The Possessed Evil Woman Wreaks Havoc - Chapter 44

The crown prince silently stared at me for a moment. His eyes grew complicated for an instant, but it was so fleeting that I wasn’t sure if I had seen it correctly. He soon opened his mouth to speak.

“Normally, my hair color wouldn’t have been much of an issue. However…”

Although silver hair was the symbol of the imperial family, it was said that only a few members of the imperial family were born with pure, unblemished silver hair like the first emperor.

Because of this, the members of the imperial family who were not silver-haired had also ascended to the throne.

I recalled the emperor I had seen at the ball. Indeed, his hair was a bit dull to be considered true silver.

“I have several younger siblings. My mother passed away after giving birth to me, so they are all half-siblings.”

The emperor, who was deeply attached to the empress, gave the crown prince title to Adrian, his eldest son and the only child of the deceased empress.

At the time, there were no particular problems. Even at a young age, Adrian showed signs of great intelligence, and the deceased empress’s family firmly supported him.

However, a few years later, problems arose when the emperor’s new empress gave birth to children.

“One of them was born with perfect silver hair. And as if that weren’t enough, he was able to wield divine power freely from a very young age. The temple aims to make that child the crown prince.”

The temple had pulled all sorts of schemes to elevate that prince to the position of crown prince.

As a result, Adrian had been attacked countless times since he was very young. His maternal family fell into ruin during this process, and Adrian found himself facing death several times.

“If Dantalion hadn’t reached out to me back then, I wouldn’t be standing here now. I’d be buried in cold earth.”

The temple, which served the Celestial God and angels, had done such things. Then again, considering the hypocrisy of the angels, it wasn’t surprising.

I scoffed. So, the temple was wary of the crown prince and me, the saintess, growing closer because he wasn’t the prince they supported.

“Clueless fools. As if I would ever do such a thing with you, Half-Pathetic.”

“—Why are you so certain it wouldn’t happen?”

The crown prince’s voice held a hint of displeasure.

I glanced at his face. He certainly was handsome for a human. He would even be considered attractive by demon standards.

But it was all meaningless.

“Because you’re human.”

My previous contractor and I… were too close. One time could be considered a mistake, but twice…

The crown prince didn’t seem pleased with my explanation. “There have been cases where humans and demons became close, haven’t there?”

“That’s true, but don’t they all end the same way? The demon grows tired of the human and abandons them. The abandoned human, unable to cope, withers away and dies.”

This story, spread widely among humans to warn of the dangers of demons, wasn’t baseless. For demons who lived far longer than humans, seducing one was no challenge. I had seen it happen a few times.

But the way the crown prince spoke, it was almost as if…

Now that I thought about it, the crown prince did call Dantalion “master.”

“Is that your thing? Being abandoned by your master—do you enjoy that kind of tragic fate?”

“Sigh. Please, just…”

The crown prince buried his face in his hands and mumbled.

While he did that, I glanced at the priests. I didn’t like how they were still keeping an eye on us.

“So, the closer I get to you, the more those goldfish poops will hate it, right?”

“Yes, exactly.”

I see. I took a step toward the crown prince.

In an instant, the distance between us narrowed, and a sigh could be heard from afar.

“What are you doing now?”

We were close enough to feel each other’s breath. I shrugged and replied, “I’m trying to look close to you.”

“Just to make the priests uncomfortable?”

“It’s a demon’s virtue to enjoy others’ suffering.”

I nodded.

“Want to go for a hug right here? It looks like those priests might pass out on the spot.”

The crown prince sighed deeply at my words. “No, thank you. I refuse, especially not like this.”

The crown prince took a step back, and the distance between us widened again.

“By the way, you look as pale as a fish that’s been dead for three days.”

Dark circles surrounded his eyes. He must not have slept well in recent days.

He gave me a strange smile and said, “I’ve had rather restless dreams lately. Every time I fall asleep, I dream of someone setting fire to the temple.”

