I had previously only heard of Elvin, as Humans call them. Some accounts of them on the battlefields of the War exist, but it was limited to only rough appearance and some basic feats performed.

Roughly four, maybe four-and-a-half detrinis tall compared to me being six (horns not included), blue-tinged skin, a bit of a plump face, extremely pointed ears in contrast to my slight narrowing at the top or Humans' round lobes, and a talent for magic of some sorts. Most of the information acquired was about the general location of their countries, which ended up being too far away from us to allow any influence, and also about the way they used mana. They seemed utterly useless at arcane magic. During many sieges, we never had a description of any one of them throwing a Fireball, let alone something more complex.

Shadowlings were recruited to garner everything they could. Bodies were acquired, in whatever shape we could muster. They were of little use, the vague markings disappearing moments after the person would perish. Nothing impressive about them was found. No peculiarities involving magical absorption. Any one of the Elder Circle races were regarded highly superior it those regards.

The woman right in front of me seemed completely ordinary if maybe a bit on the shorter side. She could have been mistaken for a child, maybe, if her assets were not adequately developed and if her face hadn't had minute wrinkling around the eyes and the mouth. I usually was not a good judge of someone's character by their looks, but the way she stood and carried herself spoke of a certain dignity and pride. The look on her face, however, could be called something between surprise and disgust, if I were the one concerned. 'She also carries a hint of ignorance it would seem. Possibly a lack of knowledge, but being judgemental and overt could mean she's either young or too self-confident for her own good at times. She reminds me of Sarron.'

Her markings and her staff, however, were a completely different story. They were both seemingly designed to channel mana, the staff being similar to a grand gemstone if a Demon were to use it properly. The markings, on the other hand, seemed to have a purpose of channelling the mana into, around, as well as out of the body. Other than that, the inner channels seemed to be quite lacking in comparison. Compared to an ordinary Human, she could be a savant. Compared to a common Drakkar, she would be considered almost inept.

The room felt ice cold between the newly arrived Dwarf and the majority of the Royal Family of Leonia present. Sophia herself kept her eyes on both of us, her gaze darting back and forth as if she were trying to get herself in a trance. Gavin, Sophia's other older brother, and also the one I had the least amount of contact with, seemed prone to burst into flames any moment. 'Perhaps we interrupted a budding romance? Does the younger brother feel left out in this family?' 

While Renald seemed to be cordial enough to put aside his current opinion of me for the lack of a better word, and John being a child with much less of the inborn hatred I've had experienced from the majority of the Humans as a whole, Gavin was, on the other hand, the one who was the most likely to get on my nerves. If push came to shove, I could consider actually looking forward to something interesting happening during this day. Human weddings seemed like a boring enough of an affair anyway.

Sophia was the one who decided to break the chilly silence. "Why don't we all sit and eat? The day is still young and the wedding will be bound to be a while away."

She approached the Dwarf, Ophelia, and curtsied slightly. Her approach seemed more of try of quelling them rather than me. "My name is Sophia, I am Gavin's sister and Cerolus' wife."

The look on the Dwarf's face was precious. Disgust, amazement, conjecture, confusion, a hint of anger, her face scrunched up through all of those in a matter of moments. 'I wish I could just try and Link to her now.'

Instead, what I did was try and defuse the situation if only for a bit. It wouldn't do anyone any good to get riled up before the wedding even began. "Indeed, we rarely leave our homelands. But I thought my wife wanted to see her brother get married, and I couldn't miss the chance of seeing the Palace again. She wouldn't let me forget it I did. Is that right, dear?"

Sophia flinched, then turned red, then flinched again. Then she looked me right in the eyes. I could sense a mixture of shock and confusion. And a hint of happiness. After all, we've spent enough time together for me to sense some shreds of her emotions. That was the extent of the Link for now. Sophia seemingly gathered herself, then came to my side and took one of my hands into her arms. My palm could be considered a paw in her gentle hands, the softness of her skin trying to melt the roughness of my own. She then smiled at the Dwarf, a smile that looked only partially falsified. "Yes, that's right. How could I just come without him, or not come at all?"

