The Possessed Evil Woman Wreaks Havoc - Chapter 149

“What exactly do you mean by serving you as Hyungnim?” asked Gray.

I answered, “I don’t have the money to hire you.”

Mercenaries moved for monetary reward.

They must have assumed I was Isabella, the count’s daughter, and made such an offer because of that, but they were mistaken.

All I had now was the money I had scraped together by selling Isabella’s jewelry. It wasn’t nearly enough to hire three mercenaries.

Of course, I did have wealth in the Demon Realm, but there was no way I could go there right now, was there?

Even if I could, it would be better not to run into myself from this era in the Demon Realm.

“You don’t have to pay us right away. Once you reclaim your house, you can reward us then.”

At that, I sneered inwardly. Completely wrong.

They were assuming I intended to reclaim my family estate. So they were expecting generous compensation once I became a count.

But I had no intention of interfering in the affairs of the Graham family.

I didn’t know the details of what had happened, but I didn’t want bloodshed within the family. Both Isabella Graham and her uncle were descendants of Daphne and Ethan.

I couldn’t kill one descendant for the sake of another.

Though Isabella’s appearance swayed me a little toward her side… still, it wasn’t something I could involve myself in.

“Instead, serve me as Hyungnim.”

I spoke confidently.

“Exactly as it sounds. Younger brothers serve their Hyungnim, and Hyungnim looks after the younger brothers, don’t they?”

“…Miss Bella. Normally, mercenaries are employed through contracts. There has to be a written contract… or at least a clear promise of future reward.”

Something both sides could rely on.

At Gray’s words, I nodded.

I already knew. Even a hundred years ago, mercenaries worked that way.

That was part of why I had been reluctant to hire mercenaries in the first place.

“But isn’t this better for you? Opportunities to serve me as Hyungnim don’t come easily.”

“I suppose so.”

“For your reference, I always keep my contracts to the letter, but when it comes to my younger brothers, I am endlessly generous. Especially with money. I’ve always taken good care of those around me.”

Naturally, every word was a lie. Starting with the fact that I wasn’t even human.

But the three of them, who had no way of knowing the truth, exchanged glances.

Lenny and Jerry seemed tempted by the idea.

Gray, however, still looked doubtful.

Sharp, indeed.

“Oh, and if the Hyungnim is a noble, shouldn’t the younger brothers also receive noble titles? I think I could make that happen.”

That last remark finally convinced Gray.

“Then… we’ll be in your care from now on, Hyungnim.”

He added the title reluctantly, as though something still bothered him.

I smiled brightly at them and thought to myself.

‘I’ll show them that there are bad Hyungnims in this world.’

I’d take their help and give no reward. After all, without a contract, I had no obligation to reward them.

They’d chosen to serve me as Hyungnim of their own accord. Of course, without compensation.

It had been a while since I’d indulged in truly demon-like thoughts, and I chuckled inwardly.

***

The carriage kept rolling.

“Miss Bella.”

“Hyungnim.”

“What?”

“Call me Hyungnim.”

At my words, Lenny pulled a sour face.

“You really like that title, don’t you? It’s not the sort of thing a girl your age would usually be fond of.”

He muttered under his breath, then spoke up again.

“Well, fine. But Hyungnim, could I ask you something? The secret behind your strength. I’ve traveled all over the continent and met all kinds of people—especially ones renowned for their power—but I’ve never seen anyone like you, Hyungnim!”

“Never?”

“Look at your body! Not a single visible muscle to be found. So how can that kind of strength come out of you?”

The secret of my strength?

Naturally, it was demonic power. I hesitated, wondering how much of the truth I should tell them.

I couldn’t just say outright that I was a demon.

So instead…

“Rage.”

That would do.

Rage was an emotion that could draw out strength far beyond normal limits.

At my words, Lenny and Gray exchanged glances.

“So you mean you won’t tell us? Or that you can’t?”

“Hm? I’m telling the truth. The secret of my strength really is rage.”

