"Who is that?"
The voice came from behind her...
Male.
Low.
And absolutely not supposed to be there!
Seraphina froze. Her entire body locked up as if someone had poured ice down her spine. Slowly – very slowly – she turned her head, praying that she was wrong.
She wasn't…
And she could feel her soul leave her body.
Standing in the middle of her bedroom, as he belonged there, stood the Demon Lord.
Kael'tharion Virex!
Tall.
Broad.
Entirely too--- present!
Sera immediately noticed his changed appearance; his horns and wings were gone! She wasn't sure how she felt about that, or if this was what he actually looked like. But even without those, he still filled the room in a way that made the air feel---
Heavier!
Oppressive, even...
His white hair shimmered aureate in the sunlight, his golden eyes flicking lazily between her---
And the wall!
More specifically---
The portrait – his portrait!
Mauled with her knives...
Was it possible for a soul to leave the body twice?
The silence stretched between them.
Thick.
Suffocating...
Lord Virex's eyes slid back to her, something in his eyes that was a mix of "I'm not impressed" and "is that seriously supposed to be me"? Overall, there was no denying that he was insulted.
And the knives probably didn't help Sera's case either…
So what to do?
Well---
Obviously, as a mature, integrated lady of the highest social circle of Londermany, Sera knew that situations like this should be handled with care, precision and---
"I've never seen that before in my life!"
--- the mind of a toddler?!?!
(Really?!)
The words flew out of her mouth so fast they practically tripped over each other. Even parts of her brain didn't really catch up until she'd spoken, and she cursed her third life for always defaulting to denial every time she was in trouble.
In a tight, hostage situation...
It worked wonders!
Trying to make a demon lord to wed her---
Probably not her best move...
The Demon Lord didn't move, his face as devoid of emotions as ever. He might be planning her demise, and she wouldn't know…
He just--- looked at her!
Unimpressed...
And utterly unconvinced!
Sera, however, had already committed to the lie. There was no use in backtracking now. So with forced confidence, she marched over to the wall, yanking the knives free one by one, before ripping the paper down entirely.
Crumpled it into a ball and threw it into the trash.
There!
Portrait?
What portrait?
She spun back around, chin held high as she marched back to the table, picking up the scabbard and putting her knives away.
Composed.
Elegant...
Dignified!
Everything that she wasn't feeling on the inside...
"What are you doing in my bedroom?" She asked, distracting the demon in the room and getting to the core of the point. Besides, once she had time to think about it, the thought of him showing up in her bedroom unannounced was going to rattle her.
What kind of stalker, nightmare magic was that?
Lord Virex tilted his head slightly, as if considering the question. But instead of answering her, his gaze drifted past her---
And paused on the bed!
"Are you going somewhere, My Lady?"
...Huh?!
Sera followed his gaze---
And cursed under her breath!
Her riding dress was haphazardly thrown on the bed, a subtle sign that she had, in fact, been preparing to go somewhere.
He couldn't have come at a worse time!
She paused---
And grinned, knowing exactly what her beast-folk instructor had told her to do…
Deflect!
"Are you here to inspect my room, My Lord?" She asked, folding her arms over her chest, eyes narrow. "Or are you finally here with an answer for me?"
That--- got his attention!
If only just slightly...
His gaze sharpened—not much—but enough for her to know that he would file this incident under the "we'll discuss this later" category.
Her job now was to make sure "later" never happened...
"Your information was correct," he said coldly---
And relief hit her so hard her knees nearly buckled.
Oh, thank GOD!
In her past life, that convoy carried an extremely rare crystal that could stabilize and hold imminence amount of mana, making it pretty much invaluable to the demons. After it went missing, the demons blamed the humans for stealing it, making tension rise to a piratical boiling point. Beserker outbreaks became even worse and eventually---
Sera's thoughts were interrupted when, suddenly, Lord Virex held up his hands and a magic circle appeared over the table.
Curious, she stepped closer and---
THUD!
THUD!
THUD!
Three things hit her table...
Rolled slightly---
Stopped!
Sera looked.
Paused.
Stared...
Her brain took a moment to catch up with what her eyes were seeing...
And then---
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHhhhaaa----!!!"
She launched backwards.
Hands flying to her mouth to silence herself!
She did NOT want anyone bursting in here.
Not while she had a demon in her bedroom...
Alone!
Not to mention that she definitely did not want to explain THIS situation to anyone!
Because – of course! – the lord of all demons didn't bring her chocolate or a flower when he dropped by to call...
Oh no!
That would have been too simple…
He instead had brought her---
Three!
Severed!
Heads!
"WHAT IS THAT?!?!?!"
She hissed low, furious that the royal bastard would do something like this!
