《Mockery of Once Innocent Delusions》 PROLOGUE PROLOGUE [Scylla, Concubine of the 73rd Demon Lord] [Unknown] ¡°If we were to release a frail child to this world alone, what would happen?¡± The young lord held a bottle of wine. He sat drunkenly on an ornate seat made of gold. ¡°Would the child struggle, resist, and live?¡± Blood splattered the chamber¡¯s walls. It was a beautiful sight, where the boastful mouths of those who chose to oppose the young lord were now eternally silenced. ¡°Could there be a hopeful outcome for those who were abandoned? Those who were left by their family¡ªfather, mother, siblings, and all? Such a child, devoid of protection and an absence of a nurturing family. A child who has not experienced the warmth of a parent¡¯s embrace and the comforting words of siblings......¡± It seems like the young lord is in another mumbling session, though this time he may be just drunk. While it is quite concerning that the young lord has been a drunkard lately, it did not hamper our current goals. Well, what can I say? I am merely a concubine to his lordship after all. This much is common. ¡°What will happen...... what will happen......¡± He turned to me, who was standing quietly by his side. ¡°Scylla, what do you think would happen?¡± From what it seems, this is going to be a long night. ¡°If your lordship with such intelligence cannot answer it, then this one, who is a mere servant, cannot even fathom to answer such questions.¡± The young lord tilted his head. His eyes darted for a while, then suddenly stopped. ¡°Oh right.¡± A small grin was seen on his face. ¡°They shatter, break down, collapse, and eat themselves. They waste away and die. Children who have no protection from the cruelty of this world face ruin. They wake up to nothing, live up to nothing, and ultimately expect nothing.¡± Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°......¡± ¡°Should a child be taken care of. Should a child be given warmth, comfort, and protection. A child to live a life of adoration would thrive in this world, much like a delicate seed planted in fertile soil. Just as a plant would flourish in the right environment. A child is all the same.¡± Although I consider myself to have adequate intelligence to even contest privileged scholars. The young lord seems to have ascended and understood something within the most inner fragments of the mind and discovered a part of it not known to anyone other than himself. Basically, a madman. ¡°But what if those that made the child, its parents, its siblings, slowly...... slowly...... bit by bit...... little by little...... be taken away? Would the plant wither? Would the child still be able to survive? Would they still thrive? Or would they be the same as the children who had nothing? Would they waste away and die like an unfed dog? Would they collapse like a building with no pillar? Or would they break like a fallen vase? What would they do?¡± The young lord turned his gaze towards me again, waiting for my answer. ¡°Would they not live off their own?¡± I opened my mouth. ¡°As your lordship has just muttered, a child would not have the necessary skills to live, yet why couldn¡¯t they? I, myself, am a child who resembles such descriptions. Nevertheless, I live. It is only part of their laziness that obstructs them; that is why they die.¡± ¡°Ah, a great answer,¡± the young lord drank from the bottle of wine. ¡°Pitiable, yes, quite pitiable, really. Not only are these children being made an outcast by society but also by their families. Like that of an empty oasis.¡± The young lord raised both his hands and started to shout. ¡°Oasis! Oh, oasis! A place of comfort and protection, our sanctuary! Where shall you be now? Has the greenery within your pond already withered? Or has the pond been reduced to a mere puddle? The water that has conserved and kept life in this vast, empty desert cannot be seen anymore. Ah...... where has your water gone? I beggeth ye to quench my thirst!¡± ¡°......¡± The young lord began to laugh hysterically, as if he were introduced to a joke that could kill him with laughter. Then, as abruptly as he began to laugh, he also abruptly composed himself. ¡°Now, let¡¯s say, by some miracle, that the plant survives in such a harsh environment. It clawed its way from the infertile ground with all the nutrients it could squeeze. The plant, slowly but surely, adapts to its environment. Surviving amidst the wasteland.¡± The young lord stood beside me. ¡°Even if a child is still a child, it can decide for itself, fend for itself, and live for itself. A child can do so as they are living creatures themselves. And you, standing before me now, are a fruit of that.¡± ¡°No matter how unfair the world is?¡± ¡°No matter how unfair the world is.¡± ¡°That is...... not the answer I expected.¡± . . . A CHILD REFLECTS ITS PARENTS, BUT THOSE WHO HAVE NONE SHALL REFLECT THE WORLD...... . . . ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ CHAPTER 0 CHAPTER 0 [Unknown] [Unknown] ¡°If you had the choice to live your life again, would you do it?¡± . . . The ridges of my mouth tasted like iron. Slabs of thick concrete pinned half my limp body to the cold floor. Faint streaks of light pierced through the cracks of the destroyed ceiling, casting long shadows over the lifeless bodies of my colleagues. Their broken corpses were scattered across the floor. Some had their limbs twisted unnaturally, some clamped beneath the debris, some missing an arm or a leg, and some skewered by metal poles. An earthquake had struck earlier. I must¡¯ve blacked out during the chaos and only became conscious of the aftermath. Other than the occasional noise of shifting rocks, my surroundings were quiet. I lay silent. Each breath I took was ragged. I feel like one pile of food waste thrown into a garbage dump. Looking at myself, maybe I am one. Currently, my pureed innards reflect that comparison well. I only woke up to work today, yet this is how I ended up. Quite the bullshit. Isn¡¯t this just damning? I took a long breath out of my mouth. The dust on my face danced. Then fell. My irritated eyes stared at the low, hanging light above me. The detached feeling of my legs was rather unsettling. There wasn¡¯t much else I could do. In this situation, people might feel despair, fear, or both. Yet there was a strange calmness to it. Despite my current condition, my mind was wandering in a field of its own. ¡°If you had the choice to live your life again, would you do it?¡± That question was in my head. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. It was a question from a younger colleague at work. He was a person who had little understanding of how harsh reality could be. I wish I could have given him a 500-page breakdown of how life wouldn¡¯t go the way you thought it would. But for me? I would certainly not. That question is full of shit. In my humble opinion, it¡¯s stupid. While this statement seems ridiculous, I believe I am completely rational. Life handed me nothing but unreasonable demands, neglect, and abuse, whether it was from society or my family. I only worked for the sake of working, to feed myself. Because of that, my colleagues thought of me as a statue¡ªsomeone who rarely talked but was always there. Well, they were not far off. They all had their lives, families to feed, and children to look out for. What do I have? A father who only saw me as a tool for his own gain? The same person who wanted to kill me when I was a child? I¡¯d rather walk through a road of shattered glass than waste another second of my life with him. Such an idea of enjoying childhood is foreign to me now. Going back in time would be a nightmare. I would rather die than let it happen. Funnily enough, I may die right here. I coughed, and blood draped down my cheeks. My breaths were getting tighter. The dust clung to the air, mingling with a putrid, mucus-like substance that bubbled with every inhale I took, suffocating me on the inside. The back of my throat was dry. I couldn¡¯t even swallow my saliva. Ahahah? Ahahah...... I¡¯m tired. Maybe I should be grateful. Now that I¡¯ll be facing my death, I won¡¯t have to worry about anything anymore. I want to cry right now, yet no tears came out. I suspect they¡¯ve dried up over all these years. ¡°If you had the choice to live your life again, would you do it?¡± The question returned to the back of my mind and echoed. ¡°If you lived your life again, would you do it?¡± ¡°If you live your life again...... do it?¡± ¡°Live your life...... do it.¡± Ahhh...... my head felt fuzzy and my eyelids were heavy. The world around me blurred into a mess. I am a person who despises sleeping, deeming it as something inefficient. Imagine wasting 8 hours on something trivial like sleep. I would rather stay up all night and watch leaves fall. Although I say this, there certainly have been things that I¡¯ve never been able to do. Even I had dreams. Those are gone now. For the first time, I want to welcome sleeping like a normal human being and dream again. This time is an exception. The pain I felt throughout my body was now gone, and the tips of my fingers grew colder. I exhaled a long, pneumatic sigh and surrendered to it. I closed my eyes and slept. . . . ¡°If you had the choice to live your life again, would you do it? I mean, think about it. For me, going back to childhood sounds great. Playing with old friends, having no worries...... shit, it makes me happy and sad at the same time. What about you?¡± ¡°Me? Why ask?¡± ¡°Well, nothing, just out of curiosity.¡± ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°Now, back to the question, would you do it? It¡¯s like a second chance to make things right. Don¡¯t you ever wish you could just escape back to simpler times?¡± ¡°......¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that worth going back for?¡± ¡°No....... no, too much of a hassle.¡± . . . ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 1 Demon Lords¡ªbountiful, benevolent. The Lords, they whom maketh the land palpable and they whom govern it with authority. The Lords, revered and worshiped beings, need not bowing. Those whom need bowing are not them but those which needs them. Great Lords of Order, Economics, Sciences, and War. They are the Highest, most Absolute, and most Divine. From the South hath the protection of Baal, from the West hath the grace of Paimon, from the East hath the command of Barbatos, and their legions. Long before the cities, the dwelling of humans, they have already existed. All 72, whom had the Contracts of the Monarch, now reduced to 52. Those whom are not present have reduced off to Death, of Power, or of Title. They are of reverence. They are of grace. Demon Lords¡ªbountiful, benevolent. Demon Lords¡ªbountiful, benevolent. Demon Lords¡ªcorrupt, malevolent. Trickery. We were tricked. The old ones were fools. Lambs fed to wolves. War...... the war is coming. We shall take back what was rightfully ours. . . . ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ
[Seekh, Eastern faction of the Demon Territory, High Ranking Knight] [Road to De Gracia] It was a long day. The view outside the carriage had been bathed in the orange hues of the setting sun, telling that the day was about to end. Inside, the silence was broken only by the soft sound of tongue-clicking and the turning of pages from a thick logbook. Lady Barbatos, Demon Lord and the leader of the Eastern faction, was sitting in front of me. Her posture was uncharacteristically fragile. Dark circles had formed under her eyes, and her already small figure sank into her seat. I was tasked with keeping her company for the ride. ¡°De Gracia......¡± the lady muttered to herself. Tap¡ªtap¡ªtap The lady tapped the logbook with her pen. Despite my reputation as one of the highest-ranking knights, I felt overwhelmed by the pressure of her being here, like being thrown into a lion¡¯s den. Is she really a person who needs protection? I doubt that. She is, after all¡ªthe commanding leader of the Eastern faction, a demon known for singlehandedly flattening entire cities¡ªan ancient who once served the Monarch in an age where dragons roamed the skies. One would think she¡¯s someone who wouldn¡¯t need assistance in the face of an adversary. Yet, here I am, supposedly watching over her. Needless, to say the least. Hahh...... I sighed quietly. For now, all I could do was sit obediently. We both sat silently as the carriage rocked up and down, and my body felt drowsy from traveling for hours. As I was about to close my eyes to rest, there was a sudden change of scenery outside the carriage. A faint scent hit my nose. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Was that¡­... smoke? ¡°Halt!¡± One of the escorts shouted. The carriage jolted violently as the coachman pulled the reins, bringing the horses to a sudden stop. The lady didn¡¯t lift her eyes from the logbook, but her fingers paused mid-turn. I poked my head out through the carriage¡¯s small door. Knights were inspecting corpses scattered across the road, and the smell of burning wood seeped into the carriage. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°It appears there¡¯s a wreck ahead.¡± I glanced back at the lady. Her patience seemed to be thinning as the corner of her eyes twitched. ¡°What shall we do, my lady?¡± ¡°Inspect it.¡± She waved her hand dismissively. I opened the door and stepped off the carriage. A calm, cold breeze hit my face as I stepped through the rubble, and the neighs of the horses tied to the trees came one after the other. The knights were busy gathering the corpses from the road, piling them up for burning. Others worked to clear the path. As I approached where our escorts had dismounted, I could see the remnants of a burning carriage in the distance. The whiff of scorched wood and something else¡ªan unpleasant, nauseous odor¡ªhit me. A thick smell of blood...... The escorts were murmuring among each other¡ªtheir expressions were grim. A toppled carriage lay ahead, one of its wheels still spinning lazily. The horses that had pulled it were nowhere to be seen, likely to have darted off. ¡°What happened here?¡± I asked one of them. ¡°Ambush, sir.¡± ¡°An ambush?¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Yes, sir. We reckon it was from those damned humans.