“Huh? Lady Ruina, this man isn’t moving!”
Bliss stared at me with a panicked expression.
“What should we do?”
Why are you asking me that?
Instead of answering, I placed a hand on my forehead.
A dull ache seemed to be creeping in.
“Should we just burn this entire place down? Or ask my family to cover it up…”
Bliss began muttering horrifying suggestions when I didn’t respond.
Wait… was she seriously considering those as solutions?
I let out a deep sigh.
Honestly, this wasn’t far from what I had hoped for from her.
But what’s the problem, you ask?
Well… her behavior was far beyond what I had expected. She had completely surpassed my imagination.
I never anticipated she would actually enjoy slapping Aikus.
I mean, sure, I’m a demon by nature, forced into the role of saintess under dubious circumstances, and most of what I do is performative. So it’s one thing for me.
But Bliss?
She’s a noble raised in an environment of strict decorum, likely became a high priestess of her own volition, and grew up with the kind of devout family that would have instilled religious education from the start.
And yet, here she was, acting like this?
That meant her true nature was always like this. Was it just hidden until now?
And was it me who unleashed it…?
Damn, I should have realized it earlier, like when she laughed while fighting those assailants.
For now, I needed to focus on damage control.
“Bliss? Let’s start with proper treatment.”
“Treatment? Didn’t I already do that?”
Bliss tilted her head in confusion, looking completely unaware of what I meant.
Was she seriously losing it?
“Not that kind of treatment—real treatment. Like healing magic.”
“Ah, I see!”
Finally understanding, Bliss nodded and began reciting a prayer for healing.
“Bless this person with Your divine grace.”
The redness on Aikus’s cheeks gradually faded as her magic took effect.
“But he’s still not moving,” she remarked.
Despite the healing, Aikus showed no signs of waking up.
“Maybe we should just get rid of—”
“He’s not dead. He’s still in the process of breaking free from mental control. He’ll wake up once it’s fully resolved.”
I quickly cut her off, worried she might actually do something drastic.
Typically, when someone’s mental control is broken, they pass out briefly. This seemed to be one of those cases.
At least, I hoped so.
“Really? Phew, that’s a relief,” Bliss said, letting out a sigh of relief. Judging by her expression, my words seemed to reassure her.
I took the chance to ask something that had been bothering me for a while.
“Lady Bliss…”
“Yes?”
“Why… were you laughing earlier?”
“Huh? Was I laughing?”
Bliss raised her hand to her mouth as if trying to confirm it for herself.
She really didn’t notice?
I nodded.
“Yes…”
“I see…”
Bliss trailed off, lowering her gaze.
After that, she remained silent for a while, seemingly deep in thought.
I didn’t say anything, deciding it was better to let her reflect on her own.
Silence enveloped the room.
How much time passed?
Eventually, Bliss spoke again.
“Actually… when I was hitting him earlier, it felt… fulfilling…”
Her voice was hesitant, but her flushed expression and the way she clasped her hands to her chest betrayed her emotions.
“Even though he looked like he was in pain… I should have felt bad… but for some reason, deep inside, I felt a strange sense of satisfaction. Even now, my chest feels hot, and my heart is racing. It’s wrong… but I keep thinking about it! I want… I want to do it more!”
Her voice grew louder as she confessed.
She turned to me, her eyes brimming with an intense emotion I couldn’t quite identify.
Was it joy? Or madness?
One thing was clear.
What the hell.
Something was seriously wrong.
Bliss continued, her words spilling out slowly, as though she were unveiling a long-hidden secret.
“Ah! How could I not have known this until now? I always thought interrogation was tedious, so I never tried it. But to think it could feel so good! Were the inquisitors enjoying this all to themselves? How dare they not share this with me! It’s outrageous!”
I swallowed hard at the sight of her fervor.
Carefully choosing my words, I tried to respond without provoking her.
“Uh… well… I don’t think that’s exactly it.”
Despite my cautious tone, it seemed my expression betrayed my true feelings.
Bliss looked at me, her face a mixture of shock and hurt.
“Do you think I’m strange…?”
“No… not at all? I don’t think you’re strange… probably.”
I tried to comfort her, speaking as kindly as I could manage.
Though I avoided meeting her gaze, hoping to ease her feelings, the atmosphere shifted.
Just then—
“Ugh… where am I…?”
A voice came from somewhere.
Turning toward the sound, I saw Aikus, who I thought was unconscious, slowly sitting up.
He held his head, looking as though he was in pain.
Glancing around the room, he noticed us and asked,
“Who are you?”
Instead of answering, I approached him and asked,
“Lord Aikus, what religion do you follow?”
“The Celestial Church, of course. But who are you people?”
“We are high priests of the Celestial Church.”
“High priests? What would such esteemed individuals be doing in a place like this?”
Oh, he’s calling us esteemed now? His tone is completely different from earlier.
It seemed he had indeed been under some kind of mental influence, judging by his stark change in demeanor.
I explained everything to him: what he had done, what we had done to counter it, the issue with the End Church, and how he had been suspected of being a member.
After hearing my account, Aikus cried out in indignation.
“I’m innocent! I’ve never been involved with any other religion!”
“Can you tell me what you’ve done recently?”
“Of course! I… wait… I can’t remember anything.”
“What is the last thing you do remember?”
“Hmm… welcoming an End Church priest into my office. After that, everything’s blank.”
“I see. Thank you for your honest answer this time,” I said, bowing slightly.
And no, I wasn’t being sarcastic.
Anyway, based on his testimony, it was clear he experienced the same thing the assailants had described:
Loss of memory following contact with someone.
