SLIP OF THE TONGUE

"IT'S NOT responding to my call," Zoe said in a frustrated voice. Then she sat on the sofa and put her feet on the table. It was bad manners, but she didn't care since she felt exhausted at the moment. "That pudding is good at hiding, huh?"

Goofball, the pudding-like "demon" attached to her shadow, ran away after his slip of the tongue. The demon mentioned that his partner was monitoring Vaughn Wilson. But after that accidental revelation, the demon refused to answer their questions.

Then Goofball just disappeared on her.

"But I remember the pudding demon said he's here to protect me. Plus, he came out when he thought my life was in danger," she said, then she tilted her head to one side. "Should I hurt myself or something to make him come out?"

"Don't even think about it, Zoe," Isaak, who sat on the armrest beside her, said firmly while scolding her with his sharp gaze. "Don't hurt yourself for trivial reasons."

"It's not trivial, though," she said. "We need to interrogate Goofball."

"Not at the expense of your well-being," he insisted. "Moreover, that demon already gave us the lead we need. We can take it from there."

The lead was Vaughn Wilson, obviously.

[Isaak seems to hate the idea of getting involved with Vaughn Wilson, but I'm glad to see that he's having a change of heart now.]

The ghoul duke probably realized the importance of the sly duke in this case.

[Well, my yeobo is stubborn. But he knows when to give up. A capable man like him won't let his personal feelings hinder his goal.]

Gosh, Isaak was totally her type.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked curiously. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?" she asked, acting coy.

Isaak smirked, then he raised an eyebrow at her. "Like you want to devour me."

He meant it sexually, of course.

She was too horny for him to miss his sexual innuendo.

"I'm not the only one with a lewd gaze here," she said, not filtering her words, since she didn't know how to be eloquent when her libido was acting up. So instead of using flowery words, she just grabbed Isaak by the lapel of his suit. "Yeobo, your bedroom eyes are killing me."

"Bedroom eyes?" Isaak asked curiously and excitedly as his face inched closer to hers. "Yeobo, you're using pretty words again."

She smiled and was about to close her eyes when their intimate moment was interrupted.

"You two can't have sex, so stop while you can still stop."

Excuse me?!

She turned to the owner of the voice that interrupted them.

Ah, right.

She and Isaak were in the room that Yosef Geronimo was using.

The priest was sleeping when they arrived, so she and her husband went straight to the lounge area of the room to "talk." But alas. When she and Isaak were starting to get intimate with each other, Yosef just had to wake up and ruin the moment.

"What do you mean by that, Yosef?" Isaak confronted the priest. "Our affair is none of your business."

"As the priest who blessed your wedding, your sex life is now my business," Yosef, who was sitting on the bed while leaning against the headboard, said firmly. Well, would you look at that? Zoe wasn't the only person in the room who didn't filter her words. "Wait, you haven't consummated your wedding yet, have you?"

"I wish we had," she said shamelessly. Then she let go of Isaak's lapel and sat properly. "But it's hard to find the right moment to get intimate when you have a child, you know? We must protect the children's innocence."

Yosef looked relieved as he clasped his hands together as if he was praying. "Praise the lord for Princess Runa's existence."

"Shut up," Isaak snapped at Yosef, then he stood up while fixing his suit. "Stop praising Princess Runa's existence for your selfishness."

"This is also for your sake," the priest insisted while looking at her and Isaak. "Your marriage is a mistake."

Oh, that hurt.

She didn't marry Isaak with pure intentions, but hearing it be called a mistake still hurt a little.

"Stop speaking nonsense," Isaak said sternly, then he flicked his fingers on Yosef's forehead. "My marriage with Zoe isn't a mistake, and it will never be."

Ah, she was revived.

It felt good to see and hear Isaak defend their marriage, as if he was also ready to kill Yosef for calling their marriage a mistake.

[But why is he so defensive? Our marriage is…]

Wait, what was their marriage anyway?

It wasn't fake, since they got married for real. But it wasn't contractual, too. After all, they only had a verbal agreement as to why they needed to get married.

Moreover, they had been acting like they were newlyweds.

[Does Isaak have feelings for me?]

Nah, they were just two horny adults.

Right?

"Isaak, I love you."

Her thoughts were interrupted when Yosef suddenly confessed to Isaak– right in front of her!

[What is this BL-like development?!]

But Isaak didn't even bat an eye at Yosef's "confession" as if he was already used to hearing it from the priest.

