Ch.136Chapter 136. The Devil Wants to Be Dominated.

The inevitable time of wisdom that comes after the act.

With my barely regained composure, I took time to reflect on why everything had happened up to this point.

So what triggered it all… right, it was definitely because of that Demon Tribe member who cast an aphrodisiac spell on me.

Though I couldn’t identify exactly who they were, they had approached me for some reason, tried to drain my energy, and then attempted to make me their sex slave.

And what I heard while resisting remains clear even now that I’ve regained my senses…

‘I wondered who that child was so concerned about, even leaving their master… Well, even if the imperial family is watching, this is the limit of a human after all.’

Those words I vaguely heard while resisting the aphrodisiac suggested that the demon had some connection to someone I knew.

And that person was probably Merilyn Sutherland.

The demon had disguised themselves as Merilyn, it was Merilyn who found me and brought me to the inn, and it was Merilyn who tried to cure the aphrodisiac spell the demon had cast on me.

Beyond that, her ability to interfere with others’ minds through music, and how she traveled the world alone with such a delicate female body before meeting me…

All these clues led me to one speculation at this moment.

That perhaps Merilyn might not be human, but a member of the Demon Tribe.

And furthermore, that the master mentioned by that demon might be the greatest calamity in this world.

“Ugh, aaaah!!”

As these outlandish thoughts were forming in my mind, a scream came from behind me.

It was Merilyn, who had just regained consciousness and changed her clothes.

“Th-this can’t be happening. Even if I was intoxicated by Yasmo’s magic, how could I have…!”

“Um, Merilyn.”

“Th-this is normal, right?”

Merilyn immediately responded to my call, turning her face toward me.

Like me, she seemed to be feeling shame in this moment of wisdom—her face was flushed, and her eyes were brimming with tears as if she might cry at any moment.

“I-it’s normal to feel this way from the beginning, right? You felt the same way after doing it with Irie, right?!”

This was a side of her I never expected to see—she who always hid her inner self behind a seductive smile.

It showed how much the current situation was unintended by her, but facing this side of her made me feel strangely mischievous inside.

Not as much as when I was consumed by lust, but how should I put it—I wanted to tease her a little?

“No, it wasn’t that bad…”

“Wh-what?”

“Yes, Irie was relatively quiet. So I never expected you would feel this good… Ow! That hurts! Merilyn!”

Merilyn was pummeling me with her fists, her cheeks puffed out.

It wasn’t so forceful that I couldn’t resist, but her trembling hands clearly showed how shocked she was by my words.

“I-idiot! Idiot!! How dare you, Hyoseong!”

“W-wait! Stop! I’m sorry! I won’t do it again…!”

“I couldn’t help it!!”

Even her violence meant to hide her embarrassment stopped, and Merilyn finally lowered her hands.

Then, burying her teary eyes toward her knees, she whispered in a strained voice.

“I never thought it would be this hard to suppress… Above all, I’d never experienced satisfaction before meeting you.”

“…Merilyn.”

“Just holding hands or eating together was nice, but if I’d known being intimate with someone I love could be this happy…”

Happiness?

Did she really feel that way about our relationship?

“I’m happy even now, but if I experience this twice… I might not be able to endure it and die.”

Was it because of such sincere feelings beneath her usual seductive behavior that she betrayed her master, risking her life?

Even defying, at the risk of her life, a being who might be the greatest calamity in this world?

“…Hahaha.”

When my thoughts reached that point, I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

Though it was still just speculation without evidence, I realized I didn’t care about her true identity anymore.

After all, I’m far too weak to judge anyone’s good or evil, and therefore I should first determine whether I can handle matters related to me.

“Then, shall we restrain ourselves next time?”

“Wh-what?”

“If you’re uncomfortable with it, it might be better not to do it anymore.”

Yes, in a world where I can’t do anything alone.

In this world where people die like trash, to survive, I need people who can bear what I cannot bear alone.

“Still, I’d like to be with you again if there’s another opportunity.”

So I want to love all the people who love me, without exception…

As I hoped those feelings would be conveyed, Merilyn bowed her head shyly, her face flushed.

“…You’re unfair.”

A faint, shy whisper reached me.

That too was a simple expression of her feelings toward me.

****

We had entered the inn before noon.

But by the time we set out for home, we were greeted by the dark streets illuminated by lights.

‘Yasmo’s magic was strong, but to think we spent the entire day doing it, from the first experience…’

When that realization belatedly hit, shame surged again.

It’s funny that a demon symbolizing madness would feel bewildered by falling into madness, but that only applies when one is in control of such emotions.

After all, desire naturally creates resistance when one cannot take the lead.

Even if one submits to others, it’s merely a process toward a goal; any demon who goes against such nature could truly be considered insane.

‘…I feel like I’m going crazy.’

Isn’t it ironic that a demon symbolizing madness would find madness unfamiliar?

