213. Token of Blood
213. Token of Blood
- 1 -
The destination of my steps and those of my 'Father' was the spire of the eastern palace.
In truth, it was hard to call them steps.
Because after taking about five steps, we had already arrived at our destination.
It was the extreme application of 'devouring space with darkness'—something I had performed as well.
The authority of the Gluttony Duke.
I would be lying if I said I wasn't surprised, but maintaining composure without showing that emotion was easy enough.
"Sit."
At the top of the spire, where a punishment room or watchtower might have been, a private room had been prepared.
A private room built in a position overlooking nearly everything in the Demon King's castle. It was an arrangement that immediately hinted at whom this space was for.
Tak!
As we sat in the chairs and the Grand Duke snapped his fingers, darkness rose beside us and a 'door' opened.
The door spat someone out and vanished.
Though still unfamiliar, it was a face I definitely knew. One of the maids working in the Demon Queen's palace.
I briefly questioned it, but the answer came immediately.
I observed her.
"...! I-I'm sorry. I was flustered..."
"Enough. Serve the tea."
Her golden eyes stood out as she stumbled briefly before spotting us and bowing her head.
Outside the window, the red sky was gradually deepening.
However, it was difficult to tell whether it was due to the passing of time or the darkness he had brought in.
"T-The tea has been brought..."
The Grand Duke nodded his chin upon hearing the maid's voice.
She set down the tea and stood with her hands folded, but the Grand Duke did not send her away.
I, too, kept my gaze solely on him. Because I could roughly guess why he was doing so.
She was already under 'perception inhibition,' so there would be no problem with the conversation.
"I am pleased."
He, resembling a young man with hair and eye color similar to mine, smiled gently.
As if he was truly pleased.
"What do you mean?"
"Your composure. Your beauty. Your attitude. The way your eyes look upon the world."
His voice and attitude were consistently gentle.
But the curiosity and desire seething within them boiled sharply.
According to his words, there was no exception even in his attitude toward me, his daughter.
"Very pleased. If you were not my daughter, and not a Dungeon Lord... I would have displayed you in my citadel."
He didn't even bother to hide his feelings. No, he probably had no need to hide them.
Even though there were six other beings of equal standing, he was a supreme being and power of the Demon Realm with only one above him.
"..."
"That prudence also pleases me... and especially the way you look at your sister. It pleases me greatly."
A gentle smile and tone.
He knew. What I thought of Stella.
No, perhaps he already knew what kind of being I was as well.
"Do you think I am using her?"
"That is why it is even more commendable."
His smile deepened.
"You have truly inherited my blood."
A feeling as if goosebumps were rising all over my back.
Those words were sincere, but precisely because of that, they drenched me in revulsion.
He narrowed his eyes.
"We are beings who cannot belong to anyone. As I am. And as you are."
His eyes were already piercing through me.
Eyes that saw through even 「Nobility」, that is, 「Lofty Profundity」, to examine my very being—they were already worthy of being called an authority.
If he had perceived that much, he would know that my intention to rebel against him was no small matter, yet he didn't seem particularly displeased by it.
The answer to that, too, flowed out naturally.
"Just because my children throw tantrums, should I break their wrists? That is not something a father should do."
"...Thank you."
"I hope you bloom to your heart's content."
Words that meant 'I will tolerate it as long as you maintain your position as my child,' and also held the sentiment that 'the most brilliantly bloomed flower is the best one to display.'
I tried to hide the displeasure that rose unbidden, but I couldn't be sure how much he had noticed.
Because he was a Grand Duke. With sufficient rank and ability.
We each lifted our tea and let a moment pass.
Beside us, that maid was still standing there, restless and unable to go anywhere, but he and I merely ignored her.
"So. You must have something you want to ask."
Finally.
I felt a faint ripple stir in my heart.
'Human curiosity can't be helped, I suppose.'
It was true that I couldn't like the Gluttony Duke.
Whether it was because he was Beelzebub, or because he was my Father.
But at the same time, even before it was revealed that he was my Father, I had been curious about his existence.
It was the same with my 'Mother'.
'Because questioning one's own origins is the instinct of all intelligent beings.'
After admonishing myself thus, I calmly selected my question.
A question that would use up as few of the possible question opportunities in his mind as possible, yet still yield all the answers I was most curious about.
"What kind of person was she?"
"Ah. What kind of person she was, you ask... That's an excellent question."
He narrowed his eyes once more, and soon gave his answer.
"She was a being I could not monopolize."
It was a difficult statement to believe.
But the sight of his eyelids trembling minutely told me it was the truth.
