The Possessed Evil Woman Wreaks Havoc - Chapter 27

The crown prince, making excuses, pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. As he unfolded it, I could see a magic circle drawn on it.

I slowly examined the paper.

“This is Purson’s power.”

Purson, the Lord of Lies. The only demon in the Demon Realm who I had failed to cheat in a rigged gambling game. In fact, I ended up getting swindled and had to hand over an entire treasure vault.

“Yes, my master said that activating this magic circle would temporarily make magic appear as divine power.”

Purson occasionally created unique magic circles like this. He was particularly good at deception, even among demons.

I carefully examined the magic circle for any flaws. Besides a faint touch of Purson’s power, it was a simple structure.

Well, originally, the celestial god and the demon god were brothers. Therefore, divine power and magic had similar properties.

So disguising magic as divine power wasn’t that difficult.

I brought the paper to my arm. There was a brief flash of light, and the magic circle was absorbed into my arm, disappearing without a trace.

“So that’s how you’ve managed to avoid detection all this time.”

As the crown prince, he must have had many occasions to visit the temple. Each time, he must have used this magic circle to disguise his magic as divine power.

The Lord of Dominion wasn’t the type to care for his contractor so meticulously… What could he be planning by making a contract with and protecting the crown prince?

“Lady Bella, may I ask you a question?”

“Ask.”

It seemed the crown prince had a lot of questions for me. Though I wasn’t particularly fond of humans, I owed him for his help, so I didn’t mind answering one question.

“What exactly is the power of contracts? Information on it is quite scarce…”

“It is the most powerful of all powers,” I answered with a proud expression.

The power of contracts came with far more restrictions than other powers. It was difficult to use and required a price to be paid in exchange for its use.

In return, it possessed boundless potential, more than any other power.

As long as the price was paid, the power of contracts could achieve anything. It could even twist causality itself to create miracles.

It could bring back the dead, grant immortality, or even turn back time.

‘However, making a deal with causality itself carries a price that’s almost impossible to pay.’

To bring one dead person back to life, it would take about ten thousand souls.

There was a weak force in the middle realm that protected human souls. Considering that this force prevented forcibly taking another’s soul, it was practically impossible to fulfill such a deal.

“It is a power that makes the impossible possible. You, of all people, must understand that magic is not a force meant for humans.”

The source of magic was the demon god, who despised humanity and did not allow humans access to it.

On the other hand, the celestial god loved humanity and granted divine power to a chosen few.

The power of contracts twisted causality to allow humans to wield magic through a contract.

“It is far greater than that petty power of dominion you possess.”

The power of dominion allowed one to rule over and control others. It worked on humans, angels, and even other lords.

It had a limitation: it only worked on those weaker than the user, but it was still quite a useful power.

Dantalion, through this power, commanded numerous loyal followers. They would willingly lay down their lives for Dantalion’s orders.

To a human crown prince, the power of dominion would be quite useful.

Thinking of the power of dominion made my expression sour.

“Consider this your only warning. If you ever try to use the power of dominion on me again, I will have to kill you.”

“Understood.”

I had to warn the crown prince in advance.

In the past, Dantalion had tried to use the power of dominion on me. If Lilith hadn’t intervened, it might have actually worked.

That’s why I was especially sensitive to the power of dominion.

While we were talking, we eventually arrived at the temple.

I made an inverted sign of the cross, feeling uneasy about the divine power emanating from all directions. The crown prince raised an eyebrow at my gesture.

“It’s a lunchtime blasphemy. Demons must blaspheme three times a day—morning, noon, and night—to live a healthy life.”

“Is that true?”

“Nonsense. Did you actually believe that?”

For someone who had made a contract with a demon, the crown prince was quite gullible.

***

Once inside the temple, we were led to a small room set aside for treating patients.

After waiting for a while, a priest entered the room.

He cautiously examined me, though he was more focused on watching the crown prince’s reactions.

