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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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Partings always come unexpectedly.
It was like that when I experienced my first parting.
Even while moving from house to house as a slave, there were definitely moments of heartbreak that felt like true partings.
It must have been my third owner.
The master who took me in had three other slaves besides me.
A neighbor, coveting his wealth, framed him as a demon worshipper and had him thrown into a fire pit.
I could still vividly hear my master’s screams as he was burned alive.
There were three other children around my age who were slaves in that house.
We all worked on the farm and got along well, but we were separated without a chance to promise to meet again.
It was unlikely that the other children had the same luck as me, so they were probably all dead.
“You’re saying goodbye?”
That’s why I hated goodbyes.
There was truly no chance of meeting again once you parted ways as a slave.
The people who showed me fleeting kindness, the girl who helped my inexperienced self and promised we’d do well together, the master who pitied my orphaned state—I never had a chance to see them again after we parted.
“Yes, goodbye. I’m a wandering demon. I don’t stay in one place for long.”
And now, the demon was smiling and saying goodbye to me.
I shook my head and asked,
“Can’t you stay?”
Even to my own ears, I sounded like a child whining.
Even though I had no right to restrict her movements, I wanted her to stay with me.
The demon must have found my question rather endearing, because she chuckled and shook her head.
“No, I can’t. You’re a fine demon now, aren’t you? A demon who can stand on their own doesn’t need a guardian. You’ve corrupted a priestess, and you even have two women who love you.”
“I’m still an inadequate demon. I don’t know a lot of things, and I don’t know what to do.”
The demon looked at me intently.
I truly didn’t know what to do now.
Could I really just stay in this mansion and live comfortably?
Could I really stop striving to become stronger?
If there were many demons like me in the world, shouldn’t I also grow my power and expand my influence?
“Then, should I give you some advice before we part?”
Even as I tried to settle into this comfortable life, an unknown anxiety kept nagging at me.
I quickly nodded at the demon’s offer.
Even if I asked her to stay, she would leave anyway.
The demon sat on the windowsill and looked at me.
Then she asked,
“Evan, what do you want to do? What kind of demon do you want to become? Do you want to become a wicked demon and rule the world? Or do you want to live quietly in this mansion?”
“I…”
Of course, I wanted to live quietly.
Ruling the world or spreading evil didn’t suit me; it was too grand a scale.
I wanted to live an ordinary life, occasionally fucking pretty women who came to this village and having orgies with my women.
Even without my answer, the demon seemed to have read it on my face.
With a wry smile, she shook her head and said firmly,
“Do you really want to live quietly in the mansion? Evan, let me give you a piece of advice. Now that you’re a demon, there’s no such option as living quietly. Eliminating obstacles one by one is just a temporary solution. No matter how much you avoid priests and run from the threats of the world, all demons eventually reach a crossroads. Become a servant of a stronger demon, or die.”
Even if I lived quietly, eventually, demons would find me and try to take everything I had.
The thought alone gave me a headache.
I shouldn’t have been so happy about escaping slavery and gaining power.
From the moment I obtained demonic power, I had entered some invisible power struggle.
It was just that, until now, the blades had missed me, and I hadn’t noticed.
“That’s unfair.”
“That’s the life of a demon. Gathering more subordinates, creating stronger subordinates, and becoming a powerful figure in the demon world. That’s the goal all demons pursue. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want that kind of life. Someone who desires to become a stronger, higher-ranking demon will definitely find you.”
“So, when I encounter such a demon, I have to make a choice.”
“That’s right. Offer everything you have and become a servant, or defeat the demon and rise to a higher position.”
“Then what should I do? How do I become stronger?”
“First, wouldn’t it be good to leave this narrow place, travel around, and broaden your horizons? Staying in a small area might help you avoid other demons, but it also limits your growth. If you go out into the world, you might encounter other demons, but you can also absorb the life force of more diverse people. Evan, your power grows by taking women as subordinates, absorbing the life force of men, and devouring weaker demons.”
If I continued to stay in this village, I would eventually be caught and humiliated.