It was true that he was piercing through me, but I, too, could grasp some insight into his inner thoughts in the same way.
Not by my special ability, but by experience.
"One who could not be understood by anyone, and could not be held by anyone."
At that moment, the surrounding darkness writhed. As if reacting to his words.
I interpreted his words as meaning, 'If I cannot have her, it is only right that no one can.'
"A being from whom everything was possible, and yet who had to be unable to do everything."
He slowly lifted his teacup. His eyes blurred as if looking into the distance, then were soon dyed with a deep color.
With the virtue of Gluttony. The frenzy of possessiveness.
"That she became mine is likely one of the greatest achievements of my entire life."
Unlike my desire, which had been cultivated artificially, a congenital and therefore pure, frenzy-stricken desire.
A gaze bearing that turned toward me.
"And you were born. Proof of my greatest achievement."
In his eyes looking at me, a deep obsession pervaded.
And at the same time, a certain sorrow seemed mixed in as well.
"After you were born, no other child ever caught my eye. A noble bearing from birth. Those two eyes that looked straight at me."
Until those eyes were soon covered by an even stronger desire.
"...That is why I sent you to the surface. You above all..."
I could quickly guess what he left unsaid.
'Are closest to the Demon King.'
But uttering those words within this citadel, even for a Grand Duke like him, would be an irreverent act.
He shut his mouth and changed the subject.
"And she, disappeared. Right after you were born... beyond the boundary between worlds."
This time, it was truly unbelievable.
That the one bearing the name of 'Gluttony' had missed someone, and that even having missed her, he didn't run rampant with madness.
And moreover, that he didn't bind me, the proof of that frenzy, with even a fragment of it.
It meant that the mother was as powerful a being as the Grand Duke, and also a being who could compel his actions.
'Just who is she?'
The clue to my question was soon handed to me by him.
"But even a being so unfettered cared about the one born from herself."
He took an object from his bosom and sent it to me.
The moment I received it, bound in darkness and floating slowly through the air toward me.
"...!"
I felt a sensation as if my hand was burning up.
Within colorless flames, a bizarre feeling as if my hand was indeed burning, though there was no pain.
The sensation soon vanished. Leaving no physical trace behind.
"This is..."
"Something your mother left behind."
What remained after the flames disappeared was a silver pendant.
A pendant with countless embroideries embedded across the front in no fixed form, and an incomprehensible, complex black pattern engraved on the back.
I could at least recognize the purpose of that pattern.
This was a seal.
"A token that can reveal her location, and she can sense the danger of the one who bears it."
"You mean."
"She will come to you when you truly desire it."
Hearing that, I examined the pendant once more.
No magical power could be felt from it, but something of a familiar power was mixed within.
What was visible now was a small fragment, but what lay beyond it...
'Incredibly deep, incredibly distant...'
Hook!
Just as I was about to be lost in appreciation, darkness covered my vision.
Pulling myself together, I looked straight ahead, and soon felt a chill.
Because the Gluttony Duke's face had come right up to mine.
"...Your Highness?"
"Get a hold of yourself. That place is one you cannot yet cross into."
I furrowed my brow.
I was not trying to cross over. I was trying to observe.
I had confidence it was actually possible, but it seemed he thought otherwise.
"Give it here."
He retrieved the pendant from my hand, then soon created something from his fingertips.
What the darkness birthed was a jewelry box.
He placed the pendant inside it.
"It would be best for you to take it out when you are ready."
It seemed like a pretense of consideration, but I could immediately discern his inner feelings.
He was utterly disgusted by the idea of me being 'taken away'.
But in any case, help was help.
I bowed my head.
"...Thank you."
"Very well."
He nodded once, and watched me stow the box into the darkness to the very end.
Then, he opened his mouth.
"Now let us return to the main topic."
The identity of my 'mother' was deferred.
It was time to discuss Stella, Semira, and the Jealous Duke.
- 2 -
After taking a sip of tea and setting it down, the conversation returned to the main topic.
What I needed to know first was his intention.
"What do you plan to do with the two of them?"
The Gluttony Duke's eyes narrowed.
"They must pay the price."
A calm, low voice devoid of any elation.
But the ferocity hovering in his purple eyes allowed me to guess what he was thinking.
"They made a mistake."
"In what regard?"
"They dared to touch 'my' daughter. Rashly, without dignity or thoroughness."
A gentle voice tinged with cynicism made the air tremble, and soon made the body of the maid beside me tremble as well.
Eyes of a color commonly seen in the bloodline of Pride were shaking greatly.
I glanced at her once, then folded my hands and placed them on my knee.
