"I can see your shadow, Your Highness. What exactly are you harboring within it?"

Yohan (Ilea) had spotted the shadow King Roderick kept hidden. To the witch's eyes, his spectral aura was plain to see. Some malice had corrupted the king. Faint though it was, demonic energy was unmistakably flowing through his body.

The moment Yohan finished speaking, the king's eyes began rolling wildly. It was a chilling sight, but the ministers felt no fear. An ordinary human's vision could scarcely follow eyes moving that fast. Ilea alone in the great hall had noticed the king's bizarre behavior.

Yohan (Ilea) smiled with his eyes, just as Ilea would. His gaze met the king's. Roderick stopped his strange antics and spoke.

"... My shadow. Watcher of the Abyss, what is this shadow of mine you speak of?"

His restless eyes had already grown still. The king had managed to maintain his composure, after a fashion. Someone was probably advising him behind the scenes. By all accounts, King Roderick had never been a man capable of controlling his emotions.

Yohan spoke with an untroubled expression.

"A parasite that burrows into a weak mind, a treacherous adviser seeking to exploit foolishness, a sinister being that stirs the malice inherent in humanity. It could be any and all of those things."

No sooner had he finished than the ministers erupted. Some stammered in shock; others shouted rebukes.

"S-Sir Yohan, what an outrageous thing to say!"

"Even if His Majesty was mistaken..."

"Will you not retract that impious remark at once?!"

"Take back that insolence and apologize to His Majesty immediately!"

An uproar filled the great hall. The king raised an arm to silence them. Quiet returned, and Roderick slowly spoke.

"Watcher of the Abyss, are you suggesting that I have fallen under something's spell?"

His gaze turned on Yohan, cold enough to sting. Yohan's expression remained composed.

"Indeed I am, Your Majesty."

Roderick slammed his hand against the armrest.

"You dare insult your king?! Seize that insolent wretch at once!"

Sir Mamon forced Yohan all the way to his knees. Unconcerned, Yohan merely looked up at the throne and spoke calmly.

"Your Majesty, not long ago, a sinister host invaded the royal capital."

The king's expression tightened slightly. At the mention of the attack on the capital, Roderick began to betray his emotions. Noticing the king's displeasure, Mamon glared at Yohan.

"Sir Yohan, hold your tongue at once."

Yohan continued regardless.

"On the day of the attack, the barrier protecting the capital was broken, however briefly."

Roderick's pupils trembled for an instant. Pressing down on Yohan's shoulder, Sir Mamon addressed the king.

"Your Majesty, I shall take this man to the dungeon immediately. Grant me your permission."

The king could not bring himself to consent. The Watcher of the Abyss clearly knew something. Roderick had to discover just how much he had realized.

He gripped the armrest tightly and spoke.

"... It seems the Watcher of the Abyss has something to tell me. Mamon, release him."

Mamon immediately stepped away from Yohan as though he had never shown any hostility.

"As Your Majesty commands."

He was merely carrying out the king's orders. He bore Yohan no particular ill will.

Yohan looked at the king.

"Your Majesty, please dismiss those around you for a moment."

If what he was about to say became public, even a king could not keep his position. The throne would have a new occupant. Roderick, too, had some inkling of that fact.

He waved the ministers away.

"You may withdraw for today. I shall send word to you separately."

The king's change of attitude was so abrupt that the ministers could only wonder. Murmurs swelled into a commotion again.

Yohan rose from his knees.

"My sincere thanks for Your Majesty's consideration."

After staring fixedly at Yohan, the king addressed the ministers irritably.

"What are you waiting for? I told you to leave."

One by one, the ministers began to leave the great hall. The knights followed. Before long, only Yohan and Roderick remained in the vast chamber.

Yohan had been quietly looking up at Roderick when his expression suddenly soured. He spoke in a flat, unimpressed voice.

"How long do you intend to keep looking down on me?"

He dared address the king as an inferior. Roderick's eyes widened. He was so taken aback that he could not speak. Not even Count Staviana treated him this way.

* * *

Ilea briefly lost herself in thought.

'What would Yohan have done?'

She had discovered the shadow the king was hiding—his weakness. In a situation like this, Yohan would surely seize that weakness and never let go.

He had always been that way. Even when he first met Ilea, he had used her vulnerability, Gaf, to put immense pressure on her. His relationship with Count Staviana was no different. The instant Yohan found something to exploit, he never hesitated. He laid all his cards on the table and crushed his opponent.

Yohan's methods never changed, and right now, Ilea was Yohan. She had to act like him. He would surely have used the king's weakness to dispense with the relationship of sovereign and subject first. Conversation was much easier when both sides stood at eye level.

Ilea immediately addressed the king as an inferior.

"How long do you intend to keep looking down on me?"

