The Possessed Evil Woman Wreaks Havoc - Chapter 106

I scoffed at Gabriel’s pathetic antics and said, “Truly bringing shame to all angels—”

Wait. Come to think of it, angels should be shamed by default, shouldn’t they?

In that case, does that mean Gabriel actually did a good job…? No, I still didn’t want to praise him under any circumstances.

I continued, “Anyway, that bastard is utterly pathetic.”

As soon as I said that, the angels reacted.

The female Jen spoke up first.

“Lord Gabriel is merciful—”

“—and wise.”

The male Jen finished the sentence.

I scoffed again. “Judging by the way you say it, sounds like even you don’t believe that anymore.”

“……”

The two had no rebuttal.

I delivered a simple, clear conclusion, “He’s senile. Hasn’t that Gabriel bastard lived long enough? It’s about time his brain stopped working.”

I’d heard Lilith was around a hundred thousand years old. Gabriel had lived even longer than she had.

If that’s the case, he should’ve stepped aside for the next generation. I clicked my tongue at how stubbornly Gabriel clung to life.

“He’s not senile. It’s because of Lady Uriel. Ever since she passed, Lord Gabriel hasn’t been the same,” said the female Jen.

Uriel.

I slowly mouthed that name.

She was the angel who held the power of the previous Contract.

And the one who made my life far more complicated. Because Uriel had been the previous wielder, Gabriel’s hatred was directed at me…

“So this is what you look like now. Pathetic. To be so powerless…”

For a moment, it felt like I heard Dantalion’s voice.

I clenched my teeth. Even after centuries, I couldn’t forget that feeling of helplessness.

Uriel truly made a mess of my life. I, who only sought clarity and simplicity, had no reason to welcome her existence.

And yet, strangely, whenever I thought of Uriel…

“Your hair color takes after me. Your eyes… those are his.”

I blinked.

“Bella?”

The female Jen calling my name brought me back to my senses.

What was that?

Something had just flashed through my mind… but the memory slipped away before I could grasp it.

I bit down on my lip. It left a lingering unease, but I decided to let it go for now.

Then I asked the angels another question, “So what exactly is wrong with Gabriel now?”

“He’s… overly obsessed with the Middle Realm, maybe…”

The male Jen trailed off. The two glanced at each other, then fell silent.

Seeing that, I smiled brightly. “So you’ve decided to make me a bad master, huh.”

Forcing me to use violence to get you to speak.

At the threat-laced comment, the angels reluctantly opened their mouths.

“Lord Gabriel has been interfering far too much in the Middle Realm for the past few centuries.”

“…He even started a war.”

At the word war, I raised an eyebrow.

It was surprising enough that he interfered—but to start a war?

“They say it was for a noble cause, but honestly, no one understands what that cause is.”

The male Jen’s point was valid.

Even if angels didn’t consider humans their equals, they at least viewed them as beings to protect.

It was hard to imagine war being part of that so-called noble cause.

Why would that bastard Gabriel do such a thing?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out the reason behind his actions.

So I asked the angels another question, “What kind of person was Uriel?”

The male Jen responded, “Lady Uriel… she was truly a wonderful person. Though she disappeared just a few years after I was born, so I didn’t know her well—”

An endless string of boring praise followed.

Listening to angels sing praises wasn’t exactly my hobby, so I cut him off and asked another question.

“By any chance—was Uriel’s hair red?”

It was a rather impulsive question. What did the hair color of a dead angel matter?

But strangely, I had to know.

“Ah, how did you know that?”

“It was red?”

“Yeah. A really vivid red. Like it held the entire sunset within it.”

I was shaken by the unexpected revelation.

“Come to think of it.”

The female Jen seemed to recall something and asked me, “Could it be that hair color is determined by the type of power one holds?”

Bella, your original form has red hair too.

“…That can’t be.”

I shook my head at her added remark.

I had never heard of hair color being determined by power.

I had the distinct feeling I was missing something very important.

But I had no way of knowing what it was.

‘I’ll think about it later.’

I forced down the uneasy feeling.

***

The next day, unexpected guests came to see me.

“Duke. Long time no see. It’s good to see you.”

I greeted the Duke first.

It hadn’t really been that long, but… for some reason, it felt like I hadn’t seen his face in ages.

“Isabella. You… look much better.”

“Do I?”

I reflexively touched my cheek. It did feel like I’d gained some weight.

Still far too thin by demonic standards, though.

But one needs to eat well to recover strength when overcoming trials, doesn’t one?

With everything that had been weighing on me lately, I’d been trying to eat more deliberately—and I guess it showed.

“The other two, though, it hasn’t been long, and I’m not thrilled to see them.”

I glanced briefly at the High Priest and Kayden standing behind the Duke.

Kayden, fine—but why had the High Priest come to the Duke’s estate?

“Saintess, you do love to joke.”

The High Priest smiled with his usual affable expression.

I was about to respond with a beaming smile myself, but—

“It’s not a joke—ah!”

The Duke nudged me in the side and gave me a look.

When I stared at him in disbelief, he shook his head.

Behave yourself.

He mouthed the words silently.

I was annoyed by his sudden behavior, but for now, I followed his lead.

The Duke led me and the guests to the drawing room.

I crossed my legs in a crooked posture and stared at the unwanted visitors.

The Duke looked displeased with my posture but didn’t bother to comment.

After sipping the tea served by the attendants, the High Priest spoke with a calm smile, “I’ve been quite worried about you since that day.”

“The most pointless concern in the world.”

“It’s a relief to see you’re well.”

Again, the High Priest gave his trademark friendly smile.

The moment I saw that smile, I felt sick to my stomach.

He hadn’t done anything specifically wrong to me yet—but why did I feel such revulsion toward him?

I glanced at Kayden sitting beside him.

He still wore the same calm expression as always.

I turned my gaze back to the High Priest.

Wondering how long he could keep smiling like that, I opened my mouth.

“I spoke with the Celestial yesterday.”

“Oh! Did you?”

“I spoke about you, too.”

“May I ask what He said?”

“He said he wants to see your face soon.”

According to human scripture, devout humans meet the Celestial in Heaven after death.

Utter nonsense, of course—but humans believe it fervently.

In other words, I’d just told the High Priest he’d be dying soon.

The Duke put his hand to his forehead as soon as I finished speaking.

The High Priest, on the other hand, still smiling, said to me, “What an honor.”

…Huh?

He didn’t even get angry after I said that?

I frowned deeply. I’d gone out of my way to provoke him, and this was all I got?

I lost the will to pick a fight.

Even after that, the High Priest kept rambling on by himself.

Mostly praising how great the Celestial God was.

For the Duke, who lacked faith, and me, who was full of blasphemy, it was pure torture.

The Duke gave the occasional response, but he didn’t look particularly pleased either.

Just when the High Priest, fully absorbed, began another speech about the greatness of the Celestial God—

I whispered to the Duke in a low voice, “Father. Where’s Gabby right now?”

“Isabella, whispering in front of guests is rude. And why are you asking about Gabriel?”

“If we let Gabby loose in this room, I feel like things would wrap up real fast. Especially with the High Priest—I could kick him out right away.”

“You speak as if your brother is some kind of beast. But… you’re not entirely wrong.”