After the day I tad Agatha, I got so caught up in mnemomancy that I barely had ti for anything else—definitely not for being all lovey-dovey. Two days passed in the demon realm, and I finally managed to read minds without getting a splitting headache, though I still can’t keep it up for more than thirty minutes a day. So of my guinea pigs nearly lost their minds—literally—after I tangled their mories too much while practicing. To fix that, I used the second mnemomancy spell: mory erasure. Thankfully, erasing mories isn’t nearly as hard as reading them. By the end of it all, most demons were left wandering around with empty heads. I called it a success.
Feeling confident, I decided to probe Hillary’s mind next—to uncover how exactly he ended up as an undead. His mories were intact at first, showing glimpses of a normal life... until the mont he t his father at their house. After that, everything turned into a haze, like fog swallowing the edges of a painting.
I figured the only way to get real answers was to return him to the human world—back to the Duke’s mansion.
"Alright, Your Highness. Thanks again for the test subjects. You were a great help," I said to Evelyn, giving a slight bow as she lounged on her throne.
She scoffed, folding her arms. "Whatever. Don’t co back any ti soon! It’s not like I liked having you around or anything!!"
Rose grinned beside . "Are you sure you don’t an the opposite, hun?"
Evelyn’s cheeks reddened. "Heck no!!"
I chuckled. Great. I had my own personal tsundere demon princess.
After our goodbyes, Rose opened a Dinsional Door to my realm, but she chose to stay behind to track down Berial’s hideout—his existence was too much of a threat. She also wanted to figure out who was pulling the strings from the shadows—the one who supplied Draegonth and the others with those bangles that made them immune to curse magic. A mystery for another day.
Once we were back in my realm, I left my waifus behind and headed to Eldoria with Hillary. But first—I wiped all his mories of the demon realm. I couldn’t risk him rembering any of it.
The mont the spell took effect, he blinked at , eyes wide like a dazed animal.
"Y-You!! What—" He stumbled back, looking down at his filthy, torn clothes. "Why... why am I dirty?! What’s—what’s going on?!"
His voice cracked, trembling. His hands shot up to his head, fingers digging into his scalp. "What am I even doing here?!"
"Relax, dude." I sighed, dragging a hand through my hair. "You passed out. I’m taking you ho."
"I-I don’t rember passing out!" he snapped, groaning as he touched his aching shoulders. "Why am I sore? Why do I feel like I got trampled by a warhorse?!"
Because Evelyn had you working hard as hell, dummy, I thought. But I kept my mouth shut and continued toward the Duke’s estate. Hillary followed behind, bombarding with questions. He kept barking orders too, demanding I show proper respect to a noble like him. Seed like his ego was still intact—louder than ever.
When we neared his mansion, I told him to go on ahead. "I’ll be heading ho," I said.
The mont he saw the mansion gates, he lit up like a kid seeing his mother after a war and sprinted off like a madman.
I activated my invisibility and trailed behind silently.
As soon as we stepped into the yard, two female guards standing by the mansion doors raised their weapons.
"Hold it right there, brat!" one of them barked.
Hillary recoiled, then narrowed his eyes. "Vanessa?! How dare you speak to like that!"
The guards exchanged puzzled glances.
"Kid, if you’re playing dress-up, go do it sowhere else. I hate uncivilized commoners!" Vanessa snapped.
Hillary gasped, furious. "Commoner?! How dare you talk like that to ?! Did you forget l literally own this place! Show so respect!"
The guards burst out laughing.
Then, without warning, one of them drove a boot into Hillary’s gut.
He flew back, crashing to the ground with a choked cry. His expression twisted in disbelief as they pounced on him, striking with fists and boots like he was so street pest.
"Father...!" he scread. "Help ! Father!!"
I stood there, still invisible, watching as they beat the shit out of him.
After a brutal few minutes, the doors creaked open. Out stepped the Duke—Mr. Martinsville himself—arm-in-arm with Liloth Alvado. They looked like they’d just stepped out of a romantic painting, all smiles and tenderness.
"What’s going on here?" the Duke grumbled.
"So commoner’s causing trouble," Vanessa replied casually. "Nothing you need to worry about, sir."
But the Duke and Liloth approached anyway.
Hillary struggled to his feet, battered and bleeding, eyes locked on the man he called father.
"Father... what’s happening?! These won—"
The Duke’s face twitched—just for a second. With a flicker of sothing l couldn’t quiet tell. Then it vanished, replaced by a hardened glare.
"...Who are you?" he asked, voice cold and flat.
Hillary froze. His face drained of all color.
"...Father? It’s . Your son!"
The Duke narrowed his eyes. "All my children live with their mothers. And I’m quite certain you’re not one of them."
Liloth scoffed. "Darling, co. Leave this delusional commoner alone. He just wants attention."
And just like that, they turned and walked away.
But before she disappeared, Liloth glanced my way. Her gaze swept the empty space where I stood in suspicion as if she had sensed ... then she shrugged and moved on.
The guards resud their "job," thrashing Hillary again before tossing him into the street like trash.
I stepped out too, my mind spinning.
Sothing’s seriously wrong.
Not just with the guards, or the Duke’s cruel dismissal—but that flinch. The way he looked at Hillary, like seeing a ghost. Like he expected him to be dead.
I let out a slow breath. I didn’t have all the answers, but I was going to find them.
And I knew exactly where to start.
It won’t be easy—but l bet I’ll hit two birds with one stone.
That’s for sure.
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