King Roderick could not hide his shock. He doubted his own ears. Puppet king though he might be, he was still the supreme ruler of a nation. No one dared speak that way before his throne.

His eyes went wide. His voice shook slightly as he spoke.

"W-What did you say? Say that again."

Yohan (Ilea) replied calmly.

"I asked when you would stop looking at me with such arrogance."

Roderick sprang up from his throne. His aged muscles trembled, his deep wrinkles twisting hideously. He bellowed in fury.

"How dare you spout such insolence in my presence?!"

His voice cracked into a metallic rasp.

Yohan gave a faint smirk.

"Don't strain yourself. You'll use up all the vitality the Demon gave you."

Roderick's expression froze. The word "Demon" had paralyzed him.

"You wretch, what are you—"

Yohan shook his head.

"No, no. You mustn't deny it like that. We're short on time even if you tell me everything openly. Please, let's not waste our time and energy. I already know you've made a contract with a Demon."

Roderick shook violently. Rage, shock, bewilderment, unease, doubt... Every sort of emotion battered him.

"On what grounds do you spout that bullshit?!"

Yohan gave a deep, seemingly resigned sigh.

"No helping it, then. Very well. I'll show you some proof."

He extended his palm. The king flinched.

"W-What are you doing?!"

Yohan smiled with his eyes, just like Ilea.

"Don't worry. It won't hurt much."

At that moment, some unknown force pried Roderick's mouth wide open. His wrinkled throat writhed. The unpleasant sensation of something foreign crawled up his gullet.

"G-Gaaah!"

Roderick could only groan, unable even to resist. Just as he was about to thrash about, Ilea closed her hand. Whitish smoke burst from his mouth.

It was demonic energy. Demonic energy, yet not black at all.

Yohan let out an admiring exclamation.

"How remarkable. So this is how you concealed your true nature."

Ilea had unconsciously slipped into her usual manner of speaking. Her genuine admiration had made her forget her role for a moment. Pure white demonic energy was that rare a substance.

There was no trace of malice or foul odor in it. Even high-ranking clergy would be unable to detect any lingering demonic energy in Roderick. That finally explained why the king's contract with a Demon had gone undiscovered. With no traces of demonic energy, no one could suspect him.

Having spewed out the demonic energy, Roderick slumped onto his throne. His eyes dulled, and his entire body sagged. All the vitality sustaining his aged body had drained away. Once again, he was a dying old man.

He slowly raised a gaunt arm.

"... Give it back. Please."

A terrible lethargy swept over him. He could barely speak. Roderick found the sensation unbearably painful.

Yohan crooked his finger, and the pure white demonic energy fluttered in time with the movement.

"If I return it, will you tell me everything honestly?"

Roderick managed a labored nod.

"I'll do anything. So please, please give it to me."

Yohan smiled with his eyes.

"Very well. I'll trust you."

He snapped his fingers. All the demonic energy drifting through the air returned to Roderick's body. Roderick's eyes flew open, once again gleaming sharply.

He rose from his throne.

"Watcher of the Abyss, what are you? A mage?"

Yohan frowned.

"Don't put me in the same category as those crude things."

That seemed like something Yohan would say.

"Then—"

Yohan cut him off.

"From now on, I ask the questions. All you need to do is answer, Roderick."

Roderick's eyes began rolling wildly again. Yohan watched him intently. The king was undoubtedly concentrating on something.

He murmured quietly.

"... I see. Understood."

Yohan spoke in a low voice.

"Who are you answering? Are you perhaps speaking with the Demon you contracted with?"

Roderick replied calmly.

"Precisely. It tells me to bring you over immediately."

Yohan's brow creased slightly.

"What does that mean?"

Roderick gave a knowing smile and stroked his ring.

"You'll understand once you experience it."

A flash erupted before Yohan's eyes. Pure white light flooded his retinas. Shielding his eyes with his arm, he smiled gently.

"That's quite a useful spell array."

The witch's eyes could see every part of the spell array sustaining the magic. A spell of quite a high tier was taking shape. Of course, Ilea could have disrupted or altered its structure at any moment. But she did neither, out of sheer curiosity.

She surrendered herself to the pouring light. Yohan's figure vanished in an instant.

Left alone, Roderick burst into wild laughter.

"Hahahahaha! After all that smug posturing, look at you now! You will be offered up as a sacrifice to Muel!"

His voice rang through the great hall. Another voice intruded upon his roaring laughter.

"Roderick, what has you so delighted?"

Roderick felt something strange upon his shoulder. He immediately turned around, his pupils widening. Eyes redder than blood were staring at him.

"H-Haaah!"

Maphel’tan's lips stretched into a wide grin.

"Won't you tell me, so I can share the joke?"