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Chapter 9
Demonic Nature, the Aura of Seduction
‘She’s reacting like this again.’
Adrian admitted that this was childish.
He hadn’t intended to threaten her or play any tricks.
He had simply been… a little—no, astonishingly—surprised that she could stand this close to him without reacting the way she used to.
Then he found even that thought pathetic.
A faint laugh escaped him.
He felt like a child for being so bothered by a woman whose eyes showed not the slightest ripple.
It was mockery directed at himself.
But Lilith seemed to think he was laughing at her.
A moment ago, she had looked at him with the indifference one might show a stone.
The instant he let out that quiet laugh, however, her entire expression turned defensive.
‘Where have I seen eyes that rebellious before?’
Where else?
On the blood-soaked battlefield…
In the eyes of his greatest enemy.
‘…Have I lost my mind too?’
Adrian was lost in thought.
Then suddenly—
“Ah!”
“Lilith!”
He had only intended to step back and end his foolish imagination.
Instead, Lilith seemed to think he was coming even closer.
She hurriedly stepped backward.
The shallow water touching her heels instantly rose past her ankles toward her knees.
In that split second—
Adrian wrapped an arm tightly around her waist.
Lilith, who had been falling backward, instead stumbled forward into him.
Her short scream echoed…
Then silence followed.
Only the gentle waves made by distant Sylphs disturbed the stillness.
Lilith’s blue-violet hair spilled over Adrian’s arm.
Looking at her up close…
He realized she was beautiful.
It seemed she had finally stopped covering herself in excessive makeup.
Her pale face looked healthier than before.
With the black lake behind her, her strangely colored hair fluttered in the wind.
Her white face looked like something painted in watercolor.
Adrian held her as though embracing a woman’s body.
Lilith panicked and struck his shoulders repeatedly.
He had no intention of letting go.
“I don’t even know everything that lives beneath this black lake.”
“So if you’re dragged under…”
“There’ll be no saving you.”
“But you were the one who—!”
“I was what?”
“…Your Majesty was the one playing around first!”
“Playing around?”
“This?”
Seeing her glare at him, Adrian laughed again.
“Let me go.”
“No.”
Since things had already come this far…
He suddenly wondered if he should act even more immaturely.
Perhaps the mischievous Nightmare Demons wandering around the Demon King’s Castle had cast some illusion over him.
Because this moment…
Standing beside the black lake and staring endlessly into Lilith’s eyes…
Felt completely absurd.
“Let go!”
“If I do, you’ll fall into the lake.”
“If you don’t like it…”
“Just assume my little joke isn’t over yet.”
She looked at him as though asking,
What kind of ridiculous man is this?
It amused him.
She was troublesome…
Yet she kept showing expressions he had never seen from her before.
Once…
She had proudly declared that a consort’s duty was to keep her lord smiling.
Perhaps because of that…
Even though any other man would have grown tired of such behavior immediately…
Adrian found he didn’t dislike it.
It almost felt as if he had suddenly developed an entirely new taste overnight.
“If this were the old you…”
“You would’ve loved this.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You would’ve fainted from happiness.”
“W-What?”
“Was I really like that?”
Adrian didn’t answer.
Lilith, assuming he genuinely meant it, frowned.
“That’s called narcissism!”
The moment she complained…
His shoulders shook.
Unbelievably…
He was laughing.
His quiet chuckle soon became louder.
Before long…
He was laughing out loud.
As a result, Lilith, trapped against his chest as though tied there, became painfully aware of his body.
The closer they were pressed together…
The more numb her hands and feet felt.
“Let me go.”
“I’d rather fall into the lake!”
The black water occasionally brushed against her calves.
Still trapped inside the man’s strong arms…
Lilith desperately pushed against his chest with both hands.
She hated how shamelessly he simply stood there, clearly enjoying this.
“Uh…?”
Forgetting he was even the Demon King…
She struggled with all her strength.
Then—
Smack.
She accidentally knocked open the robe he was wearing.
It wasn’t intentional.
The black robe, as dark as he was, slipped to one side.
Part of his upper body was exposed.
“…”
The moon-like sphere hanging in the sky illuminated Adrian’s broad shoulders…
And the perfectly sculpted muscles across his chest.
Lilith’s eyes grew enormous.
“I-I…”
“I didn’t mean to…”
Her awkward stammer made Adrian bite his lip to stop himself from laughing.
He admitted it.
Seeing her flustered like this…
Was much better than having her calmly look at him as though he were an insect.
“But…”
“Why does this keep falling down?”
She awkwardly held up her thumb and index finger, as though afraid to touch him.
