‘How did this happen to me…’
I stared blankly at the ceiling. The lattice pattern on the ceiling was unfamiliar to me.
It wasn’t just the ceiling that was unfamiliar. This insignificant body, devoid of any magic, made me laugh in disbelief.
Just until yesterday…
Master, the Demon King has come to see you.
Lilith? I understand. I’ll go down now.
…I was one of the nine lords of the demon realm.
The nine demons with powers. We were called lords in the demon realm.
Although my martial prowess wasn’t superior to the other lords, I had the favor of the Demon King.
In the demon realm, I was a powerful figure who could bring down even a flying bat.
Yes, that was certainly the case.
‘In this state, it’s shameful to even call myself a demon, let alone a lord.’
I looked around me.
A man with graying hair and a monocle, and a woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties, were looking at me with concern as I lay in bed.
The human who was in the room with me earlier had rushed out when I coughed up blood and brought these two.
The woman had changed my clothes, and the man was examining my body.
‘Did they say they were the physician and the maid?’
The cost of tampering with the magic seal was high. Staying conscious was the best I could do. I didn’t even have the strength to move a single finger.
I frowned at the physician who was examining my body with strange instruments.
“Remove those disgusting things from my body, human.”
I muttered weakly. I wanted to cause a commotion, but I had no strength.
“These are not disgusting. They are medical instruments. It will be over soon, so please bear with it a little longer, Miss.”
The physician explained to me in a calm tone.
A demon being examined by a human. If the other lords heard about this, how much would they laugh at me?
“Remove them. I am fine.”
“I would like to do as you wish, Miss, but unfortunately, it is the Duke’s order. You know well that the Duke’s orders are absolute in this household, don’t you?”
The physician continued the examination, ignoring my words.
The Duke he mentioned must be that human from earlier. The one who slapped me without warning.
I gritted my teeth.
“That damned human, just wait. I will tear his soul to shreds.”
“Unfortunately, that damned human is your father, Miss.”
“What does that matter?”
“…Unless you have given up on becoming the crown princess and are aiming to inherit the dukedom, please refrain from tearing souls.”
The physician spoke to me in a matter-of-fact tone, then cautiously added.
“Are you upset because the Duke is not here right now? The Duke is very busy—”
“Of course not.”
I interrupted the physician’s words with a hollow laugh. Why would I be upset about something like that when I’m not even the real daughter of the Duke?
The physician continued the examination without speaking further.
I gave up resisting and let them do as they pleased.
Meanwhile, I began to think about who might have done this to me.
The magic seal engraved on my soul was quite complex and intricate. Since I couldn’t unravel it, the one behind this magic seal must be no ordinary being.
The first to come to mind was the Lord of Domination.
The Lord of Domination, who boasted the greatest power among the lords, had a heavy and serious demeanor, uncharacteristic of a demon.
However, I always found him unsettling.
‘I don’t like his gaze. Especially the way he looks at me…’
I could never tell what he was thinking. I had a strange certainty that if I ever met with an unexpected accident, the Lord of Domination would be behind it.
Or it could be the Lord of Illusions.
He recently lost a card game and had to give me his most cherished villa.
‘Is he taking revenge because he noticed I tampered with the cards back then?’
It could also be the work of the Lord of Lust.
The Lord of Lust, Belial, also has a deep grudge against me.
‘Come to think of it, this body is exactly his type, enough to make him drool if he saw it.’
Hair as radiant as if woven from golden threads. Eyes that capture the lushness of midsummer. And an innocent expression that knows nothing.
But Belial isn’t smart enough to pull off such a prank, so let’s put that aside for now.
The list of those who hold grudges against me is long. I felt a momentary sense of pride at the true nature of a demon.
As I counted those who would be on the list and the number exceeded double digits, I stopped. There were too many candidates to pinpoint just one.
It wouldn’t be too late to find the culprit after I return to my original body.
‘I’ll make it clear what happens when you mess with me.’
But how do I return? Without being able to use magic, I can’t create a passage to the demon realm.
In the meantime, the physician finished the examination.
“Miss…”
The physician hesitated for a long time before speaking.
“You have some internal injuries, but other than that, you are fine.”
Of course, that was the case. I only coughed up blood because of the magic seal. There was nothing wrong with this body itself.
But humans who can’t read magic wouldn’t know that.
“But I can’t figure out the cause of the internal injuries…”
The physician hesitated for a moment and then asked me in a small voice.
“Miss, did the Duke… do that to you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“…Did the Duke use violence to the extent that you suffered internal injuries?”
