Melinda was long past judging anyone based on superficial traits such as Bloodline or how much they smile or even how kind the smile appears.

Life was never just Black and white sometimes. Her uncle used to smile at her a lot, he was always a kind Elder but that did not come into play once she crushed his Son's family jewels.

Her way of thinking was much clearer now. She was not after a goody-two-shoes with a strong sense of justice, she was after someone she could feel that connection with.

Hal just happens to be that person.

The fact that he is a Devil (which she was not truly buying though. After all, the information had come from an intruder with a terrible way of earning trust) did not change a lot. She was a little upset he was not upfront about it though. But then again, she had kept her Bloodline details secret from him as well.

She was more than Mature enough to know that the General label of the Public did not always depict the truth of that figure.

But, once again she did not yet truly believe it. Devil-like Bloodline abilities were one thing but that he was a Devil himself was a little far fetched, right?

"None of my business?" Sariel asked with evident shock.

Melinda simply shrugged at the look on her face while trying to stifle a chuckle,

"That's right. The relationship between Hal and myself should remain private" She said with a nod

Sariel closed her eyes and took a deep breath, when she opened her eyes again, they were slightly impatient but not enraged... For now.

"Okay then. It doesn't matter. I can make a pretty accurate guess without your input. Of which you have already given me plenty. The only reason you would want to keep your relationship with him secret is that it's of the Forbidden nature"

Sariel surmised with satisfaction.

Melinda tilted her head to the side slightly and smiled lightly,

"Forbidden?" She asked

"Yes Forbidden. You know, the sexual kind" Sariel explained and Melinda blanked.

Not because Sariel had guessed correctly, Of that, she could not care less. She did not want to say but that did not mean she was naive enough to not expect an accurate guess from the 'Holy maiden'.

No, what made her blank out was the term used.

What sort of prude would call Sexual relations a forbidden relationship?

Except if she had meant something else. Alas...

"Sexual conduct should be shunned by all. All women should remain pure, they should keep their virtue"

... Sariel's next words would prove that she had meant exactly that.

She turned to face Melinda more directly,

"I don't force the Virtuous path on them of course, I just educate that it's preferable. Those who serve in my inner court keep themselves holy"

She said with a sort of Jittery pride.

"Holy shit!" Melinda could not help but exclaim.

She would have loved to simply think it but as this WAS her mind, it would only resonate loudly like an echo.

"Ah-ha. You HAVE lost your Virtue. That's the reaction I always get from those who have lost their virtue. Male and Female alike"

Sariel said with a Triumphant yet slightly melancholic expression, while Melinda looked at her as though she was insane,

"No you idiot, that's the expression you get when people realize you're a gigantic Prude trying to force your virginity fanaticism on everyone else"

Melinda said with a sigh.

Sariel just smiled, even after being called an idiot and a Prude. It was not the first time she had been called such. It was, however, the first time it had been from an insignificant mortal.

Only her fellow Primevals had the guts to say such things to her.

She blamed Melinda's disrespect on the fact that she was merely a will and Melinda had never met the real deal.

"Child. I don't force it on others, but I advise it. And as my Creation. You must obey my will. You must stay away from that Devil. You must not let him taint you" Sariel said with her hands on Melinda's shoulders.

"You should realize I have been 'tainted' already," Melinda said with a chuckle but Sariel took her words as a serious plea for help.

"I know child and I shall purify you. But You must stay away from him from now on"

Sariel said before the whole Meadow was illuminated by a Golden light so thick that despite this 'Body' is a mere construct of her Mental will, Melinda still closed her eyes to avoid being blinded.

When the light faded away. Melinda felt a liberating feeling deep within her. She felt free and lightheaded. It was not the type of relief that comes from losing a huge burden, instead, it was more like the kind you feel when you lose something you care about.

It's a kind of feeling that is always quickly followed by a deep sadness but Melinda kept it hidden well. Instead, she frowned at Sariel whose hands had dropped from her shoulders.

"What did you do?" She asked with a clench of her fist

"I cleansed you," Sariel said with a smile as she took a step back and twirled around as though enjoying the Meadow for the first time.

"I need you to be clearer than that" Melinda said with a sense of foreboding.

"From the moment I arrived here, I could sense something in your mind space. Something Devilish that tied your will to that of that Devil and I've cleansed you of it, I am surprised you let him penetrate your mind"

Sariel said with a calm expression and the look of a disappointed Elder.

However,

Melinda did not notice as she had already frozen in shock. She knew Sariel was referring to the Pheromone attack by Hal when they had first met.

"Who asked you to do that?" She asked with a deep frown

"It was important. You should be glad it wasn't a contract. No one other than the Devil in control of the contract can break or render it void.

"It won't have mattered if my Originator was here and how powerful she is. It is completely impossible to destroy a Devil contract."

That caught Melinda's attention and successfully forced her out of her shocked state,

"It's that binding?" Melinda asked

Sariel sighed "I'm afraid so. No one no matter how powerful can break a Devil contract. Of course, it has limitations. One of which is the consent of the Contractee. But they have managed to skirt around that requirement slightly"

Sariel ended her speech with a grit of her teeth. She hated Devils and Demons to the core. They were always happy to spread their depravity to all creations and successfully corrupted her virtuous beings.

The worst part was that she never truly succeeded in bringing them back the lost ones into the light.

"How do they skirt around the requirement?" Melinda asked.

"They beat the other party into submission and brand them with the Devil mark. After that, getting consent to sign the contract is as easy as simply asking"

At this point, Melinda's eyes widened. She remembered Hal branding the servants at the Holger Estate.

"How binding is the Mark?" Melinda asked

"Not as binding as the contract but that's of no consequence, the important ones are contracted as soon as the Branding is completed. Those that are not contracted are not important so no one cares about freeing them" Sariel explained

"You seem to know a lot about Devils" Melinda observed

"Of course I do, The Devil Queen is my nemesis. I need to know everything about her."

Melinda nodded. That made sense.

From all she had been told. It was quite obvious that Hal was indeed a Devil except if Sariel was lying which was possible but not likely.

"Now that I've cleansed you of the Devil's influence. You should able to see how dangerous he is now..." Sariel trailed off as though she expected Melinda to denounce the Devil immediately.

Melinda noticed her look and lifted her shoulders in inquiry as though it asks 'What now?'

"Give it a second. It might take a while for you to overcome the shock" Sariel said with a forced smile.

Melinda sighed and said,

"It changes nothing"

"No, it changes everything. You should see the light now. The Danes are children of the light. Once you 'see' that you will finally be able to receive my Will. Something your Ancestor refused by putting me into hibernation"

Melinda closed her eyes as she took a deep breath...

"As I said, It changes nothing. I still feel as I felt the first time I met him. I feel jittery. I feel the camaraderie. I feel companionship. I feel like I regained what my Family took from me forcefully..." She stepped closer to Sariel

"I feel peace. And I FEEL the confidence that right on the outside, he feels the same"

Sariel frowned, this was not following the Norm. She had underestimated this 'perverse' relationship more than she thought but of course, there was still one play left...

"Oh? Will you choose him over the chance to become a god?" Sariel asked with an grin stretching over her Timeless angelic face while she folded her arms beneath her breasts and added,

"Are you that warped?"