The Possessed Evil Woman Wreaks Havoc - Chapter 72

I corrected Nigel’s words. “He and I were simply a demon and a contractor.”

“What do you mean, ‘simply a contractor’? I saw what I saw.”

“Why would you even spy on something like that?!”

Unable to contain my anger, I picked up another book from the table and threw it at Nigel.

As I got angry, Blackie, who had been resting in my arms, also bared his teeth at Nigel.

“Wow! Hey, I didn’t want to see it either! It felt like my eyes were rotting away! I’m a victim too!”

“You are demoted to Fluffy again!”

Nigel and I huffed at each other for a while before turning our backs at the same time.

After our rough breathing settled, Nigel muttered in a small voice first, “It’s not like I wanted to see it, but I get why you’d be upset.”

“I will try not to call you Fluffy.”

After neatly settling the matter, Nigel finally answered my original question.

“Bella, Zachary was a good human.”

“Thanks to that ‘good’ human, I got to know what it feels like to have a hole in my heart.”

“…A man who was willing to sacrifice his life to save humanity from the Demon God wouldn’t have tried to kill you just to save himself. Besides, you two were in that kind of relationship.”

“I’ll say it again—!”

“Alright! You two held hands, kissed sometimes, and, well, did everything there was to do, but you were still just a demon and a contractor. Happy now?”

“…Now you finally understand.”

Something felt off, but I decided to let it go.

Even after talking with Nigel, none of my questions were answered.

If anything, I just felt even more confused.

I remained silent for a long time.

Nigel cautiously asked me, “What’s your plan?”

“What plan?”

“…A plan. You’re not telling me you have no plan in this situation, are you?”

“Well. It’s not like I don’t have one.”

My plan had been decided from the start.

“First, I’ll return to my body. And then—”

I will find Gabriel.

I still couldn’t forget the illusion I saw on the stage that day.

Of course, there was no guarantee that illusion was real.

After all, nothing like that had happened in my memory.

But if there had been some hidden truth behind Zachary’s betrayal…

Just imagining it made my chest feel unbearably heavy.

I slowly opened my mouth.

“Nigel. To be honest, I’ve never really thought deeply about what happened back then.”

“…What a shocking revelation.”

At Nigel’s sarcastic voice, I threw another book at him.

Nigel easily dodged it and gestured for me to continue.

Seeing the way he looked at me, as if I was pathetic, I tried to explain myself.

“I’m a demon who never looks back and only moves forward.”

“…You do need to look back sometimes.”

“Anyway.”

That was why I never questioned Zachary’s betrayal.

…To be precise, I never once wondered why he betrayed me. I had simply decided not to dwell on the past.

If Gabriel had been behind Zachary’s betrayal—even if I couldn’t bring back the dead, I could at least avenge him.

I asked Nigel, “Nigel. After that incident, what happened to Zachary?”

“I don’t know. He never left the palace. Even when Daphne and I went to see him, he wouldn’t show his face. And then, one day, we got the news of his death.”

“…I see.”

Just in case, I asked Nigel, “Nigel. Have you ever met Gabriel?”

“…No. But I’ve heard a lot about him.”

Since Nigel was older than me, I thought he might have met Gabriel at least once…

Then again, after the Beast God died, the beastkin severed all ties with both the Celestial and Demon Realms.

Still, Gabriel was such an ancient angel that much was known about him.

How powerful he was, how fair and just he was supposed to be.

But all of it was nonsense.

I knew the truth about Gabriel.

He was…

“Gabriel is a petty angel.”

At my words, Nigel made a strange face.

“Calling the leader of the angels ‘petty’ is a bit…”

“He is incredibly petty. His heart is so small, it’s probably tinier than an ant’s eyelash.”

“I don’t like Gabriel either. But calling him petty is a bit—no, forget it. Call him whatever you want.”

Besides, Gabriel was never on the side of humans.

“Demons are at least honest about their desires. Angels are different.”

Angels had desires too. They just disguised their desires as righteousness.

“Do you know how many humans Gabriel has killed?”

