The Devil's obsession with the Heiress

When Aliana continued staring at him in stunned silence, Cillian raised his hands slightly in surrender. "Well, I come in peace. I promise."

Still, Aliana did not move.

Instead, her eyes slowly travelled over him, inspecting every inch of his frame, scanning his shoulders and back in a way that made Cillian feel awkwardly self-conscious, suspended in mid-air.

Clearing his throat, Cillian flashed a wicked smirk. "I am fully aware that I am a visual masterpiece, sister-in-law, but your husband will flay me alive if you keep checking me out with such thorough enthusiasm."

Both Aliana and Winston creased their brows at his remark.

"I am not checking you out," Aliana instantly retorted.

"If not that, then pray tell, why are you examining me like I am a prize specimen?" Cillian asked, resting a casual hand against the outer ledge of the windowsill, taking care to keep his fingers outside the humming barrier.

Aliana cleared her throat before replying softly, "I was looking for... wings..." She tilted her head, trying to peer around his shoulders once again.

"Wings?" Cillian simply blinked at her in stunned silence for a few seconds, and Aliana nodded.

"Y-Yes. How else are you... f-floating?" She gestured nervously with her hands, which were trembling slightly, a subtle sign that the sheer absurdity of the night was finally catching up to her.

Suddenly, a loud, delighted burst of laughter erupted from Cillian, echoing across the quiet estate. Aliana jumped slightly at the noise, while outside the room, Winston’s scowl deepened at Cillian for disturbing his mistress even further.

"Forgive me," Cillian wheezed, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye as Aliana’s face twisted in displeasure. "You discover that I am not a human, and your first order of business is to check for wings?"

"Well... how else do you expect me to react? Scream and run? I already did that yesterday when I found out about my husband," Aliana replied, defensively crossing her arms over her chest.

Cillian’s grin widened into something positively dazzling. "Colour me impressed, sister-in-law. I must say, you bounce back remarkably fast."

"It is not as if I have much of a choice," Aliana muttered under her breath.

Cillian heard it loud and clear, his smirk softening into something surprisingly genuine for a fraction of a second.

She then tilted her head, observing him with cautious curiosity. "So... what are you, exactly?"

"Why don’t you take a guess?" Cillian asked, his eyes gleaming with intrigue.

Aliana narrowed her eyes at him. "A d-demon?"

Cillian suddenly clapped his hands together with a sharp crack, making Aliana jump yet again before he praised her with exaggerated enthusiasm, "Bravo! As expected of you, sister-in-law."

"Jesus!" Aliana pressed a hand against her racing heart and glared at him. "Could you please stop doing that? I’m already a little... jittery."

"Ah, my bad," Cillian offered a sheepish smile.

Aliana pinned him with a wary glance before turning her attention toward the doorway. Winston swallowed hard as he suddenly became the sole target of her sharp gaze.

"And you?" Aliana asked. "What are you, Winston? Please, if there are any more shocks waiting for me tonight, I would rather know now."

Winston straightened his posture, cleared his throat, and answered respectfully, "I am a lower-level demon, Madam."

"Oh..." Aliana replied. She had genuinely thought Winston was human, given his elderly appearance.

Clearing her throat, she offered a small, hesitant nod. "I-I see..."

Surrounded by a demon floating outside her window and another standing outside her door, she was suddenly at a loss for how to act, and she really wished Gavriel were there with her.

Thinking of him made the gnawing restlessness in her chest flare up once more.

She looked between the two men, her expression sharpening as she got straight to the point. "So... since you are both demons, I assume you can break this barrier and let me out?"

Winston pressed his lips together into a thin line and offered a low bow. "Forgive me, Madam, but I do not possess the level of power required to break a barrier the master has forged with his own hands."

Aliana creased her brows. "But... I thought even lower-level demons possessed magic."

"We do, Madam, but in my case, it is next to nothing," Winston explained respectfully. "Even if I were to combine my small strength with Master Cillian, who belongs to a far higher rank, it would still prove useless against Master’s barrier."

"Really?" Aliana murmured in surprise before turning her gaze back to Cillian. "What rank are you, then?" she asked, genuine curiosity lacing her tone.

Cillian offered her a smooth smile. "I am a noble, Aliana."

Aliana blinked, caught off guard. In her mind, she quickly tried to recall the passages she had skimmed in the book, Hellborn.

Nobles were above the Arch Demons and were born from pure and ancient bloodlines. Their lineage granted them not only tremendous power but also authority over vast territories and the demons residing within them. They formed the ruling class just below the Royal Bloodline.

When Aliana simply offered him a quiet nod of acknowledgement, Cillian tilted his head in amusement. "Are you not going to ask me what a noble is?"

"No. I have already read about the hierarchy," Aliana replied honestly.

This time, it was Cillian’s turn to be surprised. A low hum escaped his throat. "So... you did find those books in the study, just as Gavriel expected you would."

"Expected?" Aliana asked in surprise.

"Yes. Why else do you think he left those books where you could easily spot them, or allowed you access to his private study in the first place?" Cillian countered lightly.

A sudden wave of realisation washed over her. Gavriel truly had wanted her to discover the truth. He had been sincere the previous night when he had told her that he wanted to tell her everything.

’So he knew all along that I had read those pages,’ Aliana thought to herself.

Cillian observed the shifting emotions on her face, his bright red eyes softening slightly as he asked, "Tell me, Aliana... do you fear him, now that you know what he truly is?"

Aliana raised her eyes to meet his gaze before replying softly, "Who wouldn’t be?"

Her eyes drifted past him, lost in the quiet expanse of the night sky. "At first, I was so overwhelmed by the sheer weight of the truth that all I wanted to do was run as far away from it as I could."

She brought her gaze back to Cillian. "But when I was finally able to think more clearly, I realised that even though he holds the power to end me instantly... he has done nothing but protect me. I won’t lie... a part of me is still scared of coming to terms with all of this, but more than that... a larger part of me simply wants to be there for him, just as he has been there for me... even when he was never obligated to."

Cillian studied the woman before him, his crimson eyes gleaming with quiet interest. "So... are you saying you wish to stand by him simply because you feel obligated to repay his protection?"

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!