PWH C6

Nom. I devoured one steak in an instant and stabbed another with my table knife. The Duke frowned as he watched me.

“Isabella.”

“What do you want?”

“Your tone… Never mind. Your antics are nothing new.” The Duke closed his eyes, as if he had a headache, before speaking again. “What kind of table manners are those? Surely you haven’t forgotten how to use a knife and fork…”

Pfft-! When the Duke criticized my table manners, one of the servants standing behind him snickered. I fiddled with the knife handle, wondering how I should react.

Just then—

“Damn it. Do you have to do this while she’s eating?” Gabby interjected, swearing again.

“You—how dare you speak like that when your father is talking.”

A vein bulged on the Duke’s forehead. Thanks to his attention shifting to Gabby, I could eat my steak in peace.

“Father? When have you ever acted like one?”

Chewing my food, I thought, ‘So it’s not just Isabella who’s treated poorly. Gabby and the Duke don’t get along either.’

“You—!” The Duke started rubbing the back of his neck in frustration.

I picked up the glass in front of me and drank the wine inside. Unlike the steak, the wine from the middle realm was quite dull compared to that of the Demon Realm.

Even as I drank, Gabby and the Duke kept arguing.

“You should be grateful that I even call you ‘father.’ If it were up to me, I’d just call you ‘old man,’ but the elders made such a fuss, so I’m letting it slide…”

“Old man?” I raised an eyebrow at the unexpected term.

Gabby responded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, “He’s old, so what else would I call him?”

“Old?” I glanced at the Duke. He still looked young enough that it was hard to believe he had two grown children. Not a wrinkle on his face.

Seeing my disbelief, Gabby added, “Look at me—young and full of life. Then look at that old man’s face.”

“Ah.”

No matter how youthful the Duke appeared, he couldn’t compare to Gabby, who was in his early twenties. I had to admit it—I nodded.

“You two are… unbelievable.”

Ignoring the Duke’s words, Gabby continued, “Don’t you know the saying, ‘Not even a dog is disturbed while eating’? Isabella’s temper is worse than a dog’s! So leave her alone while she eats!”

“Is it too much for a father to correct his children’s table manners?!”

“You don’t deserve to be called a father, old man! Not to me, not to her!”

At some point, Gabby’s address for the Duke had changed from “father” to “old man.”

Watching them bicker, something suddenly came to mind. Isabella was notorious in society as an evil woman. Because of her atrocious behavior, not a single marriage proposal had come her way, despite her being a direct descendant of a ducal family.

I didn’t know Gabby’s reputation, but seeing him treat his biological father this way, it was clear he was no less of a disgrace. They had only two children, and both turned out like this…

What was the saying? I remembered something the Demon God had once said to me. Demons were born from the fires of hell. We had no biological parents, but we had figures we considered fatherly.

For me, that was the Demon God. The last moment I had with the Demon God was still vivid in my memory.

“Isabella! How dare you—!”

“You’re the one who taught me to do whatever it takes to get what I want. Give up and accept your sealing.”

“…Seems like I failed miserably as a parent.”

Seeing the Duke like this made me think of the Demon God, but comparing him to a mere human made me chuckle.

Just then, the Duke and I made eye contact. His expression soured, perhaps misinterpreting my laugh.

“Isabella. Do you have something to say to me?”

“Of course she does—can’t you tell from her expression? Come on, Isabella, tell him off. Say it’s better not to have a father like him.”

I ignored Gabby’s words and thought about the Duke’s question. Did I have anything to say?

Not really, but since he asked, there was no reason not to answer. I spoke the first thought that came to mind.

“You failed as a parent.”

As soon as I finished speaking, the Duke’s face turned red. His normally pale complexion quickly flushed, resembling a ripe apple.

‘Is his head about to explode?’

My heart raced with anticipation, but then the Duke spoke, “Isabella, you must have lost your mind.”

“Tch.” I clicked my tongue. Come to think of it, human heads don’t explode.

The Duke’s face grew even more flushed at my reaction. It wouldn’t burst, but it was amusing to watch.

As I enjoyed his changing expressions, I took another bite of steak. Savoring the juices bursting in my mouth, I remarked, “The meat is delicious.”

