Chapter 9: If the nightmare doesn’t show its power, will you treat me as a ball of fluff?

Participating in the Holy Knight examination was just a stroke of luck for Rita; in truth, she had no real reason to become a Holy Knight.

Therefore, when she decided to give up, she felt no psychological burden at all.

The world was vast—there was always a place for her to settle.

After all, the wars between the Demonkin and Humans, the royal disputes—none of those concerned her.

As long as she stayed alive, anything was possible.

At worst, she could really become a courtesan… no, better not.

In any case, when Rita agreed to serve Cecilia, she had already planned her escape.

Outside the window, the dense night gradually swallowed the world, and the noise grew quieter.

Apart from the soldiers on guard duty and a few servants in the mansion, almost no one was around.

Rita carefully checked the guards’ positions.

Perhaps Cecilia truly trusted her, for no one was assigned to watch over her specifically.

But the lord’s mansion was still heavily guarded.

Whether through the front gate or by scaling the walls, one would be instantly discovered.

Yet in the pitch-black night where one couldn’t see their own hand, hardly anyone would constantly watch overhead.

So Rita decided to fly vertically until she was out of sight.

Then she nearly got gored by a bull.

If Rita hadn’t reacted quickly, and if her physical strength weren’t above that of an ordinary Human, she would have already ended up with two holes in her body.

Why on earth was there a bull on the lord’s mansion’s roof?!

Rita focused and noticed that the creature attacking her was less a bull and more like a dog.

She had seen large dogs before, but this one exceeded three meters in length—a first for her.

On that massive beast’s head, two twisted horns, almost as long as Rita’s arms, pointed straight at her.

Its jet-black fur blended almost perfectly with the night, and its pair of blood-red eyes flickered with terrifying ferocity.

Its abnormal size and strange horns made it far more fitting to call it a Demon Beast.

A Demon Beast perched atop the lord’s mansion roof—although more plausible than a bull—made the situation far more dangerous.

Demon Beasts weren’t just odd creatures; compared to ordinary animals, they were far more intelligent and ferocious.

While there were rare cases of Humans and Demonkin successfully taming Demon Beasts, those were few and far between.

The fact that this one had just attacked her spoke volumes.

As Rita studied the Demon Beast, it was likewise studying her.

The Demon Hound’s black nose twitched occasionally, seemingly sniffing her.

Its snowy white teeth gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

Though it remained silent, Rita felt as if she could hear its low growl.

Its front paws scraped the ground a few times before it suddenly pushed off with its hind legs, launching its massive body like a cannonball toward Rita.

Rita twisted to dodge, but the gust generated by the Demon Hound still threw off her balance.

She flapped her wings several times midair just to regain stability.

Missing its target, the Demon Hound immediately turned back, baring its jaws to blow out a chilling breath, then lunged again—once more dodged by Rita.

Surely this wasn’t a guard dog owned by the lord’s mansion?

Firstly, such a massive beast placed on the roof would be far too conspicuous.

Secondly, the Demon Hound had not barked to alert others but had instead directly attacked her.

Whatever it was, she was meant to run.

The Demon Hound’s speed and power were undoubtedly great, but if she stayed fully airborne, how would it respond?

Rita flapped her wings, gaining more altitude.

Thud.

Rita heard a muffled boom.

Though not loud, it sounded exceptionally clear in the quiet night.

Following the sound beneath her, she saw the Demon Hound leap up and bare its sharp fangs at her.

Its speed was so fast she barely had time to react.

Are you crazy? Trying to bite me?

Rita thought bitterly but moved swiftly.

Her fingers lengthened further, transforming into branch-like claws.

With both hands, she forcefully grabbed the Demon Hound’s head.

This was the true form of a Nightmare Demon!

But it was so heavy—dragging it through the air was difficult!

At this rate, she was going to fall!

With a thump, the Demon Hound and Rita fell together onto the roof.

From below came faint voices.

“What was that noise?!”

“Sounds like it came from the roof!”

Too loud! They had been discovered by the guards!

The sudden turn of events startled the Demon Hound, prompting it to emit a low growl for the first time.

But its jaws were clamped as if caught in iron tongs—no matter how much it struggled, it couldn’t break free from the grasp of the girl it viewed as prey.

Suddenly, the pressure on its jaw lessened.

Rita looked at the Demon Hound seriously and said,

“You can understand me—or at least get the gist, right?”

The Demon Hound continued to growl.

“I have no grudge against you. When I let you go, we’ll go our separate ways. Otherwise, if the guards catch us, neither of us will be in a good spot.”

Growl growl.

“If you understand, I’ll let you go!”

The moment Rita loosened her grip, the Demon Hound immediately snapped its massive jaws at her head.

Is this thing insane?! Anyone lurking here in the dead of night can’t be a dumb dog.

She had already shown her strength and spoken kindly—why wouldn’t it back down? Was it determined to bite her?

If the Nightmare Demon didn’t show its power, did it think she was a stuffed toy?!

Rita dodged the Demon Hound’s frantic bites, smiling kindly as she wrapped her arm around its neck and gently patted its head.

With a crisp snap, the Demon Hound’s legs kicked once and its body went limp, whimpering a few times before falling still.

Phew, resolved.

After all, Rita was undeniably Demonkin.

To escape from Demonkin territory and come here, she relied on more than just her looks.

But violence wasn’t a solution, and she wasn’t that strong.

The next problem was what to do with the Demon Hound’s corpse.

As Rita pondered, tendrils of black smoke rose from the body in her arms.

The enormous Demon Hound’s form quickly vanished like ash in the wind.

This was… magic?

Before Rita could think further, the guards’ voices grew near.

“Quick, tighten security! Go up and check!”

That dumb beast!

Rita cursed silently.

Because of the Demon Hound, tonight she couldn’t leave even if she wanted.

Better return first and figure things out later!

Taking advantage of the guards’ distraction, Rita flipped down from the roof, instantly retracting her wings and tail.

She slipped through the nearest window into a room.

No way—this can’t be a coincidence!

Rita’s eyes met Cecilia’s as she entered—a pair of golden eyes as bright as her hair but now slightly red and swollen.