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Chapter 5
They Will Fall into the Bottomless Abyss on Their Own
This was a lucky opportunity.
Of course, becoming one of the demons she had always despised was humiliating.
It was a sin that would require endless atonement.
Even so—
No matter how cruel fate was, God always left behind one path of salvation.
For her, that salvation was Lilith’s position.
So what if she was ignored?
So what if her pride was hurt?
So what if no one loved her because she was insignificant?
Attention.
Followers.
Admiration.
They were all like dreams that disappeared the moment people turned away.
“Lady Lilith! You’re really not going?”
“I don’t believe this! Last time you got angry because you were only a few seconds late! What happened to you?”
The Dream Demons took turns stomping their feet in frustration.
It made no difference.
Lilith had already decided to enjoy this unpleasant comfort.
She stood on the balcony where even the light from the floating sphere barely reached.
She raised a hand to block what little light still shone on her.
“I’m not going.”
“The Demon King will cross the main castle bridge after the council meeting! There’s almost no time left! We have to run!”
Are these two obsessed with the Demon King or something?
Lilith remembered the man’s crimson eyes.
A shiver immediately ran through her body, making her instinctively pull her shoulders inward.
That vicious bastard… wearing the face of an Archangel.
Even thinking about it again felt unfair.
When Foris and Aim realized Lilith truly wasn’t moving, they fell into despair.
—
“Young Lady, if you become the Demon King’s favorite, won’t we become the maids of the future Queen?”
—
When they had first arrived at the castle with Lilith, that tiny hope had comforted them.
Their childish mistress had been determined to become the Demon King’s favorite above everything else.
But now—
After the miracle of the Demon King finally visiting this residence—
Instead of taking advantage of the opportunity, she had become completely unmotivated.
The Dream Demons couldn’t understand it.
“You promised you’d win the Demon King’s heart! You went through all that effort just to match his tastes! We bathed you in the rare mud from the River Styx every time! You convinced the dressmaker outside the castle to keep giving you clothes on credit! What about the flower perfume you secretly made from blossoms stolen from Lady Cassandra’s garden?”
Soon they were listing even stranger things—
Hair from baby horses.
Fish gills.
One bizarre item after another.
They became so emotional that even their pale pointed ears turned bright red.
Lilith let out a sigh.
…The Demon King likes things like that?
Just imagining his tastes made her feel sick.
It seemed monsters had strange preferences too.
Just how far did that foolish woman go to make that man notice her?
“You said you loved him.”
“You said you were in love with him.”
It was unbelievable.
“You said you’d become such an unforgettable consort that if you disappeared for even one day, he’d feel something missing and eventually come looking for you himself! You said you’d become part of the Demon King’s daily life!”
“So what? Should I tie a rock to my feet and throw myself into the sea too?”
Lilith glared at them.
The Dream Demons immediately waved their hands and avoided her eyes.
“N-No… don’t say things like that. You promised you’d seduce the Demon King and improve our lives too…”
Pretending not to hear their weak voices, Lilith collapsed onto the worn-out sofa.
The faded black fabric reminded her of withered grass.
It matched her mood perfectly.
Lilith…
She truly loved him.
“…Just like I did.”
Someone who had never been loved by anyone…
Yet possessed endless love herself.
A wave of irritation rose inside her.
An hour later—
When it was time for the Demon King to take his walk—
She didn’t move.
Another hour later—
When he was supposed to leave the reception hall—
She still didn’t move.
Another hour later—
When he entered his study—
She hadn’t taken a single step outside the remote residence.
The Dream Demons were completely shocked.
Treating the great ruler of Gehenna as if he were nothing more than a fish head lying in the marketplace was already unbelievable.
But this…
This was even worse.
“Lady Lilith… what should we do with this one?”
“Hmm.”
“Should we throw him into the fire? They say Hellfire has been burning especially fiercely lately! The giant tending the flames doesn’t hold back at all! They say it’s the biggest fire in history!”
“Hell…fire? For something this small? Maybe… prison? Wouldn’t imprisonment be enough?”
“Huh? That’s too light! Ah! Of course! You mean lock him inside the Bottomless Abyss where his soul will be completely erased!”
Lilith’s eyes widened in surprise.
She already knew evil could never deliver fair judgment.
But this…
This was absurd.
“Isn’t the Bottomless Abyss your greatest punishment?”
“The Bottomless Abyss? Not really. There’s no pain there. These days, plenty of prisoners actually beg to be sent there instead.”
The Bottomless Abyss.
An endless space without a bottom.
A place where time stretched on forever.
No thoughts.
No emotions.
