ALTGS 33

There was more humility nowadays. An emotion he had never known existed.

There were humans that he knew lived outside his domain. If he tried hard enough, he could hear them walking around on the cobbled streets. Shouting at one another. Laughing. Arguing. Living.

Dying. But dying after having lived. Were they fulfilled when it came time for them to go? He would probably never really know.

Lord had read these books before. Ones talking about philosophies and morals. How was a good human to lead a good life? The answers lay somewhere within their yellow-white pages. It was a philosophy for humans, so would it work for something that was not? What was a “good” life? Lord knew what that word meant. He knew what “good” meant, but its concept was nearly unfathomable. There was no right or wrong for him. There just was.

But the book said that killing others without reason was bad.

Boundless greed and gluttony was bad.

Treating others without regard was bad.

All things that he did and had done and could do.

Was there even any impetus to lead a “good” life?

That biting wind and icy emptiness.

Yes. That was his impetus.

“Nedrie.” The slender, brown-haired demon had been sitting at the other end of the office, engrossed in paperwork. But at the sound of his name, he dropped it all and turned his full attention to his lord. “Yes, Lord?”

Lord regarded him carefully, leaning back into his chair. “Do you think that the way human beings live is “good”?”

Although he did not show it, Lord knew that Nedrie was taken aback by the question. Of all his demons, Nedrie was the only one who was capable of expertly managing his expression. His face remained smooth and sleek, sharp green eyes fixed forward. It was all in his energy. The way it twitched at the question gave him away easily. Well, at least it did to Lord.

“What do you mean...?”

“They do not live long. But they seem to... live fully. Making friends, having ‘goals’, creating families, finding ‘joy’ where there previously was none. Do you think that this is a good way to live?”

The serpentine being opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but there were no words.

“Speak honestly, Nedrie.”

At Lord’s request, he did.

“I do. What other way can one live? Although humans are an extreme in my opinion, life is to be enjoyed somewhat. And even we demons would find it increasingly difficult to enjoy life alone.”

To enjoy life alone... Lord thought.

Yes. He did not want to do that. At least not any more.

Rising from his seat, Lord closed the thick book on philosophies he had been reviewing. Theories and speculations were all well and good, but the only way he would learn to “enjoy” life was by exoeriencing it. What did his demons do all day when they were not in his presence? What did they like and not like? Did they have any favorite activities that served no particular purpose in the grand scheme of things other than to bring them a little bit of joy? He had never thought of these things before. He’d never bothered to. What did Nedrie like? What didn’t he like? Yes. He would start here. He would start living here.

“Very well. Nedrie. Take me to see what it is you’re working on. Tell me everything about the hospitals you want to build.”

Work waited for no one. That was indeed true. Far too true for her liking. Celestria spent yet another day working to keep things moving. More damn budgets. More logistics. More requests and inquiries and reports from nobles. The usual, boring lot. The quill in her hand glided quickly across the page as she wrote another report. She would have someone make several copies and send them off where they needed to go. She had found that demons were extraordinarily proficient in that. Actually, as of recent, she had found that demons were extraordinarily proficient in nearly everything they lay their hands on.

Writing, speaking, managing, dancing, singing, instruments. To be capable of doing so many things with minimal training was something close to a divine gift. The only thing she could see that they struggled with was finding a reason to be empathetic to others. It was not even a matter of it not being possible, but more a matter of why it should happen to begin with.

In that area, she had been diligently working with Meta.

Funnily enough, she had discovered that weaker demons were more prone to empathy. Just today, when she had been making her way to her office, she had met one. A demon with dark grey skin speckled with white. He just looked weak from his posture and the way his head remained bowed. He had been carrying a basket full of linens for washing. As he passed by her, one of the cloths fell out of the basket, and she had let him know of it. Because of how full his hands were, she had picked it up and returned it. He had been thankful. And his face, which she had initially thought was unbelievably drab, had lit up with a toothy smile. She returned his grin with a polite yet reserved smile, and she had assumed that that was the end of it. But he had said to her, “If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call for me, Lady Voltaine. Darrubh is the name. I will be happy to help you.”

