The Possessed Evil Woman Wreaks Havoc - Chapter 52

After a brief conversation with Gabby, I went up to my room.

“Miss, you’re here?”

Jessie, who had arrived earlier, was in the middle of organizing my luggage.

In the center of the room, Blackie was pacing in circles nervously, holding his tail in his mouth.

Meow!

Sensing my presence, Blackie leaped into my arms.

Earlier, I’d hurriedly left the temple and forgotten to bring Blackie, who had gone out for a stroll. Thankfully, my clever Blackie followed my scent all the way to the ducal estate.

I stroked Blackie’s back as an apology.

Sitting on the sofa, Blackie nestled into my arms. His size made it a bit hard to breathe, but…

Meow?

Blackie tilted his head and looked up at me, so I decided to bear with it. Complaining about a little breathlessness would make me unworthy of being a demon.

Still, what should I do next?

My original goal had been to escape from this body as quickly as possible…

The goal remained the same, but a new priority had been added.

‘I need to find Isabella’s soul.’

I had to figure out which demon Isabella had made a pact with and reclaim her soul from them. Then, I had to ensure that Isabella could live properly once she returned.

‘I’ll have to manage her surroundings.’

…It was the only way I could repay Ethan for the life he sacrificed for me.

I’d make sure to clean up the household and build a mountain of wealth and power for Isabella. The wealth could be handled by squeezing more out of my father’s resources. As for power…

After a moment of thought, I decided on the most peaceful approach.

When I returned to my original body, I’d visit the celestial realm, capture an angel, and gift it to Isabella. With a lovely collar, of course. If she could command an angel like a servant, she’d truly embody what it means to be a saint. After all, being a saint wasn’t anything extraordinary.

Though I had other, more efficient methods in mind…

‘Humans tend to be fragile.’

Since Isabella might be startled later, this seemed like the best plan.

Though I’d laid out my plans, my mind remained unsettled. I sighed deeply.

Meow…

Sensing my unease, Blackie began licking my hand to comfort me. I petted his head, lost in thought.

‘Why did Zachary choose death?’

A storm of mixed emotions surged within me. I’d always preferred things to be straightforward: anger or joy. My usual emotions were limited to those two.

But now…

My insides churned with feelings too complex to define clearly.

I wondered if he’d regretted his actions belatedly, but I dismissed the thought. If that had been his mindset, he wouldn’t have betrayed me in the first place.

I smirked bitterly.

What a ridiculous display over a human who had been dead for centuries, whose soul had scattered without a trace.

The title of Demon Lord was becoming a joke.

‘Should I seal my memories?’

I could lock away the memories that confused me in the library of my mind. If I avoided going near the bookshelves, I’d never think of them again.

I’d always done so, and sealing memories one more time wouldn’t change anything.

Knock, knock.

Before I could reach a clear conclusion, someone knocked on the door. Jessie left to check the visitor’s purpose.

She returned shortly and informed me, “The Duke has invited you to dinner.”

“I’m not hungry.”

After everything that had happened today, I had no appetite. It was remarkable, given that I’d never lost my appetite since coming to the middle realm.

Jessie hesitated at my response, then spoke again, “Um, the Young Duke asked me to tell you that tonight’s main course is veal steak.”

“…Skipping meals is foolish.”

Yes, I needed to eat and regain my strength.

I jumped up from my seat. Startled by my sudden movement, Blackie barked.

Kkamang! Kkamang, kkamang!

“Want to come with me? Hmm, I don’t see why not.”

Blackie accompanied me to the dining room. Upon entering, I saw my father at the head of the table and Gabby seated beside him.

I decided to skip over greeting Gabby since we’d already done that earlier.

“Father, it’s been a while.”

I waved at the Duke as I spoke.

“You look well.”

His first words upon seeing me. Taking an empty seat, I replied to the Duke.

“The temple was quite a pleasant place. Everyone treated me with great care.”

“Hey, why are you talking like that? It sounds like you’re saying the Dunkled family mistreated you—”

I glanced sharply at Gabby, cutting him off mid-sentence. He froze the moment our eyes met.

“—Damn it!”

Gabby slammed his fist on the table. The dishes rattled from the impact, but I continued speaking as if nothing had happened.

