The Ring of Bondage - Chapter 3.2

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Leticia stared fixedly at her target from a distance. For a human who gave off such a strong scent of sin, he was far too beautiful. The shining blond hair that fell over his delicate face even looked sacred at a glance. Wasn’t the robe he wore even from the theological academy?

“No wonder the direction felt ominous.”

Leticia fell into thought, wondering if this might be a trap meant to lure out demons by artificially manipulating the scent of sin. That hesitation only ended after the man who had just left the theological academy building called a carriage and eventually arrived at a luxurious mansion.

She had gone a month without any results, so she was in no position to be picky about whether it was a trap or not.

“Hello, theological student. The smell of sin is stinging my nose. Did you have an orgy inside the temple or something?”

Leticia revealed herself before the man and smiled brightly. Normally, she would have whispered a wish she could guess into his ear while gradually revealing her form, but her target was both a villain with tremendous potential and someone whose wish she couldn’t predict.

Unless she was going to spend years working to uncover his wish, it seemed better to suddenly appear, reveal her identity, and ask him directly.

However, for that to work, the other party had to be startled by her appearance…

“A demon?”

At the question the man asked with a smile after briefly stopping short, Leticia frowned. The man calmly identified what she was without being surprised or frightened.

If he had recognized that she was a demon, shouldn’t he at least be flustered? Perhaps this really was a trap.

As he looked at the hesitant Leticia, the man continued gently, as if he had seen right through her thoughts.

“We learn about the existence of demons at the theological academy too, so there’s no need to be so surprised.”

That couldn’t be a reason for the man to be so calm. But Leticia forced herself to accept that perhaps the theological academy trained its students not to be surprised even when they saw demons. Besides, if she was going to keep living without any results like this, maybe it would be better to fall into a trap and meet her end.

In the end, Leticia made up her mind, folded and hid her wings, then considered what to say next. What attitude should she take to draw out a contract in a situation like this? She didn’t have enough experience to skillfully handle unexpected situations. This time too, it was the blond man who led the conversation.

“I don’t have anything that could be called a wish, but come in, if that’s fine with you.”

“There’s no way a human without a wish exists.”

Leticia answered reluctantly, but she still followed him into the mansion. It was a space that was luxurious and somehow strangely empty. If asked what was strange about it, she wouldn’t know what to point out, but neither did it feel like a natural home. In the midst of that, the man guided Leticia to the drawing room with graceful movements and even brought out tea himself.

Treating a demon as an honored guest, hah. And he was a theology student, no less. Watching Leticia hesitate, unable to easily pick up the teacup, the man smiled once again.

“I didn’t put anything like holy water in it. Nor any other sacred element. I swear it in the name of God.”

“Doesn’t the oath you just made seem excessively sacred?”

“That’s not harmful to the body, is it?”

It felt unpleasant. Everything about this place was suspicious. That man smiling wickedly with an angelic face, the somehow awkward appearance of the mansion, and even this tea he had brewed himself without a single servant. As she continued thinking, Leticia only then realized that there wasn’t a single servant in this mansion.

“Why are there no servants here?”

“Do you need servants too? What a picky demon.”

“No, what I mean is…”

“It’s fine, I know what you mean. I’ll hire servants when I need them.”

It was difficult to seize control of the conversation. She couldn’t draw out a contract like this. Would it have been better if she had properly taken the initiative from the start? Leticia pondered as she fiddled with the handle of the teacup. Her seniors would know how to deal with a situation like this, but she was a rookie of only a little over a month.

“Are you going to keep staring into that teacup?”

Discomfort, ominousness, and every other kind of worry. The sweet scent coming from the man slipped temptingly between them. Wouldn’t it be alright? The complacent thought spread slowly, like drops of ink on parchment.