PWH C4

Jessie continued to answer my questions dutifully. I organized the information I had just gathered.

“So, to summarize what you’re saying, I’m a person who doesn’t know my place and is full of greed. A despicable brat who acts arrogantly, relying solely on the Dunkeld blood that flows through me. A disgrace to the Dunkeld family.”

“M-my lady,” Jessie stuttered, but I continued without paying her any mind.

“A friendless loner. Even a burden abandoned by my family.”

“Well, yes, that’s how things are now, but those relationships can improve… uh, and…” Jessie started rambling, trying to say something comforting.

Isabella’s antics were truly varied. Especially the lies she told just to get attention from her family. Every single one had been exposed, bringing her nothing but disgrace. It was pathetic. Demons loved lying, but getting caught was another matter.

‘Only fools get caught,’ I thought, sneering at Isabella’s memories.

However, her antics were a blessing for me. No matter what I did, people wouldn’t easily suspect that a demon had taken over her body. Moreover, she was a complete loner. There weren’t many who could notice the changes in her after I had taken over.

‘But where could the real Isabella’s soul be?’

The question suddenly came to mind, and I fell into deep thought. Perhaps she had died, leaving an empty vessel for me to inhabit. Or maybe, like I entered her body, her soul had entered mine—

Jessie suddenly interrupted my thoughts with a loud voice. “Honestly, I think it’s mostly the Duke and the young master’s fault that you’ve become like this, my lady!”

“…Hm?”

“Do you know how cold-hearted the Duke is? He’ll do anything for the family! And as for the young master…”

Jessie hesitated for a moment.

“You should avoid getting close to him if possible. He’s… well, he’s like that.”

Her words were confusing, and I considered asking for more details, but I decided to let it go. After all, I had no intention of getting close to Isabella’s family.

“In any case, they’ve always been indifferent to you, but recently you smashed one of the Duchess’s keepsakes…”

“A keepsake?”

“Yes. It’s a necklace that has been passed down through your maternal family… but you stole it from the Duke, who had been keeping it separately… um, and that’s how it happened.”

Even Jessie, who had been defending Isabella, seemed to think she had crossed a line, as she looked away awkwardly.

“I see,” I responded indifferently. Keepsakes held no meaning for me. If they were items left behind by the dead, then most of the things I owned could be considered keepsakes—since I killed their owners myself. I couldn’t understand why humans attached so much sentiment to them.

After a moment of silence, Jessie suddenly shouted, “I’ll help you!”

Her determination pulled me out of my thoughts, and I glanced at her.

“Help?”

“I’ll help you get closer to your family, my lady. I’ll do my best.”

“……?”

The fire in Jessie’s eyes startled me. It wasn’t easy to catch a demon off guard… Why she suddenly wanted me to bond with humans was beyond me, but I wanted to clear up her misunderstanding.

“That’s unnecessary.”

“B-but! Everyone misunderstands you. If you just try to change their minds—”

“Enough. It’s pointless.”

What good would it do for me, who wasn’t even the real Isabella, to get along with her family? Jessie bit her lip, as if holding back words.

I asked Jessie one last question. “Jessie, is there a way for me to meet an angel?”

The final risk of exposing that I wasn’t the real Isabella—it would be an encounter with an angel. An angel would certainly be able to tell that a demon had possessed this body.

Jessie tilted her head at my question. “An angel? Well, there’s a way, but…”

According to her, an angel descended once a year for the New Year’s Prayer Gathering. Typically, high-ranking nobles of the country were invited to attend. However, Isabella had claimed to be a saintess and caused a scene at the temple, leading to her invitation being revoked. In short, the chances of me encountering an angel were extremely slim.

Finally, I could breathe a sigh of relief.

‘No one will ever know that I’m a demon.’

***

The Dunkeld family’s doctor hurried towards the Duke’s study. He had tried to appear as calm as possible in front of Lady Isabella earlier, but…

‘Could the Duke really have done that?’

He had always known that the relationship between Duke Dunkeld and Lady Isabella was not a normal one.

‘Internal injuries don’t just happen without a cause.’

The doctor bit his lip as he quickened his steps. He truly meant what he had said about thinking of Isabella as his granddaughter. From the moment he had examined the Duchess during her pregnancy until now, he had never left Isabella’s side.

‘If the Duke did this to her…’

Even if it was the Duke he served, he could never forgive him.

Knock, knock.

Before he knew it, the doctor found himself at the door to the study and knocked.

“Your Grace, it’s Vincent.”

“Come in.”

Upon receiving permission, the doctor opened the door and entered the study. The Duke didn’t lift his eyes from the documents in front of him, and the doctor felt frustration bubble up inside. How could he remain so composed when his daughter had coughed up blood?

“I have something to report regarding the young lady’s condition,” the doctor finally said.

“Go ahead.”

“Upon examination, I found that Lady Isabella has internal injuries, which is why she coughed up blood.”

“Internal injuries? How could she suddenly have internal injuries?”

The Duke’s expression showed genuine confusion, and the doctor found himself perplexed. Could it really be that the Duke hadn’t harmed her?

“How severe are the internal injuries?”

