Chapter 118

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 118

Chapter Title: Demon's Oath

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[If you don't grant my wish, you'll be in danger yourself. Aren't you already on the brink of death just from blocking that attack?]

He spoke with an arrogant expression, so I snorted dismissively at him.

"Then wait until I exhaust my holy power and go mad, or until I drop dead."

[What?!]

"But if I—the one who opened the passage—die, can you even go back?"

[How dare you...!]

"Paimon already tried that trick."

I widened my eyes, and the demon flinched.

From my experience in my fourth life, this demon was definitely not the human-friendly type like Bune.

And yet, the moment I summoned him, he'd said [Nice to meet you.] That had to mean he had some wish I needed to grant.

'That confirms it.'

I had the upper hand in this relationship with the demon.

Whether he was desperate for his wish like Bune or indifferent to it like Paimon, the fact remained: now that the passage was open, only I could send him back.

I grinned slyly at the flustered demon.

The demon struggled to feign composure.

[All things in the world follow their natural course. Helping those who summoned me with a sacrifice is simply part of that order.]

"By that logic, isn't it natural for me to want to see you apologize for trying to harm my family and leaving me in this state?"

[You damned—]

"You should say, 'I'm sorry.'"

[...I can't. I won't!]

"Fine. Then let's die together."

The demon stared at me intently, as if gauging whether I was really willing to push things to the worst possible outcome. I didn't look away.

"Let's both go down in flames. I'm not scared at all."

[...Yes.]

"What?"

[I'm sorry.]

I snapped my head up proudly.

"Say you will never lay a hand on the Duvered family again."

[...Never again... Duvered...]

He glared at me but grudgingly repeated the words as ordered. I smirked and said,

"Good. Now shut up."

[...How can you treat me with such contempt?]

The demon, fuming to the point of sulkiness, asked with teary eyes.

"Giving you orders... drains my strength... so just stay quiet...."

With the tension gone, I collapsed to the floor and curled up into a ball.

'I've felt like I was dying since earlier...'

I groaned softly, desperately trying to absorb even a little mana from the air.

My threat to die had been sincere.

Though I'd kept my composure in the prison cell, that was only to reassure my family and show the outside world that I had nothing to hide.

In truth, I was cornered. If Duke Ballua framed this as treason, my family would be in danger too.

That's why, in this worst-case scenario—low on holy power and trapped in a cell—I'd had no choice but to summon the demon.

I desperately needed his help.

But cooperation without trust would only hold me back.

'Better for me to take the full blame and die than botch everything with an untrusted demon.'

At least that way, my family and my people would get through this unscathed.

The demon, staring at my deathly pale face drained of blood, finally vanished.

That was the last thing I saw before losing consciousness.

"...in."

"Uh...."

"Leblain."

My eyes were so swollen I could barely open them. When I rubbed them, something lightly touched my forehead with a soft tap.

'Feels so good...'

It was an odd sensation.

The moment whatever it was touched me, my throbbing, heavy head instantly cooled.

It felt so wonderful that when it pulled away, I rubbed my cheek against it and whined, "More...."

And then, without thinking, I opened my eyes.

"Gasp!"

"......!"

A handsome face right in front of me...!!

I yelped in surprise.

"Adrian?"

He blinked wide-eyed, his hand caught in my grasp.

"Yeah."

"What are you doing here?"

"His Majesty summoned me to the palace, and I sensed you."

"Me?"

"Yeah. Came over, and you were collapsed."

I tilted my head.

'Is that even possible? Huh? But my condition right now...'

My body felt lighter than before I collapsed. My adult thoughts were holding steady too. Earlier, the terror of being locked in that dark cell had nearly made me burst into tears.

I blinked, checking myself over, then startled at Adrian.

"But why is your face so pale!"

He was the one who looked like a patient. Ghostly white, like he might faint any second.

'No way.'

I quickly rolled up Adrian's sleeve. The mana circuit on the back of his hand had spread like bulging veins all the way up his arm.

"You... shared your holy power with me."

"......"

I'd known he was more talented than most, but I hadn't realized his power was this extraordinary.

Transferring holy power not into a spinel, but directly to another person—that was called a Blessing. A secret technique passed down among the popes.

"Where did you learn that? Did His Holiness teach you?"

"No."

"Then how?"

"I just thought I wanted to save you, and it worked. I'm glad."

Adrian smiled faintly, leaving me dumbfounded.

"Glad? You're an idiot!"

"...Mad?"

"What if you exhausted all your holy power and died?!"

I was someone with cardinal-level holy power. Having a lot of it was like owning a massive water tank compared to others.

Pouring water from a cup was one thing—dumping it into a giant tank was entirely different.

One slip, and Adrian could've depleted everything and died.

"Still, I'm happy you're not hurting anymore."

"...You're really an idiot."

Adrian smiled purely again.

'Just like those sickly beautiful boys from the maids' novels... No, snap out of it.'

I almost got lost in his looks for a moment but pulled myself together.

"How did you even get into the prison? You don't have anyone to help you."

"Just like you taught me."

"Me?"

Adrian nodded.

"No way..."

"Don't you value your life? How can you be so sure of the future? Get unlucky, and you might lose a limb or worse."