“You—!” The Duke was about to say something, but Gabby interrupted.

“Stop yelling at her! What if she gets indigestion? Are you going to take responsibility?!”

Gabby seemed oblivious to the fact that his own loud voice was also disturbing my meal.

“And what’s she said that’s wrong? With a farmer like you, how could the crop turn out well?!”

Oh. I was impressed by Gabby’s remark.

He continued, “And were you ever a proper farmer? You just sowed the seeds and did nothing! When did you ever care about us?!”

I wasn’t exactly respectful of the Demon God either—I did seal him, after all—but at least I never shouted at him. I had been a reasonably good daughter until then. Moreover, the Duke seemed quite accustomed to Gabby’s outbursts.

I revised my earlier thought. The Duke hadn’t just failed as a parent—

“Utterly failed.” I mouthed the words to the Duke.

After that, the Duke only drank his wine, gulping it down as if his throat were parched.

Nom. I took another bite of steak.

“By the way, Isabella.” Gabby looked at the empty plates in front of me and asked, “Why are you eating meat all of a sudden? You used to never touch it, saying it was bad for your figure.”

You used to throw a fit if there was even a hint of meat in your food. Not just meat—anything you thought would make you gain weight. You were such a menace that the head chef started preparing separate meals for you and having them sent to your room.

Listening to Gabby, I realized why he and the Duke, despite their indifference toward Isabella, knew she didn’t eat meat. Of course—Isabella had thrown a tantrum over something so trivial that they couldn’t help but remember.

I shrugged and replied, “There’s no need to watch my figure anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said. I’m not watching my figure anymore.”

The Duke looked surprised, while Gabby’s reaction was a bit different. Was he… shocked? It was hard to define the emotion on his face.

Was it that surprising to stop caring about one’s figure? This body had practically nothing but bones left. Since I would be using it for a while, I needed to fatten it up.

I added, just in case, “I’m going to eat as much as I can. From now on, serve meat at every meal.”

Who knew when I’d get to eat such good meat again after returning to the Demon Realm? I might as well indulge while I was stuck in a human body.

Gabby seemed moved by my words.

“Damn. You really care about your— Never mind.” He cursed, then called for the head chef.

“Chef! Bring every piece of meat in the kitchen! No, just slaughter a cow!”

I thought to myself, impressed by his actions, ‘If I ever have to kill him, I’ll spare him twice.’

With this, Gabby had earned himself an extra life.

***

I licked my lips as I looked at the pile of steaks in front of me again. As I stabbed the next steak with my knife, the Duke, who had been silent for a while, spoke up.

“Isabella. You are a direct descendant of the Dunkeld Ducal House. At least observe basic table manners. A knife is for cutting meat, not for stabbing it. Use your fork.”

As he spoke, I heard the servant’s snicker again. Isabella might have tolerated it, but Bella the demon did not care for table manners.

In the Demon Realm, where survival was everything, there was no luxury for something as laughable as etiquette, even among high-ranking demons. It was infuriating enough to be told to observe table manners, but being mocked by an attendant?

I put the steak in my mouth and examined the knife blade. It was dull, but with enough force, it could pierce someone’s neck.

“It seems the Duke doesn’t understand the true purpose of a knife. A knife exists to cut down those you dislike.”

I twirled the knife around before stopping at my target—the servant who had mocked me.

Seeing my knife pointed at the servant, the Duke hesitated. Then, coming to his senses, he immediately scolded me.

“Isabella! What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Teaching a lesson. Establishing the proper order.”

Having survived in the Demon Realm for centuries, I could easily recognize the strong. The Duke and Gabby were both physically well-trained. They were likely aura users.

There was no way they hadn’t heard the servant mocking me. And it wasn’t just that. The moment I had entered the dining hall, I felt a wave of disdain, scorn, and malice directed at me. No one in this mansion liked this body—not the family, not even the servants.

Could the Duke and Gabby really be unaware of such palpable hostility? They knew, but they allowed it.

With the Duke and his heir treating Isabella this way, it was no wonder the servants saw her as an easy target. As long as I was in this body, any disregard for Isabella was a disregard for me.

So I had to teach them. What happens when you look down on this body.

I smiled as I fiddled with the knife handle.