The next few days went by in a flash of busy activity. To properly prepare for the inevitable takeover of the barony, Mammon, in his Amon guise, went all out on the social gatherings and hosted more events and banquets than he could ever stomach normally. The only saving grace of all these activities was that Wren had started to pick up on higher class behaviors rather well, and the shy and demure boy was starting to really blossom into a lordling-to-be. The boy had given it his all in learning the right etiquettes and manner of speech in the last week, which surprised Mammon; he had always thought that Wren was a little dim-witted, but that was apparently not the case.

Either way, Mammon’s days and afternoons were spent socializing with the upper class but that didn’t mean that his evenings were any less hectic. He had to ensure that his propaganda campaigns and rumor mills were working at peak efficiency, all the while stomping out the small but persistent opposition that still rebelled against his rule. It was more work than Mammon had done in centuries, but all of his efforts paid off when the nameless girl came back with a full report.

“Alright, so what’s the situation with the baron?” Mammon asked; he was alone with the girl in his office, and he was oddly curious about how the girl would give her report. As far as he knew, she’d still only said a handful of words to him thus far.

“Not good,” she whispered, “Baron’s comatose, his son’s not much better. Bookkeeper thinks it’s a curse, I concur.”

Mammon raised an eyebrow. “A curse?”

She nodded but didn’t speak further. Mammon sighed and gestured for the girl to explain.

“Shadow magic,” she continued and raised a hand, the fingers disappearing as a smoking substance ate the light around her arm, “Strong too, and a hint of Spirit in there, a duel core perpetrator. Too sloppy to be any stronger than that.”

“I see,” Mammon muttered, “And there’s not a lot of those around in these this far up north, not after the exodus of mages back to the capital.”

“Rogue. Not one of the officials.”

Mammon agreed. “Definitely outside the abilities of those pompous idiots. Interesting, so someone or some organization is working behind the scenes, I always loved a good conspiracy, but unfortunately, this one isn’t one of mine. Did you find any clues about who could be behind the work?”

“Nothing. They’re thorough. Need more time to search; more access to the mansion. Security’s too tight to work for long.”

The demon sighed. “But you can find something if you’re given more time in the mansion?”

“Yes.”

“How long do you need?”

The girl thought for a moment. She almost never spoke without considering her words first. “Few hours, four or five, uninterrupted. Need time to prepare as well.”

Mammon grunted and rose from his seat. “Then you’ll get it. I’ll have Amon host something unforgettable with the nobles and governors, have them so tied up trying to impress each other that they’ll be too busy to guard the mansion. Do you know of any reason why someone would host something that large?”

Once again, the girl thought for a while before speaking. “There’s the boy. Looks the right age for a coming-of-age ceremony.”

“How old is that around these parts?”

“Thirteen.”

The demon nodded slowly, Wren was probably a bit younger than that, but it wasn’t like anyone could check otherwise. “That’ll work, thank you.”

“I’ll coordinate when you go in as Amon.”

Wait, how did the girl know that? As far as the demon could tell, no one made the connection between his two forms, but apparently that wasn’t the case. Was that something unique to her or was that something that’s common for other mages? He’ll have to find out later, otherwise a lot of his plans would need adjustments.

Mammon frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Your aura’s unmistakable,” she answered, her face still unreadable. “Don’t worry, no one else knows.”

“I see…” the demon muttered, “And would other mages know this? Could they see through my forms?”

“No,” she answered simply, not elaborating further.

Mammon frowned again but didn’t press the girl further. He doubted he’d get anything substantial out of her, and it wasn’t like she’d be an expert on other mages. “Keep the fact a secret for now in that case.”

She nodded.

“Alright, you’re dismissed for now, go get your preparations done, I’ll send someone to let you know when the ceremony is.” Mammon paused for a moment, then turned to the girl one last time. “And do you have a name? I haven’t asked, now that I think about it.”

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Another pause from the girl, as if she was thinking of a proper answer, but after a while, she only nodded and whispered in an almost imperceivable volume. “Dust. Call me Dust.”

The girl, Mammon supposed he should call her Dust now, got up quickly, bowed slightly, and left just as silently as she came. Mammon still thought her a strange creature, but she did her work remarkably well, and aside from the gloomy disposition, she was a useful asset to have. She seemed a tad too good at her job, and she was the first person to peer through Mammon’s disguises. More things the demon had to figure out in the future, but now, it was Mammon’s turn to provide that asset with the opportunity she needed to get the job done.

* * *

It shouldn’t have surprised Mammon to learn that Wren did not take the idea of being at the center of attention too well. He had gotten better at acting like the other rich children, but that was only because he was ever at the periphery of attention. Even the demon had to admit that it was still too early for him to be in the limelight, but options were limited. Thus, Mammon went ahead with the arduous task of convincing Wren that he was ready for the task.

“I’m just afraid that I’ll mess things up for you, Mona…” the boy muttered, “And plus, I’m not even thirteen yet.”

