Anna's wide-eyed stare and trembling lips were not from surprise but from sheer terror. The tears that had flowed from her eyes earlier blurred her vision, preventing her from seeing the man's true form clearly. She only knew he had a pleasant voice and appeared young.
Being carried princess-style onto the carriage had shocked her. Her knee was injured, and she was too stunned to react. When she wiped away her tears, she heard the man's proposal but couldn't process it because what she saw nearly made her scream.
Inside this handsome man resided a demon with goat-like horns.
Anna had been in this new world for several days, aware that magic and demons existed here, unlike in mere fairy tales. Yet, the supernatural elements felt distant until today when she witnessed a living demon inhabiting a handsome man's body and proposing to her.
Even though her current body was quite pretty, it was not enough to make a demon fall in love at first sight. The only logical reason for his proposal was that he coveted her soul and wanted to trick her into making a pact.
Having grown up reading stories like "One Thousand and One Nights" and "Aesop's Fables," Anna knew that making a deal with a demon rarely ended well.
"I refuse," Anna said, her voice trembling with fear and faint hope.
Seeing the man's face darken at her refusal, her fear nearly overwhelmed her. Would this demon kill her out of anger? She desperately wondered if death would send her back to her own world.
Rotgar, momentarily surprised, thought she hadn't understood his intentions. "Beautiful lady, perhaps I wasn't clear. I don't wish to make you my lover. I want you to marry me before a priest, take my name, and become Lady Wilson." Rotgar suppressed his impatience, though his tone carried a hint of menace.
This was terrifying! Anna shivered, knowing that if she continued to refuse, he might kill her. Yet, agreeing to his proposal would lead to a fate worse than death. She lowered her head, clutching her skirt tightly, her knuckles white. After a brief, desperate silence, she replied, "I... refuse."
The carriage filled with malevolent energy, causing Anna to freeze. She dared not look up or speak, silently praying to return to her own time if she died.
Rotgar almost acted on his rage. Initially, he thought he would grant her a quick death if she accepted, but now she was wasting his time with what seemed like a game of hard-to-get. If he hadn't promised Baran not to use force, he would have choked her into agreement, making her regret ever toying with an Archduke of the Abyss.
"Beautiful lady, I'm a gentleman. Although I admire you greatly, if you won't accept my proposal, I'll painfully let you go." Rotgar's smile vanished, giving her one last chance. If she continued to mock him, he would ensure she lived a long, tortured life until her natural death.
Anna was stunned by his words. "Let you go"—was such a thing possible? She raised her head to confirm, but seeing the demonic form beneath his handsome facade, she quickly lowered her gaze again. "I... am not worthy of you. Please allow me to decline," she said softly, sincerely.
Rotgar fell into a long silence. Had he been away from the human world so long that it had changed beyond recognition? He looked at the trembling woman, her hands clutching her skirt so tightly that her knuckles were white. It took all his self-control not to strangle her into compliance. He had given his word to Baran, and he wouldn't break it.
"Where do you live? I'll take you home," Rotgar said, almost spitting out the words.
Anna felt the malice in his voice and nearly cried. The demon wanted to take her home! Was it to ensure she couldn't escape? But then she realized that refusing to go home wasn't an option. A demon could easily find her.
"I live on Pomegranate Lane. You can drop me off at the entrance," Anna replied quietly, her tone respectful. If she couldn't resist, she had to comply.
Rotgar didn't know where Pomegranate Lane was, so he knocked on the carriage wall. "Did you hear that?"
The carriage's poor soundproofing allowed the driver and servant outside to overhear their conversation. The driver immediately responded, "Yes, Master Parrysh!"
The carriage moved again. The driver and the servant outside remained silent, with only the sounds of the carriage wheels and the distant city noise filtering through. Anna kept her head down, not daring to look at "Master Parrysh," afraid her eyes or expression would give something away.
Just get home, just get home...
When Anna finally got off the carriage near Pomegranate Lane, "Master Parrysh" said nothing more. Once the carriage door closed, it quickly disappeared from sight. Anna glanced at her bleeding knee and limped towards home. The demon had promised to care for her wound but hadn't done anything. She knew something was wrong with him and was glad she hadn't agreed or revealed she could see him.
She believed no ordinary person could detect a demon's possession. It must be an ability linked to her being from another world, something she couldn't let the demon know.
Pomegranate Lane was on the west side of Blue Stone City, not quite a slum but close. Anna had deliberately gotten off early to avoid drawing attention with a luxurious carriage. As she limped down the lane, she heard soft sobbing and saw a boy, eight or nine years old, trying to suppress his cries. His body was covered in new and old bruises. When he heard her approach, he looked up with fearful brown eyes.
Anna pursed her lips and looked away, walking past him. This boy was the butcher Bobby's son. She knew he was being beaten again. Before she arrived in this world, Bobby had beaten his wife so badly she was bedridden. Anna had once tried to stop Bobby from hitting his child but only got herself pushed to the ground.
In this time, it was different. The people around her were numb to such violence. Wives and children were considered property of the head of the household, and even if beaten to death, no one would intervene. Everyone was too busy trying to survive to care about others.
Anna's current body was that of a seventeen-year-old girl from an ordinary family. Besides her parents, she had two younger brothers and a sister. The family wasn't starving but lived just above the poverty line. The production level of this era was similar to the Middle Ages she knew, with magic and supernatural elements existing but rare. She hadn't seen any until encountering the demon earlier.
Anna had inherited all the original owner's memories, but they felt like learning a foreign language, with some detachment. It took her nearly a day to speak fluently. She didn't know why she was here or how to return, but after two days of despair, she decided to survive in this harsh time.
Only then did Anna realize the demon who possessed the handsome man was likely Parrysh Wilson, the son of the Earl of Blue Stone City. Because of the demon's impact, she hadn't noticed his young, handsome appearance.
She felt relieved for not being tricked into making a pact with a demon. That would have made Parrysh her future.
---
Rotgar had initially been confident about winning the bet, but his first failure made him wonder if the human world had changed. The carriage returned to Blue Stone City's Earl Wilson's mansion. Using Parrysh's memories, Rotgar navigated without arousing suspicion.
Passing through the garden, a blonde maid watering the flowers, familiar from Parrysh's memories, greeted him. "Good day, Master Parrysh!"
Rotgar paused, accessed Parrysh's memories, and smiled. "Abigail, would you..."
Hearing the charming voice call her name, Abigail nearly fainted with excitement. She clasped her hands to her face and squealed, "I do! I do! Master Parrysh, you can do anything to me!"
Rotgar's smile vanished as he took a step back, disgusted. Yet, he felt a sense of satisfaction that things were back on track. This was the human world he knew, where women behaved as he expected.
So, what was with the girl who deliberately fell in front of his carriage?