On second thought, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

Whenever I thought of Gabriel’s face, I felt like I could draw more demonic power out of myself than usual.

Gray and Lenny looked disappointed, but they didn’t press further.

Gray said to me, “Anyway, Miss Bella. The Mercenary King is not someone you can take lightly.”

The title of ‘king’ is rarely used. If misused, you could offend the royal family and be executed. So anyone who carries that title is never an ordinary person.

Gray warned me.

It didn’t sound like he was saying it out of concern for me, but more like he feared he and his companions might be dragged into trouble.

I listened to his warning and thought to myself.

‘Of course. That Mercenary King isn’t even human.’

Still, seeing Gray’s lingering unease, I added, “Don’t worry. Your Hyungnim is… well, let’s just say I’m acquainted with that Mercenary King.”

Originally, I almost said we were close, but that lie felt like an insult to myself, so I changed it midway.

“I see,” Gray replied.

Once again, his expression showed he didn’t fully believe me.

So little trust in his Hyungnim. Should I teach him a lesson?

As I was thinking this, Gray began to explain our destination.

“We’re heading into the heart of the battlefield. It’s a war between the Serenia Kingdom and the Silveron Kingdom, and it’s been dragging on for quite some time. Neither side is willing to compromise.”

Then.

Gray lowered his voice and whispered to me, “They say the Empire is behind this war.”

Even though there was no one else around—just us inside a moving carriage—he still acted that cautious.

…This must be highly confidential information.

At present, the only empire left on the continent was the Aizen Empire.

But why would the Empire involve itself in a war between kingdoms?

In response to my question, Gray explained further.

“Right now, Serenia Kingdom is crawling with heretics. Their numbers keep growing, yet the royal family isn’t doing anything. It even looks as though they have no intention of responding at all.”

Well, that made sense. Serenia had always been unusual.

Unlike other nations that worshipped only the Celestial God as the sole deity, Serenia had always been more tolerant of religion.

“The Empire would never view Serenia kindly for that. But if the Empire attacked directly… it would look disgraceful. The teachings of the Celestial God are tolerance and forgiveness, so if the Empire invaded Serenia, which has barely a fraction of the Empire’s power, it would not look good.”

So the Empire was involving itself indirectly—by funding Silveron, a kingdom that had long been at odds with Serenia.

A war, huh.

Thinking it over, something felt strange. Belial wasn’t Amon, Lord of Wrath, so why would the Lord of Lust willingly step into a war?

Something… felt different from the Belial I knew.

Come to think of it…

As my thoughts strayed to Belial, I suddenly remembered.

The imposter who claimed to be an archangel.

A fraud who invented a nonexistent archangel named Isabella.

Belial had only told me about his time as the ‘Mercenary King’ because of that imposter.

He said he had met that very fraud.

Which meant… that imposter existed in this era too.

I felt a surge of interest.

Anyone who impersonated an angel couldn’t possibly be sane.

And to impersonate an archangel, of all things.

I recalled Gabriel sending his underlings to the Middle Realm to capture the imposter.

Gabriel’s desperation to capture that fraud.

There had to be a reason. Perhaps some deep grudge between them?

While I was lost in thought, we eventually arrived near the Empire’s border.

All around us stretched a desolate wasteland. I looked around.

I could sense faint traces of demonic energy. It seemed monsters had lived here once.

Even after the monsters were killed, the residue of demonic energy remained, leaving the land barren where not a single blade of grass grew.

Because the Aizen Empire’s borders were so vast, they didn’t station soldiers everywhere.

Places deemed useless, where no one lived, were simply left unattended.

The three mercenaries disembarked from the carriage and began setting up camp with practiced ease.

Though stronger against demonic energy than ordinary humans, they were still human.

All three of them were visibly grimacing.

Lenny asked, “Hyungnim, aren’t you uncomfortable? This place’s aura is…”

“Hm? Not at all. It feels like home to me,” I answered without a second thought.