CHAPTER 158: CHEAT DAY

Since his request to Lucifer, which earned him his third Peccatum tattoo, Averie hadn’t been dragged into Lilith’s Womb.

Finally, he could sleep in peace.

But this seal wasn’t without its weaknesses.

Every new moon, it could not hold back the residents of Lilith’s Womb from summoning their creator.

But still, it was better than what Averie had to endure all this time.

"Your health has really declined," Ellie said.

They were sitting in the private room of a prestigious restaurant.

"You look skinny. Is it for a role?"

She was served rather fatty and savory dishes, which she reasoned with "today’s a cheat day."

"It’s a little celebration," she continued. "Shouldn’t you be partaking too? Don’t worry; I have the money."

Unlike her, Averie was served a dull meal.

"Believe me, dear." He placed a piece of broccoli in his mouth and shivered. "I would have cleaned the entire kitchen if I could. But I am on a strict diet."

"A single cheat day won’t hurt your health." She cut into her steak. "It’s not only me; people have started noticing, too."

She showed him her phone. It had a picture of the pair attached to an article.

"Is that from the premiere? It’s only been a few hours."

"Look at the comments."

- What happened to him?

- He looks sick.

- What did he do this time?

- I say this very calmly, but he makes me a little mad. Like, why can’t he be scandal-free for once?

- He isn’t even doing anything this time. Why do you people always find fault with him?

- He gives us a reason to.

"One of these days," Averie mused, "I am going to find and beat these bastards."

- He looks pale and thin.

- I like him more like this.

- I always find comments like these weird. He is a human being, not a doll.

- They look so nice together.

- Tears in my eyes. Reminds me of Sarah and Asmodeus.

Averie returned her phone. "What’s new? They like to gossip. It doesn’t bother me."

"Some think you are sick. Shouldn’t you address this? Make a post, casually mentioning how you are losing weight for a role."

"Don’t want to."

"You may want to if you read this."

She showed him another article.

’[The Stars] Does Averie Quinn Auclair have cancer?’

Averie, who was sipping on lemonade, coughed up the drink.

"What is wrong with them?"

"That’s entertainment journalists for you. They don’t get enough scandals to publish, so they create most of them."

At that moment, Averie’s phone rang. He had gotten a text.

It was from Hyerin, who was enjoying a meal with Min-Ha.

- The trailer’s out.

Attached to it was a link.

Averie causally tapped on it.

As the sound leaked out from the phone, Ellie—who was trying to downplay her curiosity—recognized a single familiar word.

’Queen?’ she thought. ’Did I hear that right?’

"What is that?" she asked.

"The trailer for my show."

"Oh, really? Is this what you were filming in the UK?"

The man nodded. "Yes."

"What is it?"

"A mockumentary."

"Really?" She looked surprised. "That’s rare. I thought it would be an action or crime show."

Averie gave her a disappointed stare. "Do I look that much of a violent man to you?"

She laughed nervously. "Do you know how surprised I was when I saw you in the news beating that man?"

He licked the salad dressing off his lips. "That wasn’t me."

"You have undressed me, licked my neck, wiggled your tongue in my mouth, and bitten my lips; I like to think I would recognize you through a crowd of redheads."

The waiter, who had only then opened the door to ask if they were satisfied with the food, closed it without a word.

’I didn’t hear anything,’ he thought to himself. ’It was a perfectly normal conversation, I am sure.’

Averie found it funny.

"Wow, you have changed." He pointed his fork at her. "I didn’t think you would ever say anything like that out loud."

"I think" — She swirled her wine — "I received a lot of confidence because of BSPH."

Her gaze was lost in the red liquid.

"So, thank you."

Feeling a bit embarrassed, she changed the topic.

"So, what is the show called?"

"Long Live the Quinn."

"Queen? Is it historical?"

"What’s historical about me?"

"What?"

"What?"

The actress’s eyes lit up. "Oh, as in The Quinn? Your nickname is in the show’s name? That’s amazing. Please, send me the link. It’s been a while since I saw you act."

Averie did exactly that, but with great arrogance.

"Did you not see me on The Color Spectrum and Heresy of the Fallen World?"

"Those were smaller roles. Although I liked both of them, in the game, your face is shown for only a small amount of time."

"Yeah, but I got to do cool action sequences. Do you know how good it feels to beat someone while both of you are wearing stupid clothing?"

"Did it? It didn’t feel nice to see you die again."

Her frown deepened.

"Do you like roles that don’t last until the end? First, you ended up dying in BSPH. Then you disappeared from The Color Spectrum. And even in the game, you are killed unless you give up on the quest."

Averie laughed. "That’s really unfortunate. But I can assure you, I do not die in this one."

The woman sent the link to some of her friends, who happened to be Averie’s fans.

’They tormented me so much about kissing him on camera. I knew him before you did, stupids.’

Ellie leaned back in her chair as the video played on the screen of her new phone.

***

Sophie Moon was having trouble sleeping. No matter how hard she tried, she could not get the image of her diary from her head.

The words from its pages kept her awake.

’It’s odd,’ she kept thinking.

Finally, after an hour of squirming in bed, she got up.

The diary was lying on her desk, just as daunting as when she opened it that evening.

She opened it and flipped through the pages.

There it was, the outline of the second episode, which she had written only the night after the first one. That, too, she found unsual.

Episode 2 starts with a flashback from three years ago, when their father died.

The seven brothers are gathered around their dying father, all dressed in black suits. The room is filled with silence as the doctor leaves the room.

Their father speaks. He tells them about who is going to run what from now on. Even on his deathbed, he talks only about business.

"This was slightly changed."

He makes Lucifer the head of the family, which shocks Satan who is the eldest. He screams at his father for explanation while he lays dying.

Two of his brothers hold him back, while Lucifer doesn’t even bat an eye. As they leave the room, their expressions are shown.

The flashback fades.

Beelzebub and Belphegor are discussing their father. This is where the family dynamic is revealed to the audience.

Their father’s parentage and upbringing are brought up. Their father was never married, and they are the product of two mistresses and a fling.

They have only a father in common. It is revealed that Lucifer, Beelzebub and Belphegor have the same mother. While Satan, Mammon, and Leviathan have a different mother. Asmodeus on the other hand is the only child of his mother.

Sarah returns home to find her house silent. Her husband isn’t there.

Meanwhile, Asmodeus is having fun with some girl from one of his brothels, who rats out her mistress to him.

The writer frowned. "Some girl and no name of the mistress..."

Leviathan is spying on them with his binoculars from the hill behind the mansion, his face distorted with envy.

A scene between Lucifer and Mammon is shown.

Lucifer is asking him why, even though the business is booming, is he receiving the exact same amount in taxes. He insinuates that Mammon isn’t paying the taxes he owes Lucifer.

Mammon denies the allegations, but Lucifer completely ignores him. He orders him to send what he owes by the end of the week, which leaves Mammon in a foul mood.

"Nothing more than foul mood? I made it better in the script."

He meets up with Satan and complains about Lucifer over drinks. He calls him names, appealing to Satan’s hate for Lucifer.

A drunk Satan shows resolve on his face, much to Mammon’s pleasure. Leviathan is watching from across the street; he has abducted the prostitute that slept with Asmodeus.

Meanwhile, Asmodeus makes the mistresses of his brothels whip the stealing mistress.

The thought that had been running through the writer’s head became even more solid.

"How could I possibly think up two episode within two nights?"

Something was definitely off.

Shivers ran down her back. She felt as if she was being watched.

Turning around, she found a shadow in her window.

A raven was intently watching.