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Book Chapter 7: If There's No Answer, Change the Question (4)

"It seems it was intentional."

Benjamin let out a hollow laugh as he looked at Irene, who still showed no sign of yielding. Her persistently obstinate behaviour seemed less annoying and more endearing, but it was beginning to reach a dangerously precarious level. However, his laughter quickly faded.

"I can tolerate everything else, but please don't insult Felix, okay?"

It was that one phrase, driven in like a wedge. The problem wasn’t her attitude itself. It was just the usual light provocation he was always on the receiving end of.

‘Then what on earth is making me so irritated?’

However, his demeanour grew ever colder, his expression stiffening with no sign of relaxation. He searched inside his coat. He still had plenty of the drug left from what he’d used on Cedric.

"As expected, it seems I shouldn't do things that don't suit me and should just live the way I always have..."

Benjamin grabbed the key and inserted it into the securely locked prison door. He then slowly approached Irene, who was chained to the bed.

His smiling face seemed to barely show any trace of rational thought.

"Excuse me? I'm currently a man, you know?"

Irene pointed to herself with a finger as she spoke.

“Ar-aren’t you heterosexual?”

"It doesn’t matter. It might be a bit awkward, but the contents are the same, right?” 

‘Wow, you're someone who can see the true inner self, not just appearances... Bullshit. What kind of crazy bastard is this?!’

Irene broke into a cold sweat and frantically shook her handcuffed wrists, pulling at them.

However, there was no way the tightly fastened handcuffs would come undone. 

Benjamin, his eyes completely devoid of sanity, was slowly approaching.

Aah!

‘Fi-first strike wins!'

The thought that she would be doomed if she stayed like this dominated her mind. 

Irene sprang up from the bed, caught Benjamin’s leg and with all her strength, slammed her shoulder down onto him. Not expecting a counterattack and caught off guard, he ended up pinned beneath her.

“...”

“...”

She had heard that when two men of similar build faced off, the one who gained the higher ground first usually won. If the opponent had been Constantine, a single blast of his divine power would have torn her apart, but this was Benjamin...! 

Irene looked down at Benjamin, whose face was full of surprise, with the same shocked expression — then raised her fist. For now, she intended to beat him until he passed out.

"Sleep...!"

Smack—! 

Her fist moved faster than her words. And they packed more force than she expected.

But it was at that moment. The devil that had briefly disappeared suddenly reappeared, swirling like smoke. 

Startled, the gazes of the man and woman abruptly snapped to the black mass that had suddenly materialised.

‘And just like that, the mood turns sinister…’

The devil, seemingly unaware of the tense, precarious situation, bluntly brought up the matter at hand.

[A situation outside of your plan has occurred.]

"…Move aside."

Irene couldn’t utter a sound and was forced to come down just like that. After all, she had no confidence that she could win against the devil.

The inside of his cheek that had been struck was completely busted. Benjamin spat blood onto the floor and stared intently down at Irene, perhaps feeling his pride wounded.

She quietly knelt down on her own, raising both hands high above her head. 

Though he was furious to the point of wanting to kill, seeing her like that softened his mood a little. Benjamin sighed and glanced back at the demon.

"What is it?"

The devil briefly explained the current situation in the imperial palace.

The land that had been contaminated to instil fear in the people was now restored by Claudia using the power of the spirits, and instead of causing panic, Benjamin had merely given them an opportunity to win over the public when he ruined the oath ceremony. 

Upon hearing this, Irene opened her mouth in surprise.

‘What the heck? I didn’t need to worry at all?’

And Benjamin stared at her as if she were a strange creature just beyond his understanding.

"How on earth did you manage to bring in Walter? Well, given your skills, I can understand."

'Could she really see the future?’ 

He gained certainty from the remark he had half-jokingly thrown out earlier. That was until the devil’s next words.

[That man named Walter — he seems to be a sorcerer.]

"…What?"

"What?!"

While Benjamin was doubting his own ears, Irene let out a shriek at the news that Felix had used magic.

‘He actually drank that potion after all!’

‘Since he drank the potion, he must have gone to the temple to fully complete the separation. Damn it, I don’t even know where I am right now…’

As Irene nervously bit her nails, Benjamin turned completely towards the devil, questioning it.

"Wait, what is this talk of magic? That man is a warrior to the bone."

Though he rebutted, his expression betrayed a certain unease. It was the vague, indefinable discomfort he had always felt from Walter, now resurfacing vividly. Like a puzzle with too many missing pieces to ever be completed.

