Under the Devil’s Breath - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

‘Angels and devils have a bad relationship.’

It was unknown when these words started circulating, but angels and devils had a bad relationship. They ignored each other and were impatient to devour one another.

Because of that, even the God who created the two races was in trouble.

However, there were ‘exceptions’ in any group. Among the devils, the devils with the strongest power were called the Great Devils, and Darius, who belongs to the Great Devils and is in charge of time, fell in love with an angel.

Of course, the Great Devil, who was not aware of the feeling of love, was not even aware of his own feelings, and just watched the angel from behind.

Meanwhile, the relationship between the devil and the angel deteriorated day by day, and when the relationship between the two races was not good, God had to take the side of the angel.

God thought that it was a neutrality practice in its own way, though the devils didn’t think the same.

“God favors only angels.”

The devils, who were usually dissatisfied with the angels assisting the God in heaven, and living in the realm of the devil that existed underground, completely ran rampant after this incident.

They went so far as to curse the God, and instead of seeking God’s affection or power, they took the souls of humans to create their own power. In the end, not being able to overcome greed and vanity, and contracting with devils to steal souls from humans, God had no choice but to make a decision.

God decided to reincarnate the beloved angel as a human and marry the man who would have the greatest power in the human world.

It was because the beloved angel had a clear heart and had many merits and virtues, and many devils could not even approach the angel.

In addition, God thought that it would be possible to see the effect of reducing the number of people who make a contract with the devil by calming the human’s negative emotions, so God wanted to actively utilize the existence of angels.

The news reached not only the angels, but also the devils.

Most of the devils laughed at each other, saying, ‘God is now on the side of humans at all times.’

This was because the angel that God decided to send down to the human world, was the one God had always loved.

‘How dare God let a mere human being covet it.’

For the first time, the devil, who had been indifferent to what God was doing, was angry with God. He was the one who couldn’t reach her and just stared at her.

He couldn’t understand the act of God trying to give her to an insignificant human being. He was angry with God, but the subordinate of the Great Devil said.

‘What are you so mad about? What you can have.’

The words shocked the Great Evil. He had only thought that he had to watch an angel because he never thought of having one.

‘As long as you were born as a mere human, not an angel, even God will not be able to intervene anymore. God cannot directly intervene in human affairs. So, take it.’

It was indeed the whisper of the devil.

The devil succumbed to the whisper.

‘Yes. I’d rather have it than give it to humans.’

Even if he kills everyone and makes her suffer.

———

Nightmare.

Hyyan Arcelia Haire was the Third Princess of the Kingdom of Haire. She had blonde hair like a waterfall of gold, and clear blue eyes that seemed to contain the sky, and she was a beauty rarely seen in the kingdom or anywhere else.

Hyyan was loved not only by the King’s favor, but also by the Queen, the King’s concubines and the people, and even by her colleagues.

In fact, everyone in the Kingdom of Haire loved her to the extent that the word ‘beloved’ was meant for her.

Rumors of her spread beyond the kingdom to the empire, and even to the Emperor of Gideth.

The Emperor did not believe all of the rumors, saying that it was just a rumor, but if she was so pretty and true, he thought that it was not bad enough to make her the mate for the prince of the marriageable age.

Of course, it wasn’t just her appearance that was taken into consideration as the Crown Prince’s mate. Hyyan’s homeland, Haire, was a resource-rich country, and the children born to the princesses could also qualify as heirs.

Hopefully, the kingdom’s rich resources, as well as sovereignty, could come under his feet.

Obviously, the conditions were relatively good only for Gideth, so the King of Hair wanted to refuse the wedding. But, he had no way to turn it around. So eventually, the King succumbed to the Emperor and promised to send Hyyan to the empire.

Before Hyyan left for the empire, her mother, the Queen, called her into her room.

“Take it.”

What the Queen offered was a ring studded with multicolored gems. It was a ring with jewels she had never seen before.

Hyyan asked as she received the ring.

“What is this, mother?”

“It is a holy relic.”

In the answer, Hyyan was quite surprised.

Needless to say, the holy relics were directly given by God, and their number was very rare, so it was rare for them to be outside the temple. She couldn’t help but be surprised when the Queen offered to give her such a precious thing because she didn’t even have what the Queen had.

“Why are you giving me something so precious?”

“Because it was yours from the beginning.”

“It was mine?”

“Yes. I kept it for a while until the time came.”

The Queen then said this: ‘On the day Hyyan was born, a man appeared in the Queen’s dream.’

A man so white that at first glance, it seemed that he was not a human being. Hair, eyelashes, skin, lips…

The man made up of achromatic colors said that he was the God who presided over this world, and said that he reincarnated Hyaan from the angel he loved.

