The Duke's Daughter Gets Harshly Criticized
565 Words
"The reason your fiancé's heart has drifted away might be partly because of you."
"What!"
Hearing the demon's words, Irene became furious. She considered herself a perfect fiancée in every way; such a thing was impossible!
She retorted to the demon:
"I have always strived to remain beautiful! As a high-ranking noble, I always maintain my dignity, work hard in my studies, participate actively in student council activities, and support His Highness!"
Irene was very angry. How could he say such a thing about her after all her efforts?
Watching her flare up, the demon sighed.
"Alright then, let's take this step by step. First, what's with that makeup and those meals?"
Irene proudly raised her head, as if prepared for this question.
"That makeup was specially taught to me by a famous makeup artist, a friend of Lady Nasty. The meals are a complete beauty diet designed by Lady Nasty."
Listening to her proud words, Cain gave a wry smile.
"I see. In that case, you might want to knock some sense into them. To be honest, that makeup doesn't suit you at all, and the food is nothing more than bird feed."
"What!"
Irene stood up, her eyes blazing with anger.
"That makeup is perfect! Everyone says it suits me!"
"Everyone? Who's everyone?"
"Lady Nasty and two maids."
"Only those three? What about others? Has anyone else complimented your makeup? Has anyone tried to imitate it?"
Hearing this, Irene suddenly realized that apart from these three people, no one had ever complimented her makeup, nor had anyone tried to imitate it.
(…Why is that?)
Despite feeling a bit uneasy, she defiantly shouted:
"But that diet is perfect! Lady Nasty praised my figure as just right!"
"Her again. You might want to hit her when she returns."
Cain sighed.
"Anyway, at your growing age, being that skinny is not good. Lack of proper nutrition can hinder various aspects of your development."
Understanding the implications of "various aspects," Irene looked down.
"…That's a problem."
Indeed, she had felt her development was somewhat lacking. If this lustful demon said so, it might be true.
Additionally, she was criticized for ignoring greetings, which was too rude, and for ignoring acts of kindness, which was inhumane.
Irene argued that this was what Lady Nasty had taught her as the behavior befitting a high-ranking noble, but Cain countered that no other high-ranking nobles behaved this way.
The demon's barrage of reasonable criticisms began to shake Irene's beliefs. She felt like everything she had believed in was being overturned, and her anxiety grew.
However—
She suddenly remembered that this was a demon standing before her. Despite saying all these seemingly correct things, he was a demon.
(I was almost deceived! How dangerous!)
Irene lifted her head and glared at the demon with suspicion.
"You're trying to lead me astray with these words, aren't you?"
"…What?"
"You're trying to corrupt me, aren't you!"
"Corrupt?"
"I won't fall for it! I'm the one in the right!"
The demon was taken aback, looking at Irene standing with her hands on her hips, brimming with confidence. Then, he started to laugh, enjoying himself.
Seeing the demon laugh, Irene glared at him, wondering what was so funny.
With a sly smile, he said:
"Then, shall we make a bet?"
"A bet?"
"Yes," the demon smiled, "Let's bet on who is right, you or me."
- Writer
