“Hmm?” She raised a brow. “Did you not like it? I barely stopped myself this time. I don’t know how, but you’ve gotten tastier. I think I’m in love even more now.”


    “No,” he spoke harshly. “I didn’t.”


    “Oh, come on. Don’t be so cruel,” her voice filled itself with disappointment, practically pouting at the man. “I won’t give it to you so easily in the future if you chase me away now. Besides, I just did it to ease your worries.” she spoke, but the man’s blank face didn’t believe it. Not until he glanced to the side, beyond her face.


    Like she said, the demons outside of their little scene simply stayed to their own. Some danced together just like they did, while most gathered around the circular buffet tables. However, other than some sparing glances, the guests never stirred up any rumors or trouble. They left Zyponia alone, so his true identity couldn’t have been revealed.


    At least none of the normal demons occupied her. Standing in the middle of the ballroom, where the largest and most prominent of the round tables stood, the purple-haired girl stood around people that never seemed to break under her. Even though the man was unable to categorize them as any of the demon lords.


    Yet, even if she spoke casually to the demons near her, he could see her gaze breaking apart before swiftly drifting off towards where he and Luviene danced, directly under the moon’s glare.


    “I’m here, you know? You should stop looking at other women when you have a fine lady next to you,” all of a sudden, he heard Luviene’s complaints, prompting him to look back at her sullen face.


    “Is that so?” He asked with indifference. “I was only wondering who the people next to her were. Are they important?”


    “Hmm? Getting jealous?” She asked swiftly, making his face sour ever so barely.


    “I was just wondering,” he said after shaking his head.


    “I will take that as a yes, then,” she said, a smirk flowing while a sigh crawled out of him. “Let’s just say those ones are actually important, unlike the ones all around the ball. They are here to discuss the actual reason Zyponia came in the first place.”


    “I see,” he muttered, trailing away into the distance before feeling a rough grasp below him. Gripping onto his chin, Luviene made his eyes unable to leave her.


    “What did I tell you? I tried so hard to get you here, yet you don’t seem to care about me at all,” she spoke through a forcefully saddened voice, making him shake his head internally after watching the show.


    “Did you? I was invited here the same day I met you,” he stated with a blank face, widening the eyes of a girl somewhat before they subsided. “I thought you wanted others to know Zyponia had a male slave,” Then, she raised her brow.


    “Who told you that?”


    “I guessed,” his straight face gleamed to the lady, her intense glare trying to look right through him.


    “I’ll trust you, but I don’t believe those words,” she said, quickly changing back into a serene expression, her lips creasing just barely as they stared into each other’s eyes. “Though, since you already know, how are you enjoying the invitation so far?”


    “It couldn’t be worse,” he blurted, making her brows smear away to a frown. “The glares of some of them could kill me.”


    “I thought it was the opposite,” she said, her sight going down somewhat. “Aren’t you learning a lot about the demons right now? Don’t you remember how you felt a few moments ago?”


    Furrowing his eyebrows, he thought about the words, only to shake his head in a swift reaction. “I’ve learnt a lot more just staying in the mansion.”


    “Well, it’s only just started anyways, there is still a full night for -,” she stopped speaking suddenly, glancing up and smiling at the man once again as he cut her words. Yet, when the sentence grazed the ears, Luviene’s face wrinkled with a fuddle.


    “However, I can’t deny some of the words they keep saying are stuck in my head,” he said, under the girl’s eerie confusion.


    “What do you mean? Which words?”


    He stared at her green eyes, glimmering under the rife chandeliers. Looking at each other, with a casual, almost emotionless approach, Lutiel poured the words out, in as best of an attempt as he could.


    “Tis, ges, li, bie, or something like that. They keep repeating without stopping,” he said, to which the girl soothed the flow of their dance. Gradually slowing down, she stared deeply into his face, the confusion dissipating away into the unknown.


    “Meiar,” she spoke all of a sudden, under the confident look on her face. “I knew it,” she followed as the look around his face seemed unfazed, as though he had already gone through the action.


    “Haa,” she sighed while her head quickly plummeted down, glaring at the ground. “I knew I should have done it earlier, damn it! Tell me, who was it? Who told you about it?”Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    “Rudrik,” he said boringly, his eyes with the same, dim gleam about them. “Though Zyponia said it right in front of me.”


    “I think I get the picture,” her words trailed off for a moment, however, she quickly came back, beaming at him with her smirking composure. “But, nevermind that, you’re really making my mind stutter, huh? It’s great that you’re still in one piece, I would’ve killed that old fart had I heard anything.”


    Immediately, his eyes sank. Recalling the murky thought prior to reading the note, his face blossomed solemnly. “What did you say?”


    Yet, despite his seriousness, her lips curved further up. “Usually, human hearts explode the moment they hear that word.”


    ‘Huh? What?’ His depths roared while his face painted a portrait for the lady. She couldn’t hide her amusement, so she instead sped up his moves. Flowing through her lead, his feet followed right after her, all while the girl’s face neared closer.


