NOVEL FROG Chapter 5 – Family Dinner
Few days later Rosa's room was invaded by a bunch of demon maids. Despite Gunna's protests, they swarmed around Rosa and began tugging at her from all sides. Rosa was so startled by being surrounded by them, that she couldn't manage more than just gape in shock as she was quickly undressed and dressed up in a small black and red goth style dress and her short hair tied into two twin-tails with large black hairbands. Once done, they put Rosa in front of the mirror for her to admire their handiwork.
The demon maids looked very proud of themselves, but Rosa just grimaced at her reflection. She looked like some demonic goth doll that people set out on their porch at Halloween.
This is not how you dress up a small child! What is wrong with demons and their sense of style?
Of course, she could not voice her complaints aloud, so she glared at the maids with distaste while they fawned over her, saying how cute and adorable she was. Before they could smother Rosa too much, Demon Man entered the room, forcing them to scatter and scurry away like mice.
"Excellent! You look like a proper princess now!" Demon Man said with a self-satisfied smile and picked Rosa up.
So you're the one responsible for these horrid clothes! I should have known.
He was wearing a grand black and red suit, and quite honestly he looked like the perfect villain of every fantasy story. Rosa could only sigh in resignation, as he, for the first time since Rosa's arrival, took her outside the nursery.
There were bulky demon guards stationed by the door who gave a curt nod to Demon Man. They tried to appear stoic and disinterested, but Rosa saw how they occasionally stole glances at her. No doubt they wanted to know who it was that they were guarding this whole time. Well, Rosa didn't even know that she was being guarded.
Demon Man must be pretty high up on the food chain to have slaves, servants and even guards.
Rosa looked at everything with keen interest. The interior of the hallways was similar to her nursery – dark and gloomy. There was an occasional painting or a sculpture of a monster, but mostly it was just walls and doors that all looked much the same. After a few minutes of Demon Man turning this way and that, Rosa felt completely lost. She's always had trouble with directions, usually relying on the GPS.
Demon Man stopped in front of one of the large doors at the end of the hallway, and looked down on Rosa.
"Keep your head high, and don't show any weakness!" he said sternly. Rosa shifted uncomfortably in his arms, a bad feeling rising at the pit of her stomach.
What? Why would you say that to a baby?
He swung the door open and strode in with his back straight and his head held high. The sight that greeted Rosa was probably the last thing she imagined to see. This was supposed to be her first meeting with her family which she assumed to be a gathering of demons at various ages – grannies, grandpas, aunts, uncles, cousins, little demon babies like her running about.
Instead she, or to be precise Demon Man, was greeted by what can only be described as a harem. Demon women of all possible hair and eye colors in colorful dresses that barely covered anything were sitting around a ginormous dinner table, each with a little miniature version of themselves sitting next to them.
Please, don't tell me that all of those demon girls are my sisters?!
Seeing Demon Man enter, the women and the girls rose to their feet and gave him deep bows and curtsies. Looking at the demon women Rosa was surprised how their dresses even managed to hold their breasts in place.
It must be done by magic, because there's no way those skimpy dresses could contain all of… that.
"Greetings to the Dark King of the Underworld!" they said with sickeningly sweet smiles as they batted their eyelashes at Demon Man. Each woman tried to pucker their lips and show off their cleavage as much as possible.
He is the Demon King? I knew he must be pretty high up in demon society but the King himself?
Rosa barely contained a disgusted grimace. If it weren't for the many eyes looking at her right now, then she wouldn't have bothered to hold back.
But with these concubines or whatever similar title they held, Rosa had to be careful. Unlike Demon Man, they had no reason to like Rosa, in fact, they without a doubt wanted her out of the picture to have him pay attention to them and their daughters. Only one of them, namely Rosa's biological mother, would be her ally.
Which one is my mother? I don't really feel… a connection to any of them.
"Greetings to everyone in my flower garden! I am happy that you all were able to attend this special occasion," Demon Man said in a deep, loud voice that carried strength and authority Rosa hadn't heard before. While he could be quite pushy, he never really struck her as an authoritative figure. But here he appeared and spoke like an actual king.
"We wouldn't dream of missing it, Your Majesty," said a voluptuous demoness with wavy, purple hair that stretches all the way down to her knees. Her starry, dark blue dress left very little imagination, and quite honestly Rosa would classify it as some lingerie rather than a dress one wore for a formal occasion. The girl next to her looked like the oldest child out of the all present in the room, about fifteen or sixteen years old. She was already developing nice curves, and quite honestly her breasts were quite a bit larger than Rosa's had been when she was an adult human.
Why do all demon women have such huge breasts? Or is it just some weird benchmark to enter the King's harem?
Demon Man nods and lifts Rosa forward for everyone to see.
