Chapter 9: The Mysterious Mage

After hearing Anna's refusal, Rotgar felt a mix of anger and a strange sense of inevitability. Her ambitions were too grand, and she had already rejected him many times.

Displaying a look of disappointment, Rotgar said, "Anna, you're still so heartless. But I believe one day, you'll come to understand." With a sigh, he walked away.

Rotgar didn't scold or warn the three maids; he acted as if he had forgotten about them. Why would he warn them? Their continued pressure on that human woman would only hasten her schemes and eventually force her to accept his proposal. Then, well...

Anna watched Rotgar's retreating figure, then glanced at the three seemingly dazed maids on the ground. Suddenly, she realized that the demon had finally learned her name. She shook her head. Rotgar had left so swiftly, which was unexpected. She thought he might at least pretend to be deeply moved and do something grand—like expelling the three maids from the mansion.

But he hadn't even scolded them. Did he think his display of affection was enough? After all, they were bullying her. Shouldn't he, in his supposed deep affection, be fiercely protective of her? Clearly, his intentions were sinister! The demon was an expert in sowing discord, trying to isolate her so that she would turn to him for warmth and inevitably accept his proposal. Thankfully, she saw through his ploy. Who wouldn't know how to sow discord?

Anna slowly walked over to the three maids and whispered, "Master Parrysh has left. You can get up now."

The three of them gave her complicated looks. Fiona, confused, asked, "Why didn't you accept Master Parrysh's proposal? Isn't that every girl's dream?"

"Sigh, it's a long story." Anna put on a wistful expression, inviting more questions, and helped each of them up one by one. "Let's go. We shouldn't disturb Master Parrysh anymore."

The three, still shaken by the earlier events, said nothing more and walked silently with Anna. They had almost reached the kitchen when Anna stopped and turned to them. "Actually, I have a lover."

Their expressions varied. Abigail immediately retorted, "Your lover couldn't possibly compare to Master Parrysh!"

Anna thought, Anyone is better than a demon who wants my life!

"Of course, he can't compare to Master Parrysh. But I love him. To me, he's the best. I can't accept anyone else's proposal," Anna said with a sigh.

The three maids, who had been hostile towards Anna moments before, now seemed to lose their animosity after hearing about her lover. Apparently, Anna wasn't trying to compete for Master Parrysh's affections after all.

Carrie, curious and seemingly testing the waters, asked, "But Master Parrysh seems to love you..."

Anna shook her head. "That's just a misunderstanding on Master Parrysh's part. Do you know how we met?"

The three shook their heads, eyes wide with anticipation.

"One day, I accidentally fell in front of Master Parrysh's carriage. He said, 'What a clumsy little wildcat, so charming...' and then he proposed to me."

Hearing such inside information, the three maids' eyes widened, each thinking how wonderful it would have been if they had fallen in front of the carriage instead.

Seeing their expressions, Anna couldn't help but laugh inwardly. Outwardly, she sighed, "In fact, I came to the mansion's kitchen just to earn money to support my family... You saw it earlier. I refused Master Parrysh's proposal because my lover is waiting for me."

"You did the right thing!" Abigail grabbed Anna's hand, her eyes shining. "Your love story is so touching. You and your lover will definitely get married and have many children!"

Fiona also held Anna's hand. "Yes, Anna. Never accept a proposal without love. Such a marriage wouldn't be blessed by the Goddess."

"That's right. We'll pray to the Goddess for you and your lover." Carrie, unable to grab Anna's hand, instead linked arms with her, looking sincerely moved.

Anna smiled meaningfully. "Thank you for your blessings. I'm really touched. It was all a misunderstanding earlier. I'm glad to have friends like you. You know my name is Anna, but I don't know yours yet."

The three, seeing that Anna had no intention of accepting Master Parrysh's proposal, were delighted and quickly introduced themselves.

After saying goodbye to her newfound "plastic friends," Anna returned to the kitchen. Though she wouldn't witness it firsthand, she felt that the demon's upcoming experiences would be quite interesting. Meanwhile, she focused on learning from Rebecca. Acquiring more skills could only be beneficial. After all, she hadn't instigated anything. Whatever happened to that demon wasn't her concern.

Rotgar felt rather good after leaving with a look of disappointment. Gradually pushing that human woman toward his desired outcome, letting her think she was clever while being played by him, made the anticipated moment of revelation even more enjoyable.

Since he had decided to take his time with Anna, Rotgar wasn't in a hurry. Though Anna didn't change his overall negative view of humans, she did add a bit of nuance. Having not visited the human realm for so long, it might be wise to observe its changes and avoid any surprises that could waste his time.

With lunch approaching, Rotgar joined Parrysh's father, Wilson, the Earl, in the main dining hall. Using Parrysh's memories, Wilson didn't notice any changes in his son. After lunch, it was three o'clock, and Rotgar walked through the small garden on the way back with Wardo.

In the garden, the tall, blonde Abigail was carefully tending to the flowers. Wilson's late wife loved flowers, and he maintained the garden in her memory.

In the demon realm, there were no such delicate flowers. Rotgar loathed these fragile creations as much as he did humans, not bothering to look at them.

As he walked past Abigail, she suddenly stumbled with a short, delicate scream and fell gracefully in front of him, just a foot from his shoes.

Rotgar stopped, looking coldly at the maid on the ground. Abigail, with a weak expression, lifted her head, her blonde hair drawing a graceful arc in the air. She looked up at Rotgar with a fearful expression. "I'm sorry, Master Parrysh. I was so clumsy... I don't know what happened. Please don't be angry."

Rotgar glanced at her disdainfully and walked around her. Such poor acting wouldn't fool him. Did these foolish maids think they could succeed because of that human woman? If he hadn't encountered Anna, he might have gone along with this to quickly win his bet with Baran. But now, he was focused on dealing with Anna first.

After passing Abigail, Rotgar soon encountered another figure charging at him like a phoenix. Though Parrysh wasn't a mage, his body was strong. With Rotgar's enhancements, such an "attack" was insignificant. He sidestepped easily, and the figure crashed into the rose bushes, crying out in genuine pain.

Rotgar frowned at the sight. The figure was one of the maids who had bullied Anna earlier.

Fiona had taken a more drastic approach, seeing Abigail's failure as an opportunity. She thought her hair color, closer to Anna's reddish-brown, might be what Parrysh liked. So, she charged recklessly, only to miss and fall into the thorny bushes, crying out in pain.

"Fiona, why did you... haha, does it hurt?" Abigail, having recovered, walked over and laughed at Fiona's plight.

"I dare you to try! Help me out!" Fiona cried.

Abigail laughed harder, eventually helping Fiona out, despite Fiona's constant cries of pain. Seeing someone worse off made her own disappointment fade.

Meanwhile, Rotgar left the garden, not caring about the commotion behind him. When a third maid collapsed as he walked by, he deftly avoided her.

By now, it was clear these incidents weren't coincidences. He recognized the maids as those who had bullied Anna and figured they were copying Anna, hoping for similar success. He sneered. Most humans were as despicable and boring as he thought.

Ignoring the third maid, he continued on. Wardo followed suit, adhering to his principle of invisibility when not given orders.

With an evening banquet, Rotgar didn't create more opportunities for Anna to approach him. He didn't dwell on the three maids' incidents, seeing them as further proof of his judgment of humans.

But the next day, similar incidents became common, much like encountering slimes in the demon realm.

Glaring at the fourth maid who fell before him, Rotgar was on the verge of an outburst. Humans were indeed despicable, dirty, and foolish!