If one were to ask a stranger about Wenia then more often than not they would mention how the small Kingdom located to the North was doing well for itself. A peaceful, stable kingdom whose borders are protected by the Chief God’s chosen and whose people flourish under the wise leadership of its benevolent monarch. This is the perception that Wenia projects to the outside world as all Kingdoms ought to do but much like all those kingdoms Wenia is not as idyllic as it would seem.

Eveleena knew this very well, it is the reason why she chose to venture there in the first place. A daughter of one of the Greater Demonic Houses does not go on glorified scouting missions. Not only would it have been insulting to one of her pedigree but it would be a waste of her talents. There was only one reason for Eveleena to occupy Wenia, the possibility of a conquest. At least that would be the case should the Kingdom fail her inspection.

What would happen then?

Should Wenia fail her inspection then it would grant her probable cause to ‘liberate’ the Kingdom. This meant being granted her mother’s blessing as well as the vast resources of house Astaroth to lead a military campaign that would see Wenia added under the banner house Astaroth and the Makai. Basically she would be invading the kingdom to conquer liberating it in her family’s and Lilith’s name.

They don’t call it ‘invading’ and ‘conquering’ anymore as part of the new policy mandated by their esteemed Overlord. Despite being born when this policy was already in full effect Eveleena found it a bit ridiculous that they couldn’t call it for what it was. She understood why this was (propaganda and altering perception) but tiptoeing around words just made it seem as if their citizens were naïve idealists which to be honest a great many of them were.

In any case policy dictates that to be granted Lilith’s blessing to lead a campaign against a human kingdom with her full support certain qualifications need to be met. It boils down to two questions really:

Is the kingdom a major threat to Mamono?

Is the kingdom in need of liberation?

The first one is straight forward enough. Should a Kingdom prove itself to be a sufficient threat to mamono lives then they are targeted. The difficulty comes in the severity of their threat since almost every human dominated kingdom is antagonistic towards Mamono. Most examples of Kingdoms with a high threat assessment are the ones closely associated with Holy Order. The ones with the highest threat assessment are the ones in business with them such as: supplying resources, manpower, etc.

The second one is less straight forward and involves in depth investigations into the Kingdom’s politics and economy. The success and failure of this assessment usually boils down to whether or not the people are happy or content with their lives under the current leadership. Lilith dislikes suffering especially when it is needless and because of her influence all Mamono have an instinctual distaste for it. At the same time since most humans with power and authority tend to abuse it and cause suffering a precedent is set making it so there is no loophole to abuse this prerequisite by the extremists.

Even with this limitation it is still easier to get Lilith’s backing for a campaign through the second method. This by no means implies that it is an easy thing to do and especially in Eveleena’s case. The daughter of Astaroth was not vying for a settlement or a town she wanted the entire kingdom of Wenia for herself. As such the Demon would need substantial evidence to make her appeal to the Overlord because for as much of a bleeding heart as Lilith is her husband is a pragmatic war veteran and his opinion matters in high profile cases like these.

The same goes for Eveleena’s mother as well for it is through the Astaroth matriarch that Eveleena’s plea for aid will reach the Overlord. It is a bargain to be sure but one the Demon must utilize if she wishes for independence. The price for her mother’s recommendation however, is not a moral/ethical excuse for intervention but rather the provision of evidence that Wenia will be an asset to their family. This is where the bulk of Eveleena’s time and resources were spent during the years of her investigation.

It wasn’t particularly hard to meet Lilith’s criteria since all Eveleena had to do was spend some time amongst the commoners in the kingdom capital to see the (sometimes literal) rot. As for her mother’s criteria a full investigation into the socio-economic and political background was required. Using this information Eveleena along with assistance from merchant scholars under her employ Eveleena will have to create a projection for Wenia’s usefulness after it becomes a Demon Realm.

If all things go well then house Astaroth will have a significant and permanent tithe after Eveleena’s takeover as recompense as well as one of their main members ruling a Kingdom. That was the main sell Eveleena would make to her mother and she hoped dearly that it would be enough as she staked a lot into this gambit. Eveleena was making an appeal to Lilith instead of relying on her family because the latter will see Wenia as a sovereign nation while the former would see Wenia as part of the Astaroth territory.

Both outcomes would see her on the throne as queen however Lilith would respect her sovereignty while her mother would assume control and have Eveleena as a figurehead. This cannot be allowed to happen of course and to ensure success Eveleena was micro managing everything.

After ascertaining the situation in the capital Eveleena left her subordinates to further monitor the situation while she went out to the outer territories. Eventually her journey brought her to Everguard and it was the least impressive territory she had been to. It had no strategic value to the kingdom, did not offer anything of worth in resources and it was not a particularly well visited town either.

And yet it was in this seemingly insignificant town that Eveleena found the greatest of treasures.

