Asmodeus System: Stealing My Bully's Mother

​The wooden porch beneath the shade of the giant oak tree was incredibly quiet. Its bare branches swayed gently, shedding the remaining snow blown by the wind.

Ethan Valen stood right in front of the faded wooden door. His hand had just knocked three times. Extremely polite. Highly measured.

”Excuse me. Is the resident of this house present?” his greeting hung in the freezing air.

A few steps behind him, Valera Voss stood guard. The knight’s hand rested lightly on the hilt of her Zweihander. Her golden eyes swept the area with predatory instincts.

Only the howling wind replied.

Then, the sound of footsteps echoed from inside. Very light, slow, and hesitant. As if the owner was having a fierce debate with themselves behind the door.

Click.

The door opened a few inches wide. A pair of light purple eyes peeked out warily. A few strands of long blonde hair slipped through the gap.

”H-how can I help you...?” Her voice was as thin as a whisper of wind.

Ethan immediately carved out a perfectly designed, friendly smile. His neat appearance made him look like a lost young noble.

”Sorry for the intrusion,” Ethan greeted softly. ”My name is Ethan. A traveler from the south. Some villagers suggested I see the healer here.”

Those purple eyes shifted, glancing behind Ethan.

At that exact second, her gaze collided with Valera—complete with a giant sword and intimidating executioner’s muscles.

Those purple eyes widened in horror.

Slam! The door was nearly shut tight again. ”T-that person... who is she...?” she squeaked from inside, panicking.

Ethan didn’t alter his smile. He cast a brief glance at Valera, giving a soundless signal.

Valera understood immediately. Without scoffing, the knight took several long steps back away from the porch, then leaned against the trunk of the oak tree. A very safe distance.

”My friend has stepped back. She won’t bother you,” Ethan coaxed calmly.

It took ten seconds before the door opened again. Wider this time.

Ethan stared at the figure before him, and the rumors were indeed true. The girl was incredibly petite, barely one and a half meters tall. However, a pair of slightly pointed ears peeked out from behind her long blonde hair.

An Elf. A long-lived creature who might already be hundreds of years old.

Her skin was as pale as snow. She wore a simple white robe with faintly multicolored stains on the sleeves—traces of brewing medicinal herbs. The girl stood with a slight slouch. Her hands wrung together nervously over her chest, her eyes constantly darting around to avoid eye contact.

”I-I’m... Miya,” she whispered. ”Miya Evarett... The healer of this village...”

”It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miya. May I come in? I have an important matter I wish to discuss.”

Miya hesitated. She glanced at Valera who remained still in the distance, then gave a single, stiff nod. The door opened wider.

”P-please come in... but, my house is small... and messy. I’m sorry...”

”That’s perfectly fine.”

Ethan stepped inside. However, the exact moment his dress shoes stepped onto the wooden floor, a crisp chime echoed in his head.

Ding!

A crimson holographic screen hovered before his eyes. An absolute notification from the Asmodeus System.

[Potential Target Detected]

Name: Miya Evarett

Status: Hidden Sage / Priestess

Rank: S

Affinity: Light

[Initial Analysis: Exceptionally high mana capacity. Extreme social isolation. Possesses absolute resistance to magical mental pressure.]

Ethan’s brown eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second.

Rank S. That title was on par with Sage Cornelius, and this terrifying figure was wringing her hands nervously just because she was scared of a knight outside?

Ethan immediately dismissed the holographic screen. His expression returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

His eyes swept the room. This wasn’t ’messy’ out of laziness, but rather the laboratory of a mad academic.

Wooden shelves towered from floor to ceiling, crammed with ancient books written in runes. Various medicinal herbs hung near the windows, wafting a bitter aroma. In the corner sat a workbench with an obsidian mortar, glass tubes filled with multicolored liquids, and stacks of healing magic diagram notes.

This girl was hiding who she truly was.

”P-please take a seat...” Miya pointed stiffly to a chair near the fireplace. ”I-I’ll make some tea.”

Ethan sat calmly, while a barrage of awkward noises echoed from the kitchen. Pots scraping, porcelain cups clattering loudly, and panicked muttering, ”Oh dear... slowly Miya... don’t spill it...”

Not long after, Miya returned carrying a tray with two cups of herbal tea. Her hands trembled violently. The tea rippled, nearly spilling over.

Seeing her panic, Ethan reached out. His fingers steadied the edge of the tray, nearly brushing against Miya’s pale fingers.

”Careful,” Ethan said, steadying it.

”Eh! I-I’m sorry...”

Miya yanked her hands back as fast as lightning, as if she had just touched a burning ember. Her cheeks flushed a deep red. She immediately sat across from Ethan, bowing her head deeply like a student awaiting punishment.

