Episode 9
“What are you going to do with those?”
“Wear clothes suited for work and tidy my face and hair accordingly.”
“Good heavens!”
I quickly snatched the dress from Gremory’s frozen hands.
“I’ll go change.”
Thankfully, shocked as she was, Gremory didn’t follow me.
This let me change in peace and tie my hair up tightly with the pen. When I returned, she clutched her forehead and asked.
“Why use a pen when you have hair ties…?”
“It’s more comfortable. And ties leave marks.”
Unconvinced, Gremory waved her hands in the air, but I tried to ignore her cleanly.
As I turned away, a sudden thought struck me.
‘Wait, is this a bad idea?’
Even if she’s a demon, treating her like this might bring retaliation later, right?
A chilling thought made me creakily turn to look at Gremory. Fortunately, she seemed unaware I’d ignored her.
Though her following mutter was unsettling.
“That drab, awful black dress—I’ll tear it up when I get the chance.”
“…”
“No, if Lady Liliana gets mad, that’d be bad. Then maybe break the pen or do something to those glasses…!”
She’s not planning to tear me up, so it’s fine, right?
* * *
After getting ready, Bael was waiting at the door.
Checking some documents, he looked up at me.
“If you’re ready, let’s…”
Slowly scanning me, a shocked exclamation burst from Bael.
“Where did you get such awful clothes?”
…Round two already?
“Good heavens, Miss Liliana. Black is forbidden in Winspear!”
“What? That’s ridiculous. The contract didn’t say anything about that.”
Remembering how Bael’s ability swayed me into signing the contract yesterday made my blood boil, keeping me up all night. A little mischief like this should be fine, right?
Just as Bael was about to retort, Roan, also dressed in black, approached from afar.
“What’s going on? You didn’t come, so I got curious.”
Standing beside me, Roan asked Bael coldly.
Bael flinched, and I smiled brightly at Roan.
“Well, it seems there’s an issue with the color of my clothes.”
“Oh? What kind of issue?”
“They say you can’t wear black in the Winspear Ducal Family. The Duke must be stricter and harder to serve than I thought?”
I knew who he was, but they didn’t know I knew, so this comment should be fine.
Like a cat swallowing its fear, I chattered on.
“It’s worrying. I didn’t know he’d be so difficult…”
As I spoke, Roan’s expression darkened. At the same time, Bael’s face paled.
Roan seemed to grind his teeth, but so what? The person beside me now wasn’t the Duke of Winspear but my fellow aide, Roan.
“Indeed. I didn’t know the Duke was like that.”
With a grim expression, Roan glared at Bael.
Bael trembled and replied.
“No, that’s not true!”
“Oh, Mr. Bael, you’re shaking too much.”
“It’s just my taste! I’m a black-hater, that’s all! Please don’t misunderstand the Duke…”
Bael’s eyes shook wildly as he looked between Roan and me, protesting.
Maybe that’s enough teasing.
I shrugged and patted his shoulder.
“Mr. Bael, I won’t misunderstand. So don’t cry.”
“I’m not crying!”
“Sure, sure.”
Tears were welling in his eyes.
Realizing how easy it was to make a demon cry, I let out a small chuckle.
Bael, lips trembling, bit them hard and said it was time to go. Watching his retreating figure, a strange certainty hit me.
As long as I didn’t let slip that I knew Winspear was a demon den, I could enjoy working here—a very odd but certain feeling.
* * *
Scratch that. I take it back!
‘Enjoy working, my foot.’
I sighed, looking at the demons introduced as Winspear’s servants.
“I look forward to working with you, Lady Liliana! We’ll serve you devotedly!”
“Oh.”
Not a single proper one among them.
There wasn’t a demon in sight dressed neatly as a servant. Each stood before me in outfits bursting with individuality.
Worse, their sharp fangs flashed whenever they opened their mouths.
Those at the back were hurriedly tucking away their horns and wings.
It happened quickly, but I saw it clearly. Winspear’s demons gave no room for complacency.
The overly enthusiastic group bowed. Some had shoulders heaving, pleased with their greeting.
“Miss Ria, shouldn’t you acknowledge their greeting?”
“Oh, right. Nice to meet you all.”
As I accepted their greeting, the demons straightened up.
Their overly sparkling eyes were overwhelming, and I was about to say such greetings weren’t needed in the future.
“But you don’t have to greet me like this…”
At that moment, the raised shoulders of a few demons began to droop.
“Don’t…”
Their eyes and lips followed, sagging pitifully.
Unable to hide my reluctance, I continued.
“…Thank you for the warm welcome.”
At that, their pitiful expressions vanished as if they’d been an illusion, and they returned to normal.
Stunned by their swift change, I gaped as Bael introduced a few.
“I’ll introduce the important ones.”
Bael pulled forward a particularly tall demon.
“This is Amon, who often stays by the Duke’s side and serves as his eyes outside.”
Amon, bear-like with dark brown hair and eyes, stood before me.
I suppressed a hiccup and greeted him.
“Nice to meet you.”
Amon nodded silently.
As he stepped back, Bael brought another demon forward.
“And you met him yesterday—Sion, the mage.”
Still hiding his face under a robe, Sion nodded, his light purple hair briefly visible before disappearing.
“And that’s Vassago.”
A man with a sullen face stood out. His red hair and eyes seemed ready to burst into flames.
Intimidated by Vassago’s presence, I faltered, but Bael kindly explained.
“His brain’s a bit empty, but he’s the strongest in combat… like a knight commander, I suppose.”
Bael’s absurd explanation snapped me back to reality.
They seemed to do whatever they wanted without clear ranks, but I decided not to care too much. I didn’t need to know how this place operated.
“And, well, there’s too many. Three key people should be enough.”
Clearly tired of explaining, Bael smiled and asked for my understanding.
The demons waiting their turn visibly deflated, but that wasn’t my concern.
“Yes, that’s enough.”
Agreeing with Bael, the demons pouted, while Bael’s face brightened.
“I knew Miss Liliana and I would get along.”
Behind him, the demons ground their teeth, but Bael scratched his ear and said.
“Shall we discuss work now?”
There seemed to be no system here whatsoever.
“Uh… don’t we need to move somewhere else?”
“No, it’s fine. Our conversations won’t leak out. Winspear’s people are tight-lipped.”
