I, too, redirected my gaze in the same direction.

Then my face, which had been trying not to look, involuntarily frowned.

‘Ah, that unpleasant painting. I tried not to see it, but today I ended up looking at it again.’

It was the painting that filled one side of the lobby wall.

Inside the frame, a view of a pitch-black, dark forest unfolded.

Entirely filled with trees, and the overall saturation was excessively low.

In other words, a dark and gloomy feeling painting.

When standing in front of that painting, it felt like being left alone in a forest where pitch darkness had descended.

And now, the two men were staring at that unsettling painting.

How long had this strange silence lasted?

Cedric sighed heavily and furrowed his brow.

“It seems like that crazy bastard is coming.”

In response to his words, Adrian nodded.

“Yes, it seems he noticed what happened in the forest earlier.”

Feeling stifled by the two men’s huddled conversation, I hastily spoke up.

“Who on earth is coming? Are you talking about the painting?”

Upon my question, Cedric nodded slowly.

“Vincent will be coming here soon.”

Vincent? Who is that?

Adrian, still looking puzzled, cast an awkward smile while observing my bewildered expression.

“Lady V, to be honest, that painting depicts the Demon Realm’s forest and serves as a passage to that place.”

Hearing that, I recalled Adrian’s words from earlier.

‘The Demon Realm’s forest is very dark. If you happen to get lost and encounter this flower, you’re considered lucky.’

Ah, so that’s why the forest in the painting was so dark.

Lost in thought, I nodded, and Adrian, biting his lower lip slightly, spoke again.

“And now… the owner of this place is coming.”

“The owner of this place?”

At that moment, Adrian, with a tense expression, nodded his head.

“The ‘real owner’ of this place, the Dark Mansion.”

Soon after, at the top of the painting, in the deepest part of the Demon Realm’s forest, a small light began to glow.

The small light started moving slowly towards the bottom of the frame.

As it got closer, the surrounding trees seemed to sway with lifelike movements whenever the light moved.

As the light approached, the sounds of the forest wind and the cries of nocturnal animals sporadically reached our ears.

Looking with my own eyes, it was an unbelievable sight.

Gradually, someone emerged from beyond the painting, pushing through the bushes.

“Having a good time, were you?…”

A stranger’s voice echoed gloomily within the drawing-room.

“Of all times, who’s the X bastard causing trouble for me now?”
In the darkness, golden eyes slowly revealed themselves.

The man, with silver hair partially covering his forehead, had sharp eyes full of vitality.

A large scar adorned the right corner of his mouth, and even through the nightgown revealing his muscular chest, various scars were visible on his tan abdomen.

At that moment, I couldn’t help but swallow dryly at the impression of the man, who felt like a hyena starved for blood.

“Coming all this way to babble nonsense, Vincent,” Cedric coldly retorted to the man.

Then, the man’s face, which seemed ready to tear apart that ‘son of a b****’ just moments ago, slowly began to soften.

“Oh, it’s my cousin Cedric. What a surprise to meet you right away.”

Vincent chuckled, fastening the straps of his nightgown.

“Cedric, it’s always a pleasure to see your dirty habits haven’t changed. Every time you do that, it feels like you’re not fully adapted to the human world yet.”

“…Ha.”

“Yeah, those cute humans, sneaking around hiding their true nature in the cracks. Why bother suffering and living among them? Just come back to the Demon Realm.”

Although Cedric frowned at Vincent’s tiresome tone, Vincent just chuckled again.

“Vincent, long time no see.”

“Oh, Adrian too? Was today my birthday?”

He, who had moments ago exuded vitality, was now continuously releasing laughter.

Eventually, when Vincent’s gaze fell on me, Adrian approached my side and whispered, “Vincent Norman, the head of the Norman family in the Demon Realm. The family of the twin brother who returned to the Demon Realm in ancient times.”

Although not mentioned in the original, even after the twin brother’s family returned to the Demon Realm, the two families had maintained communication.

Observing me with his chilly golden eyes, Vincent slowly spoke.

“Ah, I see.”

“…”

“You, the eccentric Twin’s Duchess, right?”

As expected, Vincent seemed to be meeting me for the first time.

Since Cedric had kept everything related to the Demon Realm secret from her, there had been no introduction between them.

‘Well, that’s true. Meeting for the first time? Eccentric?’

When I raised my eyes sharply and looked at him, Vincent chuckled and continued.

“I’ve heard a lot about your personality even in the Demon Realm. My relatives were so surprised that they couldn’t help but stick their tongues out. So, I’ve heard it all.”

“Cedric said that?”

“No, not him.”

“Then…?”

“The Demon King.”

Vincent smirked, wiggling his nose.

“That audacious little thing is also my relative.”

Staring at me with a smile for a while, which was almost threatening, Vincent cautiously approached me.

A rough and wild appearance.

Although Cedric shared some similarities in appearance, the feeling was entirely different.

Wide shoulders and a loincloth somehow gave off a sense of intimidation.

A fierce once-over from him.

As his lips drew close, they slowly parted.