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Chapter 12
A ginger-haired woman leaned against the door with a crooked expression. She was my third fellow trainee but… what was her name again?
“Honestly, I can’t sympathize with the idea of ‘his life being dangerous.’ The Young Master Ian I’ve seen is nothing but angelically beautiful and handsome.”
Her tone was clearly sarcastic. Twisting a strand of her ginger hair around her finger, she stared at me provocatively.
One of the servants couldn’t hold back and spoke.
“That’s because you’ve never served him up close.”
“You’re right. I’ve never been able to serve him up close. Because ‘Cici’ monopolized that position so early that I never even got the chance.”
“Are you saying that’s Cici’s fault?!”
“If it were me, I’d be thrilled to be the Young Master’s exclusive servant. You get to look at that handsome face every day, receive a high salary, and everyone praises you. How easy is that?”
“Rezeta!”
So her name was Rezeta. Thanks for helping me remember.
“Do you really think our dear Cici, who’s the same age as that beautiful young lord, wouldn’t harbor even the slightest dark feelings?”
“Rezeta, stop!”
“She just feels so sly to me. Look now. She doesn’t say a single word. Just waits for someone else to defend her.”
I just… didn’t have a chance to butt in.
“Stop pretending to be innocent.”
At that malicious remark, I swallowed my remaining bread and finally opened my mouth.
“You really want to talk like that to a twelve-year-old?”
“Planning to use your age as a shield?”
“Objectively, I am young.”
“The cook’s daughter, Hannah, helps in the kitchen at just eight years old. But you’re going to use age to brag?”
“If Hannah, who’s four years younger than me, didn’t work in the kitchen and spent every day snacking instead, I still wouldn’t say anything…”
In 21st-century Korea, you’d be in middle or high school, and I’d still be in elementary school.
Is her policy something like: “Even if my opponent is an elementary kid, I’ll go all out”?
I didn’t remember Rezeta’s exact age, but it was obvious she was at least four years older than me.
“Just you wait. One day, I’ll expose the darkness inside you.”
“There’s nothing black to expose, so what exactly are you going to reveal?”
“Just listen to how she talks. Does that sound like a twelve-year-old to you?”
“You complain no matter how I talk…”
“Just wait. One day I’ll rip off your mask and take the position as the Young Master’s exclusive servant.”
“If you wanted that, you could’ve just asked Miss Marguerite directly…”
Bang.
With a loud slam, Rezeta stormed off, leaving only the trembling door behind.
…along with the snacks and servants.
“Cici, don’t mind her too much. Rezeta’s always full of complaints. Everyone she works with dislikes her.”
“Yeah, Cici. Nobody thinks like she does except Rezeta.”
Thankfully, the other servants began comforting me one by one.
Even the girl who cried first apologized to me.
“I’m sorry, Cici.”
I smiled and patted her shoulder.
“It’s fine. I don’t care. I’m just… a little worried about Rezeta.”
“Worried? What’s there to worry about with someone like her?”
Another servant chimed in.
“Right. She acts like she’s jealous of you, but Rezeta’s in charge of managing Lady Rosa’s dressing room. Most servants envy that position. Among the mansion’s new hires, she’s probably living the easiest life.”
Still… people like that always end up causing trouble later.
In Temple of Heavenly Evil, the first victims of demons were always those petty, narrow-minded opportunists.
Among the servants, those foolish enough to chase power and comfort.
Rezeta fit that description a little too well.
“Do you think Rezeta knows even a single rule related to Young Master Ian?”
My question was met with scornful laughter.
“Not at all! She knows nothing about him. If she did, she’d never talk like that.”
“Exactly. If she’d ever once seen Young Master Ian smiling brightly in front of a corpse lying in a ditch, she wouldn’t say things like that.”
Just how many servants had Ian Brighton traumatized…?
Even though dessert time ended on a sour note thanks to Rezeta, it wasn’t that important.
Right now, all my attention was on the upcoming picnic.
“Which dessert does the Young Master like most out of these?”
“Are you telling me to taste-test right now or what?”
