“Ah, you’re here,” greeted Lucifer once Melody had stepped into the room. Melody had not spent a lot of time with Lucifer alone; usually his brothers or other students were around. Even in his more human looking form, he was intimidating. Melody couldn’t forget those huge wings… “I assume you know what it is I want to talk to you about. It’s regarding last night.” For a moment Lucifer looked angry, and Melody feared she was about to get the worst lecture of her life. Then Lucifer’s expression turned pensive, and he glanced away from her. “What I did to you was inexcusable. I apologize.”

Melody’s head began to swim; her thoughts were a contradictory mess. Part of her was thinking that yes, Lucifer owed her an apology, big time. Another part of her instinctively wanted to say it wasn’t necessary, that he didn’t owe her anything. Yet a third part was simply in awe of the fact that THE Avatar of Pride was apologizing to her. Struggling with all these impressions, she managed to speak.

“Thank you, but… even if it was inexcusable, I think I understand, even if just a little bit.”

“You have a good soul, Melody, and that’s going to get you into trouble,” said Lucifer, with a shake of his head. “You think with your heart, not your head, and you keep ending up in harm’s way. You need to be more careful.” He frowned deeply, staring at Melody so intently that she was forced to look away.

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t apologize: do better,” Lucifer stated bluntly. “You have pacts with three of my brothers now, and I haven’t interfered because they made the choice themselves. But that’s a big responsibility you’re carrying,” he warned her. “Try to make it to the end of the year without making any further waves.”

“I will try not to,” Melody said, though she doubted it would mean much; she had never tried to cause any problems to begin with.

“I imagine that last night served as somewhat of a learning experience for you.” He gave a dark, dry chuckle that had no real mirth to it. “Still, the fact remains that I put you through a very scary experience. Sometime in the near future, I’d like to treat you to a meal out somewhere to make it up to you.” It was another thing that was very similar to humans: offering food for comfort. “Well, that’s all I had to say. You’re free to go.”

Melody nodded her head and made her way out of the music room. Somehow she made it to school on her own this time, though her mind was reeling over that brief interaction. As much as she appreciated the invitation to dinner some night, she didn’t know how well it would go, sitting alone with Lucifer over a meal. What on earth would she be able to talk to him about?

Once she arrived, she had a notification on her DDD to attend the council meeting later. This was a fairly rare occurrence, so she wasn’t sure why she was attending. It wasn’t as if she could make any meaningful decisions. Her best guess was it had something to do with the exchange specifically. Either way, she hoped it wouldn’t cut too much into one of her important classes. Playing catchup always made her a little anxious.

“Hey, how about that! Melody, you’re alive!” As soon as Melody walked into the Student Council room, Mammon looked her way and greeted her. He had looked worried before, but now he was all smiles.

“Let’s see… yep, you’ve still got both arms and both legs. Your eyes are still in their sockets, and your ears are still attached. Guess you’re okay.” Beel’s assessment, while correct, was somewhat disturbing. Would Lucifer have really removed body parts while he was calm? Melody doubted Beel was joking; it didn’t seem his style.

“I want to know what Lucifer did. You’ve got to give me the deets L-8-R, yo!” Levi’s request was said in a way that was very true to form, and Melody found herself smiling in response, even through her discomfort.

“Man, there you go again! ‘Give me the deets L-8-R, yo’?! Like, what lame message board did ya learn THAT on?! Also, it’s one thing to type L8R, but who the hell actually says it out loud?!” Mammon was yelling at Levi again, so, that was at least normal.

“Whaaat, you’re still alive? Well that’s boring…” Asmo’s words were definitely not for Melody’s benefit. She suppressed a sigh. Asmodeus had never struck her as overly violent, or loving violence, so his protest left her feeling off kilter.

“Of course. Unless he went crazy again like last night, Lucifer wouldn’t harm Melody,” Satan said, smiling. That was what Melody thought, but Satan’s smile wasn’t comforting. “And do you know why that is, Melody?” Melody shifted uncomfortably; Satan usually didn’t address her with a direct question.

