Tick-tock—!

What was that sound?

Tick-tock— tick-tock— tick-tock—!

This is... a mechanical clock!

I snapped my eyes open. Above me was a dark ceiling. My leg hurt so much I was almost in tears. Gritting my teeth, I pushed myself up on my elbows and stared at my lower leg, fixed in a splint. Ah... what... what is going on? Why is my leg shorter? My arms and legs both looked like they were only half their original length. What happened?

“What a pity. The young lady’s leg bone may be cracked. It’ll need to be fixed for at least a month.”

“She only broke one leg after falling down the stairs. This little brat got lucky.”

“Madam, that’s going too far.”

“Hmph. I run this house. You’re just some country doctor. Do your job and keep your mouth shut. If you dare say one word too many, I’ll make you regret it!”

That sharp, vicious voice echoed outside the door. The sound of high heels on the floor gradually faded away. I would never forget that voice.

Katherine!

My stepmother. The real culprit who pushed me down the stairs and left me crippled. Still, that vicious woman had died of some strange illness a few years after I escaped the family. I guess that was karma.

“What... is going on?”

I looked out the window into the endless night. Stars glittered above the forest, and the distant mountains bathed in starlight. I remembered those peaks. I remembered this forest.

This was Casworth, the territory of House Lude!

Just then, the door opened and light spilled in. An elderly butler with graying hair appeared in the doorway. In that faint light, I saw my own reflection in the glass. Golden eyes glimmered dimly in the dark, and that round little bun-like face looked as cute as a doll’s.

That was me at six years old.

This was the very year my stepmother pushed me down the stairs.

“Young lady, you need rest,” the butler said. “From now on, please do not run on the stairs again.”

“That’s not what happened, Thomas!” I cried out his name. “It was... it was Katherine! She pushed me down the stairs!”

Faced with my pleading, the butler raised his hand with a sneer and slapped me hard across the face. Stars burst before my eyes. My ears rang. My mouth filled with the taste of rust. My cheek swelled at a visible speed, and blood trickled from the corner of my lips.

“Young lady,” the butler named Thomas said coldly, “why are you lying? The maids all saw it. You fell down the stairs by yourself.”

“But—”

Smack—!

My left cheek took another slap. Golden stars spun in my vision, and a bloodied tooth fell onto the blanket.

“Young lady, lying is bad,” Thomas said with a fake smile. “You failed to observe proper manners and ran in the hallway. That is why you fell down the stairs.”

Ahaha. So this bastard really was on Katherine’s side.

“S-Sorry,” I said, deciding to back down. “I lied. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

“It’s good that you understand.” Thomas let out a sigh. “I’ve left the lamp here, but lamp oil is expensive. Don’t let this happen again.”

With that, he pushed the door open and left. His footsteps gradually faded.

Lamp oil is expensive?

Ahahaha... what a joke!

House Lude brought in 2,000 gold coins a year. How could they possibly be unable to afford lamp oil? Thomas, the steward of the household, had already been fooling around with Katherine six years ago. The two of them were not only having an affair, they were also embezzling House Lude’s money together. In the end, they drove the family into bankruptcy. I only learned that after I became an adult. And Katherine’s death was very likely connected to Thomas too.

In other words, Thomas was also one of the people I wanted revenge on.

I wanted him dead.

I looked again at my leg, fixed in the splint. The cracked area was swollen, but the bone hadn’t shifted out of place. If I was lucky, it would heal in a month. Unfortunately, Katherine would never let me go. To push her own son, Royce, into the heir’s position, she had to get rid of me.

In truth, Royce was her child with her former husband. He wasn’t related to me by blood at all. I still had no idea what was wrong with Father’s head back then. He actually married a widow with a child. It was unbelievable.

Right now, I was six. Royce was nine. Elizabeth was five.

That was the problem in front of me. I was too young. I had no way to support myself, no way to escape the family and go study elsewhere. And this time, I had only broken my leg. Katherine would never stop here.

There was no one in this house who could protect me.

That included my father, Count Lud. He was cold and selfish. After my mother died, he stopped caring about me the moment I “lost my value.”

So when he died in the end, I didn’t shed a single tear.

Wait, wait, wait. That’s not the point!

Why was I back here again? Back to when I was six? And this time I had only broken my leg, not my spine?

Could it be...

“That’s right. It was me.”

A black shadow appeared on top of my blanket. Then, with a voice as clear as silver bells, a pair of golden eyes emerged from the darkness.

A... demon?

No. It was a cat!

And not just any cat, but a pitch-black black cat. They say a lump of coal can vanish into the dark the moment it closes its eyes. Turns out that was true.

“Chris?”

“Hahaha. After all these years, you finally feel like saying my name.” The black cat sounded pleased. “Victoria, this isn’t a dream. You came back. You were reborn at six years old. And I picked up a few tricks too. I used a bit of wind magic to make you a cushion, so this time you only crippled one leg instead of ending up paralyzed from the waist down like last time.”

