The party was set in the evening four days later, the sun just disappearing behind the trees as they arrived. It was in a smaller territory west of Helwin, inland. The castle loomed in the distance, framed against the fading light.

Although the mansion itself wasn’t as large as Helwin’s, the gardens were better taken care of. Dominic glanced over the shrubs and flowering trees, many of which he’d never seen before. It was in a more natural style than the manicured, perfectly trimmed topiaries of Vaine. Petals were floating and falling freely across the path. And it was serene in contrast to the scents that surrounded him.

The mana signatures of numerous nobles and their servants were already permeating through the entire estate, emanating from the house and encircling the garden like a fog bank. The scents of flowers and leaves and damp grass were mixed with rusting metal and rotting wood. Alcohol and overpowering perfume. It only got heavier as they approached the door and then stepped into the house.

A few people glanced at the two of them as they finally entered the banquet hall, but there wasn’t much interest. Helwin wasn’t a particularly influential territory, and nobody even knew who Dominic was. They had other priorities.

“There’s the host,” Thelo said, glancing towards a demon who was gathered with several others, speaking jovially across a table laden with food and drinks. “Kilan Gela, the first son of Count Gela.”

“And the rest?” Dominic asked.

“Nameless rabble. All pro-demon types, overlord wannabes.”

Thelo glanced up at him.

“Are there any that have caught your attention?” he asked.

“None any more than the others,” Dominic replied.

Their mana was above average, but not enough to single out any as particularly impressive mages. And although the auras they gave off obviously weren’t pure or innocent, they could hardly be attributed to much more than petty crime or bribery. The king wouldn’t care about something like that, concerning nobles as minor as the sons of small territories.

“Well, we should introduce ourselves anyway,” Thelo said, moving towards them.

The host, Kilan, quickly noticed them approaching and smiled welcomingly.

“Ah, you must be Lord Helwin,” he greeted, holding out a hand.

“That I am,” Thelo replied, taking it. “I’m flattered that you recognized me. I haven’t been out in the social circle in quite a long time.”

“Of course I would!” he said. “You’ve been a hot topic lately. The new Viscount of Helwin! We’ve all been dying to speak with you. Come, take a seat.”

He motioned towards an empty chair at the table, and Thelo made his way over and slid gracefully into it. Dominic stayed standing behind him. Kilan glanced over Thelo’s shoulder at him with curiosity.

“Who’s this that you’ve brought along?” he asked.

Thelo smiled.

“This is an old benefactor of mine,” he replied. “His name is Lio. He just recently returned from a long environmental study in the south, so I must apologize in advance if his etiquette is a little rusty.”

Lio, the name they’d decided to use temporarily. There was no way he could still go by ‘Dominic’ when Dominic was supposed to be dead. He smiled and bowed.

“Good evening, gentlemen,” he said. “I believe this is my first time meeting all of you.”

“And I hope that it is not the last,” Kilan replied enthusiastically. “I’ve always enjoyed conversing with scholars. And you are quite striking, Lio. I wouldn’t have imagined there was such a demon hiding out in the southern wilderness.”

The table laughed along with him, and Thelo matched them. Dominic smiled cordially in response.

“I’m flattered,” he said, smoothly opening up his fan and hiding behind it. “It has been a long time since I’ve been back, so I’m happy that it doesn’t show.”

“How did the study go? Did you find anything interesting?”

“It was just regular monitoring of the Southern Basin,” Dominic replied, his answer already fixed. “I’m sure I would only bore you with the details. I’m much more interested in hearing the stories you all have to share, as someone who has been away from politics for a while.”

Flattery aimed to redirect their attention away from him, and to make the nobles talk. He caught Thelo grinning out of the corner of his eye.

“Haha, what is there to say?” Kilan responded. “It’s the same old things. I understand why the Rift generation pushes to help humans, but it’s just not practical anymore, isn’t it?”

There were mumbles of agreement across the table.

“I mean, they really are pitiful, and I totally agree with offering them help,” he continued, “but giving them lord seats and such, now that’s completely different. Say, Lio, how long were you down south for that study?”

“Twelve years,” Dominic replied.

“Twelve years!” Kilan repeated, clapping his hands. “That’s a drop in the bucket for us, but no human could dedicate themselves to a cause for that long. Their lives are too short! You can’t justify making them a lord when their longevity is such a problem.”

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There were murmurs of “here, here” all around. Thelo also nodded along, though his mana was prickly and irritated.

“Were there any humans at your research station, Lio?” Kilan asked.

“There was one, but he only stayed for two winters,” he replied. “There were a few who ported supplies to us, but…you can hardly count them as members of the station.”

“See?” Kilan shook his head solemnly, as if he cared. “You can’t trust high ranking, long term positions to them. I’m sure they’d try their best, but I’d feel unsafe under a human’s rule. It would be too unstable, considering their fragility.”

“I would worry for their safety as well,” another demon across the table added. “Government seats are not easy to maintain, with political enemies around every corner. They would be endangering themselves just by sitting in them. They should leave the jobs to people who can handle them.”

More nods of agreement came from around the group. He resisted the urge to make a face that would clearly have said ‘I doubt any of you have ever been in danger.’

“I see that it is the same as always,” Dominic said. “I suppose it would have been more shocking if things had changed.”