That someone was undoubtedly me. I lifted one corner of my mouth and spoke menacingly, “I could make that dream come true.”

“Hmm. It seems I’ve misspoken.”

The crown prince looked like he had a lot more to say, but he kept his mouth shut.

Now that I thought about it, the conversation had strayed completely off course. Surely, the crown prince had a reason for seeking me out.

“What did you want to talk to me about?”

“Must I have a reason to see you, Lady Bella?”

“Of course.”

“…Yes, we’re not quite there yet, are we? The reason I came to see you was to make sure you were doing well at the temple. I’m glad to see you’re fine. And also…”

The crown prince trailed off. He hesitated for a moment before speaking again, “Do you remember the younger sibling I mentioned? He is currently serving as the captain of the Holy Knights at the temple.”

“A silver-haired holy knight…”

A face came to mind. I asked the crown prince, “Is that why you didn’t attend the sermon? Because your brother was there?”

“Yes. We don’t get along very well. It seems you’ve already met Kayden?”

So his name was Kayden. Just thinking about that silver hair made me frown.

“There was only one silver-haired person in the chapel. I suppose he’s the one you’re talking about.”

“Yes, that’s him.”

“Ugh.”

Seeing my openly disgusted expression, the crown prince asked why.

The reason was obvious.

“When have magic and divine power ever gotten along?”

“Hmm. I suppose that’s true. In any case, you should be cautious around Kayden.”

“Does he have a problematic personality?”

“No, not at all. Kayden is a good person. It’s just that he’s overly influenced by the temple… If things were different, I believe we could have been close brothers.”

“Then why are you telling me to be cautious around him?”

“Kayden possesses an immense amount of divine power, which makes him extremely perceptive. Even though you’re concealing your magic now, there’s still a chance he might notice.”

That’s why the crown prince had been avoiding his brother lately. Not only was their relationship strained, but he also feared Kayden might realize he had gained power through a contract with a demon.

“Don’t worry, he won’t find out.”

As the amount of magic I possessed increased, my control over it was gradually returning to normal. At this rate, I would soon be able to conceal my magic without relying on Purson’s power.

“Besides, it’s not like I’ll ever have to face him, is it?”

According to Jessie, the Holy Knights rarely stayed in the capital, as they were often out hunting monsters.

The crown prince nodded at my words, but his expression remained worried.

“Still, be careful.”

“You worry too much, Half-Pathetic. There’s no need for concern. Unless I’ve lost my mind, there’s no way I’d get close to someone with silver hair. The moment I see even a strand of it, I’ll leave.”

Despite my words, the crown prince continued worrying until I sent him away.

However, things didn’t go as I expected.

***

Not long after the crown prince left, the high priest came to my room.

Without bothering to get up, I greeted him with a slight nod from where I lay on the bed.

The high priest flinched slightly at my behavior but quickly regained his composure.

“It seems the saintess is adapting well to temple life. I instructed the priests to do their best to attend to your needs. Are you satisfied?”

“Not yet. Put in more effort.”

“…I see. If there’s anything lacking, please don’t hesitate to let the priests know.”

I looked at the high priest indifferently. There was no way he had come all the way here just to check on me.

Sure enough, the high priest had something else to say.

“The entire empire is focused on the temple now that the saintess has appeared. So, I think it’s time for you to start performing the duties of a saintess.”

“The duties of a saintess…?”

I couldn’t hide my surprise. Wasn’t being a saintess just a title? Was there actually work involved?

The previous saintess, Daphne, spent her days drinking and enjoying herself. She occasionally complained about having too much work at the temple, but I thought she was just saying that—after all, she never missed a party.

I swallowed nervously. In the Demon Realm, I lived a life free of obligations.

The only “duty” I had was dealing with the monsters that invaded my territory, but tearing those creatures apart suited me so well that I never thought of it as work.

One of the virtues of a demon is sloth… If they tried to make me work, I’d refuse. No way I was going to do it.

I glared at the high priest with determination.