Then she closed the little remaining distance between them and kissed him passionately, sliding her long tongue into Mark’s mouth.

Both pulled apart shortly after, breathless and slightly panting.

"The truth is I’m tired of watching you from afar...So I’ve decided to promote you," she murmured, struggling for breath. "I want you to stop being my toy... and become my collaborator."

"Collaborator?" Mark repeated, still slightly breathless from the intense kiss. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

The Demon Lord smiled, clearly pleased by the question.

"It means that from now on, you and I will work together," she replied, pulling back slightly to look at him comfortably. "Which involves some... conditions, of course."

"Here comes the fine print..."

"Don’t make that face, it’s much simpler than you’re imagining," she said, raising a finger. "From time to time I’m going to ask you for a small favor, and all I want is for you to do what I ask."

"Mhm..."

"Second, don’t harm a single one of my guardians again," she continued, raising another finger. "I know Rudolf gave you trouble, and believe me I’ve already had a word with him about it, but from now on both he and the others are your allies... so treat them as such."

"Anything else, boss?" he asked in a mocking tone.

"Third, you won’t question what I do," she said with a sharper smile. "There will be things you don’t understand, decisions you won’t agree with, plans whose purpose I won’t explain right away. And when that happens, you’ll trust me and move forward without making a drama of it."

Mark looked at her for a second with a slightly furrowed brow.

"You know, that sounds a lot more like the description of a vassal," he said finally, "or an employee, at best... but definitely not a collaborator."

"Oh, no, no, no," the Demon Lord said, wagging her finger. "You’re completely wrong, darling, this is something we both come out of winning."

"Are you sure?"

"But of course, darling," she replied with amusement. "In exchange for your cooperation, I’ll do my part too... I’ll help you complete your quests, accelerate your growth, and when the decisive moment comes I’ll have your back."

"..."

"Believe me, with what’s coming our way, you’re going to be very grateful to have me on your side."

Mark stayed thoughtful, and despite everything, a half smile ended up forming on his face.

"I have to admit it... these working conditions are considerably better than those of my last job," he said in a mocking tone.

The Demon Lord let out a laugh and played along.

"Aren’t they?" she said with a mischievous smile. "I’m an incredibly generous, understanding, and attentive boss."

She leaned toward him slightly, lowering her voice as if sharing a secret.

"Though HR must not find out that the boss and the new employee are flirting on company time... that could bring us both serious problems."

"Wait, you’re the one who threw yourself at me," Mark replied, raising an eyebrow. "I’m just a poor innocent victim of sexual harassment."

"Innocent victim, you say?" she said before letting out a laugh and deliberately lowering her gaze to Mark’s hands.

Mark traced her gaze downward, only to realize his hands were tightly gripping the woman’s big, soft butt.

"It’s not as though you put up much resistance, darling," she said with a wink. "In fact, I’d say your hands seem quite comfortable on my ass."

Mark not only didn’t pull his hands away, he decided to reaffirm his position with a small squeeze.

"One thing doesn’t cancel out the other" he replied without flinching.

"Touché..."

And then she kissed him again.

The Demon Lord held his face in both hands as she kissed him with intensity, without him doing anything to stop her.

But just as Mark tried to take things a step further, she gently pulled back and placed a finger over his lips to stop him.

"Darling, I’m sorry to be the one to kill the mood, but I’m afraid I have to go," she said, looking somewhat disappointed. "A busy woman like me can’t afford to stay up playing all night... however tempting it may be."

"...Are you serious?"

"I’m afraid so," she replied, elegantly getting to her feet. "But don’t worry, I’m not that cruel... I left you a little gift for when you wake up."

"A gift? What are you talk—?"

Mark didn’t get to finish the question when she snapped her fingers, pulling him out of the dream world and jerking him wide awake.

He shot upright in bed, propping himself on his elbows, breathing hard with his heart pounding.

And while he tried to calm down, he realized that once again he was completely alone.

As if everything had been a dream.

Then he brought a hand to his face and slowly ran it over his features, trying to put his thoughts in order.

Had it been real, or just a dream?

The line between the two was starting to become dangerously blurred.

But then he noticed the "gift" she had left him.

A noticeable and fairly uncomfortable erection pressed against the fabric, courtesy of that last kiss and everything that had come before it.

"...Damn," Mark muttered, dropping back onto the bed with frustration. "I am one hundred percent certain she did that on purpose."

He lay there for a while, staring at the ceiling, waiting for his raging erection to calm down on its own.

But it wasn’t letting up.

Mark let out a long sigh and decided the best thing would be to get up, clear his head, and maybe ask one of the servants for a glass of water to cool off a bit.

Anything to stop thinking about what had just happened.

Then he got up from the bed, adjusted his clothes as best he could to hide his state, and walked toward the door.

But the moment he opened it, he found Princess Luna on the other side.

Her cheeks were completely flushed, her breathing was unsteady, her wolf ears were standing straight up, and her tail was moving restlessly behind her.

The princess was looking at him in a way he had never seen from her before, eyes half-closed and fixed on him, like a predator that had just cornered its prey.

"Luna?" Mark asked, confused, taking half a step back. "What are you doing here at this hour? Did something happen or—?"

And then Princess Luna lunged at him, kissing him with a voracious intensity that sent him stumbling backward into the room.