“A Demon?! You mean that those horns aren’t from a beastkin clan?”
“Ho, and here I had been thinking that you were part reptile beastkin of some kind.”
After they calmed down, the King and Queen took the news of what race I am fairly well. For now, I’m withholding the information about my Elven half, given the outlook on history here, and the legends they have of them.
“No, I haven’t the slightest of beastkin blood in me, though, I would appreciate it if the fact of my race was not spread around. I would like to spend my time here without drawing any attention.”
The King laughed at that.
“You don’t want to draw any attention? That is going to be difficult, Lady Kai, since you sat up here with us, and Joan. Most of the people in this ballroom are now wondering who you are, and why you have the status required to sit here.”
Oh. I forgot about that.
I sighed deeply, annoyed at myself for not realizing something like that.
The Queen was the next to speak up, voicing one of her questions.
“Pardon me, Lady Kai, but how did it get to the point where you had nearly starved to death? I would have thought that one such as yourself could easily find food, or would at least have a stockpile in folded space.”
“Well, I was forcibly transported into the Royal Hunting Grounds, where no food is present. And, as much as I would love to have a folded space to put things into, I am not strong enough for that yet.”
“Not strong enough? What do you mean? You would at least be more powerful than Lady Joan, no?”
I looked at the King, who seemed confused.
“What gave you that impression?”
“Well, you’re a Demon, right? You’ve lived for countless years, since the supposed cataclysm…”
I cocked my head to the side, sending a questioning gaze towards the King.
“You do know that more Demons have been born since then, right? Our species is not infertile or anything.”
“Wait, but then, how old are you?”
“I recently turned fourteen years old.”
…
…
…
The King sighed.
“Forgive me for presuming again, Lady Kai. You are much younger than I had expected, even after learning that you weren’t an ancient Demon. My daughter, Princess Jasmine, is of a comparable age to you, but you seem…older somehow.”
“There’s no harm done. I’m a bit of an abnormality anyway, so it’s all easily forgiven.”
With that, my introductions to the King and Queen were finished. The table descended into pleasant and polite conversation between them and Joan, and I got to be the fly on the wall, learning more about the current state of this nation. They talked about things like recent military reports from the borders—more specifically, the border to the west, where a rival nation was located, and the northern, southern, and western borders, which had always had a problem with monster attacks, due to the wild nature of the land outside of them.
Another topic of note was the romantic lives of the King and Queen’s children, with things like the latest girl left heartbroken by the Second Prince, who made a good candidate for the First Prince’s wife, or who had last asked for the Princess’s hand in marriage.
It was a bit like watching one of those gossip shows from Earth, except these relationships would likely have great political implications, since they concerned the Royal family, and it’s future.
Other than this, there was no indication that they were going to talk about anything of particularly great importance, even though that had been the reason Joan came here, and dragged me with her. I supposed that they would likely go into a side room to talk about anything extremely important—not that it was a better place to discuss sensitive things, but because it gave the illusion of it.
That’s one of the things I’ve never really understood. If you don’t want something to be heard by others, then say it in a crowded space, where words get lost in the air fairly quickly. However, when sensitive secrets are talked about in an empty room, that’s practically just inviting someone to listen in.
That’s why I wasn’t concerned with anyone overhearing my race, and age. There was nobody close enough to make out individual words, and the King and Queen wouldn’t go around telling everybody.
So, I don’t have to worry about an uproar among the nobility after learning that a Demon had taken up residence in the other half of the palace. No, I would only have to avoid those who became curious after seeing the changes in facial expressions from the King and Queen.
Eh—this whole ball has turned into something troublesome, hasn’t it?
Anyway, I sat at the table, listening to their conversation. I didn’t really have anything to contribute to it. I mean, yes, I did learn quite a lot about this nation through the books in the library, but that paltry amount of knowledge can in no way stand up to the amount gathered after a lifetime of living in said nation. I just had to keep my ears open, and absorb as much of their conversation as possible.
Or, at least until they inevitably got up, desiring to move to a private room—as I had anticipated. Joan gave me a sad smile, and told me that there were some things that she simply couldn’t let me know, and that I wouldn’t be able to join in on this little chat.
Yup. She left me to the wolves. Damn it, Joan.
----------------------------------------
It had been about an hour since I had lost sight of that girl.
An hour of frantically searching the ballroom floor had left me mentally tired, and frustrated at my inability to find her.
You would think that someone as beautiful looking as her would have attracted attention no matter where she went, but it was like she had completely disappeared from the ballroom floors.
I was on the verge of giving up, and assuming that she had simply left, when the chamberlain announced the arrival of the Royal family. Being friends with both the Second Prince and the Princess, I was very glad that they had arrived when they did. It gave me a reason to not go gallivanting around the palace, trying to find that elusive girl.
So, I talked with the people around me until the Royal children had finished their dinners, and joined everyone else on the ballroom floor.
The Second Prince and the Princess spotted me almost instantly—an ability of theirs I’ve never understood. How do you spot someone like me in the middle of a large crowd anyway? I’m nearly invisible among them.
I knew that they had found me due to the crowd parting towards my direction, evidence that they were walking my way.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
The Second Prince reached me first, and went to clasp my hand.
“Ah, it’s good to see you here, Joseph. I was worried that I would have to pass the time with those idiotic nobles.”