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It would seem that whatever anyone tried to do now, the tension in the room won't lessen any. It was possible food could help, so I sided with Sophia's suggestion. "Yes, let us eat, you must be famished after your journey. Maybe we could all get to know each other better, even."

The entire crowd sat at the table that was starting to get refilled with food carried by what looked like a stream of servants. It reminded me of my childhood, so long ago. I recalled a specific line my father would say. 'One of the best ways to get to know someone is through sharing a meal, Cerolus.'

Besides, it wouldn't hurt to actually try. But I'd have to have the hosts actually ask the questions. Thankfully, Sophia's sister seemed to know what to do. She opened the conversation: "So, Lady Ophelia, can you tell us more about yourself? How was your journey?"

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 'I have never seen a Demon before.' This... thing, if I can call it, seems like a perversion on everything right. Black horns, black eyes, red skin, the Demon looked like everything that is wrong with the World. 'And this Human is married to it?'

I'm not even sure if I could consider the Demon to be a person. We've spent a few generations helping Humans in the War against them, and the only thing we observed from Demons is that they cared not even a little bit about saving anything of nature. Or magic. They seemed highly potent in magical craft, but they only seemed to use them for destruction and deception. Darkness and Fire. Brimstone and night. Everything wrong about the use of magic could be found in depictions we have of them. Ruthless. Cunning. Malevolent.

And now, I was standing almost face to face with someone who I could never trust to be a decent person, let alone good. Humans seemed to have made a lot of mistakes with their peace treaties. 'They shouldn't have made a treaty at all.'

But I tried suppressing all those thoughts and expressions. After all, I was in someone else's home, and my safety was all but guaranteed by the nobility. And I knew I could stand my ground. I had attended the most prestigious Academy of course. I was, after all, one of the best spellcasters Darnas had. 'Maybe if they actually sent some useful people to the War, the results would've been different.'

I pried my eyes off the Demon in front of me. It was useless to dwell on him, after all, we were in Human lands, and Demons seemed all but powerless outside their puny, barren lands. I turned towards the woman that asked the questions. No matter the country, nobility behaved similarly.

"The journey has taken quite some time. Our sails are second to none, it still took us nearly a month from one shore to the other. It was, however, quite pleasant at times to be on the open sea. The sunsets over the water are beautiful." I recalled some of the sunsets as I said that sentence. Or rather, I recalled what I did with the captain of the ship during those few last ones. My family had on more than one occasion expressed little concern about my activities, and I was more or less free of but the basic of rules and responsibilities that came with it. "But it is nice to be on solid land again, and Leonia seems like a nice place to live, all things considered. I am somewhat nostalgic for home, but that passes with time, I heard."

The Humans appeared to have a rather simplistic style of architecture, art, and fashion. Even their cuisine seemed underwhelming. Everything I tasted was either too spicy or too bland. I tried to rummage around my plate to find something that better suits my tastes.

The conversation steered somewhat in the direction of my home. I tried to speak as little as possible, mostly kindly answering to some basic questions. They seemed to be mostly interested, however, in my staff and markings. 'I suppose that it would seem weird to them.'

"It's a spellcasting aid. Allows for much greater precision and control over the spells used." I shrugged the question off, hoping that it would satisfy them, at least for now. But I could always play it up a bit. "Perhaps I could provide a demonstration after the wedding ceremony, where a lot more people can observe, if you'd like."

I put on my best smile, trying to look my best. "So, where are the bride and groom. I'd have thought they would be the centre of attention, rather than I."

Gavin was the one that snatched the conversation away. "My brother is preparing for the wedding. As for the bride, I'd received news that she would be coming directly to the Church. Something about 'not seeing the bride before the wedding' being a part of Basinean practice. I guess that means we have more time here."

He audibly sighed, obviously dejected by the prospect of being in the same room as the Demon. I could barely stand the Demon, Cerolus, himself, but Gavin's resentment seemed to go above and beyond simple discomfort. I made a proposition that Gavin would probably not refuse. "Lord Gavin, why don't you show me more of the Palace? There is still some time before the wedding, and I could use the air."

"Certainly, Lady Ophelia." His face brightened a bit and, with the faintest hint of a smirk on our faces, we left the Demon and his wife.

I'll get to know them better after the wedding anyway. That's when the good part starts.