An imposing hall with a gleaming marble floor and towering ceilings adorned with intricate frescoes of battles and drakontos breathing fire welcomes its visitors. A majestic spiral staircase, carved from noble wood, rises towards the upper levels, adorned with ornate handrails.

The salamander girl felt completely awestruck by the novel atmosphere. Every corner of the enormous hall sparked intense curiosity within her, her gaze ceaselessly wandering. On the other hand, the demon king appeared distressed, his eyes fixed on the ground, filled with uncertainty about the fate that awaited him now that his true identity had been uncovered.

Henry gathered them in the center of the living room, adjacent to the grand hall and the dining room. They stood in line and waited in silence, expectant for their master's words. Without delay, he began with a small apology:

—Apologies for waking you all so early.

—"No worries," responded the tallest maid, the mother among them, and continued, "My daughters and I are always at your service."

And as was customary when he had something important to say, Henry began to embrace them one by one, though he only planted a loving kiss on the cheek of one of them: the woman who had been at the wheel, his bodyguard. He moved to the center of the living room and continued with the news:

—As you all know, I finally found her. The person I've been searching for for so many years —he paused dramatically, though they all knew who he was referring to—. The demon king, the person who enchanted me —The maids erupted in applause and celebration at Henry's words.

It was then that the demon king finally knew who his new master was and how he had discovered that he wasn't dead. His skin turned as cold as ice and he feared for his life.

Henry advanced towards the demon king with shining eyes, illuminated as if ablaze. The demon king retreated with each step Henry took, until the wall stopped his escape.

—That's right, over a hundred years ago, you enchanted me —he said as he brought his right hand to the demon king's chin, who was visibly frightened—. You condemned me to spend my immortality in a body like this —he gestured from head to toe with both hands.

The woman abruptly removed the man's hand and snapped, "I should've eliminated you when I had the chance. Because of you, everything I had vanished! Now I live among garbage, surrounded by people who only crave my suffering! Are you going to kill me!?"

"Not at all! That's in the past. I just want to tell you something," he raised his right hand, running it through his hair nervously, "I want to thank you. You've made me the happiest person in the world. Without you, I would have never met all of them, my family," he gestured to the maids with open hands, "Besides, you freed me from the war."

Henry moved away from the demon king and sat in one of the five large armchairs, turning his back to the maids but keeping his attention on the demon king. With seriousness in his tone, he continued:

"After being defeated, you were so weakened by our confrontation that you retreated to your castle and, before being captured, you took your own life. That's what the official history says. However, I remained enchanted and couldn't regain my true form. How was that possible? You switched bodies with someone."

In this world, powerful spells can only be undone in two ways: the first is for the sorcerer to dissolve it themselves. And finally, the second, with the death of the sorcerer. That's why Henry always knew she was still alive.

"How did you know I was the demon king?!" she shouted, angry, and continued, "There was no way to track me down. There are hundreds of thousands of demons in the world; it could be anyone. Why me?"

Henry finished his tea, leaving the small cup on the long table. He stood up and approached the demon king, who this time didn't retreat.

"Because you despised women. You saw them as inferior. You never sent them to war, not even when they were close to the castle," Henry declared firmly.

"That's not true, I..."

"You saw them as weak, that's why you hid within one of your concubines. You thought no one would suspect. However, I took the time to interview each of the women who passed through your castle; they all mentioned Aipy. The only one I couldn't talk to, until today," Henry continued resolutely.

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"Don't you dare mention her name! She sacrificed herself for me, I loved her, I still love her," the king broke down in tears, collapsing to the ground in a whirlwind of emotions.

"However, I'm not the only one who knows. Of the few people still alive who were in that battle, they are searching for you. After realizing they had lost their most lethal weapon, me, a drakontos capable of pulverizing entire cities, they began a secret hunt to find and eliminate you."

"Why don't you kill me? I took away your powers."

"Because I'm not interested in powers, I just want a peaceful life with my family," he replied, leaning to be at eye level with the king kneeling on the floor. "When the war ended, they built this mansion for me and gave half the gold from your castle to buy my silence and gratitude. The Oregate Empire needed other kingdoms to believe they still possessed a drakontos. They always underestimated me."

