PWH C3

The doctor and maid continued their conversation, unaware that I was eavesdropping.

“But, doctor, could it be real this time? The young lady has always been bad at acting, hasn’t she? It was always obvious. But this time… I didn’t get the feeling she was pretending.”

“Yes, Lady Isabella has never been particularly skilled at acting,” the doctor agreed with Jessie, nodding his head.

Jessie added her own thoughts. “It seems like the Duke was quite harsh on her, and maybe… it affected her mentally.”

“There’s a chance,” the doctor acknowledged.

With that, he approached me.

“My lady, I hope you don’t mind my asking, but could you tell me my name?”

“Do you think I would remember the name of a mere human?”

My expression remained calm, but internally, I was anything but. I had just decided to pretend to be human, yet here I was, acting like this again. But I couldn’t help it. I had always been strong, never needing to be mindful of anyone else. Every action of mine was without hesitation. Pretending to be human to avoid revealing I was a demon? That might be impossible for me from the start.

Fortunately, the doctor didn’t seem to suspect anything.

“It seems the young lady’s memory isn’t quite intact. Do you remember your own name, my lady?”

“Isabella Dunkeld.”

I knew because the Duke—this body’s father—had called me that.

The doctor nodded at my response. “It seems you haven’t completely lost your memory. Perhaps it’s partial amnesia? Though, how should we interpret your manner of speaking?”

The doctor muttered to himself, seeming to reach a conclusion. “It seems the young lady is experiencing temporary confusion. That’s why her speech and behavior are different from usual.”

To think he couldn’t tell that my soul had completely changed. What a quack. Or perhaps Isabella had behaved so erratically that even a change in soul wouldn’t raise suspicion among those around her?

“Shouldn’t we inform the Duke?” Jessie asked cautiously.

The doctor shook his head. “I think it’s better for the young lady if we don’t mention this. The Duke is already in a bad mood due to the ball incident…”

From his explanation, I learned that Isabella was currently under suspicion of attempting to poison the Marquis’s daughter. The doctor’s conclusion was that the Duke wouldn’t believe Isabella was having memory issues. He would think she was just trying to avoid punishment, and her history of theatrics would only support that belief. Telling the Duke now would be like pouring oil on the fire.

“The Duke may be my master, but I’ve known the young lady since she was in the Duchess’s womb. I can’t bring myself to put her in harm’s way.”

The doctor gave me—or rather, Isabella—a warm smile.

“You haven’t completely lost your memory, so you’ll return to your original state eventually. Jessie, make sure to assist her well. You’re her personal maid, after all.”

He instructed Jessie to stay by my side and help make sure I didn’t appear strange. He then looked at me with a wistful expression.

“My lady, I know it may be presumptuous, but I’ve always thought of you as my own granddaughter.”

“Presumptuous, indeed.”

How dare a mere human regard me as a granddaughter? I knew he was referring to the real Isabella, but it still irked me.

“…I’ll always be on your side, my lady. If you ever need my help, just let me know.”

The doctor left the room, still looking concerned despite my curt response.

***

“My lady, you’re considered an evil woman,” Jessie said, glancing at me to gauge my reaction. Realizing how her words might sound, she quickly added, “Not that I think that! It’s just what people say about you.”

Jessie was explaining who Isabella was to me so that I wouldn’t arouse suspicion when meeting her acquaintances later on.

I asked her, raising my voice slightly, “So, how many have I killed with my own hands? Hundreds? Thousands?”

“It really seems like you’re not fully yourself, my lady,” Jessie said, her eyes wide in shock.

Being treated as though I were mad…

…In all my time as a demon, I’d never faced such humiliation.

‘I must endure. There’s still much information to extract from this human.’

Endurance was a privilege of the strong. Trapped in this human body, weak as I was, I had no choice but to endure.

I forced a smile and asked again, “Answer me. How many have I killed?”

“Um… none, actually.”

Jessie’s answer was disappointing, to say the least.

“Not a single person, yet I’m called an evil woman?”

“Well, my lady, you…”

Jessie began listing the misdeeds of Isabella Dunkeld, this body I now inhabited. The more I listened, the more my disappointment grew.

Pouring wine on someone, slapping a few cheeks—such acts made her an evil woman? She hadn’t even poisoned or beheaded anyone.

