18.

So that the king will hear

Their return to Helwin was smooth, aside from the fact that Aster overate and ended up passing out on a couch in Thelo’s office the moment they got back. They left him there to sleep off the thousands of calories he had stuffed himself with and moved to have tea on the balcony.

Thelo didn’t ask about the duchess. After welcoming them back, he didn’t say a thing to allude to the fact that Dominic had even gone to Alobast, let alone conversed with the lord. He knew what was his business and what wasn’t.

Dominic took a sip of the tea that had been set out.

“There’s more sugar than usual,” he remarked.

“Aster told me before that you enjoyed sweets,” Thelo said, smiling.

He didn’t dislike them, but he wasn’t an enthusiast like Aster was for meat.

“You don’t need to do this,” Dominic said. “I’m fine with anything.”

“Oh? I thought you’d be pickier.”

Thelo tapped his nose.

“You’re probably pretty sensitive, right? Mages are that way.”

“I’ve gotten used to it.”

“I see. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Thelo took a sip of his tea, staring out over the balcony at the city that sprawled in the distance.

“Can I ask you a question, Dominic?” he said, turning back towards him.

“Do it.”

“How deeply involved with Helwin do you plan to be?”

The question was sudden, but not totally unexpected. As the lord of the territory, Thelo needed to know where Dominic stood. He couldn’t be concretely counted as a subordinate or even an ally. He was a free floating entity with no real definition, that just happened to be residing in Helwin for now.

Dominic stared at the tea leaves bobbing up in his cup as he thought.

“I won’t help you unless I happen to need it too,” he replied honestly. “And I’ll go elsewhere if it benefits me.”

“Would you become my enemy?”

“If it’s necessary.”

“So there are no guarantees,” Thelo said. He smiled dryly. “I can live with that. I wouldn’t want to be your enemy, though.”

He tapped the table with the tip of his finger.

“What would move you?” he asked. “What would make you act? What is it that you desire? I know it is not my place to push you for answers, but I have to ask.”

Dominic was quiet as he thought, his gaze drifting out over the balcony and towards the shore. What would make him move? That was easy.

“I’m leaving Hesia,” he answered. “Anything related to that would make me act.”

Thelo’s eyes widened at the unexpected answer.

“You want to get out?” he said. “I haven’t been told that in a while. I didn’t take you for someone who was explorer-minded.”

“Is that rare?” Dominic asked.

“It’s just been this way too long,” Thelo replied. “Only the old nobles who still remember the Lost Continent, and those who wish to explore, still care about getting out.”

Dominic frowned, then dropped another sugar cube into his tea.

“Who knows the most about the Rift?” he asked, watching it slowly dissolve.

“That would undoubtedly be the king,” Thelo answered. “He’s over 1500 years old. He’d be the foremost authority on pretty much anything.”

“Then you can mark that down as what I want.”

He took a sip of his tea, rolling the sweet liquid across his tongue.

“If you want to move me,” he said, putting the cup down, “then get me an audience with the king.”

Thelo studied his expression for a moment, then smiled.

“Okay,” he replied. “I can make that work. In fact, I might have a good opportunity already.”

He leaned back, his expression relaxed now.

“News of me taking the lord’s seat has spread to the neighboring territories,” he said. “They’ve invited me to a gathering of nobles around my age.”

“I’m guessing the duchess won’t be there,” Dominic presumed. He had a hard time imagining the duchess needing to attend anything with her level of status.

“Correct. If anything, the attendees are mostly from the faction which is against the duchess and her ‘old fashioned ideas.’ But you see…”

Thelo smiled slyly.

“The duchess and the king are on the same side. So if you find someone to target and deal with them properly—”

“—Then I can wriggle my way into the king’s good graces.”

“Exactly,” Thelo said, snapping his fingers. “You’ve already met the duchess, so unless you made her mad, she might help you get closer too.”

Dominic didn’t reply.

“You…didn’t make her mad, did you?” Thelo asked tentatively.

“I don’t know,” he answered. “I came back in one piece. Regardless of that, you’re going to need to guide me. I don’t know a thing about Hesian politics.”

Thelo pursed his lips at Dominic’s obvious change of subject, but ignored it.

