The next day arrived right on schedule.

Morning sunlight spilled into the manor. Lin Xingyun sat up in bed and stretched lazily, then opened his eyes again, clear-headed as ever.

The enormous room was lavishly decorated, with every piece of furniture one could need. A scent favored by nobles drifted through the air, filling the place with the stench of wicked capitalism.

Nothing else happened last night. In fact, Lin Xingyun had enjoyed the best sleep he’d had in ages. For the past few months, he’d been so focused on the Book of the Demon King’s quests that he’d barely had a chance to sleep in a comfortable bed.

Hathaway, on the other hand, had a much more eventful time. First, she’d hosted a grand banquet and invited all sorts of influential figures from Rulvis City. An event like that took a lot of thought—and plenty of time to prepare.

Then an Assassin had tried to kill her halfway through. Lin Xingyun had rescued her right away, but throughout the whole ordeal, Hathaway’s background music had still been “Flower of Hope,” playing without the slightest sign of stopping.

And in the end, she’d signed a contract with Lin Xingyun and fallen into becoming a Witch. Hathaway had really stopped being human altogether.

Everything that happened to Hathaway last night had been like a TV drama that just kept rolling without a single pause.

…Come on, anyone would need days to get over something like that, let alone Hathaway, a frail and delicate young woman.

No matter how sharp and cool-headed she was, a one-two punch like that would leave anyone reeling for a while. If he wasn’t going to earn her favor now, when would he?

And what did our Demon King, Lin Xingyun—the same guy who’d been romantically clueless for over a decade—do? He copied Hathaway’s earlier move, tossed out a single line—“Get some rest tonight. We can talk tomorrow”—then followed the lovely maid to a guest room and went straight to bed, leaving Hathaway alone in the bedroom, completely bewildered.

Even now, Lin Xingyun still hadn’t realized what, exactly, he’d done wrong.

Lin Xingyun opened the door, ready to go out for breakfast, and immediately found several lovely maids waiting outside. They were all beautiful, with amazing figures—not a single one could be called merely average. Their voices were soft and sweet, too.

…Wicked capitalism!

Lin Xingyun couldn’t help sighing inwardly.

It was the first time the manor’s maids had seen Lin Xingyun, too. They knew their mistress well, and understood just how extraordinary it was for an unidentified man to show up in the manor. Curiosity shone in their eyes.

“Good morning, Master.”

—Of course, the most important part was that title. The girls had no idea when they’d acquired another master.

After greeting him, the maid standing at the front—the head maid, Mary, a bespectacled woman radiating an intellectual charm—dismissed the others and personally escorted Lin Xingyun to the dining room.

The young lady was already waiting for them there.

Fortunately, the assassin last night hadn’t tried to kill Mary and had only knocked her unconscious. Otherwise, Hathaway would have had to find herself another head maid. Raising a trustworthy one took a great deal of time and effort.

The manor where Hathaway lived was enormous. Even walking from the bedroom to the dining room took Lin Xingyun more than ten minutes. That gave him some idea of just how big the place was.

Mary opened the dining-room doors and smiled as she gestured for Lin Xingyun to enter.

As soon as Lin Xingyun stepped inside, he saw his first fallen Witch, Hathaway, waiting for him at the table.

Hathaway was wearing a loose, comfortable white lace dress. Its hem was cut quite high, revealing a pair of flawless legs—slender and straight—and small, delicate bare feet. The white outfit made her look pure, while adding just a hint of sensuality.

Hathaway’s tight black outfit from last night had certainly been alluring, but it wasn’t something she could wear in public. Whether it was appropriate was beside the point; what mattered was what the outfit represented. She had fallen and become a Witch, someone everyone feared.

But Hathaway didn’t seem to have expected Lin Xingyun to show up just then. The moment he entered the dining room, he caught her hurriedly hiding something—something she clearly didn’t want him to see.

—It looked like a book.

Once she was done, Hathaway returned to her usual calm. But the faint, rather adorable blush on her cheeks hadn’t completely faded.

“Mary, go get everyone ready.” Hathaway took a sip of coffee and steadied herself before giving the order.

“Yes, young lady.”

A strange flush crossed the head maid’s face, as though she’d just thought of something. Still, she respectfully closed the dining-room door, leaving the two of them some privacy to talk.

The spacious, bright dining room and the wide variety of breakfast dishes on the table caught Lin Xingyun’s attention. He no longer felt like asking Hathaway what that book was—or why she’d been hiding it from him.

“Good morning, Lin.”

If one of the maids had been standing there to witness this, she probably would’ve been stunned. Hathaway, the young lady of the house, was smiling as she got up and personally pulled out a chair for Lin Xingyun.

She even unfolded a napkin for him, then moved gracefully around the long table to gather up the food and set it in front of him. After that, she rested her chin on one hand—hardly the dignified image of a young lady—and gazed at Lin Xingyun with smoldering eyes.

Having a beautiful woman beside you at breakfast was a pleasure, sure, but anyone would struggle to handle this kind of treatment.

“Ahem… So, Hathaway, did you sleep well last night?” Lin Xingyun swallowed his food and awkwardly tried to change the subject.

Instead, Hathaway gave him a sultry roll of her eyes.

“I didn’t sleep at all last night.”

