Betrayed, I Knocked Demon Lord's Door - Chapter 39: Chapter 39

Honestly, there was nothing romantic about that final showdown.
Leon just couldn't bring himself to hurt her too badly. But come on, it was a battle for the Demon Lord's throne—if no one got hurt, wouldn't that seem a bit too half-baked?
So, he caught Caitlyn off guard and landed a heavy blow right on her weak spot.
Swear to heaven, there was nothing pervy or intentional about it.
The tomatoes looked decent enough—no signs of rot.
As they strolled and shopped aimlessly, Leon took the chance to grab her sleeve. Caitlyn struggled twice but didn't shake him off, so she let it be.
"Boss, how much for the meat?" Leon asked.
"Four dollars a pound. How much you want?"
Leon hesitated. Now that was a good question.
He turned to look at Caitlyn.
Caitlyn blinked those big, watery eyes at him with an innocent expression.
Clearly, these two domestic disasters had zero experience with grocery shopping.
"Just the two of us eating... how much should we get?"
The chubby vendor paused, then chuckled. "If it's just for one dish... your girl looks pretty slim, and if you're not a big eater either, a pound should do."
"Though usually, people cook more than one dish..."
"Don't tell me this is your first time cooking?"
"Nope. I'm amazing at it."
Caitlyn shot him a contemptuous look, then quickly corrected the vendor, "I'm not his girlfriend."
"Well, might as well be... unless you're his sister? Not many non-family folks come grocery shopping together."
"Also no. And for the record, I'm technically the older one." Caitlyn pouted and glanced at Leon.
Leon scoffed. "By, what, half a month? With that baby face, give it a few years and people will think I'm your dad."
Caitlyn's eye twitched. She couldn't tell if he was calling her young or just being annoying.
"We'll take two pounds."
"Got it!"
They grabbed a few more vegetables, which Caitlyn ended up holding.
Leon dashed off to grab a twenty-pound bag of pasta and slung it over his shoulder like a warrior returning from battle.
Of course, he had to pick the premium kind—sixty dollars for that one bag.
Watching the cashier scan item after item, Leon slipped outside with the goods, leaving Caitlyn behind to pay. They exchanged a look. She sighed, pulled out her phone.
"Miss, that'll be eighty dollars. Do you have our membership card?"
"No..."
Caitlyn winced and reluctantly unlocked her phone.
Since when did groceries get this expensive?
This guy must've picked out all the overpriced stuff...
"Would you like to sign up? Top up 150 and get 50 bonus, or 300 for 100."
"Let's do it. We'll be coming often anyway." Leon suddenly appeared beside her.
Caitlyn gave him a long look. "You better stick with this. Or I'm docking it from next month's salary."
"Yeah, yeah..." Leon grumbled. Of course he was sticking with it. And the reason he suddenly wanted to cook...
It had been over half a month.
His birthday was December 4th. Caitlyn's was the 19th.
Demons didn't really do birthdays, and in all his years, he never celebrated. But now that he knew hers... he couldn't help wanting to do something.
"Make it 300 then."
Even though it would technically come out of Leon's pocket, Caitlyn still winced at the payment notification.
This guy... really knew how to spend.
Back at the bike, everything fit fine—until he loaded up the bag of food, which ate up all the foot space.
Caitlyn hopped on, and when Leon pulled his foot up, his whole body pressed tightly against her.
She gave a little shiver, nudged him with her elbow. "What are you doing?"
"Bear with it. No room for my legs."
"You're squashing me flat."
Okay, maybe not flat, but she was definitely pinned.
Caitlyn's face burned instantly. Pressed against Leon's solid back, she could feel his warmth soaking right through her clothes—and worse, that maddening scent of his, warm, clean, and unmistakably male, wrapped around her like a net she couldn't escape.
"Just hang in there. Kick it into third gear and we'll be home soon."
"No."
"Then this is the only way."
Caitlyn went quiet, but she could tell—they were going way slower than earlier.
This guy was totally playing tricks on her again.
Back home, Leon practically ran to the door with the groceries, looking pumped.
Caitlyn followed behind, face full of concern.
She didn't expect a gourmet feast, but hopefully it wouldn't be... inedible.
With the money he spent, they could've had a decent meal out.
In the kitchen, Leon rolled up his sleeves, ready for action, and then froze.
He said, "Crap. Forgot to buy an apron."
"The washing machine does the laundry, not you. If it gets dirty, it gets dirty. We'll buy one next time. For now, just focus on following the recipe so you don't waste everything." Caitlyn leaned on the doorframe, looking deeply skeptical.
