The Possessed Evil Woman Wreaks Havoc - Chapter 69

Teasing Nigel was fun… but if I kept going, he might actually faint from anger, so I decided to move on to the main topic.

“Well, just from what you did earlier, I can tell. You lack respect for demons.”

“Bella. Please, from a human perspective—no, wait. From a demonic perspective—ugh. That doesn’t sound right either.”

Still unable to calm his anger, Nigel stuttered several times.

“Ethically! Yes, ethically speaking. Do you think there’s anything about you worthy of respect?”

“If there’s nothing about me worthy of respect, then what does that make you?”

Wasn’t it self-defeating for the leader of demon worshippers to say something like that?

At my question, Nigel began explaining his situation.

“After you ended up like that, Zachary…”

“I know. That Zachary chose death himself.”

“…Yeah. Anyway, after that happened, the state of the country was a disaster. Especially the demon worshippers—they became even more rampant.”

“Fools.”

“Exactly. They were fools. The problem was that foolishness spreads easily. So, I infiltrated the demon worshippers. I intended to solve the issue from within.”

“And then?”

“And then, I worked hard to persuade them… I stopped human sacrifices, prevented violent actions—after spending decades in that group…”

Nigel held his head.

“The members eventually noticed that I wasn’t aging. And then they misunderstood. They thought I was a demon.”

“Hmm.”

I momentarily lost my words. Once a divine beast—though that was because of me—Nigel, a beastkin, was mistaken for a demon.

Nigel added “At first, I made excuses. I told them I wasn’t a demon, just someone who had made a contract with one and stopped aging. Well, that explanation was well received, and in the end, they made me their leader.”

So, for hundreds of years, he led the demon worshippers.

“The demon you falsely claimed to have contracted with—don’t tell me it was me?” I asked Nigel, hoping it wasn’t true.

“Of course. You’re the only demon I’m familiar with. If I went around using some unknown demon’s name and got exposed, how would I handle that?”

Unbelievable.

So, just like I had gone around using the Celestial God’s name, Nigel had been going around using mine?

Rather than being angry, I was just dumbfounded.

I let out a hollow laugh and gestured for Nigel to continue his story.

Nigel laughed self-deprecatingly.

“Well, it wasn’t as bad as you might think. Thanks to that, the demon worshippers listened to me. So now, they’re completely different from what they used to be. These days… rather than worshipping demons as gods, they just find them interesting and admire them.”

“Are those strange books your doing?”

“I didn’t write them myself—some members with writing talent did. Well, they did help improve human perceptions of demons.”

I blinked at Nigel’s words.

From what he was saying…

“It almost sounds like you did this on purpose. That you wanted humans in the middle realm to view demons favorably.”

“That’s right. The temple has painted demons as something terrifying. I wanted to show that real demons aren’t like that.”

“Why?”

“Well—”

Nigel trailed off and looked at me.

Just as he was about to speak, I cut him off. “Don’t tell me it was because of me. That you wanted to change people’s minds because the demon you knew wasn’t like that.”

“…That was exactly what I was going to say.”

“Hmm. For demons, infamy is honor. Which means, if anything, what you did—”

I chose my words carefully. Judging by the situation, it seemed Nigel had done all this for me…

“…Really?”

“Well, I get your intentions. Should I at least pretend to be touched in appreciation for your efforts?”

“You think I’m expecting you to kneel in gratitude? Forget it. It was just a personal wish of mine—for humans not to view demons as entirely evil.”

Well, if that was Nigel’s wish, I had nothing more to say.

I moved on to my second question.

“Did you teach Isabella how to make a contract with a demon?”

“……”

“Did you use Isabella as a sacrifice to summon me to the middle realm?”

“…She wasn’t a sacrifice. I spoke with Isabella at length.”

Even now, Nigel was choosing his words carefully to avoid violating his restriction.

If it were another demon, I’d demand they spill the truth regardless of the consequences, even if it meant their death…

But no matter how much of a demon I was, I couldn’t say that to Nigel.

Still, I felt a deep sense of betrayal that Nigel had played a role in trapping me in Isabella’s body.

Why?

Nigel must have sensed the change in my emotions.

In a serious voice, he spoke to me, “Bella. No matter what happens, I’m on your side. Don’t you trust me?”

