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Chapter 4
Lilith’s Safe Position
The eyes that could see through the truth—his beautiful Demon Eye—found nothing inside Lilith.
How is this possible?
Adrian quietly stared out the huge window at the scenery of the Demon Realm.
With a slow wave of his hand, the water in the bath rippled like a small tidal wave.
Inside the enormous silver bathtub that seemed to take up half the room, Adrian’s naked body rested deep beneath the water.
The peaceful silence before dawn should have been relaxing.
Instead, he felt strangely alert, as if every nerve in his body was on edge.
Morning had arrived.
Even here, there was day and night.
A giant sphere created from demonic power floated high in the sky, lighting the Demon Realm in place of the sun.
Adrian thought it was just as beautiful as the real sun.
As always, he found himself staring at the smooth glowing sphere.
Then, unbelievably, he thought of that woman.
More precisely—
He thought of her eyes, which had shone just like that sphere.
Her eyes had originally been a deep violet, like the darkness of night.
Yet that day, for the first time, he had thought they looked as if they were burning.
The physician had diagnosed Lilith Noctana with memory loss.
“My Demon Eye didn’t work.”
In the end, Adrian admitted it out loud.
Had the poison caused some strange side effect?
Adrian replayed their last conversation in his mind.
—
“Lilith.”
“Yes.”
“You never used informal speech with me before.”
“Well… I don’t remember. I don’t remember who I was, or who you are.”
“Stop joking.”
“They said I swallowed deadly poison. Isn’t surviving alone a miracle? I don’t know how obedient I used to be, but I don’t remember any of it.”
“Hah. That’s enough, Lilith.”
“Demon King. If I annoy you, then don’t come looking for me. Just think of me as a cruel, troublesome woman and leave me alone. Just like you’ve always done.”
—
A dry laugh escaped his lips.
Once, Lilith had handed him dozens of bottles of wine, acting flirtatiously while telling him to think of her as a wicked woman.
She had been attractive enough, and her eyes had looked dreamy, as if she were intoxicated by him.
They had never looked at him with such contempt.
He had been the one who left Lilith’s residence first that day.
Yet now, for some reason, it felt as if he had been disgracefully chased away by her order to leave.
He slowly lifted his body halfway out of the water and rested both arms on the edge of the bathtub.
The streams of water slid down his body like ropes falling away.
Lilith had lived in the Demon King’s Castle for three years.
By now, her strange behavior had gone far beyond what anyone could tolerate.
She wandered around the castle completely drunk just to attract attention.
She suddenly tried to hang herself.
She constantly accused others of threatening or trying to kill her without any reason.
She brought countless demons to the castle—
Sometimes even insignificant humans, or tiny creatures capable of using polymorph magic to become human—
Only for everyone to know exactly what she had been doing with them.
Wherever she went, she caused trouble or destroyed something.
Even so, Adrian had never punished her.
Was it because he was kind?
No.
It was because he simply didn’t care enough to bother.
Considering that marrying her had given him ownership of the largest magic crystal mine in the Demon Realm, ignoring her behavior was a fair trade.
Unlike his other consorts, who were always scheming, Lilith was completely transparent.
That was the only advantage of someone foolish and incompetent.
She could never stab someone in the back.
Her emotions and thoughts were always obvious.
Then she somehow obtained a forbidden deadly poison and almost reached the point where her soul was destroyed.
He had only visited her remote residence after three years because he intended to collect her body—and perhaps her soul.
But then…
“You dared…”
“A demon whose truth cannot be seen.”
There was nothing wrong with his eyes.
For several days, he had pushed them beyond their limits.
Every soul had been completely exposed before him.
Their hidden thoughts.
Their lies.
Everything.
“Then why… you?”
He needed to investigate that woman more carefully.
Perhaps she was connected to the spy who had recently begun revealing their presence inside the Demon King’s Castle.
Outside the window, the giant sphere seemed unusually bright today.
For some reason, its light irritated him.
Perhaps because of it, even the warm water now felt like burning lava.
Adrian slowly sank back beneath the water.
It felt as though he were sinking into fire.
Meanwhile—
She was struggling just as desperately.
In Gehenna, where dark, gloomy, and unpleasant things were as common as stones beneath her feet—
She endured simply to survive.
I am Lilith.
After several days, Ariella finally accepted that she had become Lilith.
It wasn’t a dream.
Her sharp senses and clear mind had already reached the best conclusion.
Her soul had not been destroyed.
Instead, it had found a new body.
That meant she could begin a completely new life without anyone knowing who she really was.
She had hated this place with all her heart.
Even so—
Compared to her previous life, even the worst life here would be better.