“She should recover with a few days of rest.”

“I see. And the cause of these internal injuries?”

“I’m afraid I couldn’t determine that.”

The Duke chuckled at that. “Isabella truly is remarkable.”

The doctor knew that this was not meant as a compliment. As if to confirm his suspicions, the Duke added, “I don’t know how she pulled off that performance, but I must give her credit for her tenacity.”

It wasn’t easy to consistently lie and disappoint him like this. The Duke shook his head, exasperated by his daughter’s relentless foolishness.

It seemed the Duke had concluded that Isabella’s condition was merely a ruse.

“Your Grace! Just because I couldn’t determine the cause doesn’t mean that Lady Isabella isn’t truly unwell,” the doctor protested.

“Vincent, you’re an exceptional doctor. If you couldn’t find the cause, then… the reason must lie elsewhere.”

If the Duke wasn’t the one who had harmed Isabella…

The doctor, who had devoted his entire life to medicine, wasn’t foolish enough to think that Isabella was fine just because he couldn’t find the cause. Internal injuries didn’t happen without reason. She might be suffering from an illness beyond the scope of current medical knowledge.

“No, Your Grace! I believe we should seek help from the temple. Lady Isabella is certainly ill. We need to summon a priest to treat her.”

“Vincent, that won’t be possible.”

The Duke dismissed the doctor’s request outright.

“You know the temple can’t stand the mere mention of Isabella’s name. All because she pretended to be a saintess.”

The doctor’s face twisted in response. Due to Isabella’s antics of claiming to be a saintess, she had fallen out of favor with the temple.

“You’re a competent doctor, Vincent. If you’ve diagnosed Isabella as fine, then there’s no need to call a priest. I can’t make such a request to a temple we’ve already offended, especially just to appease Isabella.”

In the end, the doctor had no choice but to leave the study empty-handed. On his way back, he encountered a familiar face in the hallway.

“Hey, old man.”

It was Gabriel, Isabella’s brother and the Dunkeld heir.

Gabriel stopped the doctor in his tracks and asked, “I heard Isabella caused a scene again today. Coughed up blood, didn’t she?”

“It wasn’t a scene—”

“Enough. What’s her condition? Is she actually sick or not?”

“She has internal injuries, but I couldn’t determine the cause.”

“What? Does that even make sense? Isn’t she just faking it?”

The doctor had no response. His instincts told him Isabella was genuinely unwell, but without knowing the cause, he couldn’t be certain.

Gabriel smirked at the doctor’s silence. “I figured as much.”

As Gabriel walked away, leaving the doctor in the hallway, he thought to himself, ‘As expected of that brat. Maybe it’s time to fix that habit of hers.’

***

I frowned at the uninvited guest who had barged in without knocking. Black hair and green eyes. His upturned eyes gave him a fierce look.

I had never seen him before, but I immediately knew who this man was. He looked like a replica of the Duke.

This must be Gabby, Isabella’s brother.

Just in case, I called out to him.

“Gabby.”

“…Gabby? When did I ever permit you to use a nickname for me?”

His reaction to the name confirmed it—this was indeed her brother. However, his inflated sense of self-importance made me frown.

As if I’d ever give a human a nickname. I just didn’t want to call him Gabriel.

But I couldn’t exactly say that, so I just shrugged.

“So, we’re not close enough for nicknames. Fine. Then why don’t you decide what I should call you from now on?”

“…You.”

Gabby seemed flustered by my words. I tilted my head. What was the problem? I was only doing as he wished.

Perhaps I had imagined it, but Gabby’s expression quickly changed. His already fierce eyes grew sharper, making him look almost demonic.

Oh.

I marveled silently at his expression. It was impressive that a mere human could look even nastier than a demon.

Compared to Isabella’s innocent face, it was hard to believe they shared the same blood.

While I was lost in these thoughts, Gabby approached me, his voice strained with suppressed anger.

“You coughed up blood, didn’t you?”

“Ah.”

Rumors spread fast in this mansion.

Gabby smirked and asked again, “You were faking it, weren’t you? Pretending to be sick because you couldn’t handle what you’d done?”

His tone wasn’t one of inquiry—it was certainty.

“It wasn’t an act.”

“Yeah, right. Do you think I’d believe that?”

“The blood was real, but I wasn’t pretending. I’m not sick.”

“…How can you cough up blood and not be sick?”

“I suppose it’s possible. I didn’t know either.” I shrugged. Why was this human so persistent?

“Isabella. I’m not an idiot. Speak clearly.”

Gabby’s relentless questioning was starting to make me angry. I had tried to suppress my demonic nature and resolve this peacefully… This wasn’t going well.

Without realizing it, I activated my magic.

And immediately—

Hack!

I coughed up blood.

It was my mistake. I had been so used to using my magic effortlessly that I hadn’t yet adjusted to my current state. It seemed that even a small surge of anger had triggered my magic.

Luckily, the pain was less severe than before, indicating I hadn’t disturbed the magic seal too much.

“You—!”

As I wiped the blood from my lips, Gabby called out to me.

When I looked at him, he was staring at me with a shocked expression.