Demonic methods

[After two great victories, your relationship has become even closer.]

[Gain 2000 points of experience to distribute.]

[Gain a reward: Advanced Invisibility Spell.]

[Advanced Invisibility Spell - Tier Four: You or a creature you touch becomes invisible until the spell ends (one minute). Any clothing and items carried by the target also remain invisible.]

[Gain a reward: Life Drain Spell.]

[Life Drain Spell - Tier Five: Black tendrils extend from your body, touch a creature, and absorb life from it. Deals a maximum of 30 points of damage and restores half of your hit points.]

Carrying Nadia to another room, Robert stretched and yawned as he returned to the bedroom. He nodded at Irene, who was guarding the door.

Irene noticed Nadia didn't return and breathed a sigh of relief, exchanged a nervous nod with Robert, and walked away.

Observing Irene's anxious demeanor, Robert squinted slightly but said nothing.

Robert entered the room, greeted the empty space with a smile, and said, "Good morning."

The room remained silent, with no response. It seemed like Robert was talking to thin air.

"Not coming out?"

"Do you want to play hide and seek with me? I don't think it's necessary."

Robert shook his head in resignation, walked over to the curtain, and pulled it open directly.

Facing the claws that were heading straight for his face, Robert made no move and continued to smile.

Lily's hand stopped in front of his eyes, and she looked at him with a puzzled expression, asking, "Why aren't you hiding? Are you not afraid?"

Does this man have no fear?

Robert blinked and pushed aside Lily's hand, then yawned, saying, "Why should I hide?"

"Do you know whose bedroom this is?"

Looking at Lily's puzzled expression, Robert revealed his brightest smile and said, "This is my lover's room."

"Perhaps to clarify, her name is Nadia Melissa."

Lily's expression remained puzzled, her brow furrowing deeper as she looked at the man continuing to speak.

"How would I know who she is? But, that name seems to... she's a legendary Celestial Sorceress..."

"The Queen of Ael, a half-elf."

Crash!

Lily suddenly retreated, bumping into the window behind her.

"It can't be!!!"

Robert admired her shock-stricken expression, unable to breathe. He walked to the table and poured a cup of tea for her.

"Why can't it be?" Robert asked.

Lily didn't take the tea that Robert offered and broke into a cold sweat on her forehead.

Why ask why it can't be? That woman... she can't possibly be the Queen of the Half-Elves! She's a ruthless, domineering monarch who's ruled the material planes for centuries! How could she be that demure, submissive lady?

I can't accept this!!!

Lily's mind was in chaos, filled with denial, but there was a voice in her heart saying, "What if it's true?"

She looked at Robert and noticed him lifting the tea cup, nodding at her with a smile.

After some hesitation, Lily finally asked with difficulty, "Who are you, really?"

Robert finished his tea, set the cup down, and turned to lean against the table, smiling at her.

"Me? Just as you've come to know, nothing special. I am the Duke's illegitimate child, Lunt's canary, a social butterfly without any real talents..."

He paused, then continued, "Worth mentioning, though, is that I will also be your future master."

Lily's bewildered eyes suddenly turned sharp, and she pounced, pressing Robert against the table.

With her hands tightly gripping Robert's neck, Lily raised her head and asked icily, "You... you want to be my master?"

Robert nodded and didn't resist, allowing her to pounce on him, saying:

"After being abandoned by family, by the organization, and finally by the gods."

"Yes, a master who won't abandon you. How does that sound to you?"

"What's it like to be abandoned? Is it enjoyable?"

Lily's hand, tightly gripping Robert's neck, gradually tightened. She stared into Robert's eyes and spoke in a cold voice:

"Do you know me?"

Staring into those murderous purple eyes, Robert smiled lightly:

"What beautiful eyes you have."

"What!?"

Lily didn't expect Robert to suddenly attack at this moment, and in shock, she loosened her grip on his neck. Robert took this opportunity to free himself from her grasp and pushed Lily down onto the bed.

"You!!!"

Without waiting for Lily to react and start resisting, Robert said with a smile:

"Do I know you? No, I don't."

"I have no interest in a melodramatic story."

"But I can guess your general experience."

"A werewolf and a human in love, giving birth to a mixed-blood baby."

"For some reason, they abandoned this baby."

Releasing his hands from Lily's shoulders, Robert continued:

"Later, the baby was adopted and raised by the Church of the God of Hunts, eventually becoming an assassin."

"Due to differences in beliefs, she was not accepted, ostracized, and abandoned."

