The Duchess and the Devil - Chapter 76.1

Luckily, Judith fell asleep quickly. For a long time, the Duke did not leave his wife, touching the silver hair, randomly scattered across the sheet. They served as evidence of the intense struggle. Derrick slowly turned his gaze to the door, through which black smoke was leaking.

“Commander,” a moment later two human figures stood in front of him.

– Hello, commander. “I’m Anna Tene from the second district,” the girl bowed politely, greeting Derrick.

Lucas straightened his hair:

“I made a deal and brought her here.” After Hannibal, she possesses the best magic of the embodiment of the mind. Anna also quickly curses others, this can come in handy.

The demoness perfectly understood and knew why Lucas brought her to the human world, concluding an absolutely ridiculous deal. He explained on the way that one man was cursed. And they needed help with this. Without any further explanation, Anna guessed that the woman behind Derrick was cursed. The sleeping Judith looked like a corpse: her pale, tired face and thin figure spoke about it.

Anna walked up to the bed and extended her hand to the Duchess. A dark glow oozed from the palm, which, like a swamp, slowly enveloped Judith from head to toe. The demoness concentrated with her eyes closed. And every time she found something needed in her head, she flexed her fingers like a conductor leading an orchestra of black magic. The glow around the Duchess trembled with Anna’s every movement.

In an instant, the magical power around Judith’s body dissipated, and the girl turned to the demons, saying:

– This is not a curse.

– Are you sure?

– Yes. It’s not a curse, but… She seems to be fascinated by brainwashing that enhances certain emotions.

— Brainwashing magic? – Derrick asked.

– Yes. Has she had any strange reactions lately? – Anna’s questions seemed sharp and precise, like those of a brilliant doctor.

At that moment, Derrick remembered Judith’s words. It was not he himself who was scary, but his red eyes. That’s why the Duchess tried to push the man away from her just a few minutes ago.

– Yes. She was afraid of red eyes and continued to hallucinate.

When the demon remembered Judith’s screaming face, his heart sank.

“If that’s the case, then as I said, her fear is stimulated through brainwashing magic.”

– Fear?

– Yes. Fear is instilled through hallucinations, and then it is enhanced by magic.

— Is there a danger to life?

– I don’t know. If this continues, the mind will be completely broken and consumed by magic. In this condition…

Anna did not finish her sentence to the end, but its meaning was logical and without unnecessary words. If the mind is consumed by magic, then Judith will fall under the full influence of Hannibal. And Derrick wasn’t going to let him do something like that.

-Can you block magic?

– This is possible if you have a more powerful force. The magical power cast on this person is unusual… It is not a curse, but something equally powerful.

Derrick easily understood what Anna was talking about. Most likely, this is the power of the King, absorbed during the Hundred Years’ War. The arrow, which he himself expected to catch, deviated its direction and hit Judith. And the demon could not understand why Hannibal would do something like that, because the Duchess has no strength or authority.

“If it’s not a curse, but something just as powerful, then what’s the difference?” – Derrick muttered frantically to himself, thinking not only about Judith, but also about the child inside.

Unlike demons who could use magic, humans were too fragile. Lucas, who had already met her, vaguely knew what exactly Derrick was experiencing in relation to the Duchess. But accepting this life was tantamount to abandoning the previous one. Giving up everything he has. Be it health, vigor, strength, whatever.

“You’ve become even more boring than last time,” Lucas said mockingly, then looked at Anna, asking her to leave.

She immediately disappeared into the fog without a trace.

— Last time you said that there were only two candidates left? I’ll call everyone to find them and finish this.

– No.

And although the demon had already thought about it, he could not allow anything like that while Judith was in the hands of Hannibal. Derrick simply could not act so ruthlessly and harshly. What happens if something goes wrong? Even at the thought of this, my heart filled with anxiety.

It would be better if it was just a regular curse. Regardless of whether it would cause death or not, Hannibal would not be able to press where it hurt. In such a situation, the battle would be temporary. Now there was no reason to rush, because this was not a curse, but strong magic.

The magic that binds Judith and Hannibal.

And if the demon could intensify the Duchess’s fears, then it’s scary to imagine what would happen in an extreme situation. But Hannibal had good intuition and a strong premonition. That is why he did not use a curse, but a similar type of magic.

Lucas, noticing Derrick’s expression, grimaced and raised his eyebrows.