Mockery of Once Innocent Delusions

[Deilos, Son of the Demon Lord Dantalion, Young Lord]

[Demon Territory, De Gracia]

It was already noon. The scorching heat of the sun above us wanted to burn off any unprotected skin to its perverted exposure—the same sun I was deprived of in that decrepit jail.

Should I be happy about this? Maybe I should.

The rhythmic clattering of hooves was all I could hear from the small convoy of carriages running through the paved road. There was a loud clamor coming from the market, from the people talking and the horses' neighs.

In these past few days, I've been able to explore more of this world now that I can stroll around. For starters, there is no sight of anything modern. What we've ridden to get here was indicative of that—a horse-drawn carriage. The houses of the villages, food, and roads all looked like they came from the medieval era.

It was quite lively, with people walking and other more sophisticated carriages as we went deeper.

The people within this city wore different clothes than those I've encountered so far. In the villages, their clothes were more... normal. But here, it's clean—elegant even. The roads were now paved more intricately—like the ones you would see the Romans would build. This is, perhaps, the difference between the peasants and the nobles—a society that divides its own people.

De Gracia.

If I recall correctly, this is a city at the border of the Eastern Faction and the Western Faction of the demon territory. This was the same place where 'I' was supposed to go, and the same place where Demon Lord Barbatos wanted to meet me.

This doesn't mean I'm out of danger yet. Even if this may just be my paranoia, my instincts are telling me otherwise. I'm going to meet a Demon Lord, the highest title one can receive in the demon hierarchy. That was enough to get my guard up. My memories are still blurry. They sometimes overlap with my previous ones, so it's hard to decipher them, but right now, they were all I had. Given my current circumstances, these were enough.

Seekth and I walked through the market—he made turns here and there. The perverted warmth of the sun was now seeping into my skin. From alley to alley, I followed him until we were in front of a grandiose mansion.

"This is the place?"

"Yes."

"I look like filth."

I said in a flat tone.

"Though the young lord might not be in attire, I am here to vouch for him. That is not something to worry about."

Seekth approached one of the guards. The guard looked at me, looked back at Seekth, and opened the gate. The guard bowed to me as we entered.

The inside of the mansion is what you'd expect. Polished furniture, gleaming ornaments, and last but not least, servants, maids in particular. Not all of them were demons—some of them were beast-kin with ears and tails growing from their heads and hinds.

A few of the maids bowed when seeing us enter—one handed Seekth a letter.

Seekth's eyebrows furrowed, staring vigilantly at the paper before crumpling the letter, where it then magically lit up and burned by black fire.

"Young lord, the lady might not be available at the moment. I have received a letter from one of the maids saying that she should be here during the night."

"What shall I do then?"

"We wait until she arrives."

Delayed until tonight, which means I still have some leeway to observe this place before she arrives.

"Sir, may I take your cloak?"

While Seekth and I were talking, one maid extended her hands. The horns on her head were even less pronounced than mine. I took off the coat and made a small bow to her.

"I—This one! This one does not need such—!"

She became flustered and bowed even deeper than me. I took a glance at Seekth. He seemed to have the same reaction as the maid. Fascinating.

I fixed my posture and spoke.

"Ah, my apologies. It seems my back is a bit tired. Would you mind letting me rest in an empty room? Even a small one would suffice."

I gave a small smile.

"Y—yes! I'll be much obliged!"

She bowed again.

"Then please guide me."

We walked through the large halls of the mansion, looking like they would stretch out infinitely just by looking. To be completely honest, it was nauseating—a waste of space. Who am I to judge? In the first place, this is a rich person's place after all. What I'm supposed to be doing is licking their boots and praising them for their wealth—like any normal people do.

"Great sir, here's the room. It's one of our spare guest rooms available. Please use this room."

"Much appreciated."

"Hehe~ this one also deeply appreciates the great sir."

She smiled at me sincerely. See? Fascinating.

"Ah! Great sir, my apologies. This one has other duties to do. If you may, please excuse this one."