I could lose my women and return to my days as a slave.
After all, power was everything in this world.
Especially for demons, nothing was more important than power.
“Evan, what will you do?”
Continue to live as a slave and barely survive, or continue to grow my power and become stronger?
There was no choice.
I knew the misery of slavery better than anyone.
The demon smiled, as if she already knew my answer.
I gave her the answer she was waiting for.
“I’ll become stronger. I’ll become so strong that no one can look down on me, and I’ll have many women.”
“Yes, that’s the spirit.”
The demon nodded and flapped her wings.
I knew it was truly time to part.
It seemed she intended to leave as quietly as she had arrived.
I said,
“And after that…”
The demon, who had been turning to leave, looked back at me.
“Yes?”
“After that, can we meet again? If I become a very strong demon, famous even in the demon world, can we meet again?”
I had never met anyone again after parting ways.
So I wanted to make a promise.
A promise to meet again.
The anticipation of waiting.
The longing and joy that would wash over me when we met again.
I asked the question, yearning for things I had never experienced.
And she…
“Of course. I’ll be waiting.”
…nodded, saying it was only natural that we would meet again.
Her purple skin and red eyes sparkled brilliantly, and her wings flapped beautifully.
Her hair, reflecting the light of the night sky, shimmered in a deep indigo.
I said,
“Tell me your name, so we can meet again.”
The demon lifted her foot from the windowsill.
The sound of her wings drowned out the chirping of insects.
The demon put her index finger to her lips and smiled.
As she slowly drifted away, she said in a low voice,
“Lilith.”
Lilith.
“Lilith.”
When I called her name again, she was gone from the night sky.
Like a dream, she had vanished.
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“It’ll be alright, Evan.”
The next morning, we sat in the drawing-room, neatly dressed.
Isabelle held my hand tightly, comforting me, and Elena nervously placed teacups in front of us.
The day after parting with Lilith, I had to face another problem without a moment to collect myself.
I had to persuade Alice, who opposed my marriage to Isabelle.
Isabelle seemed to believe that Alice, being a good girl, would understand, but I had a feeling Alice wouldn’t back down so easily, and it worried me.
Moreover, I had to figure out how to live my life as a demon, which gave me a headache.
How rationally and logically would Alice, after sorting out her thoughts, oppose our marriage?
Would it even be possible for me to leave for another region and build my power alone?
Suppressing the rising frustration and anxiety, we waited for Alice to enter.
“Alice.”
The door opened, and Alice entered.
Her hair was still neatly braided, and she was dressed formally, like a government official.
Her face was pale, as if she hadn’t slept all night, and the corners of her mouth drooped, making her look like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Isabelle fidgeted, watching Alice nervously, and Alice scratched her head and sat down.
Elena, as if she didn’t want to be in this suffocating drawing-room, poured the tea and tried to leave quickly.
“Unnie, stay. Why are you leaving?”
But Alice stopped her, as if Elena shouldn’t be excluded from this important family discussion.
She was being considerate of Elena, whom she considered family after her long service at the mansion, but Elena didn’t look pleased.
Since I felt the same way, I turned my head away and sighed.
Elena sat down, but the silence continued.
Only the sound of fidgeting fingers and rustling fabric filled the quiet room.
“I’ve been thinking…”
When Alice broke the silence, her tone was calmer than I expected.
“I think Mom and I need some time to sort out our thoughts.”
“Yes, Alice, you should take some time to think…”
Alice’s gaze turned to me.
“I’m taking this person with me to the academy for a while.”
Everyone’s eyes focused on Alice.
Alice blinked and added,
“I want Mom to have some time away from him to think rationally. I think Mom is considering marriage hastily because she’s lonely and vulnerable right now. I’ll take him to the academy as my attendant, so please take some time to think things over calmly for one semester. If you still want to get married after being apart for a while, then I won’t object.”
While Elena and Isabelle stared at me with surprised expressions, I covered my mouth and thought,
The academy?
There must be a lot of women there, right?
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