Chapter 14
Skill? What skill, my ass!
“You little bastard!”
I grabbed Ban by the collar and shook him mercilessly.
“As if you weren’t a demon! You’re completely useless in life!”
“L-Let me go! How dare you lay hands on my noble body—ugh!”
This guy just won’t stop provoking me? My vision went red, and without hesitation, I slammed my fist into Ban.
“Aaagh!”
My fist drove into his soft body with full force.
“Ahh! Why—why are you doing this?!”
“How dare you poke holes in my cactus field?! And then follow me around like nothing happened? That’s basically saying you’ve given up on living, right?”
Even if it’s easy to replace, tormenting my precious babies? Unforgivable!
“Y-you! This cotton rag—you said it’s your comfort doll!”
“Yeah. That’s right. My comfort doll.”
Just like that attachment rabbit from Crayon Xhin.
“There’s nothing better to relieve stress.”
I raised my fist toward the trembling Ban and grinned wickedly.
“You’re dead.”
“Nooo! Save me, Hereis!”
At Ban’s desperate scream, Hereis calmly put in earplugs.
“Finally, I can see the results of her training.”
Night fell, shrouded in heavy darkness. Ban barely escaped from Sienna’s clutches, staggering with a swollen, half-ruined face.
“I underestimated you… The descendant of Agav is still a descendant… Just like Agav. A demon in human skin…”
It was such a ridiculous sight—an actual demon calling a human a demon—that it almost seemed comical.
“You lied when you said you were weak, didn’t you? Your punches sting like hell! My ass is still throbbing.”
Ban shuddered as he recalled Sienna’s merciless fists.
He barely managed to drag himself into Hereis’s room, grumbling as he flopped onto the bed.
Of course, back in the crimson jewel, he was always by Hereis’s side.
“Why are you coming in here? Get out.”
But now that they were free from the jewel, Hereis no longer tolerated Ban sharing his space.
Thud!
Before Ban could react, Hereis’s magic slammed him into the wall, sending him tumbling to the floor.
“Ow!”
“Shut up.”
“This is too much! Really! Was our friendship this shallow?!”
Utter nonsense. There had never been any “friendship” between Ban and Hereis.
They had just been forced to share a disgustingly cramped space.
Now that the seal was broken and Hereis had personal space again, he had no reason to keep this noisy demon around.
“Just because you wiped out the imperial family, you’re treating me like this? Show me some respect!”
“Your usefulness ended there.”
“Ugh, it’s not like I asked you to treat me like family! So petty.”
“You’d better not bring that up.”
The faint irritation in Hereis’s voice instantly froze over into icy coldness.
‘Oops. Pushed the wrong button.’
Family was Hereis’s reverse scale.
His contract with Ban, the destruction of the First Empire—everything was for revenge.
Back then, Ban had liked the pitch-black hatred and vengeance in Hereis’s eyes.
So he made the contract.
He thought they could have some fun before parting ways.
But look how that turned out.
“After 500 years together, you’re really doing me like this?! You lousy contractor!”
“Hah… I can’t believe I still have to hear this after getting out. This is exactly why I kept Sienna hidden.”
Hereis looked at Ban as if he were an unwanted piece of junk.
“And don’t even think about breaking the contract—it’s impossible!”
He was right.
Just like the contract between Sienna and Hereis was for life, the one with Ban was also a lifetime contract.
At the time, Hereis didn’t care. He planned to end his life once everything was over, so “lifetime contract” didn’t seem like a big deal.
Unfortunately, thanks to the restrictive curse, time froze for him, and that plan went down the drain.
‘My mistake.’
Seeing Ban puffing his cheeks in a sulk only irritated him further.
‘When Sienna did it, it was cute.’
But this? Just creepy.
Hereis pressed his fingers against his brow and let out a long sigh.
Was this how Sienna felt when she looked at him?
He felt a little sorry.
Just a little.
“Hmph. What’s so special about that girl that you’re bending over backward for her? I just don’t get it.”
Ban pouted and moved to the sofa.