“I can’t say I fully trust you, but—”

“……”

“—I want to.”

I wasn’t the type to trust others easily, but Nigel was someone I wanted to trust.

‘Is it because he helped me once before?’

Five hundred years ago, Nigel risked his life to save me. If not for him, I would have died long ago.

Likewise, if it hadn’t been for Ethan’s sacrifice, I wouldn’t be here now.

“It was something that had to be done. Later—later, even if I don’t explain it to you, you’ll find out everything.”

As he said those words, Nigel looked deeply pained. He was probably touching on something restricted by his restriction.

After contemplating for a moment, I came to a conclusion.

“I owe you a debt. And we are… friends, aren’t we?”

So I had to trust Nigel.

“No matter what you do, I’ll believe in you for now.”

I reached my hand toward Nigel through the bars.

Nigel, looking moved, hesitated for a moment before reaching out as well.

Clank.

But just before our hands could touch, the chains stopped Nigel.

“First, I need to get you out of here.”

“Mmm. I agree with that.”

***

I briefly summarized the events that had happened so far to Nigel.

“I… well, I lived decently enough in the demon realm. Life in the middle realm wasn’t too bad either. Right now, I’m being mistaken for a saintess.”

I was committing the greatest act of blasphemy in my life.

“I already knew. The way you’ve been acting since you entered that body has been… quite memorable.”

Nigel chuckled dryly as he continued, “If Isabella could see this, she would have liked it.”

His overly familiar way of referring to Isabella made me ask, “The owner of this body I’m in—what was your relationship with the real Isabella?”

“…We just knew each other.”

“Exactly how?”

“……”

Nigel suddenly fell silent.

It didn’t feel like it was because of the restriction… My demonic intuition told me something was off.

Could it be?

“Isabella is twenty years old.”

That meant she was far too young to be involved with Nigel, who had lived for over ten thousand years. Besides, wasn’t Isabella a descendant of Daphne?

At my words, Nigel gave me a puzzled look and replied, “I know.”

“You know?”

“Why wouldn’t I know that?”

I tilted my head at Nigel’s response. He didn’t seem to feel any guilt or hesitation… so was I mistaken?

Was he really just an acquaintance of Isabella’s?

As I silently organized my thoughts, Nigel spoke up, “Bella. I need to stay by your side. Not forever—but at least for the time being.”

“Why?”

“……”

“Fine. I won’t ask for a reason.”

The problem, however, was that Nigel was currently imprisoned.

I needed to get him out right away.

“Wait. Even if I get out of here, that doesn’t solve everything. You’re currently a saintess and a duke’s daughter. Do you think the people of the ducal family will allow just anyone to stay by your side?”

“The position of a pet is already taken.”

Blackie was possessive. He wouldn’t like another pet appearing.

At my words, Nigel protested indignantly, “Hey! I’m a beastkin, not a mere animal! Can’t you give me a normal position? Like a servant, maybe?”

A servant?

Making Nigel work as a servant wasn’t a bad idea. No, actually, it sounded quite amusing.

To do that first—

I called Gabby to the prison and pointed at Nigel.

“This man is innocent. So, I will take him as my servant.”

“Are you out of your mind? That shady bastard is innocent?”

Gabby looked at me like my words weren’t even worth considering.

I attempted to persuade him first.

“It was all a misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?!”

“Well, sometimes people mistakenly trespass into someone else’s home—”

Seeing Gabby’s expression harden in real time, I quickly changed my words.

“No, they don’t. Right, they don’t.”

In the Demon Realm, trespassing wasn’t even considered a crime, but clearly, things were different in the middle realm.

Fine. I would have to take a more shameless approach now.

“After talking to him, I found him to my liking. So, I want to release him.”

Gabby’s face turned red with anger upon hearing my words.

Taking deep breaths to calm himself, he barely managed to ask me, “You like him? Are you insane? Is it because of his face?”

Face? What about Nigel’s face?

I glanced at Nigel through the bars.

He did look somewhat amusing.

“Let’s just say that’s the reason.”

“I can guess what kind of misunderstanding you’re having, but it’s not that, so don’t worry.”

Nigel, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke.

The moment Gabby heard Nigel’s voice, he snapped, “And why the hell is this bastard speaking so casually?!”

Gabby shouted at Nigel furiously.