Chapter 5 

 I’m the Only One Who Knows the Male Lead Is the Mastermind

The Ruby Palace, located closest to the Diamond Palace where the Emperor resided, was a space belonging exclusively to the Crown Prince, Ivan.

Therefore, even if the daughter of some insignificant count’s family—one of countless noble houses scattered throughout the Empire—were to insult a member of the imperial family and lose her head for it, no one would have anything to say about it.

The reason he was called an angel in the first place was because he helped those who were struggling and used his abilities for the benefit of many. It was not because he was ignorant of reason or soft-hearted.

As befitted the sole heir to the Lakis Empire, Ivan was a man who always led by example and strictly followed imperial law. And so, despite having a rather gentle personality for someone who would one day rule the Empire, not a single person dared to rebel against him.

Because everyone knew that he wasn’t truly ‘kind.’

As proof, countless palace servants were constantly losing their jobs within the imperial palace, while those caught insulting the imperial family were mercilessly put to death.

“I didn’t know that’s what you thought. May I ask why?”

Fortunately, Ivan didn’t seem offended by Rine’s answer. Instead, he calmly asked his question.

‘…Judging by his reaction, I guess I’m not destined to die today.’

Rine’s pink eyes blinked slowly at the unexpectedly composed response. She had expected the atmosphere to turn icy even if he didn’t kill her immediately, but that wasn’t the case either.

‘It doesn’t seem to be because there are so many eyes watching us… Then does he want something from me? What on earth could it be?’

There was a barrier around the imperial palace that prevented the use of teleportation magic, so she couldn’t simply make a run for it like last time.

Which meant she had to be careful with her words and actions.

But still.

‘He was the one who asked me why!’

The least I could do was answer him.

Besides, she’d been itching to say this anyway. What perfect timing.

Rine smiled brightly and opened her mouth.

“I was actually just about to tell you, so I’m glad you happened to be curious.”

“…Hm?”

“Isn’t it impossible for someone to be an angel when you threatened to kill me the first time we met, forced a marriage proposal on me without asking what I wanted, and even came to the house you weren’t told about and threatened me—well, threatened me without quite calling it a threat?”

Rine’s face was perfectly confident as if she were asking, If that’s not a demon, then what is?

Apologize while I’m still asking nicely.

Ivan looked as though he’d just been dealt a solid blow after receiving the unmistakable message in her eyes.

“Pfft….”

Vanel, who had been silently standing behind Ivan, hurriedly turned his head away, his face making it painfully obvious that he was trying to suppress his laughter. Even so, he couldn’t hide the way his shoulders were shaking.

‘……She has a point. Those certainly aren’t the actions of an angel.’

Having his misdeeds suddenly exposed one by one, Ivan unconsciously swallowed dryly. Even if only for an instant, Rine was the first woman ever to make him nervous.

“I’ve certainly treated you terribly, Lady. I apologize.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

Rine pulled up the corners of her lips as if she were graciously forgiving him. Ivan then cautiously asked his next question, almost as though he were watching her mood.

“Then are you no longer afraid of me?”

“No. What kind of demon would apologize so obediently?”

After taking a sip of the sweet tea, Rine answered leisurely. Ivan was the mastermind, not a demon.

According to the original story, demons had a kind of restriction placed upon them, which meant they couldn’t casually kill humans. But hadn’t Ivan beheaded a person right in front of her?

Seeing how composed Rine remained, Ivan’s gaze slowly lowered.

“Oh my. You don’t believe that I’m a demon.”

“Of course not. It’s a world where even monsters exist.”

Demons definitely existed in this world. After all, the heroine herself served God as a saintess. There was no way evil didn’t exist.

But then, what were the chances that an extra with about as much presence as air would randomly encounter a demon who would have such a tremendous influence on the story?

‘Zero. Demons aren’t exactly your next-door neighbors. If they were that easy to encounter, this place would be the demon realm.’

She was already in a situation where she should have suspected she’d won the lottery simply because she’d gotten involved with Ivan, the second male lead. And now a demon on top of that?

While Rine dismissed Ivan’s words as nothing more than a joke, Ivan’s eyes turned toward one particular spot. Then, as if something had suddenly occurred to him, he rose from his seat and slowly approached Rine.

“…Your Highness?”

“The gift you prepared. May I receive it now?”

A gift? What was he talking about?

She hadn’t brought anything with her. Bewildered by the news of a gift even she knew nothing about, Rine simply stared at him. Ivan bent down until he was at eye level with her.

Just as Rine stiffened in surprise at his body drawing closer—

“Holy water. What a fine gift.”

In the blink of an eye, a bottle of holy water was in Ivan’s hand. The transparent liquid inside the tiny glass bottle sparkled like stars in his palm.

“No, why is that there…?”

How did he know she’d brought holy water?

The bottle was so tiny that there was still room inside her dress sleeve even after she’d tucked it in. It didn’t even have any particular scent!

Rine swallowed nervously, afraid that the atmosphere, which had finally settled down somewhat, would turn murderous again.

