She's Not Our Daughter! Ch 115

How to Deal with a Villain (5)

[Prince] "You bastard! Traitor to the empire......!"

[Cassius] "Yes. I trapped you in a bottle. Do you remember?"

At his words, the demon wearing the Crown Prince’s face turned pale, recalling the exact moment Cassius defeated it.

It happened back during the Monster War. Grief-stricken after losing Sierra, Cassius fought recklessly without care for his own life. In a secluded canyon, he encountered this low-tier demon trapped pathetically between walls of ice. The demon attempted all manner of sweet, enticing words to entice Cassius.

[Demon] "I will make you the greatest knight!"

[Cassius] "Not interested."

[Demon] "I will make you the Emperor!"

[Cassius] "Unnecessary. Are those your final words?"

He wore a bored expression, looking at the creature as if it were utterly useless. The demon, however, was in a desperate panic. Falling below the ice wall meant getting devoured by waiting monsters, an end the demon refused to accept. Casting aside all pride, the creature screamed in desperation.

[Demon] "P-Please, just spare my life!"

[Cassius] "Why should I?"

[Demon] "I... I might be of use to you later......!"

[Cassius] "Use?"

[Demon] "Yes! I can devour a human’s soul. If there is someone you hate, I will devour them for you!"

[Cassius] "I don't find that appealing."

Finishing his response, Cassius raised his sword to kill the demon. Ending its life required little effort; a single strike would sever the creature's breath. Both Cassius and the demon knew this truth well. The moment he pointed his blade at its throat, the demon muttered with a defeated expression.

[Demon] "......Your wish... no, if there is a woman you desire, I could find her for you."

Cassius knew the demon's words were mere deception, false promises. Sierra was gone. Yet...... having heard the words he wanted most to hear, how could he strike the creature down? Moments later, Cassius slowly lowered his sword.

[Cassius] "Then shut your mouth and remain sealed."

He didn't kill the demon. It was a mercy that shocked even the demon itself.

[Demon] "You didn't kill me back then, so you must not kill me now!"

Cassius chuckled and countered.

[Cassius] "Is that so? Why should I do that?"

Remembering that time, the demon wearing the Crown Prince’s face flinched and stumbled before rolling its eyes rapidly.

[Demon] "......I finally found a body to parasitize! I c-c-can't be destroyed again!"

[Cassius] "If you keep your promise to me, I will send you back to the Demon Realm, along with the soul belonging to this body."

Cassius let out a quiet smirk as he stepped closer to the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince quickly shrank back. Gone was his usual posture—standing tall and glaring with envy toward Cassius.

[Demon] "A-Are you really sending me back? Can I actually go to the Demon Realm? Along with the soul belonging to this body?"

[Cassius] "Yes."

[Demon] "Khehe...... I like that. So what must I do?"

The corners of the Crown Prince’s mouth stretched unnaturally high toward his cheekbones, a smile impossible for an ordinary human.

Seeing such a grotesque sight, Sierra glanced toward Hanael.

This is terrible for a child to watch. I must deal with this quickly.

Sierra thought, but......

Checking that Sierra and Hanael were not watching, Cassius grabbed the Crown Prince by the neck and slammed him to the floor.

Despite the effortless, elegant motion, the Crown Prince coughed violently. Having already been hunted by Cassius in the past, terror remained etched into his mind.

[Demon] "Damn it, why......"

The demon wearing the Crown Prince’s face struggled to move, slumping awkwardly without a trace of royal elegance or etiquette. Cassius raised a boot and pressed down firmly on the Crown Prince's stomach.

[Cassius] "Shut your mouth and do as I command, demon."

A slight smile touched Cassius' face, while blood trickled from the demon's lip.

[Demon] "Damn it, then what do you want from me?"

The demon tilted its chin up with a defiant grimace, projecting an anxious pride that refused to bow any further to a human.

Cassius nodded calmly.

[Cassius] "First, I will seal you with a magic circle."

The demon’s mouth dropped open. Sealing it within a magic circle meant returning to the Demon Realm alongside the soul of this body's owner. That deal was not unprofitable for the demon; at least it surpassed destruction.

Hanael pouted while watching the demon, then shouted out.

[Hanael] "What? That bad mister's face looks gross too!"

Anger filled her clear eyes. Before Cassius or Sierra could say anything, Hanael jammed her slightly long fingernails straight into the Crown Prince’s arm.

[Hanael] "Die!"

Sierra quickly hugged Hanael and pulled her away from the Crown Prince.

[Sierra] "Hanael! Using your fingernails will not kill him!"

[Hanael] "No! Die! And I am fine!"

Fortunately, Hanael suffered no harm. She grinned brightly and rubbed her face against Sierra's hand.

[Hanael] "I saw it in a dream; I had to do this......"

But she couldn't finish her words. The screams of the Crown Prince—or rather, the demon being quietly sealed—began echoing in Sierra's ears.

[Prince] "Ugh, aaah, argh......!"

