I find Cloud and Geneva in the room I was meant to be sleeping in, beside Alana’s room. The tamer is sprawled on the bed face down, dressed in nothing but a towel over the back of her waist. My succubus in the guise of a thrall is hunched over her back, dainty hooves digging into the sheets while her fingers dig into Cloud’s shoulders. If I didn’t have my eyes on them, the sounds they’re making would paint a very different picture.

“Coo!” Bell comes rocketing toward me, leaping at my chest. I snatch her out of the air and cuddle her close. Ah, I remember when I was so weak carrying the creature of living stone around made my arms go numb.

“Hello, my precious imp.” I nuzzle her smooth head, luxuriating in the heat of her skin. Only extreme temperatures can affect this body but I can still feel, and appreciate, smaller changes. Come to think of it, for a place in perpetual winter, this house is comfortable heat wise. I wonder what the trick is? “What have you been doing?”

“Coo~” [We have been spying on members of the household to give you a tactical advantage, Master Lou.]

“Is that so? Thank you~”

I cuddle her closer as I take a seat on the bed. “I hope you two haven’t been causing problems.” Like letting a certain elf drink all my liquor. She’s going to need another barrel soon.

“No at all, my summoner, but it would seem a few members of the James household want to cause problems for us.” Cloud lets out a muffled groan as Geneva’s fingers move lower. “Servants attempted to eavesdrop on your room four times last night and we have faced multiple attempts to investigate our wares. They have also made things difficult for the beasts of burden.”

“They mean to oust my brethren,” Cloud mumbles comfortably.

“While the argument that the surplus is a strain on the relatively small personal stable of the family is true, they are being rather obstinate about simple matters,” Geneva says, smiling as she elicits a particularly ambiguous sound. “The servants avoid this room. They don’t even inform us of mealtimes. Even if their thoughts weren’t so loud, it is obvious that Alana is being sabotaged, if not outright despised.”

“Yes, her standing in her family isn’t great. If someone’s sabotaging her, it would be her brother.”

“Zachariah.” Not surprised she knows his name. “He was on their minds. Particularly how Alana does not measure up to him. The servants are taking sides. When the heir takes power, it is not uncommon to remove unwanted servants. They hope to stay in the house by displaying their loyalty now.”

“Hm. Well, Alana has asked us to leave her family alone but that didn’t include the servants. Keep them under control. Did you gather anything else?”

“Of course. To the outside, Victory may seem united but they have their problems like any other organization. The people have grown discontent with the duke, as he has not shown his face in the campaigns for years. They think he is weak and weakness is not appreciated. He will have to step down soon but the duke doesn’t think his son is ready. Too focused on glory instead of prosperity.”

How long have we been here? This woman is seriously scary. It amazes me that the Masons have summoned dozens and dozens of succubi without a care. I wonder if their inflated egos actually blinded them to how close they all were to disaster.

“Which leads to the problem of succession. Zachariah is seen as the best option of the duke’s children and he has tradition on his side. The problem is the Northern Devil. Yulianna may not be her brother’s equal but her husband is. Better, he already has his first heir while Zachariah resists marriage.”

“Let me guess. The servants and the house support Zach, while the knights support Yulia’s husband.”

“The knights are split, torn between their preference and tradition. The Northern Devil is serious about conquering the north. The knights think he has a chance, or at least a better chance than Zachariah. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the favored heir’s bluster is rooted in a sense of insecurity.”

“Is there going to be a rebellion?”

“This environment isn’t conducive to one. Assassination would be better. It would fail anyway. The Bleak Moons are loyal to Zachariah, despite the Devil being one of them, due to his mother. The servants work for the boy but they are terrified of her.”

“The true power behind the wannabe patriarch. Not an uncommon story. Anything else?”

“Rumors, most of them irrelevant. There is one you may be interested in. Many of the servants are anticipating the arrival of Alana’s betrothed.”

I reflexively squeeze Bell hard enough to kill a less sturdy creature. “Her what?”

Geneva grins. “They are expecting the arrival a young man they believe she will be marrying in the near future. A fellow light caster. A classic case of breeding.”

That’s all I can stomach before I’m on my feet and stomping from the room.

-

Alana is curled up on her bed when I throw open the door. Her features are scrunched in concentration but they slacken in surprise as she takes in my visage. I don’t know the face I’m making but it can’t be pretty, despite my efforts to control my expression.

“I heard an interesting rumor today,” I say evenly while closing the door. “A rumor that you’re engaged.”

Her brows furrow. That’s her confused-serious face. Good, she wasn’t hiding it. That would have…that would have hurt. A hand comes up to massage her brow as she sighs. “I think I know what this is about. First, I’m not engaged so calm down.”

That’s what I needed to hear. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly before approaching. Alana cleans up the papers spread over the bed to make room for me to sit down. I ignore her intention, guiding her to lie back and moving on top of her.

“We can’t mess around right now,” she whispers, our noses almost touching.

“I won’t. Just want to be close. Okay?” I grin as she nods. “Good. Now tell me who I’m murdering.”

“Don’t. It’s not his fault.”

My eyes narrow. “You know this bastard?”

“Remember I told you about the one genuine good person I know?”

“The reason you don’t think I should call you a saint?” I groan in annoyance as she nods. “Really?”

