The Possessed Evil Woman Wreaks Havoc - Chapter 29

I did not die that day.

“My mind has changed. Go ahead, see it through to the end.”

Just as I was preparing to defy the demon god’s command at the cost of my life, the demon god suddenly had a change of heart.

The demon god let me go without killing me.

“The child I once loved. Because of the choice you made, you will fall into endless despair. You will regret it.”

“I will never regret the choice I made. Never.”

That was what I told the demon god back then. At the time, I was quite confident in my decision.

I chose humans. They were precious to my contractor, and I believed they were worth protecting.

But after that?

“…….”

“Lady Bella?”

“…….”

“Lady Bella, are you alright?”

“…Not alright.”

It wasn’t until the crown prince called me several times that I managed to shake myself free from my memories.

I lifted my finger and aimed my magic directly at the face of the statue.

Crash!

The statue shattered to pieces, collapsing onto the ground.

The crown prince looked like he had a lot to say about my actions, but he chose to keep his mouth shut.

The noise of the massive statue’s destruction drew people into the room one by one.

I blankly stared at the statue that had fallen and shattered into fragments on the ground. Even though that hideous thing was destroyed, the anger inside me hadn’t abated in the slightest.

***

I left the temple without looking back. The crown prince remained behind to deal with the broken statue.

When I returned to the ducal estate, the duke invited me to dine with him, so I headed to the dining room.

Though I was in a foul mood due to what had happened at the temple, it had also solidified my determination.

I needed to regain my magic as soon as possible and leave the middle realm. And to do that, I needed to get closer to the duke.

Silence filled the dining room. Gabby and the duke were staring at me in shock, both of them frozen. Their eyes were filled with disbelief and bewilderment. I had a feeling it was something I had said that left them in such a state, but—

I cared more about the food in front of me than their reactions, so I busied myself eating meat.

It wasn’t until I emptied my third plate that the duke finally spoke up.

“So, Isabella, you’re saying you’ve awakened to divine power and become a saintess?”

“Technically, I’m just a candidate.”

I swallowed the meat and answered. The temple had decided, after much deliberation, to grant me the position of a candidate for saintess. Apparently, there were too many uncertainties for them to declare me the saintess outright.

‘Clever folks.’

“Damn.”

Gabby reacted sharply to my words.

“Damn. If she’s a saintess, then the god must have gone senile.”

“Gabriel, watch your language.”

The duke warned Gabby to be careful, but considering how ignoring his father had become a habit, Gabby didn’t listen.

He continued, “Come on, it’s true. The god must be tens of thousands of years old by now, right? By then, their brain would be completely smooth. Senility is inevitable.”

“Oh.”

I was impressed. This was a kind of blasphemy I’d never heard before, and it made my mouth drop open. Turns out Gabby was also skilled in blasphemy.

Moreover.

Thinking I was agreeing with him, Gabby spoke in an excited voice, “You agree, right? Even that fifty-year-old geezer sometimes struggles to think clearly, so isn’t it only natural for a being that’s lived tens of thousands of years to lose their mind?”

Gabby managed to commit both blasphemy and filial impiety simultaneously. Even as a demon, I had to acknowledge his talent.

‘If he’d been born a demon, he would have truly thrived.’

“Gabriel, watch your mouth.”

The duke let out a sigh and dismissed the servants in the room. Well, if Gabby’s words got out, it would cause trouble.

The duke and Gabby still looked confused. They didn’t seem to know how to react to the fact that I had become a candidate for saintess.

Unconcerned, I continued emptying my plate. The meal was excellent once again today.

Until now, I’d only known steak could be made with beef, but it seemed it was possible with salmon too. The sour sauce poured over the golden-brown fish was delightful.

Still not satisfied, I smacked my lips and spoke to Gabby. “Gabby, if you’re not going to eat that, give it to me.”

Without a word, Gabby handed me the plate in front of him. The duke looked puzzled at the name I used to call Gabby.

“Gabby?”

“It’s my nickname. The brat and I call each other by nicknames. Jealous, old man?” Gabby responded quickly and then gave me a meaningful look. I instantly understood what he wanted.

‘He’s signaling for us to commit filial impiety together.’

No demon would miss such an opportunity.

“That’s right, duke. Gabby and I call each other by nicknames.”

I emphasized the word “duke.”

Gabby’s expression brightened when I played along.

“Sigh. These days, the world has changed, and noble children are supposed to call their parents ‘Father’ or ‘Dad’ instead of using titles. Well, if the old man had a conscience, he wouldn’t expect to be called that, would he?”

