Chapter 4
“Is this a dream… or am I awake…?”
Sitting on the edge of the bed and staring blankly into space, I suddenly pinched my cheek.
“It doesn’t hurt… Does that mean I’m dreaming?”
“If you pinch that lightly, of course it won’t hurt, miss. Would you like me to do it for you?”
Anna rolled up her sleeves, her eyes gleaming strangely.
The moment I saw the firm muscles she had built up from refusing no task, I hurriedly shook my head.
Reality sank in, and I bit my lips repeatedly.
When did this even start?
Honestly, what Leila said wasn’t completely wrong.
Most direct descendants of the swordmaster family Ellopez had a talent for swordsmanship, and Kallian’s skill could be called the best in the family’s history.
The second child of our family, just one year younger than me, was twenty-one this year.
Last year—at just twenty—he had reached the level of Sword Master.
A true genius.
Even I couldn’t deny that.
‘Annoying is annoying, but skill is skill.’
On top of that, thanks to our parents’ superior genes, both my brothers and I had looks that could topple nations.
All three siblings had the Ellopez family’s signature silver hair and purple eyes.
Among us, Kallian resembled me so much that kind-hearted Leila sometimes called him “short-haired Tian.”
Which I hated admitting.
‘This is driving me insane.’
To be honest, I had never considered pairing Leila with one of my brothers.
If she stayed within the Ellopez family, even the crazy male leads wouldn’t dare touch her—and she’d be easier to protect.
But that wasn’t exactly a good solution either.
In the original story, Tian Ellopez—me—was brutally harassed until she killed herself.
That alone proved the Ellopez family wasn’t a guaranteed safe zone.
If Leila got involved with us, our entire family could be put in danger.
That aside, the biggest problem was—
‘She never showed interest. Not once.’
Leila had been around us for years and saw Kallian often.
If she had ever shown even a hint of affection toward him, I would have thought about it seriously.
But she never had.
Not once in nearly twenty years.
And now, out of nowhere, she suddenly liked Kallian.
On top of that, she declared she’d break off her engagement with the Second Prince.
How was I supposed to stay sane?
As I paced around the room in agitation, I heard shouts from outside the window.
It seemed the knights’ training, delayed by the rain, had resumed.
“Hey, I heard you got beaten this morning?”
A mocking voice cut cleanly through the noise.
When I glanced down, sure enough, Kallian was smirking up at me.
“Listening to you speak really highlights your low level of refinement.”
Normally, I would’ve ignored him.
But coming right after Leila’s shocking confession, I couldn’t let it slide.
“Oh, wow. You really have no respect for your older brother!”
“Why don’t you focus on training instead? And try not to cry again after losing to me.”
I smiled sweetly as I provoked him.
It worked perfectly—one of Kallian’s eyebrows twitched upward.
Clearly, I had struck a nerve.
Maybe it was the Ellopez blood, but I also had a talent for swordsmanship.
I learned it as a backup in case I lost my magic like in the original story—though I didn’t plan to.
At least, I was good enough to be considered a sword expert.
Of course, purely in swordsmanship, Kallian was far superior.
But for me, swordsmanship was only a contingency.
My true talent lay in magic.
Overall, I was still one step ahead.
“Using magic is cheating—”
“Are you going to complain about cheating even on a battlefield, brother?”
I emphasized the word “brother” deliberately before turning away.
I heard Kallian shouting behind me, but I didn’t care.
Right now, Kallian wasn’t the problem.
“I’m going to the lab.”
“Yes, miss.”
Anna immediately backed off, clearly understanding my unspoken request not to follow.
‘She looks happy… Is that just my imagination?’
At some point, a white-furred cat with purple eyes appeared and followed me leisurely.
When I stopped, it rubbed its face against my leg familiarly.
“Come here, Bell.”
As I crouched and reached out, Bell flicked its fluffy tail and jumped into my arms.
I held Bell lightly and headed straight for the laboratory.
After checking that no one was around, I engraved a magic circle on the door so no one could enter.
Then I looked down at the cat in my arms.
“Bell, call Bael.”
The moment I finished speaking, a young man with black hair and red eyes appeared.
“Did you call me, contractor?”
The demonic aura he had been openly releasing slowly diminished the moment he saw me.
Bael.
The Demon King, ruler of hell.
In the original story, he was the demon who contracted with one of the insane male leads, stole my magic, and played a key role in my downfall.
Perhaps because I remembered the original story, a brief wave of instinctive disgust rose within me.
“Did you check?”
“So far, no demon other than myself has contracted with a human.”
“Really?”
Ever since I was born into this world, I had searched for ways to prevent that man from contracting with Bael—but there was no good solution.
As much as I disliked it, the only sure way was for me to contract with Bael first.
A demon could only contract with one human.
The empire strictly regulated demon contracts—black magic—but I had no choice.
I just had to avoid getting caught.
And even after contracting with Bael, there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t contract with another demon.
That was why I had Bael monitor things constantly.
Thankfully, it seemed he hadn’t reached into the demon realm yet.
“Especially Agares. Keep a close eye on that bastard.”
“Agares is nothing. He couldn’t deceive me even if he tried, contractor.”
Calling the second-ranked demon of hell “nothing,” Bael shrugged casually.
“Then that’s enough. Go back.”
“…That’s it? You’re telling me to leave already?”
Bael grumbled in dissatisfaction at being dismissed just one minute after being summoned.
In the three years since our contract, all I’d asked him to do was monitor demon contracts—so his frustration was understandable.
“What do you want me to make you do?”
“We’re contracted. You should at least aim to conquer the world or something—”
“What’s the point? If you’re going to talk nonsense, disappear already. Or I’ll flood my body with holy power right now.”
At my thinly veiled threat, Bael flinched.
The contract had been forcibly imposed, just like in the original story—an unfair one.
Of course, the one who found it unfair was Bael, not me.
If I died, Bael would vanish.
If he used demonic power without my permission, he would vanish.
That kind of life-binding contract.
But more than any clause, what Bael truly feared was holy power.
Thanks to Leila’s immense holy power, controlling Bael had become much easier.
‘Apparently, if holy power settles in my body, only he suffers.’
I waved my hand, telling him to leave.
Then, suddenly, a thought struck me, and I stopped him.
“By any chance… you’re not sensing black magic from Leila, right?”
Bael frowned slightly at my question.
Then he spoke with a look that clearly said, “Be reasonable.”
“Unless she has a death wish, she wouldn’t dare. In the first place, only you and I can use black magic.”
I had briefly wondered if Leila had been affected by black magic and lost her mind—
But that didn’t seem to be the case.
Bael looked at my disappointed face like I was absurd, then disappeared.
I tapped my fingers lightly on the desk, thinking.
I couldn’t be absolutely certain.
Even if I had contracted with Bael ahead of time, there were still other variables that could lead to my magic being stolen.
I would eliminate harmful variables—but I couldn’t eliminate beneficial ones.
Even if Leila truly liked Kallian.
Even if the Ellopez family did their utmost to protect her.
It was still undeniably better for Leila to remain engaged to the Second Prince.
You could call me selfish—but I had no intention of putting my family at risk in this life.
‘So… I’m sorry, Leila. But I’m going to do everything I can to deny your feelings.’