Kilan chuckled.

“You certainly are correct,” he replied. “The king and his entourage of ancients are going to be around for a long while, and their minds are set. Meanwhile, we’ll just live the way we want to. Don’t we deserve it?”

Dominic just smiled along.

“Isn’t that how life should be lived?” he agreed.

“You really understand us, Lio. It’s quite nice to have you around.”

With that, Kilan’s gaze turned to Thelo, allowing Dominic to finally relax a degree.

“Regardless, it seems like we’ve been neglecting the honorable guest!” he said. “Welcome to our table, Lord Helwin. I’d love to hear your opinion too.”

Thelo’s lips ticked upwards, and his mana smoothed out. He was preparing to sweet talk them. That was his cue to go.

Dominic closed his fan and smiled softly.

“I’ll excuse myself then,” he said. “The new lord should have the spotlight here. I’ll be leaving him in your hands.”

“We’ll take good care of him,” Kilan replied, nodding. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Lio.”

“The pleasure was all mine,” Dominic said.

“Thank you for coming.”

He bowed, then moved away, calmly keeping tabs on the guests in the hall who stared as he walked towards one of the many doors that faced the gardens. Luckily, no one followed him out.

The air was a little clearer outside, though it was impossible to ignore the mire of scents that oozed out of the house. Strong liquor and giggles between whispers of gossip. Why nobles, both here and in Vaine, always wasted their time and money on these kinds of pointless events, he didn't care to know.

Dominic hadn’t gone far when suddenly, Aster’s presence approached from above, flying so quickly that it surprised him. He barely had time to duck behind a topiary when the crow came barreling down, landing on his arm.

“Aster?” he whispered, careful of being caught spying among nobles. “What’s wrong?”

The crow seemed to be checking him all over, sticking his beak between the folds of his clothes.

“Good,” he finally responded. “It’s not on you yet.”

“What isn't?”

Aster glanced from side to side, checking if anyone was around.

“Blood,” he said. “The smell of blood, it’s everywhere. Those guys you were just with, they reek of it.”

Dominic’s brow furrowed. He had smelled it weakly on them as well, but hadn’t thought anything of it. Their mana wasn’t heavy enough to denote that they’d done anything particularly bad. The scent of blood could come from something as mundane as eating a rare steak or visiting a hospital.

“How bad is it?” he asked.

“Bad,” Aster replied. “It’s all over them. Like they’re around it—a lot of it—all day.”

“Do you know what it’s from?” Dominic asked.

“…No,” Aster admitted. “To be honest, I can’t even imagine it.”

This complicated things. Those petty nobles whom he had assumed the king would have no interest in were not as simple as he had originally thought. He knew they couldn’t have been directly harming anyone with their own hands—or else he would've picked up on it one way or another—but they were soaked through with the scent of blood. It was obviously suspicious, and yet he also couldn’t take action unless he knew why they smelled like that, and if it even meant anything to begin with.

“Alright,” he said. “You—”

Aster tensed suddenly, and Dominic, too, froze. He put a hand tightly over his nose, holding back a gag.

The crow’s talons dug into his arm, his grip unintentionally tight with fear.

“Brother…” he whispered, his voice and form both shaking.

His eyes were staring straight into the distance, fixed on something that couldn’t yet be seen through the greenery of the garden.

“Brother, something’s coming.”

“Go,” Dominic said urgently.

“Brother—”

“Go!”

He lifted his arm, forcing the crow to take back to the air. Aster’s dark form floundered for a second before regaining his wits and shooting up into the sky, disappearing into the night.

“Ugh.”

Dominic covered his nose again, grimacing. It was horrible. Blood, pungent and thick. Fresh as the splatter from newly cut arteries, rotten as abandoned pools inside prison cells. So acidic it made his eyes water. It smelled like flesh and stained nails and torn skin and rasping shouts towards the heavens for mercy, please, mercy, not like this. And then there is that thick black sludge of evil. In the end, you cannot call what is left a body anymore. It is unidentifiable, aside from blood across a muddy floor.

The mana laughed. It was happy to see it. Dominic wanted to vomit.

He removed the hand from his face, taking a deep breath—forcing himself to calm down. He let a thin layer of his own mana seep out, crawling over his skin, shielding him from the signature that was approaching, just enough that he no longer felt like gagging. The presence was getting stronger, getting closer. He couldn't miss this chance.

A middle aged woman in an ornate dress appeared from the greenery, her long, black hair done up in complicated braids. Two maids followed her from a distance. She noticed Dominic, their eyes meeting, and smiled.

“I didn’t expect there to be anyone out here,” she said.

He forced himself to smile calmly back.

“I hope I have not surprised you, Madam,” he replied, still feeling his heart beating in protest. He ignored the instinctual agitation that rose out of his chest.

“Not at all,” she answered. “I haven’t seen you around before. Are you visiting?”

“Yes. I just recently returned from the south.”

“Oh, then I should introduce myself.”

She put a hand on her chest, standing tall, her face framed coldly against the moonlight.

“My name is Ashina Maylia,” she said. “I am the Countess of Maylia.”

There was a sparkle in her eye, as if she was interested in him. Dominic thickened the layer of mana covering his skin.

Her smile never wavered as she spoke.

“I am pleased to make your acquaintance.”