The Crown Prince’s voice was laced with a vulgar desire that was nauseating.

A thick desire to not only take the other person’s body, but to slather on layers of flesh and drink their red blood.

An abyss of primordial darkness, too evil and sinister to be considered human, unencumbered by the shadow of conscience, where dipping a single toe would instantly devour the entire body.

Simon and Odette, who were present, also sensed the darkness permeating his voice, and so they simultaneously pressed their lips tightly together.

However, only Kasha remained calm. Her gaze was dignified, and an unknowable authority seeped from her composed face.

Rather, it was Nigel who seemed impatient.

The veins bulging on the back of his hands, neck, and forehead sometimes wriggled as if alive, and the corners of his eyes were severely red like a sick person. Moreover, he kept licking his lips from the moment he saw Kasha.

Seeing this, Simon and Odette felt a strange emotion. Despite it clearly being a nauseatingly grotesque sight, they felt an obligatory sense that they should offer praise and worship instead.

It felt as if primal fear and mechanical worship were taking turns strangling their necks.

The two, unable to know that it was because the power of the demon stone and the curse were simultaneously taking effect, bowed their heads one after another, not knowing what to do with themselves.

Simon was especially more confused.

‘Are you ready to properly enjoy yourself with me? What does that mean? Could it be… that His Highness means to take Kasha as a woman?’

He simply could not comprehend it.

That noble and outstanding Leon Aranias had fallen for Kasha as if bewitched, and now even the Crown Prince was trying to covet Kasha?

The woman who had always been beneath his feet, so obvious and easy to handle. The insignificant being who came when told to come, went when told to go, and silently endured all the unfair things he ordered her to do, only desiring his smile and praise.

That woman was now directly meeting the Crown Prince’s gaze and exuding an unapproachable aura.

And in her eyes, there was even – unbelievably – a kind of contempt. Towards that noble and excellent Crown Prince who had everything, she dared to.

And conversely, that noble Crown Prince was clearly burning with desire for her.

As if he would get down to business regardless of whether Simon and Odette were in the room, his eyes were brimming with vulgar lust to the point of being crude.

No matter how one looked at it, the noble one in this moment was Kasha. And the Crown Prince, drooling towards that noble being, was utterly pathetic.

Yet, Simon himself could not dare send even a single contemptuous glance towards the Crown Prince. As if he were a prisoner tightly bound, he was ready to worship and follow the Crown Prince like a dog no matter what he did.

‘Why, why?’

In that moment, Simon’s insides twisted strangely.

An undeniable attraction and inferiority complex towards Kasha. And an unknown terror towards the Crown Prince. Caught between the two, unable to move, it felt as if his soul was being torn apart.

That’s when Kasha opened her mouth.

“Is this His Highness the Crown Prince’s bedchamber?”

The Crown Prince grinned widely and retorted.

“Why? Do you want to go to my bedchamber?”

“…If I am to enjoy the pleasure of being with Your Highness, I suppose that would be preferable.”

“Well, this place might not quite suit the tastes of little girls.”

The Crown Prince’s voice was hoarse, sounding like a different person, and his language was also full of lust, devoid of any sophistication.

“But this place suits my taste very well.”

Saying that while laughing and baring his teeth, the Crown Prince approached the right wall and scanned the tools hanging there with fervent eyes.

He seemed to have completely forgotten about the presence of Simon and Odette still standing behind him.

After pondering for a while as if solving a major problem, he finally put down a sword and instead took down a smooth, sturdy club. Seemingly gauging the feel and weight of the club by striking it against his palm a few times, he looked back at Kasha with satisfaction.

“All right. Now, why don’t you stand up and come over here?”

“……”

Kasha was still calm, but her eyes were evidently darker than before.

Yet still, her gaze was arrogant. And that very point kept grating on Simon’s nerves.

At the same time, he became very frightened.

‘What if… Kasha really becomes the Crown Prince’s concubine?’

With that thought, Simon grew even more anxious. If Kasha rose to an even higher position, if she became able to manipulate even the Crown Prince like Leon Aranias, what would happen to him then?

A vision appeared in his mind of Kasha sitting beside the Crown Prince who had become Emperor, wearing a seductive dress and whispering in his ear.

‘Your Majesty. Why give such a high position to that kind of person? Now that he’s become useless, just throw him away, Your Highness.’

Without realizing it, Simon stepped forward.

