The Possessed Evil Woman Wreaks Havoc - Chapter 83

We continued chatting for a while about nothing in particular.

Then suddenly, something came to mind, and I asked Ethan, “There’s something I’ve been wondering about.”

“I permit your question.”

“…Why do you talk like that?”

I’d been wanting to ask for a while. To put it nicely, Ethan’s way of speaking was… unique. To be honest, it was just weird.

Ethan didn’t seem offended by my question. He simply shrugged and replied, “This way of speaking makes me seem strong.”

…Really?

I tilted my head. No matter how I looked at it, Ethan’s speech didn’t make him seem strong at all—it just sounded odd.

Seeing that I wasn’t convinced, Ethan added an explanation. “The strongest person I ever knew spoke like this. You know I used to be a slave, right?”

“Who in the kingdom doesn’t know that?”

Granted, I wasn’t from the kingdom—nor even human—but even I knew that much.

“My grandfather wasn’t from the Empire. He came from a small tribe. When the Aizen Kingdom expanded through conquest, our tribe became enslaved.”

That was the first time I’d heard that.

I raised an eyebrow. “Is your goal revenge, then? If it’s something that interesting, I might be willing to help.”

To my question, Ethan shook his head. “I don’t want revenge.”

How boring. But if that was Ethan’s choice, I couldn’t really force anything.

“I lost my parents early. The one who raised me was my grandfather… he was incredibly strong.”

After saying that, Ethan paused.

If I hadn’t known him better, I might have thought he was holding back tears. But knowing Ethan’s stoic personality, that couldn’t be the case.

He continued, “Until the day he died, my grandfather never fully mastered the language of the Aizen Kingdom.”

Oh?

Come to think of it, a foreign delegation visited the kingdom recently. The way they awkwardly spoke the kingdom’s language was somewhat similar to how Ethan talked.

“This way of speaking makes me stronger. Because it’s how the strongest person I knew spoke.”

“Didn’t know you were someone who needed to be strong.”

Though Ethan was human, I respected him for his unshakable will.

On our journey to stop the Demon God, we witnessed the deaths of countless people.

Even I faltered at times, but Ethan remained steadfast.

After a moment of silence, Ethan replied, “…I’m human too.”

“……”

The sudden shift in mood made me blink.

Trying to change the atmosphere, I quickly spoke again.

“So what you’re saying is—if you want to seem strong, copy the speech of someone strong. Something like that?”

Not that I’d ever do it.

“I’ll keep it in mind. Maybe I’ll use it someday.”

I kept it light and changed the subject.

“By the way, is it really okay for you to be here without Daphne?”

During our journey to defeat the Demon God, those two were always together.

At first, they bickered constantly… but later on…

Well, let’s just say their relationship became a bit too close.

Thanks to Ethan’s intimidating appearance, just standing near Daphne was enough to ward off any pesky humans.

…Was that why Daphne kept him around? Probably not…

My question made Ethan’s gaze waver. After a long hesitation, he finally spoke in a low voice.

“If I stay by Daphne’s side… I’ll only bring her harm.”

His tone was sunken.

Seeing that, I reflexively raised my hand and slapped him on the back.

Smack!

A satisfying sound rang out, and Ethan turned to me with an incredulous look.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah… You just looked so pathetic. I couldn’t help myself.”

I gave him a sheepish grin.

“Well, Fluffy’s with Daphne, so it should be fine,” I muttered.

Given how huge Fluffy was, he also served as a deterrent to people.

Ethan flinched at my words.

“Thanks for the useful information.”

“……?”

“That beast’s always rubbed me the wrong way.”

Ethan said something I couldn’t understand and stood up.

Before leaving, he glanced back at me and said, “I saw Zachary heading toward the garden earlier.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

Ethan grinned and approached me.

Smack!

I rubbed my back with a stunned expression and glared at him.

It didn’t hurt, but it was incredibly annoying.

“Did you just hit me? Are you out of your mind?”

“You looked so pathetic for a moment… my hand moved on its own.”

When I protested, Ethan parroted my earlier words.

I was about to retort when he spoke again.

“Seems like not being able to speak your true feelings isn’t exclusive to humans.”

“……”

“By your own words, aren’t you the Demon Realm’s future strongest, next Demon King—”

“…Hold on. When did I ever say that…?”

I was about to speak, thinking there was no way I had said such embarrassing things, but then I shut my mouth.