Without hesitation, the devil revealed the key piece at the heart of that puzzle.

[A faint trace of a devil's soul could be felt in him.]

‘Hey, why would you say that, you loose-mouthed devil bastard!’

While Irene was struggling internally, Benjamin had finished assessing the situation. All the puzzle pieces that had previously made no sense were quickly put together, forming a complete picture in an instant.

"...Is he alive?"

Felix Chamberlain. The man who was thought to live eternally in noble purity through his early death was, in fact, still alive. And, as irony would have it, not as the war hero he pretended to be, but as a bloodthirsty monster who had massacred countless lives under the guise of that very title.

"Ha, haha...!"

It was so absurd. Benjamin stifled his laughter at first, but soon burst out laughing, clutching his stomach. How could he possibly hold it in and not laugh?

"Could it be that you saved him?"

A woman who could see the future. Of course, it was so obvious now, he wondered why he hadn't figured it out earlier. If she could truly see the future, would she really just sit back and do nothing, knowing that the man she loved was destined to die?

“Look at that. Hasn’t he become a living sinner? Do you understand? It was you who dragged him down and turned him into a living ghost.”

Realising that he had soaked the pristine white clothes he had so eagerly wanted to defile in blood, Benjamin let out a satisfied laugh. 

Then, an overwhelming curiosity seized him — he couldn’t bear not knowing what kind of expression Irene might be wearing. 

Was she glaring at him for targeting her pain, writhing in guilt, or perhaps comforting herself with a hollow victory, thinking that survival alone was enough? 

Laughing so hard that tears welled up in his eyes, he turned to look at Irene.

But there was no one there. 

Only an empty space remained.

"...Where did she go?"

Then, the devil, hovering nearby, answered in a flat tone.

[The potion’s effect wore off, so she removed the handcuffs and escaped.]

・・・・・

'The reason I knelt was to gain momentum!'

I clutched the hem of my pants, which were slipping down, and ran as fast as I could. Perhaps because of my small stature, my hands were unusually small, making it easy to slip them out of the handcuffs. 

The real problem, however, was that with the devil now attached to Benjamin, getting caught was only a matter of time. Until then, I needed to gather as much information as possible. 

The information obtained through Benjamin's words while locked in the prison held no real meaning. Since there was no way to verify the truth, even if he was deliberately deceiving me, I had no choice but to trust him. It would be more than ideal if I could escape from here, but…

‘More importantly, where on earth is this place?’

I sincerely hoped it was the basement of the temple, but it didn’t seem like it. The interior of the building was somewhat ornate and neat, but it was also dark and gloomy. Judging by the lack of windows, it seemed certain that it was underground.

‘Just the kind of place for someone like him to coil up.’

Every time I sensed someone nearby, I quickly held my breath and ducked into the crook of the corridor.

It was a relief that the path was maze-like and complicated — if it had been simple, I’d have been in trouble, since I couldn’t run for long anyway.

So far, I’d managed to slip away without getting caught, weaving through the place pretty well.

But what kept bothering me was that everyone walking through the halls was dressed in those pitch-black uniforms.

Every inch of them screamed, ‘We belong to some dark, shady organisation!’ What was up with that getup, seriously...

‘Could this place be Carlisle...?’

The feeling that this was Benjamin’s home ground, right in the heart of enemy territory, set off alarm bells in my mind.

‘Oh no, it's Benjamin.’

An unpleasant cigarette smell quickly passed by the corner where I was hiding. The loud footsteps suggested the person was really angry.

“There’s only one entrance, so escaping from here is impossible. Control the entrance and search the area thoroughly.”

‘What the — he can talk informally too?’

I clapped a hand over my mouth and held my breath. Once the sound of footsteps had faded a bit, I cautiously peeked around the corner — and at that moment, my eyes met the devil. Those same glowing red eyes.

[...] 

My heart nearly dropped out of my chest from the shock. I thought this was the end — that my luck had finally run out. But the devil, as if it hadn’t seen anything, ignored me completely and went after Benjamin instead.

‘...What’s going on?’ 

I couldn’t shake the feeling that, somehow, I’d managed to slip out of danger on more than one occasion, thanks to the devil. Of course, there was no way the devil would help a human, so it was probably just because he found it bothersome.

After waiting for the commotion to settle, I began carefully exploring the underground as thoroughly as I could.

That was when I found it — a pitch-black iron door. It looked way too suspicious to just walk past.