“The current state of things is pretty simple,” he said. “The nobles I’m meeting are demon supremacists. Old demons like the king and the duchess remember when humans used to be strong. But demons that were born after the Rift War obviously think differently.”

Thelo shrugged as if it couldn’t be helped.

“Humans have always been below demons to them, so they don’t see any reason to respect them. It’s a natural progression.”

“Do you think the same?” Dominic asked. Thelo snorted.

“As long as they pay taxes to me, I couldn’t care less.”

He took a moment to lean back and think.

“That’s simple enough to understand,” he finally replied. “But I’ll need to do all the work myself in the end.”

“You’re right,” Thelo said. “I can’t gamble with my political position too roughly right now. I’ll bring you to the gathering and sweet talk them, but you’ll have to figure out the rest on your own.”

“How are you going to bring me?” Dominic asked. “I’m supposed to be dead.”

“I’ll just call you a benefactor of mine,” Thelo said, “a scholar from…abroad. You’ve been doing a secluded study in the southern countryside—no, they’ll think that’s too lowly—the southern wilderness for a while, so you’re visiting me, your old friend, to become readjusted to city life.”

“I am not calling you my old friend,” he replied bluntly.

“…I’ll cut that part. Regardless, with this, an excuse for why you might not know much about etiquette has been made. The rest is just disguising you. Few people in the castle know your face, but…”

Thelo studied him for a moment, pursing his lips.

“You look really human. A bunch of nobles who think demons are the greatest are not going to like that.”

“What would I need to change?” Dominic asked.

“Your hair’s too short,” Thelo replied. “Long hair is a must among nobles and the upper class. And you’ll need horns. You can survive without them, but they’ll make things a lot easier. I can lend you some fakes to wear, if you’re willing to risk it.”

Dominic thought for a moment, taking a sip of his tea.

“No need,” he finally answered. “I can take care of it. Both the hair and the horns.”

Thelo glanced at him, curious, but held back.

“Alright,” he replied. “I’ll let you handle it. You must be tired from traveling, so I’ll send the details to you through the butler later. We should straighten out our story sometime tomorrow too.”

He leaned back, bringing his cup to his lips. A smile slowly spread across his face.

“I will admit, though,” Thelo said, glancing down at Dominic. “I’m kind of looking forward to it.”

Dominic raised an eyebrow.

“To the party?”

“No.”

He chuckled as he imagined it.

“I’m looking forward to seeing Dominic the demon.”

∞

Dominic returned to his room after teatime finished, leaving Aster still passed out on Thelo’s couch. He was a little tired from traveling all day, but there was one more thing left to do. It was better to finish up as quickly as possible.

He made his way to the mirror, studying his own reflection. It certainly didn’t look like someone that prideful nobles would approve of. Nothing about him felt delicate or elegant. He’d been doing mercenary work before getting on the ship that brought him here. It was inevitable.

Dominic sighed. It’d been a while since he’d done this, but there shouldn't be any problems. He ran his fingers through his hair and closed his eyes.

He focused his mana, sending energy towards his head. Healing magic was just another form of mana manipulation. If he could use it correctly, then he could force changes besides just ‘fixing wounds’ to occur.

Slowly, his hair began to grow longer. It stretched past his neck, past his shoulders, down to his waist and then even further. It was an uncomfortable feeling, but he bore with it. If they wanted to see a demon with long hair, then he’d give them exactly that.

He stopped before the ends could touch the floor, extracting his hand and pushing the strands out of his face. It felt strange to see himself like that in the mirror, but he had to admit that his aura had changed. His bangs had grown out along with everything else, leaving his forehead exposed and his eyes clear. It felt more scholar-like than before. With a good haircut, he could pass for a well-kept, high class young man.

In the corner of the mirror, his eyes caught on his next target. Dominic turned around. Above the mantle of the fireplace, a shield adorned with an antelope skull was mounted.

Its horns were just the right size. Straight and pointed, not too showy, not too big and bulky, not too heavy for his head. Dominic walked over, reached up, and unhooked the decoration from the wall.

He broke the horns off, the bone at the base snapping, leaving shards on the floor. He took out his knife and cut down the remaining sharp points before moving back to the mirror, carefully parting his hair, and placing one on his head.