Every time the robe slipped lower, she nervously pulled it back over his shoulder.
The sight was almost ridiculous.
If only it had stopped there…
He could have dismissed this entire encounter as nothing more than a strange dream in the middle of the night.
“Damn it.”
Looking at her embarrassed, flushed face…
Adrian suddenly acted on impulse.
His hand slid to her waist and gently squeezed her side.
Before reason could stop him…
His hand had already moved.
Through the thin layer of cloth…
He could feel the graceful curve beneath it.
Lilith, who had been frozen stiff…
Suddenly made up her mind.
Her eyes flashed.
Her hand shot toward his throat—
A perfect strike aimed at his vital point.
At that exact moment…
Adrian pressed a finger against her lips.
Her hand…
Which had been trying to attack without hesitation…
Fell limply in midair.
A strange sensation washed over her.
It was frightening…
Yet somehow unfamiliar.
Even while Adrian’s finger slowly traced the inside of her soft, damp lips…
Lilith continued staring directly into his eyes.
Their gazes intertwined silently.
His finger slowly invaded her personal space.
It resembled the illusion Poris and Aim had shown her.
Yet…
His eyes were completely different.
Adrian’s crimson gaze wasn’t overflowing with lust or desperate desire like the illusions created by the Nightmare Demons.
“…Mmph…”
Instead…
He touched her lips like someone exploring an unknown world.
As his finger brushed past the soft flesh and lightly traced her teeth…
He activated his unique ability.
‘I shouldn’t do this.’
His Demonic Nature—
The Aura of Seduction.
It was an ability that tempted, enchanted, and forced others into submission.
It was also…
The ability Adrian hated the most.
It only worked through direct physical contact.
According to Adrian himself…
It was a cheap and underhanded trick.
Most importantly…
Because it began by touching another person’s body…
He had never once used it before.
‘Just this once.’
He repeated those words to himself.
Then…
He embraced Lilith as though she might shatter.
“Lilith.”
“For three years…”
“You were never any threat to me.”
“And now…”
“You’ve entered my private territory…”
“And even tried to attack me.”
“I wasn’t attacking you!”
“It was an accident…”
“I mean…”
“You suddenly—”
“You’re my consort.”
“Is it really so cruel for me to touch you?”
“Mmph…”
“What are you doing…?”
“Tell me the truth.”
“Lilith.”
“What are you really thinking?”
Then…
Without thinking…
He gently bit her ear.
Judging by her expression, even his breath touching her skin disgusted her.
Yet…
Perhaps because of the Aura of Seduction…
She no longer struggled.
‘…This really is unfair.’
No…
It was even worse than childish.
It was cowardly.
***
‘What is this strange feeling?’
She hadn’t meant to attack him.
For just a moment…
The illusion Poris and Aim had shown her overlapped with reality.
Her body had reacted on instinct.
Taking a fighting stance was simply second nature to her.
Even as she raised her hand, she had already thought,
‘Ah… I’ve made a mistake.’
When Adrian suddenly moved…
She had barely managed to stop herself.
She had considered herself lucky.
If I stab the Demon King’s throat with this body’s strength…
The lightest punishment would probably be execution.
She had already decided.
She would insist that she was weak.
That she had only flailed her arms in panic.
That it had all been an accident.
But…
Adrian’s next action…
Was completely unexpected.
‘Why can’t I breathe properly?’
Heat spread through her body.
Her ears rang as though she were walking among clouds.
The decadent, sinful face of the Demon King suddenly looked unbelievably beautiful.
It felt as though…
He would accept everything about her.
Her caution slowly melted away.
Her body felt strangely light.
His jet-black hair gently swayed.
His dark crimson eyes sparkled like precious gems.
Her stomach churned.
‘It’s a mental attack!’
Out of habit, Lilith tried to raise her hand again.
Then she stopped.
There was no benefit in letting him discover her true combat skills.
So…
Should she simply endure it?
Wouldn’t execution be better than submitting to this man?
And what exactly counted as “submission”?
Would she have to surrender her body too?
…Wait.
It wasn’t even her body.
Countless thoughts raced through Lilith’s mind.
Even if she was physically weaker…
Defending against mental attacks wasn’t particularly difficult.
She had endured brutal training to resist torture without confessing.
She had learned to stop mind-controlling monsters from invading her thoughts.
Changing bodies couldn’t erase all those years of training.
The Nightmare Demons’ childish illusions were one thing.
But this…
This was an attack from the Demon King himself.
Should she resist it?
Lilith quietly relaxed.
Her body went limp.
…Or should I let him think he’s won?
