/
Even those vain thoughts were all her own and Julia began to gradually regain her rather bewildered mind. At this point in time, she thought that she wouldn’t feel any dizziness when she woke up, but she was still worried about Bael’s reaction.
As she was now, if she were to sit still, it had become rather ambiguous for her to continue being held within the arms of this human-hating man and even if she did, she would then move, which eventually broke the order that demanded her not to get out of the bed without his very permission.
‘If both of them might not end very well, wouldn’t it be better to just get scolded for sneaking out then?’
Julia laid down his heavy arms that were around her waist very carefully. She then curled her body up a little before rolling herself over and out of the spacious bed.
She had heard from Agares that Bael was a rather sensitive sleeper, so whenever a disturbance was going on inside the castle, he would immediately get angry and send forth his magic. However, he was now sleeping very deeply in front of her. Just like the mocking goes, he wouldn’t even know that he was being carried on someone’s back*. (T/N : an idiom that means a heavy sleeper, one who could sleep through anything)
‘Anyway, that’s a relief.’
Julia finally reached the entrance by walking so carefully in order to not let her footsteps be heard. And then, she struggled again for quite a long time to open the heavy door silently.
It was then when she carefully stuck her face into the ever so slightly open gap.
“…!”
It was now only morning yet her heart had become all stiff due to the absolutely many surprises.
Beyond the majestic corridor, dozens of demons were staring at her, including Barbatos and Kimaris who had been at the forefront. Even while in the dungeon, she had already encountered some demons, but now, they were more numerous than it was back then.
“Barbatos’s words were actually true. It seems that the Master really liked the key’s different side as well.”
“For some reason, I thought that it was rather odd that Revenna and Kimaris were left alive.”
“It seems that the curtain lecture* works well. I don’t think it’s a very good thing though.” (T/N : a private rebuke by a woman to her spouse as she complains, especially during nighttime)
“It’s all the Master’s decision. Don’t complain about it.”
Barbatos had already restrained those demons who were buzzing with one another. The SIGHT function, which she turned on until she had finally fallen asleep last night, was working once again.
[▷Barbatos
My prediction was proven right. As expected, this way will work much more efficiently. I’ve already brought all the demons whom I could gather, so the rumors will then spread out pretty quickly.]
Julia instantly took a step backwards. She didn’t even know what kind of ‘efficiency’ that Barbatos was talking about, but she felt that it wouldn’t be very good for her either. It was just then.
“Little key!”
“Lady Agares?”
“This is just ridiculous. How badly did he actually do till your eyes had swelled up like this? Your cute and adorable face is all ruined now!”
[▷Agares
Damn, I thought that the Master wouldn’t have any interest in things like affairs. Had I known this could truly happen, I would have eaten her first! Or maybe, even now……]
Agares’s hand, which was holding onto Julia, slowly shifted to her waist. She was only wearing a cloak over her pajamas, so she felt a little uncomfortable with Agares’s meaningful touch.
At that moment, an approaching sound of footsteps began to grab Agares’s hand, albeit lightly.
“Can’t you even see her dying? And can you tell the difference between drooling and holding back?”
“You’re aiming for the Master anyway and I’m just aiming for the little key. Let’s not interfere with each other’s wishes, shall we?”
“Can you please say it properly? I’m actually aiming for the Master’s ‘magic’ and you’re just…”
Revenna paused for an instant. She found it particularly difficult to refer to her as Julia in front of the others. In addition, she didn’t want to call Julia as the ‘key’ as it would then treat her like a mere tool, but she didn’t want to call her Estelle even more so.
“Anyway! What’s the point of drooling over a child who has already been so messed up? The Master wouldn’t have been very gentle with her, so how could this fragile body endure it more?”
Her soft hands that were clad in silk gloves gently caressed Julia’s tear-dried eyelids.
Julia was a bit puzzled by the whole situation. It was rather accurate to say that Bael had a violent personality, but that was actually verbal at most and he didn’t threaten her physically. Nevertheless, Revenna had been treating Julia with much caution as if she was dealing with a fragile thing that was about to break.
When the murmurs of the demons who had been watching them grew louder, Kimaris began approaching without a sound before he stood right in front of Julia. He appeared to be by the door all night long as he was still wearing the same clothes from last night.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Were you here all night?”
“Of course. You are my……”
Just as Kimaris’s hand began reaching out towards Julia, the door behind her back had opened. Bael, who emerged eventually, was still only half-dressed.
He slept until the sun rose right in the middle of the sky and currently, he was slowly relaxing himself while rubbing his nape as if this whole condition had not been so bad after all. It seemed to be just that, but all of the demons in front of the room had fallen to their knees and Kimaris, who was standing right at the end, stepped forward as well before prostrating himself—as if to protect Julia.
‘Should I kneel as well?’
They had all been soldiers before they were demons. On the other hand, she was just an ordinary slave. It was not appropriate at all to greet Bael in that same exact manner.