Chapter 64
The demons were nowhere to be seen anymore.
Before, if I walked through the rundown streets, I’d at least spot a few. But now, it was nothing but people.
Even the village by the bridge leading to the slums.
At this point, we had killed nearly all of them.
Finding a living demon was harder than finding remnants of half-burnt bones.
It had already been a month since I resumed attending the academy, and I had been actively avoiding Ethel and Isabel.
Even so, they still hovered around like pesky flies.
I thought it was clear that I didn’t want them approaching me, yet they seemed desperate to get close.
Whenever they came near the mansion, I simply handed them a cup of tea and sent them on their way.
They tried to talk to me, but there was no reason for us to have a conversation.
Not working made me feel a little guilty, but damn, life was comfortable.
I was lucky to have assigned subordinates to keep an eye on Theo.
Oh, and I managed to smooth things over with the librarian and sent her back to the academy.
I had forgotten about her, and she was nearly losing her mind.
But in that state, she wouldn’t dare speak about me, so in a way, it worked out for the best.
Lately, I had picked up an interesting new hobby.
Or rather, I had been searching for something.
I borrowed a few demons from the facility and started testing different ways to kill them in the interrogation room.
I wanted to know the fastest, least painful method.
Poison seemed painless, but the aftermath was ugly.
Hanging was worse—the disgusting stench of waste, the swollen tongue, the bulging eyes dangling grotesquely.
I didn’t like it.
After spending quite some time experimenting, I realized it was already past dinnertime.
No wonder I was hungry.
I went to the kitchen and caught a chef who hadn’t gone to bed yet, ordering them to bring me whatever they had.
I felt a little bad, like I had stolen their midnight snack, but I was hungry—what else could I do?
After finishing my meal, I returned to my room.
"Ugh—cough, cough!"
I bit down on a cigar, even though I hadn’t smoked in a while.
Alicia ignored my plea not to die, so I figured she wouldn’t mind this much.
Still, I wouldn’t drink.
Alcohol clouded my thoughts.
"I love you. But if I die because of you, I’ll hate you even after death."
That’s what she had said.
I had promised not to smoke, to quit drinking, to wake up early, to make friends, to attend the academy together.
Ah, I guess I failed to introduce her to Theo and Ethel.
"Didn’t you say you were quitting?"
"Knock before you enter."
"You don’t do it either, so it’s a little unfair to expect it from me."
I got up and dragged a chair over for Julian to sit.
Then, I crawled under the bed, pulling out a dust-covered box.
"…If you’ve finally lost your mind, you don’t have to do it in front of me."
"Shut… cough, cough… shut up."
Inside the box, the bottles of alcohol I had hidden were neatly arranged.
I took one out and tossed it to Julian.
If he dropped it, it would be a disaster.
"I always wondered where all your allowance went.
Why is this in your room? Even I have to ration mine."
It was expensive.
I had emptied my pockets without much thought.
Julian examined the bottle for a long time, like a kid receiving a gift, before a question dawned on him.
"Are you really giving this to me?"
"I don’t drink anymore, so why would I care?"
He still looked unconvinced, so I casually threw out an excuse.
"If it really bothers you, bring me a stash of cigars from the office."
"Fair enough."
Julian glanced around my room.
His eyes lingered on the noose, the gun, the pile of medicine bottles, the drugs, the knives scattered carelessly across the floor without even being cleaned.
Then, he opened the bottle, looked for a glass, and realized there was nothing but teacups.
So, he poured the liquor into one.
The strong, burning scent of high-proof alcohol stung my nose.
He pulled out a cigar, fiddling with the flame for a full minute before finally taking a long inhale.
That was going to stink up the place.
"Are you trying to die?"
"I don’t know."
We sat in silence for a while.
Julian seemed to be losing his sense of purpose, just like me.
If we both died, everything would probably fall into the hands of some nameless fool.
Or the emperor would simply take it all for himself.
"By the way, that boyfriend of yours, Theo—he’s been poking around everywhere.
Are you just going to let him be?"
"Where’s he been?"
"Tried sneaking into the facility the other day but got caught.
And lately, he’s been causing a commotion, desperate to run into you."
"Must like me too much."
"Bullshit.
No one acts like that unless they’re preparing to storm the place with weapons."
