Succubi Chapter 204. Sera’s Small Investigations

Succubi Chapter 204. Sera’s Small Investigations

Lilith and Sera’s PoV

Lilith could feel it immediately.

The shift.

That subtle moment when Evan’s body finally stopped holding tension. His muscles loosened completely, breathing evening out slowly while sleep dragged him under for real this time. Not fake resting. Not “I’m awake but pretending not to deal with emotions.”

Actually asleep.

It made him look unfairly soft.

The room stayed quiet except for the soft hum of night mana lamps and the occasional lazy twitch of Sera’s tentacles still wrapped around him like possessive blankets. Evan slept right between them, face half buried against Lilith’s chest while one arm still held onto her unconsciously.

Like he was afraid the warmth would disappear if he let go.

Lilith’s expression softened immediately.

Dangerously softened.

Carefully, she shifted slightly away from him, enough to properly look at his face without waking him.

And yeah.

Cute.

Way too cute.

His usual sharp expression was gone now. No smug confidence. No defensive sarcasm. No Pride demon posture trying to stand taller than everyone else in the room.

Just a tired boy finally asleep somewhere he felt safe.

Lilith brushed damp hair away from his forehead gently.

“Cute Pride demons are rare,” she murmured quietly.

Sera, still curled around Evan’s back, hummed sleepily.

“Well… I’m not confused by that.”

Lilith glanced at her.

“Hm?”

Sera blinked slowly.

“I made some small investigations.”

Lilith immediately smirked.

Because Sera’s “small investigations” were never small.

Ever.

The last time Sera casually said she “looked into something,” she ended up uncovering an illegal mana trafficking ring and two cheating professors.

So yeah.

Lilith already knew this was going somewhere dangerous.

“Tell me,” Lilith said softly.

Sera yawned first.

Then her sleepy eyes drifted toward Evan’s sleeping face.

“The Drakos family is middle class,” Sera murmured. “Normal income. Stable enough. Nothing special.”

One of her tentacles shifted slightly beneath the blankets, curling protectively around Evan’s waist.

“But the favoritism was obvious.”

Lilith’s expression dimmed a little. “Evan mentioned it once.”

Sera nodded slowly. “He made it sound like normal sibling competition.” Another pause. “But it wasn’t.”

The atmosphere changed subtly after that.

Still warm.

Still intimate.

But heavier now.

Sera rested her chin lightly against Evan’s shoulder while speaking quietly into the dark room.

“It was worse than that.”

Lilith stayed silent.

Listening carefully.

“His parents sabotaged him,” Sera continued softly. “Repeatedly.”

Lilith’s eyes narrowed immediately. “What?”

Sera looked tired just explaining it. “You know Ares, right?”

Lilith blinked once. “Ares from Valor House?”

“The one with the highest entrance exam points,” Sera confirmed.

Lilith nodded slowly. “Yes. I remember him.” A faint smile touched her lips. “Evan beat him on the first day before his demonic awakening.”

Sera hummed. “Exactly.”

Lilith frowned slightly now.

Because yeah.

That part always felt strange in hindsight.

Evan had terrifying instincts even before awakening fully.

Raw talent.

Adaptability.

Combat intuition.

The kind of brilliance that couldn’t really be taught.

And yet… His academy entrance scores were mediocre at best.

Sera’s sleepy fingers brushed lightly through Evan’s hair. “I checked his exam results,” she murmured.

Lilith immediately understood from her tone alone. “Bad?”

“He barely made it.”

Lilith blinked. “What?”

“He almost got rejected.”

Silence settled heavily across the room.

Lilith stared down at Evan unconsciously.

At the sleeping Pride demon currently cuddling against her chest like he’d never willingly admit he needed affection this badly.

Barely made it?

Impossible.

Even before awakening, his instincts were abnormal.

Lilith had seen gifted students before.

Evan wasn’t just gifted.

He was terrifyingly adaptive.

Sera sighed softly.

“That’s why he could beat Ares despite his rank was far below Ares. And that’s why he didn’t react strongly when the academy accidentally registered him as Eva instead of Evan.”

Lilith immediately remembered it.

The wrong paperwork.

The wrong gender on registration.

And Evan just… Accepted it.

Annoyed, but resigned.

Like he expected systems to fail him anyway.

Oh that suddenly made a lot more sense now.

Sera’s sleepy gaze darkened slightly. “His parents realized he was brighter than their daughter.”

Lilith stayed silent.

“He studied faster,” Sera continued. “Adapted faster. Better memory. Better mana sensitivity.”

A faint bitter amusement touched her sleepy voice.

“That’s normal for Pride demons. Even dormant ones.”

Because Pride always reached upward.

Always wanted more.

Recognition.

Greatness.

The spotlight.

It was instinctive.

“So they sabotaged him,” Lilith finished quietly.

Sera nodded once. “On the entrance exam day, they mixed subtle substances into his food.”

Lilith’s eyes sharpened immediately. “Poison?”

“Not deadly.” Sera shook her head slowly. “Just enough to make him tired. Distracted. Sleepy. Unable to focus properly.”

Lilith’s jaw tightened. “Mortals toxins shouldn’t affect demons that much.”

“They shouldn’t,” Sera agreed softly. “But Evan hadn’t awakened yet.”

The ugly little truth.

Before awakening, demon blood stayed dormant enough for mortal methods to work.

And apparently his family took advantage of that.

Lilith looked down at Evan again.

At the exhausted sleeping face pressed trustingly against her.

Something sharp moved quietly beneath her ribs.

Anger.

Cold anger.

Sera continued quietly.

“And even with that… he still almost surpassed everyone.”

Lilith laughed once.

Not amused.

Just disbelieving.

“You’re telling me he was drugged through most of his academic life and still got into this academy?”

“Mhm.”

“And fought Ares evenly before awakening. Now he’s evolving this quickly.”

Sera nodded again.

Lilith exhaled slowly.

No wonder Evan felt constantly exhausted emotionally.

The boy probably spent years thinking his struggles were normal.

Thinking underperforming was his own fault.

Thinking affection had to be earned.

Sera’s tentacles tightened slightly around Evan unconsciously. “I found other incidents too,” she murmured.

Lilith looked at her again. “Like what?”

Sera’s sleepy eyes narrowed faintly. “Whenever Evan had opportunities to stand out… something happened.”

“Accidents?”

“Mhm.”

“Convenient accidents?”

Sera nodded again.

Lilith’s expression darkened slowly.

Missed competitions.

Ruined projects.

Mana exhaustion.

Delayed schedules.

Lost paperwork.

Tiny things.

Small enough individually to seem believable.

But repeated over years?

No.

That wasn’t coincidence anymore.

That was systematic.

And the worst part?

Evan probably still didn’t fully realize it himself.

Because neglected children rarely recognized neglect immediately.

To them?

It was just life.