Chapter 1 part 1: Silla Epheria

In the midst of faint consciousness, I can smell something bitter. As I lick my lips, the bitter taste surge from my throat. Seems like it's not from a bitter food, did someone feed me some medicine? Without hesitating, I open my eyes.

I'm not familiar with this room.

Waking up in an unfamiliar place after losing consciousness isn't a rare experience. However, usually my body always reacts in the same way. I just have to straighten up my upper body and sit on the bed. Having done this, I lowered my head and stared at both of my hands.

"Oh… they're small!"

A pair of white and soft small hands without callouses. That damn Demon King said he would switch my soul and it seems like he succeeded.

In that case, has this girl's soul been transferred to my body?

Not good… I'm worried about her safety.

Ughh…she was suddenly transported to the middle of the Demon King's castle ruins, right?!

It's impossible for a delicate girl to find the right exit from the castle ruins without any direction boards. If she could get out from the Demon King's castle and explore the woods, certainly there are some Holy Knight Squads on guard, but the distance is too far… Another problem is, it's not guaranteed that she could take the right route. If she goes the wrong way, she could instead end up deep in uninhabited mountains.

First I need to visit the Church and ask them to send a rescue team.

Afterwards, I have to find a way to return to my original body. If I can't find the solution by myself, I'm certain that I can find it by capturing another Demon King and exhorting him to open his mouth. After coming to this decision, I got up from bed. I can stand up straight after a few woobles, but it feels like I've shrunk by a head from my previous height.

"It turns out her body is also short."

Well actually I had been considered tall for a woman, but even from a normal girl's height, this girl is short, isn't she? She doesn't look like a young girl. She has breasts and even though her body is small, it's closer to that of an adult woman. I looked around quickly then made a disappointed face.

"How come there is no mirror in a girl's room? Even I have one in my room."

Not only is the room not spacious but it's also deserted. The available furniture consists only of a bed, a table, two chairs, and an empty display cabinet. Sigh… perhaps this place is sparse because it was used to make sacrifices for the Demon King.

I'm actually feeling uncomfortable as I wear this white night gown, but there isn't any change of clothes here and I can't even find the wardrobe, so I just leave the room. I hadn't gone more than a couple of steps, before I met with a maid who was bringing a tray with medicine on it. With a surprised look in her eyes, the maid stared at me.

"Miss! Miss finally woke up!"

Miss? This is the first time in my life I've ever been called this way. I feel a little embarrassed. I scratch my head a bit out of my usual habit and ask her.

"How long was I unconscious?"

"A week. A week ago Miss suddenly collapsed."

"It has already been a week?"

Sigh… It turns out much more time has passed than I expected.

"Were there any peculiar incidents while I was unconscious?"

After all, I was the leader of the Holy Knights with acknowledgement from The Goddess and the High Priest. In other words, if they discovered my corpse, the news should have spread in this area even if this place was in another country. After the maid listened to my question, she seemed a bit hesitant before finally answering.

"I'm not sure whether I should tell Miss when you've just regained consciousness."

"Just say it!"

"Ughh…"

The maid took a deep long breath then said, "Master Roel, the leader of the Holy Knights… has passed away."

"WHAT?!"

F**K!! Passed away?!

The maid frowned and looked at me with concern.

"Miss must have felt… really shocked."

"What …?"

Yeah. Of course, I'm very shocked to hear I– to be exact, my body—-died. But, shouldn't this Miss whose body I occupied, not care about that matter? It couldn't be that she is my relative, I'm an orphan anyway.

"Miss really liked him, right?"

"Ah…"

Oh… I get it now. Seems like this Miss was also one of my admirers. Even though I'm like this, I was really popular amongst the girls in the capital city. You know, I was handsome, capable, and friendly. A good-looking man with blue eyes and blonde hair who managed to occupy the position of Leader of the Holy Knights at the age of 20 years old! It's none other than me, Roel. Well… even though my real gender is female. Anyways, Holy Knights weren't allowed to get married, I let them think I was a male, without caring what my real gender is.

I let out a long breath then stared at the maid.

"I want to hear about the news in detail."

"Okay. But now Miss should return to the bedroom and drink the medicine. Miss has just woken up, it's not good for the body to stay outside any longer."

"Mm…"

I quite dislike drinking medicine, but I still nodded obediently and returned back to the bedroom.

As soon as I sat down on the bed and drank the medicine, the maid started to retell the story.

"Half a month ago, the Holy Knights Squad went to defeat the Demon King Avros who placed a curse on His Highness the Crown Prince."

"Yeah."

Until I got near the demon castle, I was still together within the squad. However, the priests that departed together with us weren't capable enough to pass the Demon King's barrier and I was the only one who managed to pass through the barrier so I entered alone. If the Demon King really did lose his power based on what he said before, probably the barrier had disappeared now.

"Thankfully His Highness the Crown Prince's curse has been successfully lifted but Master Roel who faced the Demon King by himself… lost his life."

