Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Proof
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"That's right. What if that pig bastard sent you as a spy? Or maybe he sent you here to lure me into a trap. Why the hell should I trust you?"
I silently waited for Aurora to finish speaking. After all, all I had to do here was stay quiet until she told me to prove it myself later.
Because deep down, she wanted to believe me. She wanted to believe me and escape this hellish life.
That's why she wanted the player's words to be true more than anyone.
The game never depicted what the lord's daughter had gone through all this time, so I'd just accepted it, but hearing Aurora now, I could really feel all that tangled emotion.
It was her own way of begging. She couldn't trust me yet, so please prove yourself so she could.
And since she'd said it herself from the start, it had to be the undeniable truth. Well, not the current Aurora, but the original NPC had said it.
"So, prove it. How can I trust you?"
Aurora stepped right up to me.
Her long, straight black hair cascading down her back swayed in contrast to her pale skin that glowed faintly, and her golden eyes gleamed fiercely.
But I didn't miss the subtle tremble in those seemingly steely golden eyes.
"Very well. How should I prove it? If I spill everything—how I'll kill the lord, the whole plan—would you believe me then?"
In the game, this was the safest choice. Sharing the method to kill the lord.
There was an emotional appeal option too, but it required a lot of prior setup, so it wasn't viable now.
"...Let's hear it first. If it sounds solid, I'll buy it."
Naturally, our eyes met—me looking up from below, her gazing down from above.
Only then did Aurora seem to realize she was dressed in something incredibly provocative. She flinched, her cheeks flushing red as she demurely sat beside me, legs neatly together.
But given her outfit, it didn't make much difference.
"When we first met earlier, that bastard left the drawing room hugging something in his arms. Remember?"
"Yeah, I remember. He probably traded it for my body."
"Any guesses what it was?"
"Not a clue. It had to be valuable enough to swap for my body, but that's as far as I can speculate. So, what was it?"
"A book possessed by a demon."
"...What?"
"A book possessed by a demon."
"I asked for an answer, not an echo. Shut up and answer properly."
The moment she heard that, Aurora's face turned deadly serious. She fidgeted anxiously, glancing around wildly before whispering in a hushed voice.
"Are you insane? According to imperial law, just getting involved with a demon—"
"Yes, automatic death sentence."
And a particularly painful, brutal one at that.
That was the real reason I'd held absolute leverage in my deal with the lord.
If he turned me in, I'd be arrested and executed for sure, but in turn, he wouldn't be able to recover the book. The empress herself would swing the holy sword and purify it.
For a guy whose mind was already being corrupted by desire the moment he coveted it—obsessed with using demonic power to ravage women—that was the last thing he could afford.
"Then why—"
"Don't worry. The only one getting tangled up with the demon will be him. No one here will die, no property in the mansion will be damaged, no place in the city will be destroyed. We're safe."
"You sure? The empress never lets anyone involved with demons live. One slip, and we're both done for. You're asking me to risk my life?"
"No need to risk your life. Just sit tight, prepare for succession as family head, and you're good."
I answered confidently.
"...You sound so sure of yourself. Guess you've got something in mind?"
Aurora's voice was half-doubting, half-curious.
"Of course. I just 'happened' to find that book and handed it over to the lord."
"You... 'just happened' to find it...?"
"Yes. I was subjugating a monster and found the book. It looked ominous at first glance, so to prevent panic, I quietly discussed disposal options only with the lord. But he insisted he'd handle it himself, took it, and couldn't resist making a pact with the demon."
In that scenario, I'd be completely innocent.
I'd brought in an ominous book found during a monster subjugation to discuss safe disposal, but the lord sent me away and secretly tried to pact with the demon, only to fail and get devoured himself.
The one who'd have to protest it was a lie was the demon-possessed lord, who'd be purified by then. As long as Aurora and I aligned our stories and buried the truth, it'd be fine.
They could force a connection if they tried, sure. But the empress I knew wasn't the type. she'd dismiss the lord as an incompetent fool and handle it internally.
In the game, that's exactly how the event resolved.
"...Not a totally ridiculous plan. Fooling the empress sits a bit wrong, but she won't bother investigating some guy who died trying to summon a demon, so no risk of getting caught."
"This is the only way for you to safely inherit the family head position, Lady Aurora. And the dice have already been cast. It'll go down tonight."
After hearing my explanation, Aurora let out a disbelieving laugh.
"I've thought about selling my soul to a demon if it meant killing that pig bastard, but I never imagined I'd actually get tangled up with one. Guess that's why they say you never know with life."
"Aren't you a bit young to be saying 'life's unpredictable'?"
"Stress has aged my mind way faster than my body, so it's fine."
