Albert: “Of course.”
His expression was calm, giving no hint of the storm brewing inside due to his overly inflated hunger.
Josh originally wanted to say something to Albert, but the nun gently pushed him, and by the time he came to his senses, Josh’s foot was already inside the room.
The door clicked shut behind him.
Josh: “?”
Once inside, he had no mind to think about Albert.
This bedroom, both in style and arrangement, was identical to the one Josh had stayed in back at the small manor. Even looking out from the window, there was a small garden perfectly replicated. The lighting was excellent; even though it was nearing dusk and the sunlight wasn’t very bright, the room was still brightly lit.
It was exactly as Josh remembered.
He had lived there from the time he could remember until he was fifteen, covering his entire childhood and early teenage years.
Seeing it again now, it felt like a lifetime ago.
Even the bed was the same style as the one he used to sleep in. Josh couldn’t help but climb onto it, feeling it with his hands.
It was the same soft, fluffy feeling as he remembered.
The nun pulled the curtains shut, and the bedroom instantly darkened. “You must be tired from the journey? Rest for a while, have a good sleep.”
Josh lay on the bed, his voice muffled: “I’m not tired. I slept all day in the carriage.”
The nun gently said, “Then just lie down for a bit, consider it relaxing.”
The bed was too soft. During his travels, Josh couldn’t always find a comfortable enough inn.
He once thought he had gotten used to the life of wandering, but now, back in familiar surroundings, he couldn’t help but relax.
He had caught up on sleep during the day, but the irregular sleep schedule wasn’t enough to counteract his physical fatigue.
Although he was still stubbornly talking back, his body was already too lazy to get up: “Hmm… I’ll just lie down for a while.”
As a result, he fell asleep in a daze.
Seeing that he had gone quiet, the nun tiptoed out.
Time passed unknowingly until midnight.
The manor fell into silence. There weren’t many servants here to begin with, and as soon as night fell, everyone went to rest, and it became quiet.
The night was pitch black, with only a slightly flattened full moon hanging over the castle.
Magic surged in the air.
The magical elements on this continent followed the rhythm of time.
At noon, the light elements were at their peak.
At midnight, the dark elements were most active, which is why magical creatures and some dark-aligned beasts always preferred to hunt at night.
No matter how well magical creatures disguised themselves during the day, at night, especially on a full moon, they would reveal their true nature.
The night would weaken their rationality.
In the master bedroom on the second floor of the manor, a breeze blew through, and the previously tightly closed window had somehow opened a crack.
A thick cloud drifted by, briefly obscuring the moonlight. When it moved away, a figure had already appeared by the open window.
The figure was extremely tall, and at first glance, it looked like some sort of beast casting a vague silhouette inside the room against the moonlight, causing a jolt of fear in one’s heart.
But upon closer inspection, it was just a tall man crouching on the windowsill, even dressed in an aesthetically neat knight’s uniform.
The problem, however, lay in his eyes.
The originally deep blue eyes now glowed with a blood-red light, appearing especially sinister and eerie in the serene moonlight.
Without a doubt, these were blood-red eyes.
Eyes that only a demon would possess.
Since the multi-racial war centuries ago, the demon race had not openly appeared on the continent for a long time.
Occasionally, some demons would smuggle themselves into the human world through cracks, but they mostly hid their identities, not daring to reveal themselves.
Although humans and the demon world didn’t have deep-seated hatred, the current trend on the continent was to reject dark creatures and to uphold light magic.
Weak and outnumbered, most demons living on the continent for various reasons would deliberately avoid mages.
Very few demons would dare to brazenly enter a high-ranking mage’s bedroom with a pair of blood-red eyes like this.
However, considering that this demon was the new demon king who had killed the notoriously brutal old demon king, it didn’t seem so unreasonable.
If he had any intention of invading the human world, he would have broken the seal on the rift right after slaying the old demon king and commanded a large-scale raid of high-ranking demons to plunder the continent’s resources.
Albert sat quietly on the windowsill for a while.
But his gaze remained fixed on the sleeping dark-haired mage.
This time, he finally got a clear view of Josh’s sleeping face.
Compared to his restrained appearance in the carriage, Josh’s current sleeping posture was rather wild. The quilt was kicked aside, and his upper and lower body twisted into an unbelievable position. He was hugging a pillow, with his cheek resting on it, and his black hair spread messily across the pillow.
He looked disheveled and chaotic.
