An unlucky servant tripped and fell down the stairs below. He came across the servant belatedly because no one usually passed by this place, but that servant’s neck had already been twisted. He killed the servant with the book in his hand because the servant was dying too slowly.

If there was no hope of living after this anyway, it was another form of mercy to kill someone right away.

Then after this, he felt that some of his power from being Satan returned slightly. In particular, it was the power of hypnosis, which he often used against other devils. As this returned, he was able to project his will and commands into the minds of other humans.

He finally understood Lilith’s curse to some extent. She meant that he should kill humans to regain his strength, but not to be caught. As a noble who was constantly surrounded by servants, there would not be any other more demanding condition to curse him with.

When the corpse was discovered, the house quickly fell into chaos and unease. They were certain that the servant had fallen down the stairs, but they whispered amongst themselves about the suspicious marks on the corpse’s neck.

Because the household had a high peerage with the status of a count, rumors soon subsided as though water had been poured over the embers. But still, there were still signs of vigilance. No one wanted to be left alone, and they would always move in groups.

Adrian decided to take his time with regard to regaining his strength for the time being. It was necessary for him to lay low so that he wouldn’t be caught by the countess’ occasional accusations. And if anyone would come forward to spray him with holy water, it would be troublesome for him.

He then proceeded with his work in a leisurely manner. As a devil, he would have already committed genocide, but he just restrained himself when there were many people around him, and then he would search for prey when their vigilance would come loose.

The most appropriate targets were the servants who had come into the mansion not too long ago, so the others wouldn’t find them even if they disappeared, dismissing their behavior as poor work ethic.

His strategy was centered on waiting for easy prey, but he would bite down without any hesitation the moment they appeared.

Slowly but steadily, he regained his strength. Thus far, five people had ‘disappeared’ from the mansion, but no one else but he knew that they had died.

The reason he could defeat Lilith before was not because of his overwhelming power or resourcefulness—it’s because of the temperance and patience that he had accumulated over the years he had lived. This was his weapon that ordinary devils did not have.

Apart from this, his identity as a count household’s young master and his body being this frail was quite advantageous to him. Rather than suspecting him as a cruel murderer, everyone who met him would only feel sorry for him due to his health.

The more strength he regained, the more convenient his life became. It was still necessary for him to search for prey and create traps in order to avoid the prying eyes of other humans. If he would ever come into an unavoidable situation, he could at least cover it up through his power of hypnosis.

Still, when persuading humans, their sense of survival was beyond his reach. Survival was a human instinct, and his hypnosis could not permeate through this.

‘What if I just kill these people inside the mansion all at once?’

He thought about it many times, but he still needed to interpret Lilith’s curse, and he couldn’t move hastily. He had yet to find any clues leading to who the watchman and the natural enemy were.

“The end of my world, she said.”

It was an interesting notion to consider one more time. He and Lilith used to exchange riddles and ask the other to give the right answer, and Lilith’s final curse was also a similar mystery. It was the dead Lilith’s final gamble. He should at least enjoy it enough.

“Hm? You must be done, Young Master. Are you not feeling well?”

Leticia was the most loyal and the most boisterous human in this mansion. Alvan usually was a man of few words, but he paid close attention to Adrian.

Instead of answering, he picked up a piece of meat with his fork and brought it to his mouth.

As a matter of fact, as Satan, he had been a great connoisseur. He would mercilessly slay the enemies in front of him, but it was also true that he’d delay entire wars when there was food on the table made by excellent chefs.

The only food he ate were the ones that tasted good, but with his condition now, he had to eat to survive. This human body was still, as ever, useless and inadequate.

“Young Master, is something the matter? You don’t look so well. Shall I ask them to cook it again?”

“……”

“Or are you perchance feeling uncomfortable? Would you like me to get you some medicine?”

Leticia was quite easy to use, but there were times when she just wouldn’t keep her mouth shut and had to be reprimanded. This was his favorite meal. She was getting in the way.

Adrian slowly chewed the meat in his mouth, lowered his fork and knife, then glanced at Leticia.

‘Get out. Quietly.’

Then as though she had lost her will, Leticia stopped all her ministrations, turned around and left the room.

Now he’s resorted to hypnotizing someone for such a trivial matter. Having a servant at his beck and call made his life more convenient, but some troublesome things still sprouted here and there.

Leticia left the room in a bit of an unnatural manner, but Alvan still filled the wine glass as though nothing had happened.

This butler was a very useful human. He wouldn’t open his lips until his master spoke first, and he wouldn’t dare question his master’s actions. There wasn’t yet a time when Alvan needed to be hypnotized.

With this in mind, and if he had to consider the future, it might not be a good plan to kill everyone in this mansion.

If he’d kill them all, who would cook delicious food for him?

When Leticia disappeared, he could enjoy his quiet evening again. Adrian sliced another piece of meat and brought it to his lips. As he did so, he recalled what happened with Leticia a few days ago.

Now that he thought about it, there was one maid who was acting strangely.

A woman with pale brown hair who came running back to his room just to find Leticia.