Chapter 27.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen someone so rotten to the core. Looks delicious,”
Ban, who had followed behind, smacked his lips.
If even a demon like Ban found someone tempting, it meant the person was downright filthy.
Heraise clicked his tongue as if he had expected this.
“You, you—!”
Recognizing Heraise too late, the merchant stumbled back in shock before falling flat on his rear.
“Uwaah!”
“They say there’s no decent person who stabs others in the back, but this is just excessive.”
Unlike the lavish table the pig enjoyed, the children’s meal was utterly pitiful.
Heraise frowned deeply at the sight.
When he turned his head, the child who had been smiling brightly until just this afternoon now sat hunched over, dejected.
“Mister…”
“I told you I’m not ‘Mister.’ What a slow kid.”
Despite his indifferent tone, his hand was gentle as it patted the child’s head.
“Here, eat this.”
With a single gesture, Heraise took some meat from the merchant’s table and offered it to the children.
“W-wow…”
While the children were distracted by the meat, Heraise walked over to the merchant and firmly stepped on his plump, pig’s-foot-like hand.
“I appreciate that my lady got her revenge, but I’m still not satisfied.”
“Argh!”
“Shh. Quiet. You’ll wake people up.”
Sealing the merchant’s noisy mouth with magic, Heraise mercilessly ground his foot down.
It infuriated him—this was the first time in his life he’d been swindled.
“If you’re going to cheat someone, you should at least pick your target carefully. A merchant with such poor judgment—tsk, tsk.”
The merchant’s eyes filled with terror as he realized he’d picked the absolute worst possible person to cross.
“And another thing—whether in the past or now, I’ve always thought that anyone who bullies children is the biggest piece of trash.”
Heraise continued tormenting the merchant in his own way until he was satisfied.
Ban licked his lips as he stared at the merchant, who no longer had the strength to even wiggle a finger.
“Heraise, can I eat him now?”
Honestly, he wanted to say yes. But that would make cleaning up afterward too much of a hassle.
“No.”
“But if I eat him, I think I’ll get my strength back.”
The demon whispered slyly into his ear.
“Wouldn’t that help protect Sienna?”
That was the deciding blow.
“You’re cunning. Go ahead.”
“Hehe. Bon appétit to me!”
Ban beamed and promptly gulped the merchant down whole.
After chewing for a while, he looked at the children with drowsy, satisfied eyes.
“What about them? Since they saw everything, should I eat them too to clean up?”
“If only Sisi could see you like this. Then she’d stop calling you small and cute.”
Ban pouted at Heraise’s warning-that-wasn’t-really-a-warning.
‘If Sienna finds out, she’ll tear me a new one…’
Not wanting to get scolded by Sienna, Ban backed off.
“Tch. You always go soft when it comes to kids their age.”
Once Heraise confirmed Ban had given up on the children, he ransacked the house and emptied the safe.
The wrecked house now looked exactly like one belonging to someone who had fled in the night.
Even the bloodstains on the floorboards were wiped clean. Then Heraise erased the children’s memories of what had just happened.
“It was a passerby who saved you. On the way home, they heard a loud noise, came in, and found you.”
He overlaid another memory on top.
“That pig of a man was afraid his crimes of imprisoning and abusing you would be discovered, so he abandoned you and secretly ran away. Got it?”
“Yes…”
The children, eyes hazy, nodded.
“This is the money you’ve earned through all your hard work until now.”
Heraise placed a pouch of gold coins into the hand of the boy who had called him ‘big brother’ earlier that day.
“Yes…”
“Now go.”
Following his words, the children walked outside, then gradually regained their senses.
“Why am I here…?”
“Big brother, what’s that in your hand?”
“T-this is…!”
Recalling the false memory Heraise had planted, the boy looked at the money in his hand and swallowed hard.
‘The master—no, that man abandoned me. We’re free now…’
Feeling liberated from hell at last, the boy grabbed his younger sibling’s hand and ran.
Watching them go, arms crossed, Ban asked Heraise,
“Fine, you saved them. But was the brainwashing really necessary?”
“If that pig suddenly went missing, Sisi would be the first to be suspected.”
“Sienna? Why?”
“Did you forget she fought with that pig this afternoon?”