[Uhm, what's happening here?]

"Yeah, I know," Isaak responded to Yosef's "confession" nonchalantly.

Oh, perhaps Yosef's love for Isaak was purely platonic.

[Yeah, that could be it. My mind is just dirty. I should be ashamed.]

"That's why I don't understand why you're doing this to me and my wife," the ghoul duke complained.

She was glad Isaak wasn't looking at her because she blushed.

[Hearing him call me his wife casually as if it's the most natural thing in the world just hits differently.]

"Zoe, I already said this to Isaak, but I bet he didn't tell you," Yosef said, addressing her casually while looking at her seriously. "Since the real Zoanne Rochester is married to a demon, the gods don't recognize your wedding as real. Even though Isaak acts like a thug sometimes, he's still a member of the Royal Family. And being a member of the Royal Family means he's a devotee of the god that governs the empire–"

"So, what does it have to do with our sex life?" she asked, cutting off the priest because her brain hurt from the complicated stuff he was talking about. "Let's say my marriage with Isaak is invalid. But why can't we have sex?" She covered her mouth with her hands when she realized something. "Is pre-marital sex not allowed here, even between consenting adults?"

"Zoe, in this world, your marriage is only recognized as valid once you consummate it with your partner," Yosef said in a patient voice. "I know I would sound like a jerk, but I'm really glad you haven't consummated your marriage yet. To be frank, I know your sex life is none of my business. But what can I do? It's the thing that will seal your marriage, so you must delay it until you resolve the conflict with the Demon King–" He trailed off, then he slapped his mouth lightly. "Oh."

It was too late, though.

"Oh my god," she said, her eyes widening in shock. "Zoanne married the Demon King and not just an ordinary demon?" She looked at Isaak, who remained suspiciously calm. "Yeobo, you already know that Zoanne married the Demon King?"

For the first time since she got there, she felt like having a panic attack.

She may have not finished reading the novel, but the Demon King had been mentioned even in the early part of the story. But since her brain couldn't remember everything, she would just remember some important stuff once it was brought up.

[Just like now.]

Since Isaak and Yosef mentioned the Demon King, she began to recall the things she had read about that character.

[I remember his name since it sounded sexy to me.]

Isaak nodded. "The Demon King is–"

"Kalum Alegre," she whispered to herself.

But Isaak and Yosef suddenly turned to her with a shocked look on their faces.

She smiled awkwardly. "D-Did I say it out loud?"

"You whispered, but both Isaak and I have sharp senses," Yosef said carefully while giving her a suspicious look. "People in this world don't talk about the Demon King, much less mention his name, since it's practically taboo to do so. You're from another world, Zoe. How did you know the Demon King's name?"

She clenched her hands out of nervousness.

[I am not good at lying. Should I just come clean? Since they already know I came from another world, I'm sure they'll believe me if I say I know the Demon King because he's the last boss in the novel.]

But if she revealed the truth, how would Isaak feel?

[Will he be devastated if he finds out he's just a book character in the novel I read?]

For some reason, she didn't want to hurt Isaak that way.

"Zoe," Yosef said sternly. "What are you hiding from us?"

She felt shivers down her spine. [Yosef looks a little scary at the moment.]

"Yosef, don't speak to my wife that way," Isaak scolded Yosef coldly. "I know you're only concerned about us, but that's not an excuse for you to use that tone on her."

Oh.

Hearing Isaak defend her again washed her nervousness away.

Yosef looked too stunned to speak after being scolded by Isaak. But the pain in the priest's eyes let her know that he was hurt by Isaak's coldness.

Oh, no.

[Isaak and Yosef are good friends– I don't want them to fight because of me.]

"Yosef, you're right," she said, gaining the two men's attention once again. "I'm hiding something. But I want Isaak to be the first person to hear my confession."

Yosef let out a sigh, then he nodded. "Alright."

"Zoe, if you feel like you're being forced to confess, then you don't have to," Isaak said gently as he approached her. Then he got down on one knee in front of her and held her hands. "I don't want you to say or do anything that you don't want to."

Aww, Isaak was being sweet to her again.

[He definitely has feelings for me.]

But what about her?

"Thank you for being considerate, but I'm really fine," Zoe assured Isaak, then she gently squeezed his hands and smiled at him. "Isaak, I already know you before I even came here."

***

NOTE: Hi! Please consider ADDING 'I Won't Let The Ghoul Duke Go Hungry!' to your LIBRARY. Thank you! <3