He'd remembered the blackmail tactic I'd taught him well.

I nodded with an "Oh."

"Good, good job. Next time something comes up, assess the situation and threaten as needed."

"Yeah."

"Anyway, thanks for today."

"Yeah."

I chuckled softly.

'He's just like a puppy.'

After seeing only wild beasts at home, encountering such a pure little pup made my heart melt.

He placed his hand on my forehead again and said,

"You seem really okay now."

His eyes crinkled softly, and for some reason, it reminded me of something from my past life—when the bakery sister saw Jay, my beggar gang buddy, and said,

[That kid really tugs at a sister's heartstrings.]

So this is what 'tugging at heartstrings' feels like. I wanted to protect him, pinch his cheeks. Sure, by this life's age, Adrian was four years older than me, but still.

If this was the vibe, it made sense how Jay scored us all those leftover pastries.

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks to you. But go now. If Empress Ivonne sees you, it'll be trouble."

"What about you?"

"Huh?"

"When's Duke Duvered coming to get you?"

"That's..."

"Have you made contact with Viscount Trigon? He's at the center of this mess."

"How do you know that?"

I asked in surprise.

Viscount Trigon was indeed at the heart of it.

The key debate was whether my magic was defensive or offensive.

But that depended on perspective, and my fate would be decided by the testimony of Trigon, the chief palace mage responsible for the imperial barrier.

"His Majesty told me."

"Ah."

I grinned and patted Adrian's head.

"Smart boy. Good, good. Remember stuff like that."

"Yeah...."

"Dad's probably already reaching out to Trigon. I'll be out soon, so don't worry."

I quickly got Adrian up and pushed him toward the cell door.

"See you once you're out, Adrian."

"...Then can I call you Lebre?"

"Of course."

I needed to build a solid relationship with the future powerhouse Adrian.

I grinned inwardly and said,

"We're friends, after all!"

"......"

"......?"

"......Yeah."

Adrian brushed my hair aside and murmured in a very low voice,

"See you next time... friend."

I flinched without realizing it.

'His eyes are just too earnest.'

Makes the heart skip a beat.

Leblain inside the bars waved until Adrian fully exited the prison.

Even after stepping through the door, Adrian stared back intently.

"Your Highness."

A man in knight's uniform approached Adrian.

"Trigon."

Adrian asked, and the man reported in a low voice what he'd learned.

"He's making contact with both Duvered and the temple separately but remains tight-lipped. He spoke with the cardinal and deflected Duke Duvered's request for a private meeting. His scales don't seem to be tipping toward Duvered."

"Or he could be trying to raise the stakes higher."

"Shall we prepare funds? We can't just stand by while the little one—destined to be under Your Highness's protection—faces trouble."

"If he could be bought with money, Duke Duvered would've wrapped this up ages ago."

"Then..."

"Drag Trigon here."

"It's not yet time for Your Highness to step forward."

Adrian slowly shifted his gaze to the man.

"I don't want to see that child locked in a cell for even one more day."

"But..."

"Drag him. If he resists—"

Adrian's red eyes gleamed sharply.

"No need to bring him back in one piece."

"...Understood."

Duchess Camilla, entrusted by the Emperor with Adrian's care, had once said,

[To be so innocent even within the Demon Palace. I'm worried.]

Innocent?

The man scoffed inwardly.

Adrian was a child raised in a cradle full of blades. It wasn't his mother's milk that nurtured him, but enmity.

If anyone knew what this thirteen-year-old was orchestrating from the shadows, no one would dare call Adrian just a child.

That night.

The court mages looked at the thoroughly drunk Trigon with worried eyes.

"This is going to end badly. You're this wasted—how do you plan to get home alone?"

"Who dares lay a hand on me! Even that Duke Duvered and His Most Reverend Eminence the Cardinal can't raise their heads in my presence!"

Despite their protests, Trigon insisted on staggering home alone.

'The temple offered fifty million francs. Play it right, and they might double it. I'm rich. Rich!'

He couldn't even guess how much Duke Duvered might offer.

As he stumbled along, he suddenly froze.

"Who's there! Who dares follow me?!"

He'd snagged the chief mage position through his father's connections, but even a mediocre fish was still a fish. He wasn't so dull as to miss a tail.

At his shout, figures hidden in the dark street revealed themselves.

"My master wants you..."

"Our lord summons..."

"My client..."

"His Noble Lordship calls for you..."

"Our master demands you..."

The assassins blinked at each other in surprise.

'What the hell are these guys?'

Not just one or two.

At least five assassination squads encircled Trigon, glaring at one another.

"Wh-what-what are you?!"

As Trigon screamed, the assassins eyed each other warily.

"Back off."

"You back off."

"Want a taste of my lord's wrath?!"

"This side's patron is beyond your imagination!"

"No way bigger than ours!"

While the assassins bickered, Trigon slyly etched a mana circuit onto the back of his hand.

'Temple? Duvered? So many... Time to bolt.'

At that moment—

Thud! Something struck him, and Trigon collapsed without so much as a yelp.

The assassins startled, scanning the surroundings.

"What was that?!"

Something invisible lingered here.

That 'something' muttered soundlessly.

-

--