After Work, I Brought Home a Devilish Beauty - Chapter 72

After promising Chiba that he would keep watch for her, Lucifer wandered alone outside the mansion.

He still found it strange.

His master’s attitude had changed so suddenly. One moment, Chiba had been cold and indifferent; the next, she had seemed unusually cheerful.

Lucifer couldn’t figure out what had caused such a dramatic change.

Unable to find an answer, he simply squatted outside the mansion and quietly thought things over.

“Lucifer, what are you doing here?”

A familiar voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

Lucifer looked up.

It was Ander.

“Nothing, Lord Ander. I was simply thinking about a few things.”

Lucifer immediately stood up and spoke respectfully.

“By the way, you’re back rather early.”

“Hmm.”

Ander stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“I went to investigate the recent activities of the Church of Assis.”

Lucifer’s heart immediately skipped a beat.

“Really?”

He tried to keep his voice calm.

“Did you discover anything unusual?”

The reason for his uneasiness was simple.

The story of a mysterious man in black rescuing Alice from her execution had already spread throughout Anstertantin.

Unfortunately for Lucifer…

That mysterious man was him.

Could Lord Ander be testing me?

Lucifer carefully observed his expression.

But it didn’t seem likely.

Besides, Lucifer had concealed his identity during the rescue. Ander shouldn’t have been able to discover the truth so quickly.

“Surprisingly, they’ve been rather quiet lately.”

Ander didn’t seem suspicious at all.

As he spoke, he began walking toward Chiba’s room.

Lucifer immediately followed.

“Lord Ander… Master is probably still asleep. Is it really alright to disturb her?”

“Hmph.”

Ander didn’t stop walking.

“Even sleep has its limits. It’s already quite late.”

Before long, they arrived outside Chiba’s room.

Ander gently knocked on the door.

“Chiba?”

No response.

He waited.

Still nothing.

After a moment, Ander knocked again.

The room remained completely silent.

Ander’s expression slowly darkened.

“Lucifer. Give me the key.”

“Yes, Lord Ander.”

Lucifer immediately reached into his pocket.

Then he froze.

His hand searched his right pocket.

Nothing.

He checked again.

Still nothing.

The key is gone.

Lucifer’s expression stiffened.

How is that possible?

He clearly remembered placing it in his right trouser pocket.

But now, it had completely disappeared.

Could he have dropped it somewhere?

No.

Lucifer was extremely careful with his belongings. Losing something was almost unheard of for him.

Then there was only one possibility.

Someone had stolen it.

Lucifer began thinking carefully.

Who had been close enough to touch me?

Then…

His thoughts suddenly stopped.

He remembered.

Someone had searched through his clothes.

Someone had asked to borrow his coat.

At the time, he hadn’t thought much about it.

But now, everything made sense.

Alice.

It had been Alice.

Seeing Lucifer standing there without moving, Ander sighed.

“Never mind. I’ll handle it myself.”

“Lord Ander…?”

Lucifer looked up in surprise.

Ander didn’t actually need the key to enter Chiba’s room.

His unique magic—Telepathy—allowed him to pass through physical objects.

He simply hadn’t used it before because he respected Chiba’s privacy.

But now…

That courtesy was no longer necessary.

Ander raised his hand.

A faint magical force gathered around his fingers.

He placed his hand against the door.

With a slight movement—

The door opened.

Ander stepped inside.

He looked around the room.

Silence.

The bed was empty.

There was no sign of Chiba.

The entire room had been abandoned.

Ander slowly turned around.

His eyes fell upon Lucifer.

“Lucifer.”

His voice was calm.

Almost too calm.

“What’s going on?”

Lucifer lowered his head.

“Didn’t I specifically tell you not to let Chiba leave this room?”

“……”

Lucifer remained silent.

At that moment, he finally understood everything.

Alice hadn’t stolen the key simply to escape.

She had taken it so that she could free Chiba.

And now…

The two of them were gone.

Lucifer had never expected them to actually attempt something so reckless.

But regardless of what Alice and Chiba had done, the responsibility ultimately fell on him.

It had been his carelessness that allowed them to escape.

Lucifer lowered his head even further.

“I’m sorry, Lord Ander.”

He accepted responsibility without hesitation.

“It was my mistake.”

His voice was quiet.

“I failed to keep watch… and allowed my master to escape.”

After successfully escaping from the mansion, Alice did not immediately take Chiba back to the human world.

Instead, she led her toward a remote village west of Anstertantin.

This had been part of Alice’s plan from the very beginning.

Even before returning to this world, she had already decided to come here.

The village was now little more than ruins.

But Alice still recognized it immediately.

This…

Was her hometown.

Chiba stood silently beside her.

When she saw the destruction surrounding them, she was momentarily stunned.

The two continued walking until Alice finally stopped.

Before them stood two small earthen mounds.

Alice slowly approached them.

Then, she carefully placed two handmade offerings in front of the graves.

Chiba immediately understood.

These must be her parents’ graves.

The graves were incredibly simple.

Alice had built them herself before leaving.

She had no money.

No relatives.

And no friends who could help her.

Given those circumstances, it was understandable that the graves looked so humble.

In fact…

It was fortunate that they had survived this long.

Unfortunately, Alice’s parents were not actually buried there.

Alice had searched desperately for their bodies but never found them.

They had most likely perished in the fire.

Unable to recover their remains, Alice had gathered several belongings that had once belonged to them and placed them here instead.

Chiba stared silently at the two graves.

For some reason, the sight made her feel uncomfortable.

Finally, she spoke.

“Let’s fix them.”

Alice turned around.

She looked genuinely surprised.

For a moment, she simply stared at Chiba.

Then she quietly nodded.

“…Okay.”

Chiba immediately began gathering fresh soil from the surrounding wasteland.

There was plenty of loose earth nearby.

Without wasting any time, she carried it back and carefully placed it around the graves.

Little by little, the two small mounds became taller and sturdier.

Before long, Chiba’s clothes and hands were covered in dirt.

But she didn’t seem to care.

Alice watched her in silence.

Even she seemed surprised by how seriously Chiba was taking the task.

Chiba herself didn’t fully understand what she was feeling.

Why was she doing this?

Why did she care about the graves of someone she barely knew?

She couldn’t find a clear answer.

But perhaps…

Perhaps she felt guilty.

Perhaps, somewhere deep inside…

The demon wanted to atone for her sins.