“It has been an honor to have you in our house, Your Highness. I apologize that my father is not here to see you off,” Lucas said with a bow.

“You were generous hosts, so thanks and don’t sweat it.”

“Don’t sweat it?”

Riiiiiiiight. These guys don’t really have the same kind of slang do they?

“I meant not to worry. I know your father is a busy man,” he quickly explained. The only person he could use some of the slang from his past life with was Teal.

“I came to see you off,” Lilith said as she popped out from behind Lucas. She wore a big grin. Lucas jumped at her sudden appearance and shot her a displeased look.

“Amazing! You actually came,” Kieran said, feigning surprise. Although she hadn’t recovered even close to fully and still wore the splint, she descended the stairs by herself, using the crutches he gifted her. Of course, he spotted her before she made it all the way down.

“You think I would allow you to leave without saying a proper goodbye?”

Alexandra called from behind, “Young Master, the preparations are complete.”

After the farewells were finished, they left for the capital. More guards under the payroll of the Loftus House accompanied them. On each side of Kalstras, the guard who saved him, were escorts from the palace who came calling for Kieran’s return.

As the minutes dragged on and turned into hours, Kieran drifted in and out of consciousness. After waking from a particularly long nap, he noticed Alexandra watching him. He straightened in his seat under her cold gaze.

“So,” he said with a cough. “How was the Mending Festival?”

Although he chose to stay behind and present the gifts to Lilith, Alexandra and Teal were given the day off like every other year. Teal decided to help him and coached him from out of sight. He told her it was fine and that he could do it alone but she insisted.

“It was smaller than the one in the capital,” she answered without another thought. Her dry reply irked him. She knew he was asking about more than that.

“I mean, were there any good dances you enjoyed? Good music or food? Was it well decorated? I’m throwing you a bone here.”

Her eyes flicked away from him and then she spoke, “I do not remember.”

Oh, here we go again.

But as he thought that, she continued, “The Loftus territory is weeks away from the front line but there were many wounded soldiers still in attendance. It would not surprise me if they were men under the command of the third prince. Otherwise, I suppose this year’s festival felt warmer than usual. I do not care for the dancing nor the music. The streets were less crowded than in the capital, even so, I had a difficult time finding someplace to be alone.”

“That’s weird. Don’t you usually go to these things to have fun?” he said without thinking. Silence took the carriage. Teal was asleep and couldn’t help him.

After a moment, Alexandra said, “Yes, it is a celebration for many.” With those words, the conversation died.

A few days later, they were at the capital again. Traces of the Mending Festival still remained. Some children walked around with their masks on. Guards and other city workers took down streamers while merchants advertised their leftover goods.

A statue, a simple but elegant stone structure with retracted wings and long straight horns, was surrounded by an extravagant amount of plucked flowers. As the carriage went past, he noticed swords, armor, and other battle items mixed in.

“There are more offerings this year,” Teal commented. A hint of amazement laced her words. The statue took up much of the space in the intersection but the offerings spilled out into the connecting streets. Men and women organized them into corners and sidewalks so as to give space to the wagons and carts pulling through.

So this is why a huge chunk of the flowers disappear around this time of year.

On his obligatory temple visit each year, he noticed the thinning garden. In a few weeks they would be back to normal, with the constant care of the servants and all, but could not figure out why until today. Other than simply offering their prayers, it seemed the royal family also offered flowers. Even if he had skipped out on a few history lessons with Teal, he knew the statue was of Bel'ekah, the god of the hunt and the god of the Blessed.

Kieran leaned back in his seat, savoring the smooth stonemasonry of the road. All the while, he kept his attention focused on what lay past the window, knowing that in a few minutes time he would be confined within the palace again.

Within the palace grounds, a contingent of royal guards stood at the ready. The person at the front, a tall stout man with piercing sunken eyes, stepped forward.

“I am the third captain of the royal guards, Beylan Stoneclaw. I greet His Highness, Fifth Prince, Kieran Reyteour. I pray your travels were met with no trouble,” he said after taking off his plumed helmet and placing a fist by his heart. His left ear had its upper half torn off. “If you would excuse me, Your Highness, I am here to collect Kalstras Ywenir.”

The royal guards behind Beylan spread out as Kalstras was brought forward. Belyan gestured at him and he was bound in rough iron shackles by his hands and feet. Three halberds trained on his back forced him along.

“What’s going on?” Kieran asked.

“We will restrain him until the Overlords and Council of Nine hear his case. Your Highness is more than welcome to attend as the offense was against your personage. If you need someone to guide you to the hearing chamber then I am more than happy to escort you when the time comes. Otherwise, I believe The Blood Demon is planning to take part.”

They disappeared behind a building and the remaining royal guards dispersed around the palace grounds.

“What are they going to do to him?”

“That has yet to be decided. Meet me in the library within two hours or I will go alone,” Alexandra said. With long yet quick strides, she entered the palace.

Kieran turned to Teal, “Are you going too?”

“I can’t. Only members of the royal family, high ranking nobles, and demons with the military designation of Elder Demon or higher may be present unless given permission by the Overlords or Council,” she said while she grabbed her things.

“Need any help?”

“No, thank you, Young Master. I’ll be fine,” she said. Teal had her things organized in an uncomfortable crate. She didn’t struggle lifting it but she readjusted her grip several times. He followed her. “What are you doing?”

He shrugged, disregarding the furrow in her brow, “I was always curious where you slept.”

