Chapter 65

* * *

“Trash.”

Ilya gripped the neck of the old man in his expensive attire with a characteristic expressionless face.

His eyes had turned from a graceful dark green to a blood-red hue.

The man flailed in the air.

“Gag!”

“I told you not to grow that plant beyond a certain level as it attracts Ghosts.”

“S-Sorry, gah!”

“That’s why humans are exhausting. It was a mistake to make a contract with such an inferior race.”

Thud!

The man was thrown to the ground like an annoying object.

“A fool deserves to die.”

Count Bernstein trembled all over and prostrated himself on the ground.

“I apologize, Lord Avlo. This will never happen again.”

Avlo.

Count Bernstein called him by his true name.

Ilya glanced at Count Bernstein indifferently before shifting his gaze to the window.

“I played the role of your deceased second son, extended your wife’s life, and transformed your eldest son, who was worse than a worm, into a decent person.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“Is that all? I even erased the sins of your family.”

“Yes, Lord Avlo, you have bestowed so much grace upon me, yet I foolishly made a mistake. This will never happen again.”

It was tiresome.

Even as an archangel, he had always detested phrases like “foolish,” “mistake,” and “this will never happen again.”

How could a superior race like the celestials be foolish?

It was impossible.

He believed it should not exist.

But humans were an inferior race, so it was inevitable.

He never expected them to do anything well.

For a Ghost Hand to make it from the garden to the mansion was a foolish act typical of humans.

Yet, today, he was a bit angry.

Really, uncharacteristically so.

“Making a contract with someone unworthy like you was merely for my amusement.”

Since he had to stay in the human world anyway, he had taken on the guise of a human with an appropriate status through the contract.

But it wasn’t amusing at all.

Humans were stupid and annoying.

But lately, things were a bit different.

Just as he was about to erase everything like a daydream when the waiting became tedious, something quite interesting appeared.

Ilya gazed at someone beyond the window.

A soft aura rippled over his crimson eyes.

The oppressive aura around him dissipated, and his red eyes returned to a calm dark green.

Count Bernstein, trembling in fear of death, let out a sigh of relief.

He was alive. For some reason, Avlo had calmed his anger.

“This time, I’ll let it slide, but there won’t be a next time. Remember that.”

“Thank you!”

At the end of Ilya’s intense gaze stood Tereza and Clyde.

* * *

Clunk. Clunk.

Clyde stared straight ahead with a very serious face.

There was nothing in front of him.

His gaze shifted to the side.

Nod. Nod.

Tereza, exhausted to her limit, was dozing off, her head moving like a windmill.

Clyde had clearly gotten into the carriage first.

He had expected Tereza to sit opposite him.

They had sat that way on the way to the garden.

But what had she said?

“I’ll sit next to you. I get motion sickness when facing backward.”

He thought it was just another excuse.

Until Tereza sat next to him and fell asleep peacefully.

Clyde frowned slightly and muttered to himself.

“Really unpredictable.”

She said she loved him, then said she didn’t.

She seemed to avoid him, then slowly approached.

She seemed to struggle, yet acted fearlessly at times.

She kept making him confused.

Then, Tereza’s head leaned toward his shoulder.

Thud!

Clyde, with his excellent reflexes, blocked Tereza’s face from touching his shoulder with his hand.

“Mmm...”

Tereza’s cheek was pressed into his large palm, distorting her face as if she had made a fish face earlier.

Chuckle.

Clyde couldn’t help but laugh, then quickly stiffened his expression.

Honestly, Tereza had almost made him laugh a few times today.

“The more I look, the more you look like a fool.”

“Mmm...”

Tereza frowned, seemingly uncomfortable.

Clyde released his magic to stabilize the carriage, which was shaking excessively due to the rough road.

The ride became much smoother.

As the shaking decreased, Tereza’s frown softened.

“Really, you’re so peaceful.”

Her knee was scraped, visible through a torn stocking, and her palm was also raw.

Yet, her sleeping face, untroubled by pain, seemed untouched.

Somehow, she looked more innocent with each passing day.

Observing Tereza was unexpectedly entertaining.

Since she was using his hand as a pillow, he took the opportunity to observe her openly.

It had been a while since he last saw her sleeping face, back in Professor Ilya’s lab.

“She definitely looks different.”

Even then, he had felt she looked different, but recently, her appearance had changed noticeably.

Was it that her face had become fuller?

‘Still, Tereza is Tereza.’

Actually, what had changed the most was his attitude toward Tereza.

What was it called?

“Ordinary...”

Yes, when he was with Tereza, he felt like an ordinary boy.

-That’s impossible.

Clyde clenched the holy relic tightly and squeezed his eyes shut.

It had been quiet recently, but today it was causing trouble again.

It always happened this way.

When his heart was disturbed, and the thorns that tore at his inner self began to retract, the demon whispered.

-You shouldn’t be happy, Clyde.

It was a clear warning, laced with contempt and jealousy.

-Stop pretending to be a human.

“I know. I know that.”

Tereza is just a detestable human.

We are on opposite sides.

We can never be friends.

-Friends? Ha ha. Is that all you wanted? With something this sweet?

Clyde didn’t respond.

He just waited for the holy relic’s power to completely bind him.

But today, the demon was persistent.

-Let go, you fool.

“...”

Clyde carefully withdrew his hand.

Then, the small head rested on his shoulder.

The sight of her soft black hair spilling over was beautiful.

At the same time, a fragrant scent spread.

It was the same purifying energy that had intoxicated him when she cast an unbelievable purification spell, almost making him lose his mind.

He couldn’t hold back a curse.

If not for his lifelong patience, he would have cupped Tereza’s cheek and kissed her.

He would have explored her endlessly, oblivious to the carriage arriving in Valhalla.

Lost in the sweet and soft sensations, his barely maintained humanity would have melted away, leaving only the demon’s instincts.

He would have coaxed the confused Tereza into his arms as she woke up.

The succubus’s pheromones were beyond a mere human’s defense. Tereza would undoubtedly accept his offer.

-I’ll come to you in your dreams.

Let’s sleep together. Forever.

Crunch!

A gruesome sound of flesh being crushed echoed in his mouth.

Clyde had bitten into the flesh inside his mouth, causing a significant wound.

The holy relic’s power intensified, accelerating the purification process.

It also healed his physical injuries.

-Boring.

Even after the demon disappeared, Clyde squeezed his hands together until they turned white and squeezed his eyes shut.

He couldn’t bear to look at her.