IDDYD 02

Chapter 02

“A deal?”

Alice frowned at his words, looking puzzled.

Aiden, taking her expression as a silent cue to continue, nodded.

“Right. As you guessed, I have some business to attend to in the human world. And I have absolutely no intention of returning to the Demon Realm until it’s finished. Conversely, you want to send me back right now.”

He had been whispering to her like sharing a secret, then stepped back slightly to continue.

“So, if you help me with my task, I will return to the Demon Realm as you wish. As if nothing ever happened. Cleanly, without leaving a single trace.”

Aiden lifted the corner of his mouth in a smile. It was a relaxed smile, born from the belief that Alice would unconditionally accept his proposal.

Seeing his expression, Alice grimaced. His attitude, as if he held all the power in their situation, annoyed her.

Alice made a show of her displeasure, sitting on the edge of her desk and crossing her arms.

“And what is this ‘task’?”

“Good question.”

But Aiden answered without seeming to mind her overtly hostile demeanor.

“I’m looking for a sword.”

“A sword?”

“Yes. A sword I lost in the human world 500 years ago.”

“So then… what?”

Alice looked up at him. That single sentence contained multiple absurdities.

“500 years ago…? Wait, first of all, a demon lost something in the human world? And a *sword*?”

By nature, demons were beings adept at using magic through the demonic energy of their realm. And it was common knowledge throughout the Empire—no, the continent—that their magic primarily involved curses and destruction, oriented towards dark arts.

So, the fact that he, a demon, presumably wielded a sword, and lost it of all places in the human world, was ridiculous.

“To be precise, I dropped it. Before leaving the human world… Anyway, the important thing now isn’t that, but that I lost my precious sword somewhere in this vast land.”

“You know that, and you’re asking *me* to find it? It’s been a full 500 years!”

“Do you think it’s easy for a demon to be summoned to the human world? I couldn’t come even if I wanted to all this time, so I’m asking for help *now*. So help me.”

As expected of a demon. It was an incredibly brazen attitude.

Then, Aiden’s voice drilled into Alice’s ear.

“It’s not like you have a choice anyway, right? It’s either get caught summoning a demon and die, or make a deal with me and pretend it never happened.”

He was right. Ever since she summoned the demon, she essentially had no choice.

After a moment of contemplation, Alice made up her mind and looked at Aiden.

“Fine. Let’s do it, the deal. But.”

“But?”

“I want to write a contract. So you can’t go back on your word.”

“That, well.”

Hearing this, Aiden opened his palm, and a faded piece of paper appeared in the air.

He took the paper in his hand and said with a smile.

“I’m willing to agree to anything.”

* * *

“……Here, it’s done.”

Alice stamped the contract and handed it to Aiden.

Aiden, who had been carefully examining the paper, nodded.

“Yeah, this seems about right.”

The terms written in the contract were as follows:

Alice would sincerely and wholeheartedly help Aiden find his sword. Once the sword is found, Aiden would immediately return to the Demon Realm.

Additional conditions were attached, such as neither party attempting to kill the other, and the search process must not cause significant harm to the Empire.

These were conditions Alice had insisted on, worried that a contract with a demon might threaten the Empire’s security.

Having finished checking, Aiden signed the contract with elegant cursive handwriting. Then the paper shone brilliantly and disappeared before their eyes.

‘He said a special ancient magic was cast on the paper.’

That seemed to be true. Alice recalled what Aiden had told her just before she wrote the contract.

He said it was an ancient magic that would impose a penalty on whoever broke any of the terms written in the contract.

She didn’t know what that penalty was, but given it was a contract with a demon, it was surely something dangerous enough to upend her life.

Even so, the contract they had written was overwhelmingly favorable to Alice in most of its clauses.

‘Does he really not care about anything else as long as he can find his sword?’

It was an unfair contract for Aiden, a demon, yet he agreed so readily it made her even more suspicious. Alice narrowed her eyes and looked at Aiden.

*Knock knock.*

Then, a knocking sound snapped Alice out of her thoughts.

“Young Lady, it’s Max.”

It was Max, the head butler of the Erdin Ducal household. At the familiar voice, Alice’s body stiffened.

She couldn’t let Max and Aiden meet now. In the Empire, there was no one who didn’t know the meaning of purple eyes.

No matter how long he had served the Erdin family, if he saw Aiden’s eye color, he would undoubtedly run straight to report her to the Temple.

“……Young Lady?”