“The Crown Prince is calling you! Can’t you hear?”

He suddenly yelled and forcefully pulled up Kasha, who was sitting motionless, by the arm.

“What are you doing? Let go!”

Odette’s shout could be heard from the side, trying to stop him, but he didn’t even pretend to listen.

What was important to him right now was making sure Kasha Lyuschino clearly remembered her place.

He wanted her to be swept around under his feet, to have her soul and body cruelly trampled.

So that she would forget what she could do, what she could create, what songs she could sing, how beautiful she was.

So that the light in those fiercely burning bright pink eyes would eventually be extinguished, and she could never again despise him as if he were insignificant.

“Let go.”

Kasha retorted in a dry voice as if he wasn’t even worth dealing with and shook off his arm.

Her reaction, not even looking him in the eye, was so irksome.

“Listen to the Crown Prince’s order. If he tells you to lie down or bark like a dog, do it. You’re good at that kind of thing. It’s your specialty, isn’t it?”

Upon hearing Simon’s words, Kasha finally turned to look at him as if dumbfounded. Blinking a few times, her mouth slowly opened.

“You’re pathetic, still. So little has changed that it’s boring, you.”

“What?”

“But… I had hoped for even a slight possibility. Because you were someone I wanted to believe in at one point.”

Yet even as she said that, not a shred of emotion remained in her eyes as she looked at him. That drove him even more insane.

Simon relentlessly refused to let go of her arm. Rather, he used more brutal force to drag her towards the Crown Prince.

When Kasha unexpectedly put up a strong resistance, this time he grabbed her long hair and violently yanked it.

“What are you doing, Simon!”

“Let go!”

Odette’s shouts trying to stop him while grabbing his arm and Kasha’s screams mixed together, echoing in the small room.

However, Simon put even more force into his grip. Deliberately more roughly, mercilessly dragging her like handling a beast.

So that she would become more pitiful. So that she would be thoroughly ruined. Just as he had already become.

That’s when it happened.

WHACK!

With a tremendous pain as if the back of his head was being split in two, stars flashed before his eyes.

Staggering and turning around, Simon’s field of vision was filled with Nigel’s hideously distorted expression.

“How dare you lay a hand on someone else’s property? You stupid bastard.”

Simon felt something hot flowing down the back of his head.

Only then realizing he had offended the Crown Prince, Simon took faltering steps backward.

But the Crown Prince, whose eyes had already turned completely red, didn’t seem inclined to forgive the obstacle blocking the satisfaction of his desires.

WHACK. WHACK. WHACK.

From then on, the Crown Prince’s club, swung emotionlessly, relentlessly battered Simon’s body.

“You can’t do, a single thing, properly, how dare you, act up? Incompetent, pathetic, cockroach bastard.”

With each word spat out, Simon crumpled and collapsed under the club raining down.

There was not a shred of mercy in the hands of the Crown Prince, whose eyes had rolled back. Simon had long ago lost consciousness, his eyes flipped back, but he showed no intention of stopping the beating.

Odette, who had been trembling with her eyes half-closed at the unbearably cruel scene, finally fainted. Kasha, who had been standing in a daze as if her mind had stopped, finally came to her senses after laying Odette’s body down and screamed as if crying out.

“Stop it!”

“…What did you say?”

Nigel, who had droplets of blood splattered on his face and empty pupils rolled down, turned towards Kasha.

Looking at Nigel’s face that had become grotesquely transformed as if no longer human, Kasha felt a primal fear.

Why did that face seem more terrible and frightening than when she faced the true demon, Masud Gilruth?

Kasha bit her lip until it bled to regain her senses.

Staring into Nigel’s blood-red eyes, Kasha enunciated each word clearly.

“You want to have me? Then take me to your bedchamber. Because here, you won’t be able to achieve anything you desire.”

“Puh, puhahaha. Puhkukukuku.”

As if finding something hilarious, Nigel suddenly bent over and began laughing like a madman.

Hahaha. Puhahahahahaha.

Standing in the puddle of blood that had flowed from Simon’s body and grown larger, Nigel guffawed for a long time before finally straightening his body and wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes.

“Puh, kuk… You’re right, it would be a waste to just kill you. Fine. Let’s do that.”

Eyes wriggling like a snake swept over Kasha’s body.

“Let’s go to my bed. I’ll treat you as nicely as you want, as much as you want.”