As if nothing had happened, I gracefully smoothed out the folds of my dress.
Across from me, Damian was still trying to recover. His face was bright red as he straightened his rumpled uniform, breathing heavily.
“...You really are a dangerous woman.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Level B3. Interrogation Room One.
I settled comfortably into the cold metal chair.
Seated across from me, Damian placed a folder on the table and looked at me as though I were a complete headache.
“There is only one thing I want to ask.”
Leaning forward, he fixed me with an icy stare. His blue eyes gleamed sharply.
“The black smoke you erased at the wedding.”
His voice lowered.
“And whatever it was you were trying to avoid at the entrance of the Inquisition.”
His gaze narrowed.
“What exactly is it that you see?”
Finally.
We were getting to the important part.
I dropped my playful smile and met his eyes seriously.
“If I tell you, will you believe me?”
“If it is a rational explanation.”
I nodded.
“There’s a little boy standing behind your shoulder.”
Damian froze.
“He looks about five years old. There’s a red mark around his neck, and he’s holding a worn teddy bear.”
A flicker of shock crossed Damian’s face.
Instinctively, he almost turned to look behind him before stopping himself.
“...Enough with the jokes.”
“I’m not joking.”
I kept my voice gentle.
“He says, ‘Big brother, I don’t hurt anymore. So stop crying.’”
Snap.
The pen in Damian’s hand broke in half.
The color drained from his face.
For a moment, he looked as though he had seen a ghost.
Well, technically, he had.
But the child wasn't an evil spirit.
He was a guardian spirit.
A pure and gentle soul watching over Damian.
Most likely...
His deceased younger brother.
“You...” Damian whispered.
His voice trembled.
“Did you investigate me?”
“We only met today. How would I have done that?”
I shrugged.
“I’m just telling you what I see.”
Damian pressed a hand over his face.
The mask of the cold, unshakable inquisitor was beginning to crack.
I leaned forward and extended my hand across the table.
“Sir Riot, let’s make a deal.”
“A deal?”
“I can see what you can’t.”
I smiled.
“Demons. Evil spirits. Monsters wearing human skin.”
Then I pointed at him.
“And you possess the authority and strength to destroy them.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Use me as your partner.”
“Not as a hunting dog.”
My smile widened.
“As a hunter.”
Damian stared at me in disbelief.
“Can you prove your ability?”
His voice remained cautious.
“Prove that you’re not simply hallucinating?”
“Proof?”
I pointed toward a filing cabinet in the corner.
“Easy.”
“The bottom drawer. Behind the stack of documents.”
“There’s a dark aura leaking out of it.”
Still skeptical, Damian stood and walked over.
He opened the cabinet.
Then suddenly froze.
A moment later, he pulled something out.
A doll.
Covered in strange symbols drawn with blood.
A cursed object.
A medium for dark magic.
And someone had hidden it inside the Inquisition headquarters.
“This is...!”
Damian spun around, staring at me in shock.
I simply shrugged.
“Told you.”
“My eyes don’t lie.”
“...What exactly are you?”
His voice was low.
“A real saint?”
“Or a witch?”
I leaned closer and whispered near his ear.
“Who knows?”
My lips curled into a grin.
“But for you...”
“I’m about to become an extremely useful lunatic.”
At my shameless proposal, the Empire’s youngest paladin commander turned red once again.
“A lunatic, huh...”
A laugh escaped him.
Oddly enough, hearing a curse word from someone as rigid and proper as Damian was strangely attractive.
“Very well.”
He sighed.
“Let’s make a deal.”
“I acknowledge your abilities.”
“What are your conditions?”
“Personal protection.”
I raised one finger.
“Independence from the House of Count Eberhardt.”
A second finger.
“And naturally, I expect to be paid.”
Then I raised a third.
“Oh, and there’s one more extremely important employee benefit.”
Damian blinked.
“...Employee benefit?”
“It’s about you, Sir Riot.”
I leaned halfway across the table.
“To me, you’re basically a walking high-performance air purifier.”
I paused.
“No, a holy relic would be more accurate.”
“When I’m near you, the headaches disappear.”
“The ghosts stop screaming.”
“The smell of death goes away.”
I smiled brightly.
“I want permission for physical contact three times a day.”
“...What?”
“I need purification.”
I pointed at him matter-of-factly.
“With all that ridiculously powerful holy energy of yours, I need you to cleanse my overworked eyes and ears.”
I tapped my chin.
“Holding hands, hugging—whatever works.”
Crash!
Damian nearly tipped backward with his chair.
“Y-You truly are—!”
His face was scarlet.
“How can you say something so shameless in a place like this?!”
“Shameless?”
I raised an eyebrow.
“This is a survival issue.”
“If I don’t get purified regularly, I might lose my mind.”
I smiled sweetly.
“And if that happens, I could end up swinging an iron club at my allies because the ghosts won’t stop talking.”
The threat wasn't really a threat.
But it was effective.
Damian pressed his lips together.
After a long internal struggle, he released a deep sigh.
“...Fine.”
He finally nodded.
“But refrain from doing this in public.”
“And...”
He hesitated.
“Hugging is prohibited unless it is a genuine emergency.”
“Holding hands will be the limit.”
“Deal.”
I grinned and held out my hand.
Damian ripped off one of his gloves with obvious irritation before taking it.
His hand was large and rough.
The palm was calloused from years of training.
The moment our skin touched—
A pleasant shiver ran through my body.
Clear, refreshing energy flowed from his fingertips and spread throughout me.
It felt like diving into icy water on a hot day.
Like my entire mind had been scrubbed clean.
Ah...
I closed my eyes in bliss.
This is amazing.
Absolutely amazing.
I tightened my grip and refused to let go.
Across from me, Damian’s fingers twitched.
It was obvious he wanted to pull away.
But a deal was a deal.
So he endured it.
Barely.
At last, I opened my eyes and flashed him a bright smile.
“Well then.”
“Since our contract is officially signed...”
I stood up from my chair.
“Shall we begin our first mission?”
I pointed toward the ceiling.
“Because from what I saw on my way in...”
My grin sharpened.
“This entire building is an absolute mess.”