The Possessed Evil Woman Wreaks Havoc - Chapter 33

The next day.

I left the ducal estate at dawn, with Jessie’s farewell.

Yesterday, I had already coordinated with the crown prince. We decided to tell everyone at the estate that I would be staying at the temple for a while, and they shouldn’t try to find me.

For the next few days, I would supposedly remain in a secluded room, praying to the celestial god for the summoning of the divine beast.

Of course, this was just a pretext to cover my absence.

In reality, I planned to head to a village in the far north of the empire, where monsters had recently been sighted, in order to obtain a magic stone.

“My lady, wouldn’t it be better to see the duke and young master before you leave?” Jessie asked me with a worried expression.

“No need.”

“But they’ll both be upset if they find out you went to the temple without a word. And you’ll be gone for several days.”

Oh, is that so? An idea popped into my mind, and I adjusted my voice.

“Ah. I’m sure neither the duke nor young master would care if someone like me disappeared.”

“…My lady?”

“They might even be glad that the sight they dislike is gone from in front of them. Staying at the temple indefinitely doesn’t sound so bad.”

I pretended to wipe away nonexistent tears.

Once I felt I had said enough, I quickly changed my expression and spoke to Jessie, “Jessie. Tell the duke and Gabby exactly what I just said.”

“Oh? Oh, yes. I’ll do as you asked, my lady.”

“See you in a few days. Take care.”

I jumped into the carriage waiting in front of the estate.

***

The carriage traveled for quite some time.

At some point, I felt my magic return, though only slightly.

‘Looks like Jessie delivered my message well.’

However, the amount of magic I regained was less than expected. It seemed I wouldn’t be able to elicit any deep regret with just this. I needed a more certain way to break the seal faster—a sure way to make Isabella’s family regret.

I glanced at the crown prince, who was sitting across from me.

“You must not be busy.”

I had told him that I could go to the monster-sighting location on my own if he just told me where it was, but the crown prince insisted on coming along.

“As a crown prince, you must have a lot of free time.”

“Haha. I couldn’t help it. If I had let you go alone, Lady Bella, I wouldn’t have been able to focus on anything out of worry.”

The crown prince laughed heartily, but the dark circles under his eyes showed he hadn’t been sleeping well lately.

“Do I look like a child left near water to you?”

“Of course not. A child near water needs constant watching out of fear they might get hurt.”

In Lady Bella’s case, it’s the water that should be worried.

After carefully chewing over his words, I felt somewhat offended.

“What are you trying to say?”

“I mean, I’m concerned about the village we’re heading to. It has a small population, but it’s an important stop for merchant caravans crossing the border. We can’t let such a village burn down.”

I glared at the crown prince. I may be a demon, but even I wouldn’t suddenly set a village on fire… would I?

Considering the fact that demons had a lower anger threshold compared to other races, his concern was… not entirely unreasonable.

Nonetheless, I continued to glare at the crown prince.

“…Your insolence is increasing.”

His casual attitude toward a demon was oddly irritating.

I turned my head sharply to look out the window.

***

We rode all day and finally arrived at the village the following afternoon.

It was a small but lively village.

While I peered out the carriage window, observing the scenery, the crown prince moved around the village gathering information from the locals.

Laughter drifted in through the open window.

I frowned instinctively. There weren’t many occasions to hear such laughter in the Demon Realm.

‘Humans are… full of life, as always.’

That fact hadn’t changed in the past five hundred years. Once, I had found that vitality admirable, but now…

I bit my lip.

A while later, the crown prince returned.

“The villagers say they’ve seen monsters in the nearby forest. They called the guards, but the forest is so dense that movement is difficult, and they failed to subdue the monster. Now, they simply prevent anyone from entering the forest.”

“So there are monsters. Let’s head there.”

We left the carriage at the inn, instructing the coachman to wait in the village, and headed to the forest.

The forest was just as described: trees growing so densely that visibility was poor, and moving through it was a challenge.

If an ordinary person encountered a monster here, they wouldn’t be able to escape.

Of course, that was for ordinary people.

I used my magic to enhance my hearing. With my heightened senses, I could hear every sound in the forest.

