Even if Cynthia isn’t here right now, this is still the temple—how can he say “demon” so openly?

Even as I glared at him warningly, Adriel spoke to me in a somewhat resolute voice.

“Rest assured while you stay at the temple. As long as I am here, no one will be able to approach you.”

What? What is he talking about?

“No, didn’t you hear about our plan from the Saintess? We need to lure in Marquis Berto, but you’re saying no one can approach me?”

At that, Adriel frowned deeply.

“My lady, that plan is too reckless.”

“Ah, right.”

I quickly changed the subject before Adriel’s nagging could go on any longer.

“Sir Knight, would you come closer for a moment?”

How fortunate.

I had been wondering who to test this on, and a suitable candidate appeared right before me.

I took out the rainbow-colored Fairy’s Tear from my bag.

A gem with the power to make people tell the truth.

Using this, I could easily get a confession from Lucian.

The question was whether it would work on people who weren’t demons.

It didn’t work on me.

But since there was a possibility that it didn’t work because Rosemary was a descendant of fairies, I had been looking for a new test subject.

And now a suitable candidate had appeared before me.

As I smiled confidently while holding the Fairy’s Tear, Adriel sighed.

“You’re carrying another strange item, I see.”

I approached Adriel and held out my palm.

“What is it?”

“Your hand.”

Adriel looked even more confused.

“Let me borrow your hand.”

When I looked up at him with sparkling eyes, Adriel hesitated before reluctantly giving me his hand.

I gently placed the Fairy’s Tear on Adriel’s palm.

Looking up again, I saw that Adriel was somehow entranced, just watching what I was doing.

“Sir Knight.”

I whispered to him with a playful smile.

“You don’t like me, do you?”

Adriel, who had been wearing a blank expression, furrowed his brow.

His face clearly said, “Why are you asking something so obvious?”

Well, the answer is obvious.

“That is not true.”

Of course, he dislikes me… Wait, what?

For a moment, my legs almost gave way.

W-What? Is this thing broken?

I looked back and forth between the Fairy’s Tear and Adriel in confusion.

Whether he realized what he had just said, Adriel was just slowly blinking.

But a moment later.

His stoic face cracked in an instant.

“What is this…!”

His face instantly turned red. Redder than his red eyes.

What a dramatic reaction.

Thanks to that, I could tell he had spoken the truth.

That he didn’t dislike me…

Should I ask one more thing?

“Sir Knight, why didn’t you report Marquis Berto? You know he made a contract with a demon.”

“In case you might get involved in that matter… What on earth is this!”

I quickly retrieved the Fairy’s Tear before he could throw it away, as he gritted his teeth in anger.

He didn’t report it because I might get involved?

Really…?

Having heard his true feelings, I was momentarily stunned.

No, no. That’s not what’s important right now.

I looked at the Fairy’s Tear again.

Goodness. It work on humans too?

“My lady.”

I quickly continued my explanation before Adriel could become more agitated.

“Ah, you must be surprised. This is called a Fairy’s Tear. Remember Oberon’s necklace from before? Like that, this gem also has a special power.”

“Special power…?”

“Yes. It seems that when you touch this gem, you can’t tell lies. Simply put, it reveals your true feelings.”

As he heard my explanation, his face slowly filled with shock.

Feeling sorry for his extremely shocked expression, I awkwardly smiled.

“I had no idea you were so concerned about me, Sir Knight.”

“…!”

His face, ears, and now even his neck turned bright red as he covered his mouth with the back of his hand.

It was embarrassing even for me to watch.

“No, I mean, I’m sorry for conducting this experiment without your consent…”

Before I could finish speaking.

CRASH-!

Adriel, who seemed to be staggering, pushed the table aside and rushed out of the drawing room.

“What the…?”

I muttered in bewilderment, but Adriel was already gone.

***

With Adriel’s appearance, Lucian was taken away by the Holy Knights.

‘Aha… Ahaha!’

Just before being dragged away, Lucian suddenly burst into laughter like a madman, which was frightening.

Anyway, we successfully imprisoned Lucian in the temple’s underground dungeon.

“T-This is terrible! I haven’t even found a new contractor yet, and my contractor is dead!”

“That’s too harsh, Taro. Saying someone who’s perfectly alive is dead.”

“Y-You are as good as dead now! Y-You’ve been captured by those temple people, you loose screw!”

“Hmm. Then I guess this is the end for Taro too?”

“W-What did you say?”

“Well, if I die, Taro will return to the Saintess’s embrace, right?”

“W-What horrible words! T-That must not happen! Anyone but that human!”

Lucian teased Taro with a bright smile.

“I hope you have a wonderful eternity with the Saintess, Taro.”

“Arrrgh!”

He’s having fun, isn’t he?

Their pathetic conversation echoed so loudly from a distance.

As I approached them gradually, Lucian, who had been lazily leaning against the prison bars, spotted me.

“Well, look who it is.”

Lucian grabbed the bars and stood up to greet me.

“If it isn’t my toy shop owner?”

I walked up to the bars with a sour expression.

As the distance closed, Lucian’s face was revealed under the dim light.

Despite surely knowing his situation, his face was inexplicably beaming with joy.

Tsk, I clicked my tongue, and Lucian suddenly rolled up his sleeve.

“Hey, can you see this?”

What crazy thing is he going to say now?

Just as I lowered my head with a pitying look.

Gasp.

I held my breath without realizing.

How could there be so many bruises…

“This was done by your dog.”

Dog? Does he mean the barking kind of dog?

But I don’t keep a dog…

A demon maybe, but not a dog…

As I blinked in confusion, Lucian’s lips curled up like a snake.

“If the Captain of the Holy Knights hadn’t stopped him, I would have lost an arm by now.”

Wait, if Daniel had to intervene… Could it be that by “dog” he means Adriel?

Those wounds seemed to have occurred during Adriel’s interrogation of Lucian.

But why would he call Adriel my dog?

When I showed a confused expression, Lucian asked me in a low voice, his words barely audible, like a personal musing.

“What kind of relationship does my toy shop owner have with that guy?”

“…We don’t have any relationship.”

“Really? Then why did that Holy Knight take out his anger on me just for asking about your identity?”

What nonsense.

Adriel wouldn’t have done that for such a trivial reason. He must have just been interrogating you.

“Don’t make strange misunderstandings. The knight and I are not the kind of relationship you’re thinking of.”

When I spoke firmly, Lucian’s lips curved up smoothly.

“Is that so? That’s a relief then.”

What’s there to be relieved about?

I was about to respond curtly but shook my head instead.

Let’s not drag this conversation out unnecessarily.