Endia Order and Cecilia (2)
Cecilia was thrilled. And overjoyed.
Last week, with Lucia's connection and Yulian's help, she had enrolled in the Pantheon.
It had been well over a year since she left the Demon King's palace and entered the human world. Having spent most of that time in the imperial capital, Cecilia knew exactly what the Pantheon was like.
Lucia Mei. Her first human friend. She'd heard all about the Pantheon from her often enough.
Right now, Cecilia was in her personal workshop, provided by the Endia Order, together with Lucia.
"Cecil, you look so happy. Your mouth's practically grinning from ear to ear."
Lucia said to her. She must have been smiling without realizing it.
Locked away in her room in the Demon King's palace—practically a prison—Cecilia had always longed for life at the Pantheon.
'But I never dreamed I'd actually get in.'
The most renowned and elite educational institution in the Holy Ramir Empire. Only the empire's finest elites could enter.
Of course, children of high nobles could buy their way in through donations. But even they struggled to graduate without real talent, let alone earn certificates for individual courses.
So it was hard to believe she'd made it here. Even though Cecilia held the lofty status of a demon princess.
In the human world, that status was worse than a slave's. And she and her sister had abandoned even that to venture out.
'Without Tricia's and Lucia's help... I'd have died in this capital in no time.'
Her precious dwarf necklace disguised her perfectly as human. But surviving in the capital was another matter entirely.
And her dragon heart, ruined by a failed contract with the Archduke of Demons. The purification demon stones needed to halt its collapse cost a fortune beyond imagination.
That's why her own sister—the brilliant elf spirit mage Tricia—had slaved away nonstop in the kitchen to earn money. Imagining a noble elf like her reduced to kitchen help made Cecilia's dragon heart ache even more.
And Lucia, the friend they'd met on arriving in the capital, had pitched in with her own separate work to cover Cecilia's medicine.
She herself had worked all day at the tobacco shop to earn money... but she still felt endlessly guilty toward those two.
And lately, the price of purification demon stones had skyrocketed several times over from a year ago. So Lucia must have started taking risky side jobs in secret.
They probably weren't telling her to avoid worrying her. But Cecilia had noticed long ago. And there was no way to make up for that guilt.
But things had changed. Enrolling in the Pantheon opened a path to earn real money.
Lost in that joy, she must have been beaming like an idiot. With no reply, Lucia continued.
"Anyway, the Endia Order is impressive. They set up workshops like this even for students if their skills earn recognition. And you can sell what you make to earn money too. But it's rare for a brand-new enrollee to get a personal workshop. That says your crafting skills are top-notch, Cecil."
"Ah... no, Lucia. I didn't do much... It's all thanks to Count Yulian."
Count Yulian. Yulian von Reinhardt. No one from the demon clans could be ignorant of the Reinhardt name.
During the Great War, the two Reinhardts who struck the greatest terror into the demons: Margrave Wilhelm and Saintess Agnes. They were the only humans revered not just by demons, but even by the high demonkin.
And Count Yulian was their grandson—and son.
Mentioning him made Lucia's face light up.
"True. He said he'd help, Cecil, but I never imagined it'd go this smoothly."
Lucia was right. Two days after first meeting Yulian at the tobacco shop, his coachman had shown up personally to take her to the Pantheon.
She'd been flustered, but the maid who came with him kindly explained the enrollment process and interview.
'She was so beautiful. Are all high nobles' maids that pretty?'
The black bob-cut maid. Eirin, if she remembered right. Her beauty matched her icy expression.
But she'd been incredibly kind and efficient. Eirin had laid out the interview process crystal clear.
'Quiet, but kind.'
The interview followed swiftly. Cecilia wasn't arrogant, but it hadn't been as tough as expected.
Even before her dragon heart began crumbling, she'd been frail and confined to her room. So she'd picked up crafting from dwarf relatives as a hobby...
'The professors seemed impressed enough.'
They'd talked at length about her skills. It had been enjoyable for her.
Lucia went on.
