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Author note : this BL is supposed to be a light novel, each chapters are illustrated with handmade arts made with deep care. Because of Webnovel restrictions you will be only able to see them on tapas here :
https://tapas.io/series/Our-quirky-fairytale/ep1
Whatever your choice have a nice read ❤️
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Lost in each other's eyes, the memories of their first meeting started to resurface.
Twelve years earlier
During the Holy War, all kings and queens were called to the battlefield to push back the demon armies. In their absence, young Prince Luci waited for his parents to return, confined to a small castle near the border between the Kingdom of Camellia and the Lands of Hell.
One of those days, the little prince was playing in his room with his valet and only friend, Lucio. For once, it felt like a good day. "The adults are all so busy," Luci thought, smiling. No one was forcing him to study, train, or behave like the heir to the throne. For a moment, he was just a child.
But that peace was short-lived. Panicked servants burst into the room, pulling Luci away from his games. He barely had time to exchange a confused glance with Lucio before they began dressing him in his finest outfit.
"What's going on?" Lucio whispered.
"I… I think it means Mom and Dad are coming back!" Luci exclaimed, his voice trembling with excitement. "The war is over, Lucio! The king is coming home!"
But the servants didn't answer his questions. They hurried him through the castle corridors to its grandest hall, where the entire household had gathered. Luci's chest swelled with joy—surely they were here to welcome his parents, the king and queen! He rushed to the center of the room, his face bright with anticipation.
He turned to the doors, waiting for them to open. But no one else was looking at the doors.
They were all looking at him.
A servant stepped forward and draped a heavy red cape over his shoulders. Another placed a golden scepter in his hands. A third approached with a crown, his father's crown.
Something was wrong.
Lucio arrived in the hall at that moment, standing far from Luci, but close enough to see the confusion and fear dawning on the prince's face.
"Long live the new ruler!" someone called out.
"Long live the new king!"
"What? Me? King?!" Luci cried. He staggered back, shaking his head. "No! My dad is still the king! We have to wait for him! Mom and Dad will be back soon! Dad promised! He always keeps his promises!"
A heavy silence fell over the room, broken only by murmurs among the crowd. Finally, one of the servants stepped forward, kneeling before the boy.
"Your Highness… the king and queen fell on the battlefield. The demons… they killed them. I am so sorry, Your Highness. We could only recover the crown. You are the new ruler of Camellia, my king."
The words felt distant, unreal. Luci stared at the crown, far too large for his head. Its edges were charred, blackened by fire.
"No…" Luci whispered, his voice trembling. "No, no, NO! That's not true! My dad can't die! I won't be king! I REFUSE!"
Tears streaming down his face, Luci threw the crown to the floor. It rolled across the stone, the sound echoing in the silence. As the servants rushed to retrieve it, Luci turned and fled, pushing open the heavy doors and running as fast as his legs could carry him.
No one stopped him.
He reached the stables and grabbed the first horse he saw, riding away from the castle, away from the nightmare. He didn't know where he was going. He didn't care. All he wanted was to escape.
The little prince rode for hours, his heart heavy and his mind spinning. The golden light of the day began to fade into the soft hues of twilight, and the once-familiar landscape around him shifted into the untamed, shadowed wilderness of the Enchanted Forest.
As night fell, the trees grew taller and darker, their gnarled branches reaching out like twisted hands. Luci gripped the reins tighter, feeling a growing unease in his chest. But it wasn't until the horse suddenly froze that he realized how deep into the forest he had gone.
"Hey, come on… keep moving," Luci urged, his voice trembling slightly.
The horse didn't budge. Its ears twitched, and its body trembled, sensing something unseen in the shadows.
"What are you so scared of?" Luci muttered, though his own hands had begun to shake.
Then it happened. The horse reared violently, letting out a panicked whinny before throwing Luci off its back. The prince landed hard in the mud with a cry of pain as the horse bolted, its hooves thundering into the distance.
"Wait! WAIT!" Luci shouted, scrambling to his feet, but the horse was gone. He stood there, covered in mud, staring into the darkness.
"Fine!" he yelled, his voice cracking. "Go ahead and leave me! Just like everyone else!"
He felt a lump in his throat as the last of his anger dissolved into despair. The weight of the day crashed down on him all at once: the crown, the servants' words, the hollow silence of the hall.
He dropped to his knees in the mud, his small frame shaking as sobs tore from his chest.
"Papa…" he whimpered, his voice barely audible. "Papa, where are you? You promised… you promised you'd come back…"
Tears streamed down his face as he buried his hands in the dirt.
"I need you, Papa… I can't do this without you. I… I can't…"
His cries echoed into the forest, raw and broken, the kind of sound only a lost child could make. He stayed there, hunched over in the mud, his body trembling with every sob.
"I'm alone… completely alone," he thought, tears threatening to fall once again. There was no path, no horse, no parents to guide him. He had no idea where he was going, and every step seemed to take him further into the unknown.
Then, he felt it.
A cold shiver ran down his spine. At first, it was nothing tangible, just an unpleasant intuition. But it was enough to make him stop dead in his tracks, holding his breath. Someone heard my cries… or is it just my imagination? The golden stars in his eyes swept over the shadows around him. But the forest was so dense, he could see nothing.
A sudden noise. The faint snap of a branch. Luci jumped back, his throat tightening.
"WHO'S THERE?!" he shouted, his voice echoing into the darkness.
There was no response, only oppressive silence. Then another sound, a rustling in the leaves, as though something was moving among the trees. Luci felt his hands grow clammy, clutching his red cape lined with white fur even tighter.
His fear turned into pure terror. His breathing quickened, and his thoughts swirled. The worst creatures hide in the darkness of the forest… they said in the stories. But those were just legends, weren't they?
He tried to convince himself that he was mature enough not to be scared by children's tales. He was a prince; his white tunic and the royal ring on his finger were proof of that. But his trembling hands betrayed him, and in the end, his fear as a child won.
He made a decision. I can't stay in the dark. I need to see.
Closing his eyes, he gathered his mana. A soft white light flared from his body, wrapping his clothes and royal blue hair in a glowing halo. The shadows timidly retreated, revealing a small part of the forest.
But what he saw didn't reassure him.
A silhouette emerged from the shadows, fascinated by the light. At first indistinct, it became clearer as it approached: black horns gleaming faintly in the darkness, thick wings with red fire-like membranes, a long black tail whose tip looked like a living flame. Its claws glinted faintly in the light, long and sharp. Its legs, also clawed, seemed sculpted for climbing or leaping, with a strength Luci could sense just by looking.
No doubt, it was a demon.
And yet, the demon wasn't entirely monstrous. Its face was almost human, with tan skin dotted with patches of black scales on its cheeks and neck. A star-shaped patch of black scales marked the center of its chest, visible under a torn and ill-fitting white tunic that covered only one shoulder. A belt and bag completed its simple attire, giving it the look of a wild child, both formidable and strangely vulnerable.
But it was its eyes that struck Luci the most.
Two large, luminous green eyes, slit like those of ancient dragons, stared at the light with fascination. They seemed almost… curious.
Luci's heart froze. He stood motionless, unable to move.
He's here to kill me… He'll finish what his kind started.
Fear took over. His fingers tightened around the hilt of the small sword on his belt. He gritted his teeth, his entire body trembling. I have to defend myself… Father would have fought. I have to do it too. "It's us or them," it's him or me.
"Demon… die!" he screamed, raising his sword infused with pure light and striking in a rapid, desperate motion.