The Possessed Evil Woman Wreaks Havoc - Chapter 86

It was strange.

Interpreting the Duke’s words just now… it meant he loved Isabella.

“Love, not just responsibility? You really mean you love your family?”

“Isabella… I don’t understand why you keep saying such strange things.”

“Me and Gabby too?”

“Of course I love you both. You’re my children.”

Though these days, seeing Gabriel’s behavior does make me waver at times.

The Duke added on.

I ground my teeth at his unexpected words.

His daughter had been so wounded by his neglect that she went so far as to make a contract with a demon…

Isabella, I’m doing everything I can right now to keep from punching your father in the face.

While thinking that to myself, I slowly calmed my breathing.

What should I say to the Duke?

After some thought, I decided to be honest.

“Until now, I thought you hated me.”

“…Why would you think that?”

The Duke looked slightly shocked by my words.

“You showed no interest in me. You didn’t even attend my debutante ball.”

“…I was busy managing the estate, that’s all. I always had an eye on you.”

“People around me said that if I didn’t look like the Duchess, you would’ve struck me from the family register long ago.”

“…There’s no way. You don’t actually believe that, do you?”

Maybe I didn’t, but Isabella probably did.

I held back my urge to punch him only with the mindset that I couldn’t let Isabella be labeled an unfilial daughter.

I asked the Duke, “Have you ever once said you loved your daughter?”

The Duke seemed flustered by my question.

Nigel, standing behind the Duke, mouthed something silently.

‘If you keep this up, they’ll figure out you’re not Isabella.’

“…To me. Have you ever once told me that you loved me?”

I quickly changed my wording at Nigel’s warning.

The Duke still looked confused, but he answered my question.

“It’s not something that needs to be said aloud to be understood…”

“How can someone know if you don’t say it?”

“I’ve always cleaned up the messes you made behind the scenes. Even when you tarnished the family’s name, I let it slide. If that’s not love, what is it?”

“It’s not like I can read your mind. How would I know that was love?”

Exactly.

If you don’t say it, the other person really won’t know.

I recalled a memory from the past.

“Bella? What are you doing right now?”

“Lilith. Please help me. Please convince the other Lords. We have to stop Father—no, the Demon God. We can’t let him invade the middle realm.”

“Bella. I knew you’d been enjoying yourself siding with the humans, but… so it wasn’t just for fun?”

“Please, Lilith. If all the Lords join forces, we can stop the Demon God.”

“…You’re kneeling in front of me over a human? You, with all your pride? To think our youngest would ever show such weakness.”

“Lilith, will you help?”

“No. Our beloved youngest, showing such a pitiful side over a mere human… Just as the Demon God said, perhaps now’s the time to wipe out all humans.”

“……”

“Sigh. I won’t help you. But I’ll give you one piece of advice. Go find the Celestial God.”

Suddenly, a wave of nausea surged.

Poor Isabella.

She had believed her father hated her, when in truth, the reality was so different.

And poor—

I desperately tried to cut off the flow of my thoughts.

I said to the Duke, “Isabe-, no, I thought my father hated me.”

“How could I possibly hate you? You’re my daughter…”

“From the very beginning of my memories, I believed I was a child unloved by my parents.”

“……”

“Maybe that’s why I turned out so twisted. I thought that if I caused trouble, maybe my father would finally look my way.”

The Duke looked utterly shocked by my words.

To be honest, I didn’t know the exact reason Isabella had acted so wildly.

It could’ve been because she wanted her family’s attention…

‘If you think about the fact that Isabella is a descendant of Daphne…’

Maybe she acted like that simply because she was naturally wild. The fact that Isabella’s brother is Gabby made that assumption even more convincing.

Still, I felt that saying this now would deliver a shock to the Duke.

Even now, I couldn’t fully believe what the Duke had said to me.

It was hard to accept easily, given how long he’d been indifferent to Isabella.

But at the very least, I had gained confirmation that the Duke considered Isabella to be family.

Whatever his idea of “family” was.

Regardless, I had to take full advantage of it and make him regret everything.

“…I admit I was indifferent.”

And the moment the Duke said that, just as I had expected, I felt a bit more magic return to me.

Even though the Duke’s tone was flat, it meant he was genuinely sorry toward Isabella.

But what was the point of that now?

Isabella had already made a contract with a demon, and no one knew where her soul had gone.

Even if I tracked down that demon and demanded Isabella’s soul back…

‘There’s no guarantee it’ll be returned. Worst case, the demon may have already destroyed her soul.’

I tried to gauge how much of my magic had returned. It felt like about a third of my original power.

Once it’s fully restored, I’ll return to my original body.

And if I can’t recover Isabella’s soul…

The next morning, when Jessie comes to wake her mistress, she’ll find Isabella’s body lifeless—without a soul, in other words, dead.

Gabby must not be shocked by that sight.

Even though I still didn’t like him, even the Duke…

“It might already be too late,” I muttered.

“What do you mean by that?”

The Duke demanded an answer, but I couldn’t easily reply.

A sudden wave of fatigue washed over me.

To make the Duke leave, I changed the subject and kept talking.

“Anyway, I saved the humans. If it weren’t for me, everyone there would be dead.”

It hadn’t been entirely my will, but I wasn’t one to miss a chance to take credit.

“Isn’t this the kind of moment where humans usually give praise? Say something nice and get lost.”

“…Fine, you did well. But never—never do something like that again. What would I tell your mother later…”

The Duke trailed off and looked away.

I looked at him and opened my mouth. “Are you perhaps an idiot? Talking about your dead wife—mph!”

Nigel suddenly covered my mouth, cutting me off.

“Mmph!”

I glared at Nigel with a look full of protest. He sighed and turned to the Duke.

“The young lady seems quite unwell. She needs to rest now.”

“…I see. Then I’ll leave so she can rest properly.”

Still gazing off with a melancholic expression, the Duke hadn’t noticed Nigel’s hand over my mouth.

Leaving those words behind, the Duke exited the tent.

As soon as he left, Nigel turned to me. “Are you crazy? What were you trying to say just now?”

“He was saying something stupid, so I was just trying to correct him.”

No matter what happens, the Duke can’t see his dead wife again.

Humans don’t have an afterlife. Their souls simply vanish.

Well, that applies to demons and angels too. Unless they possess power.

Reincarnation is merely a power; our souls still disappear, so it’s not exactly an exception.

The current and former wielders of power are entirely different beings, after all.

Nigel shook his head in exasperation. “If you call Isabella’s mother ‘your wife,’ don’t you think the Duke will get suspicious?”

That was my mistake, but couldn’t he have given me a heads-up like earlier?

Jumping in like that made it seem overly dramatic.

“Is that really why you covered my mouth?”

“…Getting caught is one thing, but saying that to his face? To someone mourning his wife? How could you tell him he’ll never see her again?”

“Why is that a problem?”

“Do you seriously lack even a speck of empathy?”

“Lack empathy? Ha!”

I let out a hollow laugh at Nigel’s words.

“I have plenty of empathy. I just choose not to use it,” I said proudly.