“You’re very nervous.”
“That’s not it.”
I wanted to act calm. But instead of answering, Beled quickly approached me with long strides and leaned toward me.
Tok.
What he touched with his fingertips was my hand. A hand that was so strong and white that it was clearly visible even in the dim lighting of the newlywed room.
Beneath it, I could see a cloth wrinkled like cracked glass.
“...Ah.”
I quickly took my hand away in surprise. Belled’s laughter grew louder.
“Do you think I’m going to eat you?”
“...”
I couldn’t say no. The other person was a devil.
Belled got down on my level.
And whispered in a low voice.
“You said you didn’t know what happened at night.”
The corners of his mouth formed a faint smile. His hand brought a soft cloth that looked like a blanket and covered my body.
“I have to be careful not to startle you.”
He said and got up. The large movement made me flinch again.
Squeak.
Then the cloth covering my body slid and made a small sound. The sound was enough to echo in the silent room.
Belled looked back at me. When our eyes met, he let out a short breath, looking at me at a loss.
“But since you’re startled by even such a small movement, what should I do?”
He sat down next to me. Then he brought his green eyes closer and said.
“I promise.”
A clear voice rang out.
“I won’t do anything if you reject me tonight.”
“...!”
My eyes widened.
“This night is yours. That’s the custom of the Vine.”
He held out his hand.
“The first week of marriage is when a wife ‘can decide if she’s chosen a good husband.’ And I have to convince you that I’m harmless. So.”
He lifted my hand and gave it a short kiss.
“Is this enough?”
I flinched slightly but wasn’t surprised. Belled laughed.
“Then, this?”
Warmth touched the back of my hand, my wrist.
Was this an act that required permission?
No, it might have been natural that permission was required.
However, the ruthless men who had tried to take me in my past life did not care about such things at all.
‘Isn’t this the duty of a Saintess, or rather a Duchess?’
‘Since you seem to know nothing about nightlife, aren’t I trying to educate you?’
Duke Orobas pressed me with such absurd words, telling me to have sex with someone else.
‘You’re not saying that making a child is evidence of the devil, are you?’
As I found out later, he had already bribed the priests with a lot of bribes. So that he wouldn’t report him as a devil because of his actions.
I didn’t intend to claim that it was evidence of the devil, but even if I did, I would be ignored.
However, rumors about it eventually spread through the servants, and he was labeled a devil by the people of the empire. In the process, the Saintess became known as a corrupt person.
What about Duke Yubar?
'I dare not touch the Saintess.'
The one who said that and told me to watch him masturbate in front of me was not in his right mind.
"Then, this is it."
But it wasn't Belled. He moved cautiously. He looked cautious as he pulled away every time I flinched.
And yet I looked happy. Was I... enjoying being nervous? It was crazy even for Belled. He was much more immoral than I thought.
And he could easily become immoral. He had the desire to do so. But he couldn't help but watch my reaction.
Every time the clear energy she gave off enveloped me, I felt such a dizzying sense of refreshment.
"Can I loosen it up more?"
I nodded at Belled's words.
Then the long, stick-like decoration that had been tying up my long hair fell off.
As more than four decorations were loosened by his hands, the hair that had been tied up high fell down on my shoulders.
As the hair that had been pulled loosened, the tension also eased.
That was how slowly he was approaching me, examining me.
...Have I ever been treated this way in my past life?
I didn't want to be compared to others, but I couldn't help but be compared to them.
Demons pretending to be humans and demon-like humans.
“...”
Through my flowing hair, I saw a soft bed covered with a dozen or so thin sheets of cloth. It was as if I was sitting on a cloud.
The thin cloth that moved and made waves with the slightest movement made people sensitive to even the slightest movement.
In addition.
Swish.
It wasn’t thick, but rather, it seemed like three layers of cloth were layered on top of each other, and the thin cloth flowing over my body made me move carefully. It felt like it would tear with the slightest movement. It didn’t matter, and it wasn’t weak enough to do that, but it was like that. So when I moved carefully, I felt the cloth getting tangled around my body instead.