Albert typically disliked such disorderly behavior in front of him. He once saw a feline magical beast, kept by his butler, sleeping with its belly up on the eaves of his palace. He immediately ordered the butler to remove his increasingly audacious pet.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
But now, inexplicably, Josh’s haphazard sleeping posture seemed much more pleasing to the eye compared to the way he had curled up and turned his back to him during the day.
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Qlatbea wjxlcu j rbecv, tf kjr ja Abrt’r yfvrlvf lc atf yilcx bo jc fsf.
Abrt’r tfjv tjv pera aegcfv rilutais, ifjnlcu tlr cfmx mbwqifafis fzqbrfv jcv ecuejgvfv.
Ktf vfilmjaf, rcbk-ktlaf rxlc, klat rilutais afcrfv nflcr, mbwylcfv klat tlr ojmf oiertfv rilutais ogbw riffq, ujnf jc lcfzqilmjyif rfcrf bo jiiegf lc atf wbbciluta, vfrqlaf tlr batfgklrf lccbmfca jcv ufcaif jqqfjgjcmf.
“……”
Albert leaned down, his blood-red eyes stopping just inches from Josh’s neck.
He sniffed lightly at the spot where the blood was thickest, trying to capture the overly sweet scent he had detected earlier in the day.
But apart from the deepening hunger inside him due to this fresh body, he found nothing.
Strange.
He thought coldly. Humans were not considered good food for demons; the bodies of their kind were the best nourishment.
Even a high-ranking mage shouldn’t provoke such a strong appetite, nearly to the point of losing control.
Too strange.
What was so special about this human?
His one arm propped on the soft mattress, the mattress dipped under the sudden weight.
Albert’s leaning posture deepened unconsciously, and from the side, it almost looked like he was about to kiss the neck of the person on the bed.
But this was by no means an amorous signal.
Aside from appetite, this demon king theoretically had no other desires, so this could only be a hunting posture. When his lips finally descended, they would bring only bloody tearing.
The moonlight cast a faint glow on the tall knight leaning over the bed, clearly outlining the tense muscles of his shoulders and neck.
The strange, swelling hunger within him continually assaulted the demon king’s rationality during the dark hours of the night. His blood-red eyes grew brighter, and his pupils narrowed into slits, like a beast tense before a hunt. His tongue slowly licked the roots of his teeth.
Dark, ragged breaths fell from his slightly parted mouth onto Josh.
His lips were about to touch the seemingly fragile neck.
At that moment, Josh seemed to sense something. His brow twitched, and he moved uneasily in his sleep.
He turned his head back, and Albert hurriedly lifted his head, his nose brushing against Josh’s jaw.
A faintly warm sensation.
He paused, then slowly straightened up and retreated to the bedside.
With his eyes slightly lowered, the night concealed his expression, making it impossible to discern his emotions.
Josh seemed to be dreaming, muttering a few words softly.
Albert listened for a while and could vaguely hear that it was about eating, drinking, and having fun.
But his name wasn’t mentioned.
Albert: “……”
He reached out, grabbed the quilt that Josh had kicked to the other side, and covered him up.
……
When Josh woke up, the sky was tinged with gray-blue.
He yawned, lazily rolled around on the bed a couple of times, then suddenly woke up and reached for his magical pocket watch to check the time.
It was early morning.
He had actually slept for so long!
Counting the sleep during the day, he had slept for a good dozen hours.
He was lazy, but rarely to this extent.
Josh scratched his neck, feeling a bit itchy, but when he checked in the mirror, he found nothing unusual.
He slowly got up from the bed and went to the bathroom to take a shower.
After making himself feel fresh and comfortable, the sky still hadn’t fully brightened.
It was too early, and the people in the manor weren’t up yet. Josh certainly didn’t want to go out and wake everyone up; that would be disturbing them.
He was full of curiosity and wanted to explore the details of the bedroom. Just as he began, he heard a thumping noise from under the bed.
Josh, puzzled, pulled out the miscellaneous box he had casually stuffed there yesterday.
As he unlocked the box, a seemingly ordinary scroll quickly jumped out.
The prophecy scroll loudly protested, “You, you just left me in that corner for several days?”
Josh: “Huh? What else was I supposed to do?”
He replied righteously, “The things you know are useless now, so why do I need you?”
His shameless, heartless attitude was not hidden at all.
The prophecy scroll was furious: “……”
But in a way, it really couldn’t argue with Josh.
The plot it knew first required Josh to get entangled with the Holy Saint. Now, Josh had run off to a remote territory that didn’t appear in the original plot at all, deviating from his destined path by a huge margin.
Naturally, the “future” it had foretold had become useless.
Which made it itself seem so unnecessary.