He circulated his mana, moving it towards the horn and into it. Dominic slowly let go, putting his hands down, and the horn stayed in place. It would come off easily if he lost focus, but as long as he kept moving mana through it, it would act as if it was part of him. He picked up the second horn, lined it up, and did the same.

The extra weight on his head was strange, but not too difficult to adapt to. He stared at himself in the mirror, taking in the unfamiliar sight. That was definitely a demon looking back. He reached up and flicked the horns a couple times, making sure they wouldn’t fall off. They held fast.

A knock resounded on the door suddenly, interrupting his thoughts.

“Come in,” he said, recognizing the presence outside.

It swung open to reveal Aster, still groggy, holding a bundle of clothes. When he finally saw Dominic, his eyes went wide, drowsiness forgotten.

“Woah.” His jaw was slack, shock evident.

“What do you think?” Dominic asked.

“You look totally different,” he replied, walking closer to get a better look. “How did you do that? That’s not a wig, right?”

“It’s not.”

Dominic ran a hand through his hair, straightening out some tangles. Aster seemed to be studying his face.

“Are your teeth okay?” the boy asked suddenly.

“…My teeth?”

“Mhm. Your eyes are normal, but I can’t see your teeth.”

“What about my teeth?” Dominic asked.

“Your canines,” Aster said, “do you have two sets? They’ll know you’re human if you do. Even if you don’t, if you have big canines then they might still suspect it.”

“Are demons not like that?”

“Well, it’s just not very obvious.”

Aster pulled back one side of his mouth with a finger.

“See? It’s pointy, but it’s like, small.”

He was right. The canine was there, but not pronounced at all. Dominic pursed his lips, but eventually shrugged.

“Even if I had that, there’d be no way to change it,” he replied. He could do something like chip or sand down his teeth, but that would be extreme. “I’ll make sure to speak carefully and not smile.”

“Brother…” Aster said, giving him an incredulous look. “You don’t smile in the first place.”

“What?”

“Nothing, nothing.”

Dominic frowned, but let it slide.

“What did you bring?” he asked, glancing at the pile in Aster’s arms. The boy walked over and dumped it on the bed.

“Thelo sent you some new clothes,” he replied. “He said they’ll make you look more like a scholar.”

Dominic glanced over. The set was white with light blue accents, and there were more embellishments than before. It certainly looked more sophisticated than the plain red and black he normally wore.

“You need to change, right?” Aster said. “I’ll get going.”

“Wait,” Dominic interjected before he could go. “Are you coming with us to the party?”

The boy scratched the back of his head, hesitant to answer.

“I…don’t think I can deal with nobles,” he said, “so I’ll go and just…circle above. I can help you keep an eye on things.”

“I don’t think any of them will like being watched,” Dominic replied.

“Don’t worry, brother. They won’t notice me.”

He glanced at the boy, who seemed proud of that skill, before sighing.

“I don’t know if I should just take your word for that,” he said.

“You should!”

“Fine. Get going.”

Aster left the room with a skip in his step. The door clicked closed behind him.

Dominic sifted through the clothes that had been left for him, straightening them out before shedding what he was already wearing. It was difficult navigating all the new layers with his hair so long and unruly, but he eventually managed to get it on. The only thing remaining now was a thin, long box that had come with the new set, sitting where it had come to a rest on the bed after tumbling out of the folds.

He reached over and opened it. It was a folding fan, white and painted with koi fish.

Dominic opened it, then snorted. Thelo really was something. No wonder it had felt heavy when he picked it up.

The inside of the fan was filled with blades. Thin and small, but still undoubtedly sharp enough to draw blood. Dominic folded it back and put it down, planning not to use it.

There was one more thing in the box: a plain, light blue ribbon. He took it out and moved back to the mirror.

The person who looked back was unfamiliar, but it didn't make him uncomfortable. He’d stopped caring much about how he looked a long time ago. Convenience dictated most things. He ran his fingers through his hair, untangling the top parts, and tied it up in a ponytail with the ribbon.

It still looked makeshift, but it was better than before. With just a bit more care, Dominic the demon would be ready for his debut.

“Okay,” he mumbled to himself, flicking a few more stray strands out of his face. “Let’s go make some noise.”