Chapter 8
The time when the sun was setting.
Only at that time did Jeremia finally stop crying and climb out of bed, brushing aside the blanket covering her body.
It couldn’t be helped.
Even though she hadn’t resolved her lingering bitterness from earlier that day, crying also requires stamina.
-Growl.
“Ugh, I’m hungry.”
Why must humans suffer from hunger if they don’t eat three meals a day?
Wishing her energy and appetite would disappear altogether, Jeremia opened the desk drawer where she usually kept her money, just in case.
But, of course, what greeted her there was nothing but an empty sight.
Feeling even more dejected at the sight, Jeremia turned away from the desk and began exploring the mansion.
“Money… I need something—anything that can be turned into money.”
Even hard, tasteless bread would do, as long as it could fill her stomach.
Driven by this thought, she searched the mansion, but aside from the bare minimum necessities, there was nothing of value.
Naturally, this was to be expected. This mansion was practically abandoned by the main family.
When she first arrived, it had been completely empty, so there was no way anything valuable would remain.
If she were to find anything worth selling, it would probably be items she brought with her when she came to this mansion.
“Something to sell… something sellable…”
Eventually, Jeremia even rummaged through her wardrobe and found herself focusing on her underwear, deeply hidden inside.
The family had always instructed her to care about appearances, so even her underwear was made of luxurious materials by skilled artisans.
If she sold them at the market, she might earn enough money to sustain herself for a while.
Yes, if someone were willing to buy the underwear she had worn…
“That’s ridiculous!”
Hesitating to cross that line as a human being, Jeremia shoved the underwear deep into the wardrobe and quickly dismissed the thought.
As if in response to her denial, her stomach growled again.
Feeling even weaker from the growing hunger, Jeremia sighed deeply and recalled the meal she had eaten earlier in the day.
A dining table filled with a feast crafted from exquisite ingredients by skillful hands.
Though it had cost her entire fortune, she couldn’t deny the warmth and sincerity that meal carried—something she had never felt before.
Unlike those who had oppressed her, that demon had prepared that meal for her…
“…Was I too harsh on him?”
As fondness for the meal welled up, a vague sense of regret began to form in Jeremia’s heart.
Even if he was newly summoned and didn’t understand things yet.
After all, he was someone she had summoned, so wasn’t she also responsible for his actions?
“…Um, excuse me, Demon.”
So, she wanted to talk to him again.
Calling out belatedly, she was met only with the hollow breeze blowing through the empty mansion.
“Butler, Sebastian?”
Even when she had explored the mansion earlier, his shadow was nowhere to be seen.
Finally realizing that he had left the mansion, Jeremia grew anxious but quickly remembered that he was a being she had summoned.
With urgency, she headed to her room.
What she found was the black magic book—a tome describing how to summon demons and command them.
“So, like this…”
Finding the section on locating summoned demons, Jeremia steadied her mana and resolved to use the spell.
She held her breath, closed her eyes…
As her nerves sharpened, her consciousness naturally veered in a single direction, like the needle of a compass.
“…I can feel it.”
She faintly sensed his presence outside the mansion.
Realizing this, Jeremia put on a coat over her pajamas and stepped out of the mansion onto the street.
Determined to meet and speak with him again, she followed the increasingly distinct trail of his presence…
“Wait, where is this…?”
Walking with her mind preoccupied, Jeremia suddenly realized where she had wandered and felt tension build up within her.
She had entered a secluded and dark alley connected to the marketplace.
This was a place known as the “backstreets,” a shadowy area of the prosperous city.
It was the primary residence of the poor, often overlooked even by the city’s security forces.
In short, anything could happen here without anyone batting an eye.
“This is dangerous. I should go back—”
“Hey there, miss. What are you doing here all alone?”
Before she could fully register her sense of danger, a voice approached, and Jeremia turned toward the sound, trembling.
The owner of the voice was a man in dirty, shabby clothes.
A so-called vagrant, he grinned at Jeremia with a lecherous smile.
“Uh, um, I… I…”
“Heh, miss, you shouldn’t be wandering the streets alone at this hour. Want me to escort you home?”
Had he been drinking?
His face was flushed red as he approached, making Jeremia feel increasingly uneasy.
She began to slowly back away.
“Aw, come on, miss. Why’re you acting like that? You’d think I was gonna eat you or something.”
Danger.
Sensing it instinctively, Jeremia tried to retreat, only to realize her back was already against a wall.
Had she unknowingly wandered into a dead end?
