Chapter 10

The Demon and the Witch (1)

Published on Sep 13, 2026

Chapter 10. The Demon and the Witch (1)

A human whom you want to kill, or who deserves to die.

The demon had told him to choose such a person, but for a boy, it was not something he could easily point out.

He had never felt murderous intent before.

Besides, being told to choose someone who deserved to die? That would be impossible. He was neither a family head with the authority to execute someone nor a judge.

He was nothing more than a mere child.

Raguel spoke in a flustered tone.

“There’s no way someone like that exists.”

“You don’t have anyone you want to kill?”

“Of, of course not!”

“How strange. I thought you, of all people, would have at least one name on your kill list.”

“Just what kind of person do you think I am...?”

The boy looked genuinely aggrieved, his expression remarkably transparent and innocent.

Having read the original novel, Yohan found this somewhat strange.

Raguel’s actions had not been particularly virtuous. The boy, banished from his family, would gradually fall apart and eventually walk the path of a villain.

He was supposed to be nothing more than a third-rate villain in the early part of the story. Yet, in the boy Yohan had seen so far, there was not even the slightest hint of evil.

Perhaps that was a limitation of the original work. Since it never described his psychology or circumstances, readers had never been given a chance to judge Raguel properly.

Yohan spoke.

“I thought you were a poor, unfortunate kid. I figured you’d at least hold a grudge against those who tormented you.”

The boy shook his head.

“Go outside and take a look at the streets. Starving orphans, wandering slash-and-burn farmers, vagrants shivering in the cold. You can run into them several times a day.”

“Are you trying to say you’re happier than them?”

“Rather than saying I’m happy, it’s simply true that my situation is better than theirs. I have a home, food, and...”

The boy trailed off. He glanced at Yohan with distant eyes before lowering his head again.

“No. Anyway, I’m not unfortunate enough to feel murderous intent.”

“That’s a shame. I was planning to carry out your revenge for you and put you in my debt.”

“You really are a demon.”

“That’s one way of putting it.”

A brief silence passed. Raguel spoke first.

“Why did you ask me that? It wasn’t really because you wanted to avenge my grudge, was it? Are you perhaps planning to kill someone...?”

“You don’t need to concern yourself with it. I’ll finish reading the book to you.”

There was no reason to tell the boy.

“But still!”

“Enough. Our conversation ends here.”

Yohan opened Kazan’s biography again.

As he read aloud, he fell into thought.

I need a sacrifice. But who would be suitable?

Someone whose disappearance wouldn’t cause much trouble, and whose death could somehow help move the story forward.

One person flashed through Yohan’s mind.

That should work.

He could also use her to create a connection to Ilea.

***

The prostitute Betra dug inside her ear with her bright-red fingernail. Her ear had been itching constantly, as though someone were talking about her.

“Good grief, I haven’t washed for days, and now it’s a complete mess.”

Muttering, she brought her finger before her eyes. A mass of yellowish particles was lodged beneath her red nail.

“Ugh.”

It was filthy, but she didn’t care. There was no one around whom she needed to impress.

Betra only cared about the Baron’s opinion of her, but these days, she rarely had a chance to see him. She couldn’t even eat with him.

The Baron, who remained shut up in his room, only summoned Ilea whenever mealtime came and had her sit with him.

There was absolutely no reason for Betra to dress up or make herself look presentable.

She blew the earwax from her finger.

The particles flew through the air and landed on the cold floor.

Several specks even landed on the face of the kneeling girl.

Rowen recoiled in horror and brushed the bodily secretions off herself.

It was a quick movement, but Betra noticed it.

“Where do you think you’re moving?!”

She shouted irritably and rose from her chair.

The thirty children being punished alongside Rowen flinched.

“You stupid, useless bitch!”

Betra raised her hand high. Then she began beating Rowen over the head.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

She struck her like a madwoman, then grabbed her by the hair and shook her back and forth.

All the stress she had accumulated was being vented in real time. A prostitute lived on attention, and the Baron’s indifference had made her increasingly hysterical.

It was all because of the Baron. No, because of Ilea.

“Die! Die!”

Rowen clasped her hands together and desperately begged.

“I-I’m sorry! Mother, please forgive me!”

“If you did something wrong, then you need to be punished!”

The prostitute paid no heed to the child’s pitiful cries.

She beat her mercilessly. Just as she was about to bring her foot into it as well, someone lightly touched her shoulder.

Betra whipped her head around. Her face was twisted with rage.

How dare someone—!

“Mother, you’re going too far.”

It was Ilea. She was wearing a faint smile.

That strange smile had always irritated Betra.

“......What?”

“I said you’re going too far.”

This little bitch had started openly talking back to her these days.

With the Baron backing her, she acted as though the entire world belonged to her.

It was infuriating.

Betra also disliked the looks on the Grand Duchesses’ faces. They gazed at Ilea with relief, as though some hero had appeared to save them.

Betra was so furious that her insides felt twisted, but she desperately composed herself.

She couldn’t hurt Ilea.

Her facial muscles trembling, she said,

“.....It’s an expression of love.”

Ilea looked down at the floor. Rowen, her hair in disarray, was crying.

“If you love her, then take care of her. No one uses a broken object.”

Betra let out an incredulous laugh.

“Hah. An object?”

Ilea nodded.

“We all belong to the Baron, after all.”

Then she pointed at Rowen.

“And you have damaged his property, Mother.”

Betra’s patience was beginning to crack.