When the surprised Queen asked why God had given her the child of God, God smiled and said,

‘Your child will go away and marry a great man. Until then, I hope you will raise the child well. This is a sacred object to protect the child. It will protect her from the evil that exists in the world.’

He said so, and handed the ring to the Queen. It is said that when she woke up, there was a ring on her hand that she had received from a man in her dream.

“So, I knew you were going to go away someday. I didn’t know that you were going to become the Empress of the Empire of Gideth.”

“Mother…”

“Anyway, I think it’s time to give it to you, so I called you. Please, carry this relic with you.”

Hyyan took the holy relic and put it on her left index finger.

An engagement ring or a wedding ring will be worn on her ring finger.

The holy thing, which felt a little large, shrunk to fit her index finger as soon as it was put on it. As if it was hers from the beginning.

Hyyan was momentarily startled by the unexpected sight, though she soon accepted it. The reason was simple, because it was a holy grail.

Before going to the empire, she lived a carefree life enjoying her own homeland, walking the royal road with her brothers. A few days later, an imperial delegation to take Hyyan visited the Kingdom of Haire. So she was forced to leave her hometown, where she lived for eighteen years.

Gideth was a more prosperous and luxurious country than Haire to the extent that the title of the empire was not worth it.

Since everything from the scent to the atmosphere in the air was unfamiliar, she entered the castle with a somewhat nervous face.

Before she could unpack all her belongings, she followed the attendant to an audience with the Emperor. The Emperor looked at Hyyan and admired her with an astonished expression.

“It’s not a waste to say that you’re like an angel.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Do you speak Gideth’s language?”

“It’s embarrassing, but yes.”

“That’s great.”

The Emperor admired not only her appearance, but also her language skills.

Smooth intonation, natural sentences. Since Gideth and Haire looked alike, he would have thought she was a native if he had not known her nationality.

In an instant, Hyyan won the hearts of the Emperor as well as other nobles who were with him.

The attitude of the Crown Prince, who was appointed as her fiancée, was no different from the others. The Crown Prince, who was four years older than her, was always considerate of Hyyan.

She had never been cared for too much while living as a princess, but she felt Lenald’s consideration particularly sweet.

From walking to match her own pace to always seeking her own opinion. Lenald was infinitely kind and caring.

One time she fell and was injured because of a fall on the stairs, and as soon as Lenald heard the news, he ran straight to her and asked her how she was. Even though he must be quite busy because of his position.

His behavior was enough to impress Hyyan, and she came to like him.

The accumulated favorability took their relationship one step further.

She was glad that Lenald became her husband. And, it was the same with him, he said to Hyyan, ‘I’m glad you came to me.’

It was only natural that Hyyan also responded that she was happy to meet Lenald. The relationship between Lenald and Hyyan was so good that a smile was drawn on the lips of those who saw them. Everyone praised them as a well-matched pair.

As the scheduled wedding date approached, Hyyan became very busy. At the wedding, she had to pick and prepare everything from choosing the dress to wear to the necklace, earrings, and ring.

The marriage culture of the Empire was similar to that of the Kingdom, though it was very different.

In the Kingdom of Haire, the wedding ring was worn only on the ring finger of the left hand, but Gideth had to wear a total of three rings: the index, middle, and ring fingers. She heard that each symbolizes peace, happiness, and love.

Because of that, Hyyan, who was wearing the relic from her mother given to her on her index finger, had to run into difficulties while fitting the wedding ring. The craftsman had asked her to remove her relics.

The reason the craftsman was so demanding was simple. Because she had to wear the three rings at the wedding, not the holy relic she was wearing.

“Your Highness, take the ring off.”

“However…”

Hyyan hesitated as she gazed at the craftsman in front of me. It was because she had doubts about whether she was allowed to take away the holy relic.

As she hesitated, the craftsman laughed.

“If you’re worried about getting your jewelry lost, don’t worry. Your ring will be placed in a locked jewelry box. Now, see this jewel box over here?”

Saying so, the black-haired craftsman showed Hyyan the jewelry box. The jewelry box looked really sturdy, as the craftsman said, and the locking mechanism seemed to be precise. Still, somehow she didn’t like it.

“I just want to wear this ring…”

“Are you going to wear another ring on your index finger, wishing for peace? I dare say this, but I am afraid that there will be a rift in the court. If the court suffers a quarrel because of me, I might die.”

The craftsman’s black eyelashes trembled.

As though it was truly frightening and painful, the other craftsmen also helped her.

“Your Highness, wearing a ring other than your original wedding ring is harming harmony. Just put it somewhere else for a while.”

“Yes. Please take it off for a moment while you put on the wedding ring.”

Not only the craftsmen, but also her maid, Gina, who had been following her from the Kingdom of Haire said so.

Because of that, Hyyan had no choice but to take her ring off.