The Ring of Bondage - Chapter 3.17

IV.

A place Mikhail Becker could never follow her to. On the outskirts of Hell, which was also Leticia’s hometown, she let time pass in a daze.

Several days had already gone by since she had pushed him away without a word and disappeared as if fleeing, and Leticia wondered what Mikhail was thinking. Though she was in no position to go back and ask.

Leticia stared blankly at the familiar scenery of Hell. The burning heat was no real problem for her as a demon, but that didn’t mean the sight was especially impressive.

Even under normal circumstances, the scenery of Hell was brutal except for places like the residences of high-ranking demons, and the aftermath of the last war had made it even worse.

War. Just thinking of that time made her severed tail feel as if it ached. When the armies of angels had pushed all the way to the outskirts of Hell, Leticia, a lower demon, had nowhere to run. Her home had turned into a battlefield in an instant.

The ones treated as the most insignificant expendables in war were, of course, human souls, but lower demons couldn’t enjoy an easy position either. The moment an arrow of light pierced her tail, which had already been badly bent and twisted, Leticia lost consciousness on the spot.

When she woke much later, she was in the basement of a small cabin. She couldn’t tell why she had collapsed there, but thanks to that, Leticia survived. Among the lower demons who had lived there, she was the only one who remained alive.

They said the battle had been so fierce that even a high-ranking demon had gone missing. The number of lower demons who died hadn’t even been properly recorded. In such a situation, there was no one anywhere who cared about the souls used as war slaves.

Only after setting foot in Hell did Leticia realize what she had done. Mikhail Becker had played a game he absolutely couldn’t lose.

As long as she didn’t love him, his soul was safe. His wish hadn’t been granted. Conversely, if Leticia did come to love Mikhail, even then his soul was safe. Because she would no longer be able to throw his soul into the flames.

Just like now.

Leticia knew very well what happened to a soul that became a slave. She had thought it would be terribly thrilling if Mikhail Becker ended up like that, but at some point, she no longer wanted to see him suffer.

If this was love, then in the end, she must have come to love Mikhail Becker. Though she didn’t want to admit it.

How cunning of you, Mikhail Becker. He had made that wish knowing this would happen. He had known that the one who would lose their soul in the end wouldn’t be him, but Leticia, and had signed the contract without hesitation.

Was he laughing now? Leticia thought of Mikhail’s face. His smile, playful or lewd as it always was, was vivid in her mind. Even now, Mikhail was probably wearing that same face, proud of himself for playing with one foolish demon.

She hated him. She hated him so much she felt as though she might cry. If she gave up on his soul, Hell would take Leticia’s own soul as a slave in its place. She didn’t want to sacrifice her soul for the man who had deceived her. Mikhail didn’t love her anyway. Probably.

Still, perhaps, maybe Mikhail had thought well of her, even just a little. Worthless lingering attachment clung to her and wouldn’t fall away. It could be that Mikhail Becker had simply made a strange wish in a difficult situation, as if giving up on himself, and that it had happened to fit together like this. While they had stayed together and indulged in each other’s flesh every day, perhaps he too had given her at least a small piece of his heart. Perhaps, just a little.

* * *

Even while worthless hope bound Leticia down, time passed. It wasn’t long, but it was enough time for the higher-ups to send a demon to reprimand her.

“You haven’t returned to Hell for a while, so how are your results?”

He wasn’t asking because he truly didn’t know. The higher-ups could check the contents and completion rate of the contracts Leticia had secured in real time. This was merely an interrogation mixed with mockery.