‘It suddenly feels cold for no reason.’
I stood up, closed the window, and turned back, when the envelope containing Princess Selene’s tea party invitation on the desk caught my eye.
Seeing it naturally brought back memories of what had happened at the Imperial Palace.
‘It was the same when we attended the Imperial banquet.’
The Emperor and Empress smiling awkwardly in front of Rastan, and the way Rastan didn’t use honorific titles like “Your Majesty” or “Your Highness” when addressing members of the Imperial Family in private.
And even his subtly disrespectful attitude toward the Prince and Princess.
‘Perhaps the Imperial Family knows Rastan’s true identity.’
If so, there was a high probability that what the Princess said—that they had never considered Rastan as a potential consort—was true.
No matter how great the Emperor was, he was still just a human before a Demon God.
‘If he were in his right mind, he would never dare to order Rastan around. And it would be a problem in itself for a demon to become a member of the Imperial Family.’
That meant Rastan had definitely lied to me on the day of the tea party.
More precisely, he had said, “Why do you think I am lying?” but that was clearly meant to sound like, “I did not lie.”
‘Ha, just how many times has he lied?’
I bit my nails nervously as I paced around the room before collapsing onto the sofa.
‘Is that why the Archmage warned me not to trust Rastan too much?’
Then perhaps he knew something about Rastan as well.
Because the emotion that had crossed his face when he said that was unmistakably fear.
‘And Rastan must have been wary of him too, knowing that the Archmage had noticed his true identity.’
Perhaps, as beings who were both extraordinary, they had recognized each other’s power and silently agreed to pretend not to notice.
Thinking about the one Rastan had been wary of naturally brought Ifrit to mind.
‘Rastan disliked not only the Archmage but also Ifrit, without any clear reason.’
Both Rastan and Ifrit were high-ranking nobles, so it could simply have been political rivalry due to differing positions.
But now that I knew Rastan wasn’t an ordinary human, my thoughts began to flow in a different direction.
‘If he is someone even a demon dislikes, then perhaps there is something about Ifrit as well.’
Moreover, had I not tried to enter Ifrit’s dream a few days ago, only to fail?
‘I don’t know whether Ifrit has an ability or something else, but he doesn’t seem like an ordinary person.’
Then again, there was already an ability user and a demon in this very manor, so there was no guarantee he wasn’t something more.
‘Next time I see him, I should subtly probe him. Find out what his special ability is.’
Letting out a long sigh, I rose from the sofa and walked to the safe in the corner of the room.
After entering three different passcodes, the safe finally opened, and I pulled out the thick stack of contracts inside.
Thinking about everything had made the contract I signed with Rastan feel unsettling as well.
‘Wait. Come to think of it… I made a contract with a demon.’
Even if it was just a normal(?) engagement contract and not something like pledging my soul, it was still a contract with a demon.
With trembling hands, I carefully found and read the section detailing what Rastan and I would each give and receive in exchange for this contract.
That section was unnecessarily long, but after reading it closely with wide eyes, thankfully there was nothing stating that I had to give him my soul or anything like that.
‘Honestly, even if it had said that, I probably would have signed it without realizing.’
That was how completely I had trusted Rastan.
Thinking that made the back of my head throb again with the feeling of betrayal.
As I flipped through the contract, I also remembered how Rastan had added some kind of magical double-binding device to it.
He had said it was nothing, but hadn’t he made me enter into a contract that strongly bound me without telling me in advance?
‘He blocked my escape route from the start so I could not run away. Now I’m angry again.’
Had he already considered the possibility that I might want to run away if things ever came to this?
‘Thorough. Truly thorough. Well, he is a demon. This must be his specialty.’
But in truth, what use were contracts or magic binding devices?
There was no way to escape from someone with nearly omnipotent power—someone who could move the moon, no, the entire planet.
Moreover, even when examining the contract clauses, there was no problem.
‘The fact that his true form is a demon is not an intentional fault that would prevent Rastan from fulfilling the engagement contract.’
