Chapter XI: The Aftermath...

"I see, and did it not cross your mind at all that the Dwarf Princess Camillia could have been playing you as a fool?" Lady Nyx inquired with her arms crossed as she stared at Donovan, who was on his knees with his hands on his thighs.

It had been about ten minutes since he had returned to his room, and upon returning to it, he found a not so happy Lady Nyx inside of it waiting for him. She didn't waste any time with him and ordered him to get on his knees and start explaining everything to her.

"Well, I mean, I did have some doubts..." Donovan said as he scratched his cheek out of nervousness while looking away.

"Look me in the eyes, and say that again." Lady Nyx ordered curtly, which had caused him to look back at her and see once again that she was in no mood for jokes.

"Okay, I did have some doubts." He repeated after a few seconds while keeping eye contact with her. He, in all honesty, didn't like how she was treating him as if he were a child, and wanted to tell her that he knew what he was doing, but was positive that would piss her off even more. Not to mention, he would technically be lying to her if he did say this to her, for he wasn't one hundred percent sure he knew what was going on.

"Really?" Lady Nyx asked with an eyebrow raised, which in return got a nod of confirmation. "You really, and honestly had some doubts about Camillia?"

"Yes, I did." Donovan affirmed in a slightly annoyed tone. He had understood that he wasn't the smartest being out there, but that didn't mean he was a complete idiot who trusts everyone he comes across. No, he just had a good feeling about Camillia, and thought it might not be so bad if he investigated the situation with her. Although, in reality, the thought of leaving the palace had never crossed his mind like at all.

He had figured that they were going to use the tunnel system she used to enter his room to infiltrate one of the people she believed to be a traitor to the crown, but he was wrong.

"Oh, don't you dare get snarky with me, Donovan." Lady Nyx warned upon hearing the bit of attitude in his voice. "You were the one that decided to be an idiot and follow someone you barely knew, which could have been a ploy to frame you or worse."

"I won't get snarky with you if you don't treat me like a child, which is what you are doing right now." Donovan nearly yelled in response in an irritated voice.

"I wouldn't be treating you like a child if you had never done something so idiotic like this!" Lady Nyx pointed out as she raised her voice as well.

"I took a risk, and it paid off, so why are you giving me shit for it!?" Donovan shouted as he got up off of his knees. "Am I not allowed to make choices like this? Do I have to get yours and the Demon King's approval on everything I do!?"

"When you're putting our relationship with the Dwarven Empire on the line? Yes, you do." Lady Nyx declared in a voice that was more stern than angry. "When you're on the battlefield fighting the Hero Party or the human armies? No, you can do whatever you like."

Donovan didn't say anything and clicked his tongue in annoyance. He didn't want to get into a fight with Lady Nyx, but how she had been treating him at the moment had pissed him off.

Believing that he had calmed down a bit, Lady Nyx said in a much more calmer voice. "I don't want to treat you like a child, but you need to understand that you were very lucky, and that if you take everyone's words at face value, then you'll wind up dead."

"That's understandable, but how am I suppose to form relationships with others if I can't take risks?" Donovan questioned with a frown. "I don't know anybody in this world, and the people I do know would prefer to see my head removed from my shoulders, so tell me how can I make friends and allies with people that aren't demon folk if I'm not allowed to take any risks?"

"Oh, for the love of Stone, you are making me wanna hit you." Lady Nyx declared in an exasperated tone. "I'm not saying you can't take risks, Donovan. I'm just telling you not to take risks like this when our relationship with another kingdom is on the line, and if you are at least try to get some more information on the situation and tell somebody like me in advance."

Donovan said nothing at first, and just simply pondered her words, but after a while, he let loose a tired sigh, and said, "Okay, I will do that next time."

"Thank you." She said happily. "I'm sorry for ridiculing you and treating you like that."

"It's fine, but if I may ask, why do you act as if Camillia is a stranger, don't you know her?" Donovan said with a wave of his hand before asking his question.

"No, I don't know her. I mean, I have met her a couple of times, but even then it wasn't for long, so I couldn't really figure out what type of person she was." Lady Nyx stated before letting out a sigh. "All I really know about her was that after her mother passed away, His Imperial Majesty became very protective over her, and basically confined her to the palace, which had led me to believe she had grown up a sheltered life, but apparently I was wrong."

"Yeah, how she acted wasn't someone who group up a sheltered life." Donovan stated with a bit of laughter as he recalled her slamming a certain dwarf's head against a table. "Like she had become a whole another person the moment we entered that bar."

"Mhm," Lady Nyx hummed her agreement. "which leads me to believe that she's been sneaking out of the palace for a long time now, and has probably had her personal servants cover for her when she does."

