Chapter 4
...mas…
...master…
...wake...
"Hm~?" Asmodeus stretched from the sofa.
"Young master, wake up. It's dinner time."
"But I just ate lunch." Asmodeus groaned.
"No you had lunch hours ago. You've been sleeping for a while now.
Also, let's get you medicine while we are at it." William pointed to three blood marks visible on Asmodeus’ cheek.
“Huh? Why? Oh right, damned Lucy gave me a tattoo.” Asmodeus touched his cheek where Lucy had scratched him.
William dabbed the scratch with medicine while Asmodeus complained that the ointment stung.
“Can't we skip it? It hurts more than the scratch.”
“No, we can't. Now please come along young master. You can't go to bed on an empty stomach.”
"No! I don't want porridge again, William."
William chuckled at his young master's protest. "Don't worry, it's not porridge this time."
“Great.”
Asmodeus followed William out of the drawing room.
“William, do I really have to go to the dermo tomorrow? Can you convince mom to not take me there?”
“You absolutely do. And I'm with Madam on this one.”
“William, you traitor.”
“Very well. Now please stop slouching, young master.”
“Okay~”
Asmodeus still did not change his posture.
William gave up with a head shake of his head.
—
Asmodeus kept taking second glances at everything as if he were in a different world.
'Was my house always this blue-tinted? And why is this ring red?’
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‘The painting, the pictures, and the plants. Especially the plants. They are all way different from yesterday.’
‘AH... I hate my head.' He continued to hit his own head to relieve himself of the headache.
"Are you alright, young master? You've been hitting your head for a while."
"Yeah, no... my head keeps ringing like it does during exams."
"Perhaps it's because of a lack of sleep?"
"But I've been sleeping since morning." Asmodeus groaned.
"A day's sleep isn't equal to a month's sleep. Please rest more often. And we are here."
"Hm..."
"Asmo? Are you alright? You look weaker than before." Cassandra was already at the table, waiting for her son.
"I don't know. My head keeps ringing."
"I see. William, will Dr. Henry be available now?”
“Unfortunately not, Madam.”
“Then we'd have to go to—”
"It's ok Mama. It's not that bad."
"Asmo, are you sure you don't want any treatment right now?"
"Yeah, Mom, I'm sure."
"Alright then, tell me if it feels worse or you feel like going now would be better."
"Hm… and no need to go tomorrow either. I'm fine."
“Don't stay quiet if you need anything. Tell me, or tell William if I'm not at home.”
"Got it…Though, Mama, do you see something around the ring?"
"Something around it? No I don't. Why? Do you?"
"Oh, um... I thought it could be some ancient ring that suddenly glows and gives you powers."
"What are you talking about? Stop reading so much fantasy. It's affecting your head."
Asmodeus just groaned in response.
Asmodeus was about to eat when Lucy decided that she wasn't fed enough and…
“DAMNED CAT, THAT'S MY FOOD.”
“MREWW”
“You are not shoving your face in it.”
“Meerr mer”
“No!”
“mroew”
“You scratch me when I kiss you and now you want my food?”
‘Mraw mew”
“YOU'RE NOT GETTING IT!”
“MAAAAW!”
Cassandra was enjoying herself, amused at Asmodeus and Lucy’s daily routine.
“Absolutely not!”
*HISS
“I can hiss too HISS”
*HISS
“Asmo, stop doing that.”
“Lucy did it first! Scold her too!”
“Mew maw maw.”
Asmodeus achieved the victory and the dinner was finally over.
—
The clock displayed 1:03 a.m.
Asmodeus had broken his word and stayed awake late into the night again.
He sat on his bed staring at the ring in a curious confusion.
The ring was emitting a faint red glow.
'It's so weird. I'm seeing this red glow around the ring. It wasn't there before. What is going on?'
‘Did it really activate or something?’
He waited for a while, but the ring didn't answer him.
“Hey can you hear me?”
The ring stayed quiet, almost as if ignoring him.
He removed it and held it up at eye level.
The moment he took it off, it felt wrong.
An unusual emptiness settled over him. Something was urging him to put it back on.
“It just keeps glowing.”
He rubbed the ring. Then waited patiently.
He patience lasted 5 minutes.
“Okay, no genie in the ring.”
The discomfort grew stronger.
“Why does it feel uncomfortable removing it?”
He had a weird sensation. Not exactly hunger, but something close to it.
“Am I hungry? I just had dinner, though. Wait, maybe it's still there…”
He rummaged through his drawer and finally found his hidden stash.
“Finally, a bag of chips Lucy hasn't found yet.”
He slipped the ring onto his finger and stepped out onto the balcony, devouring the bag of potato chips.
He was still staring at the ring when a breeze brushed against his bare skin, giving him a slight chill.
He braced himself for warmth.
‘Should've worn a shirt…’
He didn't follow through his decision.
*Crunch crunch
“The night looks clearer than usual.”
His eyes were drawn to his garden. It felt unusual.
“Hm? Why do the colours keep getting weirder.”
“Were there always glowing blobs in our garden? Or are they plants?”
He blinked, but the glow remained.
*Crunch crunch
“I need glasses.”
Asmodeus licked his fingers clean and picked up his glasses.
He came out wearing the glasses but the glow…
“What the—? Why can't I see them now?”
The garden looked same as it has always had. No glows, no blobs.
“Strange. I can see them without glasses but with glasses…”
Asmodeus continued putting his glasses on and taking them off repeatedly.
His glasses, for some reason, seemed to remove the glow, making the plants look normal.
“Okay, they are definitely plants but why are they glowing? Am I going insane, or is the garden going insane?”
“It's probably the garden going insane. Maybe William bought some new type of plants.”
“I'll have to ask William tomorrow.”
“What's weirder is that I can even see them at night. It's supposed to be pitch dark.”
“Wait… what if I removed the ring?”
Asmodeus had decided he would get to the root of it, tonight.
“Alright, removing the ring doesn't make the glow go away, but wearing the glasses does.”
“What if I'm not even close to the ring?”
The threw the ring back into his room.
“Alright the result is still the same. Just my headache increases and I feel dizzy. That's worth noting.”
Asmodeus stared at the garden a bit more until he couldn't bear the cold breeze anymore.
“That's it. I give up.”
The decision was overwritten.
“Should I tell mom about it? Nah, I'll only be bonked.”