320. Investiture (1)
320. Investiture (1)
- 1 -
The palace of the First Demon Queen, Vellastella, was ordinarily a place governed by serene silence.
The reason was simple: its owner, Stella, disliked commotion, and the Demon King's Castle itself was a place where all noise was 'swallowed' from the start.
But today was different.
"Bring that dress over here!"
"To think Her Highness possessed this many gowns... when did she acquire so many without our knowledge?"
"Does it matter? The most important thing today is making Her Highness beautiful!"
The maids of Iris Palace bustled about, clad in lovelier dresses than ever, making as much noise as if they had forgotten the very meaning of the silence they usually prized as a virtue.
And at the center of all that commotion was me.
"You are truly beautiful, Your Highness...!"
I looked into the mirror.
If the usual me favored black dresses, today's me was the complete opposite.
The colors considered most noble in the Demon World were black and white, followed by red and orange hues.
In other words, colors signifying the 'Black Sun.'
Among them, the dress I wore today was pure white.
Naturally, it wasn't just any plain white dress.
It was, so to speak, an outfit designed to rightfully capture every gaze.
"To think someone like Your Highness existed on the Surface... to be able to adorn someone like you, it feels like a dream...!"
"It isn't that Your Highness is wearing the clothes, but a perfection as if the clothes are wearing Your Highness...!"
"From this day forward, there will be no one in the Demon World who won't know Your Highness's name...!"
And all around me, beautiful women filled the space.
The maids and servants I had brought from the dungeon, the maids of Iris Palace, and even the women the Demon King had sent.
All of them were smiling brightly, holding up dresses or helping me into them as if my affairs were their own. It was utterly dizzying.
And the compliments—how exaggerated they were.
"...Hoo."
So once everything was finished, a sigh escaped me involuntarily.
Normally, I swapped my clothes with 'darkness,' but in this case, that was impossible.
The structure of the dress was too complicated, and no matter how I looked at it, manifesting it completely was out of the question.
'It's fortunate I got the chance to experience this in a friendly environment ahead of time. I'll be wearing clothes like this a lot from now on.'
As I thought that, I heard a voice whispering.
"Are you all right?"
It was Evangeline, standing guard beside me.
The other maids had already withdrawn.
That was because Stella was scheduled to come in shortly and have a private audience with me before the event.
"I'm just a little tired. Mentally. But..."
I took in Evangeline's appearance.
She wore a luxurious ceremonial robe that seemed better suited for princes of the Demon World, or princesses playing the part of men.
Attending today as my 'partner,' her appearance was just as splendid and imposing as mine.
Which meant she had received just as much fussy attention from the maids.
But...
"You look perfectly fine."
"Compared to you, Master, I am of course lacking, but I too am of noble birth."
Evangeline smiled naturally, with an elegant grace.
The aristocratic sensibilities of the Demon World overlapped somewhat with those of people living on modern Earth.
Which meant...
"It suits you well."
That her current appearance looked attractive even to my eyes.
She had been tidying her attire, and at my words she raised her eyes and met my gaze.
"Thank you. If I have caught your eye, Master, that alone is already enough."
A smile settled into Evangeline's emerald eyes.
I didn't miss the meaning within that subtle expression, the corners of her lips faintly raised.
Somewhere in my chest, my heart began to beat irregularly.
"It seems you'll be stealing the hearts of many young ladies and young masters of the Demon World."
"That cannot be."
She lifted my hand and briefly pressed her lips to the back of it, then raised the corner of her mouth as she whispered.
"Surely my own appearance will be overshadowed by Master's. The sight of you, Master, shining entirely on your own—that is my joy."
"...You seem to have buttered your lips."
I utterly could not overcome the pounding of my heart.
Chagrined, I scolded her, but instead she drew closer and grasped my waist.
"I only do this to you, Master."
"Yes, of course you would..."
I sat with my body turned away from her.
Her warmth radiated from behind me.
Then naturally, I raised my head...
"Haa..."
She too bent her face down toward me.
How much time passed like that.
Tok-tok.
When the sound of knocking came at the door, I was already straightening my attire with Evangeline's help.
"Come in."
The person who entered was my older sister and the First Demon Queen, Stella.
"Then, I shall leave you two to your time."
"It's all right. Evangeline. Please stay. You're her partner, are you not?"
"No. Don't you two need time between sisters as well?"
Evangeline, who had already risen from her seat, bowed once to her and then exited first.
Only Stella and I remained in the room.
"Rita. You are truly beautiful."
Stella said as she approached me. Her eyes held sincere admiration.
"It's nothing compared to you, Sister."
As she said that, Stella looked as though she too had taken great care with her appearance today.
Perhaps because the awareness that the star of the ceremony must stand out had spread even in the Demon World, her dress was not a bright color like mine.
It was a black dress, with her symbolic light purple harmoniously blended in.
The thick horns on her head were adorned with jewels and gold chains as well, holding a still more beautiful light, and her eyeliner, emphatic beyond her usual intensity as Queen of the Demon World, and her lips shone faintly black.
"Are you not nervous?"
She held my hand. I gave a small smile.
A lie told at a time like this would be forgiven, surely.
"A little. But since you are beside me, Sister, I'm all right."
"Of course. I will keep watching over you."