Demons are famous for being the race to utilize magical contracts the most. The reasons for why has evolved over the course of eons with the ancient demons using it as a means of securing souls to bolster their personal power/standing in the underworld. It is through this means that the original 72 Archdemons managed to escape into the over-world in the first place.

Following that major event the way to the underworld was permanently sealed off with no way to exit or enter. It effectively stranded the Demons preventing them from bolstering forces and causing them to be even more desperate to make contracts with humans since the forces of Heaven did not take kindly to their presence. Rather than power the Demons would form contracts with humans to gain servants, agents and even breeders for their progeny. At this point there are very few Demons in existence whose ancestry cannot be traced back to a human whether they were corrupted or not.

Little changes were made over time until Lilith’s reign where the entire culture of contract forming was restructured following the transformation of monsters to Mamono. Magical contracts took on a more intimate nature than ever before. With the mindset no longer focused on obtaining power the demonic contract became a glorified marriage contract.

That is not to say the modern mindset of demonic contracts take away from their original effects. Contracted Demons are generally much more powerful because of spirit energy collected from the humans they contract with. Even then modern Demons don’t contract with humans on a whim and since even the lowest tier Demons are long lived they can wait a very long time to form a contract with a human.

A daunting prospect but one made easier through a Demon’s innate instinct to sense the hidden potential within mortals. This is the same instinct that the ancient Demons used to find potential contractors in the past, the same one that allowed the free Demons of old to select humans to integrate within their ranks and it is now the instinct through which Demons recognize a human as a viable life partner.

This instinct is not one that can be properly explained however it is an irrefutable fact that this instinct is never wrong. It is very quick to alert the Demon to their target as it did to Eveleena when she felt an inexplicable draw the moment she entered Everguard. In the next instant she found herself standing before a quaint shop and the moment her eyes fell on the boy who exited to go about his business Eveleena new she found her contractor.

Needless to say discovering Jacob as her intended contractor distracted Eveleena. Not to the point where she would neglect her primary mission but enough so that she prioritized nearly all of her free time to getting close to the boy. It was also purely coincidental that any duties that required her to leave Everguard were delegated to her subordinates. Anyway while she could have taken him the first time she laid eyes on him (really she could have taken over Everguard in secret and formed a contract with him at any point) there were legitimate, if tedious, reasons why she stayed her hand and decided to play the long game.

Most of these reasons centered on the plan for conquering Wenia, a plan that was very much still in development at the time. Said plan didn’t allow for deviation of the sort that would have her impulsively corrupt an entire town although that in itself could have been mitigated. Plans change and she could have adapted and in fact she already did by choosing to remain in Everguard instead of leaving after a time as she originally intended.

The main reason for why she did not form a contract with Jacob was more political than practical unfortunately. As a member of one of the Greater Demonic Houses; Eveleena was beholden to certain decorum when forming a contract. It is tradition for a celebration to be held at the Astaroth ancestral castle in Qliphoth. This celebration would act as a means of formally introducing the groom to the rest of the family and invited guests.

These guests would be representatives of those allied to House Astaroth as well as any distinguished individuals in Mamono society. It would reflect poorly on Eveleena and her family if she was to show up with a mere child as her contractor no matter how great his potential may be. It wasn’t an ideal situation to be in but it was fine as Eveleena adapted her plan. She would take the time to groom Jacob into a respectable man whilst making plans for the eventual takeover of Wenia but Eveleena was in no rush.

Her subordinates and acquired agents were setting roots within Wenia’s territories. Plus more time spent being thorough with their investigation meant more time spent overseeing Jacob’s growth. Eveleena was patient enough to wait five or so years, what is that to a woman whose lifespan is measured in centuries?

She knew for a fact that Wenia was ripe for takeover and after her investigations turned up enough evidence to appease both her mother and Lilith she would have already been dug into Wenia enough to weaken its defenses from the inside on multiple fronts. Her army would invade and take the territory before the Holy Order could muster up a response. By then her Jacob would be a man and as she ascended to become the new Demon Queen of Wenia he would be ready to become her King.

It would have been her perfect victory.

~O~

Except that didn’t happen because before she could even enact her plan a rogue Valkyrie somehow happened upon them and ruined everything. Everything she worked towards undone just like that, years of subterfuge, delicate influence and peace gone in the blink of an eye. To have her intended contractor snatched away from right in front of her and purified was the greatest indignity any Demon can suffer, let alone a daughter of House Astaroth. Even worse was Eveleena unable to right this wrong and instead she was defeated then forced to retreat with her tail between her legs.

Now here she lay bedridden while her body recovers from the effects of the poisonous holy light. Her shame was on display for the servants and the ears of whomever they will undoubtedly gossip to. She imagined by now (however long she’d been unconscious) that everyone already knew of her shame and that knowledge burned the Demon highborn more than the holy light.