"If they tried to neutralize the Demon Queen, and on top of that tried to usurp that glorious position..."
He paused for a moment and looked out the window.
Beyond it was the center of the Demon King's castle.
It was the central citadel, situated even higher than this place, as if another castle had been built atop it.
"They must have His Majesty's approval."
"Will His Majesty come to know of this matter?"
"He will come to know. At the time when he must."
His eyes turned back to me.
His eyes flickered. With a ferocity sticky as tar.
"We will be able to use their mistake."
"I think so as well."
Joreureuk... The sound of the maid refilling the empty tea cup was heard.
She still did not know what kind of conversation we were having.
"The First Demon Queen and the Jealous Duke. The two Highnesses will be suspicious of each other. Each thinking the other betrayed them, or is using another trick."
"But if they start a conversation, that misunderstanding will be resolved shortly."
"We just need to block the opportunity for conversation."
"How?"
I looked him in the eye.
He was already deciding the answer in his mind, yet he was waiting for my words.
"Stella, Your High—"
"Wait. You may call her your sister. This is a private setting."
An order taking the form of an invitation.
For a moment, it felt grating, as if the root of my tongue had stiffened, but I complied.
There was nothing to gain from showing him defiance anyway.
「Lofty Profundity」 also remained silent. There would be no reason to rebel against the fact that the noble being known as the Demon Queen was my sister.
"...Yes. In any case, my sister is the victim. Even if His Majesty is an indifferent sovereign, he would not stand idly by in the face of an attack attempt on his own wife, would he?"
He smiled. As if it was the correct answer.
"With just the single piece of evidence that poison was used, all movements within the Demon King's castle will be restricted."
"Correct. Since the royal physician will arrive soon anyway, all reports will appear 'naturally' without any external intervention."
"If they move, it would be even better."
A smile also rose to my lips. It was unintentional, but probably a smile similar to his.
"Because the moment their contact is discovered, it will become proof of collusion."
"And after that?"
The Grand Duke asked, raising one eyebrow.
I clicked my tongue inwardly. Because I saw my own familiar expression on that face.
Of course, my words did not stop.
"We must time it right. Semira, Her Highness, will try to destroy the evidence of contact, while Leviathan, His Highness, will want to prevent that and find evidence that Semira attempted another scheme."
"So they will be holding each other back. It will turn into a mud fight."
Lost in thought for a moment, he raised one eyebrow again.
"Evidence?"
His question held not doubt, but confirmation. I answered immediately.
"As I mentioned, it is prepared. Leviathan's tranquilizer, and the tea that was among Semira's gifts. A certificate from an alchemist stating that combining the two creates poison."
"It is not perfect."
"No. But if accompanied by letters stamped with Semira's seal... and if those letters are written in cipher."
The Gluttony Duke had a look of admiration.
His eyes glanced sideways at the maid beside us, then returned to me. This was exactly her purpose.
The virtue of all maids is loyalty, but virtues shine because few actually uphold them.
And the basis of action for maids of the Demon Realm is mostly 'desire'. Desire for power and status.
"And us?"
"We need only step back and watch. So that they destroy themselves."
Watching me answer indifferently, the Gluttony Duke burst into laughter.
"You are truly my daughter."
He rose from his seat and looked out the window.
At the red sky that had withdrawn his darkness and regained the midday light.
With his hands clasped behind his back, he spoke quietly.
"I will be away for a short while. Coincidentally, your nephew is scheduled to be born tomorrow. So there was only time today."
Those words made my insides churn.
The Gluttony Duke had many children. Naturally, I would have many cousins.
Curiosity about them arose, but I shook my head inwardly and dismissed it.
They were not beings who would become my strength anyway.
"...Will it be alright if I do not go?"
"My blood already flows within your body. Do as you wish. But I, on the other hand, must not be in this place."
If he remained in the citadel, the movements of both the Jealous Duke and the First Demon Queen would be further restricted.
The Demon King's 'wrath' alone was enough to block contact.
"Thank you. Your Highness."
- Next time, I will expect you to call me Father.
When I lowered my head and raised it again, his form had already disappeared from the room.
"...?"
I turned my eyes to look at the maid.
The hand gesture pouring tea was still polite, but deep within her golden eyes, which were gauging our mood, an unmistakable ambition pervaded.
A blood relative of Pride and a spy sent by Semira.
That was why the Gluttony Duke had specifically singled her out and brought her here.
Whether he had already known, or had figured it out the moment he arrived here, I didn't know.
But one thing had been determined.
"What is your name?"
"I-I am..."
She would soon become the ornament on the knife that would stab her 'former' master.