Welcome to the Demon’s Cabin - Chapter 61

“…….”

At the long silence, Irene’s eyes went wide. Her face suddenly drew close. As if unable to believe it, words came pouring out in a rush.

“Really? Have you never been in a relationship even once? On top of that, you even took a vow of celibacy?”

“……Is it something to be that surprised about?”

“My goodness, really? Was it not a joke? You have never been in a relationship with that face? Is it perhaps that you like men, or that you have no interest in the game of romance, or something like that?”

‘What nonsense is this. It is just a face commonly seen on the street.’

Anyway, that habit of praising so blindly was truly a problem.

“Please put away such misunderstandings. I was simply too busy living, so I could not do it.”

“……Mm, that can be so! It is fine. Strictly speaking, I have also never been in a relationship before, you see.”

‘What kind of nonsensical setting is this again?’

He wondered if she was making it too obvious that she was not human.

She seemed not to know that it was impossible not to be in a relationship until the age of twenty-three with that face. It had been a long time since he had seen someone with such a poor grasp of the world. Or perhaps she was speaking based on the standards of her own species.

However, Idris had to speak based on human standards.

“Miss Irene, you are the one who should not lie. You have a face that looks like it could encircle the entire village with suitors.”

“Ahahaha! What a joke.”

“I am serious.”

As if she could not believe it at all, Irene kept tilting her head with her habitual smile on her lips.

Soon, wearing a smile full of playfulness, she brought her face close to him and asked.

“Am I pretty?”

“Yes.”

Idris answered flatly with sincerity. Objectively or subjectively, she was a dazzlingly beautiful woman. If she were human, she possessed an appearance that would never allow her to be entangled like this with someone like him, who was merely a bit tall.

If she had received instructions from the Emperor to seduce and torment that annoying fellow, it might be possible, but.

……No. She was too beautiful, so it seemed such a thing would not even happen. It was not difficult to picture the scenario being rejected, with them arguing that it would only amount to giving that fellow a good experience of being in a relationship with a beauty.

Looking at her again, she is beautiful.

“Ahahaha! Thank you, even if it is an empty compliment.”

Irene clutched her stomach and laughed uproariously with her characteristic laughter, wondering what was so funny about those words. Soon, a question in a highly elated tone followed.

“By the way, did you really take a vow of celibacy? I have seen a person who did such a thing for the first time in my life.”

Idris let out a sigh and cast his eyes down.

Because she was so excited, she simply showed no sign, but it was a situation perfectly suited to being branded a fanatic. Given Irene’s personality, where anger could boil up out of nowhere, it was obvious that things would become troublesome if he did not explain in advance.

“It is not that I did it because I wanted to.”

“Ahahaha, were you perhaps threatened or something?”

Of course. If not, would there be any need to make a vow that would only result in a loss?

“The family forced it upon me under the offense of contempt. They mean to say they hate to see the filthy blood of an illegitimate child being carried on.”

“What? Is such a thing allowed?”

Irene asked back in surprise. Pure astonishment could be read from her two large eyes. It was a reaction that made a person feel miserable without any malice.

“Originally, there is nothing in the world that cannot be done.”

“But this seems like too big of a moral problem.”

“They just mean to torment a single illegitimate child a little bit, so what kind of problem does it cause?”

“Even so, does it make sense to arbitrarily strip away an individual’s right to start a family? Pointing fingers at an illegitimate child is ridiculous in the first place. Honestly, the child is not at fault.”

Irene leaned her head against Idris’s shoulder with a thud. Beyond the thin clothing, a human-like warmth was transmitted. Sunk in thought, he did not even make an attempt to reject Irene or push her away. He spat out a completely submerged, calm tone.

“Well…… The world does not turn so beautifully, you see. To be honest, it is not as if I do not understand my family’s decision.”

He had glossed it over to Irene roughly as the ‘offense of contempt,’ but in reality, the reason was largely because it would be troublesome if he, who was not of the Marquis’s bloodline, had children and those children also gained succession rights. It seemed that making him a clergyman and stripping away his succession rights was not enough.