Sharp black spires pierced the sky as if trying to stab it.

Up to here, it was fine. Castles are supposed to be pointy after all.

But the garden that unfolded before my eyes made me rub them in disbelief.

‘…What are those crosses?’

Instead of flowers that should be in a garden, there were stake-like crosses.

And not just a few, but hundreds on mounds.

‘Is that… a fountain?’

There was indeed a fountain in the center.

Trickle, trickle.

But instead of an angel statue, a three-headed skull was spewing green water.

Only then did I notice the statues decorating the surroundings.

They were all in the form of monsters.

‘Lord.’

As I stepped back while calling out to the Major God,

Caw- Caw-!

A flock of crows took flight as if mocking my prayer.

Startled by the sound, Emma hugged me.

“Wh-what is that!”

“Calm down, they’re just crows.”

For now, at least.

I comforted Emma while looking up at the sky.

The once blue sky was now completely covered in dark clouds.

‘Demon King’s Castle.’

This was all I could think of.

“Young princes. I think we’ve come to the wrong address.”

Though I spoke to the children, my gaze was fixed on Mihail.

‘Please tell me it’s not true.’

Perhaps sensing my desperate look,

He delivered the death sentence.

“This is indeed Duke Ruben’s castle.”

There wasn’t even a hint of a smile on Mihail’s face.

‘Lord, please turn back time.’

To before I agreed to Kashar’s proposal.

‘I should have decided after visiting!’

At that moment, images of famous real estate apps like Bangitso and Purpan flashed through my mind.

Even the words of the real estate agent who tried to entice me.

‘Ah, I’m telling you this house is the best! My, young lady, you’re being so picky!’

Does the water drain well? Is there any mold? Are there cockroach traps installed?

Hadn’t I meticulously checked all the important points when viewing rooms, even at the risk of being called fussy?

I was that thorough even when contracting a studio apartment.

‘To think I didn’t even consider viewing the property we’re moving into.’

Romance fantasy was worse than reality.

It was the moment when my illusion that everything would be fine if it was a duke’s castle came crashing down.

“…Ah, my head.”

Just looking at the Demon King’s Castle before me was enough to cause dizziness.

As I staggered, Louis and Evan steadied me.

“Eileen, are you in pain?”

Louis asked worriedly.

I quickly shook my head.

“N-no. I just felt dizzy for a moment.”

“Hmm, you shouldn’t be sick. But is this really where we’ve moved to? It looks so strange.”

Louis asked, pointing at the Demon King’s Castle.

It was a generous assessment, worthy of praise for not crying and screaming.

“W-well, that’s… um…”

I couldn’t bring myself to nod.

‘Am I supposed to raise children in a place like this?’

It was on par with performing a ritual for the children to become villains.

‘No. It can’t be.’

I muttered, rubbing my eyes.

I looked ahead again, but the Demon King’s Castle remained intact.

However, Kashar was nowhere to be seen.

Anger towards the homeowner surged within me.

‘This madman!’

No wonder he wasn’t around today!

He must have deliberately sent Mihail.

‘I’ve been scammed.’

In that moment of despair, dark clouds covered the sun.

Raindrops were falling from the sky. The weather looked ominous.

“The carriage, we need to return to the carriage…!”

Even if lightning struck, anywhere was better than that house.

I hurriedly turned back with the children, but the carriage that should have been there was gone.

“Let’s go inside.”

Mihail pointed to the Demon King’s Castle.

‘I’m not going.’

As I was determined to become a statue of waiting, Louis tugged at my sleeve.

“Eileen, it’s raining! You said we’d catch a cold if we get too wet!”

Louis’s eyes sparkled with curiosity, all of this being new to him.

Louis pulled me again. This time, Evan joined in.

“Let’s go, hurry!”

“Getting wet is bad for you.”

My body, having taken mental damage, was dragged along like a sheet of paper.

“I-I’m coming too!”

Not wanting to be left alone in such a place, Emma hastily followed.

I closed my eyes, avoiding reality. Imagining the duke’s castle I had dreamed of, if only in my mind.

‘Our young princes, I’ll have to make them into great warriors.’

They were so strong that we had already reached the front door before I knew it.

The raindrops that had been hitting my body disappeared.

When I carefully opened my eyes, everything around was black and red.

There stood a dark figure.

‘Mom, I’m leaving now.’

Just before I fainted, I heard a splendid voice.

“A heartfelt welcome to Castle Ruben. Prince Louis, Prince Evan, and…”

Before the figure could finish,

Boom-!

Lightning struck.

“Miss Eileen Hallen and Miss Emma.”

“Kyaaaah-!”

I screamed and hugged the children.

I felt Emma clinging to my back, unable to even make a sound.

‘Please, I’m weak against horror!’

I had never even watched a horror movie, let alone entered a haunted house.

How long had I been crouching there?

The children I was holding started to squirm.

“It’s stuffy!”

With Louis’s cry, the lights came on.

Then I heard the same voice as before.

“Miss Hallen, are you alright?”

When I didn’t respond, Mihail supported me this time.

“Let’s get up.”

As I slowly raised my head, I saw an elderly gentleman.

He was looking at me with a concerned expression.

“You seem to have been quite startled. Who knew lightning would strike so suddenly.”

He was a well-dressed elderly gentleman in a neat suit.

‘…Though he does look a bit pale.’