“Why didn’t you destroy the crimson jewel and hand it to her instead? You should’ve smashed it immediately! If that girl dies, we’ll get dragged back in!”
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. No matter how he spun it, Hereis’s actions made zero sense.
“Can’t we just destroy it now? Come on, let’s smash it.”
“No.”
“Why not?! This is our golden chance to get rid of that cursed seal forever!”
For both Ban and Hereis to gain true freedom, the crimson jewel had to be destroyed.
Unlike ordinary seals that vanish when broken, this one stubbornly retained its form and would try to drag Hereis back.
‘Damn Agav brat! Why make such an annoying thing?!’
Right now, it was fine because the jewel recognized Sienna as its master. But if Sienna died?
It was obvious—they’d both be dragged back.
And Sienna? She didn’t have much time left.
Not even a year before they’d be chained again.
Not even half a year, by the look of it.
“If only you were the one being dragged back! I’ll be stuck there too! I hate it! Being trapped without any power is suffocating!”
“No, no!” Ban whined, rolling around on the sofa like a child throwing a tantrum.
“Shut up. Go to sleep.”
“I just don’t get it. If the goal is to avoid going back into that jewel, then why tie yourself to that fragile little girl?!”
Hereis had enough power to destroy the jewel easily.
So why put a collar on himself instead of claiming freedom?
He should’ve smashed it on the spot, yet instead, he made a master-servant contract using the crimson jewel as the medium. He must’ve lost his mind.
“You threw away a golden opportunity! Did being locked up for 500 years make you crazy?”
“It was an opportunity for me too.”
“Opportunity?”
Ban tilted his head, then clapped his hands in realization.
“Oh, because of Sienna’s ability?”
He had noticed it immediately—Sienna’s aura was different.
She was special. Like a single shining pearl among piles of dull stones.
“No way you didn’t notice what I did.”
Ban grinned, glancing at the restrictive curse etched on Hereis’s hand.
“You’re planning to use Sienna to break the curse, aren’t you?”
He had seen right through Hereis’s plan.
“Nullification… That’s rare. This is only the second time I’ve seen a human with such a power.”
Even if Sienna looked like nothing more than a crybaby, Ban had lived for over 500 years.
He understood her ability perfectly.
“She doesn’t seem to have control over it yet. Is that how she broke the seal?”
“Yeah. She doesn’t even know how she did it.”
Sienna still had no idea how she broke the seal.
Because Hereis never told her. She thought any mage could have done it.
And Hereis had no intention of enlightening her.
If she refused to help him lift the curse willingly, he’d make her do it by force.
“A unique ability, huh… I want it. If she learns to control it, breaking your curse will be nothing.”
If she could unconsciously break a seal, then she wasn’t ordinary.
How strong would she become once that power fully bloomed? He was curious.
“Still, was that really necessary? You could’ve just destroyed the jewel and freed yourself.”
“That wouldn’t work. Sienna hates me.”
Ban was right—Hereis could’ve broken the seal immediately.
But if he had, he would’ve lost the chance to lift the curse and to stay by her side.
Would someone who fainted just from hearing his name ever want him around? Absolutely not.
As expected, when she woke up, Sienna openly showed her discomfort and tried to shake him off.
If he had told her the truth about the curse and the seal?
‘She still wouldn’t have helped me.’
Her constant hesitation about removing the curse said enough.
Instead of helping, she would’ve done everything to seal him again.
So he lied—claiming he couldn’t leave her side.
Because he had to stay near her.
[Cannot refuse an order]
[Cannot die]
Those two clauses were true, but the part about not being able to leave her side? A complete lie.
Unaware of this, Sienna had fallen for his snake-like cunning.
If he hadn’t forced the contract on her, he wouldn’t even have been able to approach her, let alone stay by her side.
“The crimson jewel was just my insurance. And it came in handy.”
“Are you insane?! Who uses a seal as insurance?!”
“Me.”
“Ugh!”
Ban groaned in frustration, rolling on the bed.
Using the crimson jewel—the thing that had tormented them for centuries—as the medium for a spell stronger than the curse itself?!
Hereis wasn’t just crazy. He was a full-blown lunatic.
