Chapter 3

‘There’s no way he recognized me, right?’

Yoo Jinah had drawn the hood far over her head and borrowed a mask from the host just in case. It would be impossible to recognize her face in the midst of a dark venue from his place on the bright stage.

However, she was nervous. That demon, Varat Baal, was a madman who, extraordinarily, 1 was able to recognize Jinah when she was far enough away to be merely a dot in his view. It was enough that the mage Ansidra would spout some nonsense that maybe the demon had actually liked her.

Varat kept looking at Jinah. With those strangely brilliant eyes that she had become familiar with on the battlefield.

Meanwhile, the mood in the auction house rose to a fever pitch. Perhaps Varat’s beastly body had stimulated the noblewomens’ clandestine appetite, bidding prices rose crazily, and a bloodthirsty and tense energy hung between the bidders. At this rate, it seemed as if the competing bidders would grab each other’s hair.

‘Everyone’s crazy. What’s going on? I have no idea. I’m scared.’ From Jinah’s perspective, everyone was fighting to place their head in the lion’s mouth. That’s Varat Baal. He’s too scary a being to trust in a single collar to contain him and keep him by your side.

He was a strong enough demon that his peers had been terrified of him and avoided him. How could they trust that a collar would be enough to control him?

Even if it could limit demonic power, he was still dangerous. He did not only have superior, innate physical might. The fact that he overtook more prominent demons and became the commander-in-chief meant that his mental ability was also great; he knew how to work his advantages well.

‘They said that the ignorant are brave. I don’t even know anymore.’

No matter how Jinah looked at it, she only saw crazy people. But, the demonic slave auction took place with the emperor’s permission. Perhaps it would be different if she was still a Saintess in the Imperial Palace, but there was nothing she could do now.

‘I should call for the carriage and return home. The parade must have passed by now… I won’t leave the house for anything.’

But, what kind of a demon was Varat Baal?

Even if he became a slave, there was no way he’d obediently follow his master’s orders.

No doubt the woman, whose eyes turned bloodshot as she called out a price that would cover a commoner family of four’s living expenses, would be found dead tomorrow morning.

‘Ah… That won’t do…It’s none of my business what happens to this world now, but I can’t stand to see the peace that had finally settled in this land be broken again…Ahh… Really… Why did I come to this place to seek entertainment?… I should have gone home. No, I should have just never left the house at all.’

No matter how Jinah thought about it, it felt like she was placing a noose around her own neck, but, as a Saintess, she could not bear to see innocent citizens dying by his hands. This was the peace she had earned, and she couldn’t let him ruin it.

Jinah raised her hand. “One hundred and two thousand. All in gold.”

At that moment, a chilling silence reigned in the auction house. It was a huge amount of money–equivalent to a city’s annual budget.

“E-Excuse me… About that… You didn’t mis-speak, right? That amount is…”

“That’s right. Please accept my bid quickly.” 2

There was sadness in her resolute posture. It was as if she was a tearful martyr who accepted a bomb in order to mitigate damage to the innocents.

“Pfft. Hahahahahaha!” Varat’s laughter shattered the silence. His brightly exhilarated face, laughing widely enough to show his teeth, seemed to glow.

The other bidders, who were so excited in the heat of the auction, clenched at their hems. Varat’s voice was nice enough to melt their ears, but they couldn’t bid more than one hundred and two thousand. Who would squander their family fortune on a mere demonic slave?

In the end, Varat was sold to Jinah.

* * *

Jinah returned to her residence with Varat in tow. She didn’t particularly want to let him inside, but there was no choice as she had already brought him there.

“Come in.” Jinah opened the door and entered; Varat followed, silent.

‘ We need to talk, but the living room…’

At a quick glance, one could see that the living room wasn’t a conducive environment to sit down and have a conversation. The furniture was covered with white cloth to stop the dust from accumulating on it; even that cloth, though, was covered in dust, coloring the fabric gray.

She had not really left her room during the year, and furthermore, before she came to live in this house, no one had lived here previously. Just from looking at the state of the living room, she could tell what the other rooms were like as well.

‘At the very least, the bedroom should be decent…’

Jinah entered the bedroom. She sat on a sofa at one end of the bedroom; Varat sat across from her. The sofa sank from his weight, and dust flew up from the disturbance. The mist-like dust refracted the evening sunset light, illuminating his surroundings.

‘It feels like even the way the dust flying around him makes him cool.’

Leaning against the sofa, Varat didn’t fit the image of some vaulted position like the commander-in-chief of the demon army. The way his bare skin proudly peeked through his ragged clothes made him look more like a pimp.

Jinah blushed . When she lived in the imperial palace she was surrounded by all sorts of handsome men and beautiful women, so she was desensitized to attractive faces. However, facing Barat, she felt awkward, like she returned to her ordinary high school self 10 years past.

This decadent atmosphere was the problem. No one had ever dared to take such an attitude in front of the Saintess.

Jinah cleared her voice and said, “Why was a demon like you captured there.”

