7th chapter
Has this guy learned manners from fantasy? Smiling in front of people—what kind of etiquette is that?
The Confucian girl inside me, raised with strict principles, disapproved of Armin Grey’s lack of manners. But Vivian Roha couldn’t afford that. I waited silently until Armin Grey’s laughter subsided.
After a moment, he wiped the tears gathering at the corners of his eyes—apparently he had laughed that hard. I wondered if it was really that funny, but at least the tense atmosphere of accusations about heresy and devil worship seemed to have faded, so I let out a sigh of relief.
“Your fur color is brown, just like Popori’s. There is some resemblance.”
“…Yes. Well, I’ve always thought I looked a bit like a Popori…”
As I spoke, I could feel my face turning as red as a beet. If I died right now, the cause of death would be nothing other than shame. Is there anyone who can casually compliment themselves and call themselves cute? At least I couldn’t.
A brief silence followed. Armin Grey stared at me intently, as if inspecting whether I truly resembled a Popori.
I avoided his gaze, staring at the wall instead. Then I heard his voice—no longer low and threatening like when he had tried to drive out Jericho’s young master, but somehow filled with amusement, as if he had found something interesting.
“Hmm. I’ll believe you.”
“Believe what?”
“That you’re a shut-in hero who just said you thought you were cute.”
“Geh! Ugh, ugh. Yes! That’s right. That’s exactly what I meant.”
“But that doesn’t mean I can believe you aren’t a devil worshipper.”
“Pardon?”
Even after all this nonsense, he still suspected me?
I stared at him, utterly bewildered.
If it had been Shasha, she might have stepped back or let it go, but Armin Grey was different. He looked at me coldly and said,
“People who worship devils are said to carry books of dark magic that can summon demons at any time.”
Then he tapped the black cover of my book with his long, pale finger and smiled faintly.
“And the title of your book is ‘Demon Duke,’ isn’t it?”
His smiling face made it hard to tell whether he was joking or threatening me. I had no idea how to respond, so I remained silent.
Watching me, Armin Grey—no, the so-called Demon Duke—spoke in a voice brimming with amusement.
“So I will take this book and examine it.”
“No… you can’t!”
The words escaped my mouth before I could stop them, and Armin Grey looked at me suspiciously.
So what? It’s mine!
“It’s a limited edition. I worked really hard to get it.”
“Then…”
His expression seemed to ask whether I wanted to go meet the Inquisitors instead. My courage shriveled up like a hand left in hot water for two hours.
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
“I will return it to you after inspection if nothing is wrong.”
It was a statement I couldn’t argue with. I finally nodded.
He would return it, right? Or would he read it and decide it was interesting and keep it? I wondered, but shook my head. No—he was the heir of the Grey ducal family. He wouldn’t do something so petty.
“Now, go meet your brother. He might be worried since you’ve been gone so long.”
After holding me captive until now, acting like he suddenly cared about my well-being was rich.
But I lowered my eyes and nodded politely, trying to look calm.
And the moment I closed the door and stepped out, I ran like mad toward the ballroom.
Ballroom
“Ha… ha!”
I reached the bright ballroom after sprinting through the dark corridor, gasping for breath. Shasha quickly came over, having noticed I had been gone for a long time.
“Bibi! Where were you?”
I wanted to tell her everything, but after opening and closing my mouth a few times, I finally stayed silent. I had caused a huge mess only a day after being warned—this was definitely a two or three day lecture-worthy offense.
But Shasha immediately realized something had happened.
“Why are you so pale? What happened? And where’s your shawl?”
Only then did I realize I had left the shawl in the room with that devil. But I couldn’t tell the truth and muttered an excuse.
“Huh? I must have dropped it somewhere. I went for a walk in the garden.”
Shasha frowned slightly, sensing something odd.
“You said you were cold. What kind of walk is that?”
“I just felt a little stuffy. Then I heard a strange noise behind me and got scared and ran. I must have dropped it then.”
“Where is it? I’ll go get it.”
“No! It’s fine.”
I hurried to stop her. Even if she went to the garden, the shawl wouldn’t be there, and it would be even worse if she ran into Armin Grey near that room.
While we were talking, I suddenly felt a commotion behind me.
I didn’t need to look to know—it was Armin Grey.
Before Shasha could suspect the timing of his arrival, I quickly pushed my brother away.
“Bro, I suddenly feel really hot. I’ll go get some air.”
“What? You were just singing about being cold, and now you’re hot? You said you were in the garden.”
“Running made me warm. I’ll just go out to the balcony for a bit.”
The thing a shut-in fears most is being the center of attention. I didn’t think Armin Grey would acknowledge me in front of all these people, but even the slightest possibility felt dangerous today.
If he started talking about devil worship or romance novels in public—my head spun.
I quietly headed to the balcony. The air outside, without my shawl, was chilly enough to raise goosebumps, but I had no time to care.
‘What on earth is he thinking?’
Throwing around words like “Inquisitor” as casually as if it were a neighborhood police station left me shaken.
I had never met someone like him before. A homebody like me wasn’t suited to dealing with Armin Grey—he was too intense.
Was this even real? It was just a common romance novel—did reading it at a ball and humming a bit, or talking to myself, really make someone a devil worshipper?
It sounded absurd, but I couldn’t be sure. If the Grey ducal family had enough power, it might not be so impossible.
Shasha had been right. I should never have crossed paths with him.
‘And why was he hiding there in the first place?’
I kicked the railing in frustration. My shoe tip bent slightly, but I didn’t care. I needed to vent.
‘How am I supposed to fix this!’
My mind raced, but I couldn’t find a solution.
‘If nothing is wrong, I will return it.’
But I had no reason to meet him again. In the end, I decided I would have to give up the book.
‘It was the best thing I read this year.’
My eyes stung with tears, but I convinced myself it was better to lose one book than to encounter that troublesome man again.
‘At least I finished it before he took it.’
If he had taken it while I was still reading, I would never have been able to find it again and might have been bedridden for days. In the end, I concluded it was like getting money stolen by a thug—bad luck, but something I could live with.
I had made up a clumsy excuse about being a shut-in, and Armin Grey surely knew it was a lie.
‘If I really get caught by an Inquisitor…’
I shuddered. I was good at acting but terrible at lying. Those heart-pounding professionals wouldn’t believe my half-baked explanations.
They would interrogate me, and I would end up spilling everything—even talk of reincarnation. That alone would confirm me as a devil worshipper.
Was I worrying too much? I remembered Armin Grey’s amused smile. Would he really report me? Over a book?
I had met him for the first time today. I didn’t know his personality, so I couldn’t predict his actions. Though I had come to the ball for a reason, I no longer felt any motivation.
A husband candidate? Forget it. I should never have come. I could have faked illness and stayed home, even if it meant missing a few months of allowance.
All I felt was sighs and regret.
“A, achoo!”
I sniffled and rubbed my bare shoulders. The off-shoulder dress left them exposed to the chilly autumn air. From Jericho’s cheap scoundrel to the handsome but terrifying Grey—today was the most cursed day in Vivian Roha’s life.
