Chapter 118: Preparation

Chapter 118: Preparation

“…Well, perhaps you’re mistaking the mana you’ve cultivated for something else?”

“Cut the crap. Do you think I can’t even distinguish that much…?”

“My, my. Is it really an argument when you’re grabbing me by the collar like this? Calm down a bit.”

Lucy’s expression grew more furrowed at Chris’s strangely calm words.

Then, seeing me, who was quite tense.

She let go.

“Hah… Damn it. Fine, let’s hear it then.”

Lucy’s expression wasn’t good.

She looked like she could snap Chris’s neck at any moment.

However, Chris has no physical body to begin with.

So, no matter what she did, it would be meaningless.

“…Young Lady Cecil. Do you remember what I told you when we first met?”

I fell into deep thought at her question.

Certainly, when Chris first appeared.

She introduced herself as ‘a real entity’ or ‘a demon.’

Demon.

The word suddenly flashed through my mind.

“…A demon?”

“That’s right! You remember well. You see, I-“

Jjeok!

But she couldn’t finish her sentence.

Lucy, gritting her teeth, had blown off Chris’s head.

However, the shattered head turned into smoke and disappeared into the sky.

Then, it began to wriggle and the shattered part rapidly regenerated.

“Hmm… You’re quite impatient. I’d like you to listen to my story for a bit.”

“Crazy… Was she a demon…?”

Lucy, gritting her teeth, stared intently at Chris with a look of hatred.

It was an atmosphere that suggested she could kill someone with her gaze alone.

However, my thoughts were slightly different.

“…Lucy. It’s okay. Let’s hear her story.”

Whether she was a demon or not, it made no difference to me.

At least Chris stayed by my side until the end.

Wasn’t it all thanks to Chris that I was slowly reaching a ‘normal’ state?

“Young Lady… but…”

“If she intended to harm me, she would have done so long ago. I’m fine. I think I can… listen to her story.”

At my words, Lucy pouted.

It seemed like she had no choice if I insisted this much.

I chuckled and looked at Chris.

“Actually, I’ve always been curious. Why does Chris keep helping me, and how can she come up with such spot-on solutions?”

“…To be upfront, I have no intention of harming you.”

Chris continued with a much calmer expression.

Her expression was more serious than ever before.

“…Where should I begin?”

And then, with a slightly dark smile, she.

Began her story.

*****

“You want me to believe… that story?”

“Whether you believe it or not is up to you. However… Young Lady seems to have already made up her mind.”

Chris looked at me.

I smiled without a word.

And sat down on a small chair next to me.

“…Let me organize this. So, Chris was a demon who originally intended to eat my body…?”

“That’s right. To be precise, it was the residual consciousness of the magic stone embedded in your heart.”

I remember.

Although it has lost its effect thanks to Oli and Lucy now, the magic stone that Scarlett had embedded in me at first.

Sometimes, the consciousness of the original owner is present in magic stones.

Only for very, very strong demons, though.

‘Then… what I saw wasn’t a hallucination…’

Now I could be sure.

I wasn’t crazy.

I was just mistaken due to the circumstances surrounding me and Scarlett’s ambiguous words.

“…You endured it well. Even without a body of your own, you must have been impatient.”

“I was more interested in Young Lady than that. I coveted this excellent body… but well, eating it would be the end of it.”

Lucy still looked suspicious, but I was calm.

There was nothing to be surprised about.

After all the humiliation and hardships I’ve been through.

Wouldn’t it be stranger to be surprised now?

“After that, there’s not much. In the meantime, Young Lady’s mana circuit was shattered, and she almost died… and in the end, my vulva was embedded in my soul, so I couldn’t eat her body.”

“Is that how it happened…?”

“That’s right. I tried various attempts to eat her body later, but those attempts resulted in Young Lady and my souls merging into one.”

Well, I don’t know if I should call this fortunate or unfortunate.

The vulva Scarlett carved ultimately protected my soul.

Thanks to that, I was able to escape the threat of my body being stolen.

‘Things went strangely wrong…’

After finishing her explanation, Chris cleared her throat a few times.

And continued speaking.

“The mana growing in Young Lady’s body is because I’m trying to fill the damaged or hollowed parts. I have no other intentions.”

“…Young Lady. Come here for a moment.”

I readily extended my body at Lucy’s request.

Lucy, blushing slightly, put her hand inside my clothes.

Her cold hand touched my solar plexus and wiggled.

Lucy then twitched her eyebrows for a moment and wagged her tail.

Then, she sighed.