The maid, with glasses and hair tied in a ponytail, approached the master, anxious about what had been revealed.

"You shouldn't have mentioned that last part, it's a state secret," she expressed with concern.

Henry stopped leaning and replied, "Don't worry, María, I don't intend to lose sight of her, not after spending hundreds of years finding her."

"Then let me go, I'm putting your entire family in danger. If you found me, there's no guarantee others won't do the same," she said, wiping her tears with her hands.

This time, Henry knelt in front of her and placed his right hand on her shoulder. The demon king lifted her head to meet his gaze, and Henry spoke with a warm tone:

"I can't do that. For years, I've worked to find and protect you. I've made powerful friends, built a name. Besides, I can't leave this mansion; I promised her."

"But today, people saw you leave the mansion. They saw you with two slaves," she said, looking at him intensely.

"You're right, but they can't say anything. Buying slaves is punishable by death. If they report me, they'd be digging their own grave," Henry replied, standing up. "If someone exposes me, we'll both be executed."

"Please don't say something like that," several maids murmured with a trembling voice.

The maid who had been at the wheel hugged Henry from behind. He took the hands of the young girl, which rested on his stomach since he was considerably taller, and said:

"That won't happen. Besides, I can't die and leave all of you alone." Then, he turned around and returned the hug, kissing her on the head as he usually did, and added, "Beatriz, forgive me for always worrying you."

Without separating from Beatriz, who still buried her tear-covered face in his chest, he ordered:

"I want her taken from the salon to her own room and given new clothes. Quick!"

The salamander girl wasn't in the room; cleverly, Henry had asked Pipi, the youngest of all the maids, to accompany her and help her bathe, as well as prepare a bed in the same room. From now on, Pipi would take care of her new sister as the elder one she was now. Additionally, Henry didn't trust children much to keep secrets. Not to mention that he never planned to buy another slave, so he had to improvise on the spot.

Without wasting time, they all got to work and approached the demon king, who was cooperative despite being angry with Henry during the argument. They took her up the stairs and disappeared into the hallway to the left on the second floor.

"They've all gone now," he said as he held his cheeks with both hands, wiping his tears with his thumbs as they fell. "Don't cry; I promise I'll choose my words carefully from now on."

"It's not that; I fear for what might happen in the future," she said, sobbing.

"What do you mean?"

"They're still searching for her, and we have her here. Moreover, several aristocrats saw you in that alley and know you bought a slave. I don't want us to be driven away, not again."

"You're right, but I want you to trust me once more. Besides, you know me; I'll always do everything I can for the people and things that matter to me," he said before being interrupted by a kiss on the lips. Henry reciprocated the kiss intensely, sliding his hands down her back to her waist.

They stayed like that for several minutes until a commotion began to be heard in the salon, prompting them to separate. Henry approached the salon and saw the salamander girl, Brínea, peeking from the curved passage through the spiral staircase. She clung to the railing and shouted when she saw him, "My name is Brínea! And you!?"

A voice called her from behind, "I haven't finished dressing you, and it's not good to run on the second floor; Henry doesn't like it." Pipi was guiding her towards the room to finish dressing her, as she only had on the maid's blouse and skirt; she still needed the apron, stockings, and shoes.

"I'm Henry Frank! A pleasure, young lady!" He offered her a brief bow; then Brínea disappeared from his view, dragged away by Pipi.

"You almost scared me to death," said Beatriz as she adjusted her apron.

"Are you afraid they'll find out about us?"

"I'm afraid they'll take it the wrong way; they're all in love with you."

"But I only have eyes for you," he said embarrassedly, rubbing his head, a rather recurring gesture.

"By the way, who is the girl?" she asked, pointing her index finger at her lower lip.

"She's the real demon king, Sargonas Xul'tharac," he replied with seriousness on his face.

"You're joking, right?"

"Yes, you know me well haha. She's just a girl I was forced to buy to take to the real demon king. But, on second thought, we can't call him that. I should ask him how he prefers to be addressed now."

"By the way you introduced yourself to her, I almost believed she was the real demon king."

"The demon king already knows who I am; introductions are unnecessary. Also, you're mistaken about something."

"What's that?"

"She's no longer king of anything."