Negotiating with Countess Lilith (2)
The word "wish" slipping from between her red lips burrowed into my ears, making my heart lurch for a moment. That devilishly sweet and fatal whisper, promising to grant any wish. I could only freeze, eyes wide, breath caught in my throat. It was a pledge from a powerful countess of the Demon Capital, the mistress who ruled this massive pleasure house, Illusion's Banquet. Its weight was anything but light.
At first, the staggering offer shocked me so much that I swallowed dryly without thinking. But my fluster stopped right there. Because I knew all too well. Deep in my heart lay my true wish—to escape this hellhole teeming with horny demon bitches and flee to a peaceful human kingdom. She would never grant that. Lilith had dangled this outrageous condition purely to exploit me, to expand her business and rake in cash. What fool slits open the golden goose or sets it free from its cage? Voicing my real wish would only piss her off and tighten the surveillance. So I forced my pounding heart to calm, perfectly masking my inner turmoil. A sly grin crept onto my lips as I shrugged nonchalantly.
"Granting any wish? That's a tempting offer, really. But nah, I don't need anything grand or fancy. Just stuff my pockets with gold. I might look all meek on the outside, but deep down, I'm a money-grubbing material girl through and through."
Lilith blinked in surprise at my unexpectedly crass, worldly reply, then burst into laughter that echoed through the lavish office.
"Ahaha! Oh my, oh dear! Really? Our cute little Demian is such a naughty little money fiend~?"
She dabbed at the tears in her eyes with a delicate finger, then gently stroked my cheek. Leaning back deeply into the velvet sofa, she curved her lips into an alluring smile at my cheeky response. My brazen act of playing the greedy slob, asking only for fat stacks of gold, seemed to pique her interest even more. I sighed inwardly in relief. Perfect. She's bought it hook, line, and sinker. If I kept playing the money-obsessed fool and bided my time quietly, I could pull off the perfect escape. No doubt about it.
"But tell me, our cute Demian~ Is that really all you want~?"
Before my relief could fully settle, Lilith gracefully lifted a glass of premium red wine from the table and asked coolly. The blood-like crimson liquid swirled in delicate curves inside the crystal goblet. She wet her red lips, then fixed me with a sharp, sultry gaze that pierced straight through me.
"Is scraping together money in this barren Demon Capital truly your one and only goal~?"
A chill raced down my spine, goosebumps prickling my skin.
"W-what...? Of course earning money is all there is to it."
I forced my lips into an awkward grin and let out a shaky laugh, but my voice trembled faintly. Lilith leaned in close, her sweet, sticky scent overwhelming, and whispered hotly into my ear.
"You're not planning to run off to the humans' land, the Gastia Kingdom, are you~?"
That single sentence drained the color from my face. My heart plummeted. My pupils shook like there was an earthquake, and my whole body froze solid.
"H-how could I dare... even think such a thing? I'd gladly spend my life by your side, Countess—"
"Oh my~♡ Why that deathly pale look? You're so adorable, I could just bite you~."
Hearing my cracked, feeble denial, Lilith clutched her stomach and chuckled lightly. Then her eyes gleamed coldly as she licked her lips with her red tongue.
"Our Demian acts so differently from the other dumb, horny guys in the Demon Capital, doesn't he~? So this big sis did a little digging behind the scenes. And oh my, what do you know? You'd prepared quite the naughty, meticulous escape~ A massive advance to that one-eyed broker in the back alleys, a secret escort contract with the Black Wolf mercenary band to cross the treacherous forests on the outskirts, even a fake ID to pose as a common citizen in the Gastia Kingdom. Am I wrong~?"
Each tap of her long, pointed nail on the mahogany table exposed another of my desperately hidden secrets. My mind went blank white. How did she find out? I'd been so careful, so secretive. Terror choked me; I could barely breathe.
Lilith nodded toward the leather pouch of 50 gold on the table, driving the final nail in.
"Those fat stacks of gold I just handed you were probably headed straight to that greedy broker and those beastly mercenaries, right? If my guess is spot on, in just a few months, you'd have ditched this wretched Demon Capital without a backward glance and set foot in that peaceful human kingdom, just like you planned. Sneaking out of my grasp without a trace, huh~?"
