Nora truly admired the Demon King's dedication to act his part. He probably cast the curse on himself after breaking out of the seal he was under to conceal his mana. He was so strong that he didn't even need mana to overpower his enemies.
As he 'weakly' coughed again, Arabella looked like she had made a decision.
"I am the heir to the Duchy of Veritas, and our Duchy treats righteous demon hunters like family. Please feel free to stay under our protection till you recover," She said.
Nora paled as she heard this. She didn't expect Arabella to not even doubt this suspicious guy before taking him in.
As she was wondering what to do from now on forth, and if she had to place her hopes on the naïve Calor, Arabella noticed her again, now with no distractions for Nora to use.
"What are you doing here instead of being in your room?" She asked.
"I was out on a walk to digest my meal," Nora lied smoothly.
"You didn't have any meals…" Arabella trailed off, suspicion evident on her face.
Nora felt wronged. How come they let the demon king off scot free but are suspecting her?
"I was digesting my meal of the health recovery potion that you graciously provided me with, sister. Which reminds me, I was about to give some to this injured demon hunter right here, but since you've arrived, I see that there is no need." She smoothly redirected the conversation back to the demon king.
"I sensed demonic energy nearby and found this young demon hunter lying on the ground, injured. I was planning on bringing him back since it's our duty," She added, which finally eased Arabella's suspicion.
The demon king suddenly coughed and leaned on Nora. She almost pushed him away due to reflex, but held it in.
'Didn't his throat hurt at how many times he had coughed?
What is this guy up to now?'
Chills went down her spine at the thought of her being used in the demon king's schemes.
"Elynora, quickly give him the recovery potions. Quick!" Arabella panicked.
Nora stiffened.
Was this guy planning on robbing her blind? Surely the Demon King wouldn't be this petty.
"What are you standing around for? Didn't you hear the Lady?" Someone else questioned. She viciously glared at the direction just to find a tall green-haired-blue-eyed mid dude who shrunk back as soon as he met her eyes.
Nora really didn't want to give away her precious recovery potions, but still mechanically reached into her pockets and took out a single vial of recovery potion. She calculated its price in her head and decided her life was more precious anyway.
"Here you go." Her voice was devoid of any emotion when she gave away the potion vial to the Demon King, who quickly downed it.
"You don't have to thank me. This is my duty as a demon hunter after all," She said, sarcasm dripping from her voice as she did not hear a single word of gratitude before he gulped down her precious potion.
The Demon King let out a low laugh. His mouth was smiling but the look in his eyes made her shudder.
'I'm totally screwed'
"I shall make sure to remember this grace." The Demon King said. To Nora's ears, it sounded like a death threat.
It seemed like she didn't fool him. Not even one bit.
At that moment, Nora knew that her plans had failed quite miserably. And not only that, she had landed herself on the Demon King's death list with her name in red and underlined.
'Fuck me.'
While she followed Arabella's group to go back, Nora didn't forget to take the dagger that she had kicked away earlier. Who knew how expensive this was?
After a short but tiring journey, they quickly reached the Duchy's main mansion. From there, Arabella and her group took the Demon King, who had introduced himself as Calix, a commoner demon hunter, straight to receive treatment.
While Arabella worked hard treating Calix, Nora was coming up with various useless plans to win his favor. What if at night that wicked guy came and assassinated her? She wasn't even an entire chapter in the book and would be dead. And then the world would destroy itself.
She didn't care much about the world's destruction, but she did care about the fact that she would die too if it gets destroyed. World peace rested on her shoulders, so she obviously would do her best to stay alive.
She anxiously paced outside the room in which the demon king, Calix, was being treated.
After an hour, Arabella finally came out of the room with a bright expression, as if she had succeeded in treating him. Nora's mood soured.
Nora quickly went over to her and asked in an anxious voice, "Is Sir Calix's injuries alright now? How long will it take him to recover?"
Although Arabella didn't like Elynora, she didn't have the heart to refuse her question when she asked so desperately, so she answered calmly, "Although the mana sealing curse has not been lifted, his injuries are now all healed and he will be able to recover within a couple of days."
The expression on Nora's face fell into chaos. Arabella mistook it for worry and was happy that Elynora was finally reforming. If only she knew what was going on in Nora's head.
'Ah, why is his healing rate so fast? Would it do him bad to stay in bed for a few more days?'
Now that all else had failed, she wanted to at least remind Arabella to be wary of Calix.
"Sister, the estate of the Duchy is heavily guarded. How do you think he got in here?" She pointed out.
"You are right, to have attempted to break into our Duchy out of desperation and saved people at his own expense. What a chivalrous gentleman." Arabella's voice was full of admiration as she turned to leave.
'What is this extreme fan filter?'
Nora wanted to slap the female lead back to her senses, but held back the urge to do so. Nothing went her way since the moment she came into this world.
'What the hell did I say that was right? Why has Arabella already been brainwashed by that damned Demon King? It hasn't even been an hour!'
Nora heaved a big sigh.
Anyway, although she was doubted by Calix, he wouldn't be able to make any moves inside the Duchy without arousing suspicion. So she was safe for now.
With that thought in her mind. Nora too left for her room.