She had zero faith in Leon's ability to cook.
Leon, naturally, got offended.
He huffed and puffed, opened his phone, and started following the video tutorial step by step.
First up—crack an egg.
'Easy. I got this,' he thought.
Egg exploded all over his hand.
Leon twitched and grabbed another.
More eggshell than egg landed in the bowl.
Caitlyn sighed, stepped in, cracked an egg with a perfect tap.
Leon's eyes widened. "I thought you didn't know how?"
"It's just an egg..." she muttered, now even more worried about what they'd be eating tonight.
Maybe they should just order takeout now and cut their losses.
But to her surprise, things didn't go completely south.
She helped prep the eggs and vegetables, while Leon—serious as she'd ever seen him—followed the recipe with almost military focus.
After what felt like hours, they had three dishes on the table.
Tomato salad, mashed potato, and fried pork.
The pasta was done too.
They had plates ready. Sitting down across from each other at the table felt strangely... domestic.
Caitlyn looked at the dishes, impressed. They actually looked edible—way better than her own failed attempts.
Leon, on the other hand, was getting nervous. "I think I overcooked it a little..."
He eyed the too-dark peppers and slightly burnt pork with dismay.
"Not bad at all. For a beginner, this is pretty decent," Caitlyn said kindly.
"Really?"
"Would you be this happy if I was lying?" she teased, grabbing a bite of pork and pepper.
Leon stared at her, holding his breath. "Well?"
Caitlyn glanced at him and just started eating in silence.
Leon deflated. 'That bad, huh?'
He took a bite himself.
After a moment of stunned chewing, he muttered, "Yeah, maybe we shouldn't eat this..."
"The potatoes are okay. The tomato salad's passable. Guess meat's harder to get right. You'll get better with practice."
Leon didn't respond. He tried the other two dishes.
Raw potatoes. Bland tomato egg.
His mood sank like a stone.
"If it's edible, it's a win. Compared to the disasters I've made, this is practically a banquet," Caitlyn offered, lips twitching, not sure whether to laugh or cry at his expression.
So he forced down a few more bites, pretending he actually liked it.
Caitlyn... really could be surprisingly gentle sometimes.
Leon took a deep breath, looked up at her, and murmured, "Let's just order something. The pasta's edible, but the dishes... forget it. They're just awful."
Caitlyn frowned slightly. "It's not that bad. Just a little bland, that's all. After eating too much oily, salty stuff, a lighter meal's kind of a nice change..."
"Besides, we worked so hard on this. Tossing it would be such a waste. I can eat it. Otherwise, all your effort would've been for nothing."
She had watched him cook, step by step, following the tutorial with utter seriousness.
He'd been genuinely trying. For once, no jokes, no nonsense.
And now he wanted to throw it all away like it didn't matter? That felt... wrong.
Caitlyn glanced at him—head down, shoulders drooping—and her heart twinged.
He looked so defeated, like he was about to shatter.
"It's fine. If you're worried about wasting it, I'll just finish it myself."
Leon stood up, pulling the plates toward himself. Shoving food into his mouth, he mumbled, "You go order something nice for yourself."
Caitlyn's fists clenched. Her brows furrowed. Something in her chest was stirring—tight and restless.
The air thickened, heavy and suffocating.
Leon kept eating like he was on a mission, shoveling food in with no pause, even when he started choking.
Outside, the sky had gone pitch black. The apartment sat far from the city, swallowed by silence.
Caitlyn took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Then she marched over to him and stood still for a second...
"That's enough. Stop. Either we eat together or not at all. What are you trying to prove by hoarding it all? I'm not disgusted by you."
Leon didn't respond, just kept chewing like he hadn't heard her.
The dim light flickered above, casting a shadow across his face.
Caitlyn's temper snapped. "I said stop."
She grabbed his arm hard, her breath ragged, voice sharp.
"I really don't get it sometimes—what's with this stubbornness? Do you have to punish yourself like this?"
"I never said it was awful. I never said I wouldn't eat it. Why are you so quick to tear down everything you did? Why won't you let me accept it?"
"Who gave you the right to decide that? This was made with my money and my ingredients. If I want to throw it away, I can. If I want to eat it, you don't get to stop me."
She let out a long breath, chest heaving slightly, cheeks flushed from emotion.
Finally, Leon lifted his head. Still avoiding her gaze, his eyes landed on the pale hands gripping his arm.
"I just... thought it tasted terrible. So I didn't want..."
"Didn't want what? To let me eat it? Are you my boss now?" Caitlyn glared at him.
