‘The one we’ve all been named after? Lutiel?’ Suddenly, his eyelids twitched as he recalled a certain person. One that bore his name, the one that led a revolutionary army.


    “What do you mean by that?” He added immediately, so we wouldn’t simply go over the matter and leave him oblivious.


    Raeyine stared at him for a moment, but she didn’t restrain any words. Looking at his faintly confused face, a small smile was plastered on hers. “Magon killed saint Lutiel ten years ago, and ever since then, a lot of your kind has taken on the name, at least the male kind.”


    “Why?”


    “I don’t have any idea. But I can tell you that lady Zyponia almost wanted me to change your name to something else because of that,” she said, cackling silently as she corrected her glasses.


    Before he could speak or think about any of it, stunned, Lutiel heard her speak once more. “Every year since ten years ago, on the second Lusday of the thirteenth month, we come together to mourn his death, as well as burn Magon’s figure at stake. Not only has he betrayed the demons, he also cowardly killed himself and the heroes that tried to save the saint.”


    Although her face was no longer as remorseful as a few moments ago, Raeyine tightened her fist slightly, much to the clutter inside Lutiel’s head.


    ‘Mourn my death? The demons?’ His voice thundered across the mental space, unable to understand her words in shape or form. All of it merely seemed like a fuddle his head made up.


    Yet, as he stared at the vividly amber eyes looking back at him, he knew it wasn’t a dream. ‘Is she lying? But she has no reason to. My face is completely different from back then, and as she said, there are probably countless Lutiels out there. I’m nothing more than a random, insignificant human to them.’


    With a constantly deadpan face, a hardly changing look for him, Lutiel thought solemnly for a few harsh moments, but no real solution came through. He could only consider the words to be true, despite the horrendous, almost gut-wrenching tides inside him.


    Restraining the shock eventually, however, the man slowly opened his mouth. He couldn’t let his current state dictate his character, so he clenched his stomach in advance.


    “Before I lost my memory, I must have changed my name to that man’s, right?”


    “That’s most likely the case, yes,” she spoke while vaguely nodding her head. “Tell me, do you want to recover your memories?”


    “I do, I think,” he said with no certainty, after waiting in complete silence for a good few breaths.


    “Although we can’t stop it if it happens, don’t wish for it, if you want an easier life at least,” she said suddenly, his eyebrows flinching momentarily.


    “Why? Wouldn’t that be better for Lady Zyponia?” He asked, only to see as Raeyine shook her head in response.


    “It would be the opposite for the two of you. As of now, you’re quite mellow, but what if you began hating us all of a sudden? Do you think the lady would appreciate that from her assistant?”


    “No,” he replied tersely, making her continue.


    “Exactly. The brand would be used a lot more to restrain your actions,” the girl added, her smile slowly disappearing. Similar to him, she wore a blank look near the end.


    Then, they fell into a silence as the trees passed by through the windows. Nonetheless, after a few breaths, he spoke anew.


    “I won’t think about it, but do you think there is a chance?”


    “A chance, huh?” She asked, a brief, riveted look interrupting the calm around her face.


    Looking at the nod he gave her, she crossed her arms whilst a raised right eyebrow simmered down. “If you were a demon, sure, but right now, you can only count for yourself suddenly recalling parts of it.”


    ‘So magic can also do something like that, huh?’ He thought to himself before glancing beyond the panes. “I see. Let’s forget about it, then.”


    Yet, as he witnessed the passing of skies and lands from the carriage, she kept at him instead, her yellow eyes piercing through his paleness.


    “Yes?” He asked, only then turning to her, who found herself cracking a meek smile.


    “I heard that you took my place in the ball,” Raeyine spoke, making him think silently for a blink of an eye before he recalled it.


    “Did Lady Zyponia tell you?”


    “Yes, she was just as surprised that I didn’t know yet. Someone was apparently meant to inform me,” she said, creasing her eyebrows on purpose, though she stopped as soon as the man replied.


    “I’m sorry, it completely fell out of my head.”


    “I was just joking,” Raeyine said, giggling lightly before a more solemn face sat in front of him. “However, I do have to tell you, she really did do you in, that fox.”The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    “Yes? Do you mean Luviene?”


    “Mhm,” she hummed in confirmation. “You see, the ball is basically a welcoming party for high standing demon guests.”


    “Like Lady Zyponia?” He asked, but much to Lutiel’s surprise, she shook her head.


    “Similar, but our lady still outweighs them. However, one other Lord just like her will also be coming there.”


    “Is Luviene one of the guests?”


    “Ah, yes, but you don’t need to care about her,” she said, her voice faltering slightly at her mention. “The guests, although not as special as the Demon Lords, are still important, and there will be a lot of them. I’m sure they will bring human slaves of their own, but no one will have them dressed as formally as you.”


    “Can’t I just not go?” He asked plainly, unable to grasp the reason for their seriousness. From Zyponia to Raeyine, they acted as though he had to do it.


