~Chapter 41~
The noble child, blessed and born between God and a woman, sealed the rampaging Demon King inside his own body to win the war against the demon race.
The Demon King cursed that child.
Because of that, from time to time, members of the Egbert family were born with a “seal.”
The Seal of Binding — it was the seal that restrained the Demon King’s power, a power so overwhelming that even the very first head of the Egbert family could not withstand it.
The first head of the Egbert family, to stop the Demon King’s power, placed his own body into the sealing formation and took his own life, sealing himself away completely.
However, as if in defiance, the Demon King’s curse continued through blood and flesh, appearing in the descendants.
Those born with that mark would one day be unable to withstand the overflowing black magic and lose control.
When they went on a rampage, poison filled the surroundings, and the maddened Egbert descendant would unleash transcendent power to kill all of his own blood relatives.
Therefore, anyone in whom the seal appeared would be isolated, and in the end, they would disappear from the family records, as if they had never existed.
His eldest brother was such a case.
At the age of ten, he was confined to the annex, and by the time he turned twenty, he had completely vanished.
Where he went and what became of him — even Nigel did not know.
Probably only the Duke and Duchess and the brother who had disappeared knew.
At the age of eighteen, his brother fell in love with a woman and had two children.
And two years later, he left for a place from which he could never return — together with that unnamed woman.
That was why, from time to time, direct descendants of the Egbert family without parents appeared.
In any case, the annex had been completely closed and abandoned ever since.
It was a building used only briefly, for those who were isolated, during their confinement period.
‘Of all places, I can’t believe they settled here.’
He wasn’t sure if it was coincidence.
“Hey! Is no one here?”
Nigel raised his voice at the tightly shut door.
He thought about knocking but stopped, worried another inexplicable misfortune might happen.
“I said, is no one here? Damn it.”
It didn’t make sense for such a large annex to have no servants.
‘Are they deliberately ignoring me?’
Nigel ground his teeth.
“That brat…”
At that moment, the tightly shut door opened a crack.
“…Nigel Egbert?”
Shiphon frowned slightly at the unexpected sight before her.
Her tired-looking face scrunched up as if annoyed.
“You… are you a maid? Whatever. That girl’s inside, right? Tell her I’ve come to see her.”
“The young lady is not feeling well and is sleeping. Please come back another time.”
“She’s not well? I’m in worse shape right now. When she wakes up, I’ll at least have a word with her, so open the door.”
“That’s not really possible right now—”
While Shiphon was speaking through the narrow opening, a large gloved hand suddenly reached out from inside, grabbed the door, and flung it open in one motion.
“What is it, Number 1?”
“My name is Shiphon, not Number 1! This is a guest — the young lady’s uncle.”
“And you are…?”
From behind Shiphon, Lacsa appeared, looking Nigel up and down before letting out a faint, amused smile.
‘Hmm… riddled with clumsy curses.’
From the magic, they were definitely curses placed by the noble one.
Not enough to kill him, but troublesome enough for daily life.
‘…Her prey, perhaps?’
He even bore a mark, so that seemed likely.
“I asked who you are. Seems Kaelos doesn’t bother giving basic training when assigning servants. How low-class.”
Ignoring Nigel’s remark, Lacsa rubbed his chin with a smile, lost in thought.
‘Not entirely to my liking, but… as food, he might be useful.’
“You can wait until she wakes up, but step aside for now.”
If he was to be used as prey, there was no harm in preparing him himself.
Lacsa obediently stepped aside from the door.
“Come in, uncle of the noble one.”
“Noble, my ass… tch.”
With a reluctant face, Nigel stepped into the annex. It wasn’t a place he wanted to be.
His eldest brother had been mild-mannered and gentle, even within the family.
Perhaps because he was born with the seal, he was frail and rarely left the annex.
Still, Nigel did have some memories with him.
“Did you call a doctor?”
“No.”
“The servants must be crazy. What have you been doing without calling a doctor?”
Nigel glared at Shiphon, making her frown.
She had thought about it too, but both Ross and the man named Lacsa shook their heads.
“It’s fine. She’s just a bit drained. She’ll recover soon.”
Nigel scoffed and, as if walking a familiar path, strode toward the drawing room.
Lacsa was just reaching his hand toward Nigel’s neck when—
“Don’t.”
At Shiphon’s voice, his red eyes slowly turned toward her.
“I know you’re the noble one’s first subordinate, but it’s probably just a temporary contract made when she couldn’t summon even a demon beast. I suggest you don’t block my way — if you want to keep that head of yours.”
Shiphon froze under his emotionless gaze.
She could tell exactly how he saw her.
Like an ant.
An ant he could crush any time — but one he couldn’t be bothered to touch unless necessary.
“The young lady told me to have him come to her later. She must have had a reason for that order, and I won’t allow you to act on your own.”
Only when Esther’s name was mentioned did Lacsa pause and slowly withdraw his hand.
“If the noble one ordered it herself, then I have no choice.”
“And… my name is Shiphon, not Number 1. If you call me that again—”
“What, will you kill me? With those weak, soft, pathetic little hands?”
His fingertip slid slowly from her neck down to press over her heart.
Shiphon swallowed hard and clenched her fists.
“…I’ll call you Number 5 instead.”
“…”
Lacsa’s finger stopped midair.
“Was that supposed to be a threat, Number 1?”
“No, I mean it. Number 5.”
“…Let’s drop it.”
“I’ll stop if you call me by my name. Number 5.”
Lacsa sighed.
His expression suggested he’d completely lost interest, though there was a hint of irritation.
“…Why I’m supposedly Number 5, I don’t know. The noble one really does have it hard.”
He muttered with clear discontent, then gave Shiphon an unwilling glance.
“Fine, Shiphon. Just hearing the number 5 makes me break out in hives, so let’s skip it.”
“Yes, Lacsa.”
Having gotten what he wanted, Lacsa continued toward the drawing room.
When he was out of sight, Shiphon collapsed to the floor.
It was like being a helpless herbivore in front of a predator.
Those emotionless eyes, that completely disinterested face — the only time he reacted was when Esther was mentioned.
“I… I’m really alive… right?”
Her whole body felt cold, as if the blood had drained out.
Only after patting herself all over did Shiphon slowly try to get up.
But at that moment, another voice called out to her.
“Huh? Why are you sitting here, human?”
A short boy with a cute face tilted his head.
The acorn necklace around his neck swayed lightly as his red eyes curved in curiosity.
Shiphon felt goosebumps spread over her skin.
“Hey, is there another mountain with good acorns? I went to all the ones you told me about last time, but they were all empty shells.”
“…I’ll find out.”
“Good. Glad you will. But why do you look so scared?”
Ross licked his lower lip, smacking them lightly.
When Shiphon saw his pupils narrow into vertical slits, her body froze again.
“Well, I guess that muscle-brained demon scared you again… but here’s some advice — don’t let us know you’re afraid.”
The curly-haired boy gave off an eerie vibe, so different from the squirrel who was always clinging to Esther with teary eyes.
“We really love those kinds of human emotions, you know. And you don’t want to get eaten, do you?”
“…”
Ross bared his sharp teeth in a mock bite, then stepped back with a laugh.
“Now hurry up and pull yourself together~”
With a bright smile, Ross waved cheerfully before disappearing, chasing after the demon’s trail.