“It’s just because of the program, isn’t it? Because he wants the exchange to succeed?” Melody was under no illusions that she meant anything to the three remaining brothers. And the last brother had never heard of her before.

“Exactly,” Satan said with a laugh. He had a nice voice, but the laugh still didn’t feel friendly to Melody. “I see you have a good grasp of what’s going on here.” His smile quickly faded. “If anything were to happen to one of our exchange students, it would make Lord Diavolo look bad.” Satan made a sound of indignation, his expression quickly turning to one of anger, possibly disgust. “Lucifer would never do anything to harm Lord Diavolo’s reputation.” Melody couldn’t tell if Satan was mad at Lucifer, Diavolo, or the program in general.

“Ooh… speak of the devil! Lord Diavolo and Lucifer just showed up.” Come to think of it, Melody didn’t often hear the word ‘devil’ applied to any one person, just the Devildom in general, despite the fact that Diavolo’s name basically meant devil.

“Well, it seems that everyone’s here. Shall we get started, Lucifer?” asked Diavolo, smiling and gesturing with open arms. It amazed Melody again how affable the Demon Prince was. She hadn’t spent much time with him, but, she remembered Beel told her that he was the one to save her. She nodded towards him; now wasn’t the time to speak though, with the meeting about to start.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“All right, I’m going to go ahead and call this officer’s meeting to order. To start things off, Lord Diavolo has an announcement for us.”

“Yes. Well then, I assume that some of you have already heard the rumors about the group retreat. And they’re true. I’m planning an exchange party between demons, angels, and humans to be held at my castle.” The word castle send a thrill down Melody’s spine, and for once, it was a good one. “I have a feeling this will turn out to be quite the interesting experience for all of us,” continued Diavolo with a laugh. It was a much more comfortable sound than Satan’s earlier laugh.

“Maybe for you, but for me it’s simply going to mean more headaches,” Lucifer said, clearly displeased; he looked like a man facing an unfortunate, but inevitable, outcome. Come to think of it, Melody couldn’t remember seeing Lucifer relaxing, or having fun. She didn’t envy him.

“Now, now, don’t say that, Lucifer,” returned Diavolo, his spirit not at all dampened by Lucifer’s protest.

“The exchange party will be held at the Demon Lord’s Castle. In addition to spending the night there, you’ll be attending several events, including a dinner party and a formal dance,” explained Lucifer. Melody’s stomach sank; she had never been to a formal dinner, let alone a dance. She doubted she even had any clothes for such an occasion.

“A dinner party…” Beel, of course, was over the moon about that tidbit. Melody somehow didn’t imagine Beel at a formal dance either. Or Leviathan for that matter.

“I assume you must have some questions?” said Diavolo, his expression open.

“Are we talking about a literal castle?” Melody thought it was a dumb thing for her to ask, but she didn’t really have any other questions, so she just blurted it out.

“It’s hands down the most magnificent, impressive structure in all of the Devildom,” Satan supplied with a smile. This one felt more genuine, either because Satan was showing off his knowledge, or he had a love of fine architecture. Possibly both. Levi, on the other hand, launched into a long narrative as to how much the castle resembled one from a video game series, and then into the series itself, which was very much a Levi thing to do. It settled Melody’s nerves a bit, and she gave him a relieved smile. Unfortunately, part way through, Asmo interrupted.

“Yes, the Demon Lord’s Castle is like something straight out of a fairy tale. It’s absolutely beautiful!” Asmo was smiling, as he often did when discussing the aesthetic merits of something.

“…At first glance, sure,” said Mammon. “But I know the truth… I know about the tons and tons of horrible stories they tell about that place. It’s enough to make your skin crawl.” Mammon’s report was far less glowing than the other brothers’.

“Dinner… there’s gonna be a dinner…” While Beel’s hunger was sometimes destructive, at least he was largely predictable in his behavior. Sometimes Melody had a bit of mental whiplash reconciling the ‘food only’ version of Beel she usually saw with the very sensitive and aware Beel that had told her of the family’s history and his personal struggles.