Mammon had decided to break the ice over dinner; the two hadn’t needed to buy food for a while now ever since the servants arrived. Wren had been hesitant to call on the hired help’s services in the beginning, but he was adjusting well in the last few weeks. Now, he wouldn’t even bat an eyelash at being pampered and doted on by the maids.

“I doubt you know your exact birthday, but you should be around that age, Wren,” Mammon answered, “And you can’t hide in my shadows forever. You’ll need to socialize and meet people of higher standing, and you can’t do that before your coming-of-age ceremony. Plus, I thought you would hold your head up high after getting your revenge, what happened to that?”

Mammon had done some research on that celebration on his way back to the house. This ceremony was something that most middle to upper-class families did for their children, and it was a signifier that they were ready to transition into adulthood. Generally speaking, the child would have more responsibilities after the ceremony, and if they were of a really opulent family, they would even start looking for a potential future partner.

However, while the celebration was technically all about the celebrant, it was more for wealthy families to show off their influence and wealth. They would use their child as an excuse to flaunt their power, and nothing said that better than the capabilities of their own offspring. That was why in each and every coming-of-age ceremony, there would be a magical aptitude test given to the child.

Normally, families would pour all of their available resources into nurturing their child to succeed on that test, but Mammon didn’t have high hopes for the boy. It would be embarrassing for them both if Wren had no aptitude at all, but the boy had managed to summon one of Hell’s greatest demons across dimensions, so surely he had some potential. Or so Mammon hoped. Either way, he needed the upper-class idiots occupied for a long time, and there was no better option than what Dust had suggested.

“I know Mona, and I don’t plan to stop getting better, but… if I make a mistake, it’ll look bad on you. I know they have that test they do, and I’m not going to be as good as all the actual rich kids.”

Mammon shook his head and chuckled. It seems that despite the rapid growth of the boy in the last few weeks, he was still a child at heart. “Don’t you worry about that, Wren. You were able to summon an elemental, and not just any normal elemental at that. I don’t believe anyone in this whole world’s managed that; have more confidence in yourself.”

The boy nodded slowly. “I don’t think I can have as much faith in myself as you do…”

“Well, you can work on that in the next few days,” Mammon replied softly, “You’re still young, there’s a lot of time to grow, and I’ll be there with you every step of the way. However, you can’t rely solely on me forever, and this is the best opportunity for you to meet others. Get to know people, judge them to see if they are useful, and make allies. You remember what I taught you before, right?”

The boy nodded again. “Yes, that I should always judge others to see how useful they are to me. The talented ones should be my friends, but I should always look out to see what everyone can give me. But to do that, I have to be smart and brave.”

“Good job,” the demon said with a smile, “See, you’re learning already. Just think of this ceremony as a way to judge who’s useful around you. And plus, I haven’t seen you socialize with anyone aside from myself since meeting you, don’t you think that’d have to change soon?”

Actually, Mammon did find it strange that the boy had been so antisocial since their first meeting. Aside from this strange boss of his - Mammon had long since captured and taken him out of the picture - the demon hadn’t seen Wren interact with anyone socially. Surely there were other street urchins and pickpockets he was close to.

Wren frowned. “But I don’t need anyone else aside from you!”

Mammon shook his head, seemed like the boy was a little too dependent on the demon. The demon supposed it only made sense since the child never had an adequate adult figure in his life, given his upbringing, but Wren couldn’t rely on the demon for everything going forward.

“As much as it pleases me to know that you think of me so highly, lordling,” Mammon stated with a shake of his head, “It’s also not healthy to have no one else beside you. Every hero always has a party of companions, and every ruler has a trusted council of advisors. You’ll learn soon enough that no one gets very far in life working alone, not even myself.”

“I guess so…” the boy mumbled, “Does that mean you have people working for you when you go out to make money?”

Mammon nodded. He hadn’t told the child everything about his line of work, not yet at least, but Wren did know that the demon had been busy in the background securing the necessary funds to live their current life of relative comfort. He had originally planned to introduce the child to his little organization but thought otherwise. The boy’s still too innocent and naive to be subjected to such things, and now that a better opportunity presented itself, Mammon decided to allow the boy to build up some power legitimately first. Have him taste the life of the upper class before dipping his feet into the dirty business of the underground.

“I have many subordinates,” the demon answered, “And you’ll meet them someday as well, when you’ve developed a little. For now, let’s have you focus on the ceremony. I’m guessing that you’re not sure exactly what goes on in one of those, so let’s go over the fundamentals together.”

The boy nodded, and for the rest of the afternoon, Mammon taught Wren everything that he had just learned. The boy didn’t need to be perfect, but the demon wouldn’t allow him to make a complete fool out of himself in any case. It was only after the sun had fully set that they were done; there was still so much to do, invitations to send out, and more things to plan before Mammon’s plans could come to fruition, but the demon found the busy schedule a welcome change in any case.