The Empress' Scandalous Paramour (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 34

At first, I met her intending to use her.

A demon named Astaroth, with raven-black hair flowing down to her waist and eyes as dark as if carved from the heart of night.

Even dressed in attire from several generations past, it never looked awkward or outdated. Rather, it felt mesmerizing—thanks to the arrogant aura and the predator’s presence that emanated from her so naturally.

As far as Enrique remembered, she never made much effort to hide the fact that she was a demon.

Perhaps it was partly due to her inherently candid and straightforward nature, but more than anything, it was because she knew her own strength.

She carried the absolute confidence that no being in this world could ever harm her—combined with the generosity and open-heartedness fitting of a top-tier predator. Who among mortals could possibly resist being enchanted by the cheerful innocence born of her ignorance toward the human world?

The villagers of the small town where she often appeared had long suspected she was a demon, yet they deliberately turned a blind eye.

Not only because she would buy out entire market stalls whenever she went out for a stroll, but even more so because she always donated everything to the nearby orphanage without fail.

She would stitch up wounds for the injured, toss mysterious medicines whose origins no one knew, and frequently declare without warning, “You all belong to me, so I shall treat you well.”

Though such actions likely meant nothing to her, to mortal humans—bound by finite lives—what Lady Astaroth granted them was immeasurably significant.

Ah, of course, there were those who could not accept her kindness as mere grace and instead gave in to greed.

That man reported Lady Astaroth to a member of the Crusade, who, realizing she was far beyond his ability to handle, immediately escalated the matter to his superiors.

Thus, information about her eventually reached Helene’s hands.

Helene proposed to him, “Let’s slay the demon and present her to His Imperial Majesty.”

She reasoned that since the demon seemed harmless—fond of children and young animals—and tended to show more attention to the lowly than to nobles, they should pretend he was merely a humble shepherd boy.

Read full content of this chapter on r e d c a t t y . c o m