Chapter 53 - Mielle’s Side Hustle

"Dekan?"

Mielle looked as if she were facing a formidable enemy and asked.

Although she didn't make any sudden moves, her nerves were tense and she seemed prepared to engage in a life-or-death struggle with Dekan at any moment.

This was her final test.

"Ugh!"

It seemed like he heard her words.

At that moment, Dekan lowered his head and covered his eyes. Soon, his pupils returned to deep blue, and his appearance reverted to his normal human form.

"..."

He lifted his head and glanced around the room. His gaze ultimately landed on Mielle and the unconscious Alice on the sofa.

His expression gradually shifted from confusion to resignation and a hint of anger appeared as well.

He had a rough understanding as to what had happened.

He fell asleep and then his master woke up.

"You secretly used my body while I was sleeping again!" Dekan angrily thought to himself.

"Tsk."

This time, his master was in the wrong.

Without saying much, she slipped into slumber once more.

Dekan looked at Mielle with a helpless expression. It seemed he would have to deal with this chaotic situation caused by his master on his own.

"It's a good thing you didn't attack directly just now," Dekan said, raising his hands in a somewhat relieved tone.

If Mielle had attacked directly, his master would have retaliated to protect Dekan's body and, in the end, both of them would have been harmed.

"...Dekan, can you explain what just happened?"

Mielle still didn't let her guard down. She wasn't sure if Dekan had truly returned to normal or if he was merely pretending.

"I've returned to normal and I'm a human. Please rest assured. Even if I were a demon, it wouldn't make sense to expose myself so foolishly."

"Then what about your appearance just now and that terrifying aura?"

"Just now, it was a side effect of my trump card. Powerful cards often come with risks and sometimes I uncontrollably transform into a demon."

Dekan didn't intend to bring up the matter about his master nor did he plan to lie.

Mielle pondered for a moment and continued to inquire, "...In the Demon Academy, there's a potion that allows humans to disguise themselves as demons. Is it possible in this world that there's a technology that allows demons to continuously disguise themselves as humans?"

She continued to protect Alice behind her, resembling a mother bird guarding her young. It seemed she wasn't afraid of Dekan himself, but she had to be cautious to protect Alice.

Dekan sighed and tossed a card to Mielle.

Mielle silently caught the card that flew from Dekan's hand and looked at it with a contemplative expression.

It was "Blood Purification."

An epic card that could purify the blood of different races.

"Use it on me. It will clearly prove my race. If I'm a human like you, nothing will happen. If I'm truly a demon, it will evaporate my blood."

"..."

Mielle remained silent for a while. Then she put away her dagger.

She approached Dekan and returned the "Blood Purification" card to him.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to verify it?" Dekan asked with a smile.

"There's actually nothing to verify. You were already much more dangerous than demons to begin with. Your race isn't that important," Mielle replied.

Dekan chuckled, "Haha, it's great that you believe me, just like how I trust you."

"We get along well," Mielle said.

Both of them were aware that the other had some secrets but neither probed further. It was an unspoken agreement between them.

"But now, what should we do?" Dekan suddenly felt a bit uneasy when he saw Alice unconscious on the couch. He couldn't help but rub his temples. The real trouble hadn't been resolved yet. His master had really caused him a huge mess this time. He would make sure she compensated him properly in the future.

Mielle sighed deeply. "Alice really fainted this time. To be honest, from her perspective, it was truly terrifying..."

It was like being caught in a narrow gap between a nightmare and reality. Her reality had turned into an unending nightmare.

"...Is there a way to make her forget?" Dekan asked hesitantly. As a psychiatrist, it was his instinctive response.

"We obviously can't do that. Altering a royal's memories and soul, if discovered, would mean our deaths," Mielle replied.

Dekan fell silent.

Mielle continued, "It's okay; I have a plan. I'll use a potion to make Alice sleep longer, and then I'll hypnotize her, making her believe that what happened just now was all a dream."

"Do you... happen to have some sort of side hustle?" Dekan asked skeptically.

"Come on now. If we bring the royal magistrate here, your situation would be much worse than mine, you know?" Mielle replied.

Dekan sighed and nodded. "You're right."

Soon, Mielle returned to the laboratory and brought back a toolbox. She took out a syringe and injected a potion into Alice. Then she began a series of hypnotic procedures. Her techniques were quite skillful.

"Alice won't wake up for a while, but I'm afraid you won't be able to come to my laboratory for some time. If she sees you again, she'll doubt the authenticity of her dreams and reality," Mielle said as she put away the toolbox.

"...I understand," Dekan said, his disappointment evident.

Their poison research had just started but now it had to be temporarily put on hold. He could only continue at the school laboratory next week.

"How do you use your storage room?" Mielle suddenly asked.

"I've turned it into a card-making workshop," Dekan replied.

Mielle said, "Let's bring some tools to your place. In the next couple days, let's figure out how to load the poisons onto the venomous spikes."

"Perfect," Dekan agreed.

Mielle said, "I'll come find you after I've comforted Alice."

Dekan nodded and said, "Rain or shine, room 404 is waiting for you."