She had been worshipped as the perfect symbol of justice and purity.
Yet all she received in return was betrayal and destruction.
So Ariella—
No.
Lilith—
Finally decided to accept her fall.
A week had passed since she awakened in Lilith’s body.
She purposely stayed quietly inside her residence instead of wandering around the castle.
The Demon King had visited on the day she woke up.
Thankfully, he had never returned.
Even more surprising—
No one else came looking for her either.
Only the Dream Demons continued visiting her residence out of habit.
She questioned Foris and Aim about everything they knew regarding Lilith.
In the past, she would have cut down such annoying demons without hesitation.
Now, they were valuable sources of information.
Disappointingly, Lilith’s story was simple.
Ariella had suspected there might be hidden truths or unexpected secrets.
Instead, Lilith was almost exactly as the rumors in Heaven had described her.
Was she really loved by no one?
When Ariella seriously asked whether Lilith wasn’t beautiful enough to attract people’s attention, the Dream Demons burst into laughter.
“Wow. Even after losing your memory, you still haven’t forgotten to ask that question. Of course you’re beautiful.”
Only after hearing the mocking answer did Ariella realize how many times the original Lilith must have asked the same thing.
“We’ve lost count of how many men approached you because of your beauty, and you accepted them. We thought His Majesty would be angry if he found out, but whether the rumors said you were easy or not… he simply didn’t care.”
In the end, it became obvious.
Lilith had desperately tried every possible way to gain the Demon King’s attention.
Just like always, she had staged another dramatic performance—
And ended up swallowing deadly poison.
Whether she only intended to pretend to drink it…
Or had secretly prepared an antidote…
No one knew.
But her reckless attempt ended in tragedy.
Lilith’s soul disappeared.
Whether it had been destroyed…
Or trapped inside another body like Ariella’s…
No one knew.
But one thing was certain.
Misfortune had fallen upon Lilith as well.
When Ariella remarked that it was cruel for no one to visit someone who had barely survived death, Foris and Aim clicked their tongues.
“You should consider yourself lucky.”
“Exactly! Last time, Lady Cassandra came here on purpose just to insult you! Lady Lilith may be difficult, but even so…”
“Cassandra? Who is she?”
At the calm question, the two Dream Demons exchanged uneasy glances.
When Ariella silently pressured them to answer, Foris sighed.
“She’s His Majesty’s first consort. Lady Cassandra is the one who sent you—and us—to this remote residence. She’s also the reason you’re always short of jewelry and dresses. She controls the castle’s budget.”
“But then… why didn’t I do anything?”
“Well…”
This time, Aim answered.
“Because you couldn’t win against her.”
“Why? Didn’t I bring the Demon King an entire magic crystal mine? Why do I have so little influence?”
“Well…”
Apparently, this had not simply been a political marriage.
The Noctana family was a respected noble house that managed a powerful merchant company within the Demon Realm.
But they had made one unforgivable mistake.
Before Adrian united the divided lands of Gehenna—
They had stood against him.
In exchange for sparing their lives, they surrendered their magic crystal mine.
And as proof that their family would not be destroyed—
Lilith entered the Demon King’s Castle as one of his consorts.
“So… my family sold me.”
“N-No, that’s not exactly—”
“So the Noctana family were traitors. My life could have been in danger at any moment, yet they still sent me here. I wasn’t a consort.”
“I was a hostage.”
“You’re misunderstanding! Lady Lilith has never been in danger.”
Ariella quietly raised an eyebrow, though luckily the Dream Demons didn’t notice.
“You’re actually the safest person in the castle.”
“The safest?”
“Of course. You’re completely free from all the jealousy, murder attempts, threats, poisonings, and love rivalries.”
“Why?”
“Because His Majesty doesn’t favor you at all.”
Aim spun around dramatically as if teaching a lesson.
“Lady Cassandra, the First Consort, comes from the Beleza family. They were the Demon King’s right hand when Gehenna was united. They’re ranked number one in political power.”
Then Foris continued proudly.
“Lady Shari, the Second Consort, is the flower of Gehenna’s high society. She’s talented in every form of music and dance. She’s number one in popularity.”
“And me?”
“The Third Consort, Lady Lilith…”
Both Dream Demons hesitated.
“So I’m last in political power…”
“And last in popularity.”
Even when the two Dream Demons mocked her for understanding so quickly, Ariella remained calm.
Power like that…
Popularity like that…
She had already experienced enough of it in her previous life.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
“Then I’m in a very safe position.”
It was an excellent discovery.
One week after awakening in Lilith’s body—
She had finally learned the information she wanted most.