She sighs. “It’s so tiring but it’s very hard to hate him.”

“Kind of like your sister.”

She scowls. “What does that mean? No, let me guess. I’m sure she stole you for the morning and the two of you had a lovely talk. She made big eyes and lamented the fact that there’s one person in this saints damned place that doesn’t worship the ground she walks on. What a tragedy. She just wants to be close with her poor, distraught, lonely sister.”

“…something along those lines.”

“I’ll bet she told you it wasn’t her fault. That it was all a misunderstanding.”

“Wait, this conversation was supposed to be about your supposed husband.”

In a surprising move, she flips me. Wow, that training with Kierra is really showing. “This is about something else now,” she bites out, eyes boring into me. “Let me tell you about my sister, Lou, before you get too infatuated. Yulianna is perfectly lovely, as long as she gets what she wants. And she will do anything to get what she wants.

“Sure, she was the only one to approach me when Father finally acknowledged my existence, but she didn’t do that for me. She wanted a sister to play with. I was no different from a walking, talking doll. If she wanted to help me, she could have helped with my training. Defended me from her mother. Did something about—”

She shakes her head. “She didn’t want to help me. She wanted me to amuse her. And when she didn’t get what she wanted, she pouted and cried, making herself look pitiful. Knowing someone would swoop in to coddle her.

“Every time one of the trainees broke my things and injured me in spars on purpose, she always apologized. Swore she didn’t mean for it to happen. Made it seem like there was nothing she could do. She’s a saints damned James! All she had to do was snap her fingers and she could have had them all in line! But she loved it. Them getting angry on their behalf. Bringing her gifts. Beating each other into the snow out of jealously.”

If anger gave off light, her eyes would be glowing brighter than the sun. She is furious, chest heaving and teeth grit when she pauses in her rant. “Worse, I think she was waiting for me to break. Hoping I’d either beg for her help so she could bludgeon me with gratitude or that too many blows to my head would make me see someone else as the enemy. She may have a pretty face but she is a disgusting narcissist. Yulianna is incapable of caring about anything other than herself. Remember that the next time she bats her lashes at you.”

It’s my time to furrow my brows. “Isn’t that bit much? She’s married with a child. I’ve seen her talk about them. Saying she doesn’t love anyone—"

Alana scoffs. Then her features suddenly soften. “Oh, Lou,” she whispers, one hand touching my cheek. “You’re, mm. Whatever else anyone else says about you, your…heart is pure.”

“Thank you?”

The hand on my cheek moves to pinch my nose. “Your emotions are genuine. If you hate someone, you hate them. If you love someone, you love them. It’s wonderfully uncomplicated.”

“…thank you?”

“I’m complimenting you. You probably can’t even understand a creature like my sister. I’m sure she’s convinced you she loves her family. She truly might, in the only way she’s capable of it. Her husband, the Northern Devil, challenged and killed three other suitors. Where do you think he got his name?”

“Saints…”

“As for her son, children overflow with love for their parents. Of course she loves her son more than anything. He’s everything she wants. We’ll see how she feels about her darling boy if he grows up and tries to ignore her.”

“Alana, you do know what you’re suggesting, don’t you?” If she’s right, her sister is…

Alana laughs. “I know, Lou. Oh, do I know. Her fans did not react well to me revealing her nature to them.” She drops her head to my chest. “…but you believe me…right?”

My arms go around her back and hug her gently. “I guess but it doesn’t matter.”

She raises her head just enough to peek at me. “What?”

“You know I’d do anything for you. It doesn’t matter if your sister is a reincarnated saint sent down from Paradise to bring salvation to all of humanity, if you don’t want me to have anything to do with her, I won’t.”

“Ah.” After a few moments of silence, she laughs softly. “That’s my Lou.”

“Exactly.”

“…I admit, I was worried. You’re weak to a pretty face.”

“True, but I don’t know why you were worried. You’re the prettier sister.”

“Lou.”

“By far.”

A weak fist hits me in the side. “You don’t have to lie to make me feel better.”

She yelps as I flip us over again. I grab her chin with two fingers and force her to meet my gaze. “What did I say about insulting yourself?”

“It’s not an insult,” she grumbles shyly. “It’s just…objectively—"

I quiet her with a kiss.

“You can’t—"

I kiss her again.

“I—"

This time, my tongue pushes past her lips, filling her mouth with my taste. By the time I pull away, her cheeks are flushed and she’s panting for breath. “Sorry, you were saying something?”

“…I’m the prettier sister.”

“The most beautiful woman in the north.”

“Even more than Kierra?” She squeaks, turning her face to dodge my lips. “Fine, fine. Enough! Or I really won’t be able to focus.”

Her hands push against my stomach but I don’t move. “We didn’t finish talking about your betrothed.”

She groans. “We’re not engaged. You saw my father. He lets his children make their own decisions but every decision is measured. Our partners are judged heavily. Back then, I was so desperate to please my father, I only thought of marriage in terms of merit. Marrying another light caster would have been very meritorious. It was a given that I’d do it.” She smiles softly. “Might have if I hadn’t met you.”

“Alright.” I grudgingly climb off her, leaning against her shoulder once she sits up. “Show me what you’re working on.”