Chapter 45

“Even though I thought she was a nice kid, what is this?”

Left alone in the dark hallway, Grace couldn’t hide her grievance as she walked away, stomping her feet.

Although it was supposedly a large orphanage, she couldn’t sleep comfortably in a place like this, so she planned to return to the mansion where her own bed was.

‘Hmph. Does she think I’m just going to stay put?’

Grace was already scheming in her head on how to snatch Theo away from Iris.

As much as possible, she didn’t want to use her father’s help.

That was because her father had promised that if she captured the demon herself, he would gladly concede him to her.

It was a promise that perhaps took the impossible for granted from the very start.

Yet, Grace believed that promise without a shred of doubt, and she had begun moving to satisfy the conditions her father had laid out.

It was largely due to the influence of her father—who had set absurd conditions for her—that young Grace had come to possess such abnormal thinking.

It had already been hundreds of years since Duke Miller’s family secretly worshipped demons and dreamed of eternal life.

The obsession-laden longings passed down through generations gradually corrupted the Duke’s household.

Duke Miller, Grace’s father, had become frantic, declaring he would find a demon even if he had to search the entire empire, and unidentifiable demon worshippers began filling the mansion.

Thanks to the people of the Miller family who had gone mad like that, even young Grace had come to think that contracting with a demon was both a natural and necessary thing to do.

Because of that, to Grace, a demon was merely a fantastic, toy-like object she desperately wanted to possess.

It had been easy enough up to the point where she bribed the director with money and started coming and going from the orphanage as she pleased.

The problem, rather, lay somewhere Grace hadn’t expected.

‘To think he already had a master….’

Catching sight of Theo from afar, Grace had been immensely thrilled to see the demon she had only ever imagined.

However, that fluttering heart shattered instantly the moment she saw Iris by Theo’s side.

More accurately, it was from the exact moment she saw the way Theo treated Iris with absolute obedience.

“Could you give us a minute?”

“Huh? Uh, yeah…”

Pushing Iris aside with a cute smile, Grace immediately sat down next to Theo and started talking.

“Theo, you’re a demon, right?”

“……”

At Grace’s bold opening question, Theo felt no value in answering and turned his gaze away from her.

Grace pressed the ignoring Theo.

“I’m right, aren’t I?!”

“So what if am?”

Theo replied in a somewhat sharp voice.

It was a half-defiant attitude born from being sick and tired of hearing these words over and over.

However, failing to grasp Theo’s intention, Grace clapped her hands, saying that worked out well.

“What do you mean, so what! I need to make a contract with you!”

“What?”

Grace smiled gently as she watched Theo question her back.

“You don’t have a master yet, right? Then let’s make a contract with me. Deal?”

Unable to hide his rapidly chilling insides, Theo threatened Grace.

“If you came here to spew garbage like that, get lost right now. Even if the position of master was empty, I have no intention of sticking by your side.”

Theo only vaguely sensed the existence of a demon egging him on inside, but he didn’t know whether he truly was a demon or if he was being manipulated by one.

Therefore, talk of contracts or masters could never have been established between the two of them in the first place.

However, just to grate on Grace’s nerves, Theo spoke as if a master actually existed for him.

“What? Who is that!”

And Grace, believing every word of Theo’s at face value, followed the direction of Theo’s gaze.

“That girl…”

At the end of that gaze sat Iris, occupying the seat Grace had pushed her out of.

Grace was dumbfounded as she looked at Iris, who possessed the golden hair and blue eyes symbolizing the goddess.

For a demon to serve someone with the appearance of a goddess as their master was an absolute absurdity.

“But you’re a demon, why are you serving someone who looks like a goddess as your master?”

“…….”

Theo didn’t answer Grace’s words.

That was because he saw Evelyn, for some reason furious, dragging Iris over.

Not wanting to make Iris worry over something pointless, Theo thoroughly ignored Grace, who was trying to strike up a conversation again from the side.

It was the first humiliation Grace had ever felt in her life.

Growing up as the young lady of a ducal household, she had never once been ignored by anyone.

Even without rushing to get close first, everyone would cater to her moods and try to cozy up to her.

If Theo hadn’t been a demon, she wouldn’t have approached him like this first, either.