“What do you think is the most important thing in a cooperative relationship, Lady?”

“That would be… trust.”

“You understand well.”

Why was he suddenly asking that? Rine couldn’t figure out what Ivan was thinking at all. Just as she reached out to take back the bottle of holy water, feeling increasingly uneasy—

Crash!

The sharp sound of shattering glass pierced her ears. Her eyes widened at the unbelievable sight before her.

“Your Highness—!”

The back of Ivan’s hand, which had touched the holy water, began burning red. As if that weren’t enough, black ash scattered from it as though his flesh were actually being burned by fire. It was an utterly shocking sight.

‘Wow. This guy is completely insane…!’

Startled, Rine hurriedly wrapped her hands around Ivan’s and activated healing magic. It was an instinctive action, leaving no room for any other judgment to intervene. A dazzling blue light surrounded their overlapping hands.

“……Hm.”

A strange exclamation escaped Ivan’s lips. At the unfamiliar magical power of Rine’s that was flowing into his flesh, his green eyes shimmered with intrigued interest.

The back of his hand, which had burned red and then black, gradually began to regenerate. Before long, even the deep scar that had been carved into it had completely disappeared. As if nothing had ever happened.

Seeing his hand restored to its original state, Ivan smiled in satisfaction.

“As expected, you really are a Filtr.”

“A Fil… what?”

His precious body had nearly been left with a permanent scar. And it had happened right in front of her, no less.

That alone was enough to make Rine’s vision blur from sheer panic.

‘How is this man so calm?’

The man who had caused the accident seemed completely unfazed, as though he wasn’t even aware that his own hand had just been on fire. Instead, he simply continued speaking in that calm, matter-of-fact tone, saying things she couldn’t understand.

“Filtrer. It refers to those who can not only sense demonic energy, but completely erase its traces as well. Moreover, they can remove divine power, something ordinary mages cannot do.”

“As you can see.”

Ivan lightly tapped the back of his now-perfectly restored hand.

“In other words, it means ‘neutral.’ Someone capable of wielding both divine power and magic.”

Rine’s expression remained stiff, so Ivan added a slightly easier explanation.

“So, just to confirm that one thing, you burned your own hand? What if I wasn’t a Filtr?”

“Why are you angry? You weren’t injured.”

Ivan tilted his head at an angle. His gesture made it abundantly clear that he genuinely didn’t understand why Rine was getting so worked up.

‘This man… He really is a demon. He absolutely has to be a demon! There’s no way an angel would say something like that!’

At a loss as to where she should even begin explaining, Rine quietly glanced behind him. The maids who had been ordered by Ivan to stay far away were stealing curious glances at the two of them.

‘He blocked their hearing and sight with magic.’

She’d been so flustered that she hadn’t noticed until now. Come to think of it, it was strange that no one had rushed over or screamed even though the Crown Prince had literally caught fire.

Vanel, who had been nearby, hadn’t reacted either. It was probably because he was a demon too.

“Lord Paste, do you really think this is all right?”

In response to Rine’s sharp question, Vanel calmly replied that he was merely following the Crown Prince’s decision.

“His Highness has decided it, so I have no objection.”

Nothing about either of them was normal. Feeling a headache coming on, Rine pressed a hand to her forehead. They both looked perfectly fine on the outside, but it seemed as though each of them was missing a screw somewhere.

“There was a better way you could have made me trust you.”

“I couldn’t think of anything more accurate or faster than this. Besides, I needed to confirm it myself.”

“Whether I’m a Filtr or not?”

At her question, Ivan nodded. He had originally intended to inflict the wound in some other way, but fortunately, suspicious Rine had brought holy water, making things much easier.

‘It feels like I’d be in big trouble if I thanked him for that.’

For some reason, Rine’s glare had grown rather fierce. Ivan met her eyes and decided it would be wiser to keep his mouth shut.

“Then the unpleasant energy I sensed at Count Anasia’s residence a while ago….”

“You sensed demonic energy. That’s the ability of a Filtr. I suppose that’s how you were able to find me.”

However, Ivan no longer gave off the same energy he’d had back then—in other words, there was no trace of demonic energy coming from him now.

‘Then that means the demonic energy I sensed belonged to someone else?’

Rine fell silent in thought for a moment before raising her head to look at Ivan. Now that she’d heard this much, there was something else she needed to confirm with him.

“Who was the person you killed that day, Your Highness?”

“A human who had been consumed by demonic energy and lost his existence.”

…So basically, a monster.

“Then why did you say you were going to kill me, too? You could have simply said you were dealing with a humanoid monster….”

Rarely, monsters that took human form did appear. So that would have been a perfectly reasonable explanation. But why go out of his way to do otherwise?

“Oh, because you ran away.”

“…What?”

“Chasing fugitives is a demon’s instinct.”

At that quietly delivered answer, Rine’s reason, which had been creaking along this entire time, finally stopped functioning altogether.

“You really are a demon. You’re absolutely the worst.”

“Thank you.”

That wasn’t a compliment….