Staring silently at her barely visible back, his face suddenly looked up. “Are you feeling better now?” She asked solemnly, the voice brimming with remnants of concern.


    “Yes,” he said while nodding. “The medicine helped me.” ‘As disgusting as it was,’ adding discreetly, the girl continued stirring the pan.


    “Well, no matter what it was, it’s good that you’re okay. The poison battled with your insides quite badly, even my abilities weren’t enough to heal you,” her voice sank slightly while the man took in all of her words.


    “Lady told me it was strong enough to kill the demons from the ball,” he said, making her halt momentarily before continuing.


    “Yes… quite a number has fallen due to it. Although it’s a shame, we can do nothing about it,” her voice trailed off near the end, leaving him to wonder shortly.


    “How? Doesn’t Lady Zyponia rule over the city?” He asked, alas, the man only received a shake of her head.


    “I know why you think that, and it’s not wrong. However, we can’t just kill humans because of a single event. The ones that attacked the ball have already died, so it’s a done deal for now.”


    “Isn’t that too risky?” He spoke suddenly, his eyebrows furrowed at her words. “Half of the guests were killed during the attack. What if they attack again in the future?”


    His question quickly reached her ears and he could see the side of her face turning into a faint smile. “You’re right again, but that’s not up to debate. She, as a demon lord, can’t just kill a human because she wants it. Although, I’m not sure if the other lords still follow their own words after so many years,”


    ‘Words? To not kill humans? What is she talking about?’ His curiosity peaked at the statement, however, he quickly recalled the conversation he had with Zyponia. ‘Humans only become slaves and die after attacking first, huh?’


    “Why?” The man asked sparsely, but the words made Raeyine stop her actions. The uniform she typically wore no longer rustled about under the faint tunes escaping in front of her. “Wouldn’t you save yourself a lot of trouble if you got rid of us?” He only added intensity to the crackling blaze.


    “No,” she spoke softly, beginning to shake her head. “It would be the opposite instead. I don’t expect you to follow my words, but what I said was true,” saying so, the maid promptly went back to working on the pans.


    ‘No, I can believe it,’ Lutiel spoke through his depths. ‘But, it would be better if I hear the same from another human.’ His eyes swept across the nightly touch around them, lingering with resolve.


    “Do you know who the attackers were? All I remember are their leather armors and identical swords.” The question quickly cut through the steamy pans, making the girl ponder for a moment.


    “Do you recall the man you fought with before you came here?”


    “I do,” replying briskly, the center of his face itched all of a sudden. “He was the one that broke my nose.”


    “That one. He played out an attack at the coal docks with the revolutionary army before getting enslaved, which failed miserably,” she spoke with an unemotional tone, as though reading out the events from a page. “Although they lost this city’s leader, it seemed they used the occasion for a surprise attack. I’m sure you were told how the rest went.”


    “So they’re the revolutionaries, huh?” He spoke absentmindedly, quickly startling himself as the shadowed figure turned around right at him. Glaring at him somewhat passionately, Raeyine came closer whilst leaving the pans behind. Though, her face wasn’t vexed. Rather, much to the man’s internal quandary, her yellow eyes glowed with vague worry.


    Peering at him as she came to a halt just a step away, her finger traveled briskly towards his chest. “I know what you’re thinking, but it will never work.” Her soothing tongue reverberated around his ears while he stared down at the unpainted nail digging through the fabric of his shirt. “You will only waste your life if you decide to go there. Even if they somehow find a way to get rid of your collar.”


    Flinching slightly at her words, his eyebrows quickly abated back to normal. Though, before he could even reason her tongue, she followed right after. “Just stay with us here. You won’t regret it, trust me,” she said, through a veil of desperation quickly slipping by.


    “Okay,” he replied swiftly, raising his head to stare into her troubled eyes. “I won’t try anything. I was just curious about their identity.” Talking to the girl still angled at him, his face eased from her cool composure slightly.


    “Alright,” she said whilst turning around. Though, walking leisurely towards the stove, she muttered through a voice he barely caught onto. “Ilku inbie bul art’e, prie.”


    ‘Art’e?’ Furrowing his brows at the words, the mien stayed there for a while, countless thoughts trembling through. ‘Why does it sound like that?’ He mused, the confused face not letting go.


    ‘Haa.’ Yet, under so much tension, he could only sigh internally to calm himself. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Though, as if coming to his aid for the second time, Raeyine’s voice traveled from the front before quickly charming his focus. “It’s ready,” she said gently, forgetting the few breaths prior as if they hadn’t been uttered. Sharing her approach, Lutiel also briskly disregarded them, looking at the head maid turning around with a dark pan that steamed faintly through the shroud of darkness.


    Put directly onto the plate around the table, its contents uncovered themselves under the meek light from the side. Meanwhile, as Lutiel stared at the glistening, caramelized onions filling the majority of the iron, the girl turned around to reach for the second pan, briskly bringing it to the table as well.


    As for the utensils, she didn’t bring any, the wooden spatula left in the steamy onions. Walking to the other side of the table beneath his gaze, the pan covered with fried bread came into his sight quickly, making him glance up at the girl and part his lips.


    “Thank you for the food,” he said, the girl swift to reciprocate.


