chapter 1 . Monster Duke

Yelena Sorte was a noble lady.

If any description needed to be added into it, she was a ‘pretty’ noble lady.

If another description needed to be added further, she was a ‘pretty’ and ‘fortunate’ noble lady.

The Sorte Countdom was wealthy.

The land they’d been taking care of for generations was fruitful, and Count Sorte had a talent in business.

Even though what he did might have not hit big yet, he had more successes than he had failures.

Combining the tax revenue from the land with the profits gained through his business, the Sorte Countdom’s wealth naturally became unrivalled.

Yelena Sorte was the third daughter of that sort of Countdom.

Above her were her older sister, the firstborn, and older brother, the second born. That was why they were the only ones who had to fight each other every day to decide who would be the successor of the house.

As the youngest, Yelena never had to bother being involved in that.

‘It’s good, though.’

Yelena wasn’t dissatisfied with that fact at all.

She was rather happy about it.

Thanks to that, she didn’t have to study all night and lose some sleep just to get their father’s attention. She also didn’t have to squeeze her brain trying to plan out a new item for their business.

Just study moderately and accustom herself adequately.

In addition, her days were just filled with watching her older siblings in a war and going around using her portion of the self-maintenance costs1 plentifully.

One day, her older brother—who looked especially exhausted that day—looked at Yelena and said,

‘Your life is so comfortable.’

Yelena wasn’t the least bit surprised and just nodded.

‘It is. If you’re jealous, then Oppa2 should just live like me. Should I tell Unnie3 about it?”

‘…No, forget it.’

Yelena was aware of how her life looked to other people.

‘My life looks comfortable?’

So what?

Her life being comfortable was a fact and Yelena had no intention to deny that.

A fortunate life.

It was a phrase that would make her feel comfortable no matter how many times she heard it.

Because she could blame that phrase if anyone asked how she can be born as a human but live without any aspiration.

‘Whatever.’

If people with ambition existed in the world, then there would also be other people who would watch over them and meekly give support.

In any case, in the eyes of others, Yelena was satisfied with her fortunate life and that she usually didn’t mind trivial things.

Just like now.

“My Ladyship, please just give me one penny. I haven’t been able to eat since yesterday. Just one penny…”

“This tramp, just whose clothes do you think you’re tarnishing right now!”

The guard knight standing on her left raised his voice and stepped forward.

It was because a ragged-looking old lady was begging and clutching onto the hem of Yelena’s skirt.

“It’s fine.”

Yelena raised her hand to stop the guard knight and ordered the maid accompanying her,

“Go and buy warm bread and soup.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

The maid didn’t say anything unnecessary and left. She came back a moment later after buying freshly-baked bread and soup, then gave them to the old lady.

“Gosh, thank you. My Ladyship, thank you very much!”

Yelena turned her back on the old lady, who kept on saying thank you, and started walking away.

“Young Lady is truly good-natured.”

“I’m not sure about that.”

Yelena answered the guard knight absentmindedly.

It wasn’t as if she went out of her way to solve destitution from its root. She just gave an old lady begging on the streets some bread and soup, so it felt weird to hear that they evaluated her as good-natured just by that.

‘This is why nobles are so fortunate.’

Even though they owned more than others, it was still so easy for them to get a virtuous reputation.

As Yelena thought that way, she returned to the residence.

That night, after Yelena concluded all her routines, she fell asleep just like usual.

But after sleeping for God knows how long…

A hand suddenly shook her in a rough manner.

“Madam, Madam!”

Madam who?

Being woken up from a deep sleep and being called by the wrong title, Yelena was about to answer irritably.

‘Huh?’

But in that moment, she caught sight of the scenery surrounding her.

A dim sky.

And some unknown creatures flying about that sky.

‘What?’

No matter how much she usually didn’t mind trivial things, Yelena just couldn’t understand why she was out of her bedroom and turned up outdoors.

“Please get a grip, we need to run!”

The hand that shook Yelena suddenly pulled her away.

As Yelena helplessly got pulled away by the strong hands, she opened her mouth.

“Just what happened here? Why am I here…”

It dreaded her to think that she might be sleepwalking.

