Episode 50

I gathered Catherine’s children in one place and turned down the volume of their voices. Their fluffy brown hair swayed as if dancing in the direction of the wind.

“If you guysh answer my queshtion first, I’ll let you know.”

“Huh?”

“What are you going to ask?”

“Ask me!”

‘For now, I should teach you guys the rule of speaking one person at a time.’

I covered my sore ears and continued.

“Since when did you have that necklace?”

“This . . . . . ?”

“Um. Yesterday! Or not? Was it the day before yesterday?”

“Mom said never to take it off. This will make us stronger.”

The child held the necklace in front of me and shook it as if he was bragging. Unlike the previously destroyed plaster statues, the child’s necklace was decorated with ruby.

‘This might be a little difficult to destroy in front of them.’

I frowned and looked at the jewel with black aura shining transparently. The child who showed me the necklace jumped back with a loud sound.

“Why do you look at it like you hate it? My mom gave it to me!”

“That’s right! You’re a bad shadow demon!”

I raised my head and made eye contact with the grumpy child. I almost apologized and was about to say I was sorry, but demons do not apologize so I decided to go out shamelessly.

‘Although, Baal often apologizes easily.’

“Solityude is terrible.” 

“Is it poison?”

“No, but it’sh something shcarier.”

‘Because it hurts people.’

When you’re in pain because of poison, you know the reason for that pain, but loneliness can cause human suffering by encroaching without a cause. It made me blame myself for being the only one who was weak and suffering. 

“You, you’re only saying strange things.”

I looked at the children who tilted their heads as though they couldn’t understand what I said. 

Even though they were only children, I decided that it was a little too much to forcibly take away three necklaces at once and make a run for it.

‘Right now, the garden is too close to the palace.’ 

The distance was short enough for guards to arrive quickly if the children screamed.

In addition, one of the children’s auras was a little bit murky, as if it had already been affected by the black aura.

“Shall I tell you a fun geym?”

“What is it?”

“It won’t be fun if it’s a game where we kill each other.”

I smiled and shook my head at the children’s dejected reply.

“It won’t be ash bowring ash that.”

“Then what?”

I spoke in a low voice, seducing the children like a demon’s whisper.

“We will play The Rose of Sharon.” 

Perhaps because they were smart children, they quickly became familiar with the rules of ‘The Rose of Sharon Blooms Again[1]’. 

The rule was that the player moves to the person who was ‘it’ while the ‘it’ person sings the name of the game, but when the ‘it’ person turns around after the song was over, the players should stop moving, not even the tip of their toes.

“This is easy!”

“We won again!”

I kept stumbling or moving my body on purpose when the children were ‘it’, allowing them to win in a row.

When I lost again, I made a frustrated face and the children burst into laughter, asking if I, as a demon, can’t do this.

“What are you going to give this time?”

“Um, take this.”

Pouting my lips, I handed out the lottery tickets that I had kept in my pocket to the children.

‘Maybe there’ll be a winner amongst you!’

It’s such a waste because it was a lottery ticket that I haven’t checked yet, but it’s the only way to make the children let their guard down.

I encouraged the children’s competitiveness by saying this was the last round of the game.

“It probably won’t happen, but let’sh say if you lose, what are you going to gib to me?”

“Us? We don’t have these demon papers like you do.”

“What abowt the jewelry you’re wearing?”

“I-I can’t. My mom told me not to take it off.”

I shrugged my shoulders at the child who responded with a firm face.

“I’m not ashking for it. I just wanted to borrow it for a while.”

 “For a while?”

“Yes. How abowt I retuwn it after a few nights?”

It was important to make them feel that the necklace wasn’t that great.

When I said it’s not as great as the jewelry made by demons, but I wanted to look at what man-made jewelry looked like, the children began to nod. 

‘Game over.’ 

“A-Alright. Well. You’ll lose anyway.”

“Is it really okay?”

“It’s okay, it’s going to be alright. The demon is going to lose anyway. We're really good at this game.”

“Yes, we’re good!”

Only the timid-looking child looked at the necklace anxiously, but soon joined forces with the other children and raised their voices.

With his chubby hands smelling of breadcrumbs on his side, he lined up.

“Come on!”

I took the necklace carefully and hung it on a branch.

Then I turned my back from the children, no longer looking at them and began to focus on singing ‘The Rose of Sharon Blooms Again.’ Actually, this game was too advantageous for me to the point where I felt sorry for the children. 

‘I can sense where they’re coming from.’

Aura was an intangible entity, it’s visible even with my eyes closed. Of course, the aura that fluctuated with excitement from the children reached me even when I turned around. 

“The Rose of Sh-a-ron— (Mugung-ah kko-cchi-i-)“

“. . . . . !”

