The Possessed Evil Woman Wreaks Havoc - Chapter 45

The high priest, perhaps misinterpreting my expression, smiled warmly at me and said, “There is no need to worry. You, Saintess, will surely do well.”

I was worried precisely because I didn’t want to do well. I listened to the high priest with a sullen expression.

“Since you are the most important person in our temple, you have many duties to perform. However, since you are not yet accustomed to the role of Saintess, you only need to carry out one of these duties until you are fully adapted.”

The high priest began listing the duties of the Saintess.

“First, you could hear the confessions of the believers—”

Confession involves helping believers repent for their sins, right? But I’m a demon who encourages sin, so there’s no way I can do something like that.

Seeing my discontented expression, the high priest mentioned another duty.

“You could also pray blessings for the believers.”

Wouldn’t a blessing from a demon actually be a curse? I shook my head internally.

The high priest continued listing more duties, but none of them were possible for me.

I realized that Daphne hadn’t been exaggerating when she complained. The saintess was busy. Very busy.

But then how had Daphne managed to attend parties every night while performing all her duties as saintess?

She was more impressive than I had thought.

‘Or maybe she just shirked her duties and went off to have fun?’

The high priest finally mentioned the last duty.

“Eradicating demon worshippers—oh, but you can ignore that one. We can’t possibly ask you to do something so dangerous.”

My ears perked up at the word “eradicate.” Now that sounded interesting.

“Tell me more about these demon worshippers.”

The high priest looked perplexed at my question.

“Saintess, demon worshippers are periodically eradicated by our Holy Knights. There is no need for you to concern yourself with them.”

After bringing it up, now he was telling me not to worry about it? I frowned and asked, “Are they still sacrificing humans?”

“Are you referring to the demon worshippers? Well, there are records of human sacrifices in the past, but that was a very long time ago. As far as I know, they no longer engage in such reckless acts.”

I blinked. The madness of the demon worshippers I had witnessed before didn’t seem like something that would die down in just a few hundred years…

Had I been mistaken?

“Then what are they doing now to warrant being eradicated?”

“They worship evil demons, which is reason enough for punishment.”

The high priest answered as if my question was completely obvious.

As a so-called “evil demon” myself, I couldn’t help but feel annoyed.

It was uncomfortable to see humans be so certain about the wickedness of demons. Sure, demons were inherently evil, but that didn’t mean humans were entirely virtuous either. Sometimes, the evil displayed by humans even surpassed that of demons.

Seeing humans so confident in their condemnation of demons left a sour taste in my mouth.

Realizing I had unconsciously clenched my fists, I slowly opened my hands.

Demon worshippers, huh…

Sher had told me that Isabella Dunkeld was associated with demon worshippers.

If that fact became known, it would be very troublesome for me, who was in Isabella’s body.

To ensure my own safety, it might not be a bad idea to eradicate the demon worshippers. And if I did it as Isabella, it would also prevent any suspicion of her involvement with them.

Still, actually performing a saintess’s duties… It was such a hassle. As a demon, sloth should be one of my virtues.

I pondered my options.

Unable to reach a conclusion, I asked the high priest another question, “Isn’t there a Lord in the Demon Realm named Isabella?”

“Ah… Yes, there is.”

Huh?

The high priest’s response instantly annoyed me. What was with that half-hearted reaction?

“A wicked demon who dares to use the same name as Archangel Isabella. Now that I think about it, you share the same name, Saintess. Is that why you’re interested?”

Archangel Isabella is me! Me!

I wanted to shout that in his face, but I barely managed to hold back, frowning deeply.

“Yes, that’s why. Tell me about this demon named Isabella.”

Honestly, I was a bit curious. I was notorious in the Demon Realm, but unlike other Lords, I hadn’t set foot in the middle realm for five hundred years, so I didn’t know how well-known I was.

If I was notorious even in the middle realm, surely the demon worshippers would worship me fervently?

I could decide whether or not to eradicate them based on their attitude.

With a gentle smile, the high priest said to me, “There’s no need for you to concern yourself with that demon, Saintess.”

“…Why not?”

“The Lord of Contracts is not as well-known as the other Lords. According to our informants, that demon has never left the Demon Realm since her creation.”

I blinked at the high priest. It seemed like I’d have to wring the necks of all those informants.

“Perhaps it’s because she’s weaker than the other Lords…”

I couldn’t just let that comment slide.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Ah, it seems you aren’t aware, Saintess. Demons inherently become weaker when they leave the Demon Realm. Therefore, weaker demons tend not to leave at all.”

What the high priest said was true. However, no matter how much a Lord’s power weakened in the middle realm, they could still easily bring down an entire city single-handedly.

The reason I hadn’t come to the middle realm wasn’t because I was weak…

But that wasn’t important right now.

“Is that what all humans think? That the Lord of Contracts is too—ahem—too weak to leave the Demon Realm?”

I unconsciously paused when saying “too weak.” That’s how agitated I was.

“Hmm. I’m not sure if all humans think that, but I’m certain the demon worshippers do. Among demon worshippers, sects are divided based on which demon they worship. However, I’ve never heard of a sect worshipping the Lord of Contracts.”

“So you’re saying they worship all the Lords except the Lord of Contracts?”

“Well, you could put it that way.”

Unexpected news made me grind my teeth. Of course, I wouldn’t have been particularly happy if the demon worshippers fervently adored me either.

But to exclude only me among all the Lords…

That stirred up a different kind of anger. The former would have simply been mildly annoying—

“—I’ve decided. I will eradicate those people and fulfill my duty as the Saintess.”

“Saintess, once again, eradicating demon worshippers is dangerous. Wouldn’t it be better to choose another—”

“No. No matter what, I must get rid of them.”

“…You truly are devout, Saintess. To willingly take on such a dangerous task out of your faith in the Celestial God.”

The high priest closed his eyes and began to pray toward the heavens.

I looked at him with a blank expression.

No, that’s not it. That’s not what I’m thinking at all.

But explaining it would be bothersome, so I decided to play along.

“…I swear upon the name of the Celestial God. I will eradicate those wicked people to their last.”

“May everything unfold according to the Saintess’s will,” prayed the high priest while still looking skyward.

***

After the high priest left, Jessie, who had briefly been out, returned to the room.

“Jessie, have you ever heard of demon worshippers?”

“Ah, n-no? Why would I know anything about such terrible people?”

It was just a thoughtless question, but Jessie’s answer made me raise an eyebrow.

Very suspicious.

I stared at Jessie without saying a word, and eventually, she confessed the truth.

“Well, there’s this book that’s popular among the maids lately…” Jessie rummaged through her belongings and handed me a book.

I took the book and read the title aloud. “The Demon Grand Duke is Obsessed with Me? What kind of title is this?”

“Titles like that are popular these days…”

What an odd title. Besides, there was no such rank as “Grand Duke” in the Demon Realm.

I opened the book and began reading from the beginning.

“Not bad…”

The story was more interesting than I expected, and I quickly flipped through the pages.

The Demon Realm had always been lacking in entertainment. The only books available were historical texts. So it was hard to tear myself away from such a novel experience.

However, there was a problem with the content.

“His fangs grazed my neck dangerously. Then, with a brief flash of pain, warm blood began to flow from my neck. He licked the blood running down my neck—Jessie, there’s an issue with this content. Demons don’t drink human blood.”

“Ack! Why are you reading that out loud?!”

Jessie suddenly shouted. She buried her face in her hands, groaning as if she was in agony.

I tilted my head, unable to understand Jessie’s reaction.