“Are you uncomfortable?”
Belled asked, and quickly picked me up and laid me down on the bed.
“Ah,”
I flinched, but perhaps because I knew he wasn’t being mean, I wasn’t all that surprised. He smiled broadly, placed his hand on the side of my shoulder, and leaned over me.
“...Ah.”
It seemed like the cloth had gotten tangled under the hem of my dress.
There was a gentle pressure as if a wide band had been wrapped around my thigh. The source of that pressure was the end of the cloth that his knee was pressing down on.
“I originally had no intention of getting married...”
The sound of kissing rang in my ears. The place he had touched was my hand next to my ear.
“I never thought I would marry someone so desirable.”
I suddenly looked at him as he spoke. He didn’t look upset. Rather, he looked excited.
Could he be relieved for now?
In my second life, the Dukes would show their true colors when they left the wedding hall and went to sleep.
As if all the paperwork was over, so they could do whatever they wanted.
‘You’re not a virgin anymore, since you’re married anyway, right?’
As if my life was in their hands.
‘You’ll let me get this drunk in exchange for being mistaken for a devil, right? Yes?’
That’s what they said. But Belled was still polite.
No, rather than being polite, he had the power to charm people.
Was this the devil’s ability?
“...Wasn’t it unpleasant to be called a devil?”
The other Dukes did, so how could you not?
But Belled said something different from what I had expected.
“I was surprised, but isn’t this your chance to prove my innocence?”
Belled’s voice had no urgency or tension.
Even though you're a real demon. Does it mean that you don’t care if you get caught, or do you not think you’ll get caught?
...Do demons really think they can hide their identities? In this mansion where the traces of suspicious monsters are proudly hung on the walls even if I just leave the room?
“But why did you agree to this plan? This ridiculous plan of marrying a demon to find a demon?”
Belled suddenly asked. I looked up at him. Our eyes met very close together. The green eyes were still emitting a strange light as if they were going to pierce through me.
“That’s...”
Because I wanted to live. Because of didn’t like the other two families. It was meaningless to answer.
I could have rejected the plan itself to decide on a family, marry them, monitor them thoroughly, and ultimately reveal that they were demons.
If I were to risk being kicked out of the temple as a fallen Saintess who had abandoned my divine duty.
“...”
I closed my mouth. Of course, the priests would have tried to persuade me somehow, or if that didn’t work out, they would have tried to force me to go through with my plan by saying, “Have you lost your divinity?”
But if I had been even a little more proactive in the temple. If I had insisted on something I couldn’t for fear of being kicked out of the temple again.
If I had been going to run away anyway if I had... Would the future have been different?
I shook my head slightly. It was already in the past. But one thing was certain.
In my previous two lives, no one had asked me this question. Not only that, but no one in the temple was interested in me.
“Couldn’t you have refused? Of course, this would have been the surest way...”
He narrowed his eyes.
“Isn’t this a way that puts your life at stake?”
I thought shadows were cold. They were meant to block out light. But his shadow was strangely hot, making me feel hotter.
So much so that his words reached my mind a beat later.
“What if I really am the devil?”
I held my breath at those words.
It would be dangerous, but the person who whispered that was the devil. But...
“Because I wouldn’t be able to do anything if I stayed in the temple. And,”
I said sincerely.
“I thought you’d be better than the other two Dukes.”
Not only them but better than the temple. I swallowed my words.
That’s why I came here.
It was true. If you weren’t a demon, it would have been the best choice, but still, this was the best choice.
I’d rather go back to those hells.
Memories seemed to pass by. At that moment, Belled’s eyes, whose gazes met mine, took on a strange light.
“In short, out of the three men, I was the best, is that what you’re saying?”
The man is chosen by the Saintess. Belled’s mouth twisted as he spoke.
I, who had forgotten my memories of those words, looked at him.