“…It wasn’t killing. It was judgment.”

Gabriel possesses the power of the soul.

He has the power to bind souls. While he cannot restrain those equal to or stronger than himself, he can treat the souls of far weaker humans as mere playthings.

Gabriel has used his power to punish so-called ‘sinners’ among humans.

His judgment appeared fair at first glance, but…

A judgment without laws or rules, where the sole decision-maker is Gabriel—how could that ever be fair?

“I don’t like humans, but that doesn’t mean they deserve to be judged.”

He isn’t even a god, so where does he get such arrogance?

Even if he were a god, I would think the same. That’s why, when the Demon God tried to destroy humanity, I felt repulsed.

For me, just thinking about Gabriel is enough to make my mood sour.

If Dantalion simply makes me uneasy, then the very thought of Gabriel fills me with a rage that feels engraved upon my soul.

Grinding my teeth, I muttered, “I need to rename Gabby.”

“…How did you reach that conclusion? Sigh.”

Nigel shook his head and let out a deep sigh.

This was a matter of my own emotions. Gabby was my godson—or something close to it—so if I ever got the chance, I would rid him of that unpleasant name.

I might as well just rename him Gabby entirely.

As long as it wasn’t ‘Gabriel,’ that alone would make me feel better.

I spoke again, “Anyway. You asked about my plan? First, I’m returning to my body. And then, I need to meet Gabriel.”

“…Why Gabriel?”

I glanced at Nigel.

I didn’t want to drag him into my affairs.

If I had to face Gabriel head-on, I would most likely die.

So Nigel must not get involved in this matter.

I deflected the question.

“…I just need to talk to him. There are things I need to ask.”

“Wow. That’s so reassuring. I feel completely at ease now.”

“……”

“Our dear Bella is absolutely the kind of demon who can sit down and have a peaceful conversation! Of course, of course!”

I had no choice but to pick up another book from the desk in response to Nigel’s heavy sarcasm.

“Ack!”

This time, I hit my mark.

***

The day of the hunting competition arrived.

From the crack of dawn, I was forced to endure Jessie dressing me up.

I already didn’t like this hunting competition, but now I loathed it to the core.

“Jessie, stop it.”

“But miss—”

“If I go around smelling like this, I’ll attract every monster in town.”

“Oh, come on. There are no monsters in the capital.”

Jessie ignored my words and continued applying scented oil to my hair.

What a brazen maid. She wasn’t listening to her master at all.

When I glared at her, Jessie grinned and said, “It is a hunting competition, after all. You need to be properly dressed to succeed, miss.”

I tilted my head at Jessie’s words.

What did dressing up have to do with hunting?

Just in case she had misunderstood something, I clarified, “I have no intention of hunting.”

In the Demon Realm, hunting is a matter of life and death.

I have my pride as a demon—how could I lower myself to hunting mere animals instead of monsters?

“Well… there are different kinds of hunting.”

“……?”

“My lady must be the most beautiful at the hunting competition. That way, you’ll attract the attention of fine gentlemen.”

“Pfft!”

Nigel, who had been listening to the entire conversation, suddenly burst into laughter.

“Hey, Jessie. You’d better watch your words. If Bella takes this the wrong way, she might actually go hunting for fine gentlemen. She does have a record, after all.”

Nigel whispered the last sentence just loud enough for me to hear.

I scoffed. Well, something like that had happened before, but it wasn’t my fault.

In my true form, I exuded the overwhelming majesty of a demon, so hardly anyone dared to approach me.

But Daphne was different. With her fragile and delicate appearance, she often found herself in unpleasant situations, and every time that happened…

“How dare you touch Daphne? There’s only one way for you to survive. We’re going to play a game of hunting. If you manage to escape, I’ll let you live.”

Of course, even if they failed to escape, I never actually killed them.

I chuckled at the memory.

Whenever I started such a game, Daphne would always pretend to dissuade me, saying she had to protect her image as a benevolent saintess.

Even though, deep down, she enjoyed it the most.