Chapter 372: The Devil Walks In
The Devil Walks In
Then—
Creak...
The door to the chamber opened, the noise cutting across the maelstrom of voices like a knife.
Golden candlelight spilled out onto the slick floor, stretching the shadows down the hall. All the women turned. Conversations ended in mid-sentence. Breath was suspended, throats constricted. For an instant it seemed that the whole night was holding its breath with them.
From the doorway, a man entered—broad-shouldered, elegant, sporting that lounging haughtiness which but one man in the world could wear like a crown. His golden eyes glowed like twin embers, flaring with the light of the chandelier above. His lips curled into that devil-may-care smile, hard enough to hurt and warm enough to disarmer.
Leon.
The air grew heavy in an instant. Their hearts lagged together, all the women paralysed where they were—either on cushions of silk or at the foot of the bed—as if the mere presence of him pulled weight into the room.
Leon’s eyes moved slowly over them, not rushed, not reckless—hushed, aware, the sort of regard that peeled a soul naked and yet continued to stroke it. His smile grew stronger when he did speak, voice low and teasing, with a volatile warmth.
"Hey, lovelies. What are you conspiring in here without me?"
With a soft click, he closed the door behind him, shutting the world away. The chamber was his now—his stage, his court, his battlefield.
For a heartbeat, no one moved. Then Aria rose first, purple hair cascading over her shoulders, her voice unsteady despite the calm she tried to summon.
"Leon... you’re here?"
He leaned in, smirk growing. "Yes, my love, I’m here. What’s going on with that look? Don’t tell me you didn’t expect me."
Rui chuckled softly, her hand over her mouth, and others looked on. Aria scowled, shaking her head. "What’s wrong? We thought you wouldn’t be here tonight."
Tsubaki, always precise, spoke next, her voice firm. "We all thought you were still with Mia... consoling her."
Leon’s smile relaxed, nearly tender. "She doesn’t require my consolation anymore."
The words shattered the quiet. Eyebrows raised, breaths caught. Nova leaned forward, green eyes narrowing. "What are you saying?"
Leon allowed the tension to build, the heaviness of his golden gaze rolling from one woman to the next before he replied, nonchalant yet biting. "As you are aware, our little Mia was overwhelmed with grief due to her mother’s state.
Yes," a chorus of whispers answered simultaneously. The room remained motionless.
Leon’s lips twisted into a smile. "Well... her mom’s okay now. Awake. Alive. Chatting with her daughter right now."
The words exploded like thunder. The room was consumed by silence. Snake-bite silence: sharp, immobilizing. All the women looked at him as if the ground had suddenly given way beneath them.
Her mother had been held captive by an illness hidden from the most skilled healers of the Five Kingdoms—a nameless, incurable disease that even the most powerful archmages were powerless to cure. They all knew it. They all had resigned themselves to it.
And Leon stood among them, his golden eyes shining, asserting with a devil’s facility that he had cured her.
It was Lira who discovered her voice, stammering. "L-Leon... tell me the truth. Did you really... cure Mia’s mother’s illness?"
Leon’s smile softened as he gazed at her. "Yes, my love. I did."
Shock wavered once more, this time harder.
Rias, fiery mane flying as she spun towards him, near enough to have bitten him in a rage, exclaimed, "H-how? Her sickness was unknown! Even the kingdom’s sages were unable to name it! Daddy, how could you cure what no one knew?"
Leon smiled gently, moving further into the firelight, his shadow dancing across the floor. "Sweetheart... who said I don’t know? Do you think your Leon is held to what other men can’t do?
His arrogance was maddening, infuriating, intoxicating all at once.
Lilyn, wide hazel eyes, whispered with a shaking voice, "Master... do you know healing? And alchemy as well?"
Leon turned to her, grin sharpening. "What do you think? Your master is a very multi-talented person." His tone lowered, playfully teasing. "For your information... my adorable maid."
The words branded her. Lilyn’s breath hitched, her cheeks burning at being publicly addressed. She sought to conceal the blush, but the glint in Leon’s eye informed her that he saw every quiver.
The others did not miss it either. Their eyes blackened—envy and passion blending into a caustic mix.
Tsubaki interjected, her tone burred like steel. "Then tell us, Leon. What really happened?"
Leon sighed as though burdened, then finally said, "Her illness was a blood curse. That’s why no one could name it, no one could treat it. Only... a different kind of medicine could break it."
Their eyes widened further.
Aria’s lips parted, then closed again. She remembered. In the past, Leon had once hinted to her about his strange gift, the way his body carried... power, strength, restoration. She had dismissed it then as exaggeration, but now—
Leon’s voice sank lower, deliberate. "I cured her the only way possible. With my body."
The words landed heavy.
For one eternal second, no one moved.
Then Syra ended the silence with an angry hiss of a curse. "Fuck, Leon... you really... you screwed Mia’s mother?"
Leon offered only a defeated apologetic smile, neither saying sorry nor making excuses.
Syra turned, her green eyes firing in Lira’s direction. "Sister Lira... seems you are no longer alone anymore. Mia belongs to your category now. Your mother, her mother... both by Leon.
The cruelty was biting, but the truth of it hurt more. Lira’s knuckles went white against her leg.
Leon let out a deep breath, running his hand back through his hair, golden eyes upon them all. "I did what I had to do. But let’s drop it about Mia and her mother. They’re both happy now, and that’s all that matters."
His smile changed then, slow and evil, a shadow moving into his eyes. "I didn’t come here tonight to talk about sorrow." His golden eyes flashed with uncontrolled hunger. "I came here because I want to spend the night with all of you."
The statement was a hammer. Each breath in the room froze again.
Shock dissolved into expectation. Want. Terror. Thrill. The women recognized that look, recognized the evil spark dancing in Leon’s eyes. This evening... he would not be kind.
His voice grew, became rougher, wonderfully wicked. "This evening I’ll claim all of you. And I won’t give over until you plea with me to."
A thrill ran through the room. Bodies stiffened, lips parted, thighs clenching together.
Not everyone was.
Lilyn and Chloe shared nervous looks—the two alone who had yet to cross that last threshold with Leon. Their cheeks flushed red as the implication of his words hit home.
Lilyn swallowed, her own voice barely above a whisper but shaking with determination. "Master... then Chloe and I... we’ll be off. We’ll allow the others to have their night."
Chloe nodded hastily, head down. "Yes... we shouldn’t—"
Snap.
Leon’s fingers darted, and the air itself solidified. Magic threads invisible to the eye imprisoned the chamber, blocking the door to escape. The women’s gasps came as an unseen presence rippled like heat around the walls.
Leon’s smile grew feral. "Where are you two off to? Did I not instruct you to stay?" His voice sank to a purr, one that was both deadly and intoxicating. "Tonight, everyone is staying. That includes my adorable little maids."
Before Lilyn could act, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her into his body. She gasped, chest hitting his warmth, and in the next instant his mouth came crashing down over hers.
Her eyes opened wide, muffled noises spilling onto his lips. She fought for an instant—then dissolved, resistance turning into flame. Her arms quivered, then slowly lifted, curling around his throat as the kiss sank deeper, consuming her breath, her sanity.
The chamber breathed in unison.
The other women shared glances—withering, venomous, burning. But none would move. They knew. Tonight was Leon’s, and they were already his captives.
The kiss shattered, Lilyn gasping, stunned, lips puffed. Leon’s golden gaze shone as he regarded her like prey already hers.
The others understood then, with a certainty that gnawed at their hearts.
Tonight... they were lost.
Not to despair—
But to passion.
The kind of night that would reduce them to shivering, branded, completely undone.
And not one of them, none of them, would fight.