I Was Just Enjoying the Discipline - Chapter 1 - Prologue

Prologue

Several long minutes had passed since they reached the secret passage leading beyond the castle walls. Yet Sophia Burton was unable to take a single step forward.

Outside, deafening battle cries crashed against the air, loud enough to rupture eardrums, proclaiming that a brutal war was already raging between the Holy Knights and the demons. Woven between them came the dying screams of the defeated, along with the heavy, muffled groans of a mighty fortress being torn apart by the invading enemy.

This was the very heart of the castle, its most closely guarded sanctuary. But now that the Holy Knights had breached the fortress, it was only a matter of time before this place was discovered.

Which meant neither the lord of this castle nor the demon who served him had any business idling here. They should have been charging straight to the front lines, commanding their soldiers, slaughtering their enemies, and defending the fortress.

Instead, the two demons stood with their swords leveled at each other, as though the battle outside had nothing to do with them.

“……”

Two pairs of crimson eyes searched one another in silence — carefully, relentlessly, leaving no corner unexplored. They were eyes that would forgive neither the slightest lapse in concentration nor the smallest mistake.

The wall lamps burned in solemn silence, like impartial judges presiding over a colosseum. Beneath their watchful glow, the two demons shifted their footing, tightening their grips on their swords as they prowled for the smallest opening.

Thud. Thud.

The demons’ footsteps echoed indifferently through the heavy, profound silence.

Killing intent rolled through the air, thick enough to steal one’s breath. The atmosphere had been drawn taut by a murderous tension, so cold and oppressive that even an onlooker’s heart might freeze at its edge.

“……”

The instant Sophia Burton silently swallowed the saliva gathering in her mouth, the two demons’ swords crashed together as though they had been waiting for that very moment. Their razor-sharp blades struck at each other’s vital points in the same instant, only to be intercepted in the same breath.

The demon with blazing crimson eyes wore a smile that was not merely composed, but almost amused by the absurdity of it all. The demon whose eyes gleamed a vivid violet, on the other hand, showed not the slightest trace of a smile. His gaze was nothing but naked bloodlust.

“…So you still intend to defy me, Yudel?”

“……”

“I thought that, in consideration of you being one of my favored servants, I had shown you mercy by granting you a chance to earn my forgiveness. It would seem it accomplished nothing.”

The crimson-eyed demon, Eligos, narrowed his eyes. The smile curling across his lips was as captivating as it was carefree.

At first glance, he looked to be in an exceptionally pleasant mood. But Yudel, who had served him for years, and Sophia, who had recently come to know his temperament all too well, both recognized that expression for what it truly was.

It was anything but a good sign. Eligos was displeased. And when Eligos was displeased, he was at his most dangerous.

“You dared lay your hands on what belongs to me, then had the audacity to cast aside the mercy I granted you. A retainer like that deserves nothing less than death.”

“…My apologies, Lord Eligos. But even if I die, Sophie is mine.”

“……”

“Not yours.”

“…I locked you away for a while, and you came back even more foolish than before.”

With those words, spoken alongside a quiet, incredulous chuckle, strength surged into Eligos’s sword. The conversation ended and once more, the battle became a fight to the death.

Steel clashed and sprang apart. They lunged for each other’s vital points, only to be forced onto the defensive when their own lives were threatened in turn. The exchange repeated itself without end. Their razor-sharp sword aura surged like crashing waves. Unless one of them died, this duel would never come to an end.

Sophia knew she had to stop them. Rationally, she understood that much.

And yet, she could not bring herself to move.

Stepping between two demons who were trying to kill each other was madness to begin with. Besides, even if she told them to stop fighting and make peace, neither of them was the sort who would listen.

‘How on earth did it come to this?’

Shivering as a chill burrowed into her skin, Sophia pulled her cloak tighter around herself.

When she had first entered this castle, she had never imagined the story would end like this. She had never expected to find herself surrounded by two demons, both locked in a fight to the death over who would have her.

‘All I wanted was to kill some time, seize a nice opportunity when it came along, and spend the rest of my life in comfort… So how did…’

How had everything gone so terribly wrong?

I just wanted to… enjoy the discipline.