A dim lantern burned in the corner of the room. The flickering light gave them just enough vision not to miss a step. The damp, stuffy air triggered a sneeze. Dust lining the wall blew away in an instant, curling around his head. He waved the particles away. Although he knew the servant’s quarters were in the cellar, he expected it to be cleaner.

Teal’s space was in the corner of the room. She tucked her clothes into the trunk at the foot of her bed, folding and placing them neatly inside. Clothing filled only half of the miniscule container.

I thought she got paid more than the other servants. How come she doesn’t have anything?

Teal brushed the dust from her skirt and hands as she quickly patted her mattress down. “Shall we go now?” she asked while out of breath and partially disheveled.

Most of the dust had been thrown off but it had accumulated over the weeks they were gone and still lingered at the edges of the sheets.

He brushed away the specks clinging onto the bed and fluffed the pillow. It felt heavier than expected especially with the sad amount of stuffing bouncing inside. An amateurish stitching line marred the smooth fabric. A quiet metallic ring reached his ears.

Teal’s face was filled with shock, “Y-You don’t need to do that, Young Master.”

“It’s too late, I’m already done. Let’s get going.”

At the entrance to the cellar, he saw a maid carrying a tray of silverware.

In the time they were gone, the other servants brought in most of his things and tucked them away. There was still at least one container missing but it would arrive soon enough. He dug through his clothes, scouring the drawers until he found a particularly fancy outfit, one he wore only on special occasions.

Laying it on his bed, he fished out the best jewelry he owned. He pushed aside the ones he deemed too gaudy and set two on his desk. The one on the left was a necklace with a simple golden chain and a large emerald. The other had half a dozen rubies studded onto gold crusted pockets within a thick silver bracelet.

He set the jewelry box aside and weighed his options. After a brief internal debate between the side of him that wished to be noticed and the side that didn’t, he chose the less extravagant emerald necklace.

“Okay, out you go,” he motioned to the door. “I’ll call you when I’m done.”

“Are you sure you don’t need help?”

“I can change myself,” he said.

Teal reluctantly stepped outside. He could hear her humming.

“Can I get some help…” he asked a little while later.

Red and white made up the main flashy color scheme of his apparel. Fortunately, it lacked the large frills the nobles that visited liked to wear.

“Should I clean up before we leave?”

“No, it’s okay. Someone else will clean up.”

Together, they went to the library and waited for Alexandra to come. They were greeted by the head librarian, Kull. “It is my pleasure to see you again, Your Highness. Is there anything I may get for you? If you are here for the continuation of your studies, I saved “The Great Sundering,” and can bring it to you right now. It would be quite a good time as well seeing as the Mending Festival happened less than a moon ago.”

“Oh no, we’re waiting for Alexandra. There’s a hearing taking place in the council room that I want to go to.”

“I see. Well, if it would please Your Highness, I would love to keep you company until then.”

A hint of anxiety coursed through his body. In this state, he wouldn’t be able to focus on reading. He shrugged, “Sure, sounds good.”

The three of them conversed for about an hour.

“How did you get that scar?” Kieran asked. Teal shot him a mildly stern look.

“It was about five years ago when I was still in the military,” Kull said. He touched the scar despondently, “We launched a surprise attack on an outpost village near the northern part of the Marharden Empire. We attacked at night when a group of men went to fend off some raiders. However, the party of men caught wind and returned. A battle ensued and I received this scar right before we escaped.”

Kieran asked for the story but it wasn’t what he expected. He thought he’d be regaled with a tale of victory or triumph but it was a story about a sneak attack on innocent villagers.

“III DOnT WaanT tO DiEE…!!”

He flinched as the doors of the library flew open. Alexandra had switched from her typical clothes into a dark green dress.

Kull took his leave.

“It suits you, Ma’am,” Teal said.

She ignored the praise and said in an icy tone, “Teal, Her Majesty wishes to speak with you. She will be in her chamber.”

“Y-Yes…”

“Follow me, Young Master.”

He chased after her, “What’s Mother going to talk to her about?”

“That is none of your concern.”

The door to the council room was about twice as large as the ones to the throne. Nobles and other important looking demons spoke among themselves, mostly in groups of three or more.

Staircases next to the door led up into a viewing area that circled around a purewhite marble floor. Pillars separated the viewing area into sections. Thirteen prominent seats rose from the ground, just below the observer area and opposite the entrance door. They were most likely where the Council and Overlords would sit. The bench, so to speak.

“Up here, Young Master.”

Eyes turned to them whenever they passed other attendees. Whispers spread among the crowd. Hands rose to muffle their words and cover their mouths.

“Is that…?”

“So he must be the prince.”

“She really is taking care of him.”

Alexandra led him to a seating area close to the bench. From there he could see the entire chamber. A wooden podium, polished to shine, was the only thing on the floor where all eyes would focus on. There were at least two hundred people present. Across the room, someone caught his eye.

The ring of a bell filled the hall. Everyone quieted and dispersed into the observation area. Thirteen people dressed in long flowing robes ascended to the bench. It was a staggered arrangement in a triangular shape with eight seats at the bottom, four above those, and finally one at the top.

The bottom eight people, most likely part of the Council of Nine, had white collars embroidered with a tail. The four above them, the Overlords, instead had horns and claws on theirs. Kaal’un, the Overlord from the Loftus Manor, waved to him. The chief councilor sat above the Overlords.

Atop even the bench was a golden chair fitted with velvet cushions. A man with pitch black hair and hard eyes sat down, “This hearing will now begin. Bring in the royal guard, Kalstras Ywenir,” the king said.