“Barbatos has a secret torture room beneath the castle. And every night you can hear his victims’ screams of agony echoing up from outta there…” Mammon pretty much ignored Beel’s interjection and kept going. “And there’s a huge mirror, and behind it is the entrance to a secret labyrinth. And inside the labyrinth lives a monster that feasts on the innards of demons…” It sounded very scary, but Melody couldn’t believe it was the whole truth, even if there might be some elements that were based on truth. After all, running a kingdom had to have a dark side. But, Diavolo didn’t seem like the kind of person that lived in a place where tortured screams were heard on a daily basis. As for the steward, well, she didn’t know what to make of him, as she had only met him the once.

“So, Asmodeus claims it’s like something out of a fairy tale, and Mammon thinks it’s a hell house,” observed Satan, clearly amused by the contrast. “Who do YOU believe, Melody?” Melody was startled by being called on out of the blue.

“I believe they both think they’re telling the truth,” Melody managed to say. If Mammon heard different reports, then, he wasn’t necessarily lying if he believed them. Misinformation wasn’t a lie on the behalf of the person who repeated it. It might show foolishness or gullibility, but not deceit. “Just because a place is beautiful, doesn’t mean that it can’t have something terrifying inside.” Melody blushed a tiny bit as she realized that described the brothers she lived with. They were all very handsome, to varying degrees, but they were all demons, and very terrifying when angry.

“You have a fair point,” Satan said, peering at Melody as if seeing her for the first time. In truth, he was taking a look at her soul, something he didn’t do often. After all, what was the point. Either she’d be unremarkable, or she’d be a temptation he couldn’t afford to indulge. The damage to Lucifer’s reputation wouldn’t be worth the consequences if he harmed Melody directly, or even allowed her to be harmed. And, while had never shown much interest in her, he held no ill will against her. He was surprised to find that her soul had definitely improved since he glimpsed it when she first showed up. Well, whatever she was doing, it was working.

The rest of the meeting had little to do with Melody, so she quietly did tasks on her DDD while the Council members continued to discuss other matters. She didn’t interrupt, though sometimes she did see one or another of the demons glance her way, including Lord Diavolo. At the end of the meeting, Melody shot him a questioning glance, and he gestured for her to approach. Timidly, she did so, even though the other demons had filed out of the room.

“I’m glad to see you’re doing so well, Melody,” he said, his expression and body language both open.

“So am I. Sir? Lord? Your Highness?” Melody wasn’t really sure how to address him, and she shuffled awkwardly in place.

“Don’t worry so much about it. Sir is fine, if that is what you are comfortable with,” Diavolo reassured her. “After all, you are a guest here; not actually one of my subjects,” he adds. Melody took a relieved breath.

“I’d just like to say, thank you for stepping in to s-save me,” Melody said, stumbling over that word as she remembered how close she had been to dying.

“Of course,” said Diavolo, his expression growing serious. “You are very important to my plan. I’m sure you’re a wonderful person on your own, so don’t look so disappointed,” Diavolo added when he saw Melody’s expression fall. “I’ll get to interact more with you in the upcoming retreat, and then I can speak honestly about you as a person. But I can already guess that you are at least a good person; you have pacts with three very powerful demons, and you haven’t used that at all to your advantage.”

“I wouldn’t do that. I’ve only used it once.”

“So I heard; to save Mammon, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Yes sir,” Melody said. “And I wasn’t really thinking about it at the time. I just acted on impulse because I was afraid.”

“I believe you, Melody. Truly, I do.” He inclined his head towards her. Melody still wasn’t sure what to think of the Demon Prince. He seemed very affable, and normal. He certainly didn’t seem proud or stiff. Yet, he must be very powerful all the same. She just didn’t know to what degree. “Was there anything else?”

“No. Just that I really am glad you got there in time. And I’m sorry for causing trouble.”

“By all accounts, it was an honest mistake. You were trying to help Luke, is that correct?”

“Yes, I was. But, I didn’t know there were hidden places that were so… sensitive. Or else I never would have done that. And, I don’t think I realized how serious it was until it was too late.” Melody frowned and looked at her feet.

“Chin up, Melody. Everyone made it out safely. Just remember what you’ve learned going forward.”

“Thank you, sir, I will!”