Seeking a Way Out
742 Words
About a month after summoning the demon.
On a rainy early summer afternoon.
Irene was reading a book in the secret room in the basement of her mansion.
The book's title was "Studies of the Demon World."
It was a book about the world where demons live.
“Hmm, so the stronger a demon is, the higher their rank.”
As demons become stronger, their rank increases. The highest rank is called the Great Demon, which comes with various privileges and powers.
(What about Cain? He's beautiful but doesn't seem very strong, so maybe he's a lower-ranked demon.)
After finishing the book, Irene closed it and sighed.
The content was interesting, but it didn’t provide any clues on how to send the demon back to the demon world.
(Can I really find a way in just three months...?)
She was doing her best to make time to study, but the books were difficult to understand and there were just too many of them. After a month of hard work, she hadn’t even gone through a tenth of them.
(I need to try harder.)
Her life was on the line. If she didn’t give it her all now, when would she?
Then, as she was about to look for the next book, she suddenly realized something.
(But even if Cain goes back, my problems won't be solved, will they?)
She had summoned the demon to deal with Rachel, the prince's mistress. Sending the demon back wouldn’t solve this at all.
(That's right, if I don't do something about this, I'll keep suffering.)
Fortunately, the prince and Rachel were studying abroad right now, so she didn't have to worry much at the moment. But if they came back and started getting close again, she'd be back to those miserable days where she wished she were dead. Just thinking about it made her feel sick.
(...I should probably think about this too.)
There were three months until the prince and Rachel came back. In that time, she had to find a way to send the demon back and figure out how to deal with Rachel.
(I've got a lot on my plate.)
Finding a way to send the demon back would take quiet research. But what about dealing with Rachel?
No matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn't come up with anything.
Finally, exhausted from thinking, she muttered, “Let’s call it a day,” and left the study with a lamp.
She carefully locked the hidden door, then walked through the corridor and up the stairs.
When she reached the first floor, she realized she had been in the basement for quite a while. The rain had stopped, and the setting sun was shining through the windows.
Beautiful piano music filled the mansion.
(He plays so well, as usual.)
By the way, the one playing the piano was Cain. He loved music and often played the piano and violin. With many new pieces composed over the last 300 years, he enjoyed playing them.
Listening to the music, Irene headed towards the stairs to the second floor. The music stopped, and she heard a door open.
Then,
“Miss.”
She turned around and saw Cain standing there in a suit. His beautiful face looked even more striking in the sunset.
Smiling, he asked, “Are you done for the day?”
“Yeah, I lost track of time.”
Irene nodded slightly.
Surprisingly, she was getting along pretty well with the demon.
He didn’t say unnecessary things and would leave her alone if she asked. He didn’t pry, so she could spend as much time as she wanted in the basement doing research.
He was also quite capable at work, and the servants thought he was more efficient and precise than Mrs. Nasty.
(If he weren’t a demon, he’d be a perfect butler...)
Then she remembered something he had said before.
“Half the reason your fiancé’s heart drifted away is because of you.”
At the time, the conversation had shifted to a bet, so she hadn’t thought much about it. But maybe this was a huge clue to dealing with Rachel.
Seeing Irene lost in thought, the demon asked, “What’s on your mind?”
Irene snapped out of it and looked into his red eyes.
“You once said that half the reason Parker’s heart drifted away was because of me. Can you tell me more about that?”
- Writer
