“Why are you acting like this? There’s really no other way. If we don’t do something by tonight, that kid’s going to die.”

<I know that too. I can feel it.>

“Then what exactly is your problem?”

I crossed my arms and stared intently at Rick.

Even though Rick must have heard my question, he stayed as still as an actual teddy bear.

“Aren’t you going to talk to me?”

<…….>

“If you keep this up, I won’t be your friend anymore.”

<You said you didn’t have any friends. You were all about becoming the young viscount’s first friend, and now suddenly you’re treating me like one. Huh, unbelievable.>

Why was he getting upset over something so trivial? I was a bit taken aback.

‘He’s as sensitive as a teddy bear with a soot mustache.’

But I couldn’t just leave him like that, so I leaned in closer to Rick and spoke seriously.

“Come on, think about it, Rick.”

<……What?>

“No matter how close friends are, they can always part ways, right? Isn’t that true?”

<That’s true, but… could you move your face away a bit?>

Rick tried to push my face away with his fluffy paw.

I held my ground and continued speaking.

“But you’re mine. Friends can part ways by choice, but you don’t have that option. So you’re more important to me than he is!”

<What kind of nonsense logic is that…>

Rick grumbled, but his tone was slightly different from before.

Gotcha, he was softening up.

I smiled knowingly. Eventually, Rick sighed deeply and tapped my nose with his fluffy paw.

<This plan could put you in danger.>

That was a bit unexpected. I blinked a few times and tilted my head.

“It could be dangerous, but it’s not necessarily going to be, right?”

<…….>

“Okay, okay. I promise I won’t get hurt. Absolutely not. Okay?”

<…….>

“Hello, can you hear me?”

Rick continued his silent protest for quite a while after that—why, I had no idea—before finally coming around.

By the time Rick had fully calmed down, darkness had settled outside the window.

I quietly prepared to leave.

Selena, who had gone to check the location of the marquis’s room at my request, returned and said,

<The marquis’s room is right in front of the young viscount’s room.>

“Great.”

I tied the hem of my loose pajamas for easier movement and braided my hair into a single plait, nodding.

‘I also made sure there’s no risk of the Duke discovering us.’

The Duke’s room was directly across from mine, and since there was some distance from here to the young viscount’s room, the timing was just right.

I exchanged determined glances with Selena and Leila, then turned to Rick.

“I’m off, Rick!”

Rick, pretending to be me, was under the covers on the bed, and he peeked his head out at my words.

He added reluctantly, <…Don’t get hurt.>

“Okay!”

What a cute little guy. I gave Rick a big grin and quietly opened the window.

I climbed onto the windowsill, balancing on my toes as I counted silently.

‘One, two.’

Three!

As soon as I counted to three, I leapt onto the thick tree branch outside the window.

Holding onto the branch with both hands, I held my breath, and the rustling leaves soon settled down.

‘Phew.’

My heart was pounding a bit from the tension.

I swallowed a sigh of relief and climbed down from the tree.

<Terry, there’s a guard over there.>

Following Selena and Leila’s guidance, I moved stealthily to avoid the eyes of the guards and knights patrolling the mansion.

Pretending to be a bush by holding two branches, I shuffled along until I reached the window below Jervis’s room.

A large, sturdy tree grew right next to the window.

I easily climbed the tree and stood in front of the wide window. It was slightly open.

I immediately signaled to Selena and Leila. They exchanged serious looks and scattered in opposite directions.

Creak-

Only after confirming that I hadn’t been discovered did I relax and squeeze myself through the crack in the window.

The room was just as vast and silent as it had been when I saw it during the day.

There was only one presence. Jervis lay on the enormous bed at one end.

His face was pale, and his breathing was so faint it seemed ready to stop at any moment.

I kept my eyes fixed on the boy’s face as I slowly stood up.

Then, belatedly sensing my presence, the demon snapped its head up.

Since I hadn’t made any sudden moves yet, the demon remained clinging to Jervis’s shoulder, narrowing its eyes to watch me.

Its eyes, tinged with a red glow, were eerie, showing it was on the verge of becoming an evil spirit.

‘Oh, Leila’s deity, give me strength!’

I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment before opening them. After taking a deep breath, I crossed my arms and stood with a defiant slouch.

“Hey, monster.”

The demon flinched.

Its body shivered for an instant, followed by a growling voice resonating in my ears.

<How can a human…!>

Good, just like Leila said, it understood human speech.

I continued speaking with as casual an attitude as I could muster.

“Yeah, you’re probably wondering what’s going on, right? It’s unbelievable for a living person to see a ghost. But did you know?”

<Do not come any closer!>

“I can see you and even touch you.”

As I ignored the demon’s words and moved closer to the bed, the ominous aura around it intensified.

Though my fingertips trembled slightly, I clenched my fists and arrogantly lifted my chin.

“And if I want, I can make you disappear. Forever, so you can never harm humans again.”

At this, the creature, which had been practically glued to Jervis’s shoulder, flinched.

Perhaps sensing the threat in my words, the demon gathered its energy to form a body, then climbed onto Jervis’s body and growled.

Jervis let out a painful moan.

“Ugh…”

A trickle of dark red blood seeped from his tightly closed lips.

Seeing this, I bit the inside of my cheek and glared at the demon.

“So this is your last chance. Either let the boy go and disappear quietly now, or be painfully destroyed by my hand. I’ll count to three. One.”

I glanced up to check the wall above the head of the bed.

Behind the demon, I could see Selena’s ear poking out from the wall.

“Two.”

I heard the faint, urgent voices of people outside the window, likely realizing I had disappeared.

Turning my gaze away from the flickering crimson light outside, I uttered the final number.

“Three.”

As soon as I said it, the demon sprang off Jervis’s body and lunged at me.

At the same time, Selena and Leila, who had been waiting in the adjacent room, burst in.

“Catch it!”

I shouted loudly as I rolled to the side.

The demon’s arm, which had been reaching out as if to choke me, narrowly missed and smashed into the wall with a bang.

Initially, the demon seemed startled by the sudden appearance of the two people.

But recognizing Leila, it quickly turned fierce and charged at them.

<You, you! So it was because of you!>

<Where do you think you’re going!>

Leila swiftly dodged the demon’s attack.

Meanwhile, Selena reached out to grab the demon’s leg, but it was so fast that it slipped through her fingers.

While Selena and Leila confronted the demon, I quickly ran to the bedside and pulled Jervis’s body towards me.

‘His breathing is a bit better.’

I placed my fingers under his nose to check; although he was still pale, his condition had slightly improved.

I used my sleeve to wipe the blood from the boy’s lips.

<Ugh!>

<Argh…!>

It was then I heard unsettling groans from behind me.

A chilling sensation shot down my spine, and I turned around instinctively.

I saw Selena struggling to get up from where she had fallen across the room.

And Leila, her face twisted in pain, was being held by the demon.

<What kind of power does this thing have…!>

<Pathetic humans! You don’t know your place, getting cocky just because I played along for a bit!>

The demon’s dark red aura snuffed out the faint blue flame flickering in Leila’s hand.

‘This can’t be happening…!’