Chapter 152
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 152
"Yes..."
Jeremia, who had been taught to always meet someone’s gaze when speaking, stared down at the floor instead.
Jelly, who had been force-fed holy water, spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with solid chunks. Jeremia squeezed her eyes shut, praying desperately that they weren't pieces of his flesh or organs.
The shock was one thing, but Jelly’s appearance was so gruesome that she couldn't bear to look. The sheer visual horror made his slurred, lisping speech the least of her concerns.
"Mr. Jelly... Your body is a wreck."
Seeing Jeremia sobbing in what was unmistakably Azazel's body, Jelly nearly spat out a curse.
"Did you do thith?"
"Pardon...?"
"Why are you thtanding there like a criminal?"
"Well, because... it's my fault..."
"Thupid... idiot."
His attitude was incredibly insolent for someone addressing imperial royalty, even if she was in a different body. However, since her conversational partner wasn't human, Jeremia had never once taken offense.
She couldn't even bring herself to refute being called an idiot. It wasn't wrong, after all. Having already suffered so terribly at Tenebrae's hands, she had acted foolishly yet again, putting her benefactor in grave danger.
"Were you the only one... du-duped? I didn't know either," Jelly grumbled in a clumsy attempt to comfort her. Jeremia wanted to point out that being deceived by Hena wasn't exactly something to bond over, but she swallowed her words.
"If you th-think about it, it'th all that bathtard Pudding'th fault for not realizing she was th-thcheming."
"It's Lord Pudding's fault for not noticing her scheming?"
Even through his agonizing pain, Jelly nodded vigorously, continuing to shift all the blame onto Pudding.
In the first place, Pudding was the one who had chosen Hena. Jelly hadn't liked Hena from the very beginning.
Seriously, that bastard Pudding has zero eye for people. He has hundreds of eyes, yet he couldn't spot a single traitor. A disaster of this scale has broken out in the mansion, and that idiot still has no clue. I'm the real dumbass for trusting a creature like that to stay by Master's side. As Jelly poured out a torrent of complaints, Jeremia felt her guilt ease, if only by a fraction.
"Hey. Do you feel th-thorry for Mathter?"
"Do I feel sorry for Lady Evangeline? Of course I do..."
"If you're th-thorry, there'th thomethin' you need to do."
"Something I need to do...? Can I really do it?"
Frightened, Jeremia clenched her fists and brought them to her mouth, on the verge of tears. The pose was identical to how a certain cat would act cute for Evangeline. Seeing such a gesture performed by a massive, muscular body made Jelly want to gag as usual, but a sudden surge of pain forced a groan from him instead.
"Only you can do it."
Jeremia nodded resolutely. She could guess what was coming next. Since Jelly was badly injured and couldn't escape, he was probably going to ask her to run away with him.
However, Jelly's request was entirely unexpected.
"From now on, pretend to be Azazel."
"What?"
Jeremia lowered her massive fists from her mouth and tilted her head in confusion. Jelly stared at her with utter disgust. Suppressing the urge to kill her, he gave a rough explanation.
"That damn Hena doesn't know you're Jeremia. Which meanth Bithop Marik won't know your th-thoul has changed either."
"Come to think of it..."
Jeremia searched her memory. During the few days Azazel had spent with Hena, he had never once been addressed as "Jeremia" or "Princess."
When she had first swapped bodies at the Rohanson Mansion, Hena hadn't been present. Evangeline and Canna had kept Hena away out of concern for her mental state, and that unintentional consideration had now become a critical advantage.
"Unlike me, you aren't bound. Can't you tell by how differently they're treating you? Bithop Marik will try to uthe you again. You're incredibly utheful for neutralizing Pudding, who never leaveth Mathter'th thide."
Jeremia nodded. Just a moment ago, hadn't they used her to set fire to the Rohanson Mansion?
"Can I really do it?"
"You idiot. Did you take over that body jutht to lounge around under... under Mathter'th protection?"
"I didn't take it over just to lounge around...!"
Jeremia shook her head vigorously. The comfortable memories of her time at the Rohanson Mansion had softened her, a stark contrast to the resolve she’d had when she abandoned God and sought out a demon.
In the embrace of an absolute being, there was nothing to fear. That safe haven, combined with her naturally gentle disposition and tendency to trust people too easily, had been more than enough to make her complacent.
"When you were dyin' in the foretht, you were thpiteful enough to abandon God with your own two handth. You weren't thome th-thoftie like you are now. Did you actually turn to dough jutht because they call you 'Tart'?"
Jelly was cranky by nature and never spoke kindly to anyone but Evangeline, but surprisingly, his words reignited Jeremia's drive. He was right. The moment she was dying with a sword in her stomach, she had been incredibly fierce.
Just as he said, she had taken the body of her mortal enemy, Azazel, to reclaim her name and seek revenge. Jeremia's mind went blank.
What on earth have I been doing...?
Bishop Marik, the very target of her revenge, was right in front of her, yet she had been standing there dazed, paralyzed by guilt. She truly hadn't changed one bit.
"Yes. I will absolutely succeed."
"Yeah. There'th no rule th-that thayth only we have to thuffer. I'm the type who can't retht until I pay back double what I receive."
Jelly cackled, his face contorted from the holy water burns.
Jeremia’s expression became resolute, a stark contrast to her previous gentle demeanor.