¡± I could feel the bitterness of his words at the mention of humans. I stepped closer and saw the true extent of the damage. The inside seems to have been ransacked by someone, its contents strewn across the road. A few bodies lay scattered, most of them dead, and others perhaps clinging to their last breaths. After looking around, I kneeled beside one of the bodies and inspected his corpse. I recognized the insignia on his cloak¡ªhe was a courier for one of the lesser Demon Lords. His eyes stared blankly at the sky, and his mouth froze agape. The blood clung onto the collars of my shirt as I searched the body. There was a pendant I found in one of his pockets. I took the pendant and made a closer inspection. It had a kind of engraving to it, something that requires someone who knows to decipher who it''s from. Well, I had no knack for these, so I only wiped some of the grime off of it and put it in my back pocket. We should be cautious. For all we know, humans could be watching us right now. But what would they gain from attacking this carriage? Is it gold? No. Although it seems ransacked, the jewelry here isn¡¯t stolen. This is concerning. The ambush doesn¡¯t seem random, not to mention there¡¯s a courier for a Demon Lord at that. Then what could it be? I can¡¯t seem to wrap my head around this. As I was trying to discern what may have happened, a knight walked up to me in a concerned manner. ¡°Sir, Lord Beleth requested of you.¡± ¡°Why? Can''t you see I''m quite busy?¡± ¡°''Find me someone competent.'' That was his orders. You are the only high ranking knight that is currently present. That is why I came looking for you.¡± I huffed a small amount of air off my chest. ¡°Lead then.¡± He bowed and started to walk. I followed and soon came upon a group of knights surrounding a kneeling figure¡ªa human. There was a pained wail as I approached and heard someone cursing. ¡°You scum.¡± The one who spoke wore gigantic armor clad in black. He towered over the small human and kicked him by the sole of his boots. It was Demon Lord Beleth who was in charge of our escorts. ¡°Lord, anything?¡± ¡°D¡¯you think I¡¯d be beating him if he talked?¡± He kicked the human on his stomach with enough force to reach my feet. ¡°Where do you think they¡¯re at?¡± I inspected the human¡¯s bloodied face. ¡°Judging from the arrows, I¡¯d say east. Beyond that, who knows?¡± Lord Beleth snorted. ¡°I have found this earlier. I suspected the lord might know something about it.¡± I gave one of the pendants I found when inspecting one of the corpses. ¡°This? It''s one of the pendants used by the non afflicted ones. By the looks of it, it''s Dantalion¡¯s if I recall. Didn¡¯t know any envoy regarding him was passing through, though.¡± Demon Lord Dantalion¡­... I¡¯ve only seen him a few times during the Eve of Walpurgis. He¡¯s not exactly a noteworthy figure. But recently, Lady Barbatos has taken an interest in him, though her reasons are still unclear. ¡°I remember hearing the lady mentioning his son traveling to De Gracia.¡± ¡°That brat, Deilos, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, Lord.¡± ¡°Hah,¡± Lord Beleth spat. ¡°Doubt even Barbatos would tolerate that little shit.¡± ¡°Bastard,¡± a soft, cold voice came behind me. ¡°Who¡¯s not tolerating whom?¡± Small footsteps followed those words and there was a sudden stillness from the knights around me. It was Lady Barbatos. She wore a small white cloak over a skimpy black skirt that barely covered her chest. Her tiny body walked up from the shrubs, followed by the escort I had consulted before. I turned to the lady and bowed. The lady¡¯s eyes observed the scene¡ªher gaze was cold. With a glance from the lady, the knights running amuck straightened their backs at the sight of her. None dared to look into her eyes. ¡°Tsk, there you are.¡± Lord Beleth sneered as the lady walked toward us. ¡°It seems like we have pests at hand.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s something trivial like bandits, we might as well just burn the entire forest to lure them out. It¡¯s easier to take care of vermin that way,¡± she remarked, and from the lady¡¯s hand came a small black fire. A hellfire. ¡°Going with that so early into the conversation. Being impatient as usual. Did you get tired while sitting all day?¡± ¡°What are you trying to say here?¡± ¡°That you¡¯ve gone ill.¡± ¡°Agnh?¡± Lady Barbatos¡¯ brow flared upwards. The flame dancing on her palm grew larger, and the heat from it I could feel even at a distance. Before the lady could burn the entire forest to an everlasting purgatory, I interjected. ¡°Unfortunately, my lady, it¡¯s not as trivial as bandits.¡± I cleared my throat and explained what was going on. The lady tipped her head lightly. She shut her eyes and placed her right hand on her chin. I breathed a sigh of relief as the black fire diminished. After a moment of silence, the lady spoke. The ridges of her frown softened, and her brows became more flat. Her irritated demeanor changed to something that resembled a sick sense of pleasure. ¡°Is that filthy human still alive? That rascal¡¯s corpse should be a reliable compass in trying to find Dantalion¡¯s brat.¡± She turned to the fainted human. ¡°Hahh...... I can never know what¡¯s happening inside that thick skull of yours.¡± Lord Beleth frowned. Lady Barbatos didn¡¯t answer and only smirked at him. ¡°Bring me the worm.¡± I dragged the human to her feet. Without a word, the lady pressed her thumb into his temple. The human¡¯s eyes opened in shock. He cried and begged as blood splurged down his face while the lady¡¯s thumb slowly sank deeper. I could hear the human¡¯s skull crack as it opened like soft clay. The human¡¯s screams choked off into a horrid gurgle, and bits of his own flesh and a thick red liquid covered his face. Then, a sudden stillness. Once the human¡¯s body became limp, the lady whispered an incantation, a kind of dark magic only known by the ancients¡ªthe spell of necromancy. The surrounding air around the lady became unnaturally cold, and a black smoke entered the human¡¯s mouth. His veins became prominent with some kind of dark substance that pulsated like maggots inside his skin. The human¡¯s body jerked upright, moving in a disjointed, unnatural manner as if tied to invisible strings controlled by a puppeteer. His head lolled on his broken neck as his limbs flailed grotesquely, and his eyes were now white as they stared blankly ahead. The resurrected human began to walk, swaying drunkenly as it moved toward the forest. Knights and escorts watched without a word spoken and only stood as the horror that came before them unfolded. Most of them had turned their faces away, unable to bear the gruesome sight as the thin skin torn and innards of the human flopped to the ground. Some had their faces turned pale and green, expressions twisting in disgust, while others clutched their stomachs and vomited. ¡°Seekth.¡± The lady grinned. ¡°Yes, my lady.¡± ¡°When you catch that child, don¡¯t bother showing him any respect. If he dares insult you, you might as well feed him to the dogs. Well, unless that twat behaves like a dog, don¡¯t bother letting him see me.¡± I bowed my head. ¡°As you wish.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be taking my way to De Gracia. Be there when you¡¯re done. I have high hopes for this.¡± The lady stepped back¡ªher lips curling into a thin smile of satisfaction¡ªand walked back to the carriage. Lord Beleth followed. The lady...... her brutality was worse than I had imagined. I thought it was an exaggeration, but it seemed like I was the one underestimating her. Watching my own tongue should keep my head from falling off. The smoke of the doused pyre from the wreckage ran upwards, and the embers crackled. Both knights and escorts were walking unsteadily towards their carriages as the road was clear enough to pass through. My body felt weary as I watched the human corpse make its way toward the inner parts of the forest. I should have slept more. The orange hue of the sky was now painted red. The night seemed to be not far off. . . . ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 2 [Unknown?] [Memories¡ªJail] What is a child to their parents? Is it a form of their affection? A symbol of intimacy? A child, born of their unrivaled love for each other? ¡°The child of a whore.¡± ¡°Disappointment.¡± ¡°You should have never been born.¡± Love, such a bullshit thing. I digress¡ªa child is merely an accident, if not a burden. Love has little to do with it. It is simply the parents wanting something to exploit for money so their lives would become more lavish. Or maybe something to hit while they¡¯re bored. Either way, my point still stands¡ªchildren, more often than not, are just convenient burdens for their parents to twist into something useful. At least, that¡¯s how it was for me. I suppose it doesn¡¯t matter in the grand scheme of things¡ªyou have to gnaw at everything to survive, after all. That was what I¡¯ve been taught by my own father. . . . ¡°If only you weren¡¯t born.¡± The man in front of me was my father. He was dying. I never said a word to him and just listened. I¡¯ve been sitting across him for a few hours now, this was the only time he regarded me. He lowered the book he was reading and turned his eyes towards me. ¡°You and that mother of yours. That whore. Well, does it matter? You make money, and I take it. You being born was a mistake, and I changed that mistake. Look at you now. Wearing a suit, like a functioning member of society. If only those bastards knew how much I had to endure to make you into this.¡± If there was a word that could describe him thoroughly, then it would be ¡®monster¡¯. Then, by this metric, shouldn¡¯t I be stabbing him with a ¡®short-sword¡¯? Perhaps even with that useless mind of his, I can still gain ¡®exp¡¯ from him. Ahhh. I¡¯m getting lost in thought. ¡°I could have drowned you, but I didn¡¯t. Be grateful. You¡¯re nothing without me. Remember that.¡± He said that in a plain tone as if noting the weather. I couldn¡¯t care less about whatever went out of his mouth as it came in one ear and passed through the other. ¡°Father.¡± I opened my mouth. They were dry, and flakes from my lips tore as I continued. ¡°You finally opened your mouth. I thought you might have gone mute, or perhaps deaf.¡± ¡°......¡± ¡°Well? Keep talking.¡± There was a slight frown from his otherwise emotionless face. ¡°I will leave.¡± ¡°Is that it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And here I was thinking something important would come out of that useless mouth of yours.¡± I stood up. ¡°Be sure to die quietly.¡± My father didn¡¯t reply and only went back to reading the book. I left the hospital that day with an unimaginable amount of bitterness in my mouth. A small part of me still wondered...... why? What did it have to do with him nearly drowning an innocent child? I became adept at analyzing systems of thought and psychology to comprehend why a monster like him existed, yet I could not find answers. My father truly is one self-serving bastard who was only adept at snorting money up his asshole. Pathetic. Disgusting. Pardon my language. I should be watching how I think¡ªit may come out of my mouth. Even at his funeral, my opinion of him didn¡¯t change. As I stared at his pale face beyond the coffin, I felt a tick on my heart¡ªan unnerving feeling of regret. I should have made him suffer. I am rather dumb for not being able to feel this way sooner. That, I will say sorry about. I shouldn¡¯t have let you die such a peaceful death. Now he lies in a bed, devoid of regret or responsibility. He died knowing what he did was justifiable, that he was supposed to, and that all he did was for the better. An irredeemable monster. It was your fault that I¡¯ve become like this. ¡°I should have been the one drowning you.¡± . . . Ring. A noise. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. A small ring ran through my head. Around me, there was nothing¡ªa void of nothingness, devoid of everything other than that noise going in my head. There was an oppressive darkness and emptiness that surrounded me. It swallowed everything¡ªthe space, my senses, and even the air weren¡¯t there. It was suffocating. The noise became clearer. It was not simply noise anymore. No, it was memories...... These were my memories...... ¡°You should have never been born.¡± Disgust. ¡°Disappointment." Anger. ¡°Why?¡± Confusion. ¡°The child of a whore.¡± Hatred. Nightmares...... My life flashed before me in a matter of seconds. It was not just noise anymore¡ªthey were voices. ¡°Filthy mistake.¡± Contempt. ¡°The world would be better off without you.¡± Resentment. ¡°You¡¯ve ruined everything.¡± Blame. ¡°If only you had died sooner.¡± The feeling of my neck getting strangled by gigantic hands, the sensation of that fuzziness when you run out of air, and the coldness of the water. ¡°You don¡¯t belong here.¡± ¡°You never did.¡± The agonizing voices slowly echoed and dispersed. Then silence. I woke up. . . . ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ
The light that came through the small wedges of my half-opened eyes was dim. The light flickered softly as my eyes adjusted to contrast it. Slowly, my vision cleared, and I was able to see what was below me. The floor...... The floor looked horrible. It was a floor with multiple colors of mold growing on it, and the feces of rodents littered the corner where the floor met the wall. In front of me was a door composed of metal bars. From the touch of my cold fingertips and the unconscious breathing of my chest, it all felt so surreal. It¡¯s weird. It felt like I had been sleeping for days. My head hurt, and my vision was blurry. A foul stench ran about, mice squeaking and water dripping. I¡¯m alive? What happened? I remember the weight of the concrete crushing me, my numb legs, and the extensive labor I had gone through just to breathe. Why am I here? Wasn¡¯t my body crushed? Did I survive that incident? Then why am I in such a place? Shouldn¡¯t I be in a hospital? My hand...... my guts...... my legs...... they¡¯re here, intact. I tried to move my body, and when I did, there was a sound that followed¡ªa clanging of metal, likely of a chain. A painful throbbing suddenly jolted throughout my body and resonated with every fiber of my muscles. I threw up because of that. After some time, the throbbing feeling lessened, and a plate with gray slop on it greeted me. ¡°[Eat up.]¡± I heard someone¡¯s voice. There was a man in front of me beyond the metal bars. He had long brown hair with armaments around his chest and a silver, ornate sheath hung at his hip. ¡°Whe¡ª?¡± Cough¡ªcough I cut the word midway and gasped for air. It hurt to speak. ¡°[Tsk. Demon brat.]¡± The language spoken was foreign to me but felt oddly familiar. The man frowned and left, slamming the door shut with a loud clang. I looked around me¡ªit seemed like I was in a decrepit place, a jail. An annoying silence was all around me. It was broken only by an occasional echo of a step taken by men walking about and the low whispers they said to one another. Even in these unusual situations, my mind would be oddly calm, and I could think much more rationally than most people. It might be from my earlier experiences in life that I¡¯m not even surprised by suddenly waking up here. Think...... Jail. Foreign language. The man. My body. ¡ª Jail. Am I being held hostage? This place does have the quality of an abandoned storage house or something similar. There is a high possibility of that. ¡ª Language. From what I¡¯ve heard, he wasn¡¯t speaking a language I knew. Korean, Chinese, Japanese, German, Russian. None seemed to match. ¡ª Man. From what I could see, he¡¯s someone who guards this place. If so, this information only cements the fact that I¡¯m being held as a hostage. ¡ª Body. How? How did my body heal in such a short amount of time? It also seems like my body shrank. Is this even possible given that I was on the brink of death? I don¡¯t know. The clothes I was wearing were also different. From my office working clothes, consisting of a slux and a suit, now it was a white long-sleeved shirt and a black leather-like jeans. I had a rough understanding of what was happening. But I¡¯m still in the dark here, both figuratively and literally. Not only do my current circumstances give me more questions than answers¡ªI¡¯m also bound to a wall. As I regained more of my senses, so did the pain around my body become more pronounced. My body ached in places I didn¡¯t know could ache. There was a small taste of bitterness lingering at the back of my throat from vomiting earlier. I pushed myself upright, feeling the cold metal chains biting into my wrists. I stared at the unappetizing gray slop thrown at me earlier. I¡¯m dreaming, correct? Let this be a dream...... I hope it is...... . . . A few minutes later, the door rang open, and two people came in. ¡°[Seems like our petty young lord here is still dazed.]¡± The man who entered laughed. He was well dressed. He had groomed hair and rings of gold and silver in both hands. He was a gigantic man by the likes of what I¡¯ve seen before. I observed the man as he cackled while hitting the cheeks of my face with the back of his hand. He then put his hand on my head and stopped laughing. ¡°[Why so quiet? You didn¡¯t bust his throat, did you?]¡± He turned to the man behind him¡ªthe other shook his head. The man with a suit then grabbed me by the hair. I could feel my scalp being ripped from my head as he raised my body and stared at me and squinted his eyes. They were uncaring, as if he found some vermin running around his house. He spat on the floor and slammed my head on it. He lifted my head again and looked at me. ¡°[You sure this is the right one? Aint this little shit supposed to be squirming in pain right now?]¡± ¡°[I believe so.]¡± His lips curved downwards, his grip loosening before he tossed me back to the wet floor. I coughed, blood splattering from my mouth. He pried one of my eyelids open. ¡°[Tsk...... the fucking drug they used may have been too strong, those goddamn rascals. Better to wait for this shit out...... couldn¡¯t they have handled this precious cargo of theirs with care?]¡± He whispered to himself. The man¡¯s eyebrows furrowed. He made a huffing noise and called out to the other. ¡°[You made sure that you weren¡¯t followed?]¡± ¡°[Yes.]¡± ¡°[Good, good. I suppose even shits like you can do simple things.]¡± He stood up and said something that I couldn¡¯t hear. The metal door clanged when it opened and closed as both of them left. I lay there, still dazed, staring at the moss in the corner, trying to regain my breath. I could feel a slight coldness at the side of my face. I moved my already aching body and took a seated posture. There was a tiny puddle where my head was. It had traces of red blood on it. I could see my reflection¡ªfaint it was to the dim light. ¡°......¡± Who...... Who is this? The one that stared back at me was a person who had a young face and dark red eyes. It wasn¡¯t a middle-aged man who was supposed to be dying. No, that wasn¡¯t the case. The young man¡¯s appearance was sickly and disheveled. It was a face that did not resemble someone already done with life¡ªbut someone who was getting to that. I blinked, and the reflection blinked. I moved, and it moved. The face was mine, yet it wasn¡¯t my face. . . . ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 3 [Unknown] [Jail] The cell was silent. My mouth was dry, and I could taste the bitterness from that awful food they were giving me. Having had less than a cup of water the past several days made my lips comparable to a desert. My eyes burned from lack of sleep, and when I blinked, I felt the crust that had gathered in the corners of my eyelids crack and fall. A small rumbling sound came from my stomach. I haven¡¯t eaten yet, and it would still take around three hours for the guard bringing food to come by. I spat a thin spittle, trying to remove some of the bitterness from my mouth. Within this hellhole, they¡¯ve tortured me. Beat me, held my head underwater, and shoved pills down my throat that made my nose bleed. Now, the cell smelled awful¡ªvomit and blood made a thick sludge beneath my kneeling feet. Basically, I¡¯m being beaten here quite lovingly. Hmmm...... isn¡¯t this a bit too much? Is this a place for Masochists? Probably? Probably not. I don¡¯t know¡ªrather, I don¡¯t want to. Time becomes blurry whenever you don''t do much. This place has a monotonous dread to it, the kind that a person in an asylum would feel being locked up in one room for the rest of their lives while the screams of other equally insane people echo through the empty halls that seem to go on forever. The people there scratch the walls, slam their bodies to the door, and pull their hair out. That place can madden people. Maybe I am mad. Have I gone mad? That''s not possible, is it? I''m overthinking again. Let''s not jump to conclusions. I inhaled the musty air of the cell and thought deeply. As far as I¡¯ve observed, I¡¯ve identified a pattern in the timing of their visits, all from judging the sound of their footsteps. ¡ª If the steps have a short stride, it¡¯s the one who brings food. ¡ª If they have a long stride, it¡¯s the one conducting a regulatory inspection. So on and so forth. That was it. My days had dwindled to a dull routine of deciphering the meaning of footsteps. This is rather tedious. Honestly, there wasn¡¯t anything else I could do. I accepted that there was no chance of me getting out of here with my current physical condition, not to mention the chains wrapped around my wrists. But that¡¯s not my current concern. My real worry as of now is what''s happening in my head. I¡¯ve been getting plenty of migraines and strange dreams lately. These don¡¯t seem to stem from drugs or exhaustion. Instead, they were more like fragments of memories. I¡¯m reincarnated as another person. That was something I understood immediately. Not only was my body replaced, but I also inherited this person¡¯s memories. In those dreams, I see people who wear fancy attire, maid outfits, and jewelry made out of gems. It was an extravagant life, you could say. However, as of now, most of it is still a blur. All I could take from it were the horns protruding from their heads. I looked at mine at the murky reflections of the dripping water, and it was also there when I moved my hair to the side¡ªa small goat-like horn stuck above my left brow. From what I could tell, I¡¯m a demon, and the guards are humans. Demons¡ªa kind of fantasy world where they do exist. There are ¡®demons¡¯ I¡¯ve encountered in the past, but those so-called demons aren¡¯t explicitly shown, and they can trick you out of your money the moment you receive it. They more or less blend in with normal people, but the demons here are a race instead of the corporations or corrupt politicians. I can count this as one of the few positives of this world¡ªthat you can see if that person is a demon or not. This is the only positive that I can genuinely acknowledge. This is, as I¡¯ve mentioned, a hellhole. Not a grand adventure of a Hero, or a beautiful palace where you¡¯re greeted by the king. ¡°Oh, great Hero! We request your power to defeat the Demon King!¡± Well, if I had been in that situation, I¡¯d rather kill myself than accept that 8th-grade epic of a Hero trying to save the world. Stolen novel; please report. That isn¡¯t how reality works. The world wouldn¡¯t be saved if the Demon King were killed. I suppose it would solve one problem, but not the majority of it. The slaves bought by the nobles would still be there, poverty would still be relevant, and heck, even the thing that governs over the demons would be gone, meaning that they wouldn¡¯t have a ruler to keep them in check. What would they do now? Kill all the demons? Commit genocide? Some kind of Hero is that. The fact that I wasn¡¯t reincarnated as such does make me feel a tad bit happy. But being here doesn¡¯t¡ªeven I can hate this place. This jail cell, this shithole. I wouldn¡¯t say shit, as in the word to describe feces¡ªno, I take it as the other meaning of shit. The one that depicts something to be shitty. Essentially, this is the kind of shit that describes something so miserable it makes the word ¡°shit¡± seem like an understatement. In hindsight, the word describes itself. I don¡¯t need to say it further. Just as I was questioning my sanity, the unmistakable clang of the cell door broke through the stillness of midday. A step came in front of me. It was loud, considering it had been hours since I heard a notable noise. Then another step¡ªnow it was closer. I didn¡¯t pay it any mind¡ªmy thoughts were wandering on their own. The clopping sound went around the chamber and then stopped in front of me. A black, shiny shoe. ¡°Stand up,¡± said a voice. I unconsciously stood up. Over the days, I learned a few words¡ª¡¯stand up,¡¯ ¡®eat,¡¯ and ¡®kneel.¡¯ They were all I ever understood after the countless repeated screaming in my ears. Suddenly, the shoe swung into my right thigh. A sharp pain followed, and my half-sleeping body felt awake. I knelt to that pain. Looking up, I saw the man in the suit. The gigantic man lifted my head. His eyes were like the first time I saw it¡ªuninterested, uncaring. ¡°[This fucker isn''t talking. Are you sure none of you didn¡¯t hit his head?]¡± He turned his head. ¡°[I don¡¯t think we did.]¡± A man standing by him spoke. The man in a suit looked at me with an unsightly face. ¡°[Could the informant have been wrong? Shit. Just when I thought I¡¯d have something to present to them. This dullard can¡¯t even speak.]¡± ¡°[There is a chance Demon Lord Dantalion silenced his own child.]¡± The man in a suit laughed at the other. I couldn¡¯t understand what they were saying, but I could recognize that most of them had a tone of insulting me. ¡°[To think that those shitty Demon Lords would even use their own children in their petty power struggles is quite the assumption you have there. Well, you may have a point on that. Those bastards would even roll down in pigs¡¯ muck just to get that.]¡± A stone below the gigantic man was crushed as he stepped over it. He stared at me for a while and frowned. ¡°[I suppose we could just present this shit like this. He better worth a grand.]¡± He chuckled and left. ¡°Haahhh......¡± A drop of water echoed as I took small breaths, trying to dull out the pain. It was silent again¡ªan annoying silence. ¡°......¡± Annoying...... it¡¯s unimaginably annoying...... Who does this person think he is? If I were to blame someone for this situation I¡¯m in right now, it¡¯s him. Or maybe it¡¯s me. Could there be anyone else? I grit my teeth. Is this hatred? Do I feel angry right now? I haven¡¯t felt like this in a long time. Anger was a waste of energy¡ªmy father made me realize that well enough. Even the smallest twitch of my eyebrow to him was an insult. He¡¯d beat me senseless for it. That¡¯s why I buried my anger. I buried my emotions. Fine. I¡¯ll keep that anger. For now, you will have that debt. I¡¯ll have you pay that debt soon enough. . . . ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ
The outside was now dark. Only small patches of the iron bars were lit by the dim light of the torches. The shadow of one of the guards was there as per his schedule. My mind was half awake. I couldn¡¯t sleep with the pain going through my body. My eyes were fixed in the shadow of the guard. Consider it something similar to watching a midnight television broadcast. Aside from being a subject of torture, I would come back to this like a tired salaryman sitting on his sofa watching sports¡ªthis is my entertainment for the day. As I thought of that shadow as the next best thing to porn, it suddenly became a blob and slowly inclined to the ground. Huh? That...... wasn¡¯t supposed to happen. There was a distant moan of pain echoed nearby. Then a soft thud followed and broke the oppressive silence of the cell. I can hear the clinging of keys as someone opens the metal door. They cautiously looked around and walked towards me. On this particular night, someone came when no one had come before. Maybe I''m imagining things. It may be due to the awful food they were feeding me that I''m even hallucinating now. Or maybe not? Have I become insane? Either way, those are irrelevant at this moment. My full attention was on the unknown person closing in on me. As he came closer, I was able to see more of him. It was a man in a black mantle. On his head was a horn. His eyes had a golden hue to them and shone with an unsettling glow against the indistinct background of black. He knelt and looked at me. When he reached out his hand, I impulsively backed myself away with the little strength I had left. The man paused in his knelt position and cautiously waved his hands as if he were taming a wild animal. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a key, then inspected the chains that wrapped around my wrists. The metal was dirty and encrusted with grime. Leaning in, he whispered in my ear, his voice too low to hear. Then he removed the cuffs from my hands and wrapped a clean cloak around my shoulders. Carefully, he grasped my arms and poured a violet liquid onto my wounds. When the liquid touched my skin, a burning pain came as it dripped down my elbows. Strangely, after a few seconds, the pain began to lessen, followed by a sudden wave of drowsiness that spread throughout my body. I tried to pull my hands away from him, but I was too weak. I tried to resist it, but I was too tired to stay awake. My eyelids became heavy. I slept...... . . . ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 4 [Unknown] [Forest] I felt nauseous. An immense amount of drowsiness clouded my mind. My body was a sluggish mess, and a headache pounded into my head. Before I knew it, I found myself slumped against the broad back of someone. My surroundings were dark. I couldn¡¯t even see a few feet in front of me. The cold air bit at my skin, the faint rustling of the surrounding trees barely audible over the ringing in my ears. My senses flickered back to life, slowly returning as my vision cleared. The man who carried me noticed I was awake and whispered something¡ªhis lips moved rhythmically with each breath. He was huffing out a white mist as the gust of wind hit my face. Despite my efforts to listen, the persistent ringing drowned out all the words that came out of his mouth. We stopped at a clearing where the moonlight shone brightly. He sat me on a flat rock, looked around, and regained his breath. The ringing in my ear slowly lessened. The man looked at me. ¡°Are you unharmed, young lord?¡± His language. I can understand it. I hesitantly nodded. ¡°There are no pursuers as of now, so it¡¯s safe to stay for the night. Are you hurt somewhere? I can fix you up if you¡¯d like. Though I suppose I cannot heal your broken bones.¡± I looked at the man. He wore blackish armor beneath a dark cloak resembling foliage. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve come to rescue you.¡± I kept my eyes on him as my mind raced. This is not the jail anymore, and a stranger is in front of me. How should I go about this? Think. I shut down anything else that wouldn¡¯t be used to observe my current situation. I killed my breath, lowered my pulse, and all other irrelevant functions of my body. Something I learned from my previous life of being abused by my father. Time seemed to stretch as my mind took full control. I glanced around, absorbing the details. Body. Forest. Demon. Rescue. These words circled in my mind. ¡ª My body was barely functional, and from the looks of it, we were deep in the forest. That meant trying to escape was out of the question. ¡ª Judging by the horns on his head, it was safe to assume he was a demon like me. ¡ª By the appearance of his gear¡ªblack armor, a cloak resembling foliage¡ªhe¡¯s possibly a warrior or a knight. From there, I understood my current situation. I pieced everything together. It all fell into place. As I absorbed the last information, my senses returned to normal, and time resumed its usual pace. More questions began to linger in my head. What are his goals? Why did he rescue me? No answers came. I¡¯m stuck with a stranger in the middle of a forest and a weak body with no chance of escaping. That¡¯s some bullshit. Can¡¯t I even take one fucking break? ¡°Tsk.¡± I unconsciously clicked my tongue. Shit. I need to compose myself. Being irritated now wouldn¡¯t do me any favor. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, young lord? You sound upset.¡± Young lord...... that¡¯s right, that¡¯s who I am now. I¡¯m a demon. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Yes...... If I recall correctly, I¡¯m a Demon Lord¡¯s son, Deilos. Someone of importance, meaning there is a high possibility he knows who I am. I¡¯ll use that. It¡¯s the only thing I¡¯m currently able to leverage on. I let out a small sigh and composed myself. Alright. I¡¯ll play the part. I¡¯ll become some shitty noble brat. My lips were dry. I opened my mouth. ¡°You.¡± The man looked me in the eye. First questions. His goals. Assert authority. ¡°Why did you save me?¡± ¡°I was simply following orders.¡± ¡°Orders? By whom? Tell me, which bastard sent you?¡± His eyebrow twitched¡ªa subtle reaction. I expected him to brush off my blunt questions, but it was worth the attempt. If my words can get even a faint response, that means I can influence him. There was a slight pause in his actions as if he were weighing out how he was going to respond. ¡°I was given orders by Lady Barbatos to rescue you from this predicament.¡± Barbatos? A familiar name. I¡¯ve heard that before. ¡°Demon Lord?¡± His expression shifted, surprised. It was as if questioning whether Barbatos was a Demon Lord caught him off guard¡ªa strange reaction. ¡°Why would an esteemed Demon Lord even want with me? A mere child. Are you joking? Is this a joke?¡± He thought again, then cleared his throat. ¡°I am Seekth, a knight of Her Highness, Demon Lord Barbatos, and I have taken you out of your imprisonment as per the lady¡¯s orders. It is fair if you were to doubt me. I am merely doing my duty, and that is to get this young lord out of there and bring him to the lady.¡± He bowed his head. He¡¯s saying all this openly¡ªthere is a possibility he¡¯s only complying because of status, but on the other hand, he might have other motives, or rather, whoever Barbatos is. Either way, I¡¯m not in immediate danger. Good. That was enough. I¡¯ll deal with whatever comes next when it arrives. But for now, I need confirmation. I need to probe deeper. For that, I¡¯ll use one of the most easily exploitable emotions. Sympathy. In this state, there¡¯s a clear image of me¡ªa weak young lord who had just been through torture at the hands of humans. If I could play the part convincingly enough, I might uncover if he¡¯s still hiding something. I bit down hard on the inside of my cheeks, letting blood pool in my mouth. Once it had gathered enough, I let out a pained, wet cough, covering my mouth and parting my fingers just enough to show the blood. The moment he saw it, he rushed toward me without hesitation. My eyes were fixed on him. I took note of every tiny detail about his actions. His hand movement, his glances, his body language, his frowns, and even the slightest nudge. I observed it all. He reached out his hand, trembling slightly. I turned my head down and coughed again. ¡°Here, some water.¡± He handed me his flask. I took a sip. The water carried an earthy, bitter taste¡ªsomething I recognized from the putrid water they forced on me in that wretched jail. It seems like this is common here. ¡°I thank you.¡± A single tear welled up in my eye before I quickly covered my face. His gaze softened. I could see the sympathy there as he leaned in closer. I shoved him back, keeping up the act, but careful not to overdo it. ¡°Don¡¯t look.¡± ¡°My apologies.¡± He turned his head away. After crying quietly for a while. I faced him. ¡°Well, I suppose I should commend you for not being as brutish as those humans.¡± He looked at me, at my reddened eyes. ¡°I suppose, young lord.¡± ¡°My actions seemed to have scrutinized you too much.¡± There was a faint smile on his face. ¡°That is not worth your apologies. Our current circumstances may have only provoked you to do so. I have not taken offense.¡± I hadn¡¯t expected to influence him this much. Every feint was landing. It was almost refreshing¡ªproof that I haven¡¯t lost my wit from all the bashing they did to my head. Now, onto the final step. A reward. Simple, but effective. If I dangle something enticing enough, I can draw him in further, depending on how he responds. I don¡¯t know if Deilos truly had any place within the hierarchy, but it¡¯s a gamble I¡¯m willing to take. After a brief pause, I spoke again. ¡°Treasure.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°If you¡¯d like, I can award you treasure if I can come back alive and request it from my father. I will give you a handful.¡± I forced a smile. ¡°No, young lord, this one¡ªthis one does not deserve any.¡± He hesitated for a second. He presented his hands somewhat frankly and spread them. A gesture of weakness¡ªhumility. Even if he didn¡¯t accept my reward, it cemented my authority over him. By being humble, he wants my validation and sees me as someone who holds authority over him. As of now, I can use him. He¡¯s my way out of here. I need to make the most of this opportunity. Still, I can¡¯t let my guard down. I can¡¯t afford any mistakes. This will be the start of everything. Those humans, I¡¯ll be the one to take their heads. I will murder each and every one of them. I¡¯ve made up my mind. For my freedom and to settle that bastard¡¯s debt, I¡¯ll play along. I¡¯ll orchestrate the greatest play for a chance to savor that revenge. How will he look till then? I can¡¯t wait. I¡¯ll savor it...... slowly. Ahahah...... AHAHAHH. I can feel a smile creeping up my mouth as I drink the bitter water. ¡°I simply suggested.¡± . . . ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 5 [Unknown¡ªDeilos?] [Forest] My body hurts like hell. The night had already passed, and it was early in the morning. My head was lying on a soft pile of leaves I had gathered on the side of a gigantic tree before sleeping. Each fiber of my muscles felt like it was contracting, like when a person was working out. My whole upper body shook as I tried to sit. As I was able to force a sitting posture, my insides started to feel miserable¡ªit growled like a small creature trying to eat its way through. My stomach felt like it was stabbed several times while also being beaten by a baseball bat. I can¡¯t say my condition as of now is getting any better than it was from the jail. Maybe it got worse now that I¡¯m exposed to the cold breeze of the night. I can¡¯t ignore my conditions now that they¡¯re this awful. ¡°Shit.¡± After hearing me groan, Seekth came around the other side of the tree I rested my head on. His face was concerned. I need to calm myself down. Losing my composure now would only get me discarded, or worse, killed. ¡°Young lord, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mind me.¡± I fixed my posture. A sharp pain went through my ribs. ¡°Kuh¡ª¡± Seekth approached me and took a quick look at my body. He then poured some more potions on my injuries and patched them up. ¡°I know that the young lord is in great peril due to his injuries. Unfortunately, we don¡¯t have the pleasure of sticking around for too long. The humans may catch up if we stay any longer. We better move now, young lord. Do you think you can walk?¡± My legs were trembling. I couldn¡¯t stand up. I¡¯ve been trying to move my feet even last night¡ªI can kick faintly or curl them, but it wouldn¡¯t move properly. ¡°Seems like I can¡¯t move my body as I want to.¡± ¡°I can carry you in the meantime. If the young lord were to allow it.¡± Humiliating. I sighed internally. ¡°I¡¯ll take the offer.¡± Seekth shouldered me and then slung me to his back like a backpack. His body tipped slightly to compensate for my weight. We were moving slowly in that green-filled place. I rode on his back for a long while¡ªfour, no, more than five hours. The feeling of the breeze hitting my face gave me a sense of happiness by the mere fact of doing anything at all. The sensation that tingled my face made me want to cry with joy. It was as blissful as getting a judgment of divinity. Is this what it feels like to be gazed upon by the heavens? Have I always been this religious? We walked through small foreign shrubs and wild animals. Giant boars, with tusks half their body size, ravaged a small deer and skewered it. Nearby, a beautiful flower glowed among the tall grass¡ªits petals with many glistening tints of blue and pink, telling of its poisonous nature. The trees swoon, their leaves chattering to the breeze of gentle wind. As we moved deeper into the unknown landscape, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder who and why he was helping me. Barbatos...... The name went into my head again. Demon Lords...... Though I¡¯m aware that I¡¯m in a different world, my knowledge about it is limited. My memories are notably more clear now that I¡¯m not being constantly beaten half-dead. Despite this, it seems like I need more time to process all of it. For now, I need to know my current position. Being caught off guard is one dissatisfactory conclusion. ¡°Where are we going?¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. I asked Seekth. His head slightly moved. ¡°A village nearby, young lord. There might be carriages that we could ride towards De Gracia.¡± De Gracia...... Ah, I remember now. That¡¯s the name of the place where ¡®I¡¯ was supposed to go. Recalling this, I could also remember ¡®my¡¯ name. Deilos, the son of the Demon Lord Dantalion. A noble brat. Other than that, I don¡¯t necessarily remember anything noteworthy about this person other than being the son of a Demon Lord. He¡¯s greedy, selfish, and perverse, typical of what you¡¯ll see when regarding someone of this privilege in life. Why? Why is the Demon Lord Barbatos interested in me? Despite my efforts to recover my memories, I still couldn¡¯t answer that question. First of all, I¡¯m just one shitty brat from a lesser Demon Lord. A lesser Demon Lord¡ªsomeone that¡¯s not tied to much power within the Demon territory but is still considered a noble just because of their titles. Meaning my name or title is significant to none. Secondly, the Demon Lord Barbatos seems to be much more important than my father, Demon Lord Dantalion, and the fact that I¡¯m being transported to Barbatos instead of my father Dantalian means that there¡¯s an enormous gap in their influence. Picture this¡ªyour son was kidnapped and tortured for days on end. Then they would suddenly get found. Yet, despite this, instead of the father, they gave the child to the CIA first for investigation. This could also be the neglect of Dantalion as a father, but based on my memories, that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case. I still can¡¯t piece things together because of my blurred-out memories of this world. Well, ¡®I¡¯ was just a little dipshit, so it may have something to do with that. ¡°Young lord, we¡¯re already near the village.¡± In front of me was a small, shabby village¡ªwhere the outer fences and walls were made of crooked wood. The villagers were wearing the clothes of peasants. Their skirts¡¯ bottoms are ripped and dirty¡ªalmost primitive. Seekth talked to the villagers. They had features like horns and overgrown teeth, to name a few. We walked through the village. Kids were running about. The smell of wet mud and the steady sucking sound that came with it were all around me. I could hear some faint whispers on my back and a point here and there. Looking at the villagers, a part of me was disgusted, but not directly at them, but rather at their living conditions. Some villagers had thick bandages wrapped around them, others limping with sticks supporting them. There were also the ones that were slathered with so much filth that you couldn¡¯t recognize them from a pile of trash. We walked on until he saw something in the distance. ¡°Here, young lord, there seems to be a nice stall here.¡± He walked towards a stand with hanging, darkened meat. After giving the owner a few brown-colored coins, he gave me a handful of the meat. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°Jerky, it appears like.¡± They were sticks, literal meat sticks...... ¡°Is peasant food not to your liking?