The Possessed Evil Woman Wreaks Havoc - Chapter 73

Jessie fiddled with my hair for a long time.

After finishing my hair, she looked me over and finally wore a satisfied expression.

“I’ll leave your hair as it is! Now, you need to change, so Sir Fluffy, please leave!”

“…I keep telling you, I’m not Fluffy. Haah. Whatever.”

After kicking Nigel out of the room, Jessie entered the dressing room to pick out my outfit.

Then.

“Miss! This is a disaster!”

Jessie suddenly screamed from inside the dressing room.

Her voice was so urgent that I thought something serious had happened, so I rushed inside.

But when I stepped in—

“There’s nothing here that will properly highlight your beauty!”

Jessie, buried among the dresses, wailed at me.

It was truly nothing worth panicking over.

Clicking my tongue, I told her, “I don’t care what I wear. Just choose the most comfortable outfit.”

“Of course, you look beautiful no matter what you wear! But! But you need to look even more beautiful!”

The madness in Jessie’s eyes made me flinch without realizing it.

“Oh! That’s right! There’s that!”

Jessie suddenly shouted and ran out of the dressing room.

A short while later, she returned, panting, carrying a large box in her arms.

“What is that?”

“A package that arrived yesterday! Lia Green sent it to you, my lady. The coachman who delivered it said it was a dress just for you.”

A dress from Belial. Somehow, this felt ominous.

Oblivious to my concerns, Jessie excitedly tore open the package.

And as soon as the dress inside was revealed—

“My goodness! This is it! This is the dress for you, miss!”

Jessie’s eyes sparkled as she fussed over it.

The dress was beautiful enough that I could understand her reaction.

Billowing sleeves and a flowing skirt. Black fabric adorned with gemstones that shimmered like scattered stars.

Unable to resist Jessie’s persistence, I changed into the dress.

The moment she saw me in it, Jessie let out a breath of admiration.

“How did the actress manage to get your size so perfectly?”

As soon as I heard that, my mood soured.

As expected of Belial. Even without taking measurements, he had guessed my size precisely.

After confirming the fit of the dress, Jessie’s eyes suddenly gleamed as she looked at me.

“But miss… Doesn’t this feel just like a scene from a novel? The most famous actress in the Empire sends a perfectly fitting dress to you exactly when you need it!”

“You… are seriously addicted.”

And wasn’t Lia Green officially known as a woman?

Such an open-minded maid.

Jessie definitely needed to stay away from romance novels for a while.

I checked my reflection in the mirror.

As expected, the dress was stunning. But one thing bothered me—the deep neckline.

I frowned and said, “I don’t like revealing clothes. If an enemy’s blood splatters on my skin, it’s unpleasant.”

“Oh, miss, why are you making such dark jokes?”

“But I do like that the dress is black.”

“So that it won’t show enemy bloodstains?”

“Exactly.”

Jessie thought I was joking and remained playful.

I wasn’t joking at all.

She left to fetch some accessories.

As the door stood wide open, Nigel walked in. He glanced at me and widened his eyes in surprise.

“Wow, Bella. You… look different.”

“I agree.”

Isabella’s soft coloring contrasted against the black dress, making it stand out even more.

In the mirror, Isabella’s reflection looked delicate and graceful.

It was an image I could never project in my original form.

How should I put it? Right now, my appearance made it easy for others to underestimate me.

Nigel seemed just as intrigued by my transformation.

He stared at me for a long time before speaking, “That’s so strange.”

“What is?”

“Your usual face looks like this.”

Nigel scrunched his expression into a deep scowl.

Raising a brow at him, I asked what he meant.

“You always looked angry. Well, you were always angry. But now, in this body—you look so gentle.”

“This body does resemble Daphne.”

Daphne had an appearance that radiated kindness and warmth. Though, anyone who spoke to her for even a moment would quickly realize she wasn’t actually like that.