“Blooms Again!(Pi-eo-ssumnida!)” 

Knowing the location of the children, I quickly grabbed the one closest to me in order and jumped to the tree where the children’s necklaces were hung.

“Oh!”

There was a sound of surprise from the children with their jaws wide open. Without worrying about it, I summoned Baal immediately with the necklaces in hand.

“Our necklaces!!!”

“You bad demon!”

‘Sorry. After I destroy the aura, I’ll give it back.’

I hid in Baal’s shadow, leaving behind the children who were reaching for me with faces that were about to burst into tears.

‘I need to think of something if I get asked what’s in my pocket.’

The yellow dress that I was wearing was made by Marilyn, but it only had one pocket.

When I put the necklaces inside, it pops out as if saying ‘I’m here’.

Fortunately, Baal, who brought me back to Dahlia, pretended to ignore my bulging pocket.

‘For a demon, he’s uselessly considerate.’

I washed myself, changed into pajamas, sat on a rocking chair, and tilted my head as I looked up to Baal knitting leisurely. (Y’all, imagine Baal knitting. Hahahaha!)

‘If I had a grandmother, would it feel like this?’

No, actually, I had a grandmother. I wasn’t very talented so she didn’t play with me, and didn’t even pretend to know me when I visited during the holidays.

“Baah.”

“Yes.”

“Ish Baah bad?”

Baal put down his knitting and looked at me, perhaps because he felt that it wasn’t the usual playful question. He made a strange face but I couldn’t see his expression clearly because the shadow wavered.

“I must be bad. I’m a demon.”

“Are all debons bad?”

At that question, I shut my mouth. Asmodeus was a terrible demon, but if we went by that logic that he was evil because he was a demon, then all the children of Lagrange were villains.

‘However, the kids I saw today at the Rose Palace were just ordinary kids.’

I suddenly thought of Yuric’s words and approached Baal. I opened my arms and he naturally hugged me and sat me on his lap.

“Baah. Is Detrie going to die becaushe of Baah?” 

“Are you talking about the price?”

Unexpectedly, Baal shook his head slowly.

“The price doesn’t necessarily take your life. But, we can’t become the hands and feet of humans.”

“Why?”

“Yes?”

“Why are you letting them do that? You said debons are stronger.”

I’ve been curious about this for a long time.

The power of the sun god was basically an ability to be manifested because they were priests of God, but the demons of Lagrange seemed more like slaves.

Perhaps my question wasn’t what he expected, Baal’s eyebrows—or the part where it should be—rose slightly. He hesitated and pressed his lips.

“If you repeat this, the line between men and demons becomes increasingly blurred. If that happens...”

Baal stopped talking and opened his mouth wide. Looking into the empty mouth of the demon without a throat, I gulped.

“You will eat Detrie?”

“Yes.”

“Baal is really bad.”

“Because I’m a demon.”

“Can you stop him?”

“I can’t. I can’t stop him even if Hera, the sun god, comes.”

I narrowed my eyes at Baal’s declaration. It’s a lot harder than purifying the curse of a demon, but maybe—

“Now, please refrain from asking difficult questions.”

Baal leaned down as if he kissed me on the forehead, acting like a nanny. Though, demons have no face. So, of course, he didn’t have lips, but I shuddered as I felt a warm breath.

“Bye, Baal.” 

When Marilyn, who has been nagging me about where I went alone without saying a word, returned to my room, silence fell and only the sound of my breathing was left.

Dietrich still seemed to be avoiding me—or maybe he was really busy—but it was hard to see even a strand of his hair.

‘I’m alone now.’

In my previous life, I was always alone, so it was rather awkward to have a person next to me, but now I feel a little afraid to be alone.

Because I now had Dietrich. Even if he didn’t give in easily, he was my family, and he was the only one I had, as someone who became Anissa.

And he had me.

‘He doesn’t even know that. Idiot.’

I pouted, recalling Dietrich who turned away from me. I couldn’t sleep, so I should do what I need to do.

As I moved my hands that were tucked under the raccoon doll, at the rustling noise, hard necklaces were held in my hands.

Unlike the rose plasters and the mobile, the jewelry could not be broken no matter how hard it was shaken.

I could purify it only if the black mist could be touched by my hand, but it was hidden under sophisticated workmanship and bloomed as if it was making fun of me.

‘What should I do with this?’

I had to give these back to the triplets at Rose Palace. In my frustration, I held the jewel up to the moonlight, and the room turned black.

Note:

[1] 무궁화 꽃이 피었습니다 (The Rose of Sharon Blooms Again) A Korean game, also a book of the same title. As a game, the Western equivalent would be “Green Light, Red Light.” 

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