There is no disgrace quite like this. Evan gritted his teeth.
Mad Dog Cain. More precisely, Cain, the Mad Dog “of the Empire.”
That was right. He was from the Empire. The bastard was a commoner of the Empire.
And Evan himself was a frontier count of that very Empire.
Evan’s family had guarded the Empire’s borders for generations.
In return, the imperial household had granted them formidable authority.
His title was that of a count, but the power he possessed rivaled that of a marquis.
The knights currently under his command numbered no fewer than a hundred.
Even the great nobles of the capital did not dare treat him carelessly.
In effect, he was in a position to rule a kingdom of his own.
And yet he had suffered such humiliation just moments ago.
At the hands of a mere commoner! A lowly commoner, daring to—! And on top of that—
‘Of all places, in front of that woman!’
Evan was a man who knew his position very well.
A frontier count of the Empire. A man with mighty authority and power.
Carriages would be filled with noble young ladies eager to catch his eye.
Evan could choose any one of them at his leisure.
He stood in the position of one who mercifully extended his hand.
He was not one who begged, pleading to be chosen.
But today, in this very party hall, Evan had crumbled.
Estelle. The moment he saw her, everything changed.
‘She looked like a being God had fashioned by gathering every beauty in the world into one.’
He could not take his eyes off her. His heart pounded fiercely.
Was this what people commonly called falling in love at first sight?
He wanted her so badly it drove him mad. He wanted to make her his woman.
If that was impossible, he felt as though he would rather cling to her himself.
Would she not choose him? She only needed to come to his side.
His position as a frontier count barely managed to suppress his instincts.
Though she was only a lower-ranking noble, she was still a noble of another country.
If this escalated into a diplomatic issue, his frontier county would be the first to suffer.
So he endured. So he desperately maintained his reason—until—
“…Lady Estelle said that?”
The contents someone secretly relayed to him shook his resolve.
Lady Estelle had been speaking of the frontier count since a while ago.
She seemed to have a rather favorable impression of him, so he should try extending his hand.
Evan did not hesitate and headed straight for Estelle.
Convinced that she, too, had feelings for him.
He thought Estelle’s refusal was simply her testing the waters.
Then an uninvited guest intervened. Prince Printz.
He was from the same kingdom as Estelle. The moment Evan saw him, he realized.
This was not merely a royal protecting a noble of his own country.
He felt the same way. The man before him was a rival in love!
‘The Kasen Kingdom did play a respectable role as a member of the alliance. But it cannot compare to the Empire. In terms of achievements in this Demon War, the entire kingdom is about on the level of my territory.’
His status as royalty was slightly burdensome, but it was fine.
Evan was confident he could win as much as he liked.
In truth, he had not been pushed back in the slightest against the prince.
But the one who appeared next was a “monster” on an entirely different level.
“Grrk!”
A man who dared, despite being a commoner, to lay hands on a frontier count.
“Before I start suspecting you. Shut your mouth, go over there, and quietly drink your wine.”
A man who, though nothing but a mere commoner, spoke of suspecting a noble.
If Evan had his way, he would have punished him for insulting a noble.
After all, he had more than enough power to punish a single commoner.
However, his opponent was a commoner, yet a man who existed on a different axis from commoners.
“Cain….”
He looked at the bastard conversing with a woman in the corner.
He bit his lip and clenched his fist, but there was nothing he could do.
Status did not work on him. He was a man who stood above it.
As long as demons existed in this world, they could not abandon him.
‘At least this time, it seems you and I are of the same mind, Prince Printz.’
Printz, too, was glaring at Cain from the opposite side.
If Evan was a noble of the Empire, then that one was royalty of another nation.
By bloodline alone, he was even nobler than Evan.
Such a figure had suffered the catastrophe of being struck by a commoner.
Once he returned to his homeland, he would surely become the subject of much gossip.
Just you wait. One day, you will pay the price. Mad Dog Cain.
Once the demons are gone, you reckless upstart will be finished too.
—Evan was thinking this as he tilted his wineglass.
“…That insane commoner scum!”
He had not seen wrong. Cain was lunging at Estelle.
He was swinging that fist, the one that had crushed demons, at Estelle!
The moment Evan saw it, he even used mana to throw himself forward.
But one more person cut in from the side. Prince Printz.
Even in this moment, the two were competing as rivals in love.
That fact was unbearably unpleasant, but Evan set it aside for now.
The top priority at the moment was protecting Estelle.
Taat!—
Estelle, startled, fell backward and trembled faintly.
As if by prior agreement, the two men blocked the way in front of her and protected her.
Then, as though they would tolerate no more, each raised his voice.
“How dare you act against a noble of the Kasen Kingdom!”
“You crossed the line just now. Today, by the authority of a frontier count, I will punish you.”
All around them, nobles murmured in shock.
What on earth is happening all of a sudden? Now this is interesting.
Special Task Force Commander Yuris hurriedly rushed over.
What in the world is going on? Why are you doing this?
Just as she arrived behind Cain—
“Ugh!”
Yuris staggered as a kick struck her shin.
