The Story Is Not Over Yet

It was a resounding night.

Azela faintly opened her eyes at the sweet scent that lingered on the tip of her nose.
Zagnac was there in her hazy vision.

…When and how did he get here? Even though she wanted to ask, but strangely, there was no strength in her body.
She felt her head spinning more than before she fell asleep as if she had had another drink.

Azela licked her lips silently as a smirk bloomed on Zagnac’s lips.

There were many things she wanted to ask… what kind of conversation did he have with Princess Livia, and why did his body smell sweet? And now, he smelled so sweet again, was he okay?

Still, she couldn’t ask anything.

As if knowing her condition, he laid down beside her bed and gently stroked her hair.
She closed her eyes again at the soft feeling of his caress as she felt a warm hand on her face.
A sweet scent enveloped her body.

Even if she tried to refuse, she could not reject him as it had already taken over her body… No, even if she had the option to reject him, she would never reject him.

She shut her eyes dizzyingly, trapped in Zagnac’s sweet scent.

When she opened her eyes again, it was dawn where the bluish darkness had not yet lifted.
Azela, eyes wide open, hurriedly lifted her body up.
The slip that she was wearing was the same.
Then, she turned her head and looked at her bedside.

Weird… There was no one beside the bed.
She was sure he was there, but when she opened her eyes, she saw nothing.

As she lifted her hand and wiped the spot where he was, there was no warmth at all, only the feeling of a cold sheet.

‘No way…’

Azela then turned her head and looked out the window.
Normally, after all the maids had left, she fell asleep with the closed windows open, but yesterday was different.
She remembered that she was so drunk that she couldn’t open the window and fell asleep.

The window was firmly closed.
There was no sign that it was even opened.
Azela murmured as she looked at the bedside with an empty look.

“…Did I dream?”

Even if it was a dream… such a dream.
Azela buried her reddened face in the pillow and slammed the bed hard with her fists.

Crazy.
She didn’t even drink today… It was obviously just crazy.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The business was now nearing completion.
All three stories had been erected, and the exterior walls had been painted.
It was so perfect that it would be easy to start the business right away if only the interior was filled.

In addition, Preparations for moving Daniel’s future assets to Azela’s, as well as the business, were all over.

Now, the end of everything was really coming.

“…How are you?”

Azela glanced at Zagnac as he was organizing the paperwork.

Three days have passed since the party was over.
At the time, they didn’t end it properly, so she thought for sure that Zagnac would find her though he didn’t find her.
He shrugged his shoulders indifferently to Azela’s question.

“It’s okay.”

It was okay? How could he be okay…?

At his calm answer, Azela furrowed her eyebrows.
Could he be okay even if he didn’t have human energy? Or was it that night, what she thought was a dream was actually not a dream? If not…

Azela shook her head flutteringly as she recalled the image of Princess Livia alone on the terrace.
It was impossible… The only thing he said could fill the human energy was obviously the contractor.
However… come to think of it, he didn’t even mention that he could only have one contractor.

…What if he also signed a contract with Princess Livia?

As she thought deeply, Azela chuckled and shook her head.
Obviously, Zagnac said, ‘Why would I get caught being the devil?’ If so, it meant that Princess Livia did not know that he was the devil.
She was not his contractor.
Then…

“…By any chance.”

“Yes?”

“That night.”

“That night…?”

“The day of the party.”

Zagnac put the papers he was organizing into a drawer and raised his gaze, recalling his memories.
Then, he nodded his head and gazed at her.

Azela’s lips open and close at his gaze.

“Did you come to me?”

Azela wiggled her fingers and lowered her gaze.
Zagnac tilted his head in response to her question.

‘…So it must have been a dream.’

She continued her words with a blushing face, touching the papers in front of her, “No, no.
That day I slept with the window closed… Just in case you came, but it was for nothing.”

“Do you usually sleep with the window open while waiting for me?”

Zagnac’s voice sounded surprised.
At the same time, she was also startled by his surprised voice, and when she turned her head, she saw him with a mischievous look.
Azela frowned and shook her head with a disappointed look.

“No, no.
No way.”

“You said you just slept with the window closed? Then, it makes sense to think that you usually slept with the door open?”

“It meant that it was closed normally and that it was closed that day as well.”

As she answered so, Zagnac shook his head and smiled.
A happy smile was drawn on his face as he clasped his hands and clenched his chin.
At that, Azela cleared her throat and ruffled her well-groomed hair.

“I’ll go through the window today so that waiting doesn’t end in vain.”

“You, you don’t have to… And, right now, I have a few more questions for you.”

“What is it?”

Azela, who was fanning her red face, turned her body and glanced at Zagnac.
He was still smiling in amusement.

“Does my body smell sweet related to you?”

It was a simple question.
However, as soon as the question was finished, she felt the atmosphere quickly freeze.
Azela, startled by the sudden freezing atmosphere, lowered her eyes without realizing it.

Zagnac only smiled, still clutching his chin.
Nonetheless, unlike a while ago, there was no answer.

“Why?”

After a few seconds of silence, he asked a question back instead of an answer.
His purple eyes were dark.
Was it that color originally…? It was dark and dangerous.

“…Because the maids say my body smells sweet.”

“Looks like you’re using good supplies.”

“I have never changed the things I use.
They said it smells like flowers, like alcohol or ripe fruit… because it smells similar to the smell I smelled of you at the party that day.”

“It must be a coincidence.”

Although he was still smiling in that pose, the corners of his smiling lips seemed to be trembling.
Azela smiled unknowingly when Zagnac said it was ‘a coincidence.’ With her sudden smile, he tilted his head and hardened his expression.
His sharp gaze towards her was unfamiliar.

“Why are you smiling?”

“…No, because you used the word ‘coincidence’.”

“….”

“You used to say that everything has a reason, though using the word ‘coincidence’ doesn’t make sense.”

Zagnac did not respond to her sarcastic tone.
It seemed that he was deeply contemplating something, but in the end, he did not give her any explanation or answer.

Azela furrowed her brows as he drew a resolute line that he would not take any further questions.

‘…What did I expect?’

It was just a contract for mutual benefit.
There was nothing more or less between Zagnac and her, except for the contract providing the ‘human energy’ necessary for his life as a condition.

Azela bit her teeth.

He was not kind to her.
He just needed her… He needed human energy and only coveted a sweet soul.
In the end, he only found her for his needs.

Thinking that, she frowned and grabbed the papers on the table.

“…If you don’t want to answer it, you don’t have to.”

“….”

“The contract was made by me, and even if there are side effects from it, I have no intention of blaming you or asking you to take responsibility for it.”

Yes, that was right.
After all, she just gave her body and mind to the devil.

…That was just it.

As she lifted her body up from the sofa she was sitting on, Zagnac just followed her and raised his gaze quietly.

“Still, I would like you to inform me in advance.
It is my responsibility to bear any side effects.”

Azela, who glanced down at Zagnac with a cold gaze, turned her body and grabbed the doorknob of the study.
He still didn’t answer.
Opening the door of the study slightly, she exhaled a short exclamation, ‘Ah,’ before turning her upper body back.

Zagnac’s gaze was still on her back.

“You got along better with Princess Livia than I thought.”

“….”

“If you needed human energy periodically… After your marriage to a human, it wouldn’t be a bad choice to make a contract with her.
It’s legal, and you won’t have to sneak to someone’s bedroom window every night.”