The Possessed Evil Woman Wreaks Havoc - Chapter 115

I downed the teacup in front of me in one go. The tea was still hot and burned the roof of my mouth, but I didn’t care.

Clang!

I slammed the now-empty teacup down onto the table. Then I glared at Belial, who sat across from me.

Unfazed by my stare, he simply refilled my teacup.

Earlier, when I asked Belial why he had come to see me, he had answered like this:

“I just missed my youngest. Thought I’d drop by for some tea? Oh, and Becky said she wanted to see you, so I brought her along.”

A more mundane reason than I’d expected.

Patience wasn’t my strong suit, but I didn’t want to cause a scene while using Isabella’s body.

I thought this would all end after a few cups of tea—but those few cups had turned into several rounds.

—Um, Lady Bella?

Sher, still in transformed state, spoke to me.

After confirming Belial’s intentions, I’d taken Sher out of the teacup.

He sat curled up on the table, unable to escape, visibly anxious.

Sher asked cautiously.

—May I leave now?

“Hmm? I thought we were having a lovely teatime? Seems like Mr. Mouse doesn’t think so,” Belial asked Sher in a gentle tone.

To my surprise, Sher answered in a loud voice that I never thought a mouse could produce.

—No! I’m enjoying this very much! I’d love to stay here longer!

His tone was far more polite than he ever used with me, which made me frown involuntarily.

“Sher. Give me your report.”

I addressed Sher.

Since Belial didn’t seem willing to let us go just yet, we might as well use the time to hear Sher’s findings.

It wasn’t information that mattered if Belial overheard anyway.

—Huh? Oh, right! So, about Crown Prince Kayden… well, his past is completely transparent. There’s no period of unaccounted activity or anything like that.

Sher tilted his head, then continued.

—And regarding the war you mentioned, Lady Bella, Prince Kayden hasn’t participated in anything that could be called a war. He did resolve a few minor conflicts near the border, but calling that a war would be a stretch. I’ve double-checked this, it’s reliable.

It matched what Sher had told me before. As expected, Kayden had never gone to war.

Then what was that statement he made? About being saved by an archangel on the battlefield.

It had felt sincere at the time, too sincere to be a lie.

I bit my lip. Why did something said by a mere human bother me so much?

—And this part, I wasn’t sure whether to report or not… but apparently there was once a rumor within the clergy. That the High Priest abused Crown Prince Kayden.

Hm?

I doubted my ears at the completely unexpected information.

From what I’d heard, Kayden was so respectful to the High Priest that people joked he had two fathers.

Even when I saw them together, Kayden had shown complete loyalty.

Abuse?

“Is that confirmed?”

—No, it’s not. It was a brief rumor that disappeared quickly. I just thought it might interest you, Lady Bella.

More surprising than interesting. It was only a rumor, so it might be false, but I trusted my instincts.

Maybe that uneasy feeling I always got around the High Priest was because of this.

But why would the High Priest abuse Kayden?

The temple wants to crown Kayden and solidify their power.

Abusing the prince, their most critical pawn, would be idiotic.

While I pondered, Belial, who had been quietly listening, suddenly spoke, “Youngest, don’t tell me you’re planning to do something to that prince?”

“What are you talking about?”

“His face kind of worried me, and now you’re digging into his background? Youngest, your tastes are very specific, huh?”

Clearly, Belial had thoroughly misunderstood.

I opened my mouth to correct him.

“Nonsense—”

Belial cut me off and continued, “Bella, I hope you think this through carefully.”

His suddenly changed tone made me blink slowly.

“Because if the first was a mistake, the second…”

Our eyes met, and a flash of emotion curled up deep inside his gaze briefly revealed itself.

“…I’ll make you realize the first was never a mistake.”

But the emotion vanished so quickly I couldn’t tell if I’d really seen it or if it was just a trick of the eye.

“Belial, just now—”

I stopped mid-sentence.

Belial was smiling foolishly as always, but I felt an odd sense that I shouldn’t provoke him.

He still looked like the same old silly Belial on the outside…

He once had a human lover.

The angels had told me. And their end was…

I changed the subject.

There was something I had wanted to ask Sher anyway.

“Sher. Have you heard anything about someone impersonating an archangel?”

I figured Sher might know something.

But the reply came from someone else entirely.

“You should’ve asked me that! I’ve spent quite a long time in the Middle Realm, you know.”

After pondering for a moment, Belial continued, “Ah, that imposter? I even met them once. It was a few hundred years ago.”

Belial began recounting the memory.

“At the time, I was masquerading as a human known as the ‘Mercenary King,’ leading a band of mercenaries. Two kingdoms went to war, and I sent my unit to whichever side offered more money.”

I frowned as I listened to Belial’s story.

Even if it was just for fun, pretending to be a mercenary and meddling in human wars?

I couldn’t understand such purposeless bloodshed.

“Then one day, the opposing kingdom sent someone. Ah, well, technically not a human.”

Belial’s words piqued my curiosity.

I had assumed the imposter was a demon…

But judging by what Belial said, that wasn’t the case.

I asked him, “What’s that person’s identity?”

“Well, I’m not really sure. I was going to ask… but I killed them before that.”

Belial grinned as he said it.

“That fake said something outrageous. You know how they say love for your youngest flows downward? As your big sister, I couldn’t possibly let them live, thinking of our dear youngest.”

I scowled. I couldn’t make sense of what Belial was even saying.

And what annoyed me most—

“First of all, Belial, you’re not my sister. Nor are you my brother. You are… in any case, not related to me whatsoever.”

“Boohoo. How heartless. After all the love and care I poured into raising you.”

Belial dabbed dry eyes with his sleeve, pretending to cry.

Despite knowing it was just acting, his innate talent made him look genuinely pitiful.

But—

I scoffed.

No way that kind of performance would fool someone like me who knew his true identity.

Still, there were more annoying things than that.

Like killing the imposter before finding out who they really were.

I may be a demon too, but demons are truly an impatient breed.

But scolding Belial over something that happened centuries ago wouldn’t change anything.

So I moved on to the next question.

“So what exactly did they claim?”

“Ah… that.”

Belial glanced at me and gave a strange smile.

“You don’t need to know. I dealt with them already.”

Then Belial paused mid-sentence.

“Oh, wait. Now that I think of it… that one came looking for me again. After I killed them… So I guess I didn’t kill them after all?

Belial looked surprised, raising one eyebrow.

I was equally stunned.

Belial might seem ridiculous, but he was undeniably a Demon Lord.

Once he decided to kill someone, escape wasn’t easy.

And yet he failed?

As expected…

“You really are the disgrace of the Demon Realm. Failing to kill some lousy imposter.”

I clicked my tongue as I spoke. Just how careless had he been to let that imposter escape?

I could picture it without even seeing it.