This was the ‘I’m closer than you are’ tactic. Back in the Demon Realm, the rulers used to play similar mind games over me, so I was used to it.

However.

‘Is my nickname really “brat”?’

I tilted my head in confusion. In the Demon Realm, being called a brat was the highest compliment. It meant that despite acting recklessly, you were still alive, implying you had the power and influence to get away with it.

Yet, for some reason, hearing it now made me feel a bit annoyed. Perhaps it was just a fleeting feeling, so I decided to let it go.

“By the way, Gabby, I have a question. Is a saintess higher in rank than the emperor?”

“Hmm?” Gabby answered, “Well, I don’t know. I mean, a saintess can’t be higher than the emperor… or can she?”

Gabby paused, organizing his thoughts, and then spoke again, “A new saintess doesn’t just appear when the current one dies, but there are plenty of royals around. If one emperor dies, they just pick another suitable one to replace him. So, wouldn’t the saintess chosen by the god be a higher rank?”

“Oh.”

That was quite logical. From now on, if anyone questioned why I spoke down to the emperor or the royal family, I’d use that logic.

The duke listened to my conversation with Gabby, holding his forehead in his hand. “Gabriel! Watch your mouth!”

“Ah, come on. The old man is too scared of everything. And if the duchy crumbles because of something I said, wouldn’t that be the old man’s fault for not managing the family properly?”

The two began arguing again.

I ate my salmon steak, using their bickering as background noise.

Suddenly, Gabby seemed to remember something and asked me, “Hey, Isabella, didn’t you once say you were a saintess before?”

Back then, I thought you were finally losing it and spouting nonsense. Turns out it was true?

Gabby mumbled blankly. The duke also seemed to remember the incident and looked at me.

“Hmm. That did happen.”

I nodded and responded indifferently. When Jessie told me about Isabella’s past misdeeds, this incident was among them.

One day, Isabella had claimed she was the saintess, causing an uproar at the temple before being exposed as a liar.

That incident had earned her the temple’s disdain, and she lost her right to attend the New Year’s prayer meeting.

The duke had judged that Isabella’s actions had dishonored the family, resulting in her being forbidden from leaving the estate.

As for Gabby… Well, I couldn’t imagine him keeping his mouth shut. He had probably mocked and ridiculed her.

If I were my past self, I would have wondered why she told such an obvious lie, knowing she’d be caught—

But now, a different thought crossed my mind.

She must have been so desperate for her family’s attention to have done something like that.

I quickly shook my head to clear away such thoughts. I didn’t want to feel sympathy for Isabella.

No matter how much she craved her family’s attention, doing something so foolish…

I clicked my tongue in disapproval.

I focused on the meat in front of me again, but then I felt two pairs of eyes on me. I looked up.

Both Gabby and the duke were staring at me with strange expressions. Their eyes held a complex mix of emotions I couldn’t quite decipher, but I thought I saw hints of guilt.

After hesitating for a while, the duke finally spoke, “Of course, we thought you were lying again. At that time, you didn’t have divine power, and we never imagined it would manifest so late.”

Gabby quickly protested against the duke’s words. “Hey, why are you saying ‘we’? I never doubted her. I believed her completely.”

“Really?”

“…Actually, I didn’t believe it.”

When I gave him a pointed look, Gabby quickly changed his tune. He couldn’t even meet my eyes, clearly embarrassed.

I shrugged my shoulders and began to speak.

“It doesn’t—”

But I froze mid-sentence. My magic was returning again. Although it wasn’t as much as last time—

It seemed someone was regretting not believing Isabella back then and hurting her.

I looked at Gabby and the duke. I wasn’t sure which of them was regretting it, but if I could provoke more regret, perhaps the amount of magic returning would increase.

“Actually, it was really painful.”

I quickly changed my words.

“Even if the whole world threw stones at me, my family should have stood by my side. It was so painful that I cried alone every night.”

Even to me, my acting was atrocious—but it seemed to work, as the amount of magic returning to me noticeably increased.

“Hey, when you say it like that, we sound like trash.”

Gabby began to protest, seemingly feeling wronged. I snorted and responded, “You didn’t believe me, so you are trash. Reflect on it, you trash.”

Ah, that wasn’t right. The amount of magic returning to me slightly decreased. I quickly changed my words again.

“Reflect on it, my kin.”

The moment I used the word “kin,” the amount of magic returning to me noticeably increased.

This was a decent harvest.

Satisfied, I continued my meal. Gabby and the duke, on the other hand, seemed uncomfortable and barely touched their food.

Unperturbed, I finished about ten plates before finally ending my meal.