As she stewed in her thoughts the doors opened and in strode one of the familiar faces she was dreading to meet.

“Sarsea” she greeted with apprehension.

“Oh, Eveleena” her sister’s voice was filled with sorrow as she reached out and stroke her cheek “what did you get yourself into?”

Eveleena looked away in shame for a bit before deliberately sidestepping the question to ask one of her own “how long have I been here?”

“Six days.”

Eveleena closed her eyes with gritted teeth feeling too weakened to muster the proper reaction.

“How bad is it?”

“The holy power you were exposed to was particularly potent. The doctors say it is a miracle you even survived.”

‘How ironic’ she thought bitterly.

“While it is now out of your system your body will need time to recover-do not try to leave this bed Eveleena” she warned.

“I can barely muster the strength to lift my arm” she demonstrated just that but gave up halfway with a huff.

Seeing this Sarsea winced lightly “sorry.”

“Never mind that” Eveleena interrupted “have you heard from Ysmeina or Riseth?”

“No.”

At that Eveleena wished she had the strength to get up.

“Don’t worry, I sent Sayuri to fetch them and gave her a return stone as insurance.”

“Mother will not like that” Eveleena mumbled.

Sarsea gave a cheeky smile in return “well it’s a good thing she’s not here now isn’t it?”

“She’s not?”

“Mother and father are attending to some business in the Royal Makai. For the time being I am acting head of House Astaroth.”

“I see.”

“If you are worried about your situation reaching the ears of the populace then take solace in that I and Vhaara have managed to suppress any information from reaching beyond the estate.”

“That in itself is the true miracle” Eveleena noted sardonically.

“Speaking of miracles, when were you going to tell me you found a contractor?”

The question startled he younger Demon who could only answer with an “ah…” before calmly replying “I don’t know what-”

“Jacob” that stopped Eveleena mid-sentence “that is his name is it not?”

“How do you know that?”

“That was the last thing you said before the doctors had to sedate you” Sarsea informed “you were quite delirious but even more you were desperate. And there are few occasions for us to be so desperate when a name outside our circle is involved.”

She could barely remember that.

‘I must have been really delirious to let slip such information to her…and most likely the doctors as well.’

She winced at the thought.

“So Jacob” the older Demon began, leaning back in her seat to cross one long leg over the other and bridge her fingers together “what is he like?”

Eveleena didn’t even bother to disguise the unladylike groan that escaped her mouth much to her sibling’s amusement. This is the reason why she kept Jacob a secret from her family for so long. They would meddle and frankly Eveleena didn’t need them up in her business like that. Jacob was hers and she didn’t need any help in fostering a relationship with him.

As for her question “Jacob is…”

Before she could finished the door slammed open and an irate voice yelled out “WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME SHE WAS AWAKE!?”

Eveleena winced at the volume while Sarsea could only sigh as their youngest sibling barged into the room.

‘Ah, I forgot about this’ Eveleena thought to herself before addressing her sister.

“Hello Azaeri-”

“Evee!” she was interrupted as the shorter Demon quite literally flew across the room looking to dive into her sister’s embrace only to come up short as purple tentacles shooting up from the floor ended up wrapping around her extremities to arrest her movement mid flight.

“Huh? Hey, what’s the big idea Vhaara!?”

The Shoggoth maid seemed to seamlessly meld into being from the very floor seeming to be the source of the tentacles themselves.

“My apologies Lady Aezaris, however the doctor made it very clear that Lady Eveleena is not to engage in any strenuous activities for a while yet.”

“And that means no roughhousing” Sarsea added.

“I wasn’t roughhousing” Aezaris defended “I just wanted to hug my sister.”

“You can do that without literally throwing yourself at her.”

“Ugh fine, now put me down!”

The Shoggoth complied whilst ignoring the glare given to her by the young Demon with practiced ease and good humor. Meanwhile Eveleena could only shake her head. Vhaara was one of the few individuals outside their family who could expertly navigate and mollify her often cantankerous younger sister. It came with her having known and taken care of her since she was a baby. The same could be said for all three siblings for that matter as Vhaara’s presence was a constant in their lives, arguably more so than their parents.

Speaking of, Eveleena felt her position on the bed adjust to where she was now sitting up instead of laying down. It was the perfect position to receive her younger sister’s hug, one that she reciprocated albeit weakly.

“What happened to you?” she heard Aezaris’ muffle in her bosom before letting go.

All three present held expectant gazes and Eveleena found no reason to keep this a secret so she didn’t. For the next few minutes Eveleena gave an abridged version of her encounter with the Valkyrie. She carefully did not mention Jacob in this retelling, for she felt it would accomplish nothing but to open up those uncomfortable questions she managed to escape with Aezaris’ fortuitous entrance.