“In short, you’re saying that you’ve measured the future of the three men.”
Which one is better.
“Are you uncomfortable?”
Belled asked, and quickly picked me up and laid me down on the bed.
“Ah,”
I flinched, but perhaps because I knew he wasn’t being mean, I wasn’t all that surprised. He smiled broadly, placed his hand on the side of my shoulder, and leaned over me.
“...Ah.”
It seemed like the cloth had gotten tangled under the hem of my dress.
There was a gentle pressure as if a wide band had been wrapped around my thigh. The source of that pressure was the end of the cloth that his knee was pressing down on.
“I originally had no intention of getting married...”
The sound of kissing rang in my ears. The place he had touched was my hand next to my ear.
“I never thought I would marry someone so desirable.”
I suddenly looked at him as he spoke. He didn’t look upset. Rather, he looked excited.
Could he be relieved for now?
In my second life, the Dukes would show their true colors when they left the wedding hall and went to sleep.
As if all the paperwork was over, so they could do whatever they wanted.
‘You’re not a virgin anymore, since you’re married anyway, right?’
As if my life was in their hands.
‘You’ll let me get this drunk in exchange for being mistaken for a devil, right? Yes?’
That’s what they said. But Belled was still polite.
No, rather than being polite, he had the power to charm people.
Was this the devil’s ability?
“...Wasn’t it unpleasant to be called a devil?”
The other Dukes did, so how could you not?
But Belled said something different from what I had expected.
“I was surprised, but isn’t this your chance to prove my innocence?”
Belled’s voice had no urgency or tension.
Even though you're a real demon. Does it mean that you don’t care if you get caught, or do you not think you’ll get caught?
...Do demons really think they can hide their identities? In this mansion where the traces of suspicious monsters are proudly hung on the walls even if I just leave the room?
“But why did you agree to this plan? This ridiculous plan of marrying a demon to find a demon?”
Belled suddenly asked. I looked up at him. Our eyes met very close together. The green eyes were still emitting a strange light as if they were going to pierce through me.
“That’s...”
Because I wanted to live. Because of didn’t like the other two families. It was meaningless to answer.
I could have rejected the plan itself to decide on a family, marry them, monitor them thoroughly, and ultimately reveal that they were demons.
If I were to risk being kicked out of the temple as a fallen Saintess who had abandoned my divine duty.
“...”
I closed my mouth. Of course, the priests would have tried to persuade me somehow, or if that didn’t work out, they would have tried to force me to go through with my plan by saying, “Have you lost your divinity?”
But if I had been even a little more proactive in the temple. If I had insisted on something I couldn’t for fear of being kicked out of the temple again.
If I had been going to run away anyway if I had... Would the future have been different?
I shook my head slightly. It was already in the past. But one thing was certain.
In my previous two lives, no one had asked me this question. Not only that, but no one in the temple was interested in me.
“Couldn’t you have refused? Of course, this would have been the surest way...”
He narrowed his eyes.
“Isn’t this a way that puts your life at stake?”
I thought shadows were cold. They were meant to block out light. But his shadow was strangely hot, making me feel hotter.
So much so that his words reached my mind a beat later.
“What if I really am the devil?”
I held my breath at those words.
It would be dangerous, but the person who whispered that was the devil. But...
“Because I wouldn’t be able to do anything if I stayed in the temple. And,”
I said sincerely.
“I thought you’d be better than the other two Dukes.”
Not only them but better than the temple. I swallowed my words.
That’s why I came here.
It was true. If you weren’t a demon, it would have been the best choice, but still, this was the best choice.
I’d rather go back to those hells.
Memories seemed to pass by. At that moment, Belled’s eyes, whose gazes met mine, took on a strange light.
“In short, out of the three men, I was the best, is that what you’re saying?”
The man is chosen by the Saintess. Belled’s mouth twisted as he spoke.
I, who had forgotten my memories of those words, looked at him.
“In short, you’re saying that you’ve measured the future of the three men.”
Which one is better.
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