Anna Virelle's eyes widened and her lips trembled—not with joy, but with sheer terror.

Earlier, physiological tears from the pain had blurred her vision, preventing her from seeing the man clearly; she had only known he was a young man with a pleasant voice. Being swept up into the carriage in a bridal carry had startled her, but her injured knee and the sudden shock left her unable to react in time.

As she wiped away her tears, she heard the man's proposal. But there was no room for surprise, for as her vision cleared, she saw a sight that nearly made her scream.

Inside this handsome man's body sat a demon with goat horns!

Anna had been in this other world for several days. She knew mages existed and that demons were no longer just fairy tales. However, these supernatural elements had felt distant until today, when she saw a living demon using host possession to inhabit a handsome man—and he was actually proposing to her!

Though her new body was a bit of a beauty, there was no reason for a demon to fall in love at first sight. Therefore, Anna concluded there could only be one reason: he wanted her soul and was trying to trick her into a contract through marriage. Having grown up with stories like One Thousand and One Nights and Aesop's Fables, she knew that those who made pacts with demons rarely met a good end.

"I refuse," Anna said, her voice a mix of dread and faint hope.

When she saw his face darken at her rejection, the fear in her heart nearly leaped out of her throat. Would this demon kill her in a fit of rage? Despair washed over her as she wondered if she would return to her own world if she died here.

After a brief moment of surprise, Rothgar Valemont assumed she simply hadn't understood him.

"Beautiful lady, perhaps I wasn't clear," he said, repressing his impatience while maintaining the persona of Patrick Wilson. "I am not asking you to be my mistress. I wish for you to marry me before a priest, take my name, and become Lady Wilson".

Even though he thought he was being restrained, his failure to immediately achieve his goal caused a hint of killing intent to seep into his tone.

This is terrifying! Anna shivered. If she continued to refuse, would he really kill her? But if she agreed, her fate would be worse than death.

She kept her head down, her knuckles white as she gripped the hem of her skirt in fear. After a brief, heavy silence, she gave her desperate answer: "I... I refuse".

The surging malice that filled the carriage in the next moment made Anna freeze. She didn't dare look up or make a sound, silently praying that she might return to the modern world after death.

Rothgar was on the verge of striking. He had intended to give her a quick death if she accepted, but he hadn't expected her to waste his time with this game of "playing hard to get". Had he not promised Balian Draven that he would not use force, he would have seized her by the throat right then to show her how foolish it was to mock an Abyssal Lord.

"Beautiful lady, I am a gentleman," Rothgar said, the smile completely gone from his face. "Though I admire you greatly, if you truly will not accept my proposal, I have no choice but to painfully set you free".

This was his final warning. If she dared to toy with him again, he would ensure she lived a long life—one where every single day until her natural death was filled with agony.

Anna blinked, stunned. "Set you free"? Could such a good thing really happen?

Emboldened, she looked up, but immediately lowered her gaze in horror upon seeing the sinister demonic form lurking beneath his handsome features. "I... am not worthy of you. Please allow me to refuse," she whispered, forcing herself to be firm.

A long silence followed. Rothgar wondered if the Human Realm had changed into something unrecognizable during his long absence. He watched the human woman, seeing the veins bulging in her hands as she gripped her skirt, and he fought the urge to choke the acceptance out of her. But a promise to another demon was a promise he would not break.

"Where do you live? I will take you home," Rothgar said, every word slow and deliberate.

Hearing the undisguised malice in his voice, Anna nearly burst into tears. He wanted to take her home? Was he making sure she had nowhere to hide? But then she realized she had to go home anyway, and for a demon, finding her house would be easy enough.

"I live in Pomegranate Lane. You can just drop me at the entrance," she replied respectfully. If she couldn't resist, she could only comply.

Rothgar didn't know where Pomegranate Lane was, but he tapped the carriage wall. "Did you hear that?"

The carriage's soundproofing was poor, and the driver, Shane Mercer, immediately responded, "Yes, Lord Patrick!". The carriage began to move, the rolling of the wheels and the sounds of the street filtering through the walls. Anna remained silent, not daring to look at "Lord Patrick" for fear her eyes would betray her.

When she finally stepped down near Pomegranate Lane, the carriage vanished quickly into the distance. Anna looked at her bloody knee and began to limp toward her home. He had claimed he wanted to care for her injury, yet he hadn't even offered a bandage. She knew the demon was up to no good. It was lucky she had been decisive and hadn't let him realize she could see his true form. She believed no ordinary human could see a demon's possession; it was likely a "cheat" brought about by her reincarnation.

Pomegranate Lane was in the west of Bluestone City, not quite a slum but close to it. As she walked, she saw a boy of eight or nine, Timothy Hargrove, covered in bruises and sobbing quietly. He looked up with terrified brown eyes. Anna pressed her lips together and walked past. She knew his father, a butcher, beat him frequently—she had once tried to intervene, only to be pushed down herself. In this era, children and wives were considered property; no one interfered, even if someone was beaten to death.

Anna's current body was seventeen years old, a commoner with parents and three younger siblings. They were just above the level of subsistence. The productivity of this era was similar to the Middle Ages. Supernatural elements like magic existed but were rare—at least until she encountered that demon.

Anna had inherited the original host's memories, though they felt like a foreign language she had to practice to speak fluently. She didn't know why she had traveled here or how to get back, but after two days of depression, she had resolved to survive this terrible era.

Only now did it click: the man possessed by the demon was the son of Earl Edgar Wilson, the ruler of Bluestone City. Because of the terror the demon inspired, she hadn't even noticed how handsome the young lord was. She felt a wave of relief; thanks to her quick thinking, she hadn't been tricked into a contract. If she had accepted, Patrick Wilson's face would have been her future.