Chapter 191 - 27: Demon’s Little Spell

Chapter 191: Chapter 27: Demon’s Little Spell

By the time they finished eating, it was deep into the night.

Selas returned to the bedside and sat down, watching the black cat leisurely licking its paws. For a moment, he hesitated.

He didn’t know if he should let her sleep on the bed.

Demons probably didn’t need sleep... but she had just helped him get food. If he went to sleep without a word, it would seem rude of him.

But, if he invited her...

She was a cat now, but before, she had been a little girl about his age.

Selas wasn’t old, but because he had lived with his mother since he was young, his thoughts on such matters were far more delicate than those of his peers.

Actually, the best solution would be to make her a new bed in a clean spot, but his resources were extremely limited. His only remaining winter coat was already being used to block the window...

He agonized over it for a while.

Finally, he spoke up. "It’s late... Do you want to sleep?"

Lilia had just finished licking her paws. Hearing his words, she glanced at him.

Before, her eyes had been pure black, like a bottomless abyss or a starless, moonless eternal night.

After turning into a cat, the color of her irises had changed, blooming into a beautiful, pale gold.

Like sunlight spilling down on a spring day.

Dazzling, yet holding no warmth.

Selas averted his gaze, subconsciously wanting to take back his words, worried his suggestion might have offended her.

Unexpectedly, the cat didn’t say a word. With a powerful push from her hind legs, she stretched her body out and leaped onto the less-than-soft bed.

Selas stared at her, stunned.

He watched her walk over on her white-gloved paws, curl up beside him, her tiny body balling up like a neatly wound skein of black yarn.

Her tail, trailing behind her, twitched twice before settling obediently by her side, as light as a falling feather.

Selas could even imagine the soft, warm feeling.

It made his fingers clench unconsciously.

’I want to pet her.’

"Meow?"

Seeing that he hadn’t moved for a long time, the black cat looked up at him, puzzled.

As if to say—

"Aren’t we going to sleep? Why haven’t you lain down yet?"

Selas held his breath. "...The bed is a bit hard. I’m sorry you have to put up with it."

With that, he pulled up the thin blanket and carefully lay down beside the cat.

He didn’t dare get too close, yet he couldn’t bear to be far away.

Fortunately, his bed was very small. Even when he squeezed into the far corner, he was only a few inches away from her.

Close enough to touch just by reaching out his hand.

Using the motion of covering her with the blanket, Selas’s fingers brushed against the cat’s fur.

’Just as I imagined... so soft and warm...’

He almost couldn’t resist giving her a few good pets.

He meticulously tucked the blanket in, and in the process, the cat’s fur suffered a few ’vicious’ strokes.

It wasn’t until she seemed to notice something, her tail gently sweeping across the back of his hand, that Selas finally restrained himself.

He watched the peacefully sleeping cat.

He watched quietly for a while.

Outside the window, the rain still fell, but he didn’t find it noisy at all.

Instead, the heavy curtain of rain felt like a shield, completely shutting out the cruel, cold world outside. All that remained was this small room of just over a hundred square feet, with only a bed and a few leaking walls.

Only him and her.

Selas gently closed his eyes.

The cat’s breathing was very faint.

But he could hear it clearly.

Selas subconsciously adjusted his own breathing to sync with hers.

He was silent for a moment, then whispered in a voice she definitely couldn’t hear, "...Good night."

The only reply was her still-shallow breathing and a faint purr.

But that was more than enough.

...

Ever since he started living in the Earl Mansion, Selas had never had a good night’s sleep.

He would either lie awake all night or jolt awake from a nightmare.

But last night, listening to the Demon cat’s breathing and feeling her warmth...

Selas slept soundly and dreamlessly through the night.

When he woke again, he could already see the light of dawn through the window.

The rain had stopped.

Selas came to his senses, his first instinct to look beside him.

His breath caught.

Lying just half a palm’s width away from him was no longer a small, curled-up cat, but a five or six-year-old girl in a black dress.

’She changed back.’

’Is it because she recovered some of her power?’

Selas thought, and without realizing it, he moved a little closer.

Her skin was perfect, like a flawless piece of jade under the morning light. It wasn’t completely smooth, however; it was covered in fine, downy hair.

Selas recalled the feel of the cat’s fur from last night.

’So soft and warm...’

Suddenly, Selas’s stunned gaze met a pair of eyes like the eternal night.

He froze for a few seconds before he snapped to his senses, recoiling guiltily.

His movement was so abrupt that he nearly tumbled backward off the bed.

Lilia seemed completely oblivious to his awkward predicament.

The girl gave a lazy yawn. "Morning."

"...Good morning."

Selas managed to compose himself. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Not bad."

It was genuinely not bad.

All the food she ate last night had been converted into Demonic Qi, restoring some of her strength. However, it was clear from her appearance that she was a far cry from her peak, not even close to her power when she’d just been born.

But the recovered Demonic Qi was enough for her to maintain her human form. She no longer needed to stay in the more energy-efficient cat form, and... do a little something to improve their environment.

"What about you?" Lilia turned to look at Selas.

Selas was confused. "What?"

"How did you sleep last night?"

"...Very well." The young boy lowered his eyes, his long, curled lashes hiding the complex emotions within them.

"I haven’t slept that well in a long time."

Lilia nodded.

’That’s good, then.’

’It wasn’t a waste for me to get up in the middle of the night and use Magic to repair the house.’

Selas blinked in confusion.

Following Lilia’s gaze, he looked up at the ceiling.

He had been about to ask: hadn’t she tried before and been unable to repair the house with Magic? So how could she now...

But when he saw the ceiling in its entirety, he instantly suppressed the question.

Lilia hadn’t lied. She truly hadn’t mastered any Magic that could repair buildings.

Fortunately, only the leaky roof needed fixing for now. There are always more solutions than problems, and accomplishing this didn’t necessarily require specialized household Magic.

So she had spent a bit of Magic Power to accelerate the growth of the plants beneath the attic.

A few of them had climbed up the walls and delivered their seeds.

The seeds took root in the gaps, sprouted, and wove a patch of vines sturdy enough to cover the holes.

For aesthetic purposes, it was even dotted with a few small flowers.

At first glance, it looked like a decoration that had been hung there on purpose.

"Plant-based Magic is much simpler than the household type."

Lilia explained from the side, making a humblebrag that would make any ordinary Magic Apprentice burn with envy. "You just need to master the Earth Element and Water Element separately."

With the rain last night, there was no shortage of either water or earth.

"So, are you satisfied?"

Selas looked at it for a moment, then slowly nodded. "It’s beautiful."

"The most important thing is that it’s practical."

Lilia tried to correct the six-year-old’s values.

’What good is being beautiful?’

’It has to be useful.’

Just as Lilia was about to discuss the possibility of repairing the window in a similar fashion, the door to the room was pushed open with a soft sound.

Judging by the force used, the male servant in charge of guarding them was not feeling calm at all.