Even the Devil Regrets it - Chapter 61

Four days after Braeden returned to the Grand Duchy, the knight order came back as well.
A celebratory banquet was held in the main dining hall to honor those who had resolved the rift and completed the monster hunt.

Food and drinks were served non-stop on the large table. The knights drank strong honey liquor and beer poured to the brim in large mugs as if it were water.
They ate so quickly that the servants could barely keep up with refilling the empty mugs, but the knights were still faster.

From one side of the hall, voices shouted for more meat, while on the other, they called for more drinks. The entire hall buzzed with noise and laughter.

At that moment, Braeden appeared, escorting Juliana.
The noisy room fell silent as the knights caught sight of the two entering together.

Braeden walked to the head table. As he felt the knights sneaking glances at Juliana, he sighed quietly. He didn’t understand why they always looked at her with such amazement and awe.

“I commend your efforts. For the next three days, rest well, eat, and enjoy yourselves. That is all.”

Braeden spoke in his usual blunt tone and gave a wave of his hand.
Sensing his irritation, the knights weren’t sure how to respond. They clapped and cheered awkwardly, as if reading lines from a book.

The only person who probably clapped sincerely in that moment was Juliana.

After watching Braeden’s lack of reaction, the knights slowly began chatting again. As more alcohol flowed, the lively atmosphere returned to the hall.

Juliana had never attended a celebration like this after a monster hunt, so she looked around with wide eyes.
The relaxed, open way everyone ate and spoke was unfamiliar, but it felt free and left a strong impression on her.

“Once a monster hunt ends, we use the byproducts to craft magical tools,” Braeden said, pointing to the items displayed along the long table like trophies.

“Aren’t the monster byproducts supposed to be offered to the Imperial Court?” Juliana asked, looking surprised. It was different from what she had learned.

She had believed that the North was required to send ninety percent of all monster byproducts to the Imperial Court.
If that was true, she found it strange that they still had enough to make magical tools.

“That’s right. We offer ninety percent to the Court,” Braeden nodded, noticing her growing confusion.

“But there’s one thing most people don’t know. Some byproducts from monsters are extremely rare and can only be collected in tiny amounts.”

Seeing Juliana’s full attention on him, Braeden smiled and leaned in closer to speak softly by her ear.

“The North keeps only that ten percent. The other ninety percent is handed over to the Imperial Court. Very loyally, of course.”

Braeden’s expression, as he shared this secret, looked like that of a proud trickster who took great satisfaction in what he did.

When he saw Juliana’s eyes widen in surprise, he gave a quiet laugh.
A few knights who happened to catch his rare smile directly ended up spitting out their drinks in shock.

“I told you to drink more slowly.”

“You can get drunk off beer too, you know.”

The quick-thinking servants hurried over and pulled the coughing knights away toward the far end of the table.

Now, the only ones still facing Braeden were either unusually brave, calm in all situations, or already so drunk they couldn’t care less.

Braeden frowned slightly at the group before focusing his attention back on Juliana.

“If there’s a magical tool you want, I’ll give it to you. Pick one.”

Juliana’s eyes lit up. There were a few magical tools she needed, so she answered with excitement.

“In that case, is there one that can change a person’s appearance?”

“A tool that changes appearance?” Braeden asked, puzzled.

In his experience, people who used such tools often did so because they were unhappy with how they looked.
But in his eyes, there was not a single thing about Juliana’s appearance that needed changing.

“There is one, but I don’t see why you would need it.”

Braeden tilted his head slightly as he searched for the appearance-altering magical tool.

“I just heard about it and got curious,” Juliana replied with an awkward smile.

His words had sounded like a compliment about her looks, and she didn’t want to misunderstand. She tried to keep her expression neutral, but that only made her look more uncomfortable.

“I see. It’s the kind of thing people do get curious about.”

Appearance-changing magical tools were incredibly expensive. Even with money, they weren’t easy to obtain, which led to all sorts of rumors spreading about them.