Come to think of it, maybe I had said those things at some point.

As I awkwardly fell silent, Ethan continued, “Well, isn’t it fine to do as you please? If you’re really such a great being, you can just get rid of whatever bothers you.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“I don’t understand why you can’t be honest. It’s not like there’s anything standing in your way.”

Leaving those words behind, Ethan departed.

Left alone, I mulled it over briefly before getting up.

Taking a human’s advice wounded my pride, but… Ethan was one of the few humans I acknowledged, so I could make an exception.

Besides, I happened to have something I wanted to say to Zachary.

I climbed down from the roof and was about to leave the building where the banquet was being held—but then I stopped.

For some reason… I wanted to be a bit more careful today.

I checked my reflection in the window. Good. Perfect.

With confidence restored, I strode toward the garden.

The closer I got to the garden, the faster my heart began to beat.

There stood a massive zelkova tree so wide that even five grown men linking arms wouldn’t be able to encircle it.

I’d heard that the tree had been planted by the kingdom’s first king himself.

Beneath the tree was Zachary. He leaned against the trunk, lost in thought.

The moon was bright, and I could see Zachary’s face clearly.

No matter how many times I saw it, I never got used to it. His face made me forget to breathe for a moment.

“Youngest, go apologize to Father while you still can. Just because of one human, you’re—wait, huh?”

“Belial? What are you looking at?”

“That man is your contractor? Hmm… he’s rather tempting, isn’t he?”

“Do you want to die? Where are you looking?!”

“Originally, Father sent me here to kill your contractor, but I’ve changed my mind. Killing a human like that would be such a waste. Our youngest really does have an eye for people.”

“…What did Father order you to do? And put that flickering tongue away!”

“Exactly what it sounds like. Anyway, I’ll back off for now, but I can’t say the same for the other Lords. Watch closely to the end, youngest.”

As expected of the Lord of Lust—there wasn’t a skirt he hadn’t looked under. And yet, Zachary was someone even Belial acknowledged for his looks.

‘Was it because of that face that I wanted to make a contract with him?’

I deliberately made a noise as I approached Zachary.

Zachary turned his head toward me. Though I’d seen those eyes of his hundreds of times before, today they made my heart beat just a little faster.

“Lady Bella?”

Zachary looked slightly surprised to see me.

“Didn’t expect anyone here. What a coincidence.”

I spoke as if we had run into each other by chance.

“…I see.”

Judging by his expression, he believed it was a coincidence.

I continued the conversation naturally.

“What are you doing here?”

“Just taking a walk to clear my head.”

“What were you thinking about?”

“…A lot of things on my mind lately.”

Zachary avoided giving a direct answer.

For some reason, that response stung.

After the Demon God was sealed, Zachary seemed to be keeping his distance from me.

Ungrateful human. All the glory he enjoyed now came from my power.

With a quieter voice than before, I asked Zachary, “Don’t you have anything to say to me?”

“I always have plenty to say… but I don’t know what it is you want to hear right now, Lady Bella.”

Was it just my imagination, or did Zachary’s voice sound more subdued than usual?

Ignoring the uneasy feeling, I got to the point. “You haven’t forgotten our contract, have you?”

“…Not even once.”

“I fulfilled the terms. Now it’s your turn.”

Isabella, the Lord of Contracts, assists Zachary Martine in stopping the Demon God Morpheus’s invasion of the middle realm. In return, Zachary Martine offers his soul to the Lord of Contracts.

It was a contract made just a year ago, yet it felt much older.

The first contract I made with a human. I had fulfilled my end, so now it was time to reap the reward…

But demons, by nature, were capricious beings.

Ethan had told me to be honest.

But demons were creatures better suited to lies than truth. And I still couldn’t let go of my feelings toward humans.

After everything I’d done for Zachary—

And now I was supposed to go even further, for the sake of a mere human?

With a bright smile, I said to Zachary, “Beg me to spare you.”

Who knows? Maybe I’d grant his plea.

I stood there quietly, waiting for his reply.

Though something about the look in his eyes bothered me—it seemed more subdued than usual…

But I knew how much humans valued their lives. Zachary’s next action was as good as decided.

And then—

Zachary broke the silence and spoke, “You’re truly cruel, Lady Bella.”

“……”

I was momentarily at a loss for words at his unexpected response.