The maid who was leading Yelena away answered her question while still moving urgently,

“You must’ve been very shocked, but you need to steel yourself especially at a time like this. Although the Master, Young Master, and Young Lady have all passed, but…”

“What?”

Yelena was very surprised.

“Dad, Unnie, and Oppa are dead?”

For all she knew, the only one called as Master was her father, Count Sorte, and the ones referred to as Young Lady and Young Master would be her older sister and brother respectively.

However, seeing Yelena’s reaction, the maid looked at her weirdly instead.

“Why are you like this all of a sudden, Ma’am? Your father passed away ten years ago due to illness, and your older siblings passed suddenly in a carriage accident five years ago…”

Hearing the maid say that, Yelena finally realized.

‘She’s crazy.’

Just what did she say about her family members who had been living well and just ate dinner with her last night?

Now that she thought about it, the maid’s face was unfamiliar.

Even though it wasn’t as if Yelena knew all the faces of the servants in her house, she still memorized the maids who tended to her.

‘She might be a spy.’

Her heart started beating fast.

She wanted to shake off her wrist that the maid was grabbing onto, but there was no one else around there.

It meant that no one would be able to help Yelena if the crazy maid decided to do something to her.

‘How did this happen?’

Although she was also questioning why this insane woman was leading her out here, what she found more strange was the scenery of the streets.

It was as if it were a street occupied by the dead.

It was packed with houses and shops, but she couldn’t feel any human presence around, as if they didn’t exist in the first place. She also noticed some buildings were charred by fire or had a part of it destroyed.

‘Was there always a place like this in the capital?’

Yelena was confused.

If she weren’t at the capital, it made no sense that she could travel this far unconsciously.

It was then that the door of the house ahead of her slammed open and someone from inside ran out.

“……!”

It was a young woman, but if they combined their strength, they could at least go against one maid.

And so Yelena wanted to yell out to ask for the woman’s help.

However, the woman was a step ahead.

“Save me!”

‘Save her, she said?’

“Please help, please—Kuhk!”

Yelena froze in her place.

It was also because the maid who was pulling her had stopped walking, but even if not for that, Yelena couldn’t walk with her own strength anymore.

“Ah… Agh…”

The woman’s screams turned weak and subsided.

Instead, the sound of an unknown creature gnawing at her body echoed horrifyingly.

‘What is that?’

Yelena couldn’t understand what was going on.

While Yelena was in a daze, the maid spit out her nausea and led Yelena to a different direction.

“Madam, this way!”

Although she still couldn’t take her eyes off of the shocking sight, Yelena instinctively moved her feet in a hurry to follow the maid.

Once she couldn’t see the—most likely—dead woman and the unknown monster that was gnawing at the woman’s body anymore, Yelena could barely manage to let out a word.

“That… What was that?”

“It’s a demon called Elgir.”

“Elgir? Demon?”

She couldn’t immediately understand what those words meant.

The maid glanced around and continued explaining.

“They’re demons that mostly act during the dawn like now. Their sense of smell is developed but at the same time, their sight is degenerated. As long as we don’t get too close, we’ll be fine.”

It was a smooth explanation, but it didn’t help ease Yelena’s doubts.

Rather than that, she needed a more fundamental explanation.

“Just why is such a creature in a city…”

It was at that moment.

A pitch black creature jumped out of a dark corner.

Yelena’s and the maid’s hands got separated and she fell down.

Then she heard a scream.

“Aaahh!”

As Yelena fell on her bottom, she flinched back.

A black and bizarre creature, no bigger than a waist, was latching onto the maid and penetrating her stomach with its claws.

“M-Madam…”

The maid coughed up blood when she opened her mouth.

Yelena gaped. She was about to burst into a scream.

But the maid stopped Yelena from screaming with her voice.

“Please don’t… make a sound. This creature… reacts to sounds.”

“……!”

“I didn’t know… They would appear here…”

Yelena gasped for air.

Even though she wanted to say something, there was no way she could say a word without letting out a sound.

Yelena’s jaw trembled as she could barely muffle her sound. The maid then continued saying,

“Please go… west…”

[1]A fund to maintain one’s dignity/image

[2]A term used by girls to refer to older male relative/close friend

[3]Same as above but used by girls to an older female relative/close friend