The vagrant, noticing her predicament, grinned even wider as his eyes roamed over Jeremia’s body.
“Hmm, you’ve got quite the pretty face. You must be from a well-off family, huh? So, miss, do you have a boyfriend?”
“T-that…”
“Aw, come on. It’s a simple question. Do you have a boyfriend or not?”
“…I-I don’t.”
“Oh, so that means you’re a virgin, huh?”
The man muttered such vulgar words without any hesitation.
She realized the greed simmering in his eyes as he stared at her, but her legs trembled and refused to move.
“Hehehe~ Good deeds do pay off, huh? A virgin in such a provocative outfit willingly walked into my hands~”
“P-please, don’t do this…”
“It’s okay~ I’ll be gentle~”
His voice, soaked in lust, leaked from his gaping mouth, accompanied by his filthy hand reaching toward her.
Unable to bear witnessing this reality, Jeremia tightly closed her eyes, choosing to turn away from what was happening.
‘Help me…’
She prayed desperately for this moment to end.
‘Help me, Sebastian!’
As she thought of the person she had been searching for, she instinctively released her mana in desperation, clinging to the memory of him.
-Thud!!
The dull sound reached her ears, and Jeremia opened her tightly shut eyes, slowly taking in the scene before her.
There lay the man who had been harassing her, sprawled out pathetically on the ground.
“Ugh! Wh-what the… Who dares… Kkgh!!”
The vagrant, grimacing and clenching his fists, was suddenly hoisted into the air by someone gripping his neck.
It was a familiar figure.
The black hair, the equally black attire, and the crimson eyes.
“You.”
But the voice lacked the warmth she remembered.
It was cold and sharp, like shards of ice.
“You dared to lay your hands on someone who should never be touched.”
The man dressed in a butler’s uniform spoke in an utterly chilling tone, tightening his grip on the vagrant’s neck.
Crunch, creak.
The sound of bones being crushed echoed, and the vagrant’s body began to twitch.
Even as he gasped and coughed, the butler in the black uniform spoke in a quiet, unyielding voice.
“How should you atone for this sin? Please, answer with your own words.”
“G-ghk. S-stop…”
“Should I rip out your heart while it still beats and show it to you? Or should I slice your flesh thinly and force it into your mouth? Perhaps burning you from your feet upward until you turn into a pile of ash would be an effective method…”
The grip on his neck loosened slightly.
Though the vagrant could feel himself breathing again, the terror etched on his face only deepened.
“If there’s a better method, please suggest it with your own mouth.”
No, he wasn’t being spared.
The butler simply wanted him to speak his punishment aloud.
“Something long and excruciating… A punishment so creative that, in the end, you beg for death yourself.”
“Ah… Ugh… Aaah…”
Foaming at the mouth and trembling uncontrollably, the vagrant failed to respond despite the prodding.
As the butler stared at him with icy, detached eyes, he raised his other hand, positioning it toward the man’s chest.
What was he planning to do?
Jeremia didn’t know, but she understood one thing clearly.
If left unchecked, something truly irreversible might happen.
“Stop!!”
Finally finding her voice, Jeremia shouted desperately at the man emanating an even greater aura of fear.
“Sebastian, stop! It’s okay… I’m fine!”
She instinctively understood.
If this demon was truly enraged on her behalf, only she could quell that anger.
-Thud.
As if affirming her instincts, Sebastian released the vagrant, letting him collapse to the ground.
Yet his gaze remained icy, a silent warning more than enough to convey his message to the vagrant.
If he continued to bother her, Sebastian could not guarantee his safety.
“Leave now, before my mistress’s mercy disappears.”
“A-aaaaaah!”
Screaming, the vagrant disappeared into the night.
Without sparing him another glance, Sebastian turned to face Jeremia, who had approached him.
“Se-Sebas…”
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
Before she could even finish her call, he asked her with evident concern, prompting Jeremia to quietly give him the answer he sought.
“N-no. I’m okay… Thanks to you.”
Even though he was a demon.
The concern she hadn’t even received from her family now came from this supposedly evil being.
“…That’s a relief.”
Yes, the words he now uttered couldn’t have been spoken without genuine concern.
“Truly… I’m truly relieved that you’re safe, Miss Jeremia.”
By the time the warmth she remembered had returned to his voice, Jeremia found herself placing a hand over her chest.
-Thump, thump.
Her heart pounded furiously in that moment.
She fretted nervously, wondering if he could hear it.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Click here -> https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
Comment