Since there was supposedly only one entrance, going back up would just get me caught.

This door was my only hope.

Desperate, like grasping at straws, I pushed against the heavy door with all my strength, grunting with the effort. And at the same time, I gagged and quickly clamped a hand over my mouth.

‘The stench of decay…’

Ever since I woke up in that prison cell, I’d been catching faint whiffs of blood — and now I knew where it was coming from. This place was unmistakably stained by the remnants of a devil summoning.

I squeezed my eyes shut as I took in the grotesque sight: a tree, twisted unnaturally and rooted into the floorboards; bright red summoning circles densely filling the space; and in one corner, a towering pile of corpses, every single one clad in priestly robes.

I gagged several times, but with nothing in my stomach, only bile came up.

It was a horror too awful to look at — but gritting my teeth, I forced myself to keep searching the room.

That was when I heard it. 

A faint rustling sound from somewhere nearby.

I flinched, my shoulders twitching as I quickly turned my head toward the source of the noise.

The darkness had hidden them until now.

In the corner, several figures dressed in black robes slowly rose to their feet. Judging by their attire, they seemed to be sorcerers.

There were still people alive — quite a few, actually. Given the gruesome scene, I hadn’t expected any survivors. With a startled expression, I asked:

"Excuse me, are you okay?"

The moment those words left my mouth, they all pressed their foreheads to the floor.

"Oh, Demon Lord, have mercy on us!"

"Please, have mercy and take us in as your servants!"

For some reason, they were calling me ‘Demon Lord.’

"Please, let us become your footstools!"

“If you give us a chance, we will do anything!”

I looked down in bewilderment at the sorcerers, who had thrown themselves onto the floor, desperately rubbing their palms together like flies.

Had the terror of being trapped in such a grim place with corpses driven them mad?

It was pitiful to see them trembling like aspen leaves caught in the wind.

"I am just an ordinary human."

"An ordinary human...?"

At that, the man kneeling at the very front suddenly jerked his head up, eyes wide, and desperately grabbed my hand.

"It's true! I can't feel any magical power at all!"

As soon as it was confirmed that the one who came through the iron door was just an ordinary human, chaos broke out.

Just one touch of my hand, and they knew whether I had magic? If anything, it seemed like they were the ones who weren’t exactly ordinary humans.

‘They must be fairly powerful sorcerers.’

I examined the bright red marks on their necks. It looked as though they had been wearing collars until just recently. However, they didn’t appear to be restrained now. Why hadn’t they escaped earlier? While I was puzzled, the man who seemed to be their leader spoke up.

"How did an ordinary human manage to get in here?"

"I just walked in?"

"That’s impossible! The place where the Demon Lord’s summoning ritual was performed is bound to him!"

"Umm, I don’t understand what you’re saying."

“Everything in this place belongs to the Demon Lord, so no one can enter without his permission!"

So that meant everything in this place had been a sacrifice to the devil? Even those people, too. No wonder. I had found it strange that, for such an important-looking place with supposedly tight security, no one had actually been guarding it.

Just then, the middle-aged woman who looked to be the oldest among them muttered something.

“Except for those who have received the Demon Lord’s permission…”

The Demon Lord’s permission?

‘No, the devil is being controlled by Benjamin — what nonsense.’

I just pushed the door open; that was all.

How was I supposed to explain this absurd misunderstanding? 

But instead of suspicion or wariness, everyone looked at me with admiration, jealousy, and awe.

"How did you gain the Demon Lord’s favour? You didn’t even perform the proper ritual!"

"Not to mention, you didn’t even pay the price. You’re not tainted by dark energy, and your face is perfectly fine!"

"What trick did you use?!"

I really couldn’t understand why they were getting so worked up. It seemed like my conversation partners weren’t in their right minds, so I slowly began to back away.

I had just barely escaped that devilish man, and now here I was, about to have my back broken like a shrimp’s among these fanatical devil worshipers. It felt like one mountain after another, but maybe this was the easiest climb compared to what lay ahead.

“…Alright, I understand. You’re saying you’ve been trapped here all this time because you were made a sacrifice.”

But the main point was this:

"You are now free from the devil's chains."

They were free. Seeing that they still hadn’t fully grasped the situation, I repeated the words slowly and clearly.

“You are free sorcerers now.”

"Who cares?! There's a human right in front of us who the Demon Lord chose without even making a contract!"