I should start getting ready to meet Theo soon.
Who would die?
If I was lucky, I’d live, and Theo would die.
If I was unlucky, it’d be the other way around.
Now that I thought about it, I had become the final boss, hadn’t I?
Controlling an entire noble house, committing atrocities that made me the villain in Theo’s eyes.
"Anyway, if you have time to sit here drinking with me, I guess things are wrapping up.
You’ve been busy, haven’t you?"
"Don’t even start.
Who would’ve thought there were so many villages hiding underground?"
Julian had been laughing just a moment ago, but now, his expression completely crumbled.
His face twisted into something almost inhuman, and he started crying—tears he hadn’t even shed when his stomach had been sliced open.
Then, he poured so much alcohol into the teacup that it overflowed and downed glass after glass like it was water.
"Hey, Ellen. You know what?
We shouldn’t be alive."
His hands trembled as he took another drag from his cigar, the liquor barely going down anymore.
"We killed too many.
Too many.
And fuck, the worst part is, I never even killed anyone myself—that’s what makes it even more horrifying."
Sometimes, people needed to break down like this to feel human.
"Kids, adults, women… a-all of them.
Not a single one left behind.
And killing them won’t bring them back."
"Did you think killing them would bring back the woman you loved?"
At that, he stopped crying.
He poured another drink, but instead of finishing it, he set it down beside him.
After a moment, he took a sip and let out a heavy sigh.
Then, as always, he took a long drag of his cigar and spoke in a quiet voice.
For the first time in a while, I saw Julian as he was—buried in paperwork, suffocating under the weight of our choices.
"…I guess that's just how I felt."
So, sentiment, huh? Guess he hadn’t lost it completely.
Sometimes, there were fools who dabbled in necromancy, claiming they could bring back the dead.
But without extraordinary talent, it was impossible.
And if you lacked talent? Then you'd have to compensate with time and sacrifices, bashing your head against the wall to make it work.
And where exactly would you find those? Hah.
We had the means to drag every demon out of the underground and slaughter them, but we didn’t have the power to bring down an entire empire.
Even if we beheaded the emperor, some unknown noble with his bloodline would be propped up like a puppet, and the game would continue.
This empire wasn’t a real country.
It felt more like an exclusive club for aristocrats.
Maybe I felt that way because I had lived in a functional place before.
Well, that’s probably why no one cared how we treated demons.
***
"In two days, there won’t be a single demon left in the capital. Maybe not in the provinces either."
"Perfect."
"Is this what you wanted?"
"If you ask me like that… not exactly."
"What do you mean?"
"I was just looking for something to do.
People fall apart if they don’t have something to do."
"That so?"
"Yeah."
"Honestly, I don’t even know what that means."
"Neither do I. Just forget it."
"Goodnight."
"You too."
Julian staggered slightly as he left my room.
"Smells like booze."
The stench of alcohol was so thick that I opened the window.
Drenched in an odd sense of unease, I collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep.
As always, I went to school and took my seat.
I spent the lessons half-asleep, then rushed off to some random diner for lunch.
After eating, I just had to wait for the day to end.
It should have been just another ordinary day.
But unfortunately, I got caught.
I was at a café, drinking my usual coffee when Theo and his group found me.
"…Ellen, can we talk for a bit?"
"Why do you sound like a heartbroken ex-boyfriend?
Friends can talk anytime."
Especially when they come armed.
Did they know?
They didn’t have the full picture, but they must have known something.
You couldn’t exactly hide the fact that carts loaded with demons kept entering buildings and leaving empty.
I had also heard that a few of my subordinates had run into Theo in the back alleys.
"You came here to talk, didn’t you?
Then stop standing there. Order something and sit down."
At my words, they hesitated before shuffling downstairs to grab their drinks.
It was almost funny.
If they knew even part of the truth, they should’ve been trying to take me down by now.
What should I do?
A gun wouldn’t work in this situation, and they were too far for a knife.
Theo was glaring at me.
Like someone who had barely escaped death by my hands.
As if I had done something unspeakable.
I wanted to sit still, stay composed.
But his next words hit harder than I expected.
"…No matter where I look, I can’t seem to find your brother or your parents."
I couldn’t reach for my gun.
There was murder in Theo’s eyes.