Whatever his identity was, it had nothing to do with the contract.
In the end, I would have to remain by this demon’s side and fulfill the one-year contract.
My mind was in chaos, but one thought was clear.
‘I’m doomed…’
***
Out of consideration for Rastan, I told the servants of the ducal manor, “Since there are many eyes watching, we decided to use separate rooms during the engagement period.”
But since we weren’t only using separate bedrooms but also barely speaking during meals and no longer having afternoon tea together, the servants couldn’t help but quickly sense that something was wrong.
I only felt sorry as I watched them grow anxious, unsure of what to do after sensing the cold atmosphere between us.
‘Even if they couldn’t read the atmosphere, they would have known something was wrong just by looking at Rastan’s face.’
Even to me, his complexion looked worse than when he had been suffering from nightmares before.
‘Even though he’s sleeping close to me, so he shouldn’t be having nightmares.’
It seemed to be affecting his work as well, as I often saw Raven leaving the office with an exasperated expression, carrying stacks of documents back and forth.
Several days passed like that.
One afternoon, as I sat alone in my room lost in thought, Ris approached cautiously.
At first glance, she looked as bright as usual, but upon closer inspection, something about her felt subtly different.
Darker, perhaps. Or awkward.
“Haha. Um, Madam. Are you busy?”
“No. Why? Do you have something to say?”
She scratched her head awkwardly and began to speak.
“Ah, it is nothing serious.”
When I gestured for her to sit, Ris sat down on the sofa across from me.
“I think I have been very lucky lately! To a strange degree.”
“Really? What kind of things?”
“I pick up money while walking down the street, and when I go to shops to buy something, there is always exactly one popular or discounted item left. As if it had been waiting just for me!”
As I listened to her, something about it felt familiar.
‘This feels like the effect of the law of causality.’
Wasn’t this exactly how causality worked?
“It must be that you did something good and are being rewarded. Did you do any good deeds recently?”
Ris tilted her head.
“I do not think so? Nothing in particular… Ah, actually, I did do something a bit mean.”
Her expression loosened, and she giggled softly as she told me about meeting Helga on the street recently.
“I didn’t have good feelings toward her anyway, but more than that, it was a small act of revenge for how she treated you badly, my Lady.”
‘As expected.’
Causality was rewarding her for taking revenge on my behalf.
“Haha, I appreciate that you did that for me. But since you did it once, from now on, even if you see her again, don’t bother acknowledging her.”
“Understood.”
Ris answered immediately as usual, but instead of continuing, she hesitated awkwardly in her seat.
Sensing the mood, I asked,
“Why? Is there something you want to say?”
“Um… yes. May I tell you about when I first met the Master?”
It was an unexpected topic.
Judging from her demeanor, Ris had clearly come to my room specifically to talk about this.
‘It’s sudden, but if she wants to talk about it, I should listen.’
When I nodded, she began her story.
***
It was about three years ago, during the Malia War.
The scene of the border village, which had briefly been occupied by the enemy and then reclaimed after a fierce battle, was devastating.
The dead were being moved to burial sites, and the injured were being hurriedly carried to houses or clinics depending on the severity of their wounds.
And in one corner of the village, there was a girl in her late teens, lying on the ground while clutching three people in her arms and crying her heart out.
“Uwaah… huhuuh… no… sob, please…”
“Tsk tsk… she’s about to lose her mother and siblings all at once.”
People passing by clicked their tongues in pity at the sight of her, but none of them tried to move the three bodies in either direction.
“Child. I know your heart hurts, but at least you should go to the clinic and have your wounds treated. The living must go on living.”
Even when the villagers spoke to her out of pity, it was as if she couldn’t hear them at all.
As the sun gradually began to set, the hurried footsteps of the people slowly came to a halt.
Then, at some point, a long shadow fell over the head of Ris, who had nearly collapsed from exhaustion after crying for so long.