Of course, the sudden appearance of the heir to the empire would naturally be surprising.

What the priest didn’t realize was that the one he should truly be wary of wasn’t the crown prince but me.

I glared at the priest. To see one of the god’s lackeys up close and still alive was nauseating.

The priest met my eyes and spoke in a gentle voice, “Oh dear. The lady seems quite nervous.”

Not nervous—disgusted.

I sighed inwardly. With Isabella’s gentle face, no matter what expression I made, it always looked weak.

The priest examined me for longer than I expected. His initially kind expression gradually hardened.

“Lady Isabella, may I see your hand for a moment?”

The priest took my hand and began channeling divine power into me. There was a brief sting as divine power and magic clashed, but I managed to endure it.

“You are not ill, Lady.”

The priest slowly began to speak after releasing my hand.

“It seems you have awakened to divine power later in life. The hemoptysis occurred because your body couldn’t handle the process of the divine power settling in.”

“Hmm…”

Of course, the reason I coughed up blood was due to magic, not divine power, but to the priest, the magic within me would appear as divine power…

I frowned. Hearing that I had awakened divine power from one of the god’s lackeys was unsettling.

Seeing my reaction, the crown prince mouthed to me, ‘Pretend to be happy.’

Come to think of it, he had mentioned earlier that divine power was a blessing given to a select few by the god, which was why even nobles didn’t dare offend priests.

If I were really Isabella, in this situation…

“Wow. I’m so happy,” I said, my eyes devoid of emotion, silently clicking my tongue at my own pathetic human act.

The crown prince seemed impressed by my performance, covering his face with both hands. I could hear him trying to stifle his laughter behind them.

Fortunately, the priest was too preoccupied to notice the absurdity of my acting.

After some hesitation, he finally spoke up again. “By the way, Lady Isabella.”

He hesitated again before continuing, “There are very few people who awaken to divine power later in life. And to possess this amount of divine power… there’s no record of anything like it.”

‘Is this lackey doubting me?’

That thought crossed my mind immediately, but I was mistaken.

“Except for one exception.”

The priest looked at me seriously and said, “My lady, have you heard a voice in your head recently? A voice speaking to you.”

“Are you asking if I’m crazy?”

“…No, I meant the voice of the god, the celestial god’s voice. Have you heard it?”

I tilted my head, unable to understand where this conversation was going.

Suddenly, I remembered something from five hundred years ago.

Back then, there was one human who claimed to hear the voice of the celestial god.

“Bella. The celestial god is asking you to stop blaspheming.”

“That dirty old man. Why is he eavesdropping on my thoughts?”

“An old man? Pfft! Oh, I shouldn’t laugh… Anyway, your voice is so loud it reaches the celestial realm. The angels fainted when they heard what you just said.”

Unpleasant memories I wanted to forget resurfaced, and my expression hardened.

The priest, noticing my reaction, spoke cautiously, “I’m truly hesitant to say this, but… I believe you might be a saintess, Lady.”

The moment those words left his mouth, silence filled the room.

As the crown prince and I looked at the priest with bewildered expressions, he quickly began to explain.

“It says in the history books. Five hundred years ago, Lady Daphne, who was an ordinary noble, suddenly awakened to divine power along with a revelation from the celestial god. Doesn’t this sound just like your case?”

I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

A demon like me being mistaken for a saintess… It was truly something you could only see if you lived long enough.

Of course, I wasn’t a saintess, and since the celestial god had vanished, there could be no more saintesses in the middle realm.

I opened my mouth to correct the priest’s misunderstanding.

“Nonsense. I’m not a saintess—”

At that moment, a thought crossed my mind.

I am a demon. If a demon like me were worshipped as a saintess among humans… would there be any greater blasphemy?

Living each day, breathing in blasphemy itself.

A true demon wouldn’t miss such a golden opportunity to mock the celestial god.

I made my declaration.

“Yes, I am indeed a saintess.”

From today onward, I am the saintess of this empire.