"Really?"

Arghhh that fucking bastard Demon King! He had already succeeded in switching my soul, how could he even still kill my body that I left behind? If there was anything to be thankful for, it's that this girl's soul had gotten salvation. Based on how it should proceed, her soul should have fallen into Demon King's hands, but now her soul could return to the Goddess' embrace because it was switched with my soul, which directly canceled the contract with Demon King as his sacrifice.

But no matter how I think about it, how could a young woman who could even afford a maid, establish a soul contract with Demon King?

"Miss?"

The maid in front of me stared at me while I fell deep in thought, full of suspicion.

"Are you really okay Miss?

"Eh? Oh, what a pity. I still can't believe he's gone."

"…, Miss."

With a serious expression, she continued to speak.

"I have noticed it since we met in the corridor. Miss seems to have changed a bit."

Well, of course it can't be helped right?! Because the soul inside this body has changed. But, I can't just suddenly say that I'm the leader of the Holy Knights who died, right? In this situation, the solution is obvious.

"Seems like… I have lost my memories."

"…, what?"

"I lost my memories! Did my head bump into something when I fainted?"

Claiming that I lost my memories is the best solution I can think right now. It's much better than being considered a mad person just because I confessed the truth, right? The maid's face became paler after she heard my words.

"L-Lost memories?"

"Yeah. What's my name again?"

"S-Silla Epheria…. but Miss, you really lost your memories?"

"I asked because I really did lose my memories, alright? Epheria, is it?"

There was no such household name in my memory. Well, it can't be helped that I only remember a few household names that I could barely count on my fingers.

"Anything else?"

"Miss is the eldest daughter of Count Epheria's family. This year you are nineteen years old… Miss really doesn't remember anything?"

"Once again, I told you, I'm asking because I really don't remember anything. Otherwise, do I have any reason to lie?"

"Ughh… ermm…t-thats…"

The maid muttered unclearly with a confused look. Did this body's original owner really have enough reason to feign amnesia? Well… that's not something to be surprised by, because in reality the eldest daughter of a Count's family made a contract with a Demon King. A young noble lady who sold her soul wasn't something common after all.

"Its fine if you don't want to say it."

The Count's family will be banished by the Church if proven guilty of having made a contract with a Demon King. Furthermore, there was that curse problem that implicated the Crown Prince; if they took a misstep, they could possibly be regarded as a rebel. Naturally it's impossible for a lowly servant to know something important like this in detail, and if they did, they wouldn't easily open their mouth. It will be much faster to find out the details by urging the Count, rather than asking a servant.

"Miss…"

The maid opened her mouth, while her eyes brimming with tears and having a determined look, as if she had made an important decision.

"Miss, you should leave the household by using this excuse!"

"…, what?"

"Miss should go to the Church where The Priestess' live to recover your health. By doing so, Madam and Miss' fiancé can't do anything to you."

First, lets pretend there's nothing weird about how the maid mentioned the Madam, but…

"I have a fiancé?"

"…. yes. Miss has an asshole fiancé who acts like those hooligans in a small alley."

This is not good.

"And, my mother?"

"Madam is Miss' stepmother. The young master is still very young, so she saw Miss as a thorn in her heart."

So thats the reason why my room is in this state.

"Then, how about my father?"

"I'm not sure what happened, but the Lord seems to be distant with Miss."

"Long before he got married to my stepmother or after they got married?"

"Ermm… thats… since Miss was born."

Its highly possible that the one who sold this girl to the Demon King is the Count himself. Seems like he sacrificed his first child as the repayment for the contract. Actually, sacrificing a human as a repayment for a contract with a demon can't proceed if there is no will from the party involved, however a soul from a child who has not yet been conceived is an exception. A child could get protection from the Goddess in the womb, at least if he had already been  conceived. Well most demons rarely accept a contract where one uses an unborn child because they suffer a huge loss if someone deliberately refuses having any children or is not able to have children.

What exactly did the Count Epheria gain by sacrificing his daughter? As a matter of fact, the life of a young lady named Silla was full of bitterness. She lost her mother since birth, was discarded by her father even before she was born, was treated badly by her stepmother, had a scum fiancé, and finally died at a young age. At least she avoided the bad fate of having her soul trapped by that 'dude' (aka the Demon King).

"In the meantime, I'm thinking of delaying my departure to the Church."

I feel like I should investigate the contract between the Count and the Demon King whose name I can't be bothered to spell. Since the contract had been fulfilled, there must be no evidence left behind. Therefore, it will be easier if I investigate while pretending to be Silla, the Count's daughter.

"But, Miss… Miss even got amnesia, is Miss going to be okay?"

"After I heard your stories, it seems like there's no one who cares whether I lost my memories or not. Oh, right. What's your name?"

"I'm Sofia, Miss."

After respectfully answering with a face full of worries, Sofia started to explain about Count Epheria's household.