Birds chirping. Wild animals rustling leaves. And then—

“Wait. Someone’s crying… sounds like a child.”

I detected a sound that didn’t belong in this forest. I had heard that entry to this forest was restricted…

The crown prince and I exchanged glances before hurrying toward the sound.

When we arrived, we saw a lost child. A little girl, no more than four or five years old.

She was crying, scared after getting lost in the forest.

I reached out to the child. The crown prince, startled by my actions, suddenly shouted.

“Lady Bella!”

“……?”

Both the child and I turned to look at the crown prince.

Seeing the child held securely in my arms, the crown prince hesitated.

His reaction made me smirk. It was obvious what he had just thought.

I turned away from him and started walking in the direction of the village. The crown prince quietly followed behind me.

The child in my arms was warm. To comfort her, I spoke softly, “Little one. This place is dangerous; we must leave. I’ll take you home.”

The girl, with tears still in her eyes, stared at me intently. Especially at my hair, which sparkled under the dappled sunlight filtering through the dense forest.

Well, Isabella’s blonde hair was quite beautiful.

The child pursed her lips before asking, “Are you an angel?”

I found her reaction amusing and chuckled. “You have no eye for such things, little one. I’m not an angel—I’m something far greater.”

“Greater? What’s that?”

I whispered into her ear, quietly enough that the crown prince wouldn’t hear, “Who’s the greatest being you know of?”

“The celestial god!”

“Once, even that one was no match for me.”

“Eek!”

The child’s eyes widened in shock.

“You can write it in your diary when you get home—that the great being personally brought you home.”

“Okay.”

“And little one, don’t come to dangerous places like this again. Cherish your light, dandelion-seed-like life. Only then can you take root and bloom into a flower, right?”

“Okay.”

We soon emerged from the forest. When we brought the child back to the village, her parents rushed over to embrace her.

After repeatedly thanking us, they left with their daughter.

On the way back to the forest, I spoke to the crown prince, who had fallen silent. “I know exactly what you were thinking. Did you think I would harm the child?”

After a moment of hesitation, the crown prince answered honestly, “Lady Bella, you moved so suddenly… I misunderstood. I apologize.”

I scoffed at his straightforward apology.

It was a common misconception about demons. That demons placed no value on life, that they would take a life at the slightest provocation, regardless of whether it was an adult or a child.

“There’s something you don’t understand. Demons do not harm children.”

Occasionally, a demon might break this rule, but they were usually mad. Even among demons, those who harmed children were subject to eradication.

“Do you know how demons are born?”

The crown prince shook his head. I gave him a hint.

“Demons are born from the fires of hell. We have no mothers or fathers. Likewise, we cannot be someone’s mother or father.”

Demons lacked the ability to create new life. The same was true for angels.

The only beings capable of creating new life were the celestial god, the demon god, and humans.

This was why demons were lenient toward children, beings close to the moment of creation.

“We simply show our respect—respect for the power of creation that we lack. That’s why demons cannot harm children.”

After saying this, I looked around.

We had wasted too much time taking the child back to the village. At this rate, night would fall soon. If we couldn’t find a monster, we’d have to make one come to us.

While walking through the forest, we came across a suitable clearing.

I knelt down and pressed my hand to the ground, releasing my magic. This would alert any monsters in the area that an intruder had entered their territory, prompting them to come.

I stood up and looked around, picking out a sturdy-looking tree. With a quick movement, I climbed the tree.

The crown prince looked up at me, bewildered. “Lady Bella? What are you doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Taking cover.”

“But why?”

“Because a monster is coming. You deal with it.”

“…Even with your powers sealed, aren’t you still stronger than me, a mere human?”

“Yes.”

“Then shouldn’t you easily handle a monster of that size?”

The crown prince pointed at a monster that had appeared in the distance. It looked like a mass of gelatinous sludge, and it let out a low growl as it approached us.

-Grrrr…

I glanced at the monster before replying, “Perhaps. If I hit it just once, it would probably die.”

“Then why are you telling me to deal with it?”

“…? Why should I bother moving when I can have someone else do it?”