“And the food was delicious.”

The temple had grilled meat for me whenever I wanted, making my time there quite enjoyable.

“…Food. Yes, food is important.”

We’ll have to bring in an imperial chef immediately. That’ll stop the brat from thinking about running away again.

Gabby muttered under his breath.

Meanwhile, my father didn’t look well. His eyes were sunken, and his skin was rough.

“Father, you don’t look good.”

“He’s like that because he stopped eating properly after you suddenly ran away!”

Gabby answered on the Duke’s behalf.

“Gabriel. Mind your manners.”

Instead of denying Gabby’s words, the Duke reprimanded him for something else.

Hmm.

If I wanted to fulfill Isabella’s wish, getting closer to the Duke would be advantageous.

“Well. Father, at your age, skipping meals is dangerous. You could pass away unexpectedly.”

I expressed my concern for the Duke as sincerely as I could.

Pfft!

Gabby burst into laughter.

“Now it feels like a proper household. Pfft-haha!”

Whatever amused him so much, he laughed until he wiped tears from his eyes.

“…Thank you for the advice.”

The Duke forced a stiff smile as he replied.

Hmm. I felt like I’d grown a bit closer to him just now.

Taking the opportunity, I introduced Blackie to the Duke.

“Blackie, say hello. This is my biological father.”

Knowing how clever Blackie was, I trusted he wouldn’t attack the Duke after that introduction.

Kkamang!

Blackie raised a paw in greeting. The Duke’s expression turned peculiar as he observed Blackie.

“The divine beast is… quite cheerful.”

Blackie settled comfortably at my feet.

Dinner began.

When the servants brought out a salad as an appetizer, I frowned. Pushing the unwanted salad aside, I gestured to a nearby servant.

I instructed him to bring raw meat for Blackie. Soon after, Blackie happily devoured the fresh meat placed before him.

While scratching Blackie’s head, I fell into thought. Ordinary animal meat might taste good, but it wouldn’t fill Blackie, a magical beast.

Blackie’s staple food was monsters.

‘I’ll have to go hunting for monsters soon to feed him properly.’

At that moment, Gabby, who had been silent for a while, spoke up.

“What about me?”

“Do you want your head scratched too? Hmm…”

“Ugh. Of course not. What I mean is, if he’s your biological father, then what am I? Don’t tell me I’m just your biological brother.”

Ah.

Gabby must have been bothered by my earlier comment to the Duke. Technically, Gabby was my biological brother, but…

For some reason, I felt he wouldn’t like that answer.

Normally, I wouldn’t care about someone else’s feelings, but… I glanced at Gabby’s face.

Strangely, I seemed to have grown fond of him.

Startled by my own thoughts, I rejected the notion outright. That couldn’t be true. It shouldn’t be.

But at this point, denying it felt futile…

Sighing inwardly, I conceded.

Fine. Compared to other humans, I felt slightly closer to Gabby—perhaps the size of an ant’s speck of dust closer.

If Blackie and Gabby fell into a lake, I’d hesitate for about a second before saving Blackie.

So, what was Gabby to me? How should I define this relationship?

Suddenly, I recalled when Ethan had asked me to be his child’s godmother.

I hadn’t fulfilled that request.

Since Gabby was Ethan and Daphne’s descendant…

Would agreeing to that request now make Gabby my godson?

But the thought of Gabby being my godson sent chills down my spine.

Unable to define our relationship, I blurted out the words that had been circling in my head.

“You’re just Gabby.”

Gabby’s eyes widened at my answer. He tried to suppress his twitching lips but couldn’t hold back.

“Ha!”

He burst into loud laughter.

“Father, did you hear that? No, wait. I should say biological father, to be precise. I’m Gabby, and he’s the biological father! Pfft—! We’re on completely different levels!”

I smiled warmly at Gabby.

I didn’t fully understand what he was saying to the Duke, but judging by his joy, he was probably being irreverent.

Come to think of it, it hadn’t been long since Gabby had asked me not to call him ‘Gabby’…

Such a strange human.

At that moment, an unfamiliar emotion flickered in the Duke’s eyes.

I blinked. When I looked again, his eyes were cold and hard as usual.

Was I imagining things?