‘My heart is pounding so hard, I feel like it might burst even if I stay still…’

No, it would be more accurate to say she had forgotten.

After all, the madness that symbolized her originated from loyalty—an emotion alien to the Demon Tribe.

The reason she realized this only now was probably because she vaguely felt nostalgia for those times in her relationship with him—a relationship she couldn’t control.

“Should we buy some snacks on the way?”

Hyoseong Woo.

From this man, so much weaker than her former master, she was feeling that same nostalgia.

“…Snacks?”

“Well, we haven’t eaten properly all day. We could ask Tashian when we get home, but I think we could get something to eat before then…”

“I’m fine. I don’t have an appetite right now.”

“Oh, really? Then just me…”

As her love approached a street vendor with such a casual attitude,

Merilyn, watching from behind, narrowed her eyes, feeling inexplicably upset.

‘Is Hyoseong not affected at all?’

He too was reluctant to be intimate with her at first, but now he seems so nonchalant?

While she was lost in thought, he was casually going to buy snacks, even after nearly breaking her.

‘…Wait. Breaking me?’

As she felt resentment at this difference, she suddenly realized something that made her breath catch.

Indeed, in their previous encounter, she had lost her composure and ended up being one-sidedly ravished by him.

Having lived in emptiness for so long, her threshold for desire was too low, and she had reached satisfaction even before their relationship could progress further.

This meant that until she became accustomed to fulfilling her desires, the same thing might happen again, even without Yasmo’s intervention.

‘It’s not me breaking Hyoseong, but Hyoseong breaking me?’

Though not through force, he always held the final control in fulfilling her desires.

Something that in her life had only been permitted to her former master.

Even in that moment of culminating love, he too had succeeded in achieving it.

“Merilyn, I’m back… Merilyn?”

“…Heh, hehe.”

A laugh escaped reflexively from the chill she felt at that moment.

While he stood there puzzled, Merilyn’s gaze shifted to the snack in his hand.

A very large, thick sausage—like the one he had held when they first went on a mission together.

“Merilyn, why are you—”

“Haup!”

True to her desires, Merilyn put the sausage in her mouth.

As he was taken aback by the sudden situation, Merilyn, without using her teeth, carefully licked it, repeatedly putting it in and taking it out of her mouth.

“Mmph, hemmph~♡”

Carefully, just as she had done in their relationship.

Making him indirectly imagine her performing such an act.

“…Merilyn, that’s not appropriate in public.”

“Fufu, why do you say that?”

After his response, Merilyn took the sausage out of her mouth, wiped the drool with her tongue, and began to smile boldly.

“Are you getting aroused? Watching me eat? After doing such terrible things until just now, have you come to your senses and become embarrassed?”

“…Th-that’s not it.”

“Aha~ A man shouldn’t be so timid~”

With a grin, Merilyn gradually closed the distance between them.

Then she put her plump lips near his ear and whispered.

“Well, I guess you could only do it before because of the magic. What will you do, our Hyoseong? If you want to straddle both sides, you’ll have to deal with not just me but also Irie, and at this rate… Mmph!”

Was it anger he felt at her continued provocation?

He roughly pushed the sausage into her mouth and began to skillfully stimulate her tongue by moving it.

The reason his actions seemed practiced was probably because he had already figured out her vulnerable spots during their previous encounter.

“Mmph, hemmph…♡”

As she felt a slight ecstasy from the sensation gently sweeping the inside of her mouth, he glared at her and spoke as if warning her.

“…Merilyn.”

Unlike before when he had silently endured her provocations.

As if to show that the sadism he had displayed earlier wasn’t just due to being intoxicated by magic.

“If you keep this up, I won’t end it this easily next time, okay?”

-Gulp.

Though she swallowed the chewed sausage down her throat, Merilyn could only stare at him blankly without saying a word.

She couldn’t help it.

He had revealed his desire to dominate her—the very person she had been afraid might break with her own hands.

‘Y-you… you want to break me?’

The fact that she felt excitement rather than humiliation was because there had been a time when she believed that being dominated by someone was happiness.

Because she had chosen to parasitize someone as a means of pursuing her desires.

Moreover, because she had spent a very long time longing for him, unable to find anyone else who could dominate her except him…

‘If Hyoseong really…’

It was a possibility she had never considered until now.

‘If he can really dominate me…’

The moment a hope genuinely formed within her that he might become a substitute for the Demon Lord, a smile began to form on her lips.

And then…

“You two are quite late.”

A red-haired woman blocked their path as they continued homeward, feeling that exhilaration.

Merilyn knew who she was.

She also knew that the reason her usually neatly tied hair was loose was because she had been preparing for bed until she came out to the street.

And that the reason she had hurriedly come out wearing only a cloak was because she knew they would pass by here.

“Usually when you come back late, you at least explain why…”

“What were you two doing until this hour, and why are you returning together when you left separately?”

Irie Haven.

The emotion in her eyes was clearly what one would call anger.