¡± ¡°I can manage.¡± They were quite shit, both in taste and texture. It was too salty, and the meat was too hard and chewy to be even called meat. I wanted to spit it out, but my body didn¡¯t let me¡ªhunger does wonders for a person. ¡°You said De Gracia earlier. Is it the lady¡¯s interests?¡± Seekth swallowed and wiped his mouth. ¡°Yes, she would like a quick word with you, if I remember.¡± ¡°In what manner?¡± ¡°That is not mine to say. But before that, I¡¯ll be finding us a place to sleep in. We¡¯ll be hitching a ride the next morning.¡± He pointed to the carriages. ¡°We better rest up before then.¡± . . . ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ The moon shone upon the cup of water from the open window. Seekth sat in the corner¡ªhis eyes were closed and he was holding a sword against his chest. Shades enveloped the places where the moonlight could not illuminate. I stared at the wooden frame of the bed I was resting on¡ªthe crooked, uneven craftsmanship of an amateur. The planks are jagged, grainy, and cut unproportioned to the frame¡ªa mark discerning one¡¯s lack of ability. Despite all of this, it was comfortable¡ªsplendid, actually. Not the cold floor, not a patch of grass and leaves, but an actual bed. What a time to be alive! This is it¡ªI¡¯ll merge with this bed until I die. Yet, despite this, my mind is still fully awake. I can¡¯t sleep properly because of this, not in the cell, and not in my previous life. It seems like my mind is in a constant mode of analyzing things¡ªno wonder I¡¯m more aloof than I¡¯d imagined. I looked outside. Nothing moved other than the falling leaves. There were no running dogs, cats, or any other animal, and they seemed to not be common in this world. The concept of having domesticated animals as pets may be present but not practiced, not in remote areas at the very least, only to nobles who want to show off their wealth. Nobles, huh? Come to think of it. I¡¯m a noble now...... Noble...... Although title-wise, my current position as a noble and my previous life may not have a direct parallel, I did use to run the company of my father, though I quickly sold it off after his death. I didn¡¯t care how much the company was low-balled¡ªI couldn¡¯t care less about it, anyway. All I wanted to do was to live a life without the influence of that senile prick. Even now, my actions are still influenced by my father...... hahhh...... when will he ever get out of my head? Hmm...... let me rest this out. I¡¯d rather not want to think about it. . . . ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 6 [Unknown] [Dream] Slap. A stick slammed down with such incredible force that if it had hit something, it might have broken to its sheer strength. Slap. The stick dropped down again. What was the stick hitting? Was it an inanimate object? A misbehaving pet, perhaps? Slap. No. It was a child¡¯s hand. The reddened palm of an 11-year-old. My hands. I remember that very day. Each slap sent a shockwave throughout my body, and each strike was harder than the last. Slap. I was on the brink of crying. But I held it in. If I were to cry now, then this constant, almost drum-like performance wouldn¡¯t stop. Slap. Why was I getting slapped, you may wonder? I had an 89/100 on a test, which was something so undesirable in my father¡¯s eyes that he punished me for it. His exact words were, ¡°I did not raise you like this. 90 is manageable but low, 95 is acceptable, and 100 is ideal, but going anywhere lower than 90 is an insult. You, my child, are failing me.¡± My father was the one responsible for teaching me out of school. He would continue lecturing me after school until midnight. ¡°But father, I had the highest score in class. I¡ª¡± Slap. ¡°I did not permit you to speak.¡± My eyes were on the verge of crying. But I didn¡¯t, I couldn¡¯t, I shouldn¡¯t. Crying was a weakness in front of my father, and he didn¡¯t let it slide and would punish me for even shedding a tear. Slap. Slap. Slap. The palms of my hand were now beginning to numb. My tears were nearly there, but I kept them in. I kept it in. ¡°I have more important things to do than teach a failed child. Hah. I do wonder where I have failed you. I have done everything to make you better, yet this is how you repay me. Disappointing.¡± My father grew up in a privileged household. He was the heir to a well-established company. People regarded him as a genius, a messiah of some sorts. They praised, put him on a pedestal, and saw him as the person who saved a dying rotting company to become a powerhouse. I was only in the shadows of my father, and there was no need for me to take over that same company. He was determined to mold me into his image. He wants me to be him. A copy of himself. ¡°If you fail now, what will they think of me? Can you imagine how much they rely on me? How can you do this to your father? The father that raised you, the father that fed you, the father that made you.¡± He shook his head as if he were seeing the most disgusting object he had ever seen. ¡°Do not do this to me, my child.¡± ¡°I understand, father.¡± ¡°As you should.¡± I hate him. From the very bottom of my heart, I detest my father. I repeat these words to myself daily. My life had come to embody my hatred of him. When he died, I had no purpose. I only worked and ate for the sake of seeing the next day¡ªa tiresome repetition. But this time, I will live a life of my volition. He¡¯s not here and can never be here. He doesn¡¯t exist and can¡¯t exist. If living the life of a shitty noble is what I have to work with, then I will have to be more vicious in surviving this world. If I could survive in the hands of my father, then this would be just another playground. It¡¯s not like I have any other choice, do I? . . . ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ
[Unknown¡ªDeilos, Son of the Demon Lord Dantalian, Young Lord] [Demon Territory, Village] The water was cold. I was washing my body in a river by the side of the village. The blood that stuck on my body was being washed by the flowing water, making small whirlpools of red grime. My legs could move now ever since Seekth made me drink healing potions till I vomited them out. Although I can walk, my steps are still wobbly and required Seekth to shoulder me before I can even take a step forward. It felt as if my legs were some gelatin. ¡°......¡± My surroundings were quiet, and the only thing I could hear was the flow of the water¡¯s current. It¡¯s peaceful. That was what came to mind as I walked around the village. While the people here are dirty, they¡¯re unusually friendly. My first impressions of this village were hostile, but eventually, their gazes seemed to soften when I interacted with them. ¡ª Are you okay, young man? Quite the wounds you have there. Oi, give me something to help out this lad here! ¡ª Is this the human¡¯s doing? Is it? Those bastards. ¡ª Here, a fruit, you ought to eat it when it¡¯s fresh. The kids here like them. I hope it suits your taste buds. This sudden change of scenery was quite unsettling for me. After being sentenced to such tortures and deaths when I came to this world, this only made me anxious when that same feeling was abruptly removed. In a sense, it bored me. I removed the cloth stuck on my skin. ¡°Nasty......¡± Just as the last of the gunk on my body ran downward and contaminated the water, a small rustling sound came from the bushes at the bank of the river. It was Seekth that walked through. Parts of his black armor seeped through as branches tugged his cloak.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°What brought you here? I¡¯m currently bathing dullard.¡± ¡°My apologies.¡± As stiff as ever. ¡°Hah...... will you cut the formalities? I am rather pestered by your speech rather than being comfortable. As of this moment, you may speak more informally. Look at how you¡¯re making me talk. Be more like a normal person. Is that clear?¡± ¡°Aha...... I suppose, young lord.¡± Did he get what I¡¯m trying to say? I¡¯m not talking to a brick now, am I? I¡¯ll take that as a yes. ¡°Well? I suppose you didn¡¯t come all the way here to see my naked body.¡± ¡°No, young lord. The coaches said they¡¯d be going in an hour. They¡¯re still gathering their cargo as we speak.¡± I covered my lower half and rose from the river. I picked up the clothes that the villagers gave me. They were rather ragged¡ªthe texture of the cloth was rough, comparable to a sack. ¡°How long will we be riding?¡± I asked as I put on the clothes. ¡°Two days, perhaps. The roads ahead are muddy¡ªit might stretch longer if the rain comes back.¡± Two days...... so I have that much time to recover. Seeing that there are potions and magic, it is possible to recover that quickly. However, even when drenched by potions, my muscles are still tired. My shoulders and sides still ache even with a few days of sleep. Considering those were outside and in a rough bed, it might not be so good. ¡°Have you bought anything for the trip? Something for us to chew at least?¡± ¡°Yes, alongside some herbs to help with stomach aches.¡± ¡°Stomach aches?¡± ¡°The carriages here can ride violently.¡± Is he talking about motion sickness? Is that common? It may have to do with the nobles using far more comfortable carriages than the common folk. Hmm. ¡°I do doubt that we¡¯ll be using that.¡± ¡°It is only a precaution, young lord.¡± What is he? A mother? I¡¯m being treated like a child here. I put on my shirt and stretched a bit. My bones did a satisfying crack as I bent my body side to side. ¡°Huff~ now, shall we go?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The carriages that we were going to ride were the same carriages that Seekth pointed out yesterday¡ªa wooden, horse-drawn carriage. It was filled with boxes of crates and cages with animals on them. Some even had humans, demons, and beast-kin. Slavery? That¡¯s most likely. You don¡¯t put people in cages unless they¡¯re criminals or being used as slaves. People being sold off to slavery can depend on their circumstances, be it a loan shark taking your daughter because of debt or being kidnapped. Well, that isn¡¯t my problem now, isn¡¯t it? Even if we were to try to abolish slavery, it would just come off in one way or another, may it be through the black market or some other similar ways. ¡°Where do these people take them?¡± ¡°The slums.¡± Judging from his tone, this is common here. ¡°That is rather disgusting......¡± ¡°Does the young lord not have slaves himself?¡± Do I? Oh, ¡®I¡¯ have some. Of course ¡®I¡¯ do. ¡°The quality, I mean.¡± ¡°I see.¡± As we were casually talking about the abhorrent lifestyle and well-being of caged people. One coachman approached us. He wore a leather armored outfit with sacks tied to his hip. His eyes were droopy¡ªhe glanced at me for a quick second and looked at Seekth. ¡°You¡¯re the one that offered to be an escort yesterday, yeah? I believe that I didn¡¯t see this young man with you.¡± Seekth opened his mouth. ¡°He is a companion.¡± ¡°Companion, you say? From what I remember, I only accepted one person to ride with me. My carriage is a little cramped for another one.¡± ¡°Are you saying that he isn¡¯t able to take the ride? You agreed on my terms yesterday.¡± ¡°The terms we agreed on were with you, not him.¡± The coachman shrugged. What¡¯s this? I may not have been present when they talked, but the way Seekth reacted meant he wasn¡¯t expecting this. By his claims, he¡¯s most likely twisting Seekth¡¯s words on what they both agreed on. Seekth continued. ¡°Backing down from the deal¡ª¡± ¡°I am abiding by it,¡± the coachman cut him off. ¡°I did not undermine the deal. In fact, if anyone broke the deal, then it''s you who brought someone else.¡± Seekth¡¯s eyebrows were slightly furrowed. This is getting out of hand. Seekth¡¯s frustration was evident, but a fight here would only worsen things. I''d rather take this to a different route. ¡°Ehem,¡± I interjected. ¡°This might not be my place to interrupt¡ªnonetheless, you¡¯re talking to a friend of mine. If we were to be so clear about things, might we want to spell things out?¡± The coachman looked at me. His mouth frowned. ¡°Angh? What are you supposed to be? This is our conversation, kid. Take your nose out of this. Wasn¡¯t my intention clear? My carriage is full, and I can¡¯t take in both of you.¡± Let¡¯s think about this logically¡ªif I were to dissect everything that¡¯s currently happening, there are several ways to interpret this. If this were a misunderstanding, he wouldn¡¯t need to press this far. Especially the way he talks. Seekth¡¯s reaction doesn¡¯t support his claims either¡ªthough this might be biased since I¡¯m on Seekth¡¯s side of the argument. Still, I have to ground myself into something I can measure. Lastly, at the sight of me, the coachman likely saw my appearance to resemble someone naive¡ªan easy mark for a quick profit. So, the answer is money. He wants to scam us. ¡°Seekth,¡± I whispered. ¡°Is this the only carriage that would go to De Gracia? We can take another one if there is.¡± ¡°No, this is the only one.¡± The only one...... This only makes things worse for us. Well, all I can do now is to get along with this bastard¡¯s games. ¡°How much?¡± The coachman tilted his head. ¡°I¡¯ve already answered you. If you¡¯re asking how many people my carriage can take in, then it¡¯s one.¡± ¡°I am asking how much the good sir might take a little leeway for someone like us.¡± I forced a smile, and the coachman smiled back. He looked at me slyly. ¡°If it¡¯s for you, I might be inclined to drop off some cargo here and there.¡± ¡°Would the usual fare be enough?" ¡°A little higher than that, I''m on the losing end here.¡± I pulled on Seekth¡¯s cloak, reached for his coin purse, took a few copper coins, and slipped two small silver coins. I gave the coachman 10 copper coins. He counted it and placed it against the sun. ¡°You might want to take that price higher than that. Come on now, don¡¯t be petty.¡± Seekth¡¯s eyebrow twitched. ¡°To talk like that to the young lord.¡± He put his hand on the hilt of his sword. ¡°My, my, we shouldn¡¯t get physical here. Though I am very generous, I doubt that some of my friends are.¡± ¡°Seekth, calm down." Seekth clicked his tongue. The coachman didn''t even flinch when Seekth tried to draw his sword. He might be bluffing, but we don''t know whether he has hidden companions nearby¡ªit can¡¯t be confirmed unless we fall into his provocations. Looking around, there are other people looking at us with intent. He¡¯s trying to annoy us, which might be a tactic to escalate the situation and justify taking things physically. The reason? I don¡¯t know. He may just be an asshole. I tossed one small silver coin to the coachman. ¡°That should be enough, no?