One rumor claimed that if someone used the tool to change their appearance and then destroyed it after a certain time, the new look would remain permanently. Of course, this wasn’t true.
Still, people with wealth and interest in beauty had tried it, only to destroy valuable magical tools for nothing, which only drove down their availability even more.

“People expect a complete transformation from these, but the results aren’t as dramatic as they think,” Braeden said as he clicked his tongue and explained the basic principles.

He carefully walked her through how the magical tool worked. It could change hair color and length, skin tone, eye color, and even gender, but height was hard to modify, and detailed adjustments were limited.

The altered appearance would only last for up to two hours, and the tool could not be used again until a full twenty-four hours had passed.

“Oh, so this is how you change the settings,” Juliana said with fascination as she experimented with the tool.

She selected long pink hair, violet eyes, and female gender. Then she tilted her head in curiosity.

“How do you activate it?”

“Let me take a look.”

Braeden, who rarely had any reason to use magical tools, looked it over and absentmindedly pressed the activation button.

A soft light came from the device and scanned his body from head to toe.
The transformation was immediate. His appearance changed to match the settings.

“Wha…!”

“Oh no…!”

A few knights who made eye contact with him jumped up, nearly choking on their food, and ran outside in a panic.

It was understandable. Braeden now had long pink hair and violet eyes and looked like a woman.

“Braeden, your appearance…”

Juliana couldn’t even finish her sentence. She gasped.

Only his hair and eye color had changed, but his height and facial features remained the same.
Braeden, now with an unmistakably female appearance, still gave off an overwhelming presence.

Irritated, he pushed the long hair behind his shoulders and muttered,

“See? I told you, it’s not that dramatic.”

Juliana now fully understood what he meant. Even though his appearance had changed, Braeden’s intense energy and charisma hadn’t faded one bit.

Of course, that might have been because his natural presence was just that strong.

Thanks to the knights who had fled, more people ended up seeing Braeden in his altered state.

The reactions were wildly mixed. Some people got up and ran out just like the first group.
Others, too drunk to trust their own eyes, muttered to themselves in denial. A few froze like statues, blinking slowly in disbelief.

Earlier, Braeden had made sure that only those who could keep calm or had strong nerves stayed where they could see his face.
But now, the only ones left were two knights too drunk to stand properly and Rocklan, who wore a deeply displeased expression.

“They don’t even flinch at monsters. Why all this fuss now?”

Braeden clicked his tongue and pressed the button again. His appearance returned to normal.

“If you press the button again, it returns you to your original form. If you don’t, the transformation lasts for up to two hours.”

He handed the magical tool to Juliana. She gave him an awkward smile and thanked him, secretly regretting that she didn’t touch his pink hair while she had the chance.

“Thank you.”

Just then, Albert entered the dining hall, holding a stack of documents in his hands.

He had no idea about Braeden’s shocking transformation and looked around at the chaotic hall, confused.

“Huh? What’s going on here?”

There was no chance Braeden would bother to explain.

“What is it?”

He got straight to the point, and Albert, not caring about the mood of the room, replied right away.

“I came to report the results of the investigation you ordered.”

“The one about the three noble families in the North,” Juliana said as her eyes lit up and she accepted the documents from him.

“Yes, exactly. They’re in order from front to back: the Gilliam family, the Blanchard family, and the Aynard earldom.”

Juliana flipped through the papers, thinking the investigation had finished faster than expected.

Just as she had requested, the reports on all three houses were clearly organized. But the more pages she read, the stranger her expression became.

“This is… extremely detailed.”

“Of course. It was the first task I received from Her Highness. I couldn’t afford to be careless,” Albert said with pride as he smiled brightly.

Juliana looked at his smiling face and found herself unable to say anything critical in return.

Maybe including this semester’s grades of the earl’s children, the countess’s art collection, and even the count’s ideal type could be overlooked as harmless overreach.

But why did it list the number and locations of the estate’s dog holes?
Why did it mention which taverns the servants frequent and even include the names of their favorite drinking songs?

Support Even the Devil Regrets it