Was she ashamed of Jacob to keep him a secret from her own family? Of course not but she knew her family well enough that should they catch wind of Jacob’s existence. She neither needed nor wanted any advice, suggestions, aid or otherwise when it came to her relationship. She especially did not need the teasing that is sure to accompany their unwanted intrusion into her relationship when it comes to light exactly how she’s been pursuing Jacob up to this point.

Luckily there were more immediately pressing matters to be discussed.

“You were defeated by a Valkyrie?” Aezaris looked as incredulous as she sounded.

“I underestimated her” Eveleena admitted with a scowl.

Her younger sibling winced a bit “h-hey don’t say that…”

“I won’t make excuses. When I caught her in that spell I let my guard down. I’ve already witnessed her weapon’s capabilities so I should have focused on sealing it instead of gloating.”

“That is true” Sarsea nodded “and I am disappointed that you made such an error in judgment.”

Aezaris whirled on her eldest sibling “hey!”

Sarsea shot her glare that had the younger demon wince “she has no excuse Aezaris” she said sharply “her blunder nearly cost her life.”

“At least you didn’t encounter a Seraph.”

“Seraph?”

“The doctor informed us that the amount of holy energy you were exposed to is tantamount to that of a Seraph…or Erestia herself.”

Eveleena stiffened before speaking “there was no Seraph involved” thankfully “just a Valkyrie and…” she trailed off.

Now that she thought about it, while the Valkyrie was indeed a formidable warrior it was the lance itself that tipped the scales in that fight.

Eveleena’s mood to sour ‘if it weren’t for that lance…’

“What is it?” Aezaris questioned.

“I think the weapon that Valkyrie wielded was a relic of some kind” Eveleena spoke.

The more she thought about it the more she could see it. There is no way a Valkyrie can release that much holy energy, not unless she was actually a Seraph and if that was the case Eveleena wouldn’t be alive right now.

“You may be right” Sarsea agreed.

‘Though that hardly makes it any better.’

It sounded like a lame excuse to say that she lost because her opponent had a better weapon. A bad artisan blames his tools and a mediocre fighter blames their weapon and armor. No the truth is as she spoke. In a moment of triumph she let her guard down and paid the price.

“I suppose it hardly matters” the eldest sibling eventually shrugged.

“What I want to know is why Ysmeina or Riseth weren’t by your side when the Valkyrie showed up” Aezaris questioned with a sharp glare.

All three sisters are assigned bodyguards from one of the many ‘vassal houses’ whose loyalties their ancestors had obtained throughout the eons. The relationship between each sibling and their assigned guard varies however the one undisputable fact is that above all else their mission to protect them no matter what. The fact that Eveleena was caught by an enemy alone and unprepared was simply unacceptable and it could get the ones assigned as her guard in serious trouble.

Eveleena flinched “I sent them away to attend to some urgent business.”

“Why?”

“…”

“Yes sister, tell us why?” Sarsea added with some amusement.

Eveleena really didn’t want to say it however she could feel the three pair of eyes boring down on her.

Moments pass before being interrupted by Vhaara “it seems lady Mahikari had returned.”

“That was fast!”

Sarsea only stood up before the Shoggoth’s expression turned troubled for the first time since she has appeared.

“Something is wrong.”

At that Sarsea promptly disappeared leaving her two siblings shocked though not for long.

“Hey, wait for me!” and there went Aezaris leaving Eveleena alone with the maid.

“What is happening Vhaara?”

“It seems your servants have incurred injuries in their time away from you.”

That got the Demon’s attention and in a surge of energy she didn’t even know she yet possessed Eveleena sat up and threw the sheets off of her.

“Take me to them.”

“Eveleena the doctor ordered that you-”

“Vhaara!” the outburst made the Shoggoth pause, her expression bewildered.

After a long moment of staring at the glaring Demon her expression was schooled into subservience and she gave a light bow “as you wish Lady Eveleena.”

As she said this, the lower part of her body split off and formed a wheelchair. After Eveleena was seated Vhaara wheeled her into the walls itself. It was a special type of transportation technique only known to Vhaara’s kind when certain conditions are met. In this the Demon experienced the uncanny sensation of moving through slime before the two appeared in the courtyard.

“Oh my…”

It took a moment for Eveleena to overcome her mild disorientation to get a proper look at what the maid was seeing. Most of her subordinates were present in the courtyard and all of them either sported injuries or looked haggard. Sayuri was the only one of the lot to look unharmed.

“What happened?”

The two words seemed to alert them to her presence and as it did Ysmeina was the first and only one to immediately fall to her knee. It was a practice Eveleena tried to drill out of the Dullahan but only succeeded in having her not do it as much.

“My deepest apologies lady Eveleena for I have failed you!” she exclaimed.

The rest of them seemed to finally notice her presence but the Demon only had eyes for her longest and most trusted servant and friend.

A pit started to form in her stomach.

“Ysmeina, what happened?”

~To Be Continued~