From behind, he had to try hard not to exert strength while lifting the child’s arms up and down. They felt too thin and soft, as if he was not holding anything.

“I want to do it myself!!”

“Alright. Give it a try.”

It was his first time teaching someone.

Contradictions, lies, teachings. There were many unfamiliar things, but they were not that unpleasant.

The fun this little one provided as a reward was enough.

He stepped back and watched Evelia swing her sword.

The hardearned posture shook again, the knees bent again, and the angle of the hand twisted again.

There’s no hope. This seems to be a matter of talent, not effort.

“You’re… doing well.”

Yet another lie.

“Hehe Really?”

Those eyes. It’s because of those eyes. He couldn’t bear to say no. He couldn’t even utter harsh words.

The sight of her turning around with her golden hair flying in the wind and smiling didn’t bother him much.

“That’s right. You’re doing well now. I’ll teach you here sometimes.”

What’s wrong with not being good at it? He could teach her every time they met.

The cunning demon threw out a bait so that he could often see this small amusement in the future.

Evelia, who had been nodding her head excitedly, suddenly made a surprised expression.

“Ah, but, I know. I was told not to get along with the devil.”

After playing well so far, she started talking nonsense.

He didn’t seem like a bad demon, but she remembered the things she had heard so far.

“Devils are bad, dirty, greedy, ah! They’re kind to humans and then drink their blood….”

Evelia, who was rattling off unbelievable rumors in front of the party concerned, suddenly stopped speaking as if she had realized something.

I know. I figured it out.

I figured out why this bunny came all the way to these deep mountains to find me.

“Blood… My blood….”

No wonder. His lips were as red as if they had been smeared with blood.

No wonder. It was said that demons often trap humans with their charm and gobble them up.

When she looked up sneakily, he had a grin on his face, which looked just like a villain.

She noticed inadvertently. Her voice crept in quietly.

“I… don’t… taste good….”

Why would this demon have come all the way to these deep mountains to find me? Why would he have kindly taught me swordsmanship?

It matched perfectly with the ‘way certain demons eat humans’ that the maids had told her.

In fact, the ‘demons’ the maids had mentioned were ‘succubus’ who enchant humans and suck their energy, but she didn’t have enough knowledge to distinguish that yet.

She fumbled around her neck to run away to the Duke’s house with the necklace that the Count of Cassis had given her, but the necklace was just lying on the ground as she had taken it off to practice swordsmanship.

Agares, who was about to laugh at Evelia who was drumming, digging, lying down and even covering herself with soil, covered his face with one hand as if contemplating whether to eat her or not, and barely managed to hold back.

Ah, I made a good choice to come. Let’s tease her a bit.

“You seem tasty?”

Agares took a large step closer.

His lips were slightly lifted, and his eyes sparkled with mischief.

“No, I’m bitter.”

Evelia, who didn’t look down to see Agares’ expression, stepped back seriously and advised him that it was a misunderstanding.

“But you smell so sweet?”

Agares took another big step closer, licking his red lips with his tongue.

“Is… isn’t it this…?”

She took out two chocolates that she had hidden in her training bag to eat when she got hungry, placed them on her small palm, and handed them to Agares.

It must be this smell. I’ll give you this.

Eat this and please don’t eat me.

Agares, who had been a couple of steps away, suddenly swooped in close, bent over, and took a big breath in Evelia’s ear.

“Hmm, no, it’s you.”

He whispered. The mint scent that had deepened more than before filled her lungs.

Goosebumps rose all over her body.

The hand holding the chocolate trembled sweetly.

So this is why. This is why they said not to trust all the devils.

The slightest complacency resulted in being swiftly swallowed.

“Huaa……”

Should she strike him with a wooden sword? Should she threaten him as the Knights had taught her? How would she survive?

Agares, who had been watching Evelia’s pupils darting about, began to rise from his crouch with a laugh, thinking he may have teased her too much.

“Back off.”

A low growl echoed from behind her.

She had already sensed the approaching presence but had not paid much attention as it was too subtle.

At least it didn’t seem like someone who could pose a threat to this little one in front of him.

Agares, who had slowly turned towards the sound, came face to face with the ruby eyes of a silverhaired boy who was still much smaller than him.

“So grumpy. Didn’t you learn to respect your elders?”

Agares tilted his head slightly, speaking with indifferent eyes.

It was completely different from the gaze he had been casting at Evelia.

His eyes, once full of soft laughter, turned emotionless.

He was not particularly fond of humans.

Except for this chick, who had sparked his interest lately.

The silverhaired boy stood in front of Evelia with eyes filled with vigilance and tension.

“A land thief. It would be a bit troublesome if someone takes it away.”

Ludwig had thought of the damn land thief occasionally over the past five months.

Well, at first it was occasional, but as time passed, he found himself spending quite a bit of time fiddling with the pine cone the land thief had thrown.

It came to mind now and then.

The open field, the refreshing wind, the carefree child, the seablue eyes, and the sunlike hair.

Not having been able to visit the secret base because of mismatched timing, after not seeing each other for five long months, he saw a glimmer of golden hair in the distance and his steps quickened unknowingly.

What should be the first words? How have you been? No, that’s too awkward.

Should I chastise her for leaving a trap of devil’s bread and drinks last time? No, what if she never comes again then?

While walking briskly, his clever mind was constantly thinking about what to say to the child.

But as he got closer, he saw a man leaning towards the land thief.

‘His hair is black, so he’s neither a peacock, nor an ark, nor Cedric. Maybe he’s one of the knights from the Artina Knights.’

His steps quickened a little more.

As the distance closed in, he could see the land thief’s face awash with confusion. Her eyes were downcast.

He could see her outstretched hand trembling.

He found it very unpleasant that the land thief he hadn’t seen for a long time was being threatened at my secret base.

The land thief still owed me, after all.

On the other hand, the devil wanted the uninvited guest who was interrupting his time with the chick to disappear.

It was a priceless time with the only interesting subject.

Caught between the fiercely glaring whales was a small shrimp, Evelia, who alternately looked at the bloodsucking devil who was trying to suck her blood and the food thief who was obviously going to take revenge on me with a loaf full of peppers.

Realizing her predicament, her round face slowly paled.

I’m in big trouble… I’m doomed! I’m doomed!!

Stealthily.

In the silence between the blood thief and the food thief glaring at each other, Evelia took one, two small steps to the side to quickly pick up the necklace she had set down on the ground.

Dangling,

Evelia’s body was lifted up.

“Hua?”

The one who grabbed the back of her robe and lifted her up like a rabbit was Agares.

Almost simultaneously, Ludwig pushed Evelia’s necklace to the side.

“Where are you going?”

“Don’t go.”

Agares and Ludwig spoke at the same time, then glared at each other again.

“Heeing……”

It seemed that the food thief and the blood thief had no intention of letting me go quietly.

Why has my secret base become a gathering place for villains! How did this happen!