Stella spoke with a voice imbued with tenderness.
"It's a shame I couldn't preside over the ceremony."
Right after, she furrowed her brow slightly and said with dissatisfaction.
From what I had heard, apparently someone had stepped forward and declared they would do it themselves before she could insist on presiding.
That person was none other than...
"I didn't know Lucifer would move so quickly."
Duke of Pride, Lucifer.
He was one of the two Demon World Archdukes who had shown keen interest in me.
"If it's Dantalion's movements, of course the nobles of the Demon World would pay attention."
"Are you all right?"
I gave a bitter smile.
I could feel the sincere worry behind Stella's question.
This 'war' had produced one somewhat unfortunate outcome for me.
My movements on the human continent had been well hidden from the eyes of the Demon World, but because of the actions of my antagonist Dantalion, the fact that I was influencing the humans had been revealed.
That wasn't where it ended.
"Now requests will come to you, asking you to procure things that can be obtained in the Human World."
"Yes. I'm already expecting that."
Although the demon tribe is generally indifferent to events on the Surface, there are many cases where they show interest in its material culture.
If that weren't the case, phenomena like the surface peerage system spreading to the Demon World wouldn't have happened.
Which meant that such people could request things of me or give me orders.
"But considering the position you will gain today, there shouldn't be any who approach you recklessly."
"Conversely, that means the ones who do approach will be troublesome."
"Yes. That's right."
She affirmed, stroking my hair.
Naturally, the sensibilities of the demon tribe were extremely inhuman.
Among their requests, there would be no small number that I would find unpleasant.
Since they were also nobles, they could not help but consider the web-like network of personal connections.
Handling all of that wisely would be another task for the future.
But.
"Today is a happy day, so let's think about the difficult things later, Sister."
I placed my hand on her cheek and said so.
"...Yes. That's right. Here I was, frowning in front of my little sister who ought to be showered with congratulations."
She slowly relaxed her expression and once again placed her hands on both my cheeks.
She pressed her lips to my forehead as if it were habit.
I closed my eyes, feeling that sensation.
We held each other in silence for a while, and after that, she handed me a gift.
One large box, and one small box.
"What is it?"
"Something I couldn't give you the other day. And a new gift."
"Ah."
As soon as I heard her words, I felt a fluttering excitement.
What the large box contained was a ring set she had wanted to hand over to me the other day, but which I hadn't received because of the test Agares had imposed.
The ones enchanted with long-distance communication magic, whose eavesdropping was supposedly impossible unless one was greater than Stella.
Twenty of these artifacts, made of the magic metal mithril and set with amethysts.
After confirming them with my own eyes, I set them aside and immediately took the small box in my hands.
Because instinctively I had noticed it held a more important meaning.
Dalkak.
Inside was another ring.
However, I knew the moment I saw it.
If the previous ones could be worn anytime and anywhere, this one could clearly only be worn in special places.
"This is..."
"It is a signet ring. It symbolizes the peerage of a noble."
To describe the overall shape of the ring, it first resembled 'wings.'
A form fashioned from pitch-black metal into the shape of wings for the ring.
In the very center of the ring, where amethysts were scattered at every spot a feather shaft might be, was embedded one iridescent diamond, embossed with a complex pattern of intertwined skulls, flowers, and wings.
"Try stamping it."
When I pressed that embossed part onto the handkerchief Stella handed me, one pitch-black, vivid pattern was stamped out.
It was beautiful how a purple glow faintly rose along the edges of the pattern.
It was an object enchanted with magic so that it could be stamped without separate ink.
"Sister..."
A surge of emotion rose spontaneously.
It hadn't been long since my crest was completed.
To finish my signet ring and bring it now, there was only one method.
Having the ring itself made in advance to fit me, and then commissioning the crest the moment it was completed.
Of course, extra costs would have been involved,
"Is it not your first official peerage title. I wanted to make it with my own hands, no matter what."
My previous Demon World count title had been a kind of honorary title that everyone used under the assumption that 'For someone like me, that much was only natural.'
Therefore, the title I was to gain today was indeed my first peerage title.
"I'm happy. Thank you. Sister."
"Not at all. I am happy because you are happy."
This time, I embraced her.
The touch of her hand caressing my back was filled with warmth, as was the body heat I felt from her.
"I wonder what Demon Name will be given to our Rita. You are a special being, after all."
"What do you mean by that...?"
"Is the noble blood of another place not mixed in you."
Her eyes, looking at me, deepened for a moment.
I was curious how much she knew about my origins, but now was not the time to discuss that.
"Let us go. It is about time to begin."
Stella took my hand and led me.
As the doors of the Grand Hall drew nearer before my eyes, my close aides joined me one by one.
"Master. Over here."
"My Lord... how can you be so...!"
"Ran. Pull yourself together."
Shue, Ran, Saya.
"Master."
All four monster queens who had now attained the rank of Dungeon Lord.
"You are beautiful, Master."
"Wow..."
Even the humans Esther and Sonia.
Deolkeong!!
And so, the massive doors of the Grand Hall opened.
"The star of today. Her Grace Libertas Gula is entering. Please welcome her with applause, everyone."
Standing beside Stella, I came to face thousands of gazes.
Today... I was to rise to the rank of Duke, just below Archduke.
As a collateral relative of the Demon King.