Got this one done fairly quick since the SJ chapter was so short. Also, end of the first arc! Most of the arcs are 5-6 chapters, with a few short (2-3) and a couple longer (7-11). You can see the translated arc names on the series page. Anyway, this chapter does go past the end of chapter 2 of the manga a bit, so yay, I’m past the manga!
Chapter 5 - The marriage alone was accepted"Angelica, I… have gotten married to Laetia."
The hero Angelica froze. I mused that it was as though she had been hit by petrification magic or something.
This was probably the result of her refusing to accept what I had said. I thought she might get even more confused if I keep talking, so I'll just wait for now.
"Hooo……" Angelica let out a long sigh.
She-She's calmer than I thought she'd be. I guess she's not the hero for nothing. But now, she's grabbing her cheeks and pulling on them really hard!
"Drat! Why am I not waking up?! Wake up already! I don't want to be in this creepy nightmare anymore!"
Ah, so she wasn't actually calm… Or rather, this is the natural response I was expecting…
"Calm down! This isn't a dream! You're already awake! Listen to us!"
"That's right, Angelica. It's true. Mama decided to get married again~"
Laetia's gentle voice didn't really match with the current mood. Even in this messed-up situation, perhaps the person who gave birth to her could calm her down. Being able to say that in such a mild-mannered way was amazing. Laetia, you're so wonderful.
"Mama, are you being controlled…? Or did he threaten you…? Tell me what's going on!"
She stopped pinching her cheeks, but she clearly didn't trust me either.
"I was drawn to how Mr. Galtau was so direct with me. He was so gentlemanly as well."
"What do you mean 'gentlemanly,' he's the demon lord! Of course he's not! Every day, he kills innocent people and drinks their blood!"
"That's not true at all. That's prejudice, and I'm not a vampire. Also, I think there are some humans who use the blood of livestock in their cooking."
"You, demon lord, shut up!"
She just told me to shut up. Considering her age, maybe she was in the middle of that "teenage rebellion" thing…
"Hmm, Angelica, are you going through your teenage rebellion phase? This is just like that time you got upset that your clothes were washed in the same batch as Papa's."
"She's right. Trust Laetia to know what's going on."
"Mama, you can't lump hating the demon lord together with teenage rebellion as some kind of phase! Also, demon lord, I told you to be quiet!"
It would be easy to just not say anything, but, if I didn't, I don't think this could be resolved… In order to determine clearly whether or not the hero accepts this new reality, we need move the conversation forward a step.
Laetia slowly walked towards the hero, then embraced her and rubbed and patted her back.
"It's all right, no one's lying to you. I just decided to get married again."
The power of a mother was immense. The hero's face softened.
"It's fine that you wanted to get married again, but why did it have to be the demon lord…?"
"He was very polite when he came to bring you back. After talking with him for a little bit, I could tell he was a very sincere person."
"He's just trying to trick—!"
"You know, your mama is a good judge of people, if nothing else."
After Laetia declared that, the hero couldn't say anything back.
"I as well was rash in my actions. However, I fell in love with Laetia the moment I laid eyes on her. What I felt was not a lie. That's why I… proposed…"
Angelica loosened her hands from Laetia's while staring at me, evaluating me. Then, she spun around, turning her back to us.
"Whoever Mama wants to marry is up to Mama, so I won't complain. However…… don't think that you can just swoop in and become my father!"
After saying that, she ran back to her room.
"W-Wait…… he-hero!"
"You can't expect the hero to listen to anything the demon lord says, right?! Just leave me alone!"
She slammed the door to her room shut; it appeared that she was going to hole up there. If I tried to force it open, our relationship would probably get even worse.
While I stood there staring at the door, Laetia gave me a few pats on the back.
"Oh well~, it's not like this was unexpected~. I'm sure this came as a huge shock to her~"
"It probably did…… I can't blame her if she thought this was all a horrible joke."
"Let's think of the good things that came out of that. Did you catch it? She said she wouldn't reject whoever I chose to marry."
"Aah, she did say that, didn't she…"
Although she also said she wouldn't acknowledge me as her father.
"In other words, while she may not be ready to accept you as her father yet, at least she doesn't oppose our marriage. You could say that she's at least willing to say 'Galtau is my father in name only,' couldn't you?"
I suppose that was a valid interpretation of her words.
"Rather than rejecting our marriage outright, don't you think this outcome is much better? You can just take your time slowly tearing down the wall between the two of you."
"Thank you, Laetia…"
"Come on now, Galtau, there's no need to feel down. Let's finish eating. Once our stomachs are full, maybe some good ideas will come to mind~"
Laetia and I sat down and continued our meal. I was able to regain my objectivity, at least more than I had before. I needed to live in a way that didn't make my teenage daughter hate me. If I was too loose, she would just continue to lose trust in me.
Even if she was the hero, as long as I faced her seriously and honestly, one day she might open up her heart to me.
"By the way, Galtau, have you ever been married before? Or is this your second marriage?" Laetia asked nonchalantly.
I'm sure it would be bad if I kept it from her. The sooner I tell her the better. Because, she was my wife. I shouldn't hide anything from her.
"It's not a very happy story. Do you mind?"
I slowly told her about my previous wife, Sasaya. In the middle of the story, I saw Laetia's face droop in sadness for the first time. She was such a kind, and strong, person, to be able to share in another person's suffering.
"That must have been a very painful experience. Compared to us humans, you've had to endure it for such a long, long time…"
"Yes. However, while this may sound a bit morbid, when I met you, Laetia, it felt like she was giving me a push on the back."
—Geez, stop worrying about me and find some happiness for yourself.
"I can believe she would do that. I myself wouldn't want the person I loved to keep on living in loneliness."
The face Laetia was making reminded me once again of Sasaya.
"I apologize, for talking so much about another woman."
"Not at all. I also often find myself thinking of my previous husband; it would be strange not to. If I were the kind of woman who would forget about her old spouses, then you probably wouldn't like me, right?"
Goodness, it was that simple: it really would be strange to forget.
"Um, this may be imprudent of me to ask, but why did you not get married again before now?"
"Oh, that's simple," Laetia laughed lightly. "When my husband passed away, she was—Angelica was still very young. I needed to raise her, so I had no time to fall in love again."
Ah, Laetia and I were so similar, even though we were completely different.
I didn't have any children with Sasaya, so I didn't know how to build relationships with kids. I was a complete beginner when it came to parenting. But, all of a sudden, I had a teenage daughter now. I wonder if I could handle it……
— — Chapter 6