"Announcing the arrival of her royal highness, the 63rd monarch in the divine line of succession of the great demon kingdom, King Seungwan"

Blow of trumpets..  royal escorts... servants in line.. Seungwan awkwardly strode on the red carpet.. her eyes nervously looking at the crowd waiting for her.

Although, Solar had promised her that they will only host a small and private banquet to initially introduce her to the current lords and ladies of the royal family, Seungwan is still very nervous.

She was escorted towards a long table where the guests were waiting for her. There were only 4 people waiting for her. Among them was Seulgi, her captain of the guards, Lady Bae, the aka ethereal angel/ dangerous Bae, a man with a beautiful silver white hair and mustache and ....a very familiar woman. Seungwan's eyes almost popped-out..

"YOU!!!"

Seungwan shouted in shock while pointing at the mysterious y woman seated beside Seulgi. 'Is she a royal monarch too?' Seungwan wondered.

"Oh, it is such a delight to officially meet your  highness!" the mysterious stranger who is looking very y with her black straight cut gown and revealing cleavage exclaimed.

Seungwan felt her face getting hot again remembering their encounter in her private baths.

"Oh, have you met Lady Park Sooyoung already your highness? That's truly amazing! Lady Park, is the 3rd  daughter of the current royal bloodline of the demon kingdom and also... the previous demon king." Solar explained as she mediated the introductions between the two.

"Demon king?! You mean to say... that I am succeeding Lady Park?" asked Seungwan still at awe.

"Yes your highness, you are to succeed Lady Park as the new demon king after she had abdicated the throne.... *an uncomfortable silence followed*... anyways, miladies and my lord, I am honored to introduce to you her royal highness, soon-be-bearer of the crown,  King Son Seungwan of the Great Demon Kingdom." 

The introduction earned interesting reactions from the gathered guests. Seulgi bowed her head to pay her respects , Lady Bae unsurprisingly just huffed and glared at her, while Lady Park pulled her closer and hugged her tightly, sniffing her neck on the process, and sultry whispered '..you can just call me Joy when we are together your highness, and i'm the one to go to if want to have some fun...' , making Seungwan blush. 

Lastly, the only gentleman among her guests held his hand for a handshake. Seungwan sincerely appreciated the action ... but not for long. The lord's grip was too much, it feot like he was crushing her small hand. But Seungwan endured it and just smiled like it was nothing. 'what a grip' 

"May I formally introduce you to Lady Bae Joohyun, the 1st daughter in the royal bloodline, she is currently in charge of the palace's internal affairs and treasury. You have already met Captain Seulgi, she is actually the second daughter but she's so busy taking the role of being captain of guards, we often forget she's actually a royalty. And, you have met the 3rd daughter and our former demon king, Lady Park Sooyoung. The only gentleman in this banquet, is Lord Hwang Heechul, brother of the queenmother Lady Hwang Miyoung."

Lord Hwang bowed deeply towards Seungwan, before saying, " Welcome to the great demon kingdom your highness. We are very grateful for your presence here in our world."

There was another awkward silence. Seungwan didn't know why she feels uneasy with the lord. Aside from crushing her hand, she feels something deep and dark about him. But cannot explain what it is.

 Solar, cleared , then she enthusiatically  announced, "..now that we are done with the introductions, we will be serving dinner, may you all delight in this simple feast in honor of our new king!" 

Seungwan was seated at the head of the long table, on both her sides were Solar and Lady Bae Joohyun, the latter still giving her sharp glares once in a while.  Solar on the other hand, busied herself in making sure that she eats everything that is served on the table.

"According to my research it's like chicken stew in your world your highness.. but with more mixed flavors... try it!" Solar looked like an excited child, holding a spoon towards her direction.

"Uuh...(munch2x).. thanks a lot Solar ..(munch2x).. as much as I appreciate it, I don't think I can finish it all..." Seungwan explained as she was overwhelmed how everything tastes so exquisite and delicious.

"I apologize your majesty, I just want you to be well fed and healthy.. as the new demon king your welfare is our topmost priority..." Solar said, her expression shows her genuine concern while thinking of Seungwan's health.

"That's really nice of you but really, I can take care of myself well..." and as expected a loud huff was heard beside her.

The lady bae was not looking at her. But Seungwan knows that the 1st daughter is not fond of her at all. She can't let this misunderstanding go on.

"Uh.. excuse me, but do you have a problem what I just said? I didn't mean to offend you or anything..." Seungwan asked, gulping and calming her nerves when she saw Lady Bae eyeing her shrewdly. If looks can kill, Seungwan must have been buried by now.

"I don't think that a reckless creature like you can take care of your self. A king who cannot even ride a horse sounds preposterous to me..." The lady bae said, not even a slight pause in her words.

"Lady Joohyun please don't start..." Solar tried to interrupt.

"Until now, I don't understand how can a mere human, be the next demon king. Surely, the heavens must have prepared someone more capable and deserving", Lady Bae said pointedly, not caring about the rising tension in the room.

"That's enough Joohyun" 

Everyone was surprised to hear those words from Captain Seulgi. Her calm and serious demeanor, gives off an aura of authority that even unsettled Lady Bae's verbal attacks to the new demon king. 

Then someone scoffed in the room. 

"You tend to forget your place, Captain. Too daring for you to address the Lady Bae by her name. Surely, you have not forgotten how we honor the bloodranks in the Great Demon Kingdom. You of all people should remember" said Lord Hwang as he stared condescendingly at the royal captain.

"Oh my... Lord Hwang, surely we don't need to mention such things in the banquet table, most especially in the presence of her high-----" Solar tried to de-escalate the growing tension in the room.

"Excuse us, for discussing such things Solar. But I think that this would also benefit the current king. In fact, how do we even know her true loyalty when she is clearly from another world dominated by 'humans'. How can we entrust the crown to a mere stranger", asked the Lady Bae not willing to put things at rest.

She needs to do this confrontation. She just can't let another mistake like 'that' ever happen again.

"If you really have to know her highnesses roots, I can attest to you that her father is an earth born demon who came from one of the ten noble families of the great demon kingdom, especially chosen by the original king himself. If there's anyone in this room, whom we cannot question that would be the roots of her highness." Seulgi defended her demon king.

"I regret to inform you captain, that we cannot trust the statement of another human being whose loyalties has yet to be proven." Lord Hwang snapped at the captain.

Seungwan was having a difficult time trying to co