Chương 319: Sweet, Sweet Leomi...

It had been several years since Hyotrask Devilblood had risen to the title of baron. Before then, he was like a shadow. The demon had been a successful and loyal knight for nearly two decades, but he had always preferred to keep a step back from it all. He did not wish to be the center of attention–However… It would seem that the king took notice of this and apparently quite liked this attitude. This led Hyotrask to receive a noble title, a family name, and a large piece of untouched land.

The king had been immensely generous to him… For a measly knight who preferred to avoid parties thrown for the sake of his achievements, this had all been quite hard to believe. The title of baron may be the lowest of them all, but it was also the only one that came without any particular restrictions. As such, it was the perfect title in Hyotrask's eyes. Alas, things could never go well for too long… Since things were looking up, he and his wife of several years decided that it was time to start a family.

Tragedy struck, and their son ended up nurtured inside of an item Hyotrask had brought back from a mission years ago. The woman of his life died suddenly and brutally, and their son ended up cursed with an out-of-control innate ability that threatened the lives of those around him and forced him to experience rapid growth, basically robbing him of a childhood altogether. This was the status quo for several years, and after countless attempts at finding a way to deal with the issue, the baron had simply accepted.

For him, fighting against impossible odds as a knight wasn't a problem in the least, but this situation? He had been forced to admit defeat. He simply couldn't fight back… … Or so he thought. Over the years since the tragedy befell him and his family, he had been mindlessly trying to drown out his sorrows with women, due to his gracious treatment of the women who ended up pregnant, many ended up trying to become maids of his manor, treating it as an opportunity. He didn't mind, but…

Now, it seemed like stars had aligned themselves. Due to this, he often had to hire new maids, and it seemed to have brought someone whose presence could actually turn things around. Leomi didn't seem special at a glance, just a regular girl with a kind heart, but she not only proved immune to the dreadful drain, but her presence seemed to have caused the bizarre innate ability to change. As it could now even drain Hyotrask himself.

From the baron's perspective, it was as though the innate ability was alive and had felt threatened by Leomi's arrival, causing it to even try to drain someone it had seemingly been ignoring until now. However, Leomi's mere proximity made all of its power null. It truly seemed like she held the key to finally giving his son a better life, even if the ability couldn't be controlled or fully defeated, as long as he could ensure that Leomi would stay and shadow his son…

Then perhaps Hyotrask Junior would have a shot at living a somewhat normal life. The baron was ready to offer anything to ensure that Leomi would remain, but… He was somewhat worried. He didn't want to ruin everything by thinking with the wrong head again. A lord-subject relationship was preferable, but despite knowing that it wasn't like he couldn't control himself, he couldn't help but worry nonetheless about little possibilities that were likely to never come true.

It embarrassingly took him several months before he found himself in the right mental state to actually speak frankly with Leomi. He told Velpa–His most trusted maid–To inform Leomi that he wanted to see her, but it wasn't until night began to fall that the red demoness appeared.

"My Lord, I apologise for the delay. The Young Lord was struggling to fall asleep due to some recent nightmares…"

"It is fine, Miss Leomi. I am thankful that you are so serious about taking care of my son…" He cleared his throat awkwardly. For a man as big and strong as himself, it felt weird to be so nervous about talking to a woman, one of his own maids to boot, but he composed himself nonetheless.

"Please take a seat" She gracefully sat down in front of him, with only the large wooden desk separating them. One thing that was always a bit surprising about Leomi was how relaxed she always seemed. Usually, people were always a bit intimidated about talking with Hyotrask, but she didn't seem even a slight bit nervous. She instead maintained that soft smile on her face. He presumed that she was simply used to dealing with larger demons.

It wasn't unusual for the males and females of the same demon species to look wildly different, so perhaps the men of her family were giants, and that's why she was so unimpressive with him. The baron didn't bother to ask her about it and instead went straight to the point.

"As you know, you are the only person after me to ever be immune to the drain, but not only that, your presence has caused this accursed innate ability to change. As such, I would like you to not only stay working here, but to become my son's… Bodyguard of sorts. I want you to follow him all the time and always be near him""I want my son to be able to live normally, even if only slightly. Staying hidden inside his room without seeing anyone else is not a life for him… Besides, he clearly has much affection for you.

I am willing to go to great lengths to ensure that you stay, so… What do you want? An increase in salary? A better room? Treasures from the treasury? You can just go ahead and say it" The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Leomi brought her index finger up to her chin, deep in thought. Each of her actions strongly radiated her personality.

To the point that just a single exposure to her mannerisms would probably be enough for most people to immediately understand what sort of woman she was.