"Even in the face of all of this, she remained resolute."

"She still had faith in the gods, but..."

"They also abandoned you."

A gentle voice echoed in the room.

The gentlest voice was talking about the cruelest things, as Robert mercilessly tore open her scars.

Once Robert began speaking, Lily no longer resisted and slumped onto the bed, powerless.

Watching Lily lose her resistance, Robert raised an eyebrow and continued:

"Have you ever considered one thing... do you really believe in them?"

"Are you truly attracted to their doctrine?"

Mara, the chaotic evil deity, represents the twisted side of nature's evil. She is worshipped by those who revel in slaughter, hunt for sport, engage in excessive hunting, as well as by fallen rangers, cunning carnivorous animals, and those who venerate beastfolk.

Robert didn't sense the presence of that twisted evil aura on Lily, so he found it hard to believe that she genuinely believed in Mara.

"Or is it because of the beliefs instilled in you since childhood, that you just treat your faith as a habit?" Robert noticed a subtle change in Lily's expression, silently smirking, and continued:

"Let's change the subject. How did you get those scars on your face?"

"These scars are quite old, from my analysis, they were probably inflicted over a decade ago, which means you were around seven or eight years old."

"Moreover, the direction of these cuts indicates that... you did it yourself."

Robert's voice paused slightly, and he squinted, saying:

"...with your bare hands."

Lily seemed to recall the pain from that time, her brow slightly furrowing.

"So, the question arises, why would a seven or eight-year-old child need to do this to protect themselves?"

"The answer is simple... because she was a very beautiful little girl."

"And the followers of the God of Hunts, those priests, were a bunch of scum."

Robert never believed that a chaotic evil deity would have any kind-hearted priests!

Lily on the bed shuddered violently. She remembered those greedy eyes that felt like they were licking over her body.

Lily recalled her extremely vulnerable self at the time and the boundless fear she had felt.

She had no choice...

On a stormy night, she had slashed her own face with her bare hands.

Only that grotesque and fearsome appearance could deter their gaze.

"And this leads to another question, wounds of this extent can be healed with divine magic."

"Meaning, in order to keep these scars constantly present..."

"You must repeatedly tear the wounds open, repeatedly cut them."

Robert's hand gently caressed the scars on Lily's face, and he whispered:

"It must hurt a lot, doesn't it?"

... Hurt? It really hurts...

Tears streamed down her cheeks, and Lily nodded and then shook her head.

In a hoarse voice, she said:

"...Please, stop talking, don't say it anymore..."

I don't want to recall that painful experience...

I am truly strong now!

Robert wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, touched his tongue to them, and sighed, saying:

"What bitter tears!"

His other hand gently stroked Lily's soft black hair, and he continued gently:

"I have one more question. Why are you afraid of flying, yet eager to fly?"

"I think I already know the answer."

"That church, or the place that raised you, was it on top of a very high mountain?"

"You wanted to escape from there, but you couldn't escape."

"You were just a child with no abilities, wanting to fly but never able to."

"You could only stare at the sky, imagining yourself as a bird."

Although Lily was lying on a soft, luxurious bed, she felt like she had returned to that cold, lonely little room.

Every day, she would lie on a bed with only straw, and her greatest joy was looking at the birds outside the window.

Lily had fantasized countless times about having wings and flying away from that place.

Tears continued to flow uncontrollably, and Lily hoarsely asked:

"Why are you saying all this... what do you want?"

Is it just to mock me?

Robert's hand, caressing her hair, didn't stop. He shook his head and looked at the dimly lit sky outside the window, saying softly:

"I, too, once fantasized about having wings to escape from this place."

Lunt's canary, a noblewoman's doll, the Bell family's waste...

Heh!

"I understand that feeling—hopelessness, powerlessness, with no way to resist. You can only choose to compromise."

Being weak is not a sin, but being weak can make those with power see you as prey.

"I'm not saying all this to bring us closer..."

"Just to say, I understand your pain. I can comprehend your suffering."

Turning to look at her tear-soaked eyes, Robert said with the gentlest voice:

"I won't let you be abandoned again."

This man is a devil!

Can't believe it! Can't believe it! Can't...

"Sob, sob, sob..."

With her hands covering her tears, Lily couldn't suppress the tears and cries, wailing in anguish in the room.

Robert didn't say anything, he just looked at her with compassion, gently stroking her hair.

[Discerning weakness, then tearing it apart]

[... Manipulative tactics]

[You really are more of a devil than a demon]