“He did slap me once…”
“That wouldn’t cause internal injuries…”
The physician seemed skeptical of my words. He pondered for a moment and then whispered to me.
“Um… if you ever change your mind, please let me know. I can’t offer much help, but I can at least testify for you.”
Ahem.
The physician cleared his throat a few times and then spoke in a slightly louder voice.
“Miss, you are in good health. The internal injuries will heal if you are careful for a few days.”
“What? That can’t be.”
The maid, who had been silent until now, spoke up at the news that I was fine.
Was her name Jessie?
“Look at the blood! How can someone be fine after coughing up so much blood?”
Jessie pointed to the blood-stained negligee she had been holding.
“Jessie, I understand your concern for the Young Miss, but she is in good health. Well, her nutritional status is a bit poor—”
The physician concluded by saying that it wasn’t urgent enough to require action, as most noble daughters eat little.
Even as he said I was fine, the physician’s expression remained dark.
He hesitated for a long time before speaking.
“Just in case, I’ll speak to the Duke separately about the Miss’s health.”
With that, the physician took Jessie to the far corner of the room, away from the bed. There, they began to converse in low voices.
“Jessie, what do you think of the Miss’s condition? I mean, her mental state.”
“Why did her manner of speaking suddenly change like that…”
Is it because I’m in a human body? At first, I couldn’t hear their conversation well, but fortunately, by paying a little attention, I could hear them clearly.
I took a deep breath.
Excited by the fact that I was trapped in a human body, I had acted somewhat impulsively.
The original owner of this body, Isabella, probably didn’t behave like this.
At least among humans, there are specific titles for addressing each other, so they wouldn’t just call each other ‘human, human.’
It seems those two have realized that I’m not actually Isabella…
With all my magic sealed, I won’t be able to handle multiple humans. This body looks like it can’t even lift a fork.
For the first time, I felt a sense of powerlessness, and my heart began to race.
However, the conversation that followed went in a completely unexpected direction.
“You know, doctor, the Miss has always been quite eccentric… Could she be pretending to have amnesia this time?”
In response to Jessie’s question, the doctor shrugged and replied.
“Judging by the change in her manner of speaking, I think regression is more likely this time. Didn’t she already use amnesia last month?”
“Last month was terminal illness. Amnesia was three months ago.”
“Oh dear. Jessie, you must have a hard time.”
“No, I enjoy serving the Miss!”
Listening to their conversation, I tried to guess what kind of person the owner of this body was.
The name of this body is Isabella Dunkeld.
It seems Isabella Dunkeld often engaged in eccentricities along with her misdeeds.
She pretended to have amnesia to gain her family’s attention and even claimed to be terminally ill.
The situation wasn’t as bad as I thought.
While I’m in this body, I don’t have to act particularly, as the humans around me would just see it as ‘another act.’
Isabella was originally that kind of person.
Come to think of it, the fact that this body’s name is Isabella is quite a coincidence.
My real name is also Isabella.
Though the demons around me all call me Bella.
Well, this is just a coincidence. I brushed it off without much thought.
I’ve been a lord of the demon realm for hundreds of years. I’ve survived more dangerous situations than this. I won’t crumble from such a prank.
With that thought, I relaxed. And I began to plan for the future.
First, I will adapt to this body while pretending to be human.
With all my powers sealed, I must not let it be known that a demon inhabits this body. I don’t know how humans would react, and I might encounter an angel.
And I need to find a way to contact my subordinates in the demon realm.
If I press my subordinates, a way to return to my original body will emerge.
Also.
‘I need to understand the situation in the middle realm.’
The demon realm is the land of demons, and the celestial realm is the land of angels. And the middle realm belongs to humans.
This isn’t my first time in the middle realm.
500 years ago, I made a contract with a human. In exchange for lending my power, the man promised to offer me his soul.
And.
Traveling with that man and his companions, I learned how wicked humans can be.
In some ways, they were worse than demons.
Recalling that experience, I clicked my tongue. In a way, that experience allowed me to become a more wicked demon, so I learned a thing or two from humans.
The contract ended poorly, and since then, I haven’t looked at the middle realm.
A human’s lifespan is less than 100 years. With 500 years having passed, several generations have changed, so the middle realm must have changed a lot too.
Since I don’t know when I can return to the demon realm, I need to understand how things work here.
The relationship between humans and angels. How demons are treated in human society.
And.
‘You never know. I might meet that man’s descendants.’
If I do meet them…
I twisted my lips into a crooked smile.
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