Julies Evans POV:

The character of Emma Voss was always a complicated one in the game.

A vengeful soul wrapped in silk and gold.

"Mother, I will definitely avenge you…!"

Yes, that was the true Emma. The kind of woman who would chase every criminal across the empire just to satisfy the burning promise in her heart.

And to be fair—she was good at it.

That was precisely the problem.

Someone like her, obsessed with justice and revenge, was dangerous to a man like me. Right now, I'd managed to humiliate her, but humiliation only sharpened her fangs. She'd remember this. She'd come for me, again and again, until the score was settled.

Eventually, she might even reach for the Evans family if it meant getting to me.

So.

"…I need to shake off this annoyance."

I muttered under my breath, twisting my lips into a crooked grin as I watched the faint glimmer of gold and green approaching across the snowy wilderness. Brilliant light spilling over white frost—her carriage.

"Hey, Parasite. I brought her."

Velra's dry, velvet voice cut through the chill.

"Thank you for your efforts, Velra."

The vampire noble's crimson eyes narrowed, irritation simmering beneath her composed mask. "Hmph. To think a vampire of my standing is being used like this. You'll pay for this one day."

"Of course," I replied smoothly, bowing my head just enough to be polite. "I'll make sure the payment is… memorable."

The carriage door opened. And there she was.

Emma Voss stepped out, her usual flawless poise cracking the instant she recognized me. Her face drained of color.

"…You—!"

Her voice trembled, a flash of disbelief before fury hardened her expression.

"Just half a day, Lady Voss," I said with a perfectly polite bow, my servant's attire immaculate and crisp despite the biting wind.

"You're insane! Do you even realize what you're doing?!"

"If I were to put it in terms of your beloved imperial law…" I let the words drip like poison, "…this would count as the kidnapping of a high noble. And, of course, treason for colluding with demons."

A soft laugh escaped me, unbidden and intoxicating.

It was the same thrill I felt with Velra. The same rush with Amelia. But this… this was different. Seeing Emma's sharp eyes wide with shock and fury—it was delicious.

I really do have a terrible personality.

The conditions for my joy were always simple: stepping out of my dull servant's mask, revealing the truth hidden underneath, and watching someone's carefully built world start to crack.

"But that's all according to human standards, isn't it?" I tilted my head, savoring the way her jaw tightened.

"…What?"

"Aren't you curious, Emma? How a mere thief could command a high-ranking, magic-wielding demon at will?"

I watched the spark of recognition flicker in her eyes. Clever woman. Give her a few crumbs of evidence and she could weave the rest together.

"That the so-called Faceless Imposter… is me."

Her breath caught. "…Impossible…"

Even if the conclusion was built on half-truths and misdirection, the weight of it was enough.

Right on cue, a sharp tap-tap-tap broke the tension.

Verren came bounding across the snow, tail wagging furiously, a gleaming golden mask clutched proudly in his jaws.

Emma's eyes snapped to the mask, then back to me.

"…You used that lion pup to steal it."

I plucked the mask from Verren's mouth with a theatrical flourish, slipping it into place as I bowed low.

"Allow me to reintroduce myself," I said, voice rich with amusement. "My name is Faceless Imposter. A demon."

Her fists clenched at her sides, nails biting into her palms.

"Specifically," I added with a lazy smile, "a parasite demon. I take control of others' bodies to survive. Disguising myself as whoever I please… as you've already witnessed."

Emma's eyes burned like twin blades. "…Save your pointless words."

Ah, that look—fury barely contained, sharp enough to cut glass.

It was the most satisfying thing I'd seen all day.

Emma didn't flinch. Not really. Her breath hitched, yes, but when she finally moved it was with the deliberate grace of a predator measuring the strike. The wind whipped her hair against her cheek, but she didn't bother to push it back.

"You think this is impressive?" she said, voice low, steady. "A mask, a few parlor tricks, a borrowed body. You're still just a coward hiding behind this body."

I chuckled, letting the sound curl around us like smoke. "Coward? Perhaps. But a coward who walks freely through every locked door while the mighty Voss family chases their tails? Tell me, Lady Emma—how many years did you waste hunting the Phantom Thief? You didn't catch him not even once and after that your attention shifted towards me. You thought you could catcyme so easyly and yet here I am, standing right in front of you."

