Chapter 14
— — —
The sound of cold metal scraping against metal sliced through the silence.
Because I wanted to keep Deyan’s presence as hidden as possible, I was tending to his wounds myself.
He had shown a hint of resistance when I wiped his sweat-drenched body with a damp towel, but he soon grew docile.
It was because every time he resisted, I would dig my fingernails into his wounds.
"These wounds are similar to the injury on your abdomen."
When I asked, pointing to the spot that had already healed perfectly and left only a scar, Deyan let out a sneer.
"Have you been observing me that closely?"
"Keeping an eye on the enemy's condition is basic."
"I’m not a frog for dissection."
I responded to his disgruntled muttering with a smile.
"You are, though. A frog."
A truly excellent frog for study that doesn't die even if you rip out its heart.
Perhaps at a loss for words at my brazen reply, Deyan clamped his mouth shut again.
I glanced at him as he fell silent, applied a clean cloth to the disinfected wound, and wrapped it tightly in bandages.
"From now on, listen only to what I say. You don't need to answer anything. If a situation arises where a response is necessary, just nod."
"……."
"Did you understand?"
*Clench.*
As I confirmed this, I gripped his shoulder until it felt like I was digging into it, and Deyan’s body stiffened reflexively.
He wore a displeased expression, but he nodded reluctantly, and I smiled with satisfaction.
"First of all, the situation has become a bit tangled."
Thanks to Deyan’s blood, I succeeded in summoning the demon I wanted.
The problem is that the demons have lost their power.
They say the order of Hell, or the Demon Realm, has been thrown into chaos, and the demon who is the root cause of it all is hiding in the human world.
"Beval wants to find the demon you contracted with. But since it seems neither you nor Sir Holdin know anything... it’s become complicated."
If we find that demon, Beval can kill it, restore the disrupted order, and regain his original power.
Because of this, Beval needs human cooperation to remain in the human world.
In other words, he is in a position where he needs me.
The promise not to take my soul as the price for the contract must be a massive concession he offered because he was desperate.
"Still, you shouldn't trust a demon blindly, right? As you said, a contract with a demon is dangerous."
I cut the end of the bandage neatly and tied it off cleanly.
"That’s why I used your subordinate a little."
I was the one who summoned the demon using Deyan’s blood, but it was Holdin who made the contract.
Since the 'sin' the angel spoke of seems to refer to selling one's soul to a demon, it doesn't apply to me.
Of course, if trading with a demon in any form is a sin itself, I would have nothing to say, but...
'If that were the case, the angel wouldn't have healed my hand.'
I chewed over the words that Beval and Sariel had spat out while confronting each other.
[Those pigeon bastards can't interfere in human affairs because of their damn rules.]
Beval had asserted that Sariel could not interfere.
Since it was a demon standing at the opposite pole from an angel who said it while facing him, I could believe it.
'At the very least, they will just watch until those rules are broken.'
If the angel's role is merely to watch and judge sins when a human's life ends, it shouldn't affect my revenge.
'As long as I can have my revenge.'
Whether my soul turns to dust or burns entirely in the fires of hell.
None of that mattered.
My life was not much different from hell as it was.
Living like a queen in this world and a slave in the next doesn't sound too bad.
"From now on, your adjutant will help with my revenge. In return, I will do my best to ensure you can break free from your curse."
I told Deyan the fact that Sariel had been summoned from the Angel Statue I happened to be carrying.
"And this is just my guess, but since the contract wasn't established by your own will, your soul isn't cursed yet. That means if we play our cards right, we might be able to break the contract."
"How can you, Grand Duchess... Ugh!"
"I am the only one who speaks. You are only to listen."
At my sharp warning, Deyan gave a short nod.
'He's not an idiot, so he must have understood.'
I let go of the shoulder I had been gripping and handed him the painkillers I had brought along with some water.
I don't know if it will be effective for wounds caused by an angel's punishment, but...
'There's meaning in the act of taking care of him.'
Taming always requires both a carrot and a stick.
"So, from now on, you are my hostage. You can just watch with deep emotion as your adjutant works hard for your sake. Do you understand?"
"……."
Deyan, who glanced at me with gloomy eyes, nodded reluctantly.
I smiled brightly and held out my right hand to him.
"Of course, I may need your cooperation when necessary, so I'll be counting on you then."
"……."
"Go on."
When I prompted him, Deyan finally took my hand with hesitation.
The hand of a man who had spent half his life rolling around on battlefields was thick and rough.
"This is the annex. I've dismissed everyone except for essential personnel, so please make yourself at home. You may walk in the backyard if you wish."
I put on a good-natured face, gathered the bandages and disinfectant, and stood up.
"Giselle will bring your meals at the scheduled times, so make sure you eat them."
It meant there would be no food outside of the scheduled times.
Deyan, who cleverly caught the subtext in my words, nodded shortly again.
I swallowed my satisfaction and crinkled my eyes.
"Good. Then, get some rest."
* * *
The backyard, bathed in the midday sun, was quiet.
Deyan sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the tranquil scenery.
He could see a gardener climbing a ladder to prune the trees and a maid wandering through the well-tended garden, plucking flower petals.
Aside from the workers, there wasn't a single guest or member of the Grand Ducal household.
'……What was the composition of the Grand Duke Hubert family again?'
Even if one is a wretch rolling around on the battlefield under the Emperor's orders, a noble is still a noble.
Deyan also knew as much as he needed to about other families.
The master of the Grand Duchy of Plene, Grand Duke Hubert.
He had three children.
Among them, the youngest son died of a fever before he was even four days old.
Excluding the youngest son, who was effectively non-existent, there was the eldest daughter, Idir Hubert, and a younger brother three years her junior.
'Did they say they were recluses?'
The younger son hadn't even shown his face, refusing to hold the coming-of-age ceremony he should have had long ago.
The Grand Duke had disappeared from view for some reason or another at some point.
Of course, it seemed he was diligently attending to state affairs, but the Grand Duke himself never appeared.
He even put Idir in his place for exchanges with other countries.
'Even when I was assigned to guard her, she came as a proxy.'
It was two years ago.
The Empire held a grand banquet to show off its well-being.
Invitations were sent to all the major figures on the continent, and the Grand Duchy of Plene received one as well.
The person the Emperor of Adorif requested was Grand Duke Hubert, but the person who attended was Idir, not him.
Fortunately, the Emperor of Adorif was pleased with her.
He had interpreted it as the utmost favor that the only Grand Duchess of the Grand Duchy, who had just come of age, was attending the founding festival banquet.
Deyan, who already had his orders, was assigned to be her escort.
Since the County of Nemanich was adjacent to the Grand Duchy of Plene and the age gap between the two wasn't that large, the order implied that he should try to get along well with her.
"You've released ornamental fish into the fountain?"
"Yes."
"What is the reason?"
"It is difficult to obtain such ornamental fish inland."
"Aha. So it's for the purpose of showing off."
"……."
"It's cute. What happens if they get sucked into the fountain?"
"If they get stuck in the pipes and die, we just pull them out."
"……I see."
I should have noticed back then, when she blinked those clear, innocent-looking eyes without showing a shred of sympathy.
"It's nice that you're concise."
I should have paid more attention to the fact that even though she looked at the swimming fish as if they were the most adorable things in the world, she didn't show even a grain of sugar's worth of sympathy.
"The wind is cold, so let's go back inside."
"What a pity."
I was completely fooled by her obedient appearance as she followed me back inside while saying it was a pity.
And the result is this state of affairs.
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