Hathaway really wasn’t an ordinary person.

Most people couldn’t stroll right up to the gates of hell and then immediately calm down.

Lin Xingyun had just rescued Hathaway from an assassin. She only froze for a moment before getting right back to her feet. Her expression didn’t change at all as she went to the wardrobe, picked out the formal dress she’d be wearing later, and walked straight out of her bedroom.

She left him with just one sentence:

“Please give me a little time…”

As Hathaway’s figure disappeared and the door shut tight behind her, her whole string of actions left Lin Xingyun wearing a huge, baffled question mark.

Lin Xingyun: ???

He wasn’t expecting Hathaway to cling to him and cry her eyes out in fear, but couldn’t she at least give him some kind of reaction? Shaking hands, wobbly legs, a trembling voice—anything?

But what happened? Hathaway acted like nothing had happened. She changed her clothes, returned to the estate’s banquet, and delivered the closing remarks, as if the whole thing had never taken place.

If Lin Xingyun hadn’t been certain he’d heard what Hathaway was thinking, he might’ve suspected there was something wrong with this beautiful woman with her sexy long legs. She didn’t seem to know what fear was.

It wasn’t until Lin Xingyun noticed there was only one high heel on the floor—and couldn’t find the other one—that he seemed to understand:

—Well, would you look at that. All that composure was an act (laughs).

After that, everything went by the book. As the owner of the estate and host of the banquet, Hathaway saw one guest after another off and brought the grand affair to a perfect close. There was nothing to criticize—not even when it came to achieving her original goal.

Lin Xingyun had watched it all from the balcony. He even patted the assassin beside him, who still couldn’t move, and said with a deeply moved expression:

“She’s amazing, isn’t she?”

The assassin had seen it all, but now he could only weep without tears. He couldn’t even speak.

After Hathaway had seen all the guests off and nodded to him from a distance, Lin Xingyun headed back to the room without hesitation and sat on the sofa to wait for her.

Just as Hathaway had said, she only needed a little time to take care of everything.

When Hathaway returned to the room, she’d not only changed clothes and fixed anything that might’ve damaged her image, but seemed to have calmed down as well.

As for the cut the dagger had made on her neck, Lin Xingyun had healed it in passing. Not a mark remained.

Hathaway wore a wine-red gown, her look restrained yet alluring. At Lin Xingyun’s gesture, she sat across from him, several complicated emotions flickering in her eyes.

The assassin who’d accidentally run into the Demon King while on the job had now become a living door god, obediently standing guard outside for the two of them.

In other words, Hathaway and Lin Xingyun were alone in the bedroom.

A man and a woman alone together in a room—it was hard not to let your imagination run wild. Besides, Hathaway was stunning. Her alluring purple hair, her beautiful blue eyes, and the cool, refined air that seemed to surround her all gave her an unmistakably feminine charm.

Of course, what caught Lin Xingyun’s eye most was Hathaway’s smooth, sexy legs. They peeked out from beneath her skirt, and that hint of mystery was exactly what made them so irresistible to men.

Four words to sum it up: a leg-lover’s weakness.

“Ahem…” Lin Xingyun snapped back to his senses and coughed awkwardly. Luckily, Hathaway, sitting across from him, seemed lost in thought too. A faint blush had already colored her cheeks, and she hadn’t noticed his lapse.

Hathaway was about to become the first Witch under his command. Lin Xingyun had already come up with an intimidating opening line while waiting in the room—a bold declaration that would definitely cow her.

But the moment the words reached his lips, they turned into:

“Are… are you okay?”

???

How was that any different from a girl telling you she didn’t feel well and you replying, “Drink more hot water”?

Realizing this, Lin Xingyun wanted to slap himself twice—two big ones, Xiaoming’s favorite. There was a reason he’d been single for more than a decade before transmigrating.

He didn’t even know how to talk to girls!

…Damn it. The more he thought about it, the madder he got.

Hathaway hadn’t expected Lin Xingyun to ask that. Her reply was soft, a far cry from her earlier cool demeanor:

“Mm… I’ve taken care of everything.”

After she spoke, the blush on Hathaway’s cheeks deepened. But Lin Xingyun was too busy thinking about how to salvage his Demon King image to notice.

After taking a deep breath, Lin Xingyun followed the plan he’d come up with earlier and prepared to begin tonight’s main event: tricking Hathaway into becoming his…

—Ahem. Getting Hathaway to willingly become his Witch.

With that thought in mind, Lin Xingyun spoke:

“You’ve probably guessed who I am by now.”

Before Hathaway could answer, he carried on, doing his best to imitate the way the Demon Kings spoke in the anime he’d watched before transmigrating.

“I heard your plea, your desire to live. And I’m willing to grant you that chance.”

“Not everyone gets an opportunity like this. So…”

“You’re very lucky, Hathaway.”

