The Morningstar Continent. Rulvis, a border city in the Weius Kingdom.

The sun had set, and the last of its light had faded from the continent. One household after another lit mana-powered lamps, using their artificial glow to illuminate the border city once more.

Lin Xingyun, the Demon King of Desire, stood in the busy street, sizing up the luxurious manor ahead. It was ablaze with light, and noble carriages kept arriving—there seemed to be a banquet underway. His target was in there.

That’s right. Lin Xingyun wasn’t a native of the Morningstar Continent. He’d crossed over from another world.

Perhaps he’d caught a ride with the three hundred thousand other people who’d crossed over. By the time he came to his senses, Lin Xingyun had already become the new Demon King, ruling over every demon on the Morningstar Continent.

Unable to accept the reality of it all, he’d slipped away on his own while his subordinates weren’t paying attention, and headed alone into human territory.

If he wanted to go home, Lin Xingyun had only one option: open the Book of the Demon King left behind by his predecessor, a symbol of the demons’ supreme authority.

The magic and knowledge contained within the Book of the Demon King were beyond measure. If Lin Xingyun went straight at it, he—newly made Demon King of Desire—would surely be unable to withstand it.

So, to be safe, the Book of the Demon King had been sealed several times over. Lin Xingyun would only be allowed to open it once he met certain conditions.

And those conditions required Lin Xingyun to find girls who met the requirements and, by any means necessary, convince them to willingly become his followers—his...

—Witches.

Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—Hathaway became Lin Xingyun’s first target.

Hathaway was a candidate for head of the Hainerna Chamber of Commerce. At just seventeen, she was famous throughout Rulvis City for her sharp business mind and beauty capable of captivating anyone.

Tonight was the first large-scale banquet she’d held in Rulvis. She’d invited the city’s most prominent nobles and wealthy merchants. Through meeting them tonight, she hoped to bring every influential figure in Rulvis City firmly under her wing, making them a key advantage in her bid to become head of the Hainerna Chamber of Commerce.

In the manor’s back garden, the lilting, graceful music flowed through the air. Hundreds of expensive, colorful magic lamps hung from the branches. Dignitaries dressed in luxurious clothes used the banquet as a chance to form little circles, smiling as they introduced themselves and chatted.

Well-trained maids were stationed throughout the manor, doing everything they could to serve the guests. Everything was in perfect order.

From the outside, the manor looked exactly as Hathaway had planned. She loved the feeling of having everything under control.

A light breeze brushed her delicate, alluring face. Hathaway raised a pale hand to tuck the purple hair that had fallen beside her ear back into place, then calmly surveyed everyone below with her light blue eyes.

Though she was only seventeen, Hathaway had long since trampled the word “green” beneath her high heels. The merchants who’d met her would instinctively forget that this sophisticated beauty, with her flawless long legs, was only seventeen.

After running through the speech she’d soon give in her head once more, Hathaway raised her wineglass and drank the last drop of its blood-red wine.

Then she went back inside from the balcony and into her bedroom. She planned to change into a more mature-looking dress before returning to the banquet.

It was time to reap the rewards of all her hard work.

Seated before the enormous vanity mirror, Hathaway gazed at her own stunning reflection. Her face remained an icy mask, and her deep light-blue eyes gave nothing away.

After staring for a moment, she called for the head maid who’d served her for years. “Mary, come in.”

A long while passed, but no one answered. Only the garden’s lilting music drifted into the bedroom.

To be honest, this was somewhat unexpected.

Mary was her head maid, and one who’d passed Hathaway’s strict tests. She wouldn’t make the mistake of ignoring her mistress’s call. Besides, she should have been standing right outside the door, waiting for an order.

Hathaway furrowed her brows and called her head maid again, deliberately raising her voice this time. “Mary.”

Once again, no one answered from the hallway.

Hathaway lowered her hand without showing a hint of alarm. But as she recalled the recent reports of other candidates for the chamber’s leadership being murdered, a trace of tension finally crept into her heart.

The Hainerna Chamber of Commerce was an old institution with a long history and staggering wealth. Its previous head had adopted a group of orphans—some with no parents, others sold away—and raised them from childhood to become candidates for the next head.

Hathaway was one of several dozen candidates for the position.

Survival of the fittest had always been the law of the jungle, and it applied just as well in human society. As a result, quite a few candidates resorted to underhanded methods:

—Since they couldn’t match the others in wealth or connections, they had no choice but to take a dangerous gamble.