    “You don’t have to understand how. You won’t get it anyway, at least for now,” she said, somehow making his face turn back to normal. Watching as their noses were practically glued to each other, she closed the distance even further.


    However, unlike the welcoming kiss, she came closer to his left ear, making his brows flinch while the steamy breath brushed past his earlobe.


    “The tongue is more powerful than you can ever imagine,” she whispered to him, barely abstaining from kissing the skin. “Do you want me to show you?”


    Once again, before he could break her grasp of him, she quickly stepped back. Leaning under the movement, he danced swiftly, spinning about through the floor.


    “Come on, don’t be so tense. I can’t always make you move,” she spoke, promptly making his body flop about, staggering against itself as though he had just learned to walk.


    But, he didn’t care for that. “Are you saying words correspond to magic?” He asked quickly, the idea hardly leaving his mind.


    “What do you think? I won’t say any more on that,” she said, quickly grasping his hands as the man tripped over his own feet, falling back. Looking ahead at the lady, who laughed her heart out, he exhaled a deeper breath before finally trying to move somewhat.


    “Hmm? Were you purposefully trying not to dance?” She asked with a tilted brow, but he didn’t reply, moving briskly to the falling moonlight.


    Slowly, with a composed nature, they danced together, one acting to the other’s motions. As his feet moved, she immediately replied, going there as well.


    When the girl moved, he followed, never leaving the lady’s motion behind.


    “What does it mean?” He asked, turning her around before she regained proper control. Suddenly, they walked to the left, each with decisive steps that wanted to take over the other.


    “The word? Why do you want to know? Don’t you hate us demons like the rest of humans?” She asked, taking her hands off his shoulder before a sharp nail dug through his tie and met with the wall of flesh. “Don’t you think it’s quite funny? The way you have no idea how many times we could have wiped your kind off the face of your continent?”


    Staring at the man with an enthralled gleam, Luviene asked threateningly.


    “I do,” he said however, making the girl think twice with the stunned mien she put on. “Ever since I learned about magic, it has plagued me. Despite these powers, you have never attacked us directly.” His words halted Luviene, who stared at him solemnly.


    “I don’t think you’re actually evil, which makes me want to understand your reasons for coming here in the first place. Because it’s not to destroy humanity,” he said, quickly sinking in the resounding silence while she smiled promptly, muttering under her breath while looking down.


    “Ahh, it seems like I made a good decision, huh?” She said secretively after glancing up. “Did you come to the conclusion on your own?”


    “Partially, but it would be a lot slower without Raeyine and Rudrik,” he exclaimed, making her sour in confusion once again.


    “Rudrik? I was sure he wanted your heart to break apart, not nice you,” she mumbled quietly, however, he heard it all. “What did he say?”


    Calming the eyebrow that was wrinkling up, Lutiel quickly spoke up. “He mentioned the guests are coming from a voyage.” Glancing outside to his right whilst the words flowed, his eyes caught the reflection of the ocean, peering at the large, ornate ship docked near the shore. One that could make travel for a few hundred comfortable.


    “Oh…” she said intermittently. “Do you know?”


    “I think so.” Nodding deftly at the words, Luviene didn’t really ponder about it for too long. Instead, she once again put on the amorous smirk.


    “It doesn’t matter, then. No, I think it''s better if you know already. As for the word, what did you think when you first experienced its effects?”


    As the words rang out in his ears, he stood there silently, lessening his movements around the dance floor. However, not letting her sit in silence for too many moments, he breathed out a response.


    “I don’t know. I can’t really describe it. It was unlike anything I had experienced before. My organs seemed as though they were about to twist inside my body before leaving it.”


    “Exactly,” she said, catching him somewhat by surprise. “It’s magic. Something you just can’t describe when feeling it, yet everyone has a word of their own to categorize it. That’s what meiar is.”


    “I see,” he uttered meekly, letting his body be consumed by the motions. ‘I was correct, it seems.’ The man mused, staring at Luviene’s eyes as their silhouettes continued to cling against one another.


    “How long has it been since he made you understand it?”


    “He didn’t,” Lutiel denied readily, giving her a singular shake of the head. “I read from a note he gave me yesterday.”


    “That works too, I guess,” her soft voice mingled to the graceful melodies played in the room, the instruments moving in the air out of free volition. “It also explains why you’re so disoriented.” Saying so, she began to tighten her grip around him.


    “The energies flowing through you have increased incomparably, and since there are so many strong demons around here, it’s seeping inside you unlike any day within the city,” she quickly concluded, to which his vision promptly darted around the room, catching the glances of a few curious demons. However, more importantly, he stared on top of their heads, at the double horns that prevailed through most of them, only a minority in the back possessing a single one.


    “You’re thinking correctly,” she added quickly. “Most of it comes from the table in the middle. It would be best if you stay around the edges of the room while Zyponia finishes her talks here.”


    “Okay,” he spoke silently. “I will make sure she stays near my sight. Wait, are you going already?”