“But,” it said, changing tone, “this is a chance to start over. You have the right to choose your life again. Maybe you could keep being a good person?”

“A good person? Don’t make me laugh!” I stared at my own hands. “I was burned alive in the square. How could I ever forget that pain and despair? Since God won’t punish those evil people, then I will. I already swore it. I’ve abandoned God. I’ve abandoned kindness and justice. From today on, I live only for myself.”

“Good. Remember what you said today. Don’t ever forget it,” the black cat said. “If you dare betray your own oath, your soul will belong to me.”

“Don’t worry.” I gave a cold smile. “My revenge starts tomorrow. But before that, can you do me a favor? Move that vase to the doorway.”

“I’m not your pet. Besides, what’s the point of doing that?”

“Of course there’s a point. You’ll know tomorrow.”

Early the next morning—

Crash—!

Waaahhhhhh—!

A girl’s crying shattered my sweet dream. My leg had hurt so badly last night that I didn’t fall asleep until midnight. Expressionless, I looked toward the door. A blue-eyed beauty was sitting on the floor, bawling her eyes out. The vase I had placed by the door last night had toppled over, and the spilled water had soaked her shoes and dress.

To be fair, she really was a very beautiful little girl. Her cute round face made people want to pinch it, and her rare pink hair only made her look even more adorable.

This striking little beauty was my younger sister, Elizabeth. God had piled every good thing onto her. It really wasn’t fair.

As for me, gray hair with golden eyes. No matter how you looked at it, I seemed like some forbidden child born from a union with a demon. That was exactly why I was so unwelcome. Even my biological father ignored me. And after my mother died in childbirth, the arrival of my stepmother Katherine only made my situation worse.

“Young lady? What happened? Young lady?”

“Waaah... Mary, Victoria bullied me! Hurry and hit her for me!”

The maid who came running glared at me. This freckled girl was Elizabeth’s personal maid. Even so, as a servant, she didn’t dare come over and strike me. After all, I still carried the title of a count’s daughter. In the Empire, disrespecting a noble could get your head cut off.

“Mary,” I said coldly, “Elizabeth knocked over the vase. Her shoes and dress are wet. She’ll catch a cold.”

“Ah, y-yes... Young Lady.”

Startled, Mary quickly took in the situation. She immediately understood what she should do. So she picked up the loudly sobbing Elizabeth, coaxed her a little, and hurried off to find her a new dress and shoes.

“Heh. That’s it?”

The black cat lay by the bedside, watching me with its golden eyes. It licked its paw in boredom, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

“If I didn’t make her cry, that little bitch would’ve poured the chamber pot over my face while I was asleep. That’s what she did last time. I had to lie in that reeking, filthy bed all day, covered in the smell of piss.”

“Oh...”

The black cat glanced at me, as if it wanted to say something, then stopped.

“Chris, aren’t you a demon?” I glared at him. “Where were you when they bullied me in my last life? You disappeared after leaving me a single glass bead. Do you know how heartbroken I was?”

“Hah? You’re blaming me?” The black cat rolled over. “You refused the contract, so I couldn’t stay in this world. A demon without a contractor gets sent back to the Abyss very quickly. Do you know how hard it is to break through the barrier between dimensions? Just leaving a beacon by your side cost me a huge amount of magic. Whether I can even make that back is still up in the air.”

“I don’t remember demons ever making losing deals. Your kind is always shrewd.”

“That’s true, but...” The black cat looked at me, a faint smile in its golden eyes. “Victoria, your soul is just too tempting. I was drawn to it, so I invested in you without even thinking. Well, using leverage happens all the time. It’s not unheard of. Sometimes a demon also plays the long game for a bigger catch. I’m looking forward to the return on this investment, so don’t disappoint me.”

“I won’t disappoint you.” Anger burned in my chest. “This time, there’ll be as many sacrifices as you want. I’ll offer every last one of them to you, because I... am your high priestess.”

“Hahaha, that’s right.” The black cat reached out a front paw and lightly touched my finger. “You are my priestess. I accept your offerings. And this ring will brand the sacrifices. Once a sacrifice dies, its soul will become my food, fall into the Abyss, and suffer eternal torment.”

“That’s exactly what I want.” I clenched my fist. “I’m so happy.”

But the black cat narrowed its eyes slightly.

“Saying ‘I’m so happy’ with a face like you’re about to cry isn’t very convincing,” it said. “Victoria, your nature is kind. Even now, you still can’t completely throw that kindness away. But remember this. The moment you decide to turn back toward good, I’ll collect your soul and reclaim my full investment.”

Ah, yes...

I was now a demon’s contractor, the high priestess of an Abyssal Demon. I had abandoned everything called “good” and fallen into becoming nothing but a seeker of revenge.

I knew I was pitiful, but I didn’t care.

I would use every means possible to drag my enemies into hell and make them suffer forever in the flames of the Abyss.