Chapter 82
Among demons, visiting the human realm was regarded as a kind of heroic tale. This was especially true among fox demons, who considered human livers the finest delicacy.
Sena crossed through a gate that had opened in a province of the Empire and descended to the human realm. It was a gate born from the grief and resentment [1] of knights who had died unjustly, mistaken for rebels.
‘I finally get to taste a human liver!’
Taking the livers of humans was easy. Men fell for her looks without a second thought. Lure them with the promise of s****l contact, and ninety out of a hundred would follow.
The work was so easy that Sena grew arrogant. She felt as though she could seduce any human, and even thought she could steal the liver of the Emperor of this Empire himself.
‘I wonder what my limits are. Is there a good way to test it?’
It was then that she heard about a man who was handsome, good-natured, and wealthy, yet still living alone past the age of thirty.
‘With qualities like those, it’s not that he can’t find a woman, but he’s choosing not to. Is he not interested in women?’
Sena decided she would try seducing that man.
No matter how upright he was, it would make no difference. She was curious to see how many days this target could actually hold out.
Just as rumored, the man possessed outstanding looks. He had wheat-colored hair and amber eyes. It was a little disappointing that he had little muscle and was lean, but he had been born with such a large frame that he did not look frail.
Sena threw herself in front of the carriage he was riding in.
“Aaaah!”
The startled horse reared up on its front legs and stopped. The coachman steadied the horse and rushed over to her.
“Good heavens! Are you alright?”
The man she had been targeting also stepped out of the carriage and approached Sena.
“My goodness, how did this happen…. My lady, are you hurt anywhere?”
“I–I think I hurt my leg.”
Using this day as her opportunity, Sena continued her meetings with the man under the pretense of receiving treatment. Every time she went to see the doctor, the man would come out in his carriage to meet her, and he would see her home after her treatment was finished.
Throughout the time she spent with him, Sena tried hard to seduce him. She would place her hand on his thigh as if by accident, and when he helped her walk, she would subtly rub her chest against his forearm.
But he was made of stone. He would make an awkward expression and draw just the right line so she would not feel embarrassed.
“My lady, I think you are a little too close.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. My leg hurts, so…. Was I leaning on you too much?”
The more the man acted this way, the more stubborn Sena became. But no matter how low-cut her dress was, no matter how she pouted her lips and looked at him with coy eyes, he would not spare her so much as a glance of desire.
In the end, Sena chose a direct approach.
“I have heard that the Young Baron does not see women…. Is there perhaps a particular reason?”
Sena’s gaze drifted, just for a brief moment, to his lower half. It was a jab implying he might have some kind of s****l problem.
Even at the blatant mockery, the man remained composed.
“I have an illness. It is something I inherited from my parents.”
He said his illness was transmitted through blood. And so he did not engage in s****l relations, and not wanting to pass the illness on to his children, he did not marry either.
“The reason I do not see women is for their sake. Would it not be too cruel to marry someone like me, spend a life of celibacy, and never even be able to start a family?”
Fortunately, he had a younger brother. A healthy child who, unlike him, had not inherited their parents’ genetic disease.
He said the family line would continue through that boy. His parents had dismissed his stubborn refusal to marry as a passing rebellion and named him the next heir, but he intended to pass the position to his brother when the time came.
‘What? He had an illness?’
She had thought he was choosing not to see women, but it turned out he couldn’t.
‘A diseased liver won’t taste good.’
Sena lost interest in the man. Or at least, she thought she had. But strangely, every day when the time she used to go to the hospital came around, she kept thinking of that man.
‘Is it the lingering regret over failing to seduce him? Hmm… shall I see it through to the end?’
Sena thought nothing of the feeling. Demons had time in abundance, after all. Unlike humans, whose lifespan was barely a hundred years at most, demons were semi-immortal beings who lived for thousands. For the sake of amusement, she could easily spare a few years.
T/N:
[1] ↩
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