She tossed out a line that sounded like a joke but didn't feel like one at all, then stared blankly at the ceiling with her golden eyes. After some time, those eyes turned back to me.
"Just occurred to me—sure, you've got a plan, but summoning a demon right in the middle of the city—"
"It's fine."
"...?"
I cut Aurora off sharply. A question mark practically floated over her head.
"I told you. No one gets hurt, nothing breaks, nowhere gets destroyed. Only one person dies."
Well, by the time he died, he wouldn't be human anymore.
Late at night.
The lord tucked the book away carefully and slipped out of his room. He'd deliberately announced no night patrols were needed today, and just to be safe, he'd had a maid spike the food of the servants and attendants with sleeping pills.
Once she reported the task complete, he'd 'dealt' with her. No one could ever find out about this.
The other two—that idiot rookie knight and Aurora—were probably entangled in each other's bodies in the annex by now, lost in ecstasy. Or maybe they'd already had their fill and passed out.
His cautious footsteps led to the basement. But given his weight, it sounded like any ordinary person running.
"Kuhuhu."
An uncontrollable laugh leaked from his lips the whole way to the basement.
A demon of lust that granted men infinite stamina and made women climax just from touch. It was perfect for him.
Of course, he knew the risks full well. If word got to the empress that he was contracting with a demon, his entire family would be wiped out, not even a grave left.
But he had plenty of excuses. This was the boonies of the boonies in the empire. Hunker down here and never leave, and that bitch in the palace would never summon him first.
If he could make those arrogant knight commanders his own, he'd have entertainment for life. Just imagining it made his groin swell.
The lord burst into the basement and bolted the door with multiple locks. The room was filled with all sorts of sexual torture devices.
Many women had met their end here, crushed beneath his fat, greasy body, screaming in agony—and soon, the list would grow endlessly.
Drool poured from his mouth. He pulled out the precious book from his bosom, and instantly, an urge to flip it open and read seized him. With bloodshot eyes, he undid the strap wrapped around it.
His body couldn't keep up with his frantic mind; his fingers kept getting in the way. Especially this damn pinky.
"Argh! Annoying!"
Crack. The lord grabbed his left pinky and snapped it clean off. He didn't feel a thing. He was just thrilled to get to the book faster.
Seeing the cover once the strap was off sent him into ecstasy. Saliva dripped from his mouth, and a creepy "kuhuhu" laugh escaped his lips.
With trembling hands, he opened the book. Eagerly anticipating what lay inside.
And the moment he did, black energy burst forth like an overflow, enveloping his body.
"Huh?"
Only afterward did the lord snap back to his senses.
"U, uwaaaaaah!"
The first sensation on his freshly shaved head was pain. Immense pain surged from his left pinky, the one he'd broken himself in irritation.
Why, why did I do that? What the hell for?
All the while, the black energy coiled around him. It burrowed into his eyes, filled his ears, crawled into his nose, stuffed his mouth. He dry-heaved at the horrific sensation.
"Kuh, hiiik?! Kk?!"
His body began to change.
A pair of horns sprouted from his head, a pair of bat-like demonic wings from his back. Grotesque scales spread across his entire body. His nails elongated.
"N-no! No!"
The lord flailed his arms desperately. His body toppled backward, knocking over and shattering the lined-up torture devices, but he had no time to care.
"Kaaaaaaaah!!!!!!"
His skeleton twisted, his form warped, limbs contorted as his whole body transformed into something not human. He screamed in terror at the sensation. It was excruciatingly agonizing.
It hurt. Hurt so much. Hurt like he was dying. He wanted to curse a god he didn't even believe in for allowing such pain.
But he gritted his teeth and endured, driven by the will to live.
He didn't want to die. He wanted to survive somehow. Tears and snot streaming, he resisted desperately with nothing but the raw desire to keep breathing.
His body was no longer his own. Something wing-like protruded from his back, horns from his head, the feel of his feet and arms was wrong. His skin was disgustingly bumpy.
His flesh itched madly. Scratching it hard, he felt sharp nails over the bumpy scales. The itch didn't subside.
"Huuuuk... huuuu... Huh?"
Creak.
As he thrashed desperately, the sound of the basement door opening reached the lord's ears.
He was sure he'd locked it tight earlier—how they'd gotten in didn't matter. What mattered was that someone who could help had appeared.
"Help! Help me! He, heeeeeelp—!!!!!!"
Blood gushed from his mouth. It was closer to black than red. Even as he vomited blood and his limbs twisted, he crawled toward the voice, desperate not to die.
"Ugh, I never imagined it'd be this grotesque. Is this why you told me to brace myself?"
"Haha, a bit ugly, isn't it?"
"A bit? No conscience at all?"
In his ears rang two voices conversing without a trace of tension.