"I am proud to introduce my youngest daughter and the daughter of the late Demon Queen, as well as the Crown Princess of the Underworld – Morrigan Nachtstern," he announced in a voice that reverberated throughout the room and sent a shiver through Rosa.
All of the women looked straight at Rosa, and she felt like a lamb that was about to be thrown into an enclosure full of crocodiles. Although they wore smiles on their faces, their eyes were filled with malice and hatred and their tails like cat's before it attacked its prey. Rosa's breath hitched, her heart began beating faster and she felt her hands turn clammy.
Every single one of them wants to kill me…
Rosa cursed her luck for being dragged into another world and becoming a daughter of a powerful man. There could be nothing worse than that. She'd no doubt be a target of many assassins and political ploys. They'd try to stab her, poison her, marry her off to some fat old, graying demon with a bunch of money.
Well, maybe not that last one.
Rosa's little hands began to tremble while thinking of all the horrifying scenarios she'd have to live through. But just as she thought that she'd completely lose her nerve, Demon Man pulled her back and put her in his lap.
"Now, let's enjoy the feast to honor the Crown Princess! Let her grow strong and prosper!" Demon Man took a cup which looked to be filled with wine and downed it in a single swig. His closeness seemed to repel the grudging looks of the concubines, so Rosa took the opportunity to scuttle closer to him.
"Morrigan looks so much like you, Your Majesty! She's so beautiful!" said the concubine sitting on the right side of the emperor. She had unusually light skin for a demon and bright pink hair tied into two high ponytails. Unlike most women in the room, who went for a sexy look, this one was clearly pushing towards being cute. Although her clothes were no less revealing.
"You shall address her as 'Her Highness' or 'Princess Morrigan'," Demon Man growled in response, and the concubine quickly dropped her gaze.
"O-Of course, Your Majesty," she muttered through a forced smile.
"Your Majesty, how old is P-Princess Morrigan?" a demoness with a long, black braid and alluring glasses addressed Demon Man. Rosa noticed that Deziara, the tantrum throwing brat from before, was sitting next to her, biting her lips in frustration and glaring daggers in Rosa's direction. No doubt, she had recognized the baby who had sold her out.
"She is seven months old," Demon Man replied coldly and took a bite of meat that was served on his plate. Then he snapped his fingers, and a maid with a trolley came up to him with some sort of porridge on it. She set the bowl in front of Rosa and Demon Man. He took the small spoon that the maid had set next to the bowl, scooped a bit of the porridge and offered it for Rosa to eat. All the eyes in the room once again turned to her, judging her every tiny movement.
"What's wrong, Morrigan? Are you not hungry?" Demon Man asked and moved the spoon closer to her lips.
Of course, I'm hungry, but I can't eat with all of these women glaring at me! I thought that being a baby I wouldn't have to worry about any social norms for quite a while.
Nonetheless, Rosa opened her mouth and Demon Man put the porridge in it. It was a delicious, sweet porridge that reminded her vaguely of plums.
"You never fed Deziara like this, Your Majesty," the black-haired demoness with the braid noted with a tinge of bitterness in her voice. She quickly collected her expression and put on a smile, but Deziara, on the other hand, looked like she was about to throw another tantrum.
"I am the King, not a nanny," Demon Man stated, and the woman flinched back.
He sure is harsh towards women he supposedly takes to bed. Not the atmosphere I expected in a harem. Rosa thought as Demon Man continued to feed her the porridge, while occasionally taking a bite from his own dinner.
"Your Majesty, has Her Highness manifested any powers yet?" the purple-haired demoness asked, trying to divert Demon Man's attention. But that was definitely not the right question to ask, as the demon glared at her and stopped feeding Rosa. Then he stood up from his seat while holding her close.
He's about to snap!
"Morrigan has more magical potential than any demon born in the last five thousand years. She'll become the most powerful demon queen and raise the Demon Realm to heights it has never seen before! And you will all support her as her loyal subjects and sisters," Demon Man boomed, his voice reverberating throughout the room and making the air heavy and thick. The women bent their heads low and the smaller girls clutched onto their mothers in fear.
S-Stop! There's no need to go this far! Rosa thought and tugged at his coat in an attempt to pacify him. Demon Man's icy gaze broke, and he looked down on her. The women in the room gasped for air.
Demon Man regarded them with annoyance, then turned on his heel and left the room. Rosa couldn't understand how he could be so cold and cruel towards them. She could somewhat understand his overbearing stance towards concubines – they'd slit Rosa's throat at first opportunity. But what about the girls?
Aren't they your daughters just like me? Why don't you show any affection towards them? Is it really all about power?
Then Rosa remembered that Demon Man said that she had more magical potential than any demon born in the last five thousand years. Her stomach churned and she felt her head spin. She didn't want any magical power or unmatched strength. All Rosa wanted was to return back home and paint.