Really, what he had said was nothing exceptional if it had been said by a human. But it was revolutionary for her because it had been said by a demon. Who knew that a demon would willingly seek to return kindness! At the end of the day, humans and demons really were not so different. She knew both from this life and the one before that those that were weak within a society were much more likely to share and care for one another compared with their powerful counterparts. She couldn’t point out how many times she had seen rich and powerful people act like cold-hearted beasts when they had nothing to lose in helping a fellow human being. It was what she realistically expected from them. And the demons were no different in that regard. The powerful cannot sympathize as easily as one that had nothing. It always was like that.

Always.

Finishing off her report, she turned to a beautiful demon waiting. “Please make three copies of this and send them to the Earls of Maveshin and Bariste, and the Marquis of Piledaut once the ink had dried.”

She gave a smooth bow, her long dark ears dropping low. “Very well, Lady Voltaine.”

And with that, Celestria stood up and walked out of her office. So many things to do. Always so many things.

“Where next will you go, Lady Voltaine?” A human man joined her as she strode down the hallway. Henri Bilaire. One of the very few people that had chosen to continue working in the palace now filled with demons. He was a little taller than her with a head of softly curling dusty blond hair, and a pair of greenish-yellow eyes. He always gave off the impression of a put-together, well-groomed man. The way his brow arched and the way he was always with a soft polite smile spoke of his reasonable, calm nature. How he was able to maintain that calm was something Celestria silently wondered, but never inquired about. After all, below that carefully tailored exterior, Celestria could sense something else. Something unfortunately human.

“I’ve got to pick up a dress in town today.” She replied, keeping her pace quick.

“Wouldn’t a servant suffice to do that for you?”

“Not at all. I have to pick up some accessories as well. It’s a completely new style, different from my usual one.”

“Ah, I see. Is there anything I can do to assist, my Lady?”

Ah, Celestria hated that. ‘My Lady’. What the hell was up with that?

“Yes, actually. Please send letters to the five other maidens that will accompany me as Lily Maidens. I would like to meet them in four days’ time.”

“Very well, my Lady. To accompany you to town...?”

“I’ve got that arranged. Thank you, Sir Bilaire.”

He left then, turning back to complete the task she had given him. Celestria did not look back at him, but she kept a mental eye on him. She would have to be a bit careful of that man until she had fully grasped what it was he wanted. Henri technically outranked her in seniority within the palace, and yet he would so easily act as a mere assistant. There was something he wanted.

Well, whatever. Everyone always wants something from you after all. Celestria thought as she dismissed all thoughts of the palace. Stepping out into the chill air, she took a discrete breath, careful not to seem ungainly in public. One thing she appreciated about this new palace was the lack of escorts. For just a short while across the front lawn, she walked alone. It was very cold. Like it would snow soon. It probably would. She wasn’t very fond of snow, but she definitely preferred it to the beating heat of summer weather. She could handle snow, but not that vicious summer sun.

“Lady Voltaine. The Duke’s carriage is here.” Ah, her short respite of solitude had tragically come to an end. Stifling a sigh, she walked to the escort dressed in navy blue and lifted her hand. He stuck his bent arm out and she rested her left hand on it. “I am glad to hear that. Thank you.”

“It is my pleasure, Lady Voltaine.”

He led her to the waiting carriage. Painted a very dark blue and tastefully decorated with swirling silver pattern, Celestria would have to admit that it was a pretty darn impressive carriage. It was not the largest carriage she had ever seen, but it was definitely something even nobles would envy. Stepping carefully into it, she finally let out a tired sigh as she nearly plopped down on the plush dark leather.

“You seem tired, Lady Voltaine. You don’t look it, but you definitely seem it.”

Sitting opposite her was the Duke of Enteford himself. Neatly put together as he always was in a military uniform. This time, he did not sit entirely like an uptight soldier. He still had his boots planted squarely, but his arms were folded before his chest and he leaned very lightly into the back of his seat. It seemed that he preferred having his hair pulled back, exposing his graying temples completely.

“Yes, Your Grace. Work at the palace is genuinely very tiring.”

“And yet you don’t look like it.”

”What lady do you know will show what she is feeling, Your Grace?”

To this, he gave a nod in seeming agreement, but he replied with, “There is my sister. She will let everyone know what she’s thinking with her face alone.”

“Hm. But not all the time.”

”No. But most of it.”

That made Celestria’s lips curl in a smile. Honest conversation was something she enjoyed nowadays more than before. Not that she didn’t like them before, but it was much-needed now. The man that sat before her was an entirely unexpected source of it. Imagine joking around with the most militarily-decorated duke in Fortane.

“Your Grace. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to escort me to town.”