But Lord Virex watched her.
Closely.
Carefully...
Looking for subtle signs that she might recognize any of the men that he'd killed. These had been the main players in organizing the attack on the convoy.
If she knew any of them, then he would know...
"They were responsible for the convoy attack," he said calmly.
Sera blinked.
Slowly...
...Oh---!
That explained---Nothing!
Nothing at all!
No logical explanation found whatsoever…!
"And you thought that bringing their heads to me was a bright idea?!"
She snapped, gesturing widely at the gruesome debacle that now made up her sitting table.
She glanced at them again---
And her eye twitched.
Furious now!
"Now there's blood on my carpet," she growled, although to his ears, she sounded like a disgruntled puppy. "That is a Persian carpet! Do you have any idea how expensive they are!"
And just like that---
"And WHAT is this supposed to be?!"
She spun on him, furious.
"The worst engagement gift in history?! Because congratulations! YOU WIN!!!"
She stomped her feet, some habits harder to kick than others...
"And how am I going to explain this to my maid, huh?"
She stormed forward, grabbed the sheet off her bed, and put it down under the table. She then grabbed one of her discarded knives and aggressively – veryaggressively – started pushing one of the heads off the table.
Kael blinked.
Barely able to hide his surprise.
Of all the reactions he'd anticipated---
This didn't even make the list!
"That poor girl is going to be traumatized, you know that, right?"
"But not you?"
His question took her by surprise.
She paused.
He gestured vaguely to the heads...
"You don't seem particularly affected."
...Ah!
Right!
He--- he might have a point!
Thanks to her third life, she'd been completely sanitized to stuff like this. Her beast-folk trainer had been a bounty hunter, hunting down scum of the earth and taking them in – alive being optional. And she'd been right by his side, even having killed her share of scum and monsters – the kind of monsters who weren't berserker demons...
Sights like these were part of her daily life...
But her current life---?
Sera stiffened.
How to handle this now?
"I have no idea what you're talking about!"
She denied---!
And quickly threw down her knife and took a step back, fanning her face in a desperate attempt to look pale and vulnerable. She even leaned against her bedpost in an attempt to look weak in the knee.
"I'm perfectly shocked!"
A pause.
Then, a little too dramatically...
"I may never recover!"
She peaked.
Was it working?
The demon was staring at her.
Long.
Unamused!
"Is that so?"
His tone was even.
Flat.
Oh, he was so on to her…
Still---
"Yes!"
Toddler logic: deny everything!
"…Mmm."
Silence!
Then---
He held out his hand again, and with a flick of the wrist, the heads vanished, along with all the blood. Her sheet appeared back on her bed, as if they'd never been moved at all.
Stunned, she watched it all happen.
Yet she couldn't believe it…
So---
This was magic?
"Is this how it will be moving forward, My Lady?"
His gaze sharpened slightly.
Subtle!
But dangerous...
"Once we're engaged, do you intend to deflect every question I ask?"
Sera huffed and stood up straight and crossed her arms---
Huffed.
Lifted her chin…
And still had no answer for that
"Well---!"
She spluttered…
"Once we're engaged---!"
She froze.
Her brain was catching up.
Processing...
Then---
"Wait! What?!"
A beat.
Her eyes widened as she looked up at him.
"You---"
She pointed at him.
Shocked.
"You accept my proposal?!"
The Demon Lord said nothing...
Which---
Honestly was answer enough!
Sera blinked.
Once.
Twice...
Then---
"Oh!"
A pause…
She straightened!
Composed.
Calm...
"Good!"
Internally---
OH MY GOD IT WORKED!
I'M NOT GOING TO DIE!
I AM A GENIUS!
I AM UNSTOPPABLE!
I TAKE BACK EVERYTHING I SAID ABOUT HIM BEING USELESS!!!
Outwardly?
She was grace.
Elegance!
But the demon watched her – closely!
And this time...
He did notice!
The flicker in her eyes.
The excitement!
The relief she tried – and failed – to fully hide...
Interesting...
Very interesting...
Oh, he knew he was being used. He'd been in this situation countless times before – each time ended in bloodshed.
He didn't expect this time to be any different…
But he couldn't help but feel---
Something!
A kind of amusement, how a human – this weakling before him with not even a shred of magic – intended to use him for her own gain.
Still---
He couldn't deny that she was resourceful…
So he played along.
For now!
"Sit!" He said, gesturing for her to sit down at the table. He even pulled out her chair, displaying a side of himself that Sera never imagined he possessed.
But she didn't have time to wonder...
She snapped to attention.
"Right!"
She took the seat, trying to map out what she was going to say and do now. She planned on getting him to agree to the engagement, but part of her mind hadn't really prepared for what that entailed.