The Second Prince was somewhat notorious for his impatience regarding the nobility of his country. He felt stifled by all their customs and restrictive rules of conduct, and tended to avoid them. When I first met him, he had considerably opened up to me after learning I wasn’t a noble. Or, as he said, “One of those stupid-ass noble brat-lords.”
He’s not to good at being polite—he’s too blunt for that. In fact, out of the three Royal siblings, he’s the best warrior, despite his thin build.
That’s how we became friends—he would always spar with me, since I would never hold back on him. Of course, that led to him being viciously beaten in combat against me a few times, but at least his swordplay has greatly improved in the time that I’ve known him.
Then, the Princess tends to follow her brother around, so we met during one of the little sparring matches.
Since then, we’ve become somewhat close friends. It’s to the degree that I can walk around the palace unhindered, or request to see them whenever.
“Well, I am certainly glad that you’ve chosen to spend your time with me, rather than the noble scions.” I said, in response to Idarus’s greeting towards me.
He laughs, and thumps my shoulder.
“Please, no need to be so formal, Joseph. We know each other too well for that. Hell, you even know my favorite type!”
“Please Brother, anyone can figure out your type just by looking at all the women left in your wake. Big breasts, and brown hair, is it?”
I laughed at Princess Jasmine’s comment.
“That’s exactly right! He confided the very fact to me after we had visited a local marketplace together.”
“Oi! Have some decency, and at least keep my secrets, would you? Ugh—Had I known it would turn out this way, I would have at least said I liked thin girls.”
Jasmine and I both laughed at his wounded expression, not feeling any pity for him at all.
We chatted the time away, talking about inane things like what the First Prince had gotten for his birthday, and discussing some of the unknown people present at this ball.
I thought it had been as good a time as any to bring it up, so I asked Idarus about the girl I had run into a few times. He tended to keep a weathered eye on the women, after all.
“A girl? My gods Joseph, are you finally interested in someone else?!” Blurted out Idarus.
“Shh!” I hissed at him, “Keep it down, will you?”
I sighed.
“Look, I don’t know anything about her, but I just can’t forget her face. I thought that perhaps you might know to whom I am referring.”
“Alright, alright. Describe this mystery woman of yours to me.”
“Sure. She’s short—shorter than me, with long white hair and black horns on the sides of her head. Her eyes are also golden, and slit pupil.”
“Huh. Sound unique—I wonder if she’s a mutation of a few different types of beastkin. Though, what sorts would need to combine to get something like that?”
“I don’t care,” I said, surprising even myself by the urgency in my voice, and the hope I felt. “Just tell me if you know her.”
“Sorry, Joseph. I can’t say that I do.” My heart sank, even though I knew it had been a very faint hope in the first place.
But then, Idarus continued speaking, looking towards the back of the room, where the Royal family had entered. He had an odd expression on his face, almost like he was slightly stunned.
“However, there seems to be a very beautiful girl fitting your description sitting with my parents.”
“What?!” I yelled, craning my neck to look in that same direction. However, unlike Idarus who could just barely see through the crowd, I couldn’t make anything out.
“Damn it! Can we get closer to the table?”
“Sure, sure. Easily. Oh? —It looks like Mom and Dad are leaving the ball, and there’s another woman there, going with them. They’ve left your girl alone at the table! Come on; let’s get there quickly! Now I’m curious as to who this girl is, as well.”
Idarus lead the way, and I followed closely behind. Jasmine also came, though her mood seemed sour, for some reason.
Finally, after pushing through the crowd, I could see the Royal table, with exactly one person still seated there. I could tell that some of the people around me were talking about her, wondering who she might be, and what qualifies her to sit there, when they can’t. There were even some people who were hesitating, caught between wanting to talk to her, and not wanting to be the first one. How odd—the normally arrogant nobles seemed unsure, and caught off-guard somehow.
Idarus, the glorious and ignoble bastard, just hopped up onto the pedestal where the table sat, and spoke to her as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Ah, pardon me, my lady, but you cut such a lonely figure that I thought it would be noble of me to invite you to my little group of friends.” Said Idarus in a smooth voice which would normally have the ladies swooning left and right.
This girl, however, simply looked at his as if he were annoying her.
“No thanks, Second Prince. I would rather not spend time listening to noblemen speak.”
“Well, you must be a woman after my own heart, then, since you won’t have to listen to a single little noble cock-fucker in my group. There are others that can’t stand them, you know. Also, and I don’t mean this as a threat, but a warning—those noblemen will come up here, and ask you to dance and all that, as soon as I leave. I would highly recommend that you vacate this table before that happens.”
The girl glared at him angrily, but all I could think was ‘How cuuute!’. Never-the-less, she sighed deeply, as if conceding defeat, and rose from her seat.
“Fine then. Introduce me to your little group.” Her eyes fanned the three of us, and rested on mine a brief moment longer than the others.
When she looked at me, I felt a deep resignation in her, as if she had been consigned to something terrible.
The Prince bowed elegantly, and fanned his hand toward Jasmine and I.
“You should likely know who I and my sister am, but in case it bears repeating, I am Idarus Zao, the kingdom’s Second Prince and a budding warrior. Jasmine Zao, Princess and mage. And, Joseph Hill, currently this generation’s Paragon. Who might you be, my lady?”
“Katariah Silver. If you must, call me Kai.”