The False Beauty

The firewood in the fireplace crackled, and Ma Linna sat by the fireplace, watching the dancing flames. The warmth emanating from the fireplace dispelled the dampness and cold from her body, reminding her of the fact that she was still alive.

Ma Linna was too old, too old to cheer and celebrate like young people. Having lost her family, she had lived until now to fulfill her husband's last wish. She had been prepared to end her tragic life in the Demonic Realm, but she had survived.

Not only had she survived, but heaven had also given her a new goal, a reason to live.

"Belle, I'm planning to go to the city the day after tomorrow."

Ma Linna turned her head to look at the young girl sitting on the other side of the fireplace. I Nuo was holding a book and flipping through it in front of the fireplace.

There were no precious things like books in this small village. This book came from the few goods Ma Linna had left.

The bandits' looting had almost destroyed all her property, but a little bit remained, such as a cargo carriage and an old horse.

Fortunately, Ma Linna carried her money with her. Even without the goods, she still had a property in the Magic City, Nolan.

As long as a person was alive, there was always a way to get by. But Ma Linna didn't just want to get by; she also wanted this girl who loved reading to go to school.

"The city? Aunt Ma Lina... are you taking me?"

I Nuo's gaze shifted from the book. To tell a sad truth, I Nuo couldn't understand human writing, and she didn't understand the writing of the Demons at all.

Having lived at the bottom of the Demonic Realm for so many years, she couldn't even think about learning; she could only think about surviving under coercion and harshness every day. So the book I Nuo held was just to play Joshua's role well and deceive the human in front of her.

Ma Linna had no doubts so far, and her feelings for I Nuo were growing deeper. They had gone through the most difficult period of their lives together. Although it had only been less than half a day, Ma Linna still treated I Nuo as her own daughter.

"Yes, but it will be a while. The carriage can only fit two people. Don't worry, I will definitely come back to pick you up and take you to the big city to live. There are libraries full of books there, and I will also let you formally attend a school to learn the knowledge you want."

Ma Linna's servant was still in the stable taking care of the old horse and carriage. Ma Linna's body was no longer suitable for driving the carriage, so she had to rely on the hired servant to help drive to Nolan.

It would take about three days to get from this small village to Nolan. Two trips would take about nine days.

"Thank you, Aunt Ma Lina... I don't know how to thank you enough."

I Nuo didn't know where the kindness of this human in front of her came from. She had lived in the Demonic Realm for so many years, and no one had ever been so good to her.

No... perhaps it was just because her current identity was different, because she was now Belle, a beautiful and kind human girl.

If Ma Linna knew her true identity, a low-grade Succubus, she would definitely treat her like trash, with extreme disgust, just like those people in the Demonic Realm.

So I Nuo didn't think too much. She just tried her best to complete the task Joshua had given her. This was how she would survive as I Nuo, not as the fictional character Belle.

"It's okay, child. If you can achieve excellent grades in school in the future, that will be the greatest thanks to me."

Ma Linna was already looking forward to her future life in Nolan.

I Nuo, however, was currently in agony, an agony called 'being watched by her boss while working'.

Her Succubus bloodline allowed I Nuo to vaguely sense Joshua entering the room. She could feel Joshua's gaze... that feeling of being watched by a high-level Demon, I Nuo was all too familiar with it.

"Belle, what's wrong?"

Ma Linna saw the fleeting look of unease on I Nuo's face. She thought I Nuo might have recalled some bad memories, such as the scene of her parents being killed by bandits, so she reached out and placed her hand on I Nuo's.

"It's nothing."

I Nuo was slightly startled. Feeling the warmth from the back of her hand, the uneasy feeling in her heart was instantly soothed by Ma Linna's concern.

This was what they called care? It was truly... incredible.

Even though I Nuo knew that everything before her was just an illusion, and that she would lose everything once Joshua's task was completed, it seemed nice to enjoy the brief warmth she had now.

"Is it really okay for you to deceive an old lady like this?"

Ciri had just walked out of Ma Linna's house. It happened to be raining lightly outside, the drizzle falling on Ciri and washing away all the invisible powder on her.

"Deceive? By your human standards, we Demons specialize in this line of work."

Joshua put the camera in his hand and the Source Crystal Stone that had finished recording the footage into his briefcase. With Ciri's help, Joshua had spent nearly an entire afternoon recreating the scenes from the movie.

Although the scene setup was not ideal, it was unrealistic to achieve the beautiful and magnificent scenes like those in Disney in this small village.

"It seems... that's true."

Ciri recalled the human perception of Demons. Besides being brutal and evil, they were also seen as cunning and despicable.

Ciri had heard some rumors, like hearing the whispers of Demons and being tempted to fall, but these were just hearsay.

But today, Ciri finally witnessed a real case, so real that she could even try to write a record of it. Should she name it 'The Old Lady Deceived by a Succubus'?

"And I don't think there's anything wrong with this kind of deception."

Joshua stood at the edge of the forest, looking at the wooden house where Ma Linna lived. He could still hear Ma Linna and I Nuo talking inside.

Judging from the female merchant's behavior just now, she had indeed come to regard I Nuo as her own family and was enjoying the time spent talking with her.

And I Nuo seemed to be getting a little too into the role.

Joshua didn't want I Nuo to develop any real feelings for that female merchant. This kind of kinship obtained through deception was as beautiful yet deadly as a poppy.

When the filming was over, the character Belle would no longer exist... No...

Why couldn't she exist?

If that female merchant could accept I Nuo's true identity, Joshua wouldn't mind letting I Nuo live with her.

"Maybe we can develop a demon summoning business in the future."

Joshua didn't think there was anything evil about the rumored demon summoning rituals. Everyone was just taking what they needed according to the terms written in the contract. In modern terms, it was a business partnership.

It was just that the rumored price required for the summoning ritual, life, was a bit too shocking.

But in reality, human lives were useless to Demons. They couldn't be eaten or used to enhance their power. So, if it were replaced with something more practical... like money, it would be much more acceptable.

"Business?"

Ciri had lost count of how many times she had heard strange words pop out of Joshua's mouth.

"Demon Help, Demon Intermediary Agency, Demon Odd Jobs, etc. Maybe it could even boost the economy of the Demonic Realm and the human world. The slogan could be 'One summoning circle can solve all your problems.' Hmm... it's just an idea of mine."

This was just a concept of Joshua's, and this concept was based on the premise that humans could trust Demons.

To achieve this goal, Joshua needed to spend a long time, but the first step now was to film the movie.

Currently, the only scene left in the village plot was the one where Belle 'sang' with the villagers during the day. However, it was already close to dusk in the human world, so Joshua could only continue filming this scene tomorrow.

"It's time to check out the situation at the other set."

The next scene was the most important one, the Castle. The Imperial City in the Demonic Realm was too different from the Castle Joshua envisioned, so before officially starting filming, Joshua found a more suitable Castle on the map of the Demonic Realm.

However, whether the owner of that Castle would be willing to let Joshua use it as a filming location was still a question, a problem that Joshua had to solve.