I Don't Want To Be An Omega In My Sister's Trashy Reverse Harem [BL]

Chapter 211: The Contract!

The silence after the Demon King’s refusal was suffocating.

Cerberus stared at the floor. His knuckles were pale where he gripped his own arm, the bruises from the choking already darkening along his throat.

Rin didn’t move.

He stood between them, his arms crossed, his eyes fixed on his grandfather’s face. He was thinking. Calculating. He wanted to make sure Cerberus gets what he wants. Because for some reason, he trusts him. After all, he’s his little niblet. If Cerberus is trying to become the spy here for Asmodeus, they’ll be able to get rid of him so easily.

"You said no," Rin said finally.

"I did," the Demon King replied. "I’m not repeating myself again."

"Is it because you don’t trust him?"

"Correct. There’s nothing that will make me trust the demons that betrayed me and threatened my people."

Rin tilted his head slowly. "Then what would it take?"

The Demon King looked at him. "What?"

"You heard me, grandfather" Rin said. "You’re not the type to close a door without leaving a crack. So what would it take for you to trust him enough to use him? What would it take for you to change your no to a yes."

The Demon King was quiet for a long moment. He looked at Cerberus, then back at Rin. He suddenly laughed, rubbing his chin. He walked towards Rin and dug his fingers into his cheek.

"You are too clever for your age, Boy." He said.

"I learned from the best," Rin replied flatly.

"Of course, the best." He laughed again. "You should definitely be my heir. I can kill my children for you if they stand as a threat to your inheritance."

"Not interested one bit. Answer the question."

The Demon King sat down slowly on the black stone couch, resting one arm across the back of it. He looked unbothered as he stopped laughing and went back to that serious expression but Rin knew better. He was thinking.

"His contract with Asmodeus," the Demon King said at last. "If it can be partially bound... redirected... then perhaps."

Cerberus’s head snapped up. "Redirected? What do you mean by that?"

"A contracted familiar can have more than one master," the Demon King said coldly. "If you bound yourself to me as well, I would have leverage over you. If you betrayed me, the contract would destroy you from the inside."

Cerberus was silent. He felt shiver go down his spine when it was so hot wherever they were.

"That’s..." Cerberus swallowed. "That’s not a deal. That’s a leash."

"Yes," the Demon King agreed. "It is. You can either agree to it or refuse the offer. It’s your choice, Cerberus."

Rin looked at Cerberus. He didn’t say anything. He just waited.

Cerberus stared at the floor again. His jaw tightened. A muscle worked in his cheek. He was busy thinking again.

Then he laughed. It was a short, tired sound.

"Fine," Cerberus said. "A leash it is. I’ll do whatever it is you want of me."

The Demon King raised an eyebrow. "You agreed faster than I expected."

"I told you that I’m ready to break free from Asmodeus. I’m tired," Cerberus said simply. "I’ve been tired for a long time."

The Demon King studied him for another moment.

Then he stood.

He extended one hand.

Dark energy coiled around his fingers, slow and deliberate, like smoke with weight. Cerberus rose to his feet and extended his own hand without flinching.

The moment their palms met, the air cracked.

Rin felt it in his chest. A deep, resonant pulse that rattled something old in his bones. The skull ring burned white hot on his finger and he hissed, grabbing his hand.

"Rin." His grandfather’s voice was sharp. "Are you alright, boy?"

"I’m fine," Rin gritted out. "Just keep going."

The light faded. Cerberus exhaled sharply and pulled his hand back. He looked different. Not physically. But something in his posture had shifted, like a man who had set down a weight and picked up a chain. He knew the difference. He had chosen the chain anyway.

"It’s done," the Demon King said.

He turned to Rin and walked toward him without invitation, taking Rin’s hand and examining the ring.

"It reacted," he murmured.

"It always does when you use heavy magic near me," Rin muttered.

His grandfather said nothing. He turned Rin’s hand over once, then released it. He didn’t know what to say to that. Maybe because Rin’s powers were more powerful than his. But Rin was just a half demon.

He smiled to himself.

’Only if he agrees to be my heir.’

"You came here alone," the Demon King said quietly.

"I did."

"Through the dark passage. Without guidance or my magic."

"Cerberus pointed me in the right direction," Rin said. "Mostly. Seems like he still knows the way."

The Demon King looked at him for a long moment. Something passed across his face that Rin couldn’t name. Something old and complicated.

"Then, I guess you’re going back," the Demon King said. It wasn’t a question.

"Yes," Rin said. "There’s a war starting soon. Maybe tonight."

The Demon King’s eyes darkened. "Tonight."

"Asmodeus is attacking the capital already," Rin said. "The city is already preparing. I need to get back and help in whatever way I can, even if it means exposing my identity."

"You could stay here," the Demon King said. "You would be safe."

Rin looked at him.

"My family is there," Rin said. "Lirien. Winter. Elyria, your daughter."

He paused.

"I guess Elyria wouldn’t even want to return here. I miss her a lot. And another reason you wouldn’t stay here is..." He smiled.

"Lucien," Noel added quietly.

The Demon King’s expression didn’t change, but something in his eyes did.

"The Vortellion boy," he said.

"Yes."

Another silence.

"He makes you happy, doesn’t he?" the Demon King asked.

Rin blinked. That wasn’t a question he had expected.

"...Yes," Rin said honestly.

The Demon King nodded once, slowly. As if that settled something he had been weighing privately for a long time.

"Then go," he said. "I’ll send Cerberus back with you."

Cerberus straightened. "You’re letting me return to Asmodeus’s side?"

"Not yet," the Demon King said. "First you go with Rin. When the war begins, you’ll know where to position yourself. Whatever you do. Don’t. Betray. Me!"

"Understood, your majesty!" Cerberus lowered his head.

He looked at Rin one last time.

"Don’t die," the Demon King said simply.

Rin almost smiled. "I’ll try."

His grandfather reached out and placed one hand briefly on top of Rin’s head. It lasted only a second. Barely anything.

But Rin’s throat tightened anyway.

"Grandfather," Rin said quickly before the man could pull away. "...Thank you."

The Demon King said nothing.

But he didn’t move his hand right away either. He just hoped silently that his grandson would survive whatever war that Asmodeus had started.