Focus slowly returned to the Crown Prince’s faint eyes, but that was not what mattered. He was screaming in agony. To be precise, the area of his body where Hanael’s hand had touched was burning continuously.

Sierra opened her eyes wide.

[Sierra] "What on earth is happening......?"

Seeing Sierra unable to finish her sentence due to sheer shock, Cassius responded calmly.

[Cassius] "The energy inside Hanael's body conflicts with the demon's energy."

The demon gasped for air. Cassius narrowed his brows and took a step toward the demon. Slumped on the floor, the demon whimpered in desperation.

[Demon] "T-T-Take that, th-that holy thing away!"

Sierra glanced at the Crown Prince’s burning hand and spoke coldly.

[Sierra] "Get lost yourself."

[Demon] "Gah, kghhh......"

After looking dispassionately at the half-delirious demon, Sierra pulled a cleansing potion from her pocket and poured it over Hanael’s hands.

[Sierra] "Hanael, that is filthy."

[Hanael] "Yup! I will not touch it again!"

While she spoke cheerfully, the Crown Prince squirmed in deep resentment.

During that moment, Sierra spotted her sister lying collapsed beyond the Crown Prince, barely breathing.

[Sierra] "Cassius, I leave the rest to you."

Next was sending both the demon and the Crown Prince's soul to the Demon Realm together. That was Cassius' specialty above all else.

The moment he nodded, Sierra held Hanael’s hand tightly. Leaving that bastard to Cassius, she needed to check on Amille first.

---

While the demon twitched its limbs and rolled its eyes in a pathetic display, Sierra stepped past him to examine Amille.

[Sierra] "Sister."

[Amille] "......Sierra."

Seeing her bloody and bruised face made resentment swell inside Sierra's chest. Even in that state, Amille forced her mouth open to speak.

[Amille] "I am... sorry."

Gasping for air, the only words she managed to squeeze out were an apology.

[Sierra] "......You don't need to apologize. You saved us, Sister."

Sierra carefully laid Amille flat on her back before looking around. Amille exhaled quietly, rambling incoherent words through her teeth like "Thank goodness" and "I am sorry." Strangely, hearing her voice gradually dissolved Sierra's lingering tension.

[Sierra] "The Crown Prince will soon head to the Demon Realm alongside the demon. You know full well what fate awaits a human dropped into the Demon Realm, right, Sister?"

Amille nodded at Sierra. As her remaining strength slipped away, the full picture came into focus: the squirming Crown Prince, Cassius binding him, and Hanael still gazing around in wonder. She could roughly grasp the master plan Cassius had orchestrated.

After gently resting Amille back down, Sierra stood up quietly and returned to Hanael's side.

Cassius stared intently at the Crown Prince. With a dry expression and a mocking tone, he whispered.

[Cassius] "Now, shall we summon the helpless Crown Prince bound to the demon once more......?"

A faint emblem surfaced on the bound Crown Prince’s forehead. A red moon emblem.

Sierra stared at the shadowed forehead of the Crown Prince. That brand, feared by every citizen of the Empire, belonged to the demon. The red moon stamped on his forehead served as clear proof that this man had become the demon’s captive.

While Sierra stared blankly at the mark on his forehead, Cassius met the slowly returning gaze of the Crown Prince and spoke.

[Cassius] "The Crown Prince’s soul is gradually returning."

Sierra turned her head away from Cassius, her eyes cold as she watched the Crown Prince thrashing violently. He thrashed because his soul, consumed by the demon, suffered immense pain. Cassius, unconcerned by that pain, raised a dagger and lightly traced a circle in the air.

[Cassius] "I will begin."

Sierra nodded at those words and slowly covered Hanael’s eyes with one hand, keeping her from witnessing anything dangerous.

The Crown Prince's eyes were forced shut. Finally, a magic circle of binding began to form above his head. A round circle emerged, followed by continuous geometric shapes depicting the demon.

The origin of that magic circle flowed directly from the tip of Cassius' sword. Sierra watched with a stunned expression as blood-red lines swirled ceaselessly from his blade. The bloodlike magic circle settled gently onto the Crown Prince’s body.

[Prince] "Gah, kghhh!"

Sierra realized instinctively: that scream belonged to the Crown Prince, not the demon. Trapped inside his own body alongside the demon, his soul screamed in torment.

[Prince] "How dare you... remove this... immediately...!"

As he thrashed repeatedly, vivid lines formed the magic circle above his head once more.

Sierra looked at Cassius. Once this magic circle finished summoning and the demon became sealed, the Crown Prince’s cruel and vile soul would leave his physical body alongside the demon.

He would die.

Sierra felt no lingering remorse about a person dying. She threw out a mocking remark.

[Sierra] "You acted like an almighty absolute ruler. How does it feel to be completely helpless?"

The Crown Prince couldn't even answer.

[Prince] "Kghhh...... Aaaah!"

He merely writhed as if wandering the bottomless pit of hell, screaming endlessly.

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