    “You’re welcome. Dig in and enjoy,” she said, pooling the first scoop of the onions onto the spoon and revealing the seared and sliced sausages entwined within. Dangling the individual strands of brown onions onto the toasted bread, she promptly handed it over to the man, smiling gently as she looked at the hidden, ravenous eyes around him.


    “Thank you,” he repeated himself, staring constantly at the food with his marked hand already stretched out.


    …


    “You can go outside already. We will meet you there in a few moments,” her voice ruled over the space, surrounding the two standing beside her before quickly receiving replies. Lowering her eyes at the snowy-haired girl, the student’s lips moved with a spry manner.


    “Yes, master,” she spoke softly, waiting to turn around and head for the doors. “Should I start the lesson by myself?” Her delicate tongue rolled again, though, with a slight curiosity entangling it. However, receiving a subtle glare from her teacher, she soundly proceeded to move outside of the room, all during which Lutiel was putting his clothes back on.


    Almost done throughout, he witnessed the events with clear eyes, halting momentarily as the dark jacket sprawled out along his torso. Following Camilla’s movements as she darted outside of the room, he went back at the demon lord as the doors disrupted the steady air.


    Finishing dressing up beneath her glance, Lutiel stood frozen in place when the gloves fit restfully against his hands. However, unlike his expectation, the man stared at the cold face of his owner.


    ‘Shit.’ He thought to himself discreetly. ‘Raeyine must have told her,’ adding while searching for clues along her face, he eased his eyes once Zyponia’s cold face melted away.


    “Haa, don’t worry, I won’t get mad at your curiosity. It’s only fair that you understand who it was that almost killed you,” her face relaxed as the voice fell out. Moving her hand to her chin however, the demon pondered. “Still, that doesn’t mean I’m not irritated. After the lesson is over, you will go to the town, to the upper part,” saying so, a smile broadened slightly across her face, staring at the flinching eyebrows of the man.


    “Hmm, it seems like your coldness is breaking apart,” she added with a mellow smirk before continuing. “Regardless, it’s time we finally have a proper talk, so buy a good bottle of wine, or maybe more,” she said under his visible confusion, quickly moving her arms towards his right glove.


    Taking hold of the hand, Lutiel stared down as he felt something graze across the pale fabric around his palm. Looking at her natural, meekly blue nails, the hands promptly moved away from him while something shone in the dark pupils.


    With a catchy gleam, the rays beyond the window next to them reflected their hubris. However, looking at the golden coin in his palm just once, the eyes swiftly traversed all the way towards Zyponia’s modest expression.


    “Don’t worry, you will know the shop when you see it. Rovier will lead you there,” tapping him sparingly on the shoulder, the girl said, her eyes easing up from their usual tautness. “Also, you can save the change.”


    Looking twice at the face of the girl and the coin, the munificent lord swiftly crawled away from him, soon resting her arms near her hips while glancing down at the backyard from beyond her windows. Not facing him in the slightest, the girl in the soft, pink fabric watched the gales dance steadily.


    “Despite what happened with Raeyine, like I said, I’m not mad at you. Which is why I will allow you to ask a single question regarding the matter before ending the topic, understood?” Slowly, as she asked, her body turned to glance at him, her hands lay on one another.


    “Yes,” Lutiel replied briskly, only for her basking face to gleam in front of him. Awaiting the words coming from him, she stood there solemnly, not twitching the slightest of muscles. However, leaving her hanging, he couldn’t open his mouth so quickly before the mind made up the best decision.


    ‘If she recalled Raeyine, then she must have told her about everything. But no, that doesn’t concern the revolutionaries, right? However, what more will I understand about them from her?’ the man mused while Zyponia’s pink eyes stared keenly into him. Almost hearing as if the silence permeated their ears, Lutiel finally opened his mouth.


    “Can I ask about something else instead?” He asked, making her raise an eyebrow slightly.


    “Why? Weren’t you curious about them?” Intrigued at his words somewhat, a question rolled off her tongue right after.


    “That’s true, however, I’m more interested in the other thing Raeyine has told me,” he said, to which the air around the demon immediately churned, realizing. Looking at the man with a hastily reserved face, she stood silent for a brief period.


    “Sure,” she finally uttered. “Ask me.”


    “Although I’m not certain about it, I wondered for a while. What is the reason and meaning behind the vows you made?”


    Even though the girl seemed to have expected it, her eyes opened slightly at the words. Starstruck, she fell silent at him. “That,” she spoke before stopping and continuing soon after. “Well, it’s not like you can’t acknowledge it,” the lips murmured quietly before halting herself again.


    Placed against the strident silence, Lutiel himself froze up, his mind wreaking havoc as the body thumped from inside. ‘Just tell me already, why are you keeping it a secret?’ He pondered beneath the trembling heart.


    With uneasy eyes that eventually simmered down, despite facing him with her body, the demon lady broke their eye contact. Finally, after countless agitated breaths, she spoke through, “I promise I will tell you later, okay?”


    “Yes, my lady,” he said, immediately bowing down, however, his body battled harshly against something whilst lowering himself.


    “Don’t do that anymore, alright?” She asked softly, almost muttering. Receiving a shake of the head, the girl shared his motions.