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~Chapter 59~
Elicia was a completely different kind of person from anyone Vincent had ever dealt with.
Noble blood, high status, wealth—on the surface, she was much like any other high-born aristocrat he knew. But what truly struck Vincent was her attitude toward his divine power.
How strange, he thought.
Vincent was renowned for his strength, even in the capital.
Most people spat at his arrogance—right until they needed something from him. When the time came, they always changed their tune, eager to curry favor, desperate to siphon off some of his power.
To one blessed by God, divine power was synonymous with life itself. Surely she must know that.
“I’ve heard that divine power uses a priest’s own life force. It’s too steep a price to pay for a mere scratch like this.”
Why did he keep replaying her short remark over and over in his mind?
Vincent already knew the answer.
Elicia sees me for who I am.
Not as a tool with strong divine power, not as an inconvenient but useful warhorse, but as a person—a man named Vincent.
For a lady presumably unaccustomed to pain, her injury couldn’t have been easy to brush off. And yet, that woman…
“….”
Vincent dropped his gaze.
Out in the snowy garden, the Duke and Elicia were walking together, looking—for once—surprisingly at ease. He had no idea what they were discussing, but the air between them seemed good.
For a moment, their eyes met in the silent dawn.
Something inside him twisted.
I heard their marriage wasn’t going well…
Just as the Duke reached out for Elicia, her physician rushed out from the residence to check her injuries. The Duke paused, withdrawing his hand with obvious reluctance. Vincent caught the sight of the veins standing out on the back of the man’s clenched fist.
Well, this is more interesting than I expected.
His lips curled slowly, as if he’d stumbled on a particularly amusing toy.
4. When I Tried to Dodge History, History Came Looking for Me
A bluish dawn was just creeping into the world.
Nero woke quietly from his nap, curled up beside his sleeping mother.
The snow had stopped, but the heavy fall had left the roads impassable. For now, the humans had decided to spend the night at the residence and wait for the weather to clear.
“Nyaa.”
The sun wouldn’t be up for hours, and it would be at least half a day before Mother woke.
Nero slid quietly off the bed and stared at her bandaged hand, resting on the nightstand.
He nosed it and licked it for a while, but nothing changed.
It must have hurt…
His tail, which had been perked up with anticipation, drooped limply.
[Stop sulking. Did you do it on purpose or what?]
Hngg.
[This is what’s wrong with you. Even when your whole body was broken, you just cried and cried about having to protect your mother. I should’ve picked a different host right then.]
Hngg.
[Alright, fine, I get it!]
Morcartus burrowed under Elicia’s chin and rubbed his cheek against her.
He pressed his magic into every part of her—her bandaged hand and wrist, her side and legs under the covers, her gently rising chest.
For all that he’d ended up in the body of a mere cat, the fact remained: he was a demon lord. No ordinary monster would dare come near Elicia now.
Of course, the side effect was that he’d probably drawn the attention of the Inquisitors—but that, he decided, was the husband’s problem to deal with.
[There. That’s perfect.]
“Nya.”
[I’m exhausted. Do as you want now.]
Morcartus ceded control of the body to Nero without complaint.
He’d tried to unleash his full power to fight the intruders on his land, only for this woman to barge in at the worst possible moment and interrupt his transformation. He’d nearly revealed his true form, and now he was badly drained.
With the body back under his control, Nero dove straight into Elicia’s arms, burying his face in her chest and breathing in her scent. A contented rumble vibrated from his throat.
Honestly…
The demon lord had been feeling strangely sentimental lately.
When this fragile woman had braved the snowstorm to search for him.
When she’d tried to protect him—no, Morcartus himself—by holding him close while monsters fought nearby.
A feeling he’d never known welled up inside him.
He realized, with some shock, that he was getting used to this softness—this warmth.
All because he’d tasted, for the first time, the comfort of being cradled in the arms of a foolish human woman.
Surely I’m not actually turning into a cat just because I’m stuck in this body.
The same Morcartus who once terrorized the Black Continent?
Ridiculous.
He might be stuck playing pet for this woman and her human husband for now, but one day—one day—he’d get a real body, and then he’d show that damn Duke who’s boss.
Hahahahaha!
“Purrrrr….”
His grandiose daydreams fizzled out in the warm, gentle sound of his own purring.
Just lying beside her is enough.
With a snort, Morcartus gave in to the cozy warmth of the bed and drifted off to sleep.
Not that he’d ever admit it, but he liked this too.
The northern soldiers—toughened by a lifetime on the snowy plains—were truly impressive.
They’d spent the entire night clearing the snow around the estate, and by morning they’d opened the roads to neighboring towns.
The moment I found out, I—
“Welcome to Bellamare Village!”
“Sir Ramon, your face has never looked more welcome to me.”
“Ah, such flattering—and delightful—words, my lady.”
—bolted for Bellamare, the western port, desperate to escape the estate crawling with inquisitors.
The biting sea wind nearly froze my face off, but I couldn’t have been happier.
Let the Duke play host to the guests himself.
According to my physician Gilbert, it would be months before the pulpified inquisitors could get out of bed. He also advised that traveling long distances before the bones had set would only make things worse, so Vincent and his group would be stuck at the estate for the foreseeable future.
If I didn’t escape now, I’d end up trapped there too, as the resident lady of the house.
So I made up an excuse about needing to supervise road repairs on the western mountain pass, and made my getaway.
“My back’s about to snap after days on the road. Where do I stay?”
“The Lombard family has a villa here in Bellamare, my lady. We tidied it up in a hurry when we heard you were coming. I wasn’t going to mention it, but I do have a certain flair for interior design—”
As Ramon rambled on obliviously, my expression grew icy.
The baron, who had just climbed out of the carriage, dove right back in.
“A villa? Aren’t those usually out in the middle of nowhere?”
“It’s only eight hours away. The scenery is perfect for relaxing—”
“If you don’t want to see me snap and start breaking things, find somewhere closer. If my back gives out, so do you. Now get me to a soft bed. Understood?”
Since the main roads between the estate and Bellamare were still blocked, we’d had to take a detour along an old military route barely wide enough for a single carriage. It bypassed every village, which meant days of camping out on hard, bumpy ground.
My patience—never thick to begin with—was scraped down to its absolute limit.
I didn’t need a mirror to know my eyes were probably gleaming with homicidal intent.
“That’s the lady, huh…”
“So the rumors are true. Terrifying.”
“If we cross her, we’ll lose our heads. Better be careful.”
I didn’t catch what the Bellamare officials who’d followed Ramon were whispering, but honestly, I didn’t care.