"Most likely." Donovan agreed.

"Well, in any case, I am happy that you have become..." She trailed off to contemplate what word to use when describing his relationship with Camillia. "Friends with the Dwarf Princess, but you still need to tread carefully, and make sure nothing bad happens to her. She is all His Imperial Majesty has left, and him allowing her to do this is something I would have never expected."

"I will do my best." He said in response.

"Good because if something does happen to his daughter, then you need to understand that he will most definitely try to take your head." Lady Nyx stated in a serious tone.

"I understand, trust me, he had made it very clear what awaits me should something happen to his daughter." Donovan affirmed in a slightly tired tone.

With that said, their discussion slowly came to an end, and it wasn't long after that when Lady Nyx left his room.

Camillia had a solemn look written on her face as she stared at the mirror's reflection of her.

As for the reason why, it was because her heart seemed to be troubled by all of today's events, specifically the ones that had happened not too long ago.

She had been sneaking out of the palace for the past seven years now, and not once had she got caught by her father, but that streak had finally come to an end. A part of her was happy that he had found out, but there was another part of her that was bothered by this, and that was because she wasn't exactly sure how to act around him anymore.

She had pretended to be this sweet and innocent girl who loved to sing, read, and write, but now that the truth was out there, she didn't know if she should continue to act like that, or not.

With a troubled sigh escaping her lips, Camillia looked down at the dark green gauntlet on her left hand and began to remove it.

As she did this, someone approached her door, and knocked on it three times while saying in a slightly loud voice. "Camillia, are you still awake?"

The person at her door was none other than her father.

"Yes, father." She answered as she stopped what she was doing and gazed at the door.

"I see," He muttered under his breath before requesting something. "is it alright if I come in, or are you busy?"

"You can come in, father." She affirmed before returning to her work, which was removing the armor pieces that protected her hands and wrists.

With his daughter's approval, His Imperial Majesty entered the room, and saw that her back was turned towards him, and that she was currently fiddling with her armor.

"So," He started as he closed the door behind him. "how long have you been doing these type of things behind my back?" His tone wasn't as authoritative as it usually was, and was more along the lines of curiosity.

"Too long, father." She answered, a trace of embarrassment in her voice.

"Oh, I see." He said in response before rubbing his beard and left cheek with his left hand.

Camillia said nothing upon hearing this, but she did want to say that she was sorry for keeping it a secret. Unfortunately, she couldn't find the strength to say those words.

"I guess in a way it's my fault for not noticing when it was kind of obvious." He said as he moved to take a seat on her bed.

Curious by what he meant by that, Camillia turned around and asked him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, if I think about it, there were a lot of times where you told me you wanted to be left alone for the day, or how you weren't feeling well, and would go to your room." He explained with a chuckle.

The Dwarf Princess remained silent, but her cheeks did become slightly red from embarrassment. She had believed her excuses to be pretty good, but now that she thought about it, she couldn't help from wonder how her father didn't figure this out sooner and if there was someone who knew of what she had been doing for the past seven years.

"Anyways, why did you seek the aid of the Black Knight, and why do you want his help specifically?" Her father asked in an attempt to change the topic. "What makes him stand out compared to everyone else that could aid you on this investigation?"

"... I don't know to be honest. At first, I just saw him as someone strong that I could use, and I kind of still do think like that," Camillia answered truthfully after several seconds of thinking. "but after spending some time with him, I can't help but feel like he's my support."

The Dwarf Emperor said nothing, and frowned, for he wasn't sure where she was going with this.

"Like, even though we barely know each other, I feel as if there's this connection between us." She continued with a tiny smile. "I feel like I can be whoever I want with him, and he would accept and defend me with no hesitation."

"... You're not in love with him, right?" Her father asked him after a while with a concerned look. "You just see him as your protector, and only that, right?"

"No, I don't think what's between us is that." She answered with a serious expression. "I think I see him as a friend."

At this, the Dwarf Emperor released a sigh of release, for he was going to be worried there if it turned out that Fane, the Black Knight of the Demon King Lucifer stole his daughter's heart, but if this was the case, then he didn't have to worry much.

However, that didn't mean he wasn't going to keep tabs on their relationship. Oh no, the Dwarf Emperor was going to make sure no love could ever be formed between the two of them, for if she somehow develops feelings for the Black Knight, then major problems could arise. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure how he could prevent love from blossoming between the two, at least at the moment.

After talking about Fane the Black Knight for a couple more minutes, the two dwarfs changed topics, and discussed something else entirely.

What was intended to be a ten-minute conversation to twenty minutes turned out to be a three-hour long talk, which was the now the longest the two of them talked to one another without any interruptions or with anyone else there.