"Yulian's influence helped a lot, sure. But the Endia Order professors are picky. They're total eccentrics obsessed with crafting and study. Getting their approval—and a personal workshop—means your skills stand on their own. Be proud of it."
Lucia praised her warmly, then added,
"Still, if you see Count Yulian, make sure to thank him properly. A noble of his stature stepping up personally isn't common."
"Of course! I have to. But Lucia... do I really deserve help from someone so exalted...?"
Silence fell between them. Yulian's favors were far too generous for just a fellow student's acquaintance.
"He even vouched for me and Tricia's identities. And fabricated civilian status from Harsen..."
From Lucia's reaction, even she didn't know why he'd gone so far.
She'd heard Yulian was progressive and sympathetic to demons.
But without knowing their full identities yet, it couldn't just be curiosity.
'Still... I think I know a bit.'
Cecilia was an adult by dragon years. Over a century cooped up in her room, amassing knowledge—she wasn't naive.
Including human romance, of course. The demon palace library had novels smuggled from humans.
'Lucia and Count Yulian must be... that kind of couple.'
No doubt. Yulian maybe not, but Lucia's gaze at him was anything but casual. The look of a woman deep in love.
And judging by her distance... they'd likely been intimate already.
So that's why he'd helped Lucia's friend.
But it stung a little. She'd only been at the Pantheon a few days, but she'd learned things.
Yulian was engaged to the empire's third princess. And last year, he'd been a scoundrel beyond imagination. The chatty girl in the next workshop had spilled plenty.
'So... is Lucia his mistress?'
Not even an official one. Sneaking around behind his fiancée. Given his past antics, keeping a lover wasn't surprising.
But Cecilia didn't resent it. As heir to a grand duke near royal rank, he could have a harem.
In demon society, high-status males with long lives and low libidos were obliged to sire heirs with multiple wives.
'More wives mean higher pregnancy odds.'
Human nobles might differ, but that wasn't why it hurt.
'A count that handsome... Lucia won't get to see him often.'
He already had a fiancée—a busty beauty princess. And his maid Eirin was stunning enough to make any woman jealous.
Lucia was gorgeous too, of course. Proof enough in landing him. But competing with them for time? Tough.
'Anyway... I've never seen anyone so handsome.'
Truth be told, seeing Yulian had made Cecilia's heart race too. Not just his looks.
More like... her body and senses reacting. Strange.
Demons, especially dragons, chose mates differently from humans. Pure instinct from potent blood, ignoring externals.
'But he's human, so illusion. My weakening dragon heart must be messing with my senses.'
That thought brought a twinge of regret. If Yulian were demonkin, she could join Lucia in his harem.
To demons, a harem was one family. With Lucia already like a sister, it'd be perfect.
Meanwhile, Lucia, who'd been pondering Cecilia's words, replied.
"...Count Yulian must just be noble and gracious. Unlike ordinary men, he's thoughtful and kind. He'd step up for someone in your tough spot. Wait, Cecil? What's wrong?"
Lucia had noticed her lost in thought.
"Nothing, Lucia. Just... woolgathering."
Cecilia shook her head vigorously. Too much time alone in her room—over a century—had built her little fantasy walls.
Joining Yulian's harem? Absurd. And she had no clue how to seduce as a woman.
'Still, that pull when I met him... why?'
She had a hunch.
That day, in the cramped, dingy tobacco shop. Bread and soup luxurious for them, slop for high nobles. Yet Yulian stayed kind and earnest.
Gentle, reliable. Someone to lean on. Easy to see why Lucia fell hard.
With only a sister, Cecilia had always yearned for an older brother figure. Yulian fit perfectly.
The scoundrel rumors? Probably slander. Talented people make enemies.
'What am I even thinking? Too many romance novels.'
Nearly a century of brother fantasies while reading. Unavoidable. She shook her head to banish the rising delusions.
Then the workshop door burst open.
"Cecilia! Looks like we have a visitor!"
Heart soaring, she turned eagerly. But through the open door came two unexpected people.
Yulian and that maid from before—Eirin.