Enteford kept his eyes outside the window.

“Mm. I’ll admit, I was a bit surprised to have heard from you so soon.”

”And even more so when I rudely requested that a Duke play as an escort, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Of course, of course.”

”But there’s a reason, isn’t there?” He sounded thoughtful as he kept on staring outside.

“There always is.”

”Let me hear it.”

“Nothing too big. Just an informal announcement of our allyship is all.”

At that, she saw the corner of his mouth twitch ever so slightly upwards.

This damn b— Whoa there, girl. Keep it cool. Celestria caught her thoughts quickly and carefully, taking care to not show the tiny bit of anger that flared up. He had no idea how much anxiety he had put her through over the past few days following the first meeting they had held to discuss the terms of their allyship. The way he had shown offense at pledging his allegiance to Lord—albeit being warranted—was something that Celestria had worried about day and night for three days straight. And then, just when Celestria had decided to give up that thought and concede on such an important requirement so she could keep the Duke as an ally, Enteford had sent a curt little letter essentially saying, “I’d planned on allying with you from the very beginning, so pledging my allegiance to the new King was a given anyway...

Lol.”

Although she would never show it to him, Celestria burned with rage at having spent so much energy worrying about things when they were already decided. Pointless emotional work.

“Oh? Is it?”

“It is. The real deal will happen in three days, at Lady Bishmont’s banquet. I received the invitation a while ago, and I know you did too. This is just a little dab of mystery to keep the nobles chatting before things get serious. Give them a little time to make up their minds before I ask them which side they’d like to be on.”

Finally, the Duke turned his gaze to her. Straight-backed, elegant and peculiarly dangerous Celestria. The way she schemed and thought. Erich did think her far more intelligent than many others he knew. Behind that young, smooth face seemed to lie something far sharper. And, given the chance, definitely something much more vicious. And so, because of that, he was perplexed, yet entertained. She was really very smart, and yet it amused the Duke that she didn’t see what the unintended consequence of her scheming would be. What a distinct side-effect of her coy plan today would bear. Or maybe she knew, and he was just assuming that she didn’t. Erich thought for a moment that he should tell her about what kind of talk this innocent excursion to town would bear in certain circles, but upon further consideration, he decided against it. Maybe she would see it herself. Or maybe she wouldn’t. Either way, it would be interesting to see how she would handle it.

For now, she kept herself neatly seated just as a Fortinian lady would.

“But really? Asking me to escort you to pick up a dress?” The duke sighed.

“Yes. There are bound to be a few noble ladies there. You needn’t leave the carriage. Them simply seeing it will be a statement. And then after I will select some accessories, and we shall be done.”

“What a convoluted way to make a statement.”

“Such is the society we sadly live in.”

The carriage pulled up to a large, pale building. The windows were clean, polished to a beautiful shine. Here, Celestria got off with the help of the footman, and the escort in blue from earlier led her to the door. Once inside, she walked across the lobby, and spotted some lounging ladies on the far right. They sat and conversed as they sipped tea and nibbled small cookies, but she could hear how abruptly their conversation ended. Very good. A shop clerk came to her, giving an elegant bow. “Good day, Lady Voltaine. How may I help you today.”

“I’ve come to pick up my dress. Is it ready?” she did not speak particularly quietly like she normally would. Just so those ladies would hear it.

“Please allow me a moment to check.” She nodded and he was off.

Now, standing in the middle of the lobby alone, Celestria pretended to not feel the stares. Then, naturally, like it was a coincidence, she turned to the group of ladies. Feign a bit of surprise, then put on a pleasant smile. They were not higher in rank than her, so she did not bow. The ladies did, their hair bobbing. They had no veil on, so they were still young and unmarried. Well, technically so was she, but navigating the world as an unwed maiden was really very tiring. It was easier to have people assume you were already taken. At least then, men did not pursue you and ladies did not compete and compare with you. Well, to a certain degree, anyway.

The clerk came back with a pale pink box. “It is ready, my Lady. Would you like to check it?”

“No, that’s quite alright. I trust Madam Firre’s work.”

“Very well. I will take it to your carriage.”

”Thank you. Oh, wait a moment please. Where does Madam Firre recommend I go to find complimenting accessories? I would like to take a look at some jewelry.”

The clerk gave a standard smile. “Certainly! We always recommend the excellent store just a little ways down the street. It is called Godhanid.”