Unlike the others, however, Aikus at least remembered who he met—a follower of the End Church.
From what he said, it seemed likely that this follower had done something to him, possibly through mental control.
Considering the symptoms he displayed, my guess seemed spot on.
Still, this wasn’t the time to feel satisfied about being right.
If it was true that Aikus had been subjected to mental control, then there was no doubt that something troubling was happening in this region.
As I’ve mentioned before, only one type of being in this world is capable of using mental control: the Dream Demons, commonly referred to as succubi or incubi.
The reason only Dream Demons can use this magic lies in their unique magical structure, which is entirely their own.
Some might think that if this structure could be deciphered, other species could also use mental control. However, that’s impossible.
Both humans and demons have conducted countless studies and experiments to unravel this structure, yet all efforts have ended in failure.
For this reason, mental control remains exclusive to Dream Demons.
If someone placed Aikus under mental control, it had to be a Dream Demon—not a human.
The problem, however, was that Aikus had identified the person as a follower of the End Church.
This meant that somewhere among the followers of the End Church in Viln, there was a demon.
And that was a serious problem.
Why would a demon be part of a religion spreading in a human territory? It made no sense.
If all the followers were demons, that might be another matter.
But we’ve already seen someone like Wolff, a human, who used divine power without issue during the sandworm subjugation.
One possible explanation was that the Dream Demon infiltrated as a spy to harm humans.
Indeed, Aikus’s actions under mental control had thrown Viln into chaos.
Yet, the End Church, the very organization the Dream Demon should belong to, actively helped humans amidst the turmoil.
They spent their own money trying to support the community.
Of course, this could be part of a scheme to win over people’s hearts, but it still didn’t add up.
If they wanted support, they should have aimed to improve the situation.
But at this rate, Viln was headed for ruin within a few months.
Could that be their goal?
If their objective was to destroy Viln, then their approach did make sense.
But honestly, contemplating this was meaningless for me.
After all, I didn’t need to care about what they were planning.
In fact, I might even celebrate their actions.
After all, I am a demon, not a human.
But if the culprits were Dream Demons, that changed everything.
I absolutely couldn’t let this slide.
I hate Dream Demons.
There’s no particular reason—I just despise them. Everything about them annoys me, from one to ten. I have an uncontrollable urge to ruin anything they try to do.
And now, here I am, rambling because evidence points to Dream Demons being involved.
It’s not like I always hated them.
I mean, how could a man dislike succubi? With their stunning bodies, beautiful faces, and alluring charm—a miraculous trifecta—it’s impossible.
Even though my body was changed, my mind remains the same.
So yes, I used to like succubi. I even held a fascination with them based on the rumors I’d heard.
That is, until I met Lillia Forsythia, the Queen of the Succubi.
***
The demon territory is divided into eight factions:
Seven under the Dukes, and one directly controlled by the Demon King.
With so many factions, conflicts naturally arise.
Currently, four factions are at odds:
Redros, Valian, Lillia, and mine.
The rivalries look like this:
Redros and Valian are competing to outdo each other’s accomplishments, making theirs a rivalry built on ambition.
Lillia and I, however, are bitter enemies.
We’re locked in a relationship of constant hostility, tearing at each other whenever possible.
This animosity stems from several factors:
- Vampires and witches have never gotten along with Dream Demons.
- I despise Lillia Forsythia.
My hatred for her began the moment we first met.
During our very first encounter, she did three unforgivable things:
Mental control akin to hypnosis or brainwashing.
A forced kiss.
An attempted assault.
In one meeting, she managed to violate all three unspoken rules of what not to do when meeting someone.
If Redros hadn’t arrived just in time, I don’t even want to imagine what could have happened.
At first, I thought I could move past it.
Yes, the attempt to control my mind was infuriating, but she was stunningly beautiful. I almost dismissed it as a one-time mishap.
But the real problems began after that.
From that day forward, Lillia developed a bizarre obsession with me.
She’d say things like:
“Hella, become mine willingly. You’ll never defeat Asphodel on your own. If you’re mine, I’ll help you get your revenge.”
“Hella, I’m desperate to have you. Your eyes, hair, body, and soul—I want it all to be mine.”
“Why? Why are you the only one immune to my control? But perhaps that’s why I want you so much.”
“You are mine. I will make it so.”
At first, I didn’t think much of it.
I might have even appreciated the attention—after all, she wanted me, didn’t she?
But there’s a limit to everything, and Lillia crossed that line.
She didn’t just want my body. She wanted my mind and soul as well.
She wanted to take complete control over every aspect of me, molding me into her puppet.
And she had the means to do it—mental control.
The thought of my body and mind being controlled by someone else made my skin crawl.
Fortunately, for some reason, her mental control didn’t work on me.
Even though she, the so-called “Ruler,” tried it herself, it failed.
Frustrated, she began interfering with everything I did, from minor tasks to major endeavors.
At first, I tolerated it because her faction was powerful.
But when she meddled in my revenge, I couldn’t stand it any longer.
From that moment, I started fighting back, and our relationship descended into utter hatred.
This is why I can’t stand idly by now.
Succubi and incubi are bound to obey the Queen’s commands without question.
If a Dream Demon is involved in this matter, then it’s proof that Lillia has her hand in this situation.
And that means this is my chance to ruin her plans.
I smiled.
I hadn’t intended to care about this, but circumstances left me no choice.
I started thinking of ways to thwart whatever the Dream Demons were planning.
Eventually, I came up with the best course of action available to me right now.
Leaving the office, I opened the door and addressed the butler standing outside.
“Summon the hero and their companions immediately. I have something urgent to tell them.”
This was the best I could do for now.