Cannot Escape the Devil - Chapter 5 Part 1

Translated by Gigi

Edited by Schwarzel

People say no one knows about the future but could it be altered?

“Hello, this is Lucia, I will be serving you from today.”

“And my name is Diana.”

In the evening, the servants assigned to Asaya came to greet her. After the introduction, Lucia and Diana respectively helped Asaya to wash her body in water that had been infused with perfumed oil, put on a slip, and finished with a pure white silk dress, then stepped back.

“If you need anything else, please call us anytime.”

“Thank you.”

“You don’t have to say thank you to us, my lady.”

“Ah okay, thank you .”

Asaya thought they would insult or belittle her since she came from the outside wall, but they were very polite.

The brushing hands were careful, and their tone was gentle. Asaya wondered if they were forced to be nice to her, but they showed no signs of being uncomfortable. There was a time when she was treated so preciously. However, Asaya didn’t remember clearly what it was like, but now the feeling of being treated as a precious person was awkward and strange. No matter how much Asaya thought about it, it didn’t make sense for the abandoned woman to marry the Grand Duke, the owner of a territory.

The preparation was over. Now that the time was up, Asaya had to go to the Duke’s bedroom.

Every night at ten, she had to come to his bedroom and leave at nine in the morning. Asaya took the engagement certificate, then hurried to the bedroom where Edwin was staying. As soon as the o’clock struck ten, she knocked on the door. When the order for permission to come in was given, Asaya carefully opened the door and went inside.  Like the night before, Edwin was sitting in a chair and sipping tea.

“Did you sign the engagement certificate?”

Asaya nodded and immediately handed out the papers.

“Okay, just so you know, only I have the authority to end this relationship.”

“Yes. “

“I don’t want you to play the hostess here. You just have to go into my bedroom at 10 o’clock like tonight and sleep, then leave in the morning.”

“Do I just need to sleep?”

“I think it would be better to use your power in the morning and evening to treat my body, but is it physically possible?

Using power is accompanied by tremendous physical and mental consumption. Just because Asaya was born with ability did not mean that she could use it randomly, and there were not many people who could control their power freely, so if she made a mistake, Asaya could lose her mind or even lose her life.

Edwin looked at Asaya doubtfully. Well, it was understandable that he would not be able to trust a skinny little woman could do something so difficult.

“I  can use my power once a day without difficulty.”

Then, once a day, treat my body with your power. “

There were not many bodies that needed the care of power. Excluding the sick or the injured with severe trauma that could not be cured with medicine, the only class that should have a priest with power by his side was the Royalties. Only then Asaya realized why he had brought her here.

“If I do, will I have to fulfil the role of a subordinate priest?”

“Since you were an aristocrat, you must know about it.”

“I know from my father that the average lifespan of the royal is short and that he was born with a sensitive body that requires the care of the priest. I, too, once belonged to the church, so I have often heard of the existence of subordinate priests.”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m a royal, and I need the care of a priest all my life. My subordinate priest died two years ago, and it was time I needed a new one.”

Royal was a person who was born with superior genes. There were not many royal births.  It would be a rare star species, with less than 0.1% of the entire population. At most, it was only a few hundred. So, it was a clan surrounded by secrets with little known to the outside. They were born with a superior brain, hard skin, motor nerves, and tolerance to demons that were far superior to ordinary people. However, the special hormone that only the Royals possessed had a decisive effect on their intelligence and physical abilities. Unfortunately, the Royals were unable to control the secretion of this hormone on their own. This hormone would gnaw the body and cause continuous damage to the brain, including organs. It would destroy the body and eventually lead to death.

This was a fact that was unknown to many people and has been treated as confidential in the country.  It was a blessing to be born with resistance to evil and plague, but the susceptible body that was not free from a deadly hormone was a curse. The only thing that could control the hormones and calm their sensitive bodies was divine power–the power of Hebeia.

So, Asaya heard that a few royals have a priest who would live with them all their lives. But there was still a question that needed an answer.

“…why me?  I believe the church’s priests are better than me.”

“Because I don’t trust the church. On the day before I met you, the difficult- hired priest threw a knife at my neck and failed then she committed herself .”