"Azazel wouldn't make a face like that. Try actin' a bit more arrogant."
"Ah... yes."
Jeremia did her best to mimic Azazel. Even to Jelly, the expression looked decent. When he asked how she managed to copy it so well, she replied that she had simply recalled the look on Azazel's face right before he stabbed her. Jelly grumbled that the bastard was better off dead.
Jelly peered at the situation outside and silently cursed Gabriel, calling him a useless bastard.
Gabriel acted as if he would devote himself solely to Evangeline, yet he kept forgetting his priorities to save other people. It seemed the sharp warning Jelly had given him before hadn't been enough.
Why does Master show interest in a guy like that? Is it because he's human? Because holy water doesn't work on him? Because he's royalty? Because he's handsome? From the perspective of Jelly—who was a demon, melted in holy water, wasn't royalty, and certainly wasn't handsome—there was no way he could like Gabriel. Simply put, he was jealous.
Still, Gabriel was in a better position than him, a hostage. At least that bastard wasn't a burden. Jelly was destined to drag Evangeline down. Should I just bite my tongue and die? But demons didn't die even if their tongues melted away. He was proof of that, still alive even after the holy water had all but destroyed his.
She'll save me, right...?
Perhaps because he’d been around humans too much, he felt like crying. His situation was so pitiful and miserable that he couldn't help but feel sorry for himself.
If Jelly had been in Gabriel's shoes, he would have just killed everyone in the mansion, killed Bishop Marik, and called it a happy ending. Of course, as the one who had run into the flames to save the mansion's residents, he had no right to say such a thing.
No, but seriously! If I'd known those bastards would immediately side with that damn bishop, I wouldn't have saved them!
He had saved them, yet they showed no gratitude, pointing him out as a demon. And despite how his Master had embraced them with mercy as vast as the ocean, they spoke of Evangeline as if she were some wicked witch. He couldn't stand the sight of them.
Only Daisy—who hadn't forgotten the favor and tried to argue back, only stopping when a blade was pressed to her throat—and the children were barely acceptable.
Is that little Mary kid okay?
The memory of her being completely fooled by Hena, splashing holy water on him, and then tearing up in shock was particularly vivid. Daisy was sensible and hadn't betrayed them, so she would take care of things. Gabriel was there, too.
While Jelly was lost in thought, the situation outside seemed to resolve itself as Bishop Marik and Hena boarded the carriage. The way Hena followed the bishop was so natural and familiar that Jelly realized with a surge of rage that this betrayal had been planned for a long time.
"Hey, Hena, you! How dare you th-thtab Mathter in the back!"
Hena looked puzzled to see Jelly lying on the carriage floor instead of in the luggage compartment where he belonged. Bishop Marik explained that she had placed him there to keep him under surveillance until they reached the Temple.
"You ungrateful wretch. Canna will be th-thuper dithappointed in you."
Hena, who had been ignoring Jelly's insults, couldn't let the mention of Canna slide. Her name made Hena snap back in anger.
"Jelly. The one who betrayed our trust first was Lady Rohanson."
Dumbfounded, Jelly fell silent.
"Do you know, Jelly? That Pudding... that damn cat, do you know he deliberately manipulated Canna and put her in danger?"
'That he used your sister to plant a loyal servant, and that her body is no longer your sister's.'
Jelly couldn't answer. He didn't know; it had happened before he even met Evangeline. Besides, there was a high probability that Pudding had recognized Canna's talent and made his move long ago.
He realized his mistake too late. Whether he knew or not, he should have denied it. As if expecting his silence, Hena pulled a vial of holy water from her dress. It was that damned vial.
Hena uncapped it and tipped it over.
"You don't have particularly good eyesight anyway, Jelly... but I'm just anxious. You understand, right?"
She poured the holy water directly onto Jelly's face. When he had thought of the vial as a damn eyesore, he hadn't meant for her to literally melt his eyes. Jelly's vision went dark.
*
Jeremia stared down at Jelly, who had gone quiet, likely unconscious and covered in blood. In her heart, she wanted to cry out and ask if he was alright, but right now, she had to be Azazel.
"I heard you were dead. I didn't expect to see you alive."
Bishop Marik addressed her in a familiar tone. Jeremia didn't understand why the bishop, who supposedly loathed heretics, was acting so friendly toward Azazel.
How did she know Azazel was dead? Jeremia's heart pounded, but fortunately, since she wasn't in a human body, her racing pulse wouldn't betray her.
"Me, dead? Who could possibly kill me? That bite-sized cat, or this thing?"
Jeremia lightly tapped Jelly with her foot, then rested it on top of the unconscious demon with an incredibly arrogant air. In her mind, she sent an infinite stream of apologies his way.
"Aren't you worried about your own kind, seeing him in this state?"
"Why would I worry about this furball?"
Jeremia made a sound of disgust, as if she were about to retch.
"Weren't you staying at the Rohanson Mansion because of your own kind?"
At Bishop Marik's words, Jeremia's heart momentarily stopped. Forcing herself to hold on, she clutched her stomach and burst into laughter as if she had just heard the most hilarious joke in the world.
After laughing for a long while, she pretended to wipe away tears from the corners of her eyes.
"What a hilarious idea. Because of my own kind? How could I be the same kind as this weakling who can't even speak properly? The only reason I went to the mansion was because of Evangeline Rohanson. I was curious to see what she was like."