~CHAPTER 46~
Knock knock.
“May I come in?”
There was no answer even though I asked through the door after knocking.
Only loud thumps and clatters came from inside from time to time.
Maybe he was changing clothes.
It made sense since my visit was sudden.
I waited patiently for an answer from inside.
After a short while, the door opened.
“Jerena. Please come in.”
Illey greeted me while brushing back his messy hair with his hand.
He seemed to have been resting alone, dressed far more casually than usual.
In fact, he had only thrown a thin blouse over his shoulders without buttoning it, leaving his chest completely exposed.
“Did I disturb your rest?”
“Not at all.”
He stepped aside slightly as if telling me to come in.
I walked inside without hesitation.
“Thank you for today.”
“Thanks? For what… that’s unnecessary. I am your servant.”
His answer came instantly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Right. That’s what Illey is like.
“You took that magic blast head-on. Are you alright?”
“It’s nothing.”
He casually ran a hand across his body as if to show there was nothing to worry about.
“Were you concerned?”
I meant it sincerely, but I couldn’t tell how he interpreted it.
He simply bowed his head slightly, showing no change in expression.
Alright, time to get to the point.
I wasn’t barging into someone’s room just to offer hollow praise or thanks.
“Illey, actually—”
“Did I do well?”
“…What?”
The words I was about to say were cut off by his question.
He looked straight at me and repeated it.
“I’m asking whether I was helpful to you, my Lord.”
“O-of course.”
“Then reward me.”
“…A reward?”
His tone was so matter-of-fact that I blinked in confusion.
He had always followed my orders faithfully, but he had never asked for compensation like this before.
Didn’t he refuse rewards before?
Not in this round, but still…
It wasn’t as if I couldn’t do it.
I knew how hard he always worked to support me.
“Fine. What do you want?”
“Just once…”
“Hm?”
“Only once. Please grant any request I make someday.”
Not now, but later?
He wanted me to agree first and hear it later.
After a short pause, I nodded.
If it were anyone else, I would never accept such a vague request.
But… this was Illey.
“Thank you.”
He smiled as if he were genuinely happy.
Whatever the request was, it clearly held deep meaning for him.
My loyal servant who had never once betrayed me in previous rounds.
If his request is important enough for him to speak like this, then I am willing to honor it.
Even if it leads to betrayal.
If that happened, then in the next round, I would simply stop trusting him.
“What were you going to say, my Lord?”
“Ah.”
His words pulled me out of my thoughts, reminding me of why I came here.
“Illey, I’m really sorry, but I need you to take care of one more thing.”
He widened his eyes and looked at me.
It did feel shameless, asking him for something right after promising him a reward.
But it had to be done.
Right now, he was the only one who could handle it.
“Why worry? I am your servant. Please, tell me.”
He bowed politely, not seeming to notice my embarrassment at all.
“I want you to take care of the former viscount… the one who was at the duel trial today.”
“Ah… that man.”
Illey murmured and slightly lifted his chin.
“He was stripped of title and land, and expelled from his territory with nothing, but…”
“Yes. We shouldn’t leave loose ends.”
“Exactly. Especially when the new viscount is so hopelessly naïve.”
“Understood. I’ll take care of it by tonight.”
“Thank you.”
I nodded, feeling nothing in particular.
There was no way I was letting that man go quietly.
This time, he got caught. How many others suffered before?
Leaving him alive meant he could stir up trouble again later.
And considering what he had tried to do to me, simply losing his title wasn’t punishment enough.
I even had the scented candle he used, which could be used as evidence to punish him legally.
But I didn’t intend to take that route.
Killing him is cleaner. Less trouble afterward.
That was why I didn’t protest when the new viscount only ordered his exile.
I already planned to act separately.
“I’ll make it look like an accident. Don’t worry.”
“I trust you.”
If it was in Illey’s hands, the job would be done perfectly.
He would never again be a threat to Bella.
Feeling reassured by Illey’s dependable response, I turned toward the door and stepped out.
And as soon as I did, I ran into someone.
“Oh…”
Shian stood there, apparently just returning home.
His eyes shook violently as he glanced between the room and me.
Did he hear us?
I quickly replayed the entire conversation in my head.
No, I never called him Demon King.
I didn’t call him “Lord Jerena” either…
Damn it.
From the way his eyes trembled, he definitely heard me ordering Illey to assassinate the former lord.
“Sir Shian…”
***
Jerena and Shian froze, staring at each other in shock.
He had arrived just now, so he didn’t hear what they were talking about.
But it was more than enough to look suspicious.
Especially since Shian was already wondering about Jerena’s true identity.
However, the question filling Shian’s mind wasn’t whether she was the Demon King.
Why is she in his room at this hour?
Were they having a secret conversation meant only for the two of them?
And the outfit he glimpsed before the door closed…
…
It was far too casual to be appropriate for a normal conversation.
He himself would never speak to anyone dressed like that unless they were closer than friends or colleagues.
To put it mildly, it was provocative.
If it made him feel uncomfortable, how would Jerena have felt?
Shian wiped his face slowly.
He hadn’t heard the conversation, but he heard her last words before she stepped out.
I trust you…
She said she trusted him.
Words Shian had never heard once in his life.
Yet that demon had already heard them twice.
He bit his lower lip.
Why am I even thinking like this.
So what if Jerena spoke with Illey at night?
So what if Illey earned her trust?
They were both demons.
Of course there might be things they needed to discuss privately.
Even if Shian was her guardian, interfering in every small conversation would be crossing the line.
He knew that. Obviously.
Then why…
“Sir Shian? Are you alright?”
Jerena’s concerned voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
“Jerena…”
“Yes?”
He called her name as if sighing. She calmly looked at him, studying his expression.
He looks pale. Did he hear? Or only part of it?
His reaction made it hard to tell.
My palms were already sweaty from the tension.
And Shian was no better.
He had called her name, but couldn’t decide what to say next.
If he said the wrong thing, he might spill everything swirling in his mind:
Why were you alone with him at night?
Do you trust him that much?
Can’t you trust me like you do him?
There were more questions than he had fingers to count, but not a single one he could voice.
Because even he didn’t understand why he wanted to ask them.
“…We will need to receive a guest soon.”
In the end, he chose none of those questions.