Edwin had a bad relationship with the church. This means it would be difficult to secure reliable personnel for treatment. Asaya finally understood the situation to some extent.  However, the doubts were not entirely resolved.

“If you simply just need treatment, why do you want to get married?”

It might be a rude question. Still, Asaya was curious.

Edwin gazed at Asaya.

“Did you not say yesterday that you will give yourself to me?”

“That’s…”

“You said you would give me yourself. I’ve accepted it. And in return, l intend to give you what you want. But what do you think this means? Do you think I just have your shell?”

Edwin gently stroked Asaya’s chin.

“I am not satisfied with just your beautiful shell, but  also your time, your abilities, and your life.”

Asaya felt like her head got hit with a hammer. Her mind went blank. The Engagement, it was a shackle. The shackles which she had to wear for life. For Edwin, who had a bad relationship with the church and desperately in need of the care of a priest, the deal was a great advantage. He bought the life of a woman who was free from the church and could do whatever he wanted. He said he would take her life…

The scale of her being rolled into a healer or a slave was too small for him. He had already calculated ahead and made this deal. From the moment they first encountered each other, he must have already drawn a picture like this in his head. He was a dangerous person—a dangerous man who could control all situations with one word and one action.

“If you don’t have the courage to give me all of you, I won’t make you.  Even if you want to go back now, I won’t stop you.”

“…..”

“However, if you agree with the deal, there’s no turning back.  So think carefully and decide. “

Asaya knew it was not a game. This choice wouldn’t be given again. That’s why that beautiful beast gave her the last chance. If she doesn’t want to get eaten, she needs to run away now. But Asaya knew she couldn’t go back. And there was only one answer.

“I don’t want to go back.  I want to stay here.”

Asaya had already prepared to throw her life away the moment she decided to come here. The price she got as a condition of mortgaging her life. That way, she could feed her family, and that was enough. There was no reason to hesitate.

“You are responsible for the choice you made.”

“I’ve already prepared.”

Edwin smiled and stamped the seal.

“Effective from today.”

That’s how the betrothal life began.

A young Grand Duke who got the Emperor’s trust picked up an innocent woman from a garbage dump outside the wall and engaged to be married.  Was there a more shocking scandal than this?

Dozens of transcripts created by the cooperation of the paparazzi and the businessmen were scattered in the territory, and soon, all the townspeople became aware of the news. It was even more shocking when the public opinion heated up over the fact that it was a burning love relationship that they slept in one bed and made love every night. The combination of heaven and earth sleeping in one bed! What a compelling headline!

“It’s very interesting news this morning. The whole manor is noisy thanks to the article of the Grand Duke and Lady Lubedoa make burning love on the bed every night!.” Marshall told Edwin.

Edwin casually pushed the manuscript of the century’s love story down under his desk and drank coffee leisurely.

“What is the problem? It’s true that she and I are together in bed every night.”

“My Lord, If anyone hears that, they will think the content of that stimulating article is true!.”

“Eventually, it will be known to the whole world that we are engaged anyway, so why would we need to silence them? It’s rather good. The story of love had created a narrative of our engagement.”

Marshall was shocked. It was because he had never seen such a benevolent Duke all his time serving him. Usually, Edwin would have ordered the paparazzi and newspaper writers to be captured and imprisoned.

“My Lord, why are you not worried?”

“Why should I be?”

“Your public sentiment is not good. There will be a backlash from the nobles.”

“Is that why I need to be worried? Did I sin just because I took a poor, lowly woman to be my wife? There is no stupid provision in the Murraye law prohibiting enemy ships.”

While the world has been turned upside down by the scandal of the century, Edwin remained calm. Suddenly he remembered something.

“My Lord, what is it?”

Edwin recalled a fortune teller he met on the street last year.

“-There will be a significant upheaval in your life soon. “

“-I don’t believe in mind readers.”

“-Your whole life will change.  That change could be good or worse for you.  Will you believe me by then?”

“- What is the change? Is death the worst? “

“-The worst-case-scenario maybe death, and you might die in 3 years.”

“-That’s not too bad. It’s best for me to die quickly.”

Until then, Edwin thought that the only thing left for himself was death. As long as there was a hostile relationship between the church, the destiny of death would not be changed. However, he had no intention to bow down to the church as long as he was still the Duke of the territory. He would rather die than to be servile.