The prophecy scroll said, “Don’t underestimate the inertia of fate. Maybe in the end, you’ll still end up with the Holy Saint, and then you’ll need my help!”
Josh: “Oh.”
The prophecy scroll continued, “I can also help you sense good and bad omens and the like. After all, I’m a scroll tied to the rules. Don’t underestimate me. I might save your life someday.”
Josh: “Oh, oh.”
The prophecy scroll: “……”
It was so angry at Josh that it couldn’t speak, lying motionless on the ground.
Meanwhile, Josh wandered around the bedroom, satisfying his curiosity.
He then came back and poked the scroll, asking nonchalantly, “By the way… where did you come from? Someone must have made you, right?”
Such an advanced scroll couldn’t have appeared out of thin air. Josh didn’t know the specific method of its creation, but he knew that a scroll related to the rules of time and space was extremely precious.
If this scroll was indeed a prophecy about Josh, as it claimed, there must be a creator.
Prophecy Scroll: “How would I know? I got the consciousness when I hit your head.”
Josh: “Oh, you don’t even know that.”
He didn’t say it explicitly, but the disappointed look in his eyes clearly conveyed, “Doesn’t that make you even more useless?”
Prophecy Scroll: “……”
It slowly closed itself. Shutting down.
After a few minutes, the prophecy scroll unfurled a bit and said suspiciously, “Strange, why do I feel there’s an uncomfortable aura in this room? It’s weird, like something was lurking here.”
Josh paused and checked around.
“No, all the defensive arrays are normal, and there are no signs of them being triggered.”
Josh’s actual power was that of a black-robed mage, just a step away from reaching the level of a red-robed mage. This was already top-tier strength among humans. Currently, there were only a few red-robed mages, mostly in the central city, and they rarely left.
He didn’t believe that there could be something in this remote place that could evade his detection.
Scroll: “Really? Strange… Maybe it’s because you’re in your awakening period, and the chaotic aura is interfering with my perception.”
Josh: “……”
Josh ignored it.
The scroll was quite the chatterbox and couldn’t stay quiet for more than a few minutes. It jumped in front of Josh again, circling around him, “According to the prophecy, your incubus constitution awakens because you mistakenly drank a special kind of wine at a celebration banquet. But external stimulation is secondary; your body is likely already at the maturity stage, so you would gradually awaken even without that stimulus. Have you noticed any abnormalities in your body recently?”
Josh looked down at his black hair.
He didn’t seem to like discussing this topic. Every time he heard the word “incubus,” his eyelashes would flutter slightly.
This secret had been buried deep in his heart for so long that it had become a thorn, causing a slight pain whenever touched.
Josh couldn’t imagine what he would be like if he were driven by desire after his constitution awakened.
In the prophecy told by the scroll, he would even end up begging for the favor of that Holy Saint, doing many undignified things. Just thinking about it made Josh feel nauseated.
He wouldn’t allow himself to become that undignified in front of others.
If it came to that, instead of being controlled by his constitution and doing such shameful things, Josh felt he would be more likely to kill anyone who discovered his secret.
After a while, Josh broke the silence, “Slept nearly twenty hours in a day, does that count?”
Scroll: “…You’re just plain lazy, thank you.”
……
Josh spent some time alone in his bedroom, waiting until he heard the sounds of servants moving about the castle before stepping out.
The servants, though curious and inquisitive about this unfamiliar young master, were very respectful. It was clear that the nun had already informed them that Josh was the long-absent manor owner.
When Josh reached the first floor, he encountered the nun, who was coming to check on him.
The nun said warmly, “Breakfast is ready, and you can have it in a few minutes.”
The nun added, “Young master… no, now I should call you sir. Look at me, I’m so excited that I forgot.”
Josh was taken aback.
After a few seconds, he said, “Just call me young master, I’m used to it.”
Josh had been called young master because he had a higher-ranking mother.
Now that his mother was gone, he was undeniably the highest-ranking person in the territory, and according to etiquette, he should be addressed as “sir.”
But Josh felt uncomfortable with this new title.
On one hand, he felt he was still young, and this title seemed too old-fashioned.
On the other hand…
It seemed to him that this title implied that the presence of the previous lord of this territory had not yet been erased.
The breakfast was simple yet thoughtful.
They were all things Josh loved to eat when he was a child, including the mushroom soup he had been drinking for several years. One of the seasoning ingredients used in the soup was a very niche plant native to the nun’s hometown. After Josh went traveling, he never tasted mushroom soup with the same flavor again.
Now, he smelled that familiar aroma again, and his stomach immediately growled.