Her eyes sharpened, two cold emeralds. She didn't say anything because she knew I was right but she also didn't back away in fear.

Velra snorted softly behind me, amused by the sudden spark in Emma's voice. I raised a brow at her, then back to Emma.

"Confident. I like that. But confidence is dangerous when you're standing in the snow with no soldiers, no weapons, and a demon between you and the nearest town."

Emma's jaw tightened, but her stance never wavered. "If you meant to kill me, you wouldn't be talking. So tell me—why bring me here? To gloat? To scare me? Or…" Her eyes flicked to Velra, then back to me. "…to make a deal?"

A grin tugged at my mouth despite myself. Clever woman. Always looking for the opening.

...And at that moment, a system notification appeared before my eyes.

[Achievement unlocked: Perfectly deceived both the lady and the demon.]

[Faceless Imposter's infamy rises.]

With the status window's validation glowing faintly before my eyes, the truth settled over me like a well-tailored cloak.

I wasn't just wearing the mask of the Faceless Imposter anymore—I was him.

The silence between us stretched, brittle and sharp.

Emma's amber eyes flickered in the candlelight, her delicate posture betraying the storm beneath.

"Why grow so quiet all of a sudden?" she said at last, her voice soft but edged like glass.

"If you aren't going to kill me for knowing your identity… are you planning to imprison me here?"

There was a faint tremor beneath the words—hope.

Hope that I might choose the simplest, most human outcome.

Amusing, even.

Her cunning tongue danced dangerously close to life and death.

I let a slow smile curl across my face.

"It wouldn't be wise," I said, my tone almost gentle.

"Even if this is the North, the disappearance of a Western duchess would be like stirring a hornet's nest."

And I knew it.

If Emma Voss went missing, the empire's soldiers would tear through these mountains like a winter storm.

But if the "kidnapped" duchess were to return—unharmed, unmarked—then what would the world call it?

Not kidnapping.

A visit, perhaps.

A meeting no one could quite explain.

"That would be too crude a method for me," I added, eyes glinting.

"Far too vulgar for a connoisseur of… subtler pleasures. I'll release you soon."

Her lips tightened, suspicion deepening.

"…Then what exactly do you want?"

I clasped my cheeks and beamed as though revealing a delightful secret.

"I simply wish to be good friends with Miss Emma."

Her brows shot upward. "Friends…?"

"Yes. After all there is no reason for us to become enemies in the first place, right?"

At that, Emma's composure cracked—her nose wrinkled, her gaze sharpening into pure disdain.

"Enough with the nonsense. Do you think I would become friends with a criminal—much less a demon, an enemy of the Solhaven Empire?"

The disgust in her voice was as sharp as a blade.

Predictable. Expected.

No sane noble would extend kindness to someone who is demon and an enemy of empire.

But I wasn't counting on kindness.

Considering her past…

Her mother, cut down by thieves in a night of blood and smoke.

Her childhood stolen by intrigue and whispered betrayals.

For someone like Emma Voss, hatred wasn't a passing storm—it was bone-deep frost.

"Of course," I said lightly. "I understand. But…"

I leaned closer, lowering my voice to a velvet murmur.

"To achieve great revenge, sometimes small revenges must be sacrificed.Remember that, Lady Voss."

The words—iron and silk—hung between us.

"I have information that could help your true revenge."

Her breath hitched. "…What?"

"You seek vengeance, don't you? Not against a petty demon thief like me."

I tilted my head, watching her pupils tremble.

"But against the ones who truly wronged you."

The bandits of the wilderness had swung the blades, yes.

But those who ordered the deed… those who paid for her mother's death…

"Your half-brother," I whispered, each word deliberate.

"And your stepmother."

Emma froze, the air between us shivering.

The name of her buried enemies cracked her perfect mask.

Her eyes widened, pupils quaking like leaves in a storm.

"How… how could you possibly know that?"

I let my smile sharpen into something almost affectionate.

"Have you forgotten? I come from the West. I make it my business to know things—including the fact that you are losing the succession battle."

Her silence was answer enough.

Every muscle in her elegant frame went rigid, the faintest tremor running through her clenched fists.

"Really now…Am I more important than your mother,

than the head of the Voss family,

Miss Emma?"

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Author Note:

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