And just like that, I got Tancrette’s number one prankster on my side.
†††
In the living quarters of the Demon King’s castle, the Izanis family area was positioned on the eastern side. Given the nocturnal nature of demons, east-facing windows that would allow in the morning sunlight weren’t very popular. The fact that the Izanis family had been given this section of the castle was a clear indication of where they stood in relation to the other major families.
As dawn approached, a woman walked down hallways where she could see the sky starting to lighten, a servant pushing a food cart following behind her. This woman was Hisuizia Izanis, a close friend of Fourth Prince Emergias.
“Young master...we have brought food.”
“Thank you.”
As she opened the door to the prince’s room, situated in the back corner of the Izanis area, she could see the warping of space itself and the rippling from the intense waves of magic within. The night elf maid pushing the cart of food gritted her teeth, struggling as the overwhelming force bore down on her. Even Hisuizia—all wrapped in defensive wards—felt a palpable fear akin to wading through a pool of snakes.
“Sorry. I still can’t contain my power very well.” Lying on his bed, Emergias snapped the book he was reading shut. The room was dimly lit, the curtains drawn against the soon-to-be rising sun. Bruises reminiscent of a snake’s scales riddled his face. His vertical-slit pupils were unchanged.
Ever since returning from the Abyss, Emergias had skipped out on his weekly meals with the Demon King and meetings with Aiogias, citing that he was feeling unwell. Though the lower classes hurled ridicule at him for being a demon prince under the weather, it was obviously only a front. Not a single person who had seen Emergias since his return uttered a word against him.
He’s gotten stronger...again.
Something burned in Hisuizia’s chest as the waves of magic coming off him buffeted her. His old demeanor, always acting so desperate and cornered, had been completely blown away. Here he was relaxing on his bed, a sight of pure serenity. However, the magic that swirled around him was nothing short of sinister.
He was easily on the level of a duke...no, an archduke now. By accepting so much of his devil’s authority, his power had exploded to new heights. When he first stepped out of the Abyss, all the other devils and demons in the area had been drained of their power. The dragons were sapped of their energy, left unable to fly.
Even now, his power would go wild if he let down his guard for a moment. Until he could control it, or at least suppress it to a trifling degree, he had confined himself to rest.
“Has anything changed?” Emergias asked casually, sitting up.
“Yes. We have something of an interesting report from Evaloti,” Hisuizia replied.
Emergias’s serpentine eyes widened.
“A few days ago, a manticore attacked one of the villages...”
Standing as straight as she could, Hisuizia began reading off the report about Prince Zilbagias’s baffling behavior.
“I see.” Emergias nodded after hearing about Zilbagias’s instant response to the fiend attack. “So, you are saying he responded to the attack too quickly.”
“Yes. The attack on the village occurred the day before yesterday. We didn’t hear about it until the last regular report,” Hisuizia replied, looking over the report again. “However, the seventh prince left on the same day as the attack to return to Evaloti, even though he had just returned to the castle.” Zilbagias shouldn’t have known about the attack until that regular report came in. “In the end, the residents of the autonomous zone dispatched the fiend before the prince’s arrival, but...it looks very much like the seventh prince was moving in response to that attack.”
Emergias listened quietly to Hisuizia’s conjecture.
“Surely it’s just a coincidence?” came a whisper that only Emergias could hear. The source was the one now living within his very soul—the Devil of Envy Jiiria. “Or perhaps it was an attempt at putting more pressure on the Izanis family? In that case, was it all a ssscheme by that prince?” she continued, evidently amused.
If it was something that simple, Hisui would have said so, Emergias replied.
Though he had confined himself to his room since returning from the Abyss, having Jiiria around meant there hadn’t been a single dull moment. He could speak to her with an honesty he couldn’t even show his closest subordinates. With the constant pressure from the expectations of others that came with being a demon prince, his heart had hardened over time.
But Jiiria could revert him to the state of a helpless infant at will. There was no point putting up a front for her. And because she resided within his soul, lying to her was futile as well. When she touched upon past events he wished not to recall, he tried to ignore her. But Jiiria struck back by releasing her grip on his mind, coddling him like the baby he became and thoroughly crushing his sense of self-respect.
Once he gave up, everything became much easier. He and Jiiria were now of one mind and body. They were now one and the same. Fighting with her was a fool’s errand. Once he stopped trying to defy her, Jiiria became an invaluable ally. In times of gloom and doom, she was there to console him. When it came to his jealousy of those strong and blessed, she shared his sentiment wholeheartedly.
Ironically, Emergias was more emotionally stable now than he had ever been. Even so, his partner could reduce him to a babbling mess on a mere whim.
“Additionally, there are reports from the Izanis territory of sightings of a white dragon flying much faster than usual flying speed,” Hisuizia continued, oblivious to the conversation going on in Emergias’s head. “There seems no doubt he was in quite a hurry, considering the rumors of how affectionate the prince is toward her.”
“Hmm...”
That isn’t good enough, Emergias thought. She wasn’t even a demon, just the daughter of a criminal. His affection for her could have all been a ruse, and even if not, Zilbagias was known to possess some kind of magic that enabled him to control the minds of others. At least if the existence of his high elf pet was any indication.
“Maybe it was all a performance? He might have already known the manticore would attack—”
“That is certainly a possibility, but if he intended it as a vector to attack the Izanis family, there was no need for his urgency to rush to the scene. The natural approach would have been for him to raise a fuss after receiving the regular report,” Hisuizia shot down Emergias’s conjecture. “Besides, there was one more interesting bit of information...” she said, turning a look on the night elf maid that had brought the food in.
“Please, allow me to explain. We have some information from those close to the seventh prince,” the maid spoke, struggling to remain upright before the waves of power emanating off of Emergias.
The bonds of night elves were much stronger compared to ones forged among demons. It was rare for conflict between night elf families to escalate to the point of bloodshed. They didn’t have the authority to act freely like the demons did, and their community needed to remain tight-knit to stand against the forest elves.