“…Truly, very lucky.”

Lin Xingyun wouldn’t openly announce that he was the Demon King. It would make him look cheap.

After all, he was the Demon King who ruled over countless monsters.

When he said Hathaway’s name, Lin Xingyun deliberately infused it with the Demon King’s power. He wanted to make himself seem more imposing and rule out any chance of Hathaway changing her mind and backing out.

…After all, the Book of the Demon King of Desire required these girls to become his Witches willingly.

Hearing Lin Xingyun’s words, Hathaway first looked hesitant. Soon, though, her expression turned resolute, and she gave a solemn nod.

“Yes, I understand… Lord Demon King.”

The moment she finished speaking, the oppressive Demon King’s aura emanating from Lin Xingyun vanished without a trace.

Lin Xingyun snapped his fingers. With a bang, a heavy ancient book appeared out of thin air beside him, bound in chains and radiating ominous signs.

“Good.” Lin Xingyun opened the Book of the Demon King, tore out a page, and sent it floating in front of Hathaway with his magic. “Take a look, then sign your name.”

Hathaway: …?

Hathaway suppressed the urge to complain, took the page of the magic book, and began to read.

As she held the page, Hathaway could feel the magic flowing through it—even though she was an ordinary person. Her heart gradually settled.

Unexpectedly, this wasn’t a contract selling her into servitude. Hathaway was sure it was more like a pact, one that required both sides to give something up.

There wasn’t much written on it, and the terms were simple: once the pact took effect, Hathaway, the other party to the contract, would offer everything she had to the Demon King and fall into depravity, becoming a Witch who could enchant all.

…Yes, everything. Including her soul.

In exchange, the Demon King would grant her one wish—the wish she wanted most, the one she most desperately hoped to see fulfilled right now.

The wish she wanted most right now… Hathaway closed her eyes. Her thoughts returned to the moment the dagger had been held against her neck, when she could almost smell death.

It was obvious what that wish was.

Once she’d thought it through, Hathaway opened her eyes again. As she met Lin Xingyun’s blue gaze, there was no longer any conflict or hesitation in hers.

The position of president of the trade association was hers. Hathaway had secured it!

Hathaway’s name was now written on the contract page from the Book of the Demon King.

Once she’d signed, the contract page burst into flames of its own accord. A cloud of black smoke filled the room and enveloped Hathaway, who had chosen to accept it all. The process of turning her into a Witch began.

When everything had settled, Lin Xingyun watched the Witch’s cocoon surge with the Demon King’s aura as it corrupted Hathaway, and finally let out a breath of relief.

Mission accomplished!

That hadn’t been so hard after all~

Of course, Lin Xingyun knew he’d have to grant Hathaway’s wish. But that could wait. For now, he wanted to see what his first Witch would look like.

The transformation didn’t take long.

A sound like an eggshell cracking rang out, heralding the arrival of new life. Fine cracks suddenly appeared across the Witch’s cocoon.

Then a pair of flawless, shapely legs stepped out, radiating an eerie allure. The smooth skin was etched with the Demon King’s mark, achingly seductive.

When Hathaway, now fallen and transformed into a Witch, stood before Lin Xingyun, she took his breath away:

The wine-red gown that had covered Hathaway’s figure was gone. In its place was a miniskirt that barely reached her thighs, leaving her perfect legs on full display before Lin Xingyun.

She wore a tight black bodysuit. It didn’t reveal much skin, but it traced her stunning curves and slender waist, narrow enough to fit in one hand. It had a charm all its own.

The biggest change wasn’t Hathaway’s outfit, but her aura. The haughty, cool young lady she’d been had become a graceful, alluring beauty with a hint of wickedness—the kind of bewitching Witch who seemed to tempt you into depravity with every breath.

The contrast between before and after was so striking that even Lin Xingyun, a veteran who’d seen countless videos, could barely keep his composure.

Hathaway, reborn, stood before Lin Xingyun. She met his gaze without a hint of embarrassment about her outfit, her red lips gently pressed together and her eyes brimming with seduction.

She could feel an invisible bond connecting her to the black-haired, black-eyed young man before her. It made her feel completely at ease, while an indescribable emotion flowed through her heart.

She belonged to him now.

“Hathaway Lin greets her master. From now on, I’ll be your Witch.”

Hathaway placed her left hand, covered by a black silk glove, over her chest and gave Lin Xingyun a flawless bow. A long-missed smile, one that came from the heart, spread across her face.

From this day on, there would be no more Hathaway. There would only be Hathaway Lin, a Witch who belonged to the Demon King of Desire forever.

Lin Xingyun’s expression barely changed as he watched, but his heart was anything but calm.

Because right now, he was wrestling with one question:

…Did he just unlock a second-stage corruption route?