The Possessed Evil Woman Wreaks Havoc - Chapter 126

At the time, Uriel had made a tearful expression when Lilith asked that question.

Having observed Uriel for tens of thousands of years, it was the first time Lilith had seen her make such a face.

That’s how optimistic Uriel usually was—always smiling, no matter what hardship she faced.

And yet now, she wore an expression like that.

“It was Gabriel who wanted the child. But when the child was finally born… I realized he had another purpose behind it.”

“Purpose?”

“Silia made a prophecy. A prophecy about the death of the bearer of the power of contract.”

Silia possessed the power of foresight. It was rare to hear a prophecy from her, as she was known for loathing her own power.

Uriel was as reserved with her words as possible. But even with that small bit of information, Lilith quickly understood Gabriel’s intention.

“He wants the child to die in your place.”

“Yes. He believes that if Isabella dies, I’ll be able to avoid death.”

“And is that even true?”

“…It is. But I don’t want that.”

At the time, it was a difficult statement to understand.

Of course, Lilith didn’t want a child to die in her place either.

But even after living so long, death was still unsettling enough to make one hesitate to reject such an option.

She had thought that something as grim as the child’s death could be overlooked just once.

Now, though, she understood Uriel’s feelings a bit more.

Lilith asked Uriel, “So where are you and the child staying now?”

“We’re staying in Silia’s village. I thought we could hide from him there for a while. But it’s only a matter of time before we’re found. Silia can’t protect the child and me.”

Indeed. Silia’s power was strong, but her combat ability was abysmal.

“You must protect the child. I beg you.”

“……”

Though she had already made up her mind to be the child’s protector, Lilith didn’t give a definite answer due to her uneasy feelings.

Was it really necessary to protect the child while bearing Gabriel’s wrath?

She hesitated for a moment because of that doubt.

Sensing Lilith’s uncertainty, Uriel quickly added, “You’ll like Isabella once you meet her. She’s really cute and lovable. …Though her personality is a little fiery.”

At the mention of a fiery personality, Lilith raised one eyebrow.

For Uriel, who usually spoke gently, to describe someone like that… it meant Isabella wasn’t exactly easy.

Uriel began showering Isabella with praise.

“There’s a beastkin boy named Nigel. Well, he’s quite grown now, so maybe not a boy. Anyway, do you know how well she gets along with him? Our Bella is so sociable that she made her first friend at her age.”

Bella? So the child’s nickname is Bella.

Well, Bella does sound a bit cuter than Isabella.

Lilith thought to herself.

“I’ll protect the child. At least until she matures, she’ll remain under my protection.”

“…Thank you so much, Lily,” Uriel said, her voice trembling.

That was the last time Lilith ever saw Uriel. After that day, she never encountered her again.

And a few days later, she met Isabella for the first time.

***

So that’s what happened.

Ending her recollection, Lilith lightly tapped Bella’s cheek as she slept.

Just because they were demons didn’t mean they lacked emotion.

Yes, she had initially taken Bella in at Uriel’s request, but Lilith now genuinely cherished her.

That’s why she hesitated about what she was about to do.

“This is why raising children is so hard,” Lilith muttered while fiddling with Bella’s hair.

But to raise a child well, you couldn’t just coddle them.

Even though Bella had long since matured, she was still only in her hundreds. To Lilith, who had lived tens of thousands of years, she was still a child.

So, Bella…

You probably need to—

“—die once at Gabriel’s hands.”

Lilith whispered into Bella’s ear.

Still deep in sleep, Bella smiled faintly as Lilith’s voice brushed past her ear.

Perhaps, hearing that familiar voice subconsciously reassured her.

Completely unaware of what that voice had just said.

As she stroked Bella’s sleeping head, Lilith turned toward the door and said, “Come in.”

Then, the presence she had sensed outside drew nearer, and the door opened.

“Um… Lady Lilith.”

The voice belonged to one of the angels Bella had brought with her.

The twin angels entered the room with tense expressions.

“Why are you here?”

At Lilith’s question, the angels swallowed hard in unison.

One of them finally spoke to her, “It’s almost time for Miss Bella’s meal. She said no matter what happens, she has to eat on time. She told us that if she ever goes missing like this, we should come find her.”

At those words, Lilith couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle. “Our Bella really is still a child. Seeing how greedy she is with food.”

“Excuse me? No matter how you look at it, calling her a child is…”

The angels glanced at Bella, who was resting her head on Lilith’s lap.

Where on earth would you find a kid that grown?

Of course, they couldn’t finish their sentence out of fear of Lilith.

“Let Bella sleep. She won’t be able to rest much for a while, so she should take the chance while she can.”

At Lilith’s meaningful words, the angels exchanged glances.

“And you two. Isn’t it about time you returned to your master?”

At her continued words, the angels’ eyes widened.

Naturally, they also wanted to return to Gabriel.

But they were too scared of Bella, who was always by their side, to even try.

The Lord of Contract had a temper as fiery as her red hair.

Just imagining what might happen if they got caught trying to escape was terrifying.

“I won’t be responsible for what happens after. Bella will probably be too busy to care about your absence for a while.”

At Lilith’s words, the angels looked at each other.

They didn’t know why Lilith was suddenly saying this, but life in the mansion had been so hard.

Just thinking of their contract holder, who worked them to the bone, made them shudder.

If this was their chance to escape…

With just a glance, the two reached a silent agreement.

***

I slowly blinked my eyes open.

When did I fall asleep?

Looking out the window, I saw that the sun had long since set. Before I dozed off, the sun had still been up, so…

I stretched my aching body.

Looking around, the room was empty. Lilith, who had been at my side before I fell asleep, was nowhere to be seen.

Wait a second…

I whipped my head back toward the window.

If it’s that dark outside, that means dinner time passed ages ago, right?

My dinner!

I clearly told Jane and Jane that I never skip meals, and that if I ever doze off and miss mealtime, they should wake me up.

I looked around again. No matter how carefully I listened, I couldn’t sense anyone else in the room.

Those shameless angels.

I’ll punish them the moment I see them.

I threw open the door and stormed out of the room.

Maybe because it was evening, but the hallway felt even chillier than usual.

I strode down the hall toward the dining room on the first floor.

The closer I got, the stronger the smell of food.

I yanked open the dining room door.

Inside, Gabby and the Duke were sitting across from each other at the dining table.

Judging by the mostly empty plates, they’d just finished their meal.

Did those two really eat dinner without me?

I suddenly felt furious and started fuming.

The Duke wiped his mouth with a napkin and spoke to me, “Isabella. I was starting to think it odd that you skipped a meal.”

“Gabby. You really have no loyalty.”

How could he even think about eating without me?

“Hey, hearing that I lack loyalty from you… that just doesn’t sit right.”

Gabby tossed a remark from the side.

He was probably still sore about my comment earlier about switching parents.

But how can eating without me and switching parents be on the same level?

The former is something even passing demons would click their tongues at, while the latter… well, in life, things happen, don’t they?

…Hmm. From a human perspective, maybe that’s not it either?

I wouldn’t know, since I’ve never really had parents.