As you probably guessed, the Solmere Duchy is the home of the Solmere Ducal Family, and Elara is from there, making her Elara Solmere, the daughter of one of humanity's powerhouses.
"The Solmere Duchy?!" I exclaimed, my eyes wide with surprise.
"Yes, also my... home," Elara spoke.
For some reason, it seemed she wasn't very happy to be home.
"Okay... could you explain how we got here?"
"Well, you got here before me."
"Huh?"
"That warp cube I gave you had its coordinates set to the du-."
"WHAT!!" I screamed, cutting her off.
"Do you realise they could've killed me!!"
"No... they wouldn't do that. That man is too meticulous." She spoke firmly as if there was no doubt that she was right.
"Haa... Elara, please just let me vent right now."
She smiled. "Sure, Leon."
"Wow... that sounded actually affectionate of you. Don't tell me you've fallen for me."
"Haa..." I let out an exaggerated sigh. "This handsome face is truly a curse."
"Pfft"
Looking to my side, I saw Elara... laughing.
'Wow,' I know I've said it before, but she really was...
"Beautiful."
Elara froze.
Her face began to flush red.
I smiled. 'Isn't this a familiar scene?'
"Ahem..." She quickly composed herself, her expression turning serious. "My Father is calling you."
It felt as though I'd been hit by a car. "Your father, the Grand Duke?"
"Yes."
"Ah... fuck." I didn't bother to hide my dismay. "When do I have to meet him?"
"Right now."
"...Right now?"
"He said to bring you over as soon as you woke up." Her gaze lowered down to my chest. "So I suggest you get ready."
Following her gaze, I looked down and realised.
'I'm naked?!'
Yes, I was lying in bed half-naked, and Elara had seen my chest the entire time. I checked under the covers and let out a sigh of relief.
"Haa... I've still got pants on."
Looking to my side, I realised Elara was still there and had seen my entire reaction to my situation.
"Excuse me... could you leave?" I said, crossing my arms to protect myself.
She seemed to snap out of a daze and began to leave. "It's not like there was anything to look at anyway."
"You-!"
She left before I could say anything.
------
Luckily, my bag was right beside my bed, so I changed into whatever clothing I had and exited the room.
A maid was standing directly outside the door.
"Follow me." She spoke in a commanding tone.
I nodded and followed, not that I had much of a choice.
Okay, now there's not much I can say about the duchy except that it was really massive. If the mansion made me feel like an ant, this place made me feel microscopic.
The ceiling stretched so high you'd think it was built for giants, and don't even get me started on the architecture of this place. It had a European style but with futuristic touches. For example, there was a floating chandelier.
Yes. Floating.
I wanted to ask whether or not that was a safety hazard, but decided not to speak.
This leads me to another thing...
The stares.
The servants I passed didn't hold back. They stared at me as if they were looking at an abomination, their faces filled with visible anger and disgust.
It made me uncomfortable, but it wasn't like I didn't expect this. I was a half-blood and not just any half-blood. A demon and human half-blood.
If I didn't emphasize it enough before, I'll say it again. Humans hate demons. And the thought of a being that contains both human and demon blood is like pineapple on pizza.
Okay, I know I'm joking around, but I'm actually serious when I say these people would've killed me without a second thought if not for the duke calling me.
Eventually, I reached a large double door decorated with intricate carvings, seemingly something about the family history.
The door opened slowly without anyone touching it, and it made no sound. It just...
Opened.
'Talk about presentation.'
The maid stepped aside, clearly signalling me to go in.
I stepped inside and found myself in the middle of a large room. No calling it a room would be an understatement. It was larger than the mayor's mansion's ballroom by a large margin.
On both my sides were seats with clearly important people gazing at me. Well, they were all slightly above me, almost like an audience in a stadium, and in front, higher up, were 5 seats, two large ones and 3 smaller ones.
The 2 large ones contained a man and a woman, clearly the Duke and Duchess, and on one of the smaller seats was...
'Elara?'
We made eye contact for a second before she looked away.
I wanted to smile, but I couldn't. Honestly, I didn't know what the fuck to do.
'Should I bow or kneel, maybe just lie down?'
Before I could act, a voice came.
"So you're Leon Hardt, yes?"
It was the Duke, or rather...
Edward Solmere.
His entire presence felt suffocating, as if my body was instinctively just giving up. A cold sweat went down my face. I looked up at him and felt it then...
'He can kill me with a thought.'
I tried my best to compose myself, and I was failing, but I did manage to speak.
"Yes, I'm Leon Hardt."
"..."
He didn't reply and just stared at me. It felt as though the mana in the atmosphere had frozen, afraid of provoking him.
"You saved my daughter, yes?"
My eyes widened slightly at his words. "Yes, your grace."
"Hmm..." He paused for a moment. "How do you exist?"
'Huh?' I was dumbfounded at his question.
"I'm not sure how to answer your question, your gra-."
My entire body froze, and it didn't feel like I was being controlled. No, it felt as though my body wasn't mine to control, like it never belonged to me.
"Answer me, how do you exist?" The duke commanded.
My mouth opened without my permission. "Because of my parents, your grace."
"Hmm..."
I felt my body return to me in an instant
I fell to my knees, clutching my chest.
"H-ha... haa... haa..." I let out long, heavy breaths.
"FATHER!!" A voice came from above.
Looking up, I saw her...
'Elara.'
"Elara, do not interrupt your father." A commanding feminine voice came from the second large seat.
'The Duchess'
"He saved my life!!"
The Duke, however, showed no reaction to Elara's actions as if his daughter were just throwing a tantrum.
"He will join you at the academy."
"..."
The entire room went silent.
"Your grace!!" The Duchess exclaimed, clearly unsatisfied with the verdict. "He has demon blo-!"
"He will represent Solmere alongside Elara." The Duke cut her off.
This time, the room didn't just stay silent. It froze, as if letting out a single breath would get you killed.