“She was clever. That fortune-teller.”

As the fortune teller predicted, his life changed completely.

*****

Meanwhile, Asaya was preparing to go out. Lucia and Diana were combing Asaya’s golden hair and got very distracted by the scandals of the Grand Duke scattered across the streets.

“My Lady, these days, the scandal between Duke Kalbelheider and the young Lady is a romance of the century, and it seems like the articles are spreading like fashion in the streets.

“Romance of the century…?” Asaya whispered curiously.

“The fateful love that overcame the difference in status! It’s romantic. It was said that noble love stories and articles are far more popular than romance books.”

When Asaya heard Lucia and Diana’s words, Asaya was dumbfounded.  The romance of the century? Romantic and fateful love? Asaya couldn’t believe the engagement, which was completed under a thorough calculation, is attracting people’s attention as a fateful love story.

“We heard the Lady enjoyed a secret meeting with the Lord every evening. We also heard you’ve been seeing each other secretly for years. It’s so romantic. At first, we thought the Lady was just a new priest.”

“That’s right, and we thought you were about to be kicked out. Because all the previous priests were all dead or thrown out.”

The ones that were dead probably because they failed to fulfil the Duke’s requests. Lucia and Diana must have been very familiar with the situation, too, given the casualness of their words.

“I am a little worried about going out today. My public sentiment is not so good. I feel uncomfortable about being outside the wall.” Asaya spoke worriedly.

“Do you have to go out today, My lady?”

“The family decided to come, so I have to go. But aren’t you uncomfortable with me that I’m from outside the wall?”

Lucia and Diana were somewhat embarrassed at Asaya’s cautious question. As if they had heard the words they shouldn’t hear, they replied as if it were too natural.

“What’s uncomfortable about it? If it’s the Duke’s order and you’ve promised to marry, you’re no longer in a low-class status. I don’t think anyone here would ignore you because you’re from outside the walls. Our necks will blow away.”

“Your neck will get cut off?”

Lucia and Diana burst into laughter at Asaya’s panicked question.

“It’s not really cut off. It’s just meant we will get fired.”

“My Lady, you really think our necks will get cut off? Oh, no matter how great a noble is, if he does such crazy things, he will go to jail.”

So, were the rumours surrounding Edwin not true? Asaya tilted her head and asked.

“When I was outside the wall, there was a myth that constant bodies disappeared every day from the Kabelheider mansion.”

“Well, it’s true that bodies came out often, but they were all self-determined assassins. The new priests.”

“Anyway, the rumours are scary! The Duke is a little bit tough and sensitive. He’s not a bad person even though his personality is a bit mean. He’s straightforward when speaking.”

Was that so? Asaya thought the atmosphere in the mansion was amiable, not matching Edwin’s bloody image. Usually, the atmosphere of the estate follows the owner. In Asaya’s opinion, Edwin was far from warm. Nevertheless, it was a little surprising to see that Lucia and Diana are hospitable people and that they are praising him. Lucia and Diana continued the chat.

“But I can’t help but be struck by his personality. Royals are generally like that.”

“He is still a good person. Even though he can hurt people’s feelings easily, but, please know that his nature is not that of a bad person.”

Asaya, who was listening to the conversation between the two, burst into laughter.

“You two seem to like the Duke very much.”

“Who would hate a rich employer, my lady?”

Lucia and Diana were convulsed with laughter, grabbing their stomachs. Then Lucia said cautiously when they had laughed for a while, calmed down a little.

“We are sorry, my Lady. We will be good. Please forgive us.”

Whether Edwin is good or not. Whether Asaya liked it or not, having to spend the rest of her life with him remained the same. But there was no reason not to do it because he was the one who brought her up from that hellish place. As much as winter in the lake… He gave her a prosperous and stable life. Because he was the one who had even helped her family. For Asaya at least right now, it’s not that Edwin might be a good person, but a good person. Even if he was a lousy person to other people, even if he was a bad person as rumoured. Why did it matter?

‘How much I wanted to come here…’

Asaya choked up. As she endured the rising tears, she said painfully.

“I will do well because I owe him like you do.”