Chapter 94
“Let her in.”
Chession walked back through the main gate. Catherine, wrapped in a dark robe with her head bowed like a sinner, quietly followed him.
In the reception room, Chession dismissed all the servants and sat down across from her. He didn’t even bother to serve tea.
“So? What do you want to say?”
Catherine pulled out a thick stack of papers from inside her robe. It contained the full account of everything she had experienced.
Just as Chession reached out to take them, he heard voices coming from beyond the closed door.
“Mori, is she trying to communicate by writing or something?”
“Obviously. She can’t talk, remember?”
It was Isollen and Gremory.
“Then there’s no point in eavesdropping! I thought she’d at least bring a maid to interpret for her.”
“Told you we should’ve just stayed in the tea room and had snacks.”
Chession let out a faint chuckle. Though the reception room was soundproofed from inside, it didn’t block sound from the outside. Clearly, the two girls didn’t know that.
Temporarily lifting the soundproofing spell, Chession called out toward the door.
“We can hear you. Just come in.”
About five seconds later, the door opened. Isollen entered with an awkward expression, while Gremory looked calm and indifferent.
Isollen was shocked when she saw Catherine’s condition. Her once-lustrous red hair was half-torn out, and her face had completely lost its glow.
The moment Catherine saw Isollen, she dropped to her knees. Isollen scoffed.
“Ha. Even if you beg like that, I’m not healing your throat. You must’ve heard about the monastery’s medicine, huh? Well, too bad—you’re not getting any.”
Catherine shook her head. Isollen’s eyebrows twitched.
“It’s not your throat you came for?”
Catherine nodded slowly, then pulled a notebook and pen from her pocket. She scribbled something and handed the notebook to Isollen.
“I’m sorry. I believe losing my voice was punishment for cursing you. I’m not here asking for healing.”
“At least you know you did wrong.”
Isollen brushed past her and sat beside Chession, with Gremory on his other side.
“Your Grace, what are these papers? Did she give them to you?”
“Yeah.”
“Her handwriting is awful. Let’s take a look together.”
Chession spread the pages out on the table. They read as follows:
When I first summoned Marbas…
Catherine had been terrified when the huge, muscular demon appeared out of nowhere.
But that fear faded quickly. She was soon seduced by Marbas’s smooth tone and charming words—and made a wish.
“Get that damn Isollen Sien and Mori away from Duke Chession Edel! I want the Duke for myself!”
Marbas smiled with delight and declared the contract complete. He hadn’t even asked for a price.
“Hmm. Personally, I think getting rid of Isollen Sien first is a good idea. What do you think?”
“Whatever. As long as both are gone, I don’t care about the order.”
Marbas held out his black grimoire—his heart.
“Place your hand on this and picture Isollen Sien. Then you can curse her. Once cursed, her mind will slowly collapse, and she’ll become my puppet.”
With her heart pounding, Catherine poured her hatred into the grimoire. It glowed with an ominous black light. She felt a mix of fear and excitement—she wanted to watch Isollen’s mind crumble.
Days passed.
In her tea room, Catherine listened to Marbas while sipping tea. He laid out his plan as she nibbled cookies.
“You’re going to use Isollen to get rid of that woman Mori too? How?”
“With perfect timing—and as much destruction as possible.”
“Wait. Isn’t it enough to just target Isollen and Mori? Why all the extra victims?”
“Tsk tsk. I’m a Great Demon, you know. You think I’d settle for just those two? I plan to savor every bit of suffering.”
Catherine’s eyes darted nervously.
“Just how far will these victims go? Please, don’t touch the Edel duchy. That’s the only thing I ask.”
“Yeah, about that… I don’t think that’ll work.”
“What?! I made it clear in my wish—I wanted them gone so I could have the Duke! If you hurt the duchy, what’s the point?”
She threw her cookie down and yelled. Marbas scratched his ear and grinned.
“You didn’t say anything about keeping the duchy safe when you made the wish.”
“Are you serious?! I wanted to be the duchess! What’s the use if the duchy is destroyed?!”
“You should’ve said so at the start. Didn’t anyone ever teach you that contracts need to be specific? You’re a noble lady—you should know better.”
“…You—!”
“It’s fine. If you didn’t know, you’ll learn now. Never too late for education… well, maybe sometimes.”
Catherine’s mind went blank. Only now did she realize she’d made a grave mistake.
Yes, the man before her was a demon. A demon who feeds on human misery wouldn’t grant a wish without a price.
“Then let’s change the contract now.”
“Oh no, that’s not possible. Even humans can’t change a signed contract.”
“Then cancel it! I didn’t know you’d go after the Duke’s household!”
“Too late. I’ve already put in work. Why should I cancel now? Besides, this contract was actually very generous to you—I didn’t even ask for anything in return.”
“Then fine! What do you want? I’ll give you anything. Just cancel the contract!”
“It’s too late. Oh, and there’s something I forgot to mention…”
Marbas stood up from his seat. His towering frame cast a long shadow over Catherine.
“To keep a curse active, I need to feed on the caster’s mental strength. So, the more Isollen is consumed by the curse, the more your mind will break.”
“What?! You should’ve told me that from the start!”
“Don’t worry. If your wish comes true before your mind collapses, you’ll be fine.”
“And if it doesn’t…?!”
“Then… you’re in trouble. Anyway, I’m heading out. Got a meeting with a witch friend.”
Humming cheerfully, Marbas walked out of the tea room. Catherine trembled with fear.
“What… What am I supposed to do now?”
She felt like a fish caught on a hook. She couldn’t ask anyone for help—if anyone found out she summoned a demon and cursed someone, her family would exile her.
So Catherine decided to take care of it alone. She stole a holy dagger from her mansion’s sacred artifact room.
That night, Marbas was lying on the sofa in her room, pretending to sleep. Catherine silently approached him with the dagger.
“This is the strongest sacred artifact we have. It should be enough to kill a demon.”
She slashed at his neck. The dagger worked well—despite being weak, she managed to cut halfway through his throat.
“Yes!”
But then, Marbas’s eyes flew open. He grabbed her by the throat.
“Ack! Kkh!”
“Tch. I hate this kind of drama. Is this because I refused to cancel the contract earlier?”
He flung her aside. As Catherine choked and gasped, Marbas feigned concern.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to be so rough.”
“Ugh…”
“Want to hear a fun story to cheer up? I just met my witch friend Etna.”
“Cough…”
“Etna has the Demon God’s blessing, so she can move freely between the demon realm and the human world. She just got back from a trip to the demon realm… and guess what? The Demon God almost devoured her.”
Catherine trembled. She didn’t care what he was saying—she was just terrified.
Marbas grinned, pleased with her fear.
“Turns out, the Demon God’s been devouring the souls of all his followers. He threatened Etna too. Told her if she didn’t bring him Gremory—yes, that’s Mori’s real name—he’d devour her soul next. And her friend Wraith’s, too.”
“Wh-What nonsense…”
“I was trying to help Etna avoid that fate by using you. But now that I think about it, maybe that was a little cruel. I really was trying to take good care of you, you know.”