"That's quite the hard question! I'm already paid, fed, and clothed working here, so I don't really know what else I could need… Mmh… Oh, I'll just pick something pretty from the treasury. I saw so much jewellery there when I cleaned it with Miss Velpa!"

"That's… That's it? You don't want anything else?" Hyotrask knew that she was a nice, slightly airheaded girl, but having so little greed seemed a bit abnormal.

"I think that's all I need. Besides, the Young Lord has already given me so many gifts. I can't refuse presents from the Young Lord, and I'm afraid that he'll keep on giving away more and more precious things as time goes on!" Hyotrask laughed slightly. He had indeed seen for himself how his son had been crafting things, or using notes to get flowers into his room to give to Leomi. Indeed, if he continued to grow up and kept at it, Leomi would be buried under a mountain of gifts.

"I see. Then… I guess it's a deal?"

"Of course, My Lord! You seem a little bit tired today. May I serve you some tea?"

"Mmh? Why not? There's some right here, actually" Leomi stood up and walked to the teapot. It was made of special material that kept it warm. The maid stood over it, her body blocking the way for the baron as she elegantly poured a cup. She picked the large cup–Specifically made to suit the lord's large hands–And before turning around, added something extra to it, a few drops of colourless liquid dropping from her finger as the nail lifted itself like a trapdoor.

When she turned around and served the tea, nothing suspicious was to be seen, so Hyotrask Devilblood drank the cup in full without question.

"Is there anything else you need, My Lord?"

"No, that will be all for today. You can go rest now, Miss Leomi" The maid bowed slightly and soon left the room.

"Damn… Since when do I get so nervous about speaking with a woman?" He sighed loudly.

"I'm probably just tired. I feel so sleepy right now…" Unsuspecting, he headed to bed and fell asleep like a log.

I am an absolute genius. I am an expert craftsman, and even an expert alchemist now! I waited until I was alone in my room to allow my face to contort into a smile. Frankly, I was no alchemist. It was simply that the equipment of the Mindscape was simply excellent. There was nothing that couldn't be made with it. The only thing that could be lacking was my own will at this point. It took countless hours of failed attempts and the lives of many test subjects, but I succeeded.

Leou was to be thanked for all of the subjects lined up and imprisoned inside of my Gravescape. A simple note was all that I needed to leave for word to spread back at the tower, and for Leou to gather the right 'experimental material'. I had had a version of this liquid prepared beforehand, but I took the time to analyse the baron with my own two eyes… But mostly Nara's eyes, actually. With her help, I devised a special poison meant specifically for him.

It might not be perfect, but he will stay soundly asleep for a long time. Producing every few drops was rather costly, and I had even assigned a specially-crafted spirit to monitor the baron in case the poison failed. My mission is a success. Now it's up to the other guys to get what they want from the underground blood ocean. With a flex of one of my steel ribs, I pressed a device that had been hidden inside of my body this entire time, sending the signal as agreed upon.

After this, I stepped out of my room and began casually walking through the dark halls of the manor. Before leaving, I needed to gather a few things… For me, escaping this place was as easy as warping right back to the tower, where I would be welcomed by the warm embrace of my girlfriends. Heheheh, I really am just too good at this~"Leomi? What are you doing here so late?" I ran into a duo of guards patrolling the halls. I had seen these fuckers a few times. One was naive beyond belief, and the other…

Well, nothing was wrong with him, just a regular guy.

"Don't worry about it. I just need to get something, though… I'm never opposed to collecting additional things in the way" They didn't get what I was on about until I walked up to them, and I made wires of various materials burst out of my mouth, stabbing them in their soft bits before delivering an electrical shock. They both dropped dead immediately. I brought out a small trinket and sent their corpses to the Gravescape.

I couldn't quickly devour them in this form, and I preferred to have the element of surprise if I ran into anyone as I walked around the quiet manor. Everyone trusts sweet Leomi, after all. My next encounter was in front of the treasury. Two more guards were watching over the entrance. Two burly demon men wielding halberds. They could definitely split the helm and skull of a person with a good swing of those.

If I were to fight them head-on in my 'Base Form', they would probably pose some problems, but I didn't have time for proper fights right now.

"Oh my, I must have gotten lost in the darkness…"

"Leomi?"

"Sorry for bothering you guys, but I seem to have lost my way. Would any of you be willing to help me get back to my room?" I added a wink to get their imagination riled up, which worked fantastically. They both answered at the time, leading to them glancing at each other, as if having a mental battle to see who was more worthy of sweet Leomi. The moment they turned away from me, however, was the moment they lost their lives. I shifted my right arm into the sickle-like blade and beheaded them both.

Their corpses went to the Gravescape, but the blood remained. No matter. It's time to do some good old-fashioned burglary!