“And I don’t want to get close to you.”

Yet Theo, who had turned into a gentle lamb right in front of Iris and rejected Grace, made Grace experience failure for the very first time in her life.

To Grace, who had always been a precious young lady, that hit much harder than she expected.

Naturally, she hadn’t thought capturing a demon would be easy, but to be made to feel such humiliation—

She even felt regret for having marched into the orphanage with such bold confidence.

However, something happened that made Grace become enchanted by the demon once again.

“Hey.”

Theo, who had turned his back on her, had returned once more at Iris’ persuasion.

“The only reason I’m treating you like a human is until Iris changes her mind.”

“…….”

Grace didn’t find Theo’s words unpleasant.

Rather, those words gave her a realization.

‘He can be made to obey to this extent?’

Just a little while ago, Theo had looked at her with contempt.

Yet that same Theo had returned to her at a single word from Iris.

‘As expected, it’s just too much of a waste to give up so easily.’

A subtle smile bloomed at the corners of Grace’s mouth as she realized this.

“Why did that girl send you back to me?”

“Because she’s different from you.”

“Did that girl pity me?”

“……”

Through Theo’s words, Grace could tell that his master, Iris, possessed a temperament so kind it bordered on stupidity.

That cheap pity felt almost arrogant.

“Does she think she’s some kind of real goddess, or what?”

“Watch your mouth.”

Wanting to possess the demon using her own strength, Grace had tried from that day on to coax Theo’s heart.

Because forcing the demon to his knees through sheer force was impossible for her.

However, swaying Theo’s heart was, as expected, no easy feat.

That was why Grace had chosen an alternative approach and asked Iris how it would be to hand the demon over to her.

After all, Iris was a kid who was stupidly kind.

Today, however, Grace learned that everything had been her misunderstanding.

Iris was by no means as kind as Grace had thought.

Furthermore, far from being Theo’s master, she didn’t even know the fact that he was a demon.

‘Not a demon? He can’t be possessed?’

It was sheer nonsense.

‘Then what on earth was Theo talking about? Did she make a soul contract with him without him knowing?’

Even so, there was nothing Theo stood to gain from that. Whether such a thing was even possible in the first place was unknown.

Grace knitted her brows, trying to sort out her tangled thoughts.

‘Maybe she’s lying.’

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t make sense of the relationship between Iris and Theo.

Lost in such thoughts as she walked, Grace had already wandered outside the dormitories.

The deepening darkness was attempting to swallow Grace whole.

However, distracted by other things, Grace was simply walking straight toward the carriage waiting for her.

What stopped Grace in her tracks was a voice unfamiliar to her.

“Grace Miller.”

Startled by the voice calling her, Grace halted her steps.

“Who is it?”

Grace didn’t shrink back at all, even in the pitch-black darkness.

That was because there were those who would rush to protect her if things went south.

The person who revealed himself from the darkness was the shrine priest Grace had met just once before.

Grace lowered her guard and swept her gaze over Frey.

“Why are you coming out from there?”

“Because I have something to say.”

Frey wore his usual, gentle smile.

“Don’t even think about laying a hand on Iris. It means turning your back on the shrine.”

“…….”

Grace couldn’t understand Frey’s words and stood without any reply.

“Turn my back?”

Grace struggled to guess the meaning of turning one’s back.

Frey smiled faintly at Grace and explained.

“It means your family is going to find themselves in a lot of trouble.”

“Why are you protecting Iris?”

Grace asked in a somewhat dissatisfied voice.

Come to think of it, there had been a time before when Frey and Theo had engaged in a psychological tug-of-war over Iris.

Even though she had been standing right there in plain sight, they had acted as if she didn’t exist at all.

‘Just who on earth is this girl?’

To Grace, who had always thought the center of the world was herself, it felt like an unfair situation.

Not once had she ever been treated with such disrespect before.

Ever since coming to this place, Grace’s towering pride was taking hits day after day.

“Because I have to protect that child.”

“…….”

Frey hadn’t lost his smile. He didn’t make a single threatening move toward Grace.

Yet, for some reason, Grace couldn’t bring herself to argue any further with Frey.

It wasn’t merely the coercion stemming from the age gap. Grace vaguely sensed that much.