¡± Practically speaking, we¡¯re at a loss here. A nobles'' ride costs a few silver coins, while a normal ride costs 3 copper coins at most. This is an overpayment, simple math. For a ride in a carriage, it¡¯s a loss¡ªnevertheless, it¡¯s the only carriage that can take us to De Gracia. Plus, our safety is at stake. The coachman smirked. ¡°You¡¯re a negotiable one, young man.¡± ¡°I do have to warn you that my friend can be quite impatient, it seems, and there might be something sent spiraling down if they¡¯re not careful.¡± ¡°Hah! I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± The coachman put the coins in one of his pouches. ¡°Kid.¡± He flung back one copper coin. ¡°You overpaid.¡± He is an asshole. ¡°Much more so.¡± He laughed as he waved his hands towards the carriages. I looked at Seekth. He seemed to have calmed down a bit and removed his hand from the hilt of his sword. He didn¡¯t speak a word. We followed. . . . ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 7 [Deilos, Son of the Demon Lord Dantalian, Young Lord] [Demon Territory, Carriage] ¡°You like good-quality ones, yeah?¡± The coachman asked as he yanked the rope¡ªtying together a crate into his carriage. His name was Leiche, a black market dealer heading to De Gracia¡¯s back passage. He was part of a slave ring carrying goods for an auction later down the line. He threw the rope to the other side and pulled again¡ªhis assistant helped him. ¡°What do you like? Something built like a guard? Maybe you¡¯d like something more intimate. What¡¯s your type? Big bosoms? Thin, slender elves? Or something that can serve both purposes? I can get you some connections if you¡¯re interested.¡± ¡°Perhaps.¡± ¡°Kid, you sound uninterested. Heard the two of you wanting something better earlier. Was my ear not working fine?¡± So he¡¯s been eavesdropping on us earlier. Generally, I don¡¯t want to interact with people as creepy as this, but I¡¯ll let this slide¡ªhe¡¯s the only carriage that can give us a ride, after all. ¡°Eavesdropping isn¡¯t a good look, Mr. Coachman.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t take it too seriously, kid. I ain¡¯t going to do nothing to you.¡± He laughed as he tugged on the crates tied to the carriage. ¡°Aight, all good. Hop on.¡± The inside of the carriage was smaller than I¡¯d thought. It was half filled with crates, herbs, and a gigantic wooden box at the center of it. At least he wasn¡¯t lying about the fact that it was cramped. Seekth and I sat at the outer edge¡ªacross from us sat his assistant. As he reined the horse, the sudden pull of the carriage made it jump slightly¡ªmy spine ached as I landed from that small jump. ¡°Tsk.¡± It seems like my body still isn¡¯t ready. Just from that slight bump, my broken bones now started to ache up again even after the healing potions were used. When will I even get away from this pain? The ride from there on was far from comfortable. Honestly, it¡¯s quite hellish. Each bump was harder than the last. No wonder Seekth bought some herbs for stomach aches. The whole day was like that, and the only thing I did was try to rest and sleep, but this damn road wouldn¡¯t let me. After I got comfortable, a pothole would rattle the carriage, and when my eyes would close just for a second, the carriage would swerve and the wooden pole holding the canopy would hit my head. ¡°Hahhh......¡± Bags and tiny boxes were pressed against my feet, covered by some white tarp of animal skin. I was trying to find a place comfortable within the whole day of our riding, and this was the only spot I found¡ªa small space within the confines of the gigantic crate. It wasn¡¯t much, but the small space was ideal for keeping my body in place with minimal effort in doing so, much like a vise gripping onto something. There¡¯s one thing that got me worried though¡ªthe inside of it was making noises. I tried to peek inside, but there was no hole for me to peek into. That was my thought exercise to keep myself from thinking of the pain in my body. What was inside? Weapons? More goods? A slave, maybe? As I was questioning myself. The carriage halted, and the animal skin tarp that covered the boxes fell on me. ¡°Ack.¡± ¡°Young lord, I¡¯ve asked you not to rest there.¡± Seekth spoke, already standing outside of the carriage. ¡°It¡¯s comfortable here.¡± ¡°This is concerning.¡± ¡°Do not question me.¡± Seekth sighed lightly.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°If the young lord were to take more injuries than the one he¡¯s already sustained, then I¡¯m concerned that I may have to be punished for that.¡± ¡°Then be.¡± ¡°That is why I¡¯m concerned.¡± We had been doing this back and forth for a while now as we were riding the carriage. I do have to say that annoying someone is pretty fun. I took the tarp off me and stood up. I stepped off the carriage. The outside was now dark. The assistant was gathering some wood, and the coachman had already started to make a fire. Seekth and I approached them. He was busy rubbing the sticks to create the fire. He spun the sticks until an ember glowed before feeding it into the tinder. He carefully placed it on the pile of sticks. As the coachman blew on the little ember, the tinder caught fire but fizzled out. ¡°Shit.¡± ¡°I might help with that.¡± Seekth extended his arm out, and the ember pulsated and became brighter. After a few seconds, the surrounding tinder was caught on fire. ¡°That¡¯s some fancy skill you got there.¡± The coachman threw a log onto the fire. ¡°What do you two want to get in De Gracia for?¡± ¡°That has nothing to do with you.¡± I replied as I sat down across from him. ¡°Snarky kid,¡± he spat. ¡°I do have to warn you, though. Heard that there¡¯s been something going on behind some bullshit with the nobles there.¡± ¡°How come?¡± ¡°Heard whispers about nobles smuggling supplies to the rebels. Though, this is just a rumor. Don¡¯t take my words for anything.¡± ¡°Hearing that from some coachman doesn¡¯t support the claim either.¡± ¡°Tch¡ªthis kid.¡± ¡°While we¡¯re on the topic, what¡¯s in that gigantic crate?¡± ¡°Crate?¡± The coachman looked at the crate in the carriage. He looked around, looked at Seekth, then looked at me. He went silent for a while, then hit the back of his head. ¡°You¡¯re asking too many questions,¡± he paused. ¡°But if you must know¡ªthat¡¯s a beast-kin. A hard one to find, at that. That¡¯s all I can say.¡± Oho? So that¡¯s where the noises have been coming from. From my knowledge, although beast-kin are quite common, there are others that are harder to find. Perhaps it is one of the more exotic¡ªa tribal beast-kin, at least. ¡°That¡¯s been set in the auction in a few weeks from now.¡± ¡°Where would that take place?¡± ¡°De Gracia.¡± Hmm. De Gracia again. ¡°You interested? I can hook you up with some connections if you¡¯d like. This kind of product is hard to come across after all.¡± Reducing someone to a product¡ªwhat a joke. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it for now. As you can see, I¡¯m out of money to even hitch a pleasant ride.¡± ¡°That tongue of yours is a shitty thing, don¡¯t you think?¡± An ironic statement. We reached the outer skirts of the city of De Gracia by noon the next day. The carriage went through a thick forest with branching paths, likely there to confuse those trying to enter this way. The back passage was a cave. It was exceptionally dark inside. Echoes of dripping water reverberated to the walls of the cave. The cave looked old. Moss grew within the wooden pillars that kept the cave¡¯s rugged ceiling up. The only light we had was coming from a lantern the coachman was holding. When shined upon, the rocky walls of the cave glistened in the golden light of the fire emitted by the lantern. It was quiet. Only broken down by the dripping water from the ceiling, the skimming steps of the horse, and the rattle of the carriage wandering the cave¡¯s innards. ¡°It¡¯s here,¡± the coachman whispered. In front of us was a metal door. He knocked on it, and a loud clang rang and reverberated through the metal. After a while, the slit of the door slid open. A man looked through that small slit of the door. ¡°What are you here for?¡± The coachman took out a bracelet and showed it to him. He opened the door. Beyond the metal door was a cavern. The people inside were ruffians¡ªyou could say that they were bandits even. Either way, they gave off the impressions of such. The men looked rugged and uncivilized. So....... this is the slums. The coachman nudged us to follow him. ¡°You two have been here before? Best advice I can give is to shut your mouth. People here would skin you alive if you¡¯d piss them off.¡± ¡°Oi! Leiche, c¡¯mere.¡± ¡°Speaking of which. Better stay put for a while¡ªI¡¯ll be back after this.¡± The place we stopped was where the slaves were kept. A foul smell was omitted from their cages. The slaves...... The slaves were nearly dead. From their cells and the state of their bodies, they were just as much as mine during the time of my torture. Though here...... it¡¯s much more than what I¡¯ve seen or experienced. Some of them had limbs cut off¡ªothers had patched eyes and were missing an ear or two. Their eyes were empty¡ªthere was no light coming from them. To think I¡¯ll encounter this again does make my stomach churn. Seekth looked at me. His mouth was half open but stopped midway. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± I said blankly. He nodded. We stayed there for a while. The goods of the coachman¡¯s carriage were being dropped off as he came back with his hands in one of his pouches. ¡°Well, lads? Shall we go? You behaved like I told you yeah?¡± ¡°How can we not? We don¡¯t look like we were skinned now, did we?¡± He chuckled. ¡°Hey, I got to deliver you two before I call in my day. Keeping both of you alive is part of that deal.¡± We rode the empty carriage out of the slums towards a slim alleyway near a bustling open market. ¡°Kid,¡± the coachman threw a card towards me. ¡°Keep that. Just show that when you want to find me. Some lackeys here might point where I¡¯m at.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± There, we parted ways...... . . . ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ CHAPTER 8 CHAPTER 8 [Deilos, Son of the Demon Lord Dantalion, Young Lord] [Demon Territory, De Gracia] It was already noon. The scorching heat of the sun above us wanted to burn off any unprotected skin to its perverted exposure¡ªthe same sun I was deprived of in that decrepit jail. Should I be happy about this? Maybe I should. The rhythmic clattering of hooves was all I could hear from the small convoy of carriages running through the paved road. There was a loud clamor coming from the market, from the people talking and the horses¡¯ neighs. In these past few days, I¡¯ve been able to explore more of this world now that I can stroll around. For starters, there is no sight of anything modern. What we¡¯ve ridden to get here was indicative of that¡ªa horse-drawn carriage. The houses of the villages, food, and roads all looked like they came from the medieval era. It was quite lively, with people walking and other more sophisticated carriages as we went deeper. The people within this city wore different clothes than those I¡¯ve encountered so far. In the villages, their clothes were more...... normal. But here, it¡¯s more clean¡ªelegant even. The roads were now paved more intricately¡ªlike the ones you would see the Romans would build. This is, perhaps, the difference between the peasants and the nobles¡ªa society that divides its own people. De Gracia. If I recall correctly, this is a city at the border of the Eastern Faction and the Western Faction of the demon territory. This was the same place where ¡®I¡¯ was supposed to go, and the same place where Demon Lord Barbatos wanted to meet me. This doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m out of danger yet. Even if this may just be my paranoia, my instincts are telling me otherwise. I¡¯m going to meet a Demon Lord, the highest title one can receive in the demon hierarchy. That was enough to get my guard up. My memories are still blurry. They sometimes overlap with my previous ones, so it¡¯s hard to decipher them, but right now, they were all I had. Given my current circumstances, these were enough. Seekth and I walked through the market¡ªhe made turns here and there. The perverted warmth of the sun was now seeping into my skin. From alley to alley, I followed him until we were in front of a grandiose mansion. ¡°This is the place?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I look like filth.¡± I said in a flat tone. ¡°Though the young lord might not be in attire, I am here to vouch for him. That is not something to worry about.¡± Seekth approached one of the guards. The guard looked at me, looked back at Seekth, and opened the gate. The guard bowed to me as we entered. The inside of the mansion is what you¡¯d expect. Polished furniture, gleaming ornaments, and last but not least, servants, maids in particular. Not all of them were demons¡ªsome of them were beast-kin with ears and tails growing from their heads and hinds. A few of the maids bowed when seeing us enter¡ªone handed Seekth a letter. Seekth¡¯s eyebrows furrowed, staring vigilantly at the paper before crumpling the letter, where it then magically lit up and burned by black fire. ¡°Young lord, the lady might not be available at the moment. I have received a letter from one of the maids saying that she should be here during the night.¡± ¡°What shall I do then?¡± ¡°We wait until she arrives.¡± Delayed until tonight, which means I still have some leeway to observe this place before she arrives. ¡°Sir, may I take your cloak?¡± As Seekth and I were talking, one maid extended her hands. The horns on her head were even less pronounced than mine. I took off the coat and made a small bow to her. ¡°I¡ªThis one! This one does not need such¡ª!¡± She became flustered and bowed even deeper than me. I took a glance at Seekth. He seemed to have the same reaction as the maid. Fascinating. I fixed my posture and spoke. ¡°Ah, my apologies. It seems my back is a bit tired. Would you mind letting me rest in an empty room? Even a small one would suffice.¡± I gave a small smile. ¡°Y¡ªyes! I¡¯ll be much obliged!¡± She bowed again. ¡°Then please guide me.¡± We walked through the large halls of the mansion, looking like they would stretch out infinitely just by looking. To be completely honest, it was nauseating¡ªa waste of space. Who am I to judge? In the first place, this is a rich person¡¯s place after all. What I¡¯m supposed to be doing is licking their boots and praising them for their wealth¡ªlike any normal people do. ¡°Great sir, here¡¯s the room. It¡¯s one of our spare guest rooms available. Please use this room.