Besides, how could she sit down and explain everything to him?
Well---
No going back now!
The Demon Lord sat across from her, the chair too small for his big frame. And still, he looked just as regal and imposing as he did sitting on his throne at the Demon Castle.
Sera swallowed.
He wasn't the most terrifying-looking demon – but he sure was terrifying!
Lord Virex snapped his fingers.
And just like that---
A contract appeared!
Suspended between them.
Glowing faintly.
Sera's breath caught.
"What is that?"
She asked and tried to contain the urge to touch it...
"A binding contract," Kael replied smoothly. "Anything written within it becomes law between us."
A pause.
His gaze flicked to her.
Something unreadable in his eyes...
"If either party attempts to break it..."
"They die!"
Sera blinked.
Dang, these demons did not mess around!
But she understood the need for it. They were strangers, and in many ways they were enemies. Heck, she'd even demonstrated to him that she would be quite dangerous when she wanted to be...
And there was the fact that he probably wasn't a complete moron who bought her act just earlier!
"I see," she said slowly, watching the blank contract in front of her.
Death, ha?
So, not only did she have to be careful about this…
She had to be ruthless, too!
"But before all of that," the lord continued smoothly, looking her up and down again like she was some kind of specimen he was about to examine.
Assessing.
Blunt!
"I just want to make one thing clear."
He said – sharply!
"I will never touch you!"
A pause...
Then---
"...huh?!"
Sera tilted her head.
Her mind completely blank...
"You are neither my type nor my preference. I prefer women with shape; you have none."
He crossed his legs.
Looking graceful.
Elegant.
"And I despise weakness. You encase nothing I desire."
Sera blinked.
Once.
Twice...
And then realized that this worked in her favor.
"Oh, don't worry," she said.
Smiled.
Sweetly.
Sharply.
"You're not exactly the prince charming of my dreams either."
She hadn't thought about that. Mostly because she had no intention of going through with the "matrimony" part.
So there would be none of that...
No horizontal tango for this gal!
(If you were hoping for that kind of story, leave now…)
(Just kidding!)
(Please stay and read – I love you guys!)
Anyway, this fitted perfectly into her plan...
Sera looked up at the demon.
Determined!
"Good!"
He nodded
They were in agreement...
Human and demon!
Yet they both needed this for their species to survive...
"Let's establish the terms then," he said, his lips curving ever so slightly.
And just like that---
It began!
"First condition," Sera said quickly, needing to be the first to make a move. "I will tell you everything that I know, but you can never ask me about the source!"
Silence.
Heavy...
"…Excuse me?"
"I said," she continued brightly, although there was no warmth in her voice. "I will share everything I know willingly. But you are never allowed to ask where I get my information from."
Another pause.
Longer this time.
Lord Virex didn't like this – at all! He wanted to know how she got this information, wanting to verify it himself. And more importantly---
He wanted to know about HER!
Lady Serphina von Eildelweiss
Why did she reach out to him?
Why not turn to her own people?
Was she playing both sides?
What kind of stakes did she have in this?
Was she being used?
He clenched his teeth, forcing his jaws to loosen so his frustration didn't show.
But it could be felt!
In the way the air tightened.
Thickened...
But Sera didn't budge.
She couldn't...
Because there was absolutely no way she was explaining that she'd been reborn three times now.
How did she even start that conversation?
"Hi, I've died three times, and you're the reason why!"
Yeah---!
No!
Hard pass…!
"You ask for a great deal of trust," the demon said slowly.
"I offer results," she shot back instantly.
"Why?"
A pause…
Her brain was trying to catch up to the question.
But Virex was relentless...
"Why come to me? Why not go to your own kind?"
Sera--- hadn't expected that question.
For a second, she didn't know what to say. She knew that all of this was a half-cooked plan at best, but she'd been desperate.
She wanted the loop to end.
She wanted her friends to live.
She wanted to live happily.
But more than that…
She---
"Because I don't want to die!"
The words left her lips before she'd even thought them.
But found them to be true…
Despite being reborn, she remembered those horrible moments just before she died. The pain as her body was crushed, stabbed, and buried. Her mind and body remembered everything.
And she was scared…
Scared that that would be her fate again.
That she would have to watch everything she loved burn---
And then die!
"...Hmm?"
She looked up---
And their eyes locked.
Then---
Something vulnerable passed between them.
Two souls that knew pain.
Betrayal.
Loneliness...
And---
"Agreed!"
And just like that---
The words appeared on the contract.
Binding.
Final!
Sera exhaled...
Slowly.
Carefully.
Step one:
Complete!
Now all she had to do was:
Prevent a war.
Manage a demon lord.
And---
You know…
Survive!
So---
No pressure!