The Demoness Had Returned

As usual, the sky over Bexland was still shrouded in fog today.

Altair was still asleep. By the time he realized something was wrong, Vivian had already bound him with her Spider Silk.

Looking at the smiling woman beside the bed, Altair felt utterly helpless. She's only just come back, and she's already going this far? Is this really necessary?

No matter how hard Altair struggled, he couldn't break free. He had no choice but to plead, "Vivian, could you let me go?"

Vivian stood by the bed and refused outright. "Absolutely not. I can't believe you've gotten yourself into such a mess in the less than half a month I've been away."

"And your body is a lot more honest than your mouth."

As she spoke, Vivian used her Spider Silk to tease Altair.

"D-don't touch there."

The feeling of gauze rubbing against him was genuinely unbearable!

"Beg me."

She let out a soft laugh. Her voice wasn't loud, but it was low and husky, with a faintly rising lilt at the end, like a hidden hook that snagged the listener's curiosity.

"Looks like you've grown quite a bit while I was away these past two weeks."

"What did you just make me take?"

"Just what you're supposed to take."

"I can't take any more. Let's stop."

"Can't take what?"

Vivian traced her finger across Altair's chest and said, "Sorry for the trouble again. You helped me complete my 'acting.'"

At that, Altair rolled his eyes at her.

Vivian got up and used her Spider Silk to dress as she said, "I have some bad news for you. The Demoness Sect knows about you."

"But they haven't issued any further instructions about what to do with you yet."

Vivian had made his heart leap, then brought it back down again with that pause. Altair sat up and smiled. "What can they do to me now? If they'd come after me just after my father died, I might have been afraid. But now, unless the Demoness Sect sends a Demigod..."

Vivian turned to look at Altair with a smile. "Looks like Little Kexin has grown up. You're right, they are struggling with that very problem."

"You're now an Earl of the Loen Kingdom, the grandniece of a Demigod, and the largest shareholder in Bexland's new industrial park. If anything happened to you, even George III couldn't clean up their mess."

"So there's a very good chance they'll try to work with you."

After hastily getting dressed, Altair wrapped his arms around Vivian from behind. "We can talk about that later. We can't decide what they'll do, anyway."

"What about you? Why were you gone for half a month this time? You said it was something simple."

Vivian turned to face Altair. "I can't tell you that."

After she spoke, her expression darkened. "I don't remember ever giving you the Instigator Potion Recipe."

Altair felt awkward. He'd thought he could keep it from her, but one look at Vivian's expression told him he'd been wrong. He replied helplessly,

"After you left, I started acting as an Assassin. By the time I'd digested the Potion, you still hadn't come back. The house happened to have an Instigator Potion Recipe, so I had no choice but to advance on my own."

Vivian smiled teasingly. "Judging by what you've been up to lately, you've nearly digested the Instigator Potion too."

"But I still suggest you slow down. I think I told you that the Demoness Sect has recently been looking for people who advance quickly. I have a feeling that's not a good thing."

"And are you ready to become a woman?"

It was almost noon by the time Altair and Vivian went downstairs to eat.

Hahn was the only one in the manor who knew Vivian well. Freya, Vera, and Irene had never met her, so they were shocked when she came out of Altair's room.

As she ate, Vivian asked, "Are those the three maids Hahn found for you?"

Altair didn't try to hide anything. Before Vivian had returned, he'd already told her through Magic Mirror Communication that there was a new housekeeper and two personal maids in the household. Besides, there was no way to keep three living people a secret.

"That's right, those are the three. I think I introduced them to you. The elegant one is Freya, the cool one is Irene, and the cute one beside them is Vera."

Vivian began cutting the steak on her plate with her knife, cutting harder and harder until the plate made a sound. Only then did she stop and say, "Looks like Hahn really has it in for me."

At Vivian's behavior, Altair put down his cutlery and watched her, afraid she might do something out of line and cause trouble.

After a long while, Vivian sighed.

"Forget it. He wasn't wrong to do what he did."

Then she turned to Altair and said bluntly, "Keep eating!"

Only after Vivian had calmed down did Altair pick up his knife and continue eating.

He was genuinely afraid of how she'd reacted. He worried Vivian might lose her temper outright. Just because she treated him well was no reason to let his guard down—she was a bona fide Demoness!

After Vivian left, the frightened Freya and the others gathered around Altair and asked, "Earl Altair, who was that just now? The way she looked at us was terrifying."

Altair pondered for a moment before answering, "Earl Altair's wife. She's not in the best of moods, so be careful if you run into her again."

Watching Altair walk away, Vera muttered, "What? Earl Altair lied to us. She's obviously a woman just like us. And he called her his wife—was he making fun of us again?"

The other two didn't respond to Vera's complaint. The sounds from the room when they'd gone to wake Altair that morning were proof enough.

After thinking it over, Freya and Irene both looked at Vera and thought, Altair was right. Being an optimist is a good thing.

Then the two of them exchanged a look. Sparks seemed to fly in their eyes as they rolled them at each other and left without a word.

Only when Vera saw them walking away did she realize that, unlike usual, neither of them had joined her in complaining about Altair.

With the two gone, Vera could only trail after them dejectedly.

That afternoon, Altair walked out of the study and saw Vera playing with Black Panther by herself. He immediately asked, "Vera, where is everyone else?"

At the sound of a voice behind her, Vera jumped. She patted her chest, turned around, and said, "Earl Altair, I don't know what Irene and Freya are doing, but neither of them has spent any time with me today."

Vera's words didn't strike Altair as odd. Instead, he stared at the crumbs at the corner of her mouth and said, "Stop stealing Black Panther's treats. Didn't I give you ten pounds? You can buy some nice snacks of your own."

At his words, Vera immediately turned around and wiped the crumbs from the corner of her mouth. "The real reason is that the biscuits from the Bexland Pet Care Company are just so delicious."

The biscuits Vera meant were pet treats made from flour, vegetables, meat, and water.

Altair had never tried them himself, but even the smell made them seem delicious.

In this era, ordinary people were already happy to eat sour-tasting black bread. No wonder high-quality pet food made with better ingredients tasted so good.