Lit candles flickered with worry, fighting for their lives against the chilling winter’s air in an unfair struggle. Mice secretly crept under the floorboards and spiders prevailed in the high rafters of the entrance. Their vigour stopped though, as the door, letting out all of the heat, suddenly closed, producing a stiff bang that resonated across the interior. A tranquil silence took place. Two people, a man and a woman, welcomed the lack of numbing wind with a pleasant sigh, making them realize the silence of each other.

“Make yourself at home,” spoke the man, breaking the silence. Out of habit, he moved towards his guest and offered to hang her coat, but the woman was a step ahead of him.

“Thank you. I will,” she said, gently hanging her coat before he could reach her, and then moving into the nearby room and sitting near the hearth. All of it was done with overwhelming feminine grace, leaving the man unable to move his eyes away from the beauty in black. Just her presence made the usually depressing dimness of the house welcoming.

The hearth’s embers emitted a pleasant glow, transforming the boring home into a cozy abode. The creaky old chair turned into a grand one, the woman on top, already as beautiful as a princess, glowed like the sun, lighting up all of the world and even the stained hearts of men. The table nearby turned to silver as the most exotic of dishes materialized on its white cloth.

This of course existed only in the imagination of the host, who tried to focus on stoking the fire and not stare too much, though his eyes kept moving on their own towards the woman whom he did not know. Curiosity and duty wildly pulled at each other in his heart.

***

Did he find out? Iphis questioned constantly. Getting into the village was unbelievably easy, she simply had to use her succubus talents with a smidge of magic to charm the guard and get through. Her horns and other inhuman features were veiled by illusions so she looked no different from a normal woman, except her rare beauty of course, but worry still lingered in the back of her mind. The man in front, some sort of leader of the village, somehow was unaffected by her mind-control.

“I am Rene Bourcier,” he extended his hand for a handshake to which Iphis tilted her head in confusion. It was a first time someone greeted her in such a way. “Sorry,” he laughed, trying to hide his flushed face, and pulled the hand back. “I’m not used to these things.”

“No, no. I should’ve introduced myself first.” She giggled like an innocent girl, but her inhuman mind worked overtime trying to examine the man in front. “I am Iphis,” she extended her hand, which the man grabbed so quick it seemed more precious than gold.

“Miss Iphis,” he spoke, sitting down in front of her. His blue eyes looked honest, but suspicion hid behind the blackness of his pupils. “Pardon my bluntness, but why are you here?”

A simple question with a simple answer. At least is should’ve been, had she never been sent by an undead creature sometimes scarier than death itself. Her magic was useless, but her instincts told her that the man fell for her beauty, as all do. Though she still had to keep her guard up, as the feelings of love were bleak in face of utter horror brought by death. Iphis looked around, hoping to find clues to what answer would satisfy him most.

His house was simple, with a composition no different than a farmer’s, except it was slightly bigger, with windows of proper glass and candles to light the dark. The room she was in, also insignificant in almost anything but the few abnormalities, looked so new and clean that even the candles’ fire reflected off the shiny floorboards while the walls themselves were spotless, as if just built. A few expensive paintings hung on the walls, a golden trim glowed on their frames. But the most notable was the plate armor at the back of the room, hiding in the shadows where light was scarcer. It had a few dents, and, unlike a noble’s, it was simple and efficient, with no intricate designs, except a small coat of arms above the heart. It was worn down, but she could still make out something akin to a bear, or perhaps a massive sloth.

“I’ve got to say,” he spoke, noticing her silence. “It is weird for a woman to wander all the way out here alone.” His tone was calm, unusually so.

At the beginning Iphis thought he would be a dumb lowborn, but it would seem that the owner of the village was more dangerous than a human should ever be. From the armor she guessed he was a knight, and if it’s true, then it was no wonder he didn’t simply fall on his knees in face of her beauty and wholeheartedly did all she asked. Naturally, he shouldn’t have resisted her magic because of that, but that was an easy thing to achieve with the help of a magic item.

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“Not to mention you immediately asked to meet me.” He added.

“Thank you for your worry,” she said, with a tint of seductiveness in her tone, and lowered her head ever so slightly, just enough for him to notice. “I was simply sent by my Master,” she shuddered in her mind at the word. “Who sent me ahead to look for a place to stay the night. I am sure he’ll be here within the hour and you’ll be able to talk with each other.” She bent her head even more, forcing the man to feel uncomfortable. “I am only but a lowly servant and once more apologize for my rudeness.”