The sorcerers showed no intention of escaping. They seemed determined to stay put in this nauseating place until I gave them an answer they could accept. But since I had no idea what was happening, I could only feel frustrated.

‘Could it be that they weren’t trapped here, but willingly chose to become sacrifices to the devil?’

I swallowed a sigh, gazed at the ceiling for a moment, then asked with a troubled expression.

"Before that, let me ask you a question. Have you seen Cedric?"

“Cedric?”

"He is the current Grand Duke and the former second prince of this empire."

At this, the sorcerers murmured among themselves, “To call the Grand Duke’s name so freely... she’s definitely no ordinary person.”

"I heard that the ruler of Carlisle ordered the Grand Duke to move to the imperial palace..."

What? He returned to the imperial palace? That couldn't be true. If that were the case, there would have been at least one message. He wasn't even seen at the banquet. Could it be that he was being imprisoned in the imperial palace?

‘There's no way that's possible…’

I couldn’t stop the endless chain of thoughts running through my mind, but I hurriedly asked anyway.

“So, that means he was confined here until now?”

I further asked what exactly had happened to Cedric.

"Is he unharmed?"

"His limbs are intact, at least."

Then the sorcerers, seemingly puzzled by the urgency in my voice, exchanged glances before reluctantly giving me an answer.

“However, he did make a contract with the Demon Lord.”

As expected, they used him to make a deal with the devil!

"Ha."

I really should have stopped him from leaving, no matter what.

What a disaster. 

Taking a breath, I exhaled through the corners of my mouth, my face stained with guilt. Still, I bit my lip hard and swallowed back my tears, feeling grateful he was still alive.

‘Now’s not the time to get swept up in emotions.’

I steadied myself and asked firmly.

“And the cost? What was the price he paid?”

Larry was only ever after Felix's soul. I couldn't shake the worry that perhaps Cedric had met the same fate.

"Dreams."

However, since each devil seemed to have different desires, I received an unexpected answer in return.

"...Dreams?"

"It’s because we summoned Lord Nivas. He is the jester of the Hell Palace, who governs illusions and dreams."

I recalled the illusion I had been trapped in before passing out, where I kept circling the same place over and over.

‘But didn’t he feel more dignified than just a jester?’

I looked on with curiosity, silently asking for a more detailed explanation. The sorcerer then added:

"Lord Nivas feeds on the dreams of humans. The contractor makes a wish, and then falls into an eternal sleep."

That meant…

"Are you saying Cedric has become the sleeping prince of the imperial palace?"

I wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved that no one was hurt or hopeless because I couldn’t think of any solution at all. Surely, a true love’s kiss wouldn’t wake him up, would it?

"So, the contractors who make a deal with Lord Nivas usually transfer all their rights to someone else beforehand."

The sorcerer explained that, on the surface, it appeared to be a 'transfer,' but in reality, it was a devil summoned when one wanted to make a wish without incurring any personal loss.

A summoning method that completely exploited others. It was undeniably a devil tailor-made for Benjamin.

That was why, even though Cedric made the contract, the devil was following Benjamin.

"Is there a way to wake him up?"

"None! It is a contract with the great Demon Lord, after all!"

“...”

"But no matter what kind of contract it is, to the Demon Lord, it’s all just a game of words. Isn’t it his nature to skillfully exploit any loophole he finds?”

The man spoke as if he were proud.

I had no idea what there was to be proud of, but knowing him, I was sure he’d probably be proud even if the devil had taken a dump.

'He exploits any loophole...'

I recalled what the sorcerer had said and suddenly lifted my head. 

I didn’t understand why, but the devil was secretly helping me behind Benjamin’s back. That had to be the ‘loophole’ in the contract.

If so, I just had to make him move according to my intentions. Whether this would turn out to be a rotten lifeline or a golden one, I couldn’t tell.

"Sorcerers, now that you're free, shall we escape from here together?"

I flashed a bright smile at those who wore puzzled expressions and whispered discreetly.

“If you help me, I’ll introduce you to the Demon Lord, you’ll serve as your master."

Translator's Corner:

Hello!! The first part was in third person since it was more in Benjamin's POV. The rest of the narration is back to first person (Irene's perspective)~

Please note: in this final volume, there will be a few intentional POV shifts where it'll be third-person Irene instead of first-person Irene. Hopefully it won't be too confusing!

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If you notice any errors or broken links, please let me know and I will get that fixed~ Additionally, if you would like to support me, I have a Ko-fi ~ Thank you! 💖

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