“Who are they talking about?” Hilaire thought for a moment, then asked again, “Are there two Demon Kings in the Demon Realm?”

Baph: “There is only one Demon King.”

“Then… does Papa have other children?”

“You are also his only one.”

Hilaire contemplated…

The Demon King is Papa. Papa’s son is himself.

Equating the “Demon King’s son” they were talking about with himself, the little one pointed to himself, eyes wide and round, filled with astonished disbelief.

“Me???”

“Hahahahaha!” All five demons burst out laughing, even Baph, usually composed and mindful of his image, couldn’t hold back.

Bazel laughed the hardest. Bringing Baobao here was partly to see his reaction to the rumors, and it turned out to be truly amusing.

Hilaire looked down at his hands – pale and tender, with five little dimples on the back. No matter how he looked at them, they didn’t seem capable of killing a demonic beast with one punch.

He silently pressed his hands under his legs, then looked at his short little legs that couldn’t even reach the ground – completely unrelated to being tall, sturdy, fierce, and mighty.

He looked up, aggrieved. “Those are rumors!”

Bode patted his head sympathetically with a tentacle tip. “Baobao, just give up. The rumors about you have been spreading for three years now. We’ve explained many times, but nobody believes us.”

“But, they’re not talking about me at all! I look like this,” Hilaire pointed to himself. “We need to make it clear to everyone!”

Lance shook his head, looking at the little one’s stubborn expression. He stopped a passing demon. “Hey, friend, look here. This is Prince Hilaire, the Demon King’s son. Everything you guys were saying before is just rumors.”

The little demon being pointed at immediately sat up straight, staring at the demon with reserved anticipation.

The one-eyed demon who was stopped looked over at the chubby cub sitting on the chair. The little one’s clear, big eyes were round and bright, his nose delicate and well-shaped, his pale pink mouth only about the size of a fingernail, currently pressed lightly together.

This cub was really cute! Even with differing aesthetic standards among races, one couldn’t deny he was extremely adorable. He kind of wanted to steal him home to raise.

However, sensing the powerful magic auras emanating from the demons beside him, the one-eyed demon quickly suppressed this dangerous impulse. But what were they saying just now? This cute little fellow was Prince Hilaire?

The one-eyed demon paused for a second, then burst out laughing. “You guys are really humorous! How could Prince Hilaire possibly be a cub? Hahahahaha!”

Being laughed at, Hilaire’s shoulders slumped, the little demon radiating an air of dejection.

Nick comforted him, “Baobao, try to look on the bright side. Maybe you’ll grow up to be like that; then it wouldn’t be a rumor anymore.”

“Tall and sturdy, fierce and mighty?” Hilaire thought it made sense. He looked up, considered it, and clenched his fist determinedly. “I will work hard to grow up like that!”

The five demons imagined the cub with his adorable face atop a burly physique. No matter how they pictured it, it seemed strange. Was this direction of effort perhaps a bit off?

Hilaire had found a future goal and finally stopped being bothered by the rumors. He perked up his ears, continuing to listen to the conversations in the tavern.

After a while, he asked strangely again, “When did I kill a demonic beast?”

Bode raised a tentacle. “That should be me. A while ago, a demonic beast appeared near the Forest of Calamity, harming townspeople. I killed it.”

Hilaire: “And raiding the house?”

Bazel claimed responsibility. “I did that! Hehe, that guy was really rich! Even the patterns on his walls were made of gold! I didn’t leave a speck; scraped it all off.”

Baph, the black goat demon, slowly glanced at him. “In the report you submitted, and during the property inventory, I did not see these items.”

Confiscated property and items were all recorded. Bazel couldn’t keep them even if he coveted them. But things like decorative wall patterns didn’t need to be recorded, so the greedy Bazel took the gold foil.

Lance added, “The demon next to us just now also said he wrecked the house.”

Bazel guiltily turned his head away, raised his cup, took a large gulp, gulp, gulp, and started changing the subject. “This wine tastes really good, hahaha!”

Hilaire stared at the drink in Bazel’s cup. “I want to drink that.”

“No, you can’t.” Before the five demons could speak, an unfamiliar female voice came from behind them. The demons instantly grew alert.

Hilaire looked behind him. Standing there was a female Succubus. Ignoring the scrutiny of the several Greater Demons, she bent down and placed a glass of orange juice in front of the little demon.

This Succubus was very beautiful, but Hilaire’s gaze lingered on her tail and wings. Demon King Eris didn’t have a tail, but the little demon had a slender black one with a triangular tip. His wings were also narrower than his Papa’s. The wings and tail of the demon before him were very similar to his own.

“So, it’s you, Herschel.” Baph seemed to recognize her and nodded.

Herschel raised an eyebrow, looking at Baph. “Why did you bring him out? And into my tavern, no less. What if something happens?”

Baph’s attitude towards her was reasonably good. “His Highness rarely comes out. We’ll be heading back soon.”