Hearing my words, Nigel smirked. “She had the same temper as you. The first time we met, she grabbed me by the hair without a second thought—”

Nigel stopped mid-sentence.

Hmm.

Every time Nigel talked about Isabella, my demon instincts tingled.

His tone would quicken slightly, and the corners of his mouth would lift just a bit more than usual.

I once again shot him a suspicious look.

“I just want to trust my so-called friend.”

“Why are you talking nonsense again…?”

“There are things in this world that cannot be overcome, and one of them is an age gap.”

“……?”

“To close the age gap, the only option is for the older one to die.”

In other words, there was no way that Nigel, whose age had five digits, should ever be involved with Isabella, who was merely twenty years old.

The more serious issue was that Isabella was Daphne’s descendant.

If Nigel’s one-sided love for Daphne had transferred to Isabella… even with my limited moral sense, I could never allow it.

I placed both hands on Nigel’s shoulders and emphasized in a serious voice, “You are my friend. I don’t make friends easily. So I will trust you.”

“…Will you stop spouting nonsense?”

Though he spoke confidently, Nigel subtly avoided my gaze.

Could it be that something really had happened between him and Isabella?

As my suspicions deepened, Nigel hastily changed the subject.

“Anyway… Isabella wouldn’t have a dress like that.”

“You’ve been acting suspicious for a while now. Why do you know about Isabella’s wardrobe?”

“I helped her sell off her dresses. And her accessories.”

So that was why the dressing room seemed sparse, considering the size of the mansion.

Even if Isabella was mistreated in the duke’s residence, neither the Duke nor Gabby seemed like the type to be stingy over dresses or accessories. Now it made sense.

“What did she need the money for?”

“Isabella’s hobby was collecting ancient books. They were quite expensive, so she needed funds. The books she gathered are at the Graham estate. If you have time, you should take a look. …There are some rather interesting ones.”

“Well, I suppose.”

I responded indifferently. How interesting could a human’s collection of old books really be?

“…You must read them.”

For a moment, Nigel’s voice sounded different, so I glanced at him.

But his expression was as neutral as ever, so I dismissed it as my imagination.

***

A little while later, Jessie returned with the accessories and finished my outfit.

“Miss, the carriage is ready. It’s time to go down.”

I jumped to my feet. Nigel stood up with me.

He half-extended his hand toward me and muttered, “As your servant, I suppose I should escort you. So, should we hold hands—?”

“Ugh.”

“Yeah, no, even I think that’s too much. You’ve got strong legs, so let’s just walk on our own, Bella.”

Nigel and I headed downstairs side by side. As we descended, I glanced at him.

At some point, he had changed into an outfit for going out.

From the looks of it, he was planning to follow me to the hunting competition…

“Are you really coming to the hunting competition? There’s no need to be so committed to playing servant.”

I had told Blackie to stay behind at the duke’s estate.

I trusted Blackie, but I couldn’t rule out the possibility that the atmosphere at the hunting grounds might provoke him.

If Blackie, known as a divine beast, suddenly started hunting the gathered nobles… it would be difficult to explain.

Nigel answered my question, “I just have a bad feeling about this. You need a guardian.”

“You think I need a guardian?”

“Not for you—for the people around you. There are bound to be quite a few who’ll collapse mid-conversation with you. Someone has to catch them before their heads hit the ground.”

Nigel grumbled as he spoke.

When we reached the first floor, the lobby was empty.

After waiting for a moment, I sensed movement from the staircase above.

It was Kayden.

The moment I saw Kayden standing there, I froze slightly.

As a demon, it was humiliating to admit this, but…

I couldn’t deny that he was a truly beautiful human.

Especially dressed in his white ceremonial uniform for the hunting competition, his silver hair matched perfectly, giving him an air of purity and restraint.

Nigel noticed my reaction and smirked, whispering into my ear, “See? I told you that you care about looks.”

“Be quiet.”

Feeling as if my thoughts had been exposed, I snapped at Nigel and whispered sharply in his ear.