Esther’s body chilled when she understood there was indeed two different person inside Beelzebub. This person, he wasn’t Beelzebub!

Esther’s fingers claw on Beelzebub’s hands. She felt bad for wounding him but that was the only attempt she could do in order to stop the man from strangling her to death.

“Who are you?!” She yelled, “How did you enter Beelzebub’s body?”

“Oh dearie,” ‘Beelzebub’ tilted his head to the side, making his eerie smile to appear darker as shadow landed on the side of his face. 

“There’s a misunderstanding it seem. You are accusing me of something which I didn’t do. I am not entering this body. But this body is indeed mine,” said the demon.

His ambiguous words didn’t help Esther to understand how there could be a second person in Beelzebub.

.

“Yours?” Esther questioned, “What bullshit are you spewing?!”

“Aw, that dirty mouth of yours is very uncouth even though your face is very beautiful. Can’t you tame your mouth a little, darling?” Beelzebub tightened his grip, causing Esther’s eyes to roll. In between her desperate action to inhale breaths, she could see the excited expression glimmering over ‘Beelzebub’s’ red eyes. 

It wasn’t only her body that grew numb but also her heart that stung in ache.

All of a sudden, ‘Beelzebub’ loosened his grip on her neck. Esther’s heart jumped along with her body. She leaned to the side, curling her body as she coughed for air while her hand rub the red finger marks on her neck, trying to soothe the pain of almost having her throat crushed. 

She wasn’t given the leisure of breathing for even a second as ‘Beelzebub’ catch hold of her neck again. “You see. This poor Beelzebub, he lost his parents when he had the idea to take over the title of a high demon. Any demon would have been alright. He only wanted the throne, the position, and the power of being a high demon which as you would expect to be enormous.” 

Esther felt dizzy. Regardless, she focus on the story spoken by the demon. To see Beelzebub holding such a frightening expression unlike his usual one, scare her but she was even more scared to lose him into the other ‘Beelzebub’

“At that time, any demon would have been alright for him but unfortunately he had chosen to take position of the previous Beelzebub without knowing the side effect of his own title.”

“Greed,” whispered Esther with her hoarse voice. 

The ‘Beelzebub’ smiled in a way that Esther shudder to. “Correct. Now you know who I am, don’t you? That greed you spoke of, is none other than me. You could say I am his inner voice, his desire, another word would be his demon.” 

Esther took a few minutes to comprehend the new input of information. Her blue eyes widened while her lips gape.

All this time, was Beelzebub battling himself?

She took herself to the memory of her past conversation with Beelzebub. She remembered how kind he could be and sometimes how cold he could turn. There was even time when he would injure himself as if to keep his conscious sober.

Those signs, Esther didn’t notice it until now where it all finally make sense to her. 

Beelzebub didn’t reject her because of his lost interest to her. He didn’t push her away because he didn’t love her.

Seeing Greed, Esther realize that Beelzebub had been wanting to protect her from him. From his greed!

A tighter grip landed on her neck again. Esther who was unguarded could feel the pain more than before. Her fingers dug into the bedsheet as she struggle to push Beelzebub away from her. 

She heard a faint sigh from Greed who then said, “You are with me and yet your focus is somewhere else. I don’t like this.”

“Fuck you,” Esther cursed underneath her breaths. “Move away from me!” 

While provoking Greed would be a terrible action for her to take at this moment, she studied that while Greed choke her without controlling his power, he doesn’t seem to be planning on taking her life. 

Nevertheless, it wasn’t a harmless trickery which Greed had done.

Esther clawed her hand deeper to Beelzebub’s arm which Greed only stared at in a twisted amusement, as though he was watching a kitten sharpening its claw on him.

But all of a sudden, Esther noticed how Beelzebub’s red eyes widened. Shock washed over his face when his upper eyelids went upward. 

“Leave,” was the word that Beelzebub told her before she walked out of the house. 

Back to the present, Esther sighed out of frustration. 

“Sighing would shorten ten years of your life, don’t you know that?” The elderly woman, the owner of the house, came back to the house, stopping next to Esther when finding the girl alone.

“I don’t think anyone would trust that kind of suppositions,” Esther offered the woman a smile. 

The elderly woman chuckled and looked inside her house without entering, “You’re not staying beside him again? For hours since you came to my house, you didn’t do anything other than being beside him. Don’t tell me you gave up on him?”

“I am not,” Esther chuckled faintly when her smile slowly turn dull. “I’m only in a bit of a lost.”

“Lost? What kind?” The elderly woman made her way to sit beside Esther. Seeing the hesitation on Esther’s blue eyes, the woman added, “I am simply an old woman whom you won’t meet again when you leave this place. I think speaking to me is not dangerous and you shouldn’t be cautious about it. People don’t need words to make them feel better. Sometimes it’s only the ears of others that they need.” 

Esther sighed, “That’s not the problem. I don’t know where to begin with. Granny, if there is a person who you love but that person has danger around them that could hurt you; will you still stay with them? Even though that person pushes you away to protect you?” 

The elder woman raised both of her eyebrows at the same time. “Are you worried to dismiss their effort to protect you by pushing you away? Or do you fear the danger around him?” 

Esther clenched her hands at the elderly woman’s question. She wondered in her mind. What was she scared of? What was it that make her here, contemplating on her choices? 

Beelzebub had been showing her his relentless effort to protect her. How can her heart not moved by those silent actions he took for her?

It was true that Esther didn’t want to dismiss his hard work to protect her from his Greed. Facing head on with Beelzebub’s greed, she also understand just how dangerous it is when Beelzebub is incapable of controlling him.

But… would that mean due to his greed, she would have to leave him? 

“Are you prepared to leave him?” The elderly woman then asked, snapping Esther from her muddled state. 

Esther shook her head as hew answer. “He has been trying to protect me but if I have to leave him, I would rather stay beside him despite the danger.”

“There you go,” the elderly woman chuckled. “It seems that you have found out the answer for yourself. Can I ask you to draw some water from the river bank? It’s not too far but with my back, it would be difficult to bring them back and forward.”

Esther pushed herself from the bench, “Of course.”

The elderly woman watched Esther as she left before making her way inside the house. Standing in front of the room she had lend to Beelzebub, the woman knocked the door. When she received no answer, the woman took it upon herself to open the door. 

Beelzebub had been sitting in silent while staring at he floor in front of him with a complex mien. “Where is she?” Beelzebub first ask of Esther’s condition.

“She left. I do think she got tired of you,” answered the elderly woman, watching the high demon who was now in her house. 

“I see,” Beelzebub whispered softly.

“You sound as if you expect this,” the elderly woman narrowed her eyes. “Were you waiting for her to leave?”

“It’s for her own safety,” Beelzebub replied. Yet he couldn’t lie to his own heart and his disappointment resurfaced now that Esther had left him.

“She didn’t left for good, silly boy. She went to bring me water from the river,” the elderly woman sighed at the couple’s behavior. it was clear both of them love each other and yet they were holding back at each other’s expanse as if to protect them. “Do you honestly think that she won’t be able to protect herself? She brought you here from a walk that takes hours without a rest. She tended to your wounds at the expanse of her magic regardless of how tired she was. When she came here. Instead of resting, she prioritized your safety. Such a wonderful girl and a strong one. Do you honestly believe she won’t be able to protect herself?”