“I’ll just live as a villain.

Chapter 02

As a result, the fireplace in my room was filled to the brim with Black Ironwood. I shooed Emma away, who was lingering suspiciously nearby, and remained alone in the room.

‘I can’t summon a mage in front of Emma, after all.’

Being a host of another’s body, I knew the name of the archmage whom the kingdom’s founder, Ephron Jeraint, had taken as his right-hand servant.

Of course, an ordinary person in this world could never know his name.

‘Because he’s a demon.’

A demon in the sacred founding myth of the kingdom—ridiculous.

‘If anyone found out, the entire kingdom would flip upside down.’

That was exactly why the archmage’s name was absent from history. Ephron Jeraint had deliberately hidden the fact that he had borrowed demonic power to establish his kingdom. He never told anyone about the Blue Mage, not even his name.

It made sense in retrospect.

‘A king who gained the loyalty of a powerful archmage looks far better than a king who made a pact with a demon.’

There were two ways to make a contract with a demon:

1. Speak the demon’s name.

2. Offer a price that would interest the demon.

Ephron Jeraint had chosen the latter, sacrificing the soul of his firstborn as the cost of the contract.

Naturally, my choice would be the former:
I would speak the demon’s name.

Just by knowing the name, I could command the demon for free.

‘If that isn’t a cheat key, what is?’

“Teoharis.”

I spoke the name of the demon I had read about in the novel. Not a common name, but not particularly strange either.

One might wonder: What would happen if a random person accidentally said it?

But in this world, the name simply didn’t exist in human memory. The Demon King had stolen the names of all demons from humans.

Thus, no human could ever call a demon by its true name. The contract clause—“Say my name and I’ll serve for free; otherwise, pay me”—was a demon’s little trick.

“What? What’s going on? Are we in the human realm?”

The demon who had been forcibly summoned in front of me looked quite startled. Understandably so. By the laws of this world, a human calling a demon’s name should be impossible.

‘But I’m not a human of this world.’

For some reason, that made me feel exhilarated. Being a vessel for another’s body came with privileges, and I was enjoying them.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Teoharis.”

I smiled and extended my hand toward the demon.

“Oh, should I not speak your name carelessly? Shall I just call you the archmage?”

“Archmage? The only fool who ever addressed me that way was the king who sold his son’s soul hundreds of years ago to become king…”

The demon scrutinized me as if evaluating an object.

“You… you’re not his descendant, are you?”

“Descendant? Whoever hates the Jeraints most in this world? That would be me.”

Among Catherine’s five admirers, all equally troublesome, the two Jeraints—the crown prince and Ridon—were by far the worst.

Seeing me shake my head in disgust, the demon’s eyes narrowed.

“I see. Same species, yet your aura feels completely different.”

The demon nodded, seemingly satisfied, though his brows furrowed as if he didn’t fully understand.

“How did someone who isn’t his descendant call me? Even his descendant shouldn’t be able to summon me…”

“Exactly. Humans don’t know your names.”

“Then… how did you call me? And how did you even know humans can’t know our names?”

“It’s a long story, and I’m not sure you’d believe it…”

He was a precious guest to light the fire in my fireplace. I forced a friendly smile.

“Do I really need to explain everything? Can’t you just do what I ask first?”

But, as expected of his species, the demon ignored me.

“Hey, human. How did you know my name? You’re not an ordinary human, are you? Right?”

“If I weren’t a non-human, do you think I’d be trembling in the cold like this? How about lighting the fire and leaving?”

“Fire? You need a fire, like that fool?”

The word “fire” seemed to pique the demon’s interest.

“Fire… yes.”

The bored expression on his face shifted to one of curiosity.

“I’m the best in my clan at controlling fire. If you need that, calling me was the right move.”

He even looked satisfied. That was good. The more he enjoyed it, the stronger the fire he’d produce.

I quickly nodded in agreement.

“Of course. For fire, the Blue Flame is the best, and the Blue Mage who controls it is the best of all.”

“You’re a clever human. So, like that fool, do you want to become king too?”

“Nope.”

“Then you want a lot of money? You must have many people to sweep away?”

“Not really.”

“Then why do you need my Blue Flame?”

“To light a fireplace.”

I calmly pointed at the fireplace filled with Black Ironwood. The demon followed my finger, eyes wide with disbelief.

“…What? A fireplace?”

“It looks like ordinary wood, but it’s not. Normal fire can’t burn it. That’s why I need an extremely strong fire. So…”

“Wait!”

The demon quickly interrupted.

“You called me, Teoharis of the Blue Flame, just to light a fireplace?”

“Yes.”

“Y‑You’re not planning to kill anyone?”

“Ugh. Am I supposed to become a murderer? I’m a bit tired of hearing that already.”

“Then… blood? Don’t you want to see blood?”

“And what good would that do? Where would it even be used?”

The demon gaped at me, half his soul, maybe more, practically falling out.

“…Right. Humans don’t need blood.”

Muttering blankly, he soon composed himself.

“Then… fine. Let’s conquer kingdoms and become kings! You humans like that sort of thing!”

“Nope.”

“Why? Don’t you want immense power?”

“Not really… That stuff is annoying and exhausting.”

Think about it—why did kings in the Joseon dynasty die young? Running a kingdom was just too much work.

‘Why would I bother with that exhausting nonsense?’

“Life isn’t better just because you’re at the top. Being a leisurely noblewoman is the best.”

Privileges without labor—that was the life of a noble’s daughter.

“So, demon.”

I pointed at the fireplace once more.

“Now light the fire, quickly.”

At that, the demon’s face turned completely pale.