“Hoo… There’s no problem right now, but…”

“Didn’t I tell you? Why do you think Young Lady, who was so broken, could recover like this?”

“That’s…”

At Chris’s sharp words, Lucy slightly furrowed her brow.

It was a reaction as if to say that what she said wasn’t wrong.

I tilted my head slightly.

Because I didn’t objectively know what state I was in before.

Lucy hugged me tightly as if I didn’t need to know.

Burying her face in my chest, Lucy turned her head and growled cutely.

“For now, I’ll believe you. Just try anything funny. I’ll tear you apart…”

“…Is it true that dragons can tear souls apart too?”

Chris, threatened by Lucy, showed a chilling expression for the first time.

I smiled faintly at Chris.

Now, the story is all sorted out.

So, what’s left?

“Anyway… Young Lady. It’s time to make a decision now.”

Chris, spreading her arms wide, returned to her usual energetic self.

She said with a bright smile.

“Either kill the King’s spirit, or run away to a very, very distant place.”

‘Run or fight. It’s one or the other.’

What would Scarlett have thought in this situation?

Lucy’s face showed a worried expression.

Before going to Aileen, Lucy had told me she had an escape plan.

I maintained a calm expression.

And then, I opened my mouth.

*****

“Cecil. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

Scarlett got up and stroked the lovely Cecil.

And then, as usual, she went downstairs to prepare breakfast.

“…Euston. What brings you here?”

“Just to have breakfast. John keeps nagging me that he wants to eat in the kitchen.”

And gathered there were Euston and John.

Euston said playfully, accepting two plates filled with fried rice.

Next to him, John, dressed in casual clothes, was diligently setting the cutlery.

“Good morning, Young Lady. A good morning to you.”

Then John bowed respectfully to Scarlett.

She returned his greeting with a smile.

It seems I’ll have to eat here too, Scarlett thought.

After all, breakfast wouldn’t take too long, and Cecil also needed time to wake up.

“I’ll eat here too, Henry. Please serve me some fried rice.”

“Ah, you’ll be eating here? Please wait a moment.”

Henry quickly served one portion of fried rice at Scarlett’s request.

Then, a harmonious meal setting was created in an instant.

However, the conversations exchanged in the meantime were not very harmonious.

“…How is the interrogation progressing?”

Scarlett spoke first.

It was about the elf and Asher captured yesterday.

Euston took a large bite of fried rice, chewed, swallowed, and then spoke.

“We’ve extracted all possible information. There wasn’t much useful information, surprisingly.”

“What about the rest?”

“I contacted the dealer as you instructed. The elf’s ruptured heart sells for quite a lot… and that nobleman, well… should we use him as a practice dummy?”

“Just kill him and incinerate him cleanly. He sold his territory and abandoned his family anyway, so no one is looking for him.”

“Understood.”

Naturally, John, who was listening nearby, couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread.

He was still young and lacked resistance to such stories.

Seeing John’s frightened expression, Euston laughed and patted him on the back.

“Don’t be scared. I’ll handle it anyway. Let’s just eat.”

“Yes, yes…”

John nodded obediently.

The three of them chewed their food in an odd atmosphere.

John felt uncomfortable around Scarlett, and Scarlett was lost in other thoughts.

How much awkward time passed like that.

“…Ah, right. There was something I forgot. Euston. Let’s talk for a bit. Come down to the basement.”

“How will you have your meal? You should bring it up to Young Lady upstairs.”

“Hmm…”

Scarlett paused in thought for a moment.

Then, her gaze fell on John.

“…Your name is John, isn’t it?”

“Yes, yes! I’m John!”

“Could you bring two portions of fried rice to my room? I need to step out for a moment…”

At those words, John flinched slightly.

But then, under Euston’s gaze, he nodded with a brisk expression.

“Understood… Trust me and leave it to me.”

“Right. Hurry back. Try not to make any mistakes.”

“Yes, yes…”

John took the words and quickly packed two portions of food.

He had heard a lot about the ‘Young Lady’ on the top floor.

Scarlett’s lover, and a woman who would bring death if you messed with her.

However, there were many rumors that she was so beautiful that you couldn’t help but be captivated by her gaze.

Because of that, John was extremely tense.

“Hoo…”

Thump, thump.

Scarlett’s room is on the top floor of the mansion.

John’s footsteps as he went up were quite heavy.

How should he greet her? What expression should he wear?

John, who was quite shy, had many thoughts.

And when he finally reached Scarlett’s room.

He witnessed an unbelievable sight.

“W, Waaaaaaaaah!!”

There, the woman with brown hair he had seen in the forest earlier.

Was lying there.