That was why Hathaway had left the capital of the Weius Kingdom and come to Rulvis, hoping to keep out of the crossfire. She hadn’t expected her “dear brothers and sisters” to go after her anyway, even after she’d put out the smokescreen that she wasn’t taking part in the competition. Their methods were clean and brutal, with no hint of family affection.

Well, this really wasn’t... unexpected to Hathaway.

Maybe this was what you could call “family backstabbing.” At last, a mocking expression appeared on Hathaway’s normally icy face.

Hathaway wasn’t the type to sit around and wait for death. There were magic items in her vanity drawer that she could use to defend herself. If she could just get her hands on one, she was sure she could hold the assassin off until the guards arrived. Then she could interrogate them and find out which “dear brother” or “dear sister” had tried to kill her.

In an instant, Hathaway had worked out a plan. But the whole thing hinged on one fatal condition: she had to move faster than the assassin!

First, she had to find where the assassin was hiding...

Hathaway forced herself to stay calm and used the vanity mirror’s reflection to search for places the assassin might be hiding.

Calling for Mary had surely put the assassin on alert. It was an unmistakable signal that Hathaway had noticed something was wrong, so she didn’t dare make any sudden movements. She didn’t want to corner the assassin and make them lash out at her.

“You can come out now,” Hathaway said after weighing her options. She decided against taking a risk and chose the safest approach. “There’s no point in dragging this out.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Hathaway felt something cold touch her neck. The blade’s chilling, razor-sharp killing intent made her skin go stiff. It was a sharp dagger.

Just as she’d thought... Hathaway drew in a quiet breath. A bitter smile touched her lips. Now she understood.

“I have to say, you’re the most alert out of the dozen or so useless fools I’ve taken care of,” said a deliberately distorted voice behind Hathaway. “But it doesn’t make any difference.”

So there’d already been more than a dozen... Hathaway gently closed her eyes, a helpless smile lifting the corners of her mouth as she resigned herself to reality.

In this situation, she had no power to choose.

She wasn’t stupid. She knew none of her tricks would work on an assassin like this.

...But she still couldn’t bear to accept that her life was about to end.

—She couldn’t bear it. Not one bit.

She hadn’t become head of the chamber yet. She hadn’t taken revenge on her brothers and sisters. She hadn’t...

...had enough of living.

If—if someone could save her now, she’d give them everything she had in exchange for the chance to live.

Almighty God?

...Hathaway had given up on God.

God would always look down on humanity from on high, and never interfere in the lives of little people like them. Not even the most devout believers were an exception.

Only when death drew near could you understand the value of life. So, in that moment, Hathaway made a reckless choice she’d never even have dared to consider before:

【God... Heh. It’s all just a lie.】

【Demon King, there is a Demon King in our world, right...?】

【If you can really save my life, then I’m willing to give you everything I have and become your most loyal servant—even my soul.】

【And if that still isn’t enough, I’m willing to do... more.】

After she’d said all this in her heart, the dagger at her neck drew even closer. Hathaway could feel something warm and wet sticking to her skin.

“What a waste. For someone as gorgeous as you to become his target... What a waste. Tsk, tsk, tsk.”

The assassin spoke again, sounding a little more wistful than before.

“But don’t worry. I’m fast. You won’t feel any pain at all... Hm?!”

The strange voice, thick with fear, cut off abruptly. The assassin had suddenly realized he couldn’t control his own body!

He’d been restrained without even realizing it?!

Hearing something amiss, Hathaway’s eyes snapped open. In the vanity mirror, she saw a third person in her bedroom: a black-haired, black-eyed boy.

Lin Xingyun ignored the assassin completely. With a light step, he walked over to Hathaway and studied her in the mirror. His gaze was like that of many men who saw her for the first time—filled with a certain... color. Ahem.

But there was one thing that set his gaze apart from theirs: it was direct and intense, with no attempt to hide behind even a shred of decency. Most of the time, his eyes lingered on her proudest feature—her legs—not her face.

...The unexpected turn of events made Hathaway even more tense. Instinctively, she knew this sudden newcomer was sure to be far more troublesome—and far more dangerous—than the assassin with the dagger.

The assassin only wanted her life. But this person...

—wanted all of her.

“I just heard someone make a wish to me,” Lin Xingyun said, standing in front of Hathaway with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. He met her beautiful light-blue gaze. “They said they were willing to give me everything in exchange for the chance to live.”

“I didn’t hear that wrong, did I?”