PWH C19

At that moment, the music stopped.

People around me bid farewell to their partners and either left the dance floor or sought new partners. I tried to pull my hand away from the crown prince, but he didn’t let go. Soon, the next song began, and people resumed dancing.

The crown prince and I, too, started moving to the music again.

I could hear people whispering as they looked at us. The commotion was even greater than before.

“What’s going on?”

“Dancing twice in a row—it usually only happens between lovers,” the crown prince answered politely.

I frowned at his words. I wanted to shake off his hand and leave immediately, but there were still things left to discuss with him, so I endured.

“Are you planning to reveal that I’m not really Isabella?”

“What if I do?”

“Do you have a preferred way to die?”

“So you’re threatening to kill me.”

“Yes. Well, at least I’ll let you choose how you die.”

I looked at the crown prince with cold eyes. He simply smiled as he met my gaze.

Despite his words, I wasn’t particularly worried that he would reveal my true identity. Just as the crown prince had figured out my secret, I, too, had learned his.

Even now, I could feel the lingering demonic power flowing between our clasped hands. I didn’t know which lord he had made a contract with, but it was clear that the crown prince had received a significant amount of power.

“You talk a lot for someone who’s made a contract with a demon.”

“Well, that’s true,” the crown prince shrugged, agreeing with my words. It seemed he had no intention of revealing my identity. He just had a lot to say to me.

“Keep it short.”

Now that the crown prince knew my true nature, there was no need to hold back. It would be better for us to exchange the information we needed.

The crown prince got straight to the point. “Who are you, really, inhabiting Isabella’s body?”

“I’m a demon. And kid, your tone is really getting on my nerves.”

“What would you have me do?”

“Use honorifics.” I squeezed his hand tightly as I spoke.

Now that he knew my true identity, I didn’t see any reason to tolerate his disrespectful tone. Besides, didn’t Gabby say that humans used honorifics when addressing those above them?

The crown prince let out a hollow laugh at my demand.

“I’ve killed my fair share of demons, and now you demand I use honorifics just because you’re a demon?”

“I’ve killed more than you. So, logically, you should address me with respect.”

The crown prince’s gaze on me was peculiar as he asked, “Tell me your name, and I’ll consider it.”

“Isabella.”

“Not that name. Your real name. Your demonic name.”

“My name is Isabella. But everyone calls me Bella.”

The crown prince took a deep breath. “You must be the Lord of Contracts…”

“That’s right. Now, are you finally going to correct that disrespectful tone of yours?”

“…Lady Bella.”

The crown prince surprisingly complied with my demand without resistance. Well, it would be strange for a mere human to stand tall in front of a demon lord.

“You seem to know a lot about me.”

I hadn’t visited the middle realm in the past five hundred years, so I shouldn’t have been widely known among humans.

When I questioned him, the crown prince seemed to carefully choose his next words.

“There are records about Lady Bella in the imperial archives. So I know a bit more than others.”

He glanced over my face before cautiously asking me, “Did Isabella make a contract with you?”

How much should I tell him? I decided to question the crown prince about his relationship with Isabella first.

“Tell me about your relationship with Isabella.”

“We were the only ones who understood each other—friends, perhaps?”

“Is friendship all there was between you?”

“If you’re asking because of rumors, I’d like to clarify that those rumors are false. Isabella and I understood and liked each other as people, but that was it.”

If the crown prince’s words were true, then he wasn’t an enemy of Isabella. It seemed he held some personal affection for Isabella. Even if he disliked me possessing her body, he wouldn’t harm it, and thus wouldn’t attack me.

I briefly explained what had happened to me. “It wasn’t my intention. When I came to, I found myself in this body.”

The crown prince sighed deeply upon hearing my explanation.

“Honestly, I had an inkling. Isabella always envied the fact that I had made a contract with a demon.”

“She envied the wrong thing. In the end, humans always lose in demonic contracts.”

Though there had been exceptions, like myself.

I gave a bitter smile but quickly hid it before the crown prince could see.

The crown prince, unaware of my fleeting expression, continued speaking, “I tried to dissuade Isabella, but it seems she found a way to make a contract with a demon.”

Then he cautiously asked me, “Is there any possibility of Isabella returning?”

“I’m not the contractor, so I don’t know. It depends on the contract she made.”

Though I knew the chances of Isabella returning were slim, I chose not to tell him that.

After a moment of contemplation, the crown prince spoke, “If you ever need my help, just let me know. I’ll do whatever I can.”

“Is it because of Isabella?”

“Yes. Even if her soul is different, as long as her body remains the same, helping you makes me feel a bit better.”

There was no need to refuse help, especially when it came from the crown prince, who could be useful in many ways.

We remained silent for a while. Eventually, the crown prince broke the silence.

“But, Lady Bella, why do you speak that way? Is it a side effect of being in a human body?”

“It’s just my personality. Respect it.”

The crown prince suddenly fell silent. His expression suggested he was holding back what he wanted to say.

I immediately asked my next question, “Did I make it obvious that I’m not Isabella?”

It seemed like the crown prince had figured out I wasn’t Isabella even before sensing the demonic power within me, so I was curious.

The crown prince looked hesitant. “Well, I’m not sure if I should say this, but Lady Bella, you haven’t exactly tried to hide it, have you?”

He explained that my speech and behavior were so different from the original Isabella’s that anyone who knew her even a little would notice.

I nodded in agreement. Honestly, my performance as a human was probably close to zero.

“Hmm. This could be troublesome. If people find out that a demon is possessing Isabella’s body—”

“It would mean execution by fire.”

The thought of being burned alive was utterly humiliating for a demon. I could already imagine the demon lords mocking me at my funeral.

Seeing my expression darken, the crown prince hurriedly added, “But I doubt anyone else will notice. Besides myself, there’s hardly anyone close enough to Isabella to realize it.”

That was true. Even her own family hadn’t noticed.

The music swelled to a crescendo.

I had one last question for the crown prince. “So, which demon did you make a contract with?”

“Dantalion. The Lord of Dominion.”

The moment I heard those words—

Smack!

I roughly yanked my hand away from the crown prince’s grasp.

People around us whispered, staring at us standing still in the center of the dance floor. Their voices barely registered in my ears as I wrestled with my tumultuous thoughts.

Of all demons, it had to be Dantalion.

Some demons were friendly toward humans, but not Dantalion. He hated humans more than any other demon I knew. He despised them even more than I did, and I’d been betrayed by a human.

Because of that, humans who made contracts with Dantalion never ended well.

“Your death will be painful.”

It was both a warning and a prophecy. The crown prince chuckled at my words. He ran a hand through his hair—not the silver hair of the imperial family, but black hair.

“If I were afraid of death, I would never have made a contract with a demon.”

“You’ve never experienced death, have you, child?”

“Sometimes, life can be worse than death.”

Strangely, the crown prince’s words sounded similar to something Isabella might have said.

***

“Lady Bella, I will be in touch.”

With those parting words, the crown prince left the ballroom, leaving Lady Clement behind.

I, too, left early, using the excuse of feeling unwell to return to the estate.

The results from the ball weren’t bad. I had learned more about Isabella, and I’d gained a valuable pawn.

But what exactly was Dantalion planning by making the empire’s crown prince his contractor?

“My lady, shall I close the window? The weather is chillier than expected.” Jessie, seeing me staring out the open window, asked with concern.

“No need. I’m expecting a guest.”