No joy.
One simply continued existing.
Only breathing.
Nothing more.
Heavenly punishment became nothing but cruelty when it crossed the line.
Lilith—
Or rather, Ariella inside Lilith—
Still believed that.
The Dream Demons casually accepted the parchment she had signed.
Then they screamed.
“What?! This is practically abandoning your duties!”
They stared at the document again and again.
Their eyes nearly popped out.
“Lady Lilith! We told you that handling low-ranking prisoners is your responsibility! It’s one of the duties assigned to you in the castle! Before, you always wanted to burn every single one of them! How can you suddenly pardon all thirty prisoners?”
Looking completely disappointed, they pushed the parchment back toward her.
Then they doubted their own ears.
“Anyone can see they’ve been treated unfairly.”
“…What?”
“These cases are too small to even deserve a trial. What exactly did this child do?”
“He poured goat’s blood into the River Styx! You always said the younger they are, the harder they should be punished…”
“Everyone makes mistakes.”
“You always said troublemakers should be eliminated before they grow up…”
“Cutting off an arm because it hurts is the act of a fool.”
“That child already knows what kind of woman Lilith Noctana is.”
“The fear of being burned alive is punishment enough.”
The only enjoyable time in this miserable residence had always been judging others.
The Dream Demons often competed to see who could invent the cruelest punishment.
Sometimes their childish mistress displayed frightening creativity.
Words like unfair…
Or everyone makes mistakes…
Were words the original Lilith would never have spoken.
It seemed the deadly poison had stolen not only her memories—
But her personality as well.
While the Dream Demons were still panicking, the clock in the small reception room struck the hour.
It was time for another judgment.
At that exact moment, a servant girl was thrown into the residence with both hands tied.
Foris smiled brightly.
“Lady Lilith! This one tried to steal your cloth! She’s a terrible criminal!”
“Yes! You’ve been waiting to punish her!”
Aim quickly added.
Lilith couldn’t understand how demons like these had the nerve to call someone else evil.
The newly arrived demon bit her lip so hard it trembled.
There was more anger than fear in her eyes.
“You stole my little sister’s clothes first!”
“They were everything she earned after years of working under those nobles!”
“You took them!”
Lilith silently looked at the woman, whose eyes were filled with tears.
Meanwhile, the Dream Demons happily suggested water torture.
Or stripping her naked and throwing her into a monster cage.
Only after a long silence did Lilith speak.
“So she stole cloth from this residence.”
“Foris.”
“Has this happened before?”
“What did I do then?”
“There was another maid who did the same thing.”
“You ordered her lips to be branded thirty times with a hot iron.”
“Hehe.”
How disgusting.
Lilith took back every bit of sympathy she had felt for the woman whose body she now possessed.
She wasn’t simply devoted.
She had been genuinely cruel.
“Use the branding iron.”
“Oh! Lady Lilith! This arrogant mouth will finally—”
“You will personally brand all thirty pieces of cloth from this residence.”
The servant girl froze.
Even the smiling Dream Demons became speechless.
“But I don’t want to wear cloth touched by your hands.”
“Take every branded piece with you… and dispose of them however you like.”
That was the end of the judgment.
Lilith had clearly finished speaking.
“Dispose of them.”
In other words—
Take them.
Anyone with half a brain would understand.
The maid had been certain Lilith was hiding some cruel trick.
Yet the moment she heard,
“Judgment finished,”
she stared in disbelief.
Before Lilith could change her mind, she hurriedly bowed and ran away.
The Dream Demons nearly fainted.
“Lady Lilith! Do you realize what you’ve done?! Do you think cloth falls from the sky?! Even the Noctana family can barely send more now!”
“Never build your happiness on someone else’s misery.”
“You foolish Dream Demons.”
The cold, quiet voice made both Dream Demons freeze.
“If you live that way…”
“Then every time someone else becomes happy…”
“You will become unhappy all over again.”
The Dream Demons whispered,
“What is she talking about?”
But Lilith had already closed the curtains, shutting them outside.
Silence filled the room.
Hypocrite.
Lilith quietly whispered to herself.
Her closest friend.
The man she had loved.
She wished every moment of their lives would be filled with misery.
Preaching such words made her nothing more than a hypocrite.
She slowly shook her head.
No.
She had no intention of finding happiness by cutting off their arms…
Their legs…
Or holding their lives in her hands.
If I truly become a monster…
Then I will throw myself into the Bottomless Abyss.
She would watch them regret everything.
She would make them suffer from the weight of their own remorse.
And she herself—
Would remain imprisoned forever inside a living hell of her own making.