Ethan sipped his tea slowly. The wheels of strategy turned ruthlessly in his head.

An S-Rank target. High mental resistance. It would take time to breach her subconscious defenses.

While staring at the bowed Miya, Ethan slowly released his Sin Mana pheromones.

Extremely subtle. Incredibly thin. An invisible aroma of the Devil’s aura designed to lull the nerves and loosen vigilance.

”The villagers say you’re a reliable healer,” Ethan baited, flashing a casual smile. ”Old Bart, who had chronic back pain, was cured in three days because of you.”

Miya gave a small shake of her head. ”T-they are exaggerating... I just... used a recipe from a book...”

”You’re being modest. I can see your collection.” Ethan continued to offer subtle praises while channeling his pheromones.

He asked about medicinal herbs, ancient books, and her life. Miya answered every question with short, stuttering sentences. Every time their eyes accidentally met, Miya immediately averted her gaze to the floor.

Five minutes. Ten minutes.

Ethan noted the girl’s biological reactions. Miya’s breathing was stable. The flush on her cheeks was purely due to social panic, not arousal. Her hands remained awkwardly trembling. There were no dilated pupils. No restlessness behind her thighs.

His pheromones... failed. They weren’t working at all.

The absolute charm of his Sin Mana was being completely neutralized.

However, Ethan was a master manipulator. He buried that frustration tightly behind a sip from his porcelain teacup.

The approach had to be changed.

”Actually, Miya...” Ethan lowered his cup, his tone changing drastically. Heavier. More personal. ”...I didn’t come here just to get acquainted.”

Miya’s Elf ears twitched softly. ”I-is there something I can help you with...?”

Ethan erased his fake smile. Magical manipulation was swapped out for mathematically calculated honesty.

”There is someone who is very important to me. She suffers from a condition that cannot be cured by ordinary magic. Her mana circuit has been paralyzed since birth. Blind. Her body is incredibly fragile.”

Miya fell silent.

Slowly, the girl’s social anxiety faded. Something ignited sharply behind her purple eyes. Absolute focus. The instinct of a medical researcher who had just been presented with a lethal puzzle.

”The s-specific symptoms...?” Her tone was no longer stuttering.

Ethan laid out everything clinically. About the sealed mana circuit, the white film over her eyes, down to the foreign energy that rejected the presence of dark magic or Sin Mana near it.

Hearing that, Miya hurriedly snatched a notepad and quill from her workbench. She began jotting down notes rapidly. Her brow furrowed deeply, her small lips mumbling wordlessly, tearing through the entire contents of the library in her head.

”This... isn’t an ordinary congenital disease,” Miya murmured, her eyes glued to her notes. ”The pattern of rejection toward dark energy... I’ve read something similar in the ancient archives... um... I mean, in my old books.”

Ethan observed in silence.

This girl was a true genius. When faced with her field of expertise, her shyness was pushed to the background. Her brain operated at a terrifying speed.

”Can you cure it?” Ethan asked.

Miya bit her lip. ”I-I need time to research. Cross-reference. A few days. But... theoretically... there is a possibility...” She suddenly hesitated, squeezing her notepad. ”M-may I ask you something, Mr. Ethan?”

”Of course.”

Miya looked up, pushing past her shyness to stare straight into Ethan’s eyes. ”The person you just mentioned... she... you love her very much, don’t you?”

A sincere question. Purely the empathy of a healer, not an analyst.

Ethan completely halted the remaining flow of his Sin Mana pheromones. A waste of energy.

Inside his head, the Asmodeus System whispered softly.

[Additional Analysis: Target is Immune to pheromone manipulation. Sage-level existence automatically filters out mental/hormonal manipulation. Recommended: A Different Approach.]

An invisible smirk etched itself into Ethan’s mind. Immune, huh? In that case, domination won’t work. Intimidation makes her shut down. Seduction failed.

The answer was simple: This girl responded to empathy and sincerity.

Ethan leaned back. He stripped away all manipulation from his voice.

”Miya.”

The Elf girl flinched softly. ”Y-yes?”

”I will be staying in this village for a few days. If you need any additional info for your research, you can come to me.” Ethan stared intently into those purple eyes. ”But, there is one fundamental detail I haven’t told you about the patient.”

Miya blinked, her curiosity winning out over her fear. ”W-what is it...?”

Ethan leaned his body forward. Without pheromones. Without the aura of the Demon Lord. Only pure honesty as a lethal bait.

”That person...” Ethan whispered softly, breaking the silence. ”...is my biological little sister.”

The sentence hung in the air. Honest. Unadorned.

Miya’s light purple eyes widened. For the first time since Ethan knocked on the door, the Elf girl was no longer looking down. She stared at Ethan’s face—not with panic or fear, but with a glow of empathy and a newly ignited resolve.