<CHAPTER 38>
Clean Up Thoroughly
A few minutes earlier.
An unknown sensation woke Ehilie.
It felt as though someone was calling her.
Why do I suddenly feel so anxious?
Driven by an inexplicable unease, Ehilie moved without realizing it.
Her steps stopped in front of Rek’s room.
…My beloved…
At the voice from beyond the door, Ehilie doubted her ears.
This was Rek’s room.
Why was Gabriel’s voice coming from inside?
And that word just now…
It had clearly been “beloved.”
What is going on?
She froze in shock, but soon Gabriel’s voice rang out again.
…Do not dress it up as love!
Love.
He had said it again.
Dress up?
Dress up what?
…I will strip it away myself!
I will slowly dig into the inside!
The cry, fiercer than before, made Ehilie scream inwardly.
A rough picture formed in her mind.
Gabriel, blinded by love, was threatening Rek.
Please stop, Gabriel!
What on earth are you doing…?
Rek’s sorrowful voice that followed only confirmed her fears.
I have to save Rek.
The moment that thought struck, Ehilie flung the door open.
What do you think you are doing right now?!
What she saw was—
Ehilie… m-my neck…
Rek lying pitifully on the floor, his neck seized in Gabriel’s grip.
And—
W-wait, Miss Ehilie!
This is a misunderstanding!
He made all this up!
A shameless madman straddling Rek’s chest and spouting incomprehensible excuses.
Get out!
Miss Ehilie, please just listen to me—
Did you not hear me?
Get out right now!
When Ehilie even grabbed a nearby vase to threaten him, Gabriel had no choice but to retreat.
In the end, Gabriel was thrown out of the estate.
To be precise, Ehilie drove him out.
Here.
Your sword and your belongings.
Take everything and leave this house at once.
She could not leave Gabriel in the same space as Rek for even a moment.
She would think about the aftermath later.
Rek, you must have been frightened.
I am sorry.
I should have kept a closer watch.
…It is all right.
This is not Emilie’s fault.
At his calm response, Ehilie felt even more sorry.
Ehilie, I have a request.
Of course.
Please, anything.
Would you stay by my side until I fall asleep?
He bit his lip slightly, as though still shaken.
The sight stirred her protective instincts.
I will stay right here.
Sleep without worry.
Truly?
Yes.
Tonight, tomorrow, and until you can sleep peacefully on your own, I will stay with you.
Thank you, Ehilie.
Rek smiled, reassured.
Only then did her heart finally ease.
***
Everything had gone according to Redemberg Lu Edeltein’s plan.
Of course, this had not been the original plan.
When Gabriel had first come in the night, Redemberg had been considering how to kill him.
But when Ehilie woke, he changed tactics immediately.
It was the swift adaptability befitting the cunning ruler of demons.
He had secured a blissful night sharing a bed with her.
He had also removed a troublesome obstacle.
That alone was satisfying.
But he was not finished.
One must clean up thoroughly.
Redemberg was a demon to the core.
He had never intended to let Gabriel live after discovering his true nature.
While Ehilie slept, he slipped out and followed Gabriel’s traces.
And yet—
The trail ends here.
Gabriel had vanished.
More precisely, someone had erased his traces.
I can sense demonic energy.
The thick residue made it clear.
Another demon had taken Gabriel.
If he wished, he could identify that demon quickly.
But Redemberg chose to return.
If someone else was willing to dispose of the nuisance, there was no need to waste time.
***
Thud!
A bloodied man was thrown at Cain’s feet.
H-hii…!
Cain screamed and scrambled backward.
In front of him, Bella let out a long sigh.
She too was in terrible shape.
One wing, one horn, and even part of her hair had been severed.
Her body was covered in slashing wounds.
W-what is this?
Spoils of war.
Spoils…?
Yes.
As you can see, I won.
Against the Hero.
Hero?
Cain’s face drained of color.
The man still clutched the unmistakable sacred scripture of the Hero.
He was stronger than I expected.
It seems he has not fully awakened yet.
If he had, I might have lost.
Despite her battered state, Bella looked exhilarated.
A true demon who lived only for pleasure and desire.
B-but why bring the Hero here?
It seems a woman named Ehilie has been circling around my lovely fiancé.
Since you are her brother, I thought I might enlist your help.
O-of course!
That wretched Ehilie, flaunting her face and seducing men!
And now she dares approach a man who already belongs to someone?
How refreshing.
I have never met a human who understands me so well.
I will make you my accomplice.
By groveling at her feet, Cain survived.
He felt no shame.
If it meant living, he would sell out family or country alike.
By the way… your fiancé is…?
Curious?
My beloved is the ruler of the Demon Realm.
Redemberg Lu Edeltein.
Redemberg… that is the name of the current Demon King.
Even Cain knew that much.
The name of a Demon King whispered only in rumor.
He is more cruel and more powerful than any Demon King before him.
The Empire believed he would bring unprecedented calamity.
Temples had conducted countless rituals, following the Saintess Clarisse Lupelrochia’s claims of divine revelation.
Cain’s own father had donated a vast sum.
Money that Cain had squandered on gambling.
Is this divine punishment?
Regret could not restore what was lost.
Watching the so-called hope of the world reduced to this state filled him with despair.
Why bring the Hero?
Because I sensed our Redy’s magic on him.
I cannot stand a mere human drenched in my beloved’s power.
What was the word?
Ah, yes.
Jealousy.
That was all.
Jealousy.
Where is that Ehilie hiding?
I cannot find even a trace of her.
If Bella found Ehilie, the outcome was obvious.
Even knowing that, Cain chose to remain her accomplice.
This is all Ehilie’s fault.
Why should I suffer because of her?