He stayed silent.
Caitlyn scowled, yanked out a chair beside him, sat down hard, picked up her utensils, and dug in—burnt, raw, or whatever.
Leon's eyes flickered. "Skip the meat. And the potatoes... they're undercooked."
Caitlyn ignored him and kept eating, face scrunched and stubborn.
Leon frowned, pulled out his phone to look something up...
Then, ignoring her death glare, he picked up the burnt pork and raw potatoes to dump them.
Caitlyn slammed her hand down, stopping him with a fierce look.
Before she could speak, Leon quickly said, "You'll get food poisoning. Vomiting. Diarrhea."
He added, "We can just re-fry it."
That gave him pause. His eyes cleared a little.
"Are you sure you still want to eat it? I mean... we could still order..."
"You don't do it, I'll do it myself." Caitlyn cut him off and snatched the plate, marching straight into the kitchen.
Leon blinked, then quickly followed, grabbing her hand.
She flinched but looked back, expression unreadable.
"Let me. I said I'd cook today, didn't I?" he said, managing a smile.
Caitlyn stared at him, paused... then let go.
Soon, the sound of sizzling oil filled the kitchen once again.
Minutes later, the two of them sat with their reheated pasta, sharing from the same three dishes in silence.
After dinner, as Leon got up with the plates, Caitlyn snatched them from his hands and headed toward the sink.
He stared after her, stunned. Then quietly followed her into the kitchen.
"Caitlyn..." he called softly.
Her ear twitched, but she didn't turn around.
"I'll try harder next time... make something that actually tastes good."
Still no response. She just kept washing.
Leon didn't say anything else. He stood beside her, quietly feeling her elbow brush his now and then.
That night, after his shower, Leon lay on his tiny bed, staring at the dark ceiling.
There was this strange, aching heaviness in his chest.
Was he always this... sensitive?
He sighed and rolled over to face the wall.
He didn't mind messing up the meal. But making Caitlyn eat it...
It made him feel like his failure had splashed all over her too.
He hadn't wanted her to share that burden.
"But why did she have to be so damn gentle today..." he muttered.
Her words from earlier echoed in his head, and his throat tightened.
When she snapped at him and said she didn't mind... he'd almost broken down right then and there.
Since when did he get so soft?
Just as he was spiraling in his thoughts, a knock shattered the silence.
"Are you asleep?" Caitlyn's voice came from outside, soft and uncertain.
Leon jolted upright. "Not yet. What's up?"
No answer. She simply pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Sitting up on the bed, he looked at her, wide-eyed. "What is it?"
She didn't answer. Just walked over, face blank.
Then, all of a sudden, she placed her hand on his head and gently ruffled his hair.
Leon froze, breath caught in his throat.
Caitlyn's cheeks flushed. Her voice was barely a whisper. "Do better next time... but today, you really did great."
Leon's eyes shimmered. His mouth opened, but nothing came out. His throat was blocked by something warm and tight.
Damn it... why did she have to be so nice?
He clenched his jaw, struggling to hold back the rush of emotion. His eyes turned red.
He suddenly wanted—no, needed—to hug her.
"Caitlyn..." His voice trembled.
"Yeah?" she answered softly.
He hesitated... then reached out and held her hand.
Caitlyn stiffened, but didn't pull away.
Then, in one swift motion, Leon tugged hard, and she fell right into his arms.
He held her tightly.
Caitlyn froze against his chest, her breathing shaky, face rapidly heating up as her heartbeat thundered in her ears.
She bit her lip, mind spinning from the overwhelming warmth spreading through her.
She squirmed, overwhelmed and flustered, whispering breathlessly, "Leon, let go."
"Don't wanna." He buried his face in her hair, inhaling her scent like a child clinging to a beloved toy.
And when Leon really didn't want to let go... not even her full strength could pry him off.
Caitlyn's face turned bright red.
"If you don't let go right now... I swear, I'll never pet your head again. Not even if you beg."
He let go. Instantly.
Maybe... maybe he could let go after all.
Leon sat on the bed, head down like a guilty puppy waiting to be scolded.
Caitlyn just took a few steps back, face burning, and glared at him.
"Pervert. Good night!" she shouted.
The door slammed shut.
Leon stared at it, stunned. Silence returned. The darkness outside swallowed the last trace of sound. The apartment felt like a tomb.
His heart pounded. His cheeks burned. Then, collapsing onto the bed, he grabbed his pillow, buried his face, and screamed.
"Oh my god, she smelled so good! And she was so soft! That hug was amazing!"