Herschel noticed the little demon staring at her and flicked his head lightly with her finger. “Hello there, Hilaire.”

“You know me?” This was the first demon to recognize him. Hilaire covered his head, surprised.

“Of course. You look very much like your father. Hmm, your mouth and skin tone resemble your mother’s. Can’t really tell who you get your face shape from; both your parents have very defined facial structures.”

Hilaire, with his chubby cheeks, heard it—she was calling him fat!

But at that moment, his attention was caught by something else she had just said. “My mother?”

Hilaire had a Papa, and Bobo, Lance, and the others, plus three Hellhounds. He didn’t have a mother. The Demon King rarely mentioned this subject in front of him.

“Who is my mother?” Hilaire asked.

Herschel was surprised. “Eris never told you? Then forget it; I don’t want to meddle. Go ask him when you get back; you’ll find out.”

The tavern was busy, and Herschel only exchanged a few words before going off to attend to business.

Hilaire was clearly preoccupied with this matter. Even when the demons took him to play elsewhere, he seemed uninterested. So, they returned quickly.

“Baobao was here earlier, so I couldn’t ask. Baph, do you know who Baobao’s mother is?” Lance asked Baph only after handing the cub over to Eris.

Baph: “You should have heard of her, too. It’s Euphemia.”

Nick: “So it really was her! We said before it was impossible, since she died in the war a thousand years ago, and Baobao only hatched three years ago. But later, finding out Baobao was born one thousand and three years ago, I guessed it must be her.”

Euphemia was famous over a thousand years ago, partly for her renowned beauty, partly for her exceptional fighting prowess. If she were still alive, the Succubus race might have produced a Greater Demon. But unfortunately, as one of the rebel leaders, she died fighting against the previous Demon King.

Lance suddenly remembered something. “You mentioned before that Eris hunting us down had an element of redirected anger. Could it be because of this?”

Because his wife died and the demon egg was damaged and couldn’t hatch, he took his anger out on the previous Demon King’s subordinates, purging even those like them who hadn’t done anything?

Baph nodded but didn’t elaborate further on the matter. The battle a thousand years ago was actually extremely perilous; they had even come close to defeat, and many things happened.

Their ultimate success was also greatly related to Euphemia.

While the demons discussed this, Hilaire, lying in his Papa’s arms, was also asking, “Papa, who is my Mama?”

Eris’s gentle patting motion paused slightly. “Why do you suddenly ask?”

“Because a demon said my mouth and skin color look like Mama’s.”

Eris studied the little one for a moment. “They do.”

“Then who is my Mama? Where is she? Why doesn’t she live with us?” Hilaire, however smart, was still just a very young cub, protected and doted upon by a group of demons, never having encountered life’s partings and deaths.

Eris was silent for a while, his eyes downcast. “Her name is Euphemia. She is in a very distant place. We cannot see her right now.”

“Okay,” Hilaire said, somewhat disappointed. “Then when will she come back?”

Eris didn’t answer, just continued gently patting the cub, lulling him to sleep.

Hilaire initially waited for an answer, but after waiting a long time without getting one, he wanted to ask Papa why he didn’t reply. However, under the rhythmic patting, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier, until finally, his head tilted to the side, and he fell asleep.

Eris held the sleeping cub, his dark golden eyes staring blankly out the window. The bedchamber was silent. After a long pause, a low sigh was heard.

“That day will come.”

Hilaire had been preoccupied with thoughts about his mother, but upon waking, he received a gift from his Papa.

It was a miniature black trident, just a little taller than him. Although not as ornate or imposing as his Papa’s, the little demon loved it very much.

It was specially crafted for him, also capable of absorbing and releasing magic. After promising only to use the weapon on bad guys and never against demons or Hellhounds, the little demon happily took his trident outside to play.

This trident wasn’t a toy but a real weapon; the side blades and main blade were all very sharp. The little demon knew not to point the sharp ends at other demons, as it would hurt them. So, he took the trident to the lakeside in the Demon King’s Palace Garden to play with the water.

Bode, coming to find the cub, saw this scene, and his heart melted. “Baobao is so amazing! You even know how to use a fish spear! Maybe you’ll spear a big fish soon!”

Hilaire looked at his weapon, then explained seriously to Bode, “This isn’t a fish spear.”

“Isn’t it a fish spear? It looks quite similar.”

Hilaire felt a little unhappy, pouting. “This is my weapon! It’s for fighting bad guys! Not for spearing fish!”

He tapped the water surface with his trident and suddenly noticed several fish swimming around nearby.

Thinking his weapon wasn’t a fish spear and couldn’t possibly spear fish, the little demon aimed at the tail of one large fish and thrust down hard.

Then he stared in silence at the fish impaled on the tip of his trident.

Bode asked dryly, “The weapon works quite well. What now? Let it go?”

The little demon smacked his lips. “Let’s make soup.”