    Unlike the one expression he wanted to see, Raeyine’s face stood still in an awkward silence before she scratched the side of her neck. “Not really. The guests already know you will be coming together with the lady, so there’s no way out of it.”


    ‘Isn’t she supposed to be one of the most important demons there?’ He asked himself before quickly forgetting about the matter.


    “But, as I was saying, you aren’t going there as Lady’s human slave, but rather just a slave,” she said with a light smile, though it quickly faded away after seeing his plain expression.


    “How is it different?”


    “Well, no demon treats a human slave with such care, most don’t even give the normal ones such elegant clothes, unless they were a wealthy noble. Still, we have you to our advantage,” she spoke while the other listened with a half ear.


    “Because I have the looks of a demon?” He blurted out all of a sudden, to which she shut herself, a blank look coming towards him.


    “...Yes… but not in a bad way. Actually, with your looks, I wouldn’t be surprised if they considered you a part of some fallen noble household.”


    “So, I just have to not act like a human?” He said, her face souring once again as she realized what she and Zyponia were asking of a person who had recently lost all of his memories.


    “...Yes,” she spoke, waiting for a second before adding on. “But we have six days for that. I’m sure you will learn plenty of demonic ways by then.”


    “I don’t speak your tongue,” he added, making the silence even louder than it was before, the girl’s face turning rigid.


    “Right, right, I completely forgot about that,” she mumbled under her nose before her eyes quickly jolted up from the carriage’s floor. “I have an idea. We will make you a mute. They won’t bother you that way.”


    Her eyes almost glimmered as she came up with the proposal, however, Lutiel mused doubtfully at the words.


    ‘She’s lying.’ Looking at the prominent eyes of the demon, the thought lingered around his head, only interrupted a few moments later by her yet again.


    “However, remember one thing. Never, under any circumstance, get into a dispute with another demon.”


    “Why should I get into one?”


    “The guests, they will be a bit haughty, you could say. Regardless, don’t get provoked by them under any circumstance, alright?” She waited as the words fell onto his ears, a solemn face staring right at him.


    “I understand,” with a terse tongue, Lutiel spoke while Raeyine smiled in appreciation. “Is there anything else?”


    “Let me see. Other than keeping quiet and staying close to Lady Zyponia, I think that’s all. I know you will manage, so don’t worry about it. Six days is enough to make a leaf fly,” she spoke, waving her hand as though it was no big deal.


    “I’m in no place to choose anyway,” he said, making her giggle clumsily before they both enjoyed each other’s silent presence. Watching as the bleak clouds floated powerlessly through the sky, the man had to stop not long after, the carriage coming to a halt.


    Hearing the same conversation as always play out, they were swiftly granted permission to enter the town. The horses’ hooves dirtied themselves along the muddy ground as they trotted towards the street, the wheels turning in similar fashion.


    However, unlike the steadfast, grim atmosphere the one inside the carriage had always witnessed on the streets of the city, he stared at the half-built buildings in the distance, no slave going up onto them.


    The demons, nearly all dressed in plain black clothes, walked solely on the sidewalks, the road in the middle emptied since the chained humans no longer carried them.


    ‘What is this?’ Lutiel wondered with a somewhat broken eyebrow. It wasn’t like this usually. So far, he only saw as the humans were being pulled onto by their chains, dragged through the muddy streets after falling down. Yet, images glimmered inside his pupils when the eyes followed their doleful shades.


    However, as dreary as their attires were, his insides wavered with bewilderment at the exuberant attitudes. With giddy airs, the small, demonic children ran about, holding up sticks with a certain head on top of them.


    Not only them. The taller demons had a stick of their own as well, though slightly bigger than that of their children. At a leisurely pace, no worries beat in their chests.


    His eyes didn’t blink as he tried to get everything into them, but the time still came when they crossed the street, moving forward with constant pace.


    Glancing at his curious face, Raeyine smirked faintly before also looking outside of the windows. Similar to the other one, the street was riddled with a crowd of demons on each side, carrying a face whose eyes had been covered by two undulating horns.


    “It’s his face,” she said, looking back at the man before her.


    “Magon’s?”


    “Yes. We use them after the main ceremony.”


    “Which is?” He asked, though an inkling where she was going with this curled up inside his head. Turning back to see her yellow eyes, he saw them glimmer inside the carriage shrouded by shadows.


    “Burning his body at stake,” the light crease of the maid’s lips blossomed into a full smile, her voice trembling throughout his ears. “It’s an important, as well as the prettiest part of the festival, but sadly, we won’t be able to witness it.”


    “Are we going back to the mansion after giving the food out?”


    With a nod of her head, it was all he needed to know, so he promptly shut his mouth, quickly observing the congested streets.


    Even when the road obliged them to turn right, it was more of the same. Demons hailing the death of the old Demon Lord to spite his soul.


    No matter how many blocks of residential buildings had passed his sight, all Lutiel could see were demons dressed in black clothes whilst marching towards the market square, as though mourning the death of their beloved royal.