¡± ¡°Much appreciated.¡± ¡°Hehe~ this one also deeply appreciates the great sir.¡± She smiled at me sincerely. See? Fascinating. ¡°Ah! Great sir, my apologies. This one has other duties to do. If you may, please excuse this one.¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! She bowed for the third time and left. I opened the ornate door in front of me and went into the room. The room in question was...... what should I say about this? Grand? Hmm...... no, this is rather sickening. The gold, richly detailed carpets, and even the railings of the bed are etched to such a degree that you would need an artisan with centuries of experience and hard work to make them. This is only one of the rooms here. Hahh...... is this made by a self-indulgent pervert, perhaps? Similar to the sun, this place is filled to the brim by perversion. A world of perverts...... It¡¯s hard being the only normal person here. Not only is everything blinding to the eyes here, but the people here are also rigid. I took a seat on the bed¡ªit was soft. ¡°This is a nice bed, at least.¡± I looked at Seekth. He stood by the closed door. ¡°You can leave too, you know.¡± ¡°I am tasked with the young lord, so it is my duty to stay by his side. But if the young lord were to ask, then I could request for a maid to look over you. Though I am still required to stay outside the young lord¡¯s quarters.¡± ¡°Then sort it out. I¡¯ll take a bath first. The heat seems to have gotten to me.¡± He nodded and left. Looking around, the room does seem to have a bath. I took off my clothes in the changing room and entered the bath. It was more ordinary than I¡¯d thought. The floor was polished marble, and if you look thoroughly, you can even see your own reflection by how clean it was. The decorations are more subdued than the other parts of the mansion, and the bathtub is neither small nor too big. There was a tap in the bathtub. A tap. Hmm. I turned it, and sure enough, water came pouring out. ¡°......¡± When the tub was filled just enough to cover my body, I stepped in. The water was oddly warm. It was silent. The only noise was the skimming water as I paddled it, creating small waves that spread out and dispersed. There was no one else other than me. This might be the first time I¡¯ve gotten full privacy in this world without anyone¡¯s prying eyes to look at me. I¡¯m exhausted. My mind is still trying to figure out my current situation, but despite my thinking, I couldn¡¯t help but feel my current body. I stretched my hands and my scarred body. I took a close look at the reflection of my face in the water. The face of a son of a bitch. One tired son of a bitch. A tiresome son of a bitch. I should do poetry. As I was commenting on my immense ability to create such tear-dropping words, someone knocked on the door of the bathroom. ¡°Young lord, the maid should be here in a few moments. For now, I¡¯ll be leaving to fetch the lady.¡± ¡°Go, shoo~ I¡¯m relaxing.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± From my observations, Seekth does carry some sense of sincerity. I found nothing that indicated he was either lying or trying to deceive me. His hesitations, expressions, and even his pauses were consistent. He¡¯s rather gullible for someone of his caliber. From the coachman, and especially me. I could have asked him to kill himself, and he would most likely do it. I¡¯m a kind person after all, so I didn¡¯t. ¡°Such bullshitness.¡± I rose from the bath and wrapped the towel around my waist. I grabbed the most ¡®normal¡¯ clothes I could find in the closet of the room, filled with frilled suits and other elaborate clothes¡ªI settled for a simple white button-up shirt and black pants. As I was about to put on the clothes, someone knocked on the door again. ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°I am the maid asked to serve the young lord Deilos for the time being.¡± ¡°Come in.¡± ¡°Please excuse me¡ª¡± The maid that entered had light blue hair and yellow eyes¡ªher skin was pale. She stood frozen at the doorway. She stared at me without expression. ¡°Well? Aren¡¯t you going to come in?¡± ¡°It has come to mind that the young lord is changing clothes. May I leave for him to continue his private manner?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, come in.¡± I smiled at her. She looked at me blankly and tipped her head lightly. ¡°As you wish.¡± She entered the room and closed the door behind her in a swift motion. Even though I planned to tease her a little, she didn¡¯t seem to be affected by seeing me half-naked. She stood there without even batting an eye as I dressed. ¡°Since you¡¯re going to be under me for some time, what¡¯s your name?¡± I asked as I buttoned up the last buttons of my shirt. ¡°Scylla, young lord. This lowly one¡¯s name is Scylla.¡± ¡°Quite a lovely name you have there. What might the lovely Scylla¡¯s hobby be? I¡¯m rather curious about her.¡± She paused for a while, then spoke. ¡°This one does not have hobbies.¡± ¡°Why so? Don¡¯t you like anything, not even flowers?¡± She tilted her head lightly. ¡°That simply is.¡± Such a strange woman. It seems like going to be entertained while being here. I straightened my shirt and fixed the collars. ¡°Then shall you give me a tour around this place?¡± ¡°This one would like to.¡± She bowed. We walked around the mansion. The grand hall, the sitting room, the library, and the other quarters¡ªall of which didn¡¯t interest me. We didn¡¯t talk much. I only asked sparsely and Scylla would reply in a quick and concise manner. For example, if I were to point to a vase and ask what it is, she would reply, ¡®It is a vase¡¯ with little enthusiasm. Even by how much I tried to poke her, she wouldn¡¯t react to most of what I do. ¡°Hmm?¡± As we walked more in the hallways with candles that lit up automatically as the sun outside fell into the background, I started to notice that there were fewer maids and servants now compared to the earlier impressions I had. ¡°Where have the other servants gone?¡± ¡°That is because the servants are busy with an upcoming event, young lord.¡± ¡°Event?¡± ¡°Did the young lord not come here for that same reason?¡± Huh? What event? ¡°Would you be so eager to tell me what that is?¡± ¡°It is the Eve of Walpurgis, young lord.¡± Eve of Walpurgis...... the night that all Demon Lords gather. I remember now. I was sent here by Dantalion as his representative. For whatever reason, Demon Lord Dantalion sent his son instead of showing up himself. I don¡¯t really know him that much, and my memories about him are just as muddled as the others. Could the ambush have been the reason for that? Did he know that his carriage would get ambushed and instead sent his son as a scapegoat? That is a rather scummy move for a father, much like my own. ¡°When is that night in particular?¡± I asked Scylla. She looked at me oddly, as if I were asking the most basic things that even a child would know. She composed herself and said plainly. ¡°The Eve of Walpurgis happens during the 25th day of the 13th month of the year, which is a week from now, young lord.¡± A week from now. ¡°And the venue is......¡± ¡°Here.¡± ¡°I see.¡± . . . ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ CHAPTER 9 CHAPTER 9 [Deilos, Son of the Demon Lord Dantalion, Young Lord] [Demon Territory, De Gracia¡ªGuest Mansion] The soles of my feet were aching. The sun had already sunk into the background when Scylla and I walked to the room. She walked at the same pace from the very beginning to the end, not even showing any glimpse of weariness. Is she some kind of superhuman? Well, given that her appearance is out of the ordinary, I can only speculate. She hasn¡¯t even opened up to me once during our little date walk around the mansion. Even when I tried to flirt with her, she would just brush me off. Despite not being a man whose desires leak in every action, I¡¯m still hurt. Oh, the tragedy. ¡°Young lord, we¡¯ve returned.¡± We stopped at the front of my room. Scylla looked at me with the same unflinching eyes she had the first time I saw it. Cold, emotionless eyes. ¡°Although this lowly one had an enjoyable time she spent with the young lord. Unfortunately, this one also needs some rest, if the young lord were to be kind in letting her.¡± Enjoyable. Miss, your face isn¡¯t showing that. ¡°Why don¡¯t you rest in my room for a while? I¡¯d like to talk with you more if that¡¯s ok with you.¡± Scylla fixed her eyes on me for a brief moment. Is she thinking, perhaps? Letting someone rest in your own private place is something that a caring person would do. I¡¯m a gentleman, no doubt. Did she finally fall for me? Ehem...... we¡¯ve only met. Please don¡¯t be like that~ I¡¯m not ready. She sighed lightly. ¡°If the young lord wants to, I¡¯d be most pleased.¡± She opened the door for me. When I entered the room, someone was already on my bed. A small figure sat there with somewhat erotic clothes, where her small breasts were nearly splayed in the open. Her hair was a mixture of black and white, while her eyes were golden, and she seemed to look at me with an innate impulse to murder someone when they met her. ¡°Deilos.¡± She grinned at me. She knows my name. My guts are telling me that this tiny girl is dangerous. ¡°And who might this pretty girl be?¡± ¡°Angh!?¡± Her eyebrows splayed upwards, and her small body twitched with a motion that slogged like her body was being tethered by strings, but was suddenly cut off. Her once poised, sitting posture was now that of a small kid doing a tantrum. ¡°Surely you¡¯re joking. Child, if you¡¯re joking, cut the bullshit.¡± I looked at Scylla. It seemed like Barbatos¡¯ demeanor did not faze her. I nudged her, and gave her a look that even someone with little knowledge of facial expressions would decipher as ¡®Help me¡¯. Scylla stepped closer to me and whispered in my ear. ¡°Young lord, that is her highness, Demon Lord Barbatos.¡± Barbatos...... I never expected Demon Lord Barbatos to be a small child. But seeing more closely, on her head, there was a set of much more pronounced horns compared to others. I¡¯m not being scammed here, correct? Is she truly her? ¡°Ah, my apologies, your highness. It seems like my vision is quite blurry, and I couldn¡¯t recognize you.¡± ¡°Hah?¡± ¡°There have been things that happened lately that have compromised my body, including my vision. That is why I¡¯m begging her highness to forgive me. I might even lick her toes if she so pleases.¡± She looked at me with disgust. ¡°Tsk. Don¡¯t be so formal. I¡¯m here for something more personal. Maid, leave us for a while. I¡¯d like to have a private conversation with him.¡± Formal...... so it is common to lick one¡¯s toes. I¡¯ll take note of that. Scylla tipped her head and left. Barbatos sighed lightly and fixed her posture. ¡°Well?¡± her smug face returned. ¡°Don¡¯t you stand there, sit.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mind if I do.¡± I plopped down on the chair in front of the bed.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. It was quite unusual for someone whose body can be described as a literal child to have this much power and unease talking to. Well, there might be other people who might be excited to be in this position, but fortunately, I¡¯m a decent human being, a decent demon? Either way, I¡¯m not too motivated to talk to her¡ªit¡¯s just all for me to live another day. I have to choose my words and actions carefully. ¡°What might the great Demon Lord Barbatos have with a child like me?¡± I smiled at her. She smiled back. ¡°Nothing much. I do wonder how your day has been.¡± ¡°That is a rather awful joke, your highness, but if I were to tell you, then the mansion is quite splendid. Is this your highness¡¯s place?¡± ¡°Splendid, you say? Hah. Suits you, this mansion is rather disgustingly disturbing. I could feel my skin wanting to come off the moment I stepped in here. This ain¡¯t mine, anyway.¡± A beautiful answer. We might get along pretty well. She was playing with the bedsheet, lightly pulling on it, and tilting her head. ¡°Now that I see you¡¯re good enough to have a conversation, let¡¯s talk about why I¡¯ve made you come here.¡± Here it is. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about rumors that your father¡¯s having a bad time with some dog problems.¡± ¡°Dog?¡± ¡°Yes, a dog.¡± She smirked. ¡°Think about it this way. Let¡¯s say that one dog had a pup, but due to certain circumstances, the pup suddenly went missing. The papa dog might have known why the pup went missing. It might have been because of another dog¡¯s spite, and because of that spite, they took away the pup without the papa dog realizing.¡± She swung her legs idly in a smooth motion. ¡°The papa dog might not be the best parent¡ªhe might not even be a decent one, but a certain someone helped that untrustworthy papa dog. They were able to find the pup, kept it safe, and made sure it could live.¡± She looked at me. ¡°And now, what do you think that someone expects from the papa dog?¡± What¡¯s all this talk about dogs? From the tone I¡¯m getting from her, she¡¯s here to interrogate me¡ªan interrogation masked as a metaphor. Judging from what she¡¯s trying to point out, there¡¯s something that I have to do or have that she wants. Is it information? I have to remember. But for now, I have to see how much I can get from her. ¡°On that note, don¡¯t you ever dislike dogs?¡± She continued. ¡°I don¡¯t necessarily dislike dogs, my lady. Some can be quite useful. They¡¯re good to use as guards when you sleep.¡± ¡°Tsk, tsk~ That¡¯s a bad misconception, child. A dog isn¡¯t that loyal. If you let a dog watch over you when you sleep, it¡¯ll bite, you know.¡± ¡°Aha......¡± Think...... From everything I¡¯ve gathered so far, what could her motives be? Think...... Rumors. Think...... The rebellions. I asked about the rumors as Scylla and I walked around the mansion¡ªall of their answers were basically the same. ¡ª It has been speculated, young lord¡ªthat the humans were the ones spreading it. ¡ª That...... although this lowly one might not confirm such things, it has been to my knowledge that the rumor does indeed exist. ¡ª Y¡ªyes! I¡¯ve heard such rumors, great sir. But it¡¯s only a rumor, so this one doesn¡¯t have much knowledge of it. From what I¡¯ve remembered, the Demon Lord whose hatred against the humans the most was none other than her, Demon Lord Barbatos. The connections between what the coachman said about a rumor of nobles funding the rebellions. One possible option means she¡¯s after them. But what could I have to do with it? ¡°Not all dogs bite their sleeping masters, my lady.