His face was beyond pale, almost gray, but no matter how many times I checked, he was undoubtedly human.

Only after looking back at Mihail and the children did I finally regain my senses.

“…Ah, I’m fine now.”

“That’s a relief, then.”

The elderly gentleman smiled as if relieved.

‘Well, actually…’

I found it hard to confess that I was startled because of this castle and him.

At that moment, I noticed the gentleman’s ears. The tips were sharp enough to be pointed.

‘Gray skin. And pointed ears?’

Suddenly, I recalled the original story’s setting.

It was the description of the Mayin, descendants of the demons living in the Land of Darkness.

‘Why is a Mayin here?’

The Mayin lived together in Barahan, a territory shrouded in dark energy, and rarely ventured outside.

‘Is Kashar already commanding Mayin?’

In the original story, Elceous is kidnapped by Kashar and imprisoned in a special space.

But she escapes using her power as a saint and shares a kiss of love with Michael.

‘That was in the middle part.’

The continental war begins when Kashar witnesses that scene.

‘What was it he said? Something like he’d sweep everything away so no one could have Elceous.’

It was exactly the kind of thing an obsessive madman would say.

Kashar quickly prepares for war.

He was able to move Barahan because of the Mayin’s unique law.

‘Only the strongest can become king.’

The Mayin were a highly aggressive race, and what they worshipped was absolute power.

To start the war, Kashar beheaded the Mayin king and ascended the throne himself.

‘Demon King.’

It was Kashar’s final evolved form.

‘But that’s supposed to happen in the middle of the story!’

It was something that would occur three years from now, so it made no sense for a Mayin to appear now.

I became confused when something I didn’t know came up.

At that moment, the elderly gentleman bowed politely.

“I am Dracula Balodsula, the butler of Castle Ruben.”

“Um… hello, Mr. Butler.”

Both the castle and the name were very significant.

‘Right. Mayin are human too.’

To be precise, they were mixed-blood descendants of demons and humans, but in this world, they were classified as a race.

While the species itself was said to be aggressive, not all of them were like that.

I barely managed to calm my pounding heart.

Finally able to breathe, I now noticed the interior of the castle.

Candles hung everywhere. Black skulls beside the stairs. The wallpaper was dark purple, and the carpet on the main hall floor was blood-red.

‘This is just like…’

Splendid yet eerie, but also antique.

‘A Demon King’s Castle.’

I wanted to applaud the consistency of both the inside and outside of this place.

Barely swallowing the words I wanted to say, Mihail spoke.

“Butler Dracula will guide you through the castle. I’ll take my leave now.”

“W-wait a moment! When will the Duke return?”

Where is that scammer now?!

I hurriedly grabbed him and asked, and Mihail let out a small sigh.

“He is expected to return tomorrow morning.”

He left those words and exited the castle alone.

He looked just like a middleman who had finished a fraudulent contract and washed his hands of it.

‘Birds of a feather flock together.’

I couldn’t hide my bewildered state of mind.

As I stood there dumbfounded, Emma whispered in my ear.

“Th-that person… is human, right…?”

The subject of Emma’s question was Dracula.

It was common knowledge that descendants of the Mayin existed on the continent, but very few had actually seen them.

“Yes, you know the country called Barahan? He seems to be a Mayin from there.”

“M-Mayin?! Wh-why here…?”

Emma made a fuss, asking if this wasn’t an even bigger problem.

‘I don’t know why there’s a Mayin here either.’

Fortunately, Dracula didn’t seem to have any intention of harming us.

“Emma, calm down.”

“But…!”

As I tried to calm Emma, a chuckling laugh was heard.

“It’s natural to be surprised when seeing a Mayin for the first time.”

Thankfully, Dracula showed no signs of displeasure.

At this, Emma’s face, which had been trembling in front of the person, turned bright red.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“No need. I understand completely, so there’s no need to apologize.”

His attitude suggested it was natural for people to be surprised at seeing him.

But as if something was curious, Dracula asked,

“By the way, did neither of you hear anything from the master?”

“Ho, hoho. He was a bit busy.”

I couldn’t bring myself to say that your master is a scammer.

Since we had already come in, we needed to be shown to our rooms.

Dracula, holding a candle, pointed to the stairs.

“Now, let me guide you… Ugh-!”

Just as he was about to take the first step, Dracula suddenly collapsed to the floor.

“Are you alright?!”

As I tried to approach in surprise, he stopped me.

“I apologize, I haven’t been feeling well lately… But I will do my best to serve you.”

Dracula gave a thumbs up. His face had turned even paler than gray.

Louis, startled at seeing someone collapse, ran over.

“You shouldn’t be sick!”

Louis tried to lift Dracula, grunting with effort.

At this sight, Dracula burst into laughter.

“Hoho, are you worried about me? Our young prince has such a kind heart… Cough-!”

At that moment, Dracula coughed up a red liquid.

‘I feel like I’m going to faint.’

I should be taking care of the patient, but my head was spinning with dizziness.

Just as I managed to come to my senses, Emma collapsed sideways.

“Emma?!”

I hurriedly held Emma and patted her cheeks.

Emma opened her eyes slightly and uttered a single word.

“Bl-blood…”

Gurgle.

Emma, who was particularly weak to other people’s blood, foamed at the mouth.

I wanted to collapse too.