It worked perfectly, as the man squirmed around like a fish, unable to say anything in response. Iphis, enjoying every seconds of this, slowly rose from her chair, indicating that she was about to kneel before him.

“Please don’t do that!” He jumped up, grabbed her shoulders, and was about to say something, but froze in place.

With his mouth wide open he stood there, forgetting the atmosphere, as his mind indulged in the feeling of the woman. Her skin felt so soft he wanted to cry for all the husbands he had killed throughout his life. The demoness on the other hand, had to work her hardest to suppress the aura of her succubus body, as she didn’t want for the man’s mind to shatter this early by boundless lust.

“Ah! ...excuse me.” He let go, noticing how foolish he looked, and sat back down.

“It’s alright.” Said Iphis, playing with his innocent heart, and sat down as well. Honestly, all of this amused her greatly. Every move the man did, every breath and look he took, she guessed ahead of time, as if predicting the future or controlling him like some doll. Doing this, playing with his feelings, brought her pleasure. I’m a woman. Not just a demon. She thought, noticing the man clenching his hand. Ah… Here it comes.

“I… I too am a servant of my Lord,” said Rene, staring downwards, avoiding her face unlike up until now. “In my eyes,” he continued. “We are equals. Please, can you think so of me as well?”

“If that’s what you wish, Sir Bourcier…” She answered, smiling innocently like a girl in her teens would.

“Call me Rene.” He smiled back. “It’s only fit for equals to call each other by name.”

Iphis simply nodded, letting him dig his own grave. Though he’ll probably end up a rotting corpse at the end of this.

“Well then. What can I do for you, Iphis?”

“As I said, my Master will be soon coming here. He’s quite…peculiar.” She paused, holding in her laughter. “And might get displeased if there’s no one to properly greet him.”

“Hmm…” He crossed his arms in thought and nodded along. “Nobles can be like that. Could you tell me his name? Perhaps I know him.”

“I’m afraid that’s a secret.” Iphis didn’t even know if it had a name. He seemed to be calling himself Magus, but it’s so memorable she worried Rene might call her out on that. It’s better to lie through her teeth than risk saying half-truths this time. “He’s on a journey at the moment and no one knows he’s gone. All I can tell you is that he’s very, very important.”

“Alright,” he said reluctantly. “I think we can do something. Though, unfortunately, I can’t promise accommodation worthy of his name.”

“That’ll be fine. He’s not picky in that regard…”

“Peculiar indeed.” He chuckled, before noticing the room temperature. It was quite low as the hearth was yet to fully heat up. “Shall we warm up with a cup of tea? I’ve got it from a Caratian merchant recently.”

“I’d love to,” she didn’t. In fact, she wanted to leave as her task was complete, but it would be suspicious if she just walked out. “But a merchant? All the way here?” She continued with the act of interest.

“I know what you mean, not a lot of business all the way out here.” He pulled a bag out of one of the chests. It was made out of some kind of green fabric, similar to silk, but slightly rougher. “Actually, I returned home just recently. Got sent all the way south to man a regiment of my own. All rookies of course, but I at least got to see the prince. Imagined he’d be larger than that, though his looks do hold up to the reputation.” He laughed loudly and then opened the green bag. Soon, a fruity, but mellow, smell reached her, making Iphis actually want to try the tea out. “So, anyway. I met the merchant there. He was a funny fellow, though quite sheepish considering he sailed through Eurybia. The time I went I barely stood up from all the rocking and nothing but water…”

“Sounds like a fun story,” she said, now sipping on the freshly-made tea. It was quite good, though she didn’t have anything to compare it to, as this was her first time drinking such a beverage.

Hearing her words and the tone of fake interest, Rene began blabbering about this and that, mostly talking about his adventures in the army and some god forgotten places of the world, while the face of a puppy slowly overtook him. At some point Iphis doze off, no longer listening to his stories, only nodding and smiling along whenever she felt to. She couldn’t believe it, but she sensed that she’d rather be chained and dragged around by that undead than listen to this man any longer.

Ah… All she could do was sigh in her mind and refill the cup every so often, hoping for this to soon end.