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THE twins sat on either side of me and dozed off during our afternoon demon studies class. I wasn’t worried about them being scolded as the headmaster who taught this class believed in ignoring unmotivated students. About half of the class was slumped over their desks or nodding off, too.
I was a bit tired but forced my eyes to stay open, as I was interested in the lesson. There were very few opportunities to learn about demons.
Demons had been involved in some of the most brutal crimes in Great Britain.
We had to learn about them if we wanted to find new methods of opposing them. Demon studies turned out to be an absolutely vital class for a member of the Liddell family.
“Phew… In other words, demons have existed since the creation of the earth, and they choose to blend into human society when they feel like menacing those of us living happy lives…” The headmaster spoke as nonchalantly as ever.
Once the discussion concluded, a student from Lion Dorm raised his hand.
“Demons look as frightening as they do on that tapestry, right? So, how do they make it into human society without causing a fuss?”
“Excellent question. How are demons able to blend in among humans? Well, they do it by taking on human forms. Each demon is unique, but they’re able to appear completely human to our eyes, like so…”
He rolled up the tapestry hung over the blackboard. Underneath was a chalk drawing of a muscular man who looked like a rugby player. His features looked nothing like the depiction of the demon from before—he was completely human.
“Demons are demons, even in human form. Their true appearances are hideous, and they will show you no mercy.”
I thought back to the “Rose Demon.” This demon, who infiltrated the Liddell manor and killed my parents and servants, hid his unsightly form and took the name Bernard Liddell. He even gained social status by being my uncle.
The next demon I met, the “Mirror Demon,” was even more clever. She hid the fact that she was a demon and married Duke Sharondale. He was the only one to eventually figure out her true nature.
Dark was born when his father summoned a demon for his wife to give birth to, so he was still a demon in the broad sense of the word.
So many demons lurked in human society, yet I never had a clue until I was resurrected by one. Unfortunately, Father was more interested in teaching me Latin than anything regarding demons.
I was the only daughter of the Liddell family, but I was raised with a blindfold on when it came to demons and demons alone. I didn’t understand why since I had my parents, servants, and governesses to teach me things.
No matter how often I thought back to that, it was a strange omission.
“Phew… Okay, I guess we can move on to the next topic.”
The headmaster brought the tapestry back down and picked up the sheep’s skull sitting on his desk. The large curling horns reminded me of an ammonite.
“You can look at a person’s shadow to see if they’re a demon in disguise. They’re very skilled at hiding their appearances, but they can never hide the shadow of their horns. …If you meet anyone who raises your suspicions, get a good look at their shadow. If they have horns, they’re a demon, and that means you have to handle them immediately. Those creatures don’t have hearts. They can hide amongst humans, but they can never love us.”
“That’s not true.”
The words slipped out involuntarily. The students in front of me turned around to look my way. The sharp-eared headmaster raised his bushy eyebrows at me.
“It sounds like you object…” he said.
“I do. It’s fascinating that demons can transform into humans, but I don’t believe that they have no hearts. They probably meet lots of different people by living amongst them, so wouldn’t it be natural for them to develop love for one of them at some point?”
I’d already had two demons grow attached to me at that point in my life.
One loved me but destroyed my family. The other one tried to become my family as proof of his love for me. If demons didn’t have hearts, they would never show such strong attachment. They would never pursue the love of a single person like this.
“Oh, how frightening. What a dangerous idea…” The headmaster shook his head, bringing his hand to his mouth like when he smoked the hookah pipe. “Demons manipulate people who want to believe in love. Their goal is to blend into society so that they can someday summon Jabberwock, the ruler of Hell, and make this world their own. Turn to page 366 in your textbook…”
I flipped to the page.
“What…is this?”
I was staring at something I’d never seen before.
The creature had two long horns, like dead trees, sprouting from his head. His sharp, saber fangs dripped with blood, and headless corpses dangled from his bat-like wings.
The Jabberwock’s razor-sharp nails dug into cows and horses, but his body was the worst of all. He was long like a snake and covered in thick scales.
I didn’t fear reptiles, but even I couldn’t help but shudder at the sight. Young ladies who hated bugs or frogs would surely faint if they saw this page.
Every other student who flipped to that page grew pale, too.
Only the headmaster was unaffected.
“Remember this demon. Our world will turn to hell as soon as Jabberwock is summoned here. Everyone will perish, with no escape like a Noah’s Ark to rely on. You English gentlemen must learn to distinguish demons so they can’t achieve this goal. You must protect your fellow humans. Are there any other questions?”
“Me!”
“Me!”
Dum and Dee had woken up from their nap at some point. They were both raising their hands.
“Are there demons that can make human bodies get bigger?”
“Are there demons that can make human bodies get smaller?”
Their questions were to the point. Fortunately, I didn’t have to warn them to speak to teachers respectfully.
But thanks for asking, you two!
It would be a big step forward if the headmaster knew anything about the demon who laid the trap. I stared at the headmaster, my eyes full of hope.
He slowly cocked his head and looked up at the ceiling.
“Phew… Well…”
“Well?!”
He thought it over for some time. Finally, he cocked his head in the other direction.
“Goodness, I’m just so forgetful lately.”
I sunk my head onto my desk. He didn’t have a clue.
I’d half expected an answer like that but didn’t think it would come as such a cliched line.
We were still only at the beginning of the boarding school story, so there wasn’t much we could do. This arc would be resolved far too quickly if we overcame this obstacle without more work. Otome games were much more interesting when they made you grasp for a single hint.
B-But I was really, really hoping to find some new information!
As I fought to hold back tears, the headmaster continued.
“I can’t remember, but who knows what you’ll find if you look into it? Try doing some research in the library. There are lots of books about demons from around the world in there…”
The library!
Dum, Dee, and I exchanged looks. We hadn’t thought to search there.
Just as we’d learned new information by visiting London’s public archives, perhaps we could find a key to our puzzle in the Ark School library.