“What do you mean, ‘demon like me?'”

“Don’t think about acting ignorant now. Varat Baal, Commander-in-chief of the Demon Army. Didn’t you return to the demonic realm?”

“I returned.”

“Then why are you in the human world ?”

“Because I came back.”

“I’m not looking to joke around with you.” Jinah’s forehead wrinkled.

Unlike her expression, Varat was smiling, “Something still tugged at my heart, so I came back.”

“What about the slave auction?”

“I heard some shocking news. So, while I was blanking out, they got me.” Varat’s voice contained an excited lilt; no matter what he said, Jinah felt like he was playing around.

“Do you expect me to believe that? You aren’t the type of person to be docilely beaten by slavers while careless. Sure, they got you when you had your guard down, but afterwards? Why didn’t you run away?”

“This collar is more effective than you’d expect.” Varat pointed his finger at the necklace. The collar’s string looked fragile–like, if it suited his fancy, the demon could rip it with his finger.

‘That would never work on Varat.” Jinah was certain.

“What about the saintess?” Varat said.

“What about me?”

“They said you returned to the Goddess’s embrace .”

Publically, it was reported that she returned to the Goddess’s embrace after completing her mission. It was all due to the fact that the emperor—concerned that a shocked ripple effect would wash over the land if it became known that the Saintess lost her holy power— had made everyone watch what they say.

“That’s none of your business.” Jinah massaged her temples. Perhaps the exhaustion from the day’s outing had set in, fever rose within her body. Vertigo washed over her, and she closed her eyes. “In anycase, you’ll be living here from now on. Don’t think about doing some nonsense; you’re not allowed to go outside either. Just live quietly, as if you don’t exist. Then, I won’t meddle in your business.”

“The goddess is too much. She only extends mercy to her own children. A child from another realm is merely a tool for human use.”

“Don’t talk about something else and just answer me.” “Are you frustrated that you were used and abandoned by the goddess? You should have taken care of yourself first before you took time from your life to clean up after another.”

“Varat Baal!”

Undaunted by Jinah’s rebuke, Varat continued, “Why are you wasting your time alone in a closet like this? Why is that woman–who had hid behind her well-off family while clutching at the hems of her dress during the entire war–the one being praised by the people on the streets in a gold-and-silver-embossed carriage, and not you? Whatever may happen after buying a diabolical demon slave…right now, aren’t you the one who isn’t in the place to worry about others?”

“Shut up!” Jinah shouted. She couldn’t stay patient. ‘Why do I have to listen to admonitions from guys like him?’ “Why should it matter to you how I live?”

The wound in her abdomen began to throb. In response to the stabbing pain that soon followed, Jinah wrapped her arms around her stomach and bent over. Cold sweat formed on her forehead. “Ngh…”

“Wait a minute, that…” Varat’s eyes widened.

“Get out. I don’t care what you do as long as you don’t leave the house—just don’t concern yourself with me.” Jinah stood up and turned her back on him. Exhaustion began settling in.

‘I should take my medicine.’

In this sort of situation, no matter how tired she was, she couldn’t fall asleep properly. Pessimistic emotions clung at her, dredging up all sorts of memories and making her unhappy. She would cry and clutch at her blanket; when she finally managed to fall asleep near sunrise from exhaustion, it was always a nightmare.

It was better to force herself to sleep after taking medicine as if she had fainted . The drug had some formidable side effects, but there was no choice. Maybe she was still different from ordinary people even after losing her holy powers; she still did not experience any of the side effects.

Jinah walked around the bed and reached out her hand. Varat grabbed it.

“I told you to leave.” she said.

He did not answer with words. Varat’s lips touched her palm. The kissing sound sounded so affectionate .

“What are you doing?” Jinah was dumbfounded and frustrated. After digging at all her past scars, what was he doing now?

Varat licked Jinah’s palm like a puppy, coquettish after being scolded. Her shoulders involuntarily shivered at the hot and damp feeling. Even if the other acted gentle and cute, she couldn’t help but feel intimidated when her opponent was Varat Baal.

“Varat Baal, what are you….Ngh!”

Varat placed his teeth over the well-padded flesh below her thumb. His sharp fangs tore at her flesh; red blood burst forth. He licked the wound. Jinah felt lost‒he would soothe her pain when he was the cause in the first place?

However, fascinatingly, the pain disappeared. Not just the pain from Varat’s bite on her palm, but also the throbbing pain in her abdomen.

When he removed his lips, the pain quickly came back. The difference between those two sensations were clear: Varat’s actions.

Jinah’s eyes widened. “How did you…”

“I’m a vampire.”

“Vampire…”

Lil Valley: Somehow I wasn’t imagining a vampire when I imagined a demon. Hey, though, anyone who can take away chronic pain is A++

The slang “Like a ghost” in Korean denotes an almost supernatural ability for something. Thus, ‘Extraordinarily’ was a close enough equivalent. Kame: lolol, Jinah’s just like “ya ya I know I know. Just give it to me already.”