The Possessed Evil Woman Wreaks Havoc - Chapter 84

At first, I doubted my ears.

But seeing Zachary’s hardened expression, I realized I hadn’t misheard.

Why did he refuse? I had just offered the rarest mercy of my life.

“Did you just turn down my offer? Why?”

“……”

Zachary couldn’t answer my question.

“I’ve shown you considerable generosity. So… why are you reacting like that?”

Zachary looked at me silently. Only after staring into my eyes for a long while did he speak.

“Lady Bella, what am I to you?”

“You’re my contractor.”

It was an out-of-place question, but I readily answered.

“Am I merely your contractor, Lady Bella?”

I hesitated at Zachary’s question.

Demons weren’t oblivious to others—they simply didn’t care.

So I immediately understood what he was implying.

“…How much more mercy must I show you?”

The more I thought about it, the more anger took root inside me.

I had granted him a fair amount of leeway, and yet he ended up thinking like that. Clearly, I had been too lenient.

Zachary’s face grew more solemn at my words.

Seeing that, I curled one corner of my lips.

“Zachary. You seriously need to know your place.”

“……”

“Without a contract, there’s nothing between us.”

“I thought… you and I shared a connection.”

For a moment, the countless times I had spent with Zachary flashed through my mind.

At first, he was an interesting human. Then, a foolish human.

And after that…

But I couldn’t admit it.

To think that a demon like me had been shaken by a mere human.

I kept my expression calm as I said, “You clearly don’t understand demons. Our kind doesn’t feel emotions like that.”

“…That can’t be.”

I drove the nail in, watching Zachary struggle to deny it.

I had to cut it off—for his sake, and for mine.

“Did you expect me to whisper some love confession to you?”

“…What’s wrong with that? Am I not allowed to hope for something like that?”

“Well, if that’s really what you want, it’s not that hard.”

“……”

“I love you.”

Even though I gave him the love confession he wanted, Zachary’s face only darkened.

After a brief silence, he finally spoke.

“…Why doesn’t it feel sincere?”

“Because it isn’t.”

It was nothing for a demon to speak false words of love.

I continued, “You’re human.”

“……”

“A being who’ll live only a hundred years at best. While I… unless something unusual happens, I’ll live until the end of time.”

I wasn’t foolish enough to grow attached to a being who lived only for a fleeting moment.

“You really are a puzzle to me. You always have been,” I muttered as I looked at Zachary.

Why was that human so unpredictable?

He had been that way from the start. Other humans had knelt before me, begging to make a contract and offer their souls.

But Zachary refused—even when I was the one who extended my hand first.

And now.

I offered to spare his life if he begged—and instead, he started talking about love.

Fury surged within me.

What angered me most in this situation, however, was none other than myself.

Beneath the anger I felt toward Zachary lay a base kind of thrill.

I deliberately ignored that thrill, afraid that if I dug deeper, I’d have to face something I didn’t want to admit.

I spun around and left the scene.

***

“…So what I’m saying is, why the hell did she cough up blood earlier?! Damn it!”

As a familiar voice echoed in my ears, my mind slowly returned to clarity.

Looked like Gabby was making a fuss again.

Humans do occasionally cough up blood when they’re sick, don’t they?

I paused for a moment, wondering.

In the Demon Realm, it was so common that I momentarily forgot. But then I remembered how fragile humans were and understood Gabby’s behavior.

Humans coughing up blood wasn’t a normal thing!

Gabby was worried about me.

Realizing that fact made the corners of my mouth twitch upward.

I caught myself just in time and kept a blank expression.

‘Damn. I think I’ve gotten too attached to Gabby.’

As I had that thought, another familiar voice rang out in the tent.

“…I don’t know how to explain it either, but the young lady’s body shows no signs of abnormality. She’s simply asleep.”

“Hey! Are you a quack? I didn’t expect the Duke’s family doctor to be an utter quack!”

With my eyes still closed, I listened to the conversation unfolding around me.

Gabby was currently talking to the Duke family’s physician.

It seemed that when I collapsed, the Duke or Gabby had brought the physician to the tent.

“I’ll head out to fetch some herbs to help the young lady regain consciousness quickly.”

After saying that, I heard no more of the doctor’s voice, so he must’ve left the tent right away.

Should I open my eyes now?

As I debated for a moment, a new voice spoke up.

“The High Priest keeps insisting he needs to see Isabella.”

It was the Duke’s voice.

“Why the hell is that bastard so interested in our little troublemaker?”

“Gabriel, I told you to watch your language. …But you’re not entirely wrong.”

“Right? So you also think the High Priest is a shady bastard, huh?”

“That’s not what I meant… Ha.”

The Duke paused for a moment before letting out a sigh.

“…He seems suspicious.”

“Suspicious? Suspicious of what?”

“The High Priest said that most monsters usually avoid holy power. But the way they suddenly chased after Isabella…”

“Well, maybe the monsters just thought she looked especially delicious?”

Smack!

A dull sound echoed through the air.

Apparently, the Duke had just hit Gabby.

Just as I suspected.

“Ow! Did you just hit me?! Are you insane?!”

“You’re the crazy one! How could you say something so awful about your sister!”

“What’s so bad about calling her delicious!”

“Enough! I have no idea how someone like you was born into the Dunkeld family!”

“Hey! It might be unpleasant to hear, but you did contribute to my birth! Otherwise, how would I have ended up here? It’s totally your fault!”

Listening to those two talk…

How should I put this…

‘A textbook case of family dysfunction?’

It felt like those two would never get along.

Anyway, monsters avoiding holy power?

It wasn’t entirely wrong. But for monsters to avoid holy power, the amount must be considerable.

Monsters were beings driven by insatiable instinct. For them to avoid their prey, the holy power would have to be enough to suppress that instinct.

For example, the level of a Saintess.

I bit my lip lightly, realizing the mistake I had made.

I hadn’t thought that far ahead.

Honestly, the people around me had been so easily fooled by my saintess act that I had gotten complacent.

“Ugh, I’m so pissed! The old man is pissed too—First, I’m going to beat the crap out of that damned High Priest! Who does he think he is to suspect our troublemaker?!”

Leaving those words behind, Gabby stormed out of the tent.

“Ha. That damned kid.”

The Duke sighed and followed after Gabby.

Now… is there no one left in the tent?

The moment I thought that, I sensed someone approaching and instinctively flinched.

“Hey, everyone’s gone now. Get up.”

I slowly opened my eyes.

In front of me was Nigel. As soon as our eyes met, I asked, “How did you know I was awake?”

“How could I not? You… really suck at acting. The fact that those people didn’t notice is what’s truly baffling.”

Nigel clicked his tongue as he spoke.

Criticizing my acting, huh. Well, I did know I wasn’t very good at it…

I put on a sulky face and asked Nigel, “Still, wasn’t my fainting act earlier flawless?”

“Flawless, my ass! I told you to pretend to faint, not actually pass out!”

“Hmm. I thought it was a pretty realistic performance.”

“It wasn’t a performance—it was real! Why the hell did you spit blood?!”

“I miscalculated the force when I tried to pass out voluntarily. Were you worried about me?”

“It’s not you I was worried about—it’s that body—!”

“—Do go on. Why are you so concerned about Isabella’s body?” I asked in a chilly tone.

Suspicious. Highly suspicious. I felt an overwhelming urge to drag Nigel to a dungeon and interrogate him.

Nigel avoided my gaze and quickly changed the subject.

“Haah. You’re really going to be the death of me.”

Seeing Nigel like that, I clicked my tongue.

If I could just catch solid evidence, I’d pluck every last tail hair off him on the spot.