I frowned. Humans were still difficult to understand.

Jessie, noticing my expression, tried to comfort me. “I don’t think it’s your fault that people call you an evil woman, my lady!”

“Explain.”

What was this now? I demanded an explanation immediately.

“From what I’ve heard from the doctor, you were like an angel when the Duchess was still alive,” Jessie began explaining.

The Duchess’s health had rapidly declined after giving birth to Isabella, and she passed away when Isabella was just five years old.

“The Duke was devastated. Since you resembled the Duchess so much, he couldn’t bear to look at you and avoided you for some time.”

I couldn’t understand the Duke’s actions. A father who turns away from his young daughter who has lost her mother? That was abuse.

In the Demon Realm, there was no crime more unforgivable than mistreating a young demon. If such a thing happened, the Demon King himself would come and behead the culprits.

Humans were difficult. At times, they were even worse than demons.

“The young master was also overwhelmed by the loss of his mother… He wasn’t able to care for you either.”

Jessie explained that, being neglected by her family, Isabella had grown up twisted and arrogant.

I focused on the mention of a young master. It seemed Isabella had a sibling.

“Is there only one sibling of this body?”

Jessie nodded. “Yes, Lord Gabriel. He’s three years older than you.”

“…Gabriel?”

As I spoke his name, it felt as though my tongue had begun to rot. I knew another by the name of Gabriel.

‘A filthy angel.’

I hated all angels, but Gabriel was the worst of them.

I asked, half-expecting the answer, “Gabriel… Was he named after the Archangel Gabriel?”

“It seems you haven’t lost all your memories, my lady, since you remember the Archangel Gabriel. Yes, that’s correct. The Duchess was very devout, so she named him after the archangel.”

“To name a child after an angel…”

How could anyone give such a terrible mark to a newborn? I shivered. Even demons wouldn’t do such a thing.

Jessie, seeing my reaction, tilted her head and spoke. “Um, my lady, your name also comes from an angel.”

“What?”

“The Archangel Isabella.”

“There’s an angel named Isabella?”

I was shocked. How dare an angel use my name?

If I returned to my original body, I’d go straight to the Celestial Realm and pluck every feather from that angel’s wings until they looked like a plucked chicken.

Then, I paused. Even though I’d kept a low profile for the last five hundred years, every angel in the Celestial Realm knew of my existence—one of the Nine Lords.

And yet, they allowed an archangel to bear my name? How did they expect me to react?

I’d need to investigate this thoroughly later.

My mood soured rapidly, knowing that an angel bore the same name as me. I made the sign of the cross. Jessie gasped in horror.

“My lady! You can’t make the sign of the cross backward! That’s blasphemy against God!”

The God she spoke of must have been the God of angels. There was no way I, a demon, wouldn’t know that such an act was considered blasphemy.

“My memory isn’t intact,” I lied calmly and made the sign of the cross again. “Besides, God actually likes blasphemy.”

“My lady, really…” Jessie muttered, looking aghast.

What I’d just said wasn’t even a lie…

I shrugged.

Jessie, now convinced I was truly mad, began explaining patiently. “My lady, you must never make the sign of the cross that way in public. Do you know how serious blasphemy is?”

“Am I not a noble? I can use my power to suppress anyone who accuses me of blasphemy.”

“Even His Majesty the Emperor would be in trouble for blasphemy!”

“Tch.”

Seeing that I still didn’t grasp the severity of blasphemy, Jessie continued, “If you’re caught for blasphemy, it’s the stake for you. Of course, since you’re a noble, they might not impose such a harsh punishment… But you never know, so you must be careful.”

Burned at the stake?

I used to enjoy sulfur baths with Demon King Lilith. Remembering that, I spoke without thinking.

“That sounds quite warm—”

Realizing my mistake, I stopped myself immediately.

Act human. I needed to act human.

Even if this body was peculiar, surely humans found fire hot.

I reacted in a way that a human might when told they’d be burned alive.

“Ah, hot.”

“…Yes. Fire is ‘hot.’ So please, never blaspheme in front of others. If you must, do it in secret!”

Hearing that, I clicked my tongue. A world where one couldn’t even blaspheme freely—how cruel to a demon.

Anyway.

I recalled the name of Isabella’s brother. I had no intention of calling him by that wretched name, which made my skin crawl every time I uttered it.