No excuses left my lips. My flawless plan had been a mere farce, dancing on the palm of Countess Lilith's hand. Overwhelmed by sheer terror, my body began to tremble like a leaf.
A lowly man like me—treated as a second-class citizen in this horrific female-dominated society—daring to leave the Demon Capital? That alone was a capital crime that could cost my head. Most men here were brainless or fully broken, never even dreaming of escape. But I'd heard the gruesome rumors from the back alleys about those rare fools who tried: eyes gouged, limbs hacked off, condemned to a lifetime as living toilets for beastly demon women before dying horribly. That nightmare flashed before my eyes.
"Th-that's..."
Too scared for a proper rebuttal, I just stood there, bloodless face quivering, lips trembling. Any second now, Lilith would call the guards outside and drag me to the underground dungeon. But she merely smiled leisurely and raised her wine glass. She took a long sip of the blood-red wine, then parted her moist lips to deliver her verdict.
"To cut to the chase: no. You can't leave Illusion's Banquet."
"Ah..."
A despairing sigh escaped me helplessly. In that instant, all my long-prepared plans and hopes shattered to pieces from her one sentence.
Lilith set down her glass and continued in a soft, silky voice.
"For my grand business plans, I need you desperately for the time being, Demian. It'd be such a waste to rot you away in the dungeon when you have that mysterious charm~ And think about it rationally."
She leaned forward, locking eyes with me.
"Say your half-baked plan worked and you made it to the Gastia Kingdom. Do you really think those humans would leave a pretty, rare boy like you alone? Humans are money-crazed scum. They'd capture you and sell you back to demon nobles for a fat price. You're fleeing the rough demon folk here, but life there wouldn't be much different. If anything, you'd end up stripped bare and dragged back to the Demon Capital sooner or later."
"......"
I let out another deep sigh and hung my head. Her brutal facts left me speechless. Thinking of human greed, she was right a hundred times over. Dropped there without a solid backing, I'd just become prey for other predators.
Lilith gently stroked my despairing shoulder and whispered sweetly.
"But ending it like this would crush our cute Demian's spirit too much— it breaks big sis's heart. So instead, I'll give you something very special~."
"S-something... else?"
I asked with hollow eyes, and Lilith smiled seductively, her voice brimming with confidence.
"Yes. Demian, I'll give you an entire branch of Illusion's Banquet. I mentioned it briefly earlier, right? Help me enchant the high nobles for sure, and once my business expands to five or more branches... I'll make you manager of one. How's that? Way sweeter than dreaming of futile escapes—grasping real power right here in the Demon Capital, don't you think~?"
She savored my reaction, her lips curling up.
"Branch manager of Illusion's Banquet~"
Lilith flashed another sultry eye-smile, her voice sweet and sticky.
"That position means at least baron-level power, maybe even rivaling a viscount~. Of course, as a man, you won't get an official noble title~ But if I vouch for your merits, you could at least snag a semi-noble honor, right~?"
Semi-noble. The word hit my ears like a thunderclap. In this brutal female-dominated Demon Capital society, it was the ultimate pinnacle a second-class male citizen could dream of. Of course, men ascending to semi-noble status were historical miracles, rare as hen's teeth.
She swirled her blood-red wine gracefully once more, hammering the nail home.
"You're so desperate to go to the Gastia Kingdom just to live cushy without money worries, right? As branch manager of Illusion's Banquet, you could live even flashier, just how you want. What do you say~?"
The icy killing intent hidden behind her soft smile pricked my skin. I swallowed dryly. My mind cooled to ice. This wasn't gentle persuasion. It was... a blatant threat disguised as an offer..!
What if I shook my head no? The savage guards outside would burst in, haul me to the dungeon, and my body would become an eternal toilet for beastly demon women.
I'd never had a place to run or the right to refuse from the start. Clutching my trembling hands, I finally bowed my head in powerless misery.
"I understand... I'll follow your will, Countess."
Between Lilith's red lips spread a thick, cruel smile of victory.