When she didn’t respond, Max knocked on the door again.

If she hesitated any longer, Max might really start to suspect her.

Alice frantically looked around. First, she had to hide the demon’s presence in this lab.

Spotting a suitable hiding place just in time, Alice grabbed Aiden’s arm and pulled him, whispering.

“You, come here.”

She dragged him to a cabinet. It was one she didn’t use, just taking up space.

‘If I’m lucky, it might fit one grown man.’

Praising her past self for not throwing the cabinet away, Alice shoved Aiden into it.

“Get in here, hurry.”

“W-wait. How am I supposed to fit in this narrow space…!”

Ignoring Aiden’s protests, Alice forced him into the cabinet.

“I’m going out. Wait a bit!”

Only after confirming he couldn’t be seen from outside did Alice open the lab door to greet her guest.

Outside the door, Max in his black butler uniform was waiting for her.

Though out of breath from moving hastily, Alice showed no sign of it and spoke.

“Sorry. I was focused on my research and didn’t hear. What is it?”

“The Master is looking for you, Young Lady.”

“Father is?”

At the words that the Duke of Erdin was looking for her, Alice tilted her head.

“For what reason?”

“My apologies. He did not share that detail with me.”

Alice frowned slightly. No matter how she thought about it, there was no particular reason for her to be summoned by the Duke of Erdin.

“I understand. I’ll go as soon as I tidy up the lab…”

While answering Max, Alice remembered the demon hidden in the lab and stopped mid-sentence.

She couldn’t just leave him in the lab and go to the Duke. What if that demon came out of the cabinet and ransacked the lab while she was gone?

There was so much valuable data in this lab. It would be like leaving a cat in charge of a fish shop.

Alice’s mind raced quickly. Soon, she came up with a plan and asked Max.

“Did Father say to come immediately?”

“No, he did not say that.”

“Then please tell him I’ll be there in 3 hours… no, within 2 hours.”

“Understood.”

“Also, I remember having an appointment with Madam Christine next week.”

Madam Christine was the owner of the most famous dress shop in the Empire.

Alice caught her breath and continued.

“Please move the appointment up. Tell her I want to meet right now. If she says it’s difficult, tell her I’ll pay an additional fee. I can pay any amount. And have her come to the parlor next to my lab, not the main residence.”

“Yes.”

“Also, tell her to bring all available men’s clothing. For an adult man.”

“Yes… Yes?”

Max, who had been answering politely, showed doubt at Alice’s last words.

In the Erdin household, the only men who would have custom-tailored suits were the Duke of Erdin and Alice’s younger brother.

But the Duke had just had his clothes tailored recently, and her younger brother was too young for adult men’s suits.

“Perhaps… It’s nothing. I will handle it as you instructed.”

Max, who was about to ask why she was calling the dress shop, soon set aside his curiosity and bowed to Alice before withdrawing.

It was a butler’s duty to act without questioning the master’s actions.

Watching Max leave without further questions, Alice let out a sigh of relief. She was lucky he was such a strict butler.

After confirming Max was out of sight, Alice closed the lab door and opened the cabinet where Aiden was trapped.

“Haah…”

Aiden, who had been crumpled inside, tumbled out as if objects were spilling. Even though it wasn’t a long time, his body was drenched in sweat.

“Are you human? How could you think of locking me in that narrow place…?”

“Your hand.”

Alice lightly ignored his complaints and held out her hand, speaking.

He reflexively placed his hand on her palm, then belatedly realized what he was doing, but by then Alice had already grabbed his hand.

“You heard that, right? The conversation just now.”

Alice, holding a magic pen, asked Aiden.

“Roughly. It seemed you called a dress shop. What’s the scheme? And what are you doing now…?”

“Just stay still. I have a plan, that’s why.”

Alice answered while diligently drawing something on the back of Aiden’s hand with the pen. It looked like an intricate magic circle.

“Done.”

Alice released Aiden’s hand with a satisfied expression. Then, a bright light emanated from the magic circle drawn on his hand, enveloping him.

“Here.”

Alice waited for the light to fade, then handed him a mirror.

Looking at the mirror thrust before him, his pupils widened.

“My eye color…”

His irises now shone blue. The distinctive purple eyes of a demon were nowhere to be seen.

“You asked what the scheme was, right?”

Alice, looking at her handiwork with satisfaction, spoke without erasing her smile.

“Let’s get your identity cleaned up a bit.”