Today, the morning in the Holy Capital did not greet the usual dawn.
The sky was overcast with dark clouds, and a light rain drizzled down.
Even though it was the weekend, pedestrians on the streets had no time to linger, merely passing by in haste.
The mother and two daughters of the Valcier family sat haggardly on the sofa.
The green-haired woman was absent-minded; the red-haired woman glanced from time to time at the man holding her, restless and uneasy; the blue-haired girl was even less restrained, covering her face as she wept.
This week had been a nightmare for the Valcier family.
After Lila’s birthday that day, bad news arrived one piece after another—first, Elian was late and did not return to celebrate Lila’s birthday.
The next day, rumors about their family spread through the Holy Capital like a plague.
Then, Elian mysteriously ‘disappeared’ and remains missing to this day.
“Vo… Voss…”
The green-haired woman spoke anxiously.
“Do you have any news about Elian? He hasn’t come home for a whole week… Could it be—”
The blond man finally spoke.
“Talia, haven’t you noticed that all of this is happening far too coincidentally?”
“On Lila’s birthday… Elian didn’t come home. The very next day, rumors about what we did that night spread through every street and alley of the Holy Capital… and then Elian went missing—”
Hearing this, Lila also stopped her sobs.
“You mean…”
“I dismissed all the servants that day. We were in the room afterward. Who could possibly know about what happened between us?”
“Elian must have been furious and leaked our affairs. He’s been deliberately hiding from us these past few days.”
The three women turned pale.
Everything seemed to make sense now—Elian must have seen them in the room that day.
They were in the heat of the moment and said so many terrible things about him…
He must have been angry, right?
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have hidden from his family for so many days…
“No… We must find Brother… and… and clarify things with him…”
Lila suddenly stood up.
“Clarify what? The facts?”
Talia sneered, her voice carrying a mother’s reprimand.
“It was you who couldn’t hold back and did that with Voss in the room before your own birthday party even began—”
“What’s so strange about me doing such things with my boyfriend? It’s you two—you were peeping outside the room, so why did you join in later!?”
Lila retorted against her mother somewhat defiantly, completely devoid of her usual gentle, girl-next-door image.
“If it weren’t for you… delaying for so long… would we have forgotten the time?”
“I…”
“One is my sister, the other is my mother! You were sneaking behind my back… Allowing you to join was already an act of great mercy on my part—now we’ve become a laughingstock among the people… we deserve it…”
The girl had completely lost her composure.
Talia and Nora hung their heads in shame.
The corner of the blond man’s mouth twitched imperceptibly.
Watching the women bicker, he found it utterly amusing in his heart—the mother and her two daughters were all equally simple and easy to deceive.
By creating separate alone time with each of them, then gradually softening their attitudes, whispering sweet nothings in their ears at the right moment, he had easily broken through each one’s defenses and ‘conquered’ them.
After shattering their psychological barriers, he step by step lured them to cross boundaries… making them gradually accept all sorts of outrageous ‘plays,’ until finally they even accepted requests that broke ethical norms…
Although he felt the pride of conquest, Voss still had to maintain appearances.
He hypocritically put on a worried expression, comforting Lila.
“Lila… don’t say that… she is your mother, after all…”
“Mother Talia, Sister Nora, this isn’t your fault either…”
“I was too greedy. I love each and every one of you deeply, and I don’t want to give up any of your love…”
Voss spoke with a cloying, manipulative tone.
These words would make any normal person nauseous, but the three women before him seemed utterly bewitched by Voss’s charm.
“Voss…”
“Brother Voss… please don’t say that…”
Seeing that the three did not rebuke him, the man grew even bolder.
“But Elian, he…”
Nora spoke up, somewhat guiltily.
“You’ve worried about Elian for so many years… it’s time to pursue your own happiness. You love me, and I love you… isn’t that enough?”
“Besides… I will also use all the resources of the Aurelian family to help you find Elian! Elian is a magnanimous person. I believe that as long as we explain things to him face to face, he will accept my love for you!”
“If it weren’t for you during this time… I really don’t know what I would have done… Voss…”
Looking at the blue-haired girl in his arms, now a tearful mess, and the other two women moved by his words, a dark smile—utterly unbefitting of a Paladin—spread across Voss’s face.
……
Under the gaze of the three women, Voss maintained his dignified smile as he boarded the carriage.
“Three dull fools.”
Pulling the curtain closed, the carriage began to jolt, and the farewell voices of the three women faded into the distance.
Finally, all pretense fell from Voss’s face. His sinister grin made it hard to imagine he was a Paladin of the Church.
He had long sensed that those rumors were definitely Elian’s doing.
As for the rumors about Elian himself—weak, hypocritical, incompetent, a coward who didn’t dare step forward and accuse when his own women were with Voss—those women would never figure out in a million years that he had specifically sent servants to spread them.
Since his own reputation was already tarnished, he might as well drag Elian down with him.
It was also a perfect way to divert public attention.
The only thing that surprised Voss was… that Elian… seemed truly as cowardly as the rumors he had spread…
He hadn’t shown his face again to this day…
As for him helping those women find Elian?
Not a chance.
When Elian was around, Voss and Lila had to be cautious when unlocking their ‘scenes.’
Now that Elian had broken with him but offered no resistance, instead running away from home, it was the most wonderful outcome possible—he wished Elian would disappear forever.
‘This is fine too. It’s best if he never comes back… Let me mold the women in his life into my shape.’
Voss thought darkly.
“Shadow Demon…”
A low murmur came from nowhere. Immediately after, eerie black mist began to pour continuously from the silver ring set with a purple gem on Voss’s finger, eventually enveloping the interior of the carriage.
The jolting inside ceased, and the sound of wheels turning outside disappeared—the mist seemed to isolate everything outside, creating a unique space.
“Demon King!”
The blond Paladin knelt excitedly before the forbidden existence.
“It has been so long since you last sought out your servant…”
“The matter of the prophecy… how goes it?”
A voice that inspired both fear and unease came from the black mist.
“Reporting, my lord. Five years ago, I killed that noble young master of the Aurelian family—and conveniently assumed his identity. According to your prophecy, the existence that hinders you from breaking the seal and returning to the mortal world originates from the Valcier family… But your servant previously investigated… The head of the Valcier family passed away long ago… leaving behind only widows and orphans…”
“The prophecy’s prediction… cannot be wrong… How dare you presume to speculate—”
The Demon King’s voice clearly carried a trace of displeasure.
“This servant dares not… That is why I used the advantages of this body’s appearance—sweet talk—to easily make those foolish women of the Valcier family into loyal hounds obedient to me.”
The Shadow Demon let out a lewd chuckle, sending a chill down one’s spine.
“As for that Elian… he is even more weak and incompetent. After witnessing me take his women, he didn’t even want his Paladin position anymore, ran away from home. Presumably, he’s completely broken and poses no threat.”
“Very good…”
A bone-chilling laugh came from the black mist.
“Since the threat foretold by the prophecy has been dealt with—my next plan must not fail… I want you to find a way to retrieve an item from within the Church…”
……
“Lord Voss? Are you alright? I thought I heard some movement in the carriage just now.”
The coachman pulled open the curtain—Voss sat primly in his seat, merely gently stroking the silver ring on his ring finger.
“It’s nothing…”
The Shadow Demon—or rather, Voss—responded with an elegant, composed, and perfectly standard Paladin smile.
Just as he had always pretended to be in front of others.
……