The Incubus Archduke Dreams of a Pet Human - Chapter 42

‘What if Lord Asmod really drives me out of the Demon Realm?’

If that happened, finding the cause of the illness would become a distant hope. Theticia looked up at Jess, who was shaking her bonnet as if troubled.

“Jess……. How should I go about easing Lord Asmod’s anger?”

At Theticia’s question, Jess gave a light nod of her bonnet.

***

“Did I not tell you? Humans are wicked beings. The sort who will do anything for their own benefit. To come back at once reeking of Archduke Levia’s scent, what a truly cunning wench.”

Rumpel rattled off his counsel to Asmod, who had returned to his office. Asmod, whether Rumpel was talking or not, downed glass after glass of the liquor Levia had made. If he did not do at least this much, it felt as though he would not be able to dispel the irritating sensation.

“To begin with, how about thoroughly grinding down her soul? There seems to be no better method for stably extracting mana over the remainder of her lifespan.”

An ordinary human would not be able to live out their natural lifespan amid the Demon Realm’s dense concentration of mana. However, that human called Theticia, if only her soul were extracted, would be able to supply mana smoothly without causing trouble.

At Rumpel’s words, Asmod set the glass down with a sharp sound.

“If the soul is destroyed, my body does not respond to that stupid-looking face. What am I supposed to do then?”

Rumpel shook his head with an expression of utter distaste.

“Is this that fastidiousness again? A completely useless chronic affliction. A chronic affliction that goes against the blood of an Incubus. If you are to stand proudly as an Archduke, you must overcome such fastidiousness.”

“Rumpel, if I told you to come back to life, could you do it? If I told you to leave that urn behind, could you do it?”

“How could that possibly be the same? This is not something that can be overcome by willpower!”

“……Is this not precisely because I cannot overcome it by willpower either?”

Those foolish faces, steeped in lust and drunk on the mana of an Incubus. Faces that, having lost their souls, wavered without focus like inanimate matter.

The humans he had encountered in his father’s Sodom Hall all wore such faces.

No matter how beautiful or enticing the mana a human possessed, not a single one stirred anything in Asmod but revulsion.

Except for Theticia.

Asmod took another gulp of the green-hued liquor. The dense poison drew the intoxication deeper.

‘I made a mistake. I should have shown her only the good and coaxed her. Even that would not have been enough. I moved too fast.’

Up until now, everything had been flowing perfectly.

An unexpected incident had occurred at the ball, but thanks to it, he had been able to gain Theticia’s favor. He had deliberately chosen the full moon and taken her to Moon-Viewing Hill precisely to steal her heart completely.

At the thought that she could see the faces of demons other than himself, his composure had shattered. To obtain the certainty that she was his, he had failed to restrain the impulse to draw mana from her.

He should have stopped there.

He had even grown angry at the mana of Levia he sensed from Theticia. He himself could not understand why such violent emotions had surged forth.

Biting his lip, Asmod bound his chaotically unraveled thoughts back together with reason.

‘……I am simply anxious that I might lose a precious mana pouch.’

Once she is completely within his grasp, such unease would quickly subside.

“How should I earn a human’s favor? She must be grateful for what I give her and believe that only I can give it.”

“Is there really any need to earn her favor? You could simply collect her soul…….”

Ignoring Rumpel, Asmod slowly retraced Theticia’s words.

“I was going to embroider a handkerchief and give it to you.”

The ebony desk was gouged deeply beneath the hard line of his fingernails. Truly, she had been just one step away from yielding completely.

“Theticia was going to give me a handkerchief as a gift. At the very least, it is certain that she holds a special favor toward me.”

“Ah-ha! That is how all human schemes go. Are they not trying to shake one’s heart with some paltry gift? And then, in a flash, they chase their own gain and fall into another demon’s grasp.”

So long as she could see the faces of other demons, Asmod could not be treated the same as the rest.

To her, Asmod had to be the most special of all.

“What must I give her to make her wholly mine?”

“Are you even listening to what I am saying?”

Intoxication heavy upon him, Asmod was no longer listening to Rumpel’s words. He stared blankly at the mirror in his office. Theticia, who should already have returned to her room, was still nowhere to be seen.

Knock. Knock.

At the sudden sound, Asmod lifted his head. Servants who were like his own limbs, and the ghostly maids, did not pass through the doorway in such a manner.

“Lord Asmod?”

Through the cautiously opened door, soft platinum hair spilled through the opening.