Cain roughly seized Yuris by the collar.
“You said there weren’t any.”
Then what is that? Cain pointed behind him.
Yuris. Evan. Printz. They looked there.
There lay not Estelle, but another woman.
Her face had been half-crushed by Cain’s fist, and she had already fainted.
Just as they were about to ask why he had assaulted a noble—
A dark red thorn vine glimmered on her neck, hidden by her collar.
“Ah.”
It was a mark. A chain implanted by a demon as proof of a contract.
A brand of betrayal that a human could never conceal.
The moment Yuris saw it, she bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.
They had investigated thoroughly. They had received intelligence from every nation.
And yet even there, there had been a traitor who had abandoned being human.
As the commander of the Special Task Force, it was something that absolutely should not have happened.
“How, how in the world did you know?”
“They call me a mad dog, don’t they?”
In that instant, several nobles visibly flinched.
They had been calling him that until just now. Had he heard?
“The truth is, dogs have a damn good sense of smell.”
“What… Lord Cain, you are not actually a dog. And dogs cannot smell demons either…”
“It’s a figure of speech. More importantly, you two over there. You may step aside now. I have no business with that young lady.”
The situation was unfolding in a rather different shape from the scene they had imagined.
“Ah…”
“Ahem.”
You couldn’t even hold back for that brief moment and had to jump in again. Impressive, really.
Clicking his tongue, Cain told them to hurry up and take that away.
A contractor. Those damned traitors who had made a deal with demons.
Most likely, that noble lady had schemed in the middle of things.
So that Evan and Printz, the two male leads, would clash.
At best, it was a petty quarrel taking place in a party hall.
But it would become a seed of discord and cause a larger conflict.
Demons were that kind of creatures. They did not overlook even the smallest things.
They targeted human weaknesses, latched on, and exploited them.
“Excuse me.”
At that moment, Estelle, who had been behind Evan and Printz, stepped forward.
Her face looked slightly frightened, as though she had been startled by what had just happened.
‘She really is like the heroine of a romance fantasy.’
A peerless beauty who even stirred up protective instincts—he could only laugh hollowly.
He felt he understood why the male leads clung to her.
If anyone hit a woman like that, they would receive every curse in the world.
“If you do not mind my asking, what will happen to that woman now?”
“She will be dragged straight to the Special Task Force and interrogated. Though nothing useful will come of it.”
“And after that…”
“She has to die.”
At Cain’s answer, which held not the slightest hesitation, Estelle let out a sigh.
“Is she someone you know?”
“No. I met her for the first time today.”
“And yet you seem to pity her.”
“I know what kind of beings contractors are. But… she may have had circumstances.”
It was not mere speculation. In truth, many such contractors had existed.
Sick parents. Children suffering from illness. Dying lovers.
They had joined hands with demons to save them.
Demons were cunning. They fulfilled the contract little by little.
Showing them that their loved ones truly were recovering bit by bit.
Making sure the contractor could not escape from their grasp.
Humans whose beloved’s life had been taken hostage.
For them, there was no longer any pang of conscience or anything else.
They merely spoke and acted as the demon whispered.
“Shouldn’t we at least hear their stories?”
“Yes. You are right. They must have reasons of their own that we do not know. Perhaps they joined hands with demons simply because their nature was wicked. Or perhaps they fell for the constant, sweet temptations.”
Or if not that.
“Perhaps, as Lady Estelle says, they did it for the sake of someone they loved. Demons are very good at digging into the weakness of the human heart.”
“Then at least…”
“Do you think others do not have such stories?”
Why should he care about traitors peddling their pitiful tales?
Not everyone fell for the whispers of demons.
Some, with tears in their eyes, pushed away those demons’ temptations.
“Ahem. Still, Lady Estelle’s words are not entirely without merit.”
He had wondered why they had not stepped forward. The male leads of a romance fantasy.
“Those who harbored evil intentions and sided with demons, and those who ended up that way due to unavoidable circumstances. Of course they must be punished, but is it not a bit too severe for the end of all of them to be death?”
“Hmm. On this matter, I agree with Prince Printz.”
Cain rubbed his forehead and looked at the three of them.
Estelle was originally that kind of woman. She was a protagonist written that way.
Someone who, in this harsh world, preserved a good heart until the very end.
A destiny that led the light, one that would ultimately make even demons retreat.
The male leads would be moved by her and drawn to her.
That was why they helped Estelle with all their might, supported her, and loved her.
He would not deny it completely. The world needed goodness too.
Among those he had fought alongside, there had been those who believed in that.
However—
“Very well. Lady Estelle. If that is what you say, then let me ask you something.”
“What is it?”
“A contractor who has joined hands with demons appears before you. Their expression is uneasy, as though they are about to do something. At the same time, it does not seem as if they are doing it because they want to. Perhaps, just as you said, they may have circumstances of their own.”
Here. I will ask you.
“If it were you, Lady Estelle, what would you do now?”
“I would, first…”
“Too late.”
Looking straight at Estelle, Cain pronounced his sentence.
“Because you have already been killed by that contractor.”