Hathaway spoke lazily, then pouted in a way that was both charming and alluring. It was as if she were blaming Lin Xingyun for treating her like that last night and then ignoring her—like some scumbag who’d had his fun and dumped her. Lin Xingyun nearly spat out the milk in his mouth.

If he really had spat it out, the sight would’ve been quite something.

A beautiful girl and milk… Honestly, that’s a little cursed.

My lady, you weren’t like this last night! Why do you seem like a completely different person after becoming a Witch?

Where’d the calm, noble, icy young lady from last night go?!

—Give her back to me, hey! (#`O′)

Seeing the shock in Lin Xingyun’s eyes, Hathaway covered her mouth and giggled. Then, swaying her alluring figure, she sat back down, crossing her long, beautiful legs.

“I really never thought I’d be saved by the Demon King, or that I’d end up like this.” Only now did Hathaway speak seriously.

By “like this,” she meant falling and becoming a Witch. Lin Xingyun understood that perfectly well—he’d been a little worried she might resent the identity.

“I’m not complaining. On the contrary, I’m genuinely happy. It means I still have a chance to properly ‘repay’ those older brothers and sisters of mine.”

“So, Lin, I know words of gratitude don’t mean much, but I still want to thank you. That’s why… I want to give you a present. I’ll take you to see it after breakfast. You… you should like it.”

As she said this, Hathaway sounded a little awkward and shy. A lovely blush spread across her cheeks, and against the white dress, she was a feast for the eyes.

Lin Xingyun was still reeling from Hathaway’s teasing, his heart all aflutter. He didn’t notice her quietly hiding the book even farther away. He just murmured a distracted reply.

“Mm.”

After enjoying a breakfast steeped in capitalist luxury, Hathaway took it upon herself to show Lin Xingyun around the manor. The tour went on for more than an hour.

Although Hathaway was only one of the candidates for a position in the merchant guild, her wealth was still beyond an ordinary person’s reach. The details of the manor made that plain.

But, strangely enough, Lin Xingyun didn’t see a single one of the lovely maids during the tour. He found it a little odd, but didn’t ask Hathaway about it.

That is, until Mary showed up.

The head maid, who’d been gone for a while, seemed to have touched up her makeup. She looked even prettier than when Lin Xingyun had first met her.

Of course, the hem of her black-and-white maid dress was shorter, too.

“Young lady, everything’s ready.”

After saying this, the head maid gave Lin Xingyun a special look. There was something expectant and shy in her eyes. It gave Lin Xingyun the feeling of a headless knight—he couldn’t get his head around it.

“Mm…” Hathaway took a deep breath, then nodded. “We’ll go over in a moment. You can head back first.”

“Yes.”

At her young lady’s command, the head maid left again.

“I’m really curious now, Hathaway. What’s this present you’re giving me?” Lin Xingyun hadn’t forgotten the look the head maid had given him before leaving.

“You’ll like it, Lin.” Hathaway turned to meet his eyes, a knowing look in her pretty blue ones. “I promise.”

Once she knew the head maid had everything ready, Hathaway led Lin Xingyun to the door of a room.

If he listened closely, he could hear women chatting and laughing inside, their voices warm and cheerful. He just couldn’t make out what they were saying.

There were clearly a lot of people inside. If Lin Xingyun had to guess, all the lovely maids who’d gone missing that morning had gathered in that room.

But the moment someone knocked, the room fell silent.

“My present is in there, Lin. Just open the door and you’ll see.” After knocking, Hathaway turned her back to the door. Her eyes were a little flustered, but she quickly steeled herself as she spoke.

“Mm.” Lin Xingyun nodded.

Honestly, Lin Xingyun was really curious about what kind of present Hathaway had prepared for him that required so many maids to put together.

Maybe it was some enormous cake… Though he had no idea why they’d be eating cake now. Were they celebrating something?

With that question in mind, Lin Xingyun pushed open the door—and finally got his answer.

Every pretty girl in the manor had been gathered inside. Dozens of pairs of eyes looked toward Lin Xingyun, full of shyness, curiosity, boldness…

And what they were wearing was… downright sinful.

Less than two seconds after opening the door, Lin Xingyun shut it again with a blank expression.

—I must’ve opened it the wrong way. Hathaway would never do something like this.

Lin Xingyun closed his eyes and counted to three, then opened the door again. The same hot, skimpy scene was still waiting inside.

He closed it, then opened it a third time. Still the same.

Only four words could describe it: a world-famous painting.

Lin Xingyun didn’t open the door again.

His heart was tired. Really tired.

Then he pulled Hathaway over in one swift motion and, expressionless, delivered the famous line:

“Sis, are you into lewd stuff?”

But Lin Xingyun had moved too suddenly. A beautifully bound book slipped from Hathaway’s clothes, and he caught it in his hand. With Hathaway watching, her pretty face flushed red, he flipped through a few pages.

Then he understood why Hathaway had done all this.

The book she’d been hiding on her person all along was called:

—The Untold Story of the Demon King and His Maids

It was the kind of full-throttle read meant for a newly licensed driver.

…Honestly, the writing and illustrations were pretty good. It was worth getting a copy to keep.

Lin Xingyun looked at Hathaway with a little more surprise than before…

—And with the mysterious smile of someone who’d found a kindred spirit.

I never would’ve guessed, Hathaway. You look so upright and proper, yet you betrayed the Light long ago?