Ban barked in protest at the condescending tone.
Considering the rumors surrounding Sienna, if the merchant disappeared, she’d be suspect number one.
Plenty of people had seen her overturn the merchant guild today.
‘Ten out of ten would point to Sisi as the culprit.’
Truth or not, investigators would come, and Sienna would be questioned.
“She’s already prone to stress; I’m not going to give her another thing to worry about.”
After all, she’d overturned the merchant guild for his sake.
‘Hmph. And he thought he could take advantage of my innocent Heren.’
‘Trust me. I’ll take responsibility.’
Sienna’s worried voice kept replaying in his mind.
She thought of him as a clueless child.
It was unfamiliar to Heraise.
Before he’d been branded a traitor, people always paired “perfection” with his name.
Afterward, it was “fear.”
Everyone had feared him—except for one person.
‘Even then, it wasn’t this kind of concern.’
Being worried over and cared for by someone felt awkward… yet,
‘I can’t say I hate it.’
Remembering Sienna standing up for him with defiant eyes made the corner of his mouth curl unconsciously.
“Does getting revenge make you that happy?”
“What?”
“You’re smiling.”
Only then did Heraise realize he was smiling. He touched his lips.
“You’re right. It does feel good.”
“Me too. It’s been a while since I’ve been this full.”
Ban grinned just as brightly, perching himself on Heraise’s shoulder.
It was time to head home.
The next day, wanted posters with a familiar face were plastered all over the streets.
“Huh? Isn’t this the guy who scammed Heren yesterday?”
As usual, Sienna was out looking for Margo. She frowned at the crimes listed under the poster.
“Fraud and child abuse? What a total piece of garbage.”
Sienna,Sienna.Aguylikethatdeservestodie,right?
Startled by the sudden voice in her head, Sienna asked cautiously,
“Ban? Is that you?”
Yup!
“What happened?”
I’veregainedsomestrength!NowIcantalktoyoulikethis!Youcandoittoo!
Really?Canyouhearme?
Yupyup,loudandclear.
How fascinating. So this was the power of a demon.
“Can you do anything else?”
Icanmakepeopleseeillusions—likenightmares.
Oh, that was useful. She could show illusions to scare people off or punish them.
She’d told Rina Ban was a “bodyguard doll,” but with that ability, he could really protect her.
So,Sienna,hereallywasabastardwhodeservedtodie,right?
Still surprised by the telepathy, Sienna nodded belatedly.
“Of course. The world’s better off without someone like that. If I’d known, I would’ve grabbed him by the collar yesterday and dragged him to the guards.”
She muttered regretfully.
“Don’t worry, Sisi. People like that get what’s coming to them, no matter where they are.”
Right,right.Hemightalreadybedead?
The moment Ban finished speaking, Heraise shot him a sharp glare, and Ban quickly looked away.
Thanks to Rina hurrying Sienna along, she didn’t notice the subtle exchange between the two.
“My lady, it’s hot today. Let’s head to the café.”
“Mm, let’s go.”
Behind Sienna and Rina, Heraise and Ban shared a knowing smile.
Jingle—
I entered the café to the sound of a clear bell—and ran right into a certain group.
‘Irene?’
When our eyes met, Irene’s expression twisted into something vicious.
Irene Classio.
The youngest of Duke Classio’s family and someone in a similar social position to mine.
We were the same age, and our statuses and personalities matched well. Once upon a time, we’d been close—united under the banner of “Down with Daphne.”
But after regaining my memories, I’d cut ties, and now we were worse than strangers.
‘Things completely fell apart when I left the club.’
The club in question was the “Daphne Anti-Club.”
As its president, Irene had been furious when I, one of her star members, suddenly quit, turning her anger toward me.
People hate traitors more than enemies, after all.
“So you said you’d live quietly and even quit the club, yet here you are—couldn’t even last two months. Look at you, crawling back.”
She snapped her fan open with a mocking smile.
Her followers jumped in eagerly.
“Exactly. Claimed you had no interest anymore, yet you’re stepping into a café the Marquess of Maze frequents? I’m embarrassed for you.”
“Why be surprised? It’s not like Sienna’s stalking those two is anything new.”