¡± ¡°Hah~ that is true, that dogs don¡¯t always bite when their owner sleeps, but don¡¯t you think it¡¯s rather dumb for not anticipating it? A dog can bite whenever it wants to, and whoever it is.¡± Anticipating it. Whoever it is. The papa dog, the pup, and the spiteful one. I see. There is a chance it¡¯s not just the human nobles but also the other Demon Lords. So, is she implying that Dantalion is a traitor? That¡¯s the most plausible answer. Dantalion, having been double-crossed, used his son as a scapegoat in the upcoming Eve of Walpurgis to hide himself. If Dantalion was indeed a traitor, then she only rescued me to use as bait to lure out the others who might want to silence me or use me as their bait for him. I¡¯m getting headaches from all of this. ¡°Well, that is a rather saddening thing for the dog to be unreliable like that. Could that dog be the papa dog your highness had mentioned? If I would have met it, then I would have put shackles on it.¡± ¡°Kuhuhu~ AHAHAH!¡± She pounded on the bed while laughing. ¡°I¡¯m glad we¡¯re on the same page. Do you have a pen and paper? I¡¯d like to give you a note.¡± ¡°I do believe this room has one.¡± I stood up to fetch a piece of paper and the quill pen on the table next to the drawer. I gave it to Barbatos. Her smile crept up to an unsettling crescent while she wrote something on the paper. She handed it to me. It was written in demon language. ¡®The papa dog is leashed. Not by the rescuer. The pup might not live much longer. Find the spiteful one.¡¯ I stared at the paper for a while. ¡°Kuhuhu~ be sure to talk back with me later, eh? I do like to chit-chat from time to time.¡± She walked out of the room. A dog. Haha...... ahahaha. This might be one way to give such a convoluted massage. If someone were to be tasked with finding someone who they never even interacted with, they would most likely not find them. The same goes for me. Such an unreasonable task. ¡®The pup might not live much longer.¡¯ I stared at the note again. Although her demeanor is quite crass, her handwriting is quite elegant. ¡®Live.¡¯ I stared at that one word¡ªmy mind trying to come up with a conclusion about what had just happened. In order to live, I must claw my way up again...... This is one unreasonable life. . . . ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ CHAPTER 10 CHAPTER 10 [Scylla, Lowly Peasant Half-breed, Maid] [Demon Territory, De Gracia¡ªGuest Mansion] Pervert. That was the word that came to my mind upon meeting the young lord Deilos. I stood by the door outside his room, thinking about what to do with my boredom, as he and Demon Lord Barbatos were talking. If someone would let you in while they were changing their clothes, knowing full well that they were naked, you would only think of that person as a pervert. The way his eyes regarded my body was quite uncomfortable. He was on par with other pieces of trash, calling themselves ¡®nobles¡¯. This is one big joke, correct? Those same people who are supposed to be looked up to by the people they rule are the same as some mutts on the streets drooling over some rotten throwaway food. ¡°Disappointing.¡± Oops. I have to watch my mouth. If I were to be caught talking in any way disrespectful to these revered people, I might lose my head, or worse, get my tongue cut off. By the time I¡¯ve reached the conclusion that nobles were perverted waste-eating garbage, Demon Lord Barbatos had walked out of the young lord¡¯s room. I bowed at her, and she snickered. ¡°Tch¡ªwhy is there a half-breed here?¡± I kept my head low, pretending not to hear her not-so-veiled threat. Peasants and slaves are the lowest, bottom-of-the-barrel status you could have in the demon territory. But there¡¯s also another one, and that is half-breeds. If you were to ask someone to choose between a slave and a half-breed, they would more likely than not pick the slave. If you consider nobles to be lions or tigers and slaves to be rabbits in a food chain, then half-breeds would be insects. That much is evident from guiding the young lord through the mansion earlier this day. The servants and maids had their eyes stuck on us, mostly on me. I can tell by their faces what they¡¯re thinking. ¡ª Why is a half-breed escorting a noble? ¡ª Just because you were the one chosen by the knight, that doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re better than us. Filthy half-breed. ¡ª Is she a loose one? She most likely is. She¡¯s keeping her head high, after all. These words are quite normal. In fact, it is understandable. For them, who lick the toes of those in power, they can only really vent their frustrations to those below them. That is reality. No matter how low your status is, a person would want to elevate themselves from their current predicament in one way or another, and if stepping on others would be the thing that can make them have that feeling of superiority, then so be it, they will ruin your life just because they feel inferior to others and would like some of that power. This is the ideological need of the suppressed. Such unsavory needs...... The voice of the young lord came through the door, asking me to go in. He was sitting on the chair by the side of his bed, staring at a piece of paper. ¡°What does the young lord want from this lowly one that he wanted her to be in his room in the night?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you? I¡¯d like to talk with Scylla some more.¡± He smiled softly at me. While I¡¯m quite adept at telling someone¡¯s face, it seems like I¡¯m not able to do that with the young lord so easily. I don¡¯t know his motives. Is he truly interested in me, or is there something else hidden beneath that ¡®kind¡¯ fa?ade of his? ¡°Now come, sit here.¡± He tapped at an empty space in his bed. ¡°......¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Are you perhaps scared? I¡¯m not going to do anything with you.¡± ¡°Although it is a generous offer, this one must decline. If the young lord had not noticed yet, then it would dissatisfy him to know that this lowly one is a mere half-breed and would likely stain his bed if she so touched it.¡± Despite him treating me with a skewed sense of kindness earlier, now that he knows my lineage, he might be less interested in me, lessening what I have to deal with. There is a risk, though. One such instance was when I was smacked in the face by a noble for not telling him that I¡¯m a half-breed and was beaten senselessly for it. ¡°And? If you being a half-breed was the reason you had such a beautiful face, then there¡¯s no real reason why I¡¯d be dissatisfied in any way.¡± ¡°......¡± He is an odd one. ¡°Is it that Scylla does not want to be with me? That does hurt me a little.¡± ¡°I¡ªthis one¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s ok. Go ahead and rest. We¡¯ll be going to the market tomorrow.¡± ¡°Market? Isn¡¯t the young lord injured? From the instructions of the knight that had asked this one, he said to look after the young lord because of his injuries.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. Go rest. It is my problem, not yours.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± It took a few minutes before I got back to the maid¡¯s quarters and stepped inside my room. It was a small, crooked place that was used as a place to store cleaning equipment. I took off my clothes and put on my nightgown. My habit was to write random things in a diary. It was the only thing that I had control over, whether it was the daily work or the mishaps the other maids would blame on me. When I reached out my hand to grab my small notebook, there was a letter on my desk. Could it be from them? I opened the letter.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡®Report. One goose was let go. Two mice have entered the building. The third head is on her trail. Four treats have been tossed into the den. Report. Gather information about the goose. Eliminate the mice.¡¯ ......It seems like I have some more work to do than expected. . . . By the next day, I came to the young lord¡¯s room and knocked. No one answered. Is he still asleep perhaps? It¡¯s already been approximately 3 hours since the sun has come up the horizon. The usual waking time for nobles is around 1 hour after sunrise in the winter, 30 minutes more in the fall, and 2 hours in the spring. This season is within the middle ground of fall. The young lord seems to sleep more than usual. While waiting for his answer, one of the servants came up to me. ¡°Half-breed, did you see the head maid around?¡± ¡°This lowly one had not.¡± ¡°Tsk, not being present when you need her the most. Such a hassle.¡± I tipped my head as he left. ¡°Come in.¡± The young lord spoke. ¡°Please excuse me¡ª¡± Upon entering, my whole body froze. The young lord is half-naked again. I closed the door behind me so that there wouldn¡¯t be anyone else to see such an inappropriate scene and stood in the center of the room. Does he have a fetish for exposing himself? Such uncouth. I composed myself. ¡°Should I help the young lord dress?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Yesterday, when I looked at his body, I saw his injuries. Now that I¡¯m this close to him, I was able to observe the scars on his back and wrists properly. They were quite plentiful. From whip marks and bruises, some even had the look of acids poured on the skin. He fixed the cuffs of his shirt and straightened his back. ¡°Shall we go?¡± I nodded. We walked through the streets of the city down to the marketplace. The young lord¡¯s attire was not reminiscent of his noble status. He was wearing clothes that were similar to those of low-ranking nobles, close to commoner clothes. ¡°Not here.¡± He said as he checked the goods in the stores. After some thinking, he proceeded to go deeper into the market, towards the slums. ¡°Young lord, is it ok to not bring a knight with us? We¡¯re going into the slums, after all.¡± ¡°It¡¯s unnecessary.¡± If this were any other noble, then they would likely have brought 4-5 knights with them at a minimum. Yet, the young lord did not even bother bringing one and going to the slums at that. ¡°This one finds the young lord brave.¡± ¡°Brave, you say? This is quite normal. I¡¯m only here to check for something, anyway. There¡¯s no need to bring someone that¡¯s not even going to contribute to the problem at hand.¡± ¡°Then why did the young lord bring this one?¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°You¡¯re contradicting yourself, young lord.¡± I truly cannot comprehend what¡¯s going on in his head. ¡°May I ask what the young lord is here for?¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking for a pet.¡± ¡°Pet?¡± He smirked. ¡°Yes, a pet.¡± We walked through the winding alleyways of the slums, through the pubs and red district to the slave market. There, the young lord handed a man some sort of card and then led us in. Inside the building was a shabby tavern. The young lord was talking to someone. I couldn¡¯t hear what they were talking about. After a while of talking, he and the man went inside a room with a metal door. I wanted to follow, but the guard didn¡¯t let me. ¡°Little miss, you¡¯re not permitted.¡± ¡°Certainly.¡± I stepped back to a corner of the tavern. Observing the place, it seemed like eyes were on me. From all around, the drinking men were whispering to one another while taking glances as if they were presented something like treasure before them to steal. ¡°Ehe, what do we have there?¡± One of the drunk men in the tavern approached me. His breath stank of alcohol and bathlessness, and came closer, eyeing me down. His appearance was something to be considered filthy. ¡°Hehe~ how about you miss come down the alley with us? I¡¯d give you a good buck, ya know.¡± ¡°This one does not want to participate in such acts.¡± I replied to him. ¡°Oho~ that¡¯s one top-notch quality maid we have here~¡± He put his hand on my shoulder. I stepped to the side, letting him fall to the ground because of his off-balanced structure. ¡°Ack! This bitch!¡± He tried to grab my legs, but I kicked the man''s hand, making him recoil. ¡°Kuh!¡± He tried again, now grabbing my shoes. Pathetic. I kicked his face. The man curled while covering his face. I kicked his face again and again and again until blood was pooling below him. ¡°O-oi! Stop that,¡± the guard intervened, creating space between me and the drunk man. ¡°Giuseppe, you really got to stop drinking, you bastard. This might be the reason your wife left you for another man.¡± ¡°Suddap, you son of a bitch! This woman kicked me! She kicked me multiple times!" The man on the ground started to grovel and cry as the guard picked him up. ¡°I mean, look at you. You look like shit. My bad young lady.¡± ¡°It is fine.¡± The guard gave me a concerned look and shouldered the drunken man away. ¡°......¡± The onlookers were staring at me while the drunk man was dragged by the guard. Their gazes told me that they wouldn¡¯t be trying to do such stupid acts like him. Good. Now I can have my moment of peace. It took the young lord a few minutes to come out¡ªon his hands was a dog¡ªa small scrawny and dirty dog. ¡°The young lord came all the way here to buy that?¡± ¡°Why? Isn¡¯t it cute?¡± Cute...... ¡°I believe the young lord does not know the definition of cute.¡± He frowned. ¡°Cuteness, although subjective, is the byproduct of something or someone that contains such elements in them. More likely than not, if a person deems a thing cute, someone else would also deem it cute. By that logic, I do have to question why you don''t find this creature cute.¡± What is he talking about? ¡°That is such...... a roundabout way to tell this one that she¡¯s not flattered by the young lord''s purchase.¡± ¡°It might be.¡± He looked around. He looked at me and at my feet. ¡°Did something happen?¡± ¡°No, young lord.¡± He stared at me as he stroked the puppy''s head. ¡°It is not a good habit to lie, you know.¡± ¡°This lowly one did not lie.¡± The young lord made a ¡®hmm¡¯ sound and shrugged. As we exited the slave market, I couldn¡¯t help but glance at the puppy in his arms. Despite its pitiful state, it seemed oddly content, its small body leaning into the young lord¡¯s warmth. ¡°This is one interesting place, no?¡± ¡°If the young lord deems it so, then it is.¡± ¡°Have a good look. This wouldn''t be our first time going here.¡± All around us were only the slum people, made for the slums, living in the slums. I looked at the young lord. For a split second, his red eyes had a gaze without the usual playfulness but something far more sinister¡ªeyes I¡¯d seen countless times before. The gaze of a cold-blooded murderer. ¡°This one fears the young lord¡¯s intentions.¡± He chuckled. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t.¡± . . . ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