Ian, who had been lying on the back garden lawn sunbathing, looked at me as if I were ridiculous.
It was a warm noon. His blond hair sparkled under the sunlight.
Looking at him like this… I could kind of understand how Rezeta felt.
Yeah. If you only saw this scene, you’d think Ian Brighton wasn’t a demon spawn but an angel.
“I want to include your favorite foods in the picnic basket. Think of it like a preference survey.”
“Just pack anything. Why do you care so much?”
“Of course I care! It’s your first picnic ever.”
Ian Brighton had hardly ever left the estate grounds.
Picnics, and even simple outings, had nothing to do with him.
Apparently, he had lived somewhat normally when he was younger. But every time he met someone, bizarre incidents occurred.
Eventually, the Duke and Duchess confined their son inside the mansion.
They saw him as a danger. And honestly, they weren’t entirely wrong.
Maybe because he was half-confined like this, Ian became even harsher toward those beneath him.
Or maybe… that’s just how he naturally was.
“Is the fact that this is my first picnic really that important to you?”
As I was lost in thought, Ian’s voice gently reached my ear.
His tone was much softer than before. By now, I’d learned this meant he was in a good mood.
I didn’t know what Ian Brighton was like at 10 p.m., but at noon, he surprisingly loved flattery.
‘Just like when he asked whether his happiness was important to me…’
Suddenly that crossed my mind.
Maybe the “human” Ian Brighton—not the demon—was close to being affection-starved.
He was both demon and human. The one destined to destroy the world… yet still just a boy barely ten.
He possessed both the desire to push someone into the abyss and the longing for gentle affection.
Those two conflicting desires probably isolated him even more.
“Young Master.”
Maybe I was overthinking it.
Maybe Ian was perfectly satisfied with his life, and I was the only one pitying him like I’d written some tragic script.
“But anything related to you is important to me.”
Yet when I said that… Ian Brighton’s ruby eyes suddenly shone brilliantly.
There was still no smile on his face, but some faint light flickered there.
It was hard to look away.
‘If you fall for the villain, your doom begins.’
Get a grip, Cici.
“Sometimes I wonder where idiots like you fall from.”
His usual rude tone finally returned, and I was relieved.
Good. At least I wasn’t going to end up wrapped around his finger.
“Am I the first servant who’s blindly devoted to you?”
“Blindly devoted…”
He repeated my half-joking words thoughtfully.
Then he suddenly grabbed my wrist.
Ian yanked me toward him.
Before I knew it, his face was right in front of mine.
“‘Blindly devoted’?”
Why was he so hung up on that word?
“Are you blindly devoted to me?”
“You must really like that expression, Young Master.”
“Answer. Are you?”
“Of course. Unless you kick me out, I have no reason to ever leave you.”
With this level of flattery, I should earn enough points for the day.
Ian’s lips curved faintly. Another sign he was pleased.
“Use that bakery from last time.”
“Huh?”
“That cheap bakery we stopped by at the market a month ago.”
“Oh, that one?”
The bread there was good. Thanks to Ian buying everything I picked, I feasted that night.
Come to think of it, Ian gave me bread, and the Duchess gave me cake.
Do mother and son both shower people with food when they’re happy…?
“You even enjoyed that low-quality bread.”
“I thought it tasted great.”
“If you liked it, then do that. I’m paying for everything anyway.”
“…Wait. Does that mean the picnic basket menu should be things I like?”
Ian Interpreter activated.
If he didn’t deny it, it meant yes. If he snapped, it meant “no but also yes.”
He stared at me with a blank face for a while. Then finally spoke, dryly.
“Yeah.”
Not just agreement—enthusiastic agreement.
Shocked, I muttered,
“Is the world ending tomorrow…?”
“That would be amusing. Are you dissatisfied even when I’m being nice?”
“No! No, not at all! It just doesn’t feel real!”
“But in exchange.”
Cutting off my excitement, Ian sat up.
“Keep your word. ‘A blindly devoted and loyal servant.’”
Under the brilliant sunlight, his crimson eyes gleamed dazzlingly.
“The moment you turn your gaze to anyone other than me… I’ll kill you.”
