m going out now! You guys look after the house!”

Waving goodbye to the three Hellhounds, Hilaire went out with the demons.

The four demons and Baph accompanied the little demon out together. The combined combat power of five Greater Demons could likely rival the Demon King himself. If Constans hadn’t been busy, it would have been six Greater Demons accompanying him.

“Baobao, where do you want to go?” Lance asked, bending slightly to hold Hilaire’s hand.

“To the place with the most demons, the liveliest place!”

Bazel stroked his chin thoughtfully. “The place with the most demons and the liveliest? I do know such a place.”

Baph handed the Little Prince a glass of milk from the table, watching him curiously observe the surroundings. Not wanting to lose his temper directly in front of the Prince, he glared straight at Bazel, asking through gritted teeth, “This is the lively place you mentioned?”

Bazel, having brought Hilaire and the other demons to a tavern, leaned back relaxedly in his chair. “Just tell me, are there many demons or not? Is it lively or not?”

Lance stopped Bode, who was about to slaughter the dragon. “It’s Baobao’s rare trip out; don’t ruin his mood. We’ll deal with this when we get back.”

Hilaire had never been to such a place before and stared curiously at the surrounding demons. Seeing one demon lift a glass of yellow, bubbling liquid and take a large, heroic gulp, then let out a sigh of satisfaction, he also lifted his glass of milk, took a big gulp that left a milk mustache, put the glass down, mimicked the other demon’s posture, and let out a sigh of satisfaction, “Ahhh.”

His posture and actions were perfectly imitated.

Nick clenched his fists, his gaze towards Bazel turning extremely unfriendly. Anywhere would have been better than here! Baobao was already learning bad habits!

Lance: “Baobao, shall we go somewhere else? It’s too noisy here.”

Hilaire, though small, was a little demon with a mind of his own. He shook his head. “Not noisy. Stay here.”

He sat on the large chair, swinging his short legs back and forth, listening to the demons chat.

Taverns were where gossip and news spread fastest. And for the past few years, the most popular topic was Prince Hilaire because he was too mysterious.

Even though the Demon King was quite a homebody, rarely leaving the palace or holding ceremonies, he could still be seen occasionally. But Prince Hilaire hadn’t been heard from at all for a thousand years. The moment his existence was announced three years ago, many related stories emerged.

His power, cruelty, and coldness… are widely known among demons. The more mysterious he was, the more everyone loved to investigate.

“I heard His Highness recently strangled a Greater Demon-level beast! That beast broke into a town and ate several demons!”

“What’s a Greater Demon-level beast? Killing hundreds of monsters a few years ago, now that was truly impressive!”

“And last year, raiding the home of a noble demon plotting rebellion, scraping off even the gold foil appliqués before destroying the entire house! So cold and decisive!”

“Yeah, truly worthy of being the Demon King’s son!”

“Also…”

Hilaire swung his legs, listening and listening.

The swinging of his chubby little legs slowed down, finally stopping altogether.

He asked the demons beside him, puzzled, “Who are they talking about?”