How many years apart were they? And this brat dared to play word games with her?

She clenched her fist tightly.

“.....Damage? This is education.”

Ilea smiled gently and shook her head.

“Even if you wash a rag, you can’t use it as a towel. You only need to look at Mother to understand. So don’t soil them in the first place.”

Once a prostitute, always a prostitute.

The wandering Betra had settled down here, but she was still living the life of a prostitute.

“Understood?”

It struck a nerve.

Her expression contorted. A cluster of veins bulged on her forehead.

She couldn’t endure it any longer.

“Th-this insolent little bitch!”

She raised her hand.

Just as she was about to bring it down, Ilea’s eyes turned pitch-black.

The blue irises that had been there moments before were gone, replaced by deep shadows.

Betra froze.

The darkness she had seen a moment ago had already disappeared, but the image remained etched vividly in her mind.

Those weren’t human eyes.

A demon she had seen long ago in the royal capital had possessed eyes like those.

Back then, the sight had been so terrifying that she had frozen stiff.

It was the same now.

Ilea tilted her head.

“Mother, are you feeling unwell?”

Her innocent expression created a horrifying sense of dissonance.

Betra took a step backward.

“You, you...”

“Oh my, your complexion is terrible. You should get some rest.”

Having said that, Ilea looked at the children.

“Now, shall we all get up? Mother isn’t feeling well, so today’s lesson ends here. Everyone, return to your quarters.”

The children glanced back and forth between Ilea and Betra before slowly getting to their feet.

As usual, they lined up in a single row.

—The grace of Mother has reached the heavens. Great Saint, Marziel.

They bowed at the waist in greeting before filing out of the study room.

Betra couldn’t stop them.

The lingering terror from moments ago had yet to fade.

Ilea bowed her head toward the frozen woman.

“Then, have a peaceful night.”

She, too, left the secret room.

***

Ilea’s destination was different from that of the Grand Duchesses.

She passed through the central courtyard and descended underground.

With a subdued expression, she murmured,

“I believe I told you not to come out recklessly.”

At the same time, a faint giggle, giggle followed.

“I apologize. I was simply too excited. You are the same, are you not? That demonic energy was incredibly appetizing.”

A moment ago, someone had released demonic energy.

It had been faint, but a witch and a demon could sense it well enough.

The sharp voice continued with a cackle.

“It was rich, but not refined. In other words, it means it is an imp of good blood. What a satisfying meal this is. This old woman is already salivating.”

Every demon had to pass through the stage of infancy.

No matter how threatening their bloodline might be, while in an imp state, they were nothing more than prey for other demons.

For the old hag spirit, it was impossible not to be excited.

“If we capture and devour it, our master will also obtain high-quality demonic energy. It is truly a blessing that has rolled right into our hands.”

A blessing?

Ilea had a somewhat different opinion.

The imp hadn’t accidentally left behind a trace.

It was clearly luring her in.

She could infer that from the nature of its demonic energy.

When demonic energy was used as a medium for transmigration or contracts, it naturally contained impurities, much like exhaled breath.

But this time was different.

The demonic energy from earlier had been incredibly pure. There was absolutely no trace of it having been used.

It had simply been scattered into the air for no apparent reason.

Who would do such a thing?

If a newly born imp had merely been experimenting with controlling its own demonic energy, Ilea could at least understand that to some extent.

But she doubted that was what it had been doing.

An imp with two contractors already under its command was a demon well-versed in demonic energy.

There was no way it would make such a foolish mistake.

If so, its intention was obvious.

I’m here. Come.

“.....Hmm.”

Does it want to be bound?

Ilea weighed the old hag spirit against the imp.

A fully grown lesser spirit versus a promising young imp.

There was hardly any point in comparing them.

Even before they were placed on the scales, the scales had already hit the ground on one side.

Ilea made her decision.

She would feed the old hag spirit to the imp.

Of course, she could have been jumping to conclusions.

It was all merely a hypothesis. It was difficult to determine the imp’s exact intentions.

Whether or not she knew her master’s thoughts, the old hag spirit was thoroughly enjoying herself.

She even started singing.

Fortunately, the sound did not leak outside, but it continued to echo inside Ilea’s mind.

It was a disgusting melody.

As a witch, it irritated her.

“I hope the imp wants me.”

She wanted to replace her.

Sensing the atmosphere, the old hag spirit finally shut her mouth.

“......I’m sorry.”

“No. You’re allowed to be stupid.”

Having said that, Ilea abruptly stopped in front of a spiral staircase.

It was a place she had heard mentioned several times.

“The imp chose this place too.”

The old hag spirit answered in a timid voice.

“......It seems this is the only place where the Restricted Library could be.”

“Right. We couldn’t find it, though.”

“I-I’m entirely to blame for our failure.”

“Shall we see just how capable this imp really is?”

Ilea stepped forward.

She descended the staircase, lightly setting one foot down after another.

The deeper she went, the more the surroundings sank into darkness.

The torches installed near the entrance could not illuminate the depths of the underground.

This was a passage no one ever came looking for.

There was no reason to keep it lit.

When she reached complete darkness, her footsteps stopped.

The surroundings were silent.

The smell of mold stung her nose.

“Let’s see.”

Whoosh.

A small flame blossomed within the darkness.

It flickered like an oil lamp.

Then the points of light multiplied one by one, dotting the darkness.

The interior gradually brightened.

Spiderwebs glimmered as they reflected the light, while hazy dust drifted through the air.