He was about to start eating when the nun said, “By the way, young master, since you’re officially taking over, I think it’s time to select a few qualified personal knights to share your worries.”
Ah!
Upon hearing the word “knights,” Josh finally remembered what he had forgotten.
He came to the estate, saw familiar faces and environments, and completely forgot about Albert, carefree and without a worry.
That was not right at all!
The nun continued, “Although we don’t have any particularly distinguished knights here, there are a few who have been working in the estate for seven or eight years. They are reliable in strength and of upright character. Shall I have them come to meet you later?”
They were all people she had personally trained, knowing them inside out, and were loyal and honest enough.
It was much better than the knight that the young master picked up from who knows where, making her feel more at ease.
Josh put down the spoon in his hand. Though he was very hungry, he no longer had the appetite to eat.
He said, “No need, I already have Albert. By the way, where is he now? Didn’t he come to eat with us?”
Perhaps due to the prolonged nagging about his physiological condition from the prophecy scroll in the morning, Josh was still in a state of stress, and his vigilance was very high.
Just the thought of being approached by unfamiliar people made him feel uneasy all over.
Rather than interacting with unfamiliar knights, he would choose Albert.
At least Albert gave him a relatively comfortable feeling.
The fewer intimate people, the easier it was to protect himself. Josh didn’t want any more complications.
The nun frowned, about to say something, when a tall figure knocked on the dining room door.
A tall figure pushed the door open and walked in. It was Albert.
Albert’s brow was originally tinged with a faint melancholy.
After leaving Josh’s bedroom last night, he had not slept all night—creatures of the night didn’t strictly need sleep—pondering his own departure.
Although he didn’t know the reason, the hunger he should have been able to control after his rampage seemed to be uncontrollable after encountering Josh.
In theory, for a creature that revered desire like a demon, giving in to the urge to devour directly should have sufficed.
But Albert couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Even if he hadn’t been awakened by Josh’s sudden movement yesterday, he probably still wouldn’t have been able to do it, at most, just a lick—
He subconsciously didn’t like the idea of Josh turning into a bloody mess.
Since that was the case, staying by the side of this young human was torture.
To see but not eat, to restrain one’s desires was undoubtedly a torture for a creature like a demon.
Even though he wasn’t the kind of creature who couldn’t control himself, he still found it torturous.
There was no need to seek out suffering.
Moreover, since Josh came here, he had encountered the nun who raised him, a closer presence, and was being doted on by her, turning him around in circles, not even remembering to say a word to him. It seemed like he didn’t really need him.
Albert considered himself free from masochism.
He decided that today he would bid farewell to Josh. Although he found Josh very intriguing, according to the old steward, raising a cat required some fate, and some cats could be very torturous to keep.
If he had the chance to come back to the human world in the future, he would come and see Josh again.
But—
“I already have Albert.”
As he walked outside the door, he heard Josh’s voice faintly, but it echoed clearly in his ears.
The coldness between his brows and eyes dissipated unconsciously.
He pushed the door open.
When Josh saw him come in, he stood up from his seat. “Did you rest well yesterday? Sorry, I suddenly felt sleepy and forgot to arrange something for you.”
“Please sit down and have a meal together,” the last part was said to the maid next to him, “Bring another set of tableware for me, thank you.”
Albert approached with steady steps. “Everything is fine.”
He completely forgot about feeling like he wasn’t a masochist. He walked a few steps to sit down next to Josh, reaching out to help him steady the spoon that was about to slip out of the bowl.
He said to Josh, “I inquired and found out that the mud in front of the estate gate was caused by the aging of the road base. I will arrange for repairs today and clean up the ground.”
Josh didn’t expect him to be so proactive. He hadn’t even given any instructions, yet Albert had already begun to take the initiative to solve problems for him!
The dark, clean eyes lit up for a moment. “That’s great, Albert, you’re really capable.”
“It’s nothing,” the man with dark golden hair said calmly. His eyes, as deep as a lake, focused on the young master with a happy expression on his face. A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips, and he couldn’t even remember that he had been planning to say goodbye.
In a low voice, he said, “I inspected the manor and found that several corners are severely aging and also need repairs. I will follow up and take care of it later.”
Josh looked at him with starry eyes.
As if he saw Albert working ahead, while he lounged in the back enjoying life.
He pushed the bowl of mushroom soup towards him with happiness. “You must be tired! Have some food.”
The nun watched the two of them start eating without any regard for her presence, and she clenched the hem of her robe.
Poor nun getting forgotten once Albert enters the frame 😂
Hahaha Albert you better not leave~ your kitten will do into heat soon