"Annan, may I say something?"
Claire floated nearby as she spoke.
Annan gave the Witch, whom he had known only a short time but gotten along with well, a chance.
"My Younger Brother escaped the Demon Lord's control, but it won't let this go... We suspect it has chosen a new target... You, Annan," Claire said calmly. "Younger Brother, tell Annan how to resist the Demon Lord's influence."
"I've changed my mind," the Mad Dog Duke said coldly.
Annan called toward the corridor, "Beludona, can you teach our mad dog a lesson? Abby, bring all the silverware from the kitchen!"
"...The more you obey the Demon Lord, the more bored it gets. Making it lose interest is your only chance of staying alive," Claire said for Younger Brother.
"Your time is up."
Beludona spoke.
"My Winnis..." Claire whispered before returning to Hell. It was the name of the white cat she had raised.
"I haven't seen her come back." Annan shook his head.
With a soft sigh, the two souls vanished from the Living Room.
"What happened?"
Only then did Annan ask Beludona, "Why do you have the Mad Dog Duke's soul?"
"Remember the Devil Contract you made with him? He didn't pay the full four hundred thousand gold coins."
"I don't understand..."
"His sister stole some jewels and hid them somewhere only she knew. If she were still alive, the jewels would count toward the payment because she's the Mad Dog Duke's sister. But now that she's dead and no one knows where she hid them, the Mad Dog Duke only fulfilled three hundred and ninety-nine thousand gold coins' worth of the contract..."
The moment the Mad Dog Duke died, his breach of contract put his soul in a Devil's hands, freeing him from the Fate imposed by the