She bowed for the third time and left.

I opened the ornate door in front of me and went into the room.

The room in question was... what should I say about this? Grand? Hmm... no, this is rather sickening. The gold, richly detailed carpets, and even the railings of the bed are etched to such a degree that you would need an artisan with centuries of experience and hard work to make them. This is only one of the rooms here.

Hahh... is this made by a self-indulgent pervert, perhaps? Similar to the sun, this place is filled to the brim by perversion.

A world of perverts...

It's hard being the only normal person here. Not only is everything blinding to the eyes here, but the people here are also rigid.

I took a seat on the bed—it was soft.

"This is a nice bed, at least."

I looked at Seekth. He stood by the closed door.

"You can leave too, you know."

"I am tasked with the young lord, so it is my duty to stay by his side. But if the young lord were to ask, then I could request for a maid to look over you. Though I am still required to stay outside the young lord's quarters."

"Then sort it out. I'll take a bath first. The heat seems to have gotten to me."

He nodded and left.

Looking around, the room does seem to have a bath. I took off my clothes in the changing room and entered the bath.

It was more ordinary than I'd thought. The floor was polished marble, and if you look thoroughly, you can even see your own reflection by how clean it was. The decorations are more subdued than the other parts of the mansion, and the bathtub is neither small nor too big.

There was a tap in the bathtub. A tap. Hmm.

I turned it, and sure enough, water came pouring out.

"..."

When the tub was filled just enough to cover my body, I stepped in. The water was oddly warm.

It was silent. The only noise was the skimming water as I paddled it, creating small waves that spread out and dispersed. There was no one else other than me. This might be the first time I've gotten full privacy in this world without anyone's prying eyes to look at me.

I'm exhausted.

My mind is still trying to figure out my current situation, but despite my thinking, I couldn't help but feel my current body. I stretched my hands and my scarred body. I took a close look at the reflection of my face in the water.

The face of a son of a bitch.

One tired son of a bitch.

A tiresome son of a bitch.

I should do poetry.

As I was commenting on my immense ability to create such tear-dropping words, someone knocked on the door of the bathroom.

"Young lord, the maid should be here in a few moments. For now, I'll be leaving to fetch the lady."

"Go, shoo~ I'm relaxing."

"Understood."

From my observations, Seekth does carry some sense of sincerity. I found nothing that indicated he was either lying or trying to deceive me. His hesitations, expressions, and even his pauses were consistent. He's rather gullible for someone of his caliber. From the coachman, and especially me. I could have asked him to kill himself, and he would most likely do it. I'm a kind person after all, so I didn't.

"Such bullshitness."

I rose from the bath and wrapped the towel around my waist.

I grabbed the most 'normal' clothes I could find in the closet of the room, filled with frilled suits and other elaborate clothes—I settled for a simple white button-up shirt and black pants.

I was about to put on the clothes. Someone knocked on the door again. Annoying.

"Who is it?"

"I am the maid asked to serve the young lord Deilos for the time being."

"Come in."

"Please excuse me—"

The maid that entered had light blue hair and yellow eyes—her skin was pale. She stood frozen at the doorway.

She stared at me without expression.

"Well? Aren't you going to come in?"

"It has come to mind that the young lord is changing clothes. May I leave for him to continue his private manner?"

"It's fine, come in."

I smiled at her. She looked at me blankly and tipped her head lightly.

"As you wish."

She entered the room and closed the door behind her in a swift motion.

Even though I planned to tease her a little, she didn't seem to be affected by seeing me half-naked. She stood there without even batting an eye as I dressed.

"Since you're going to be under me for some time, what's your name?"

I asked as I buttoned up the last buttons of my shirt.

"Scylla, young lord. This lowly one's name is Scylla."

"Quite a lovely name you have there. What might the lovely Scylla's hobby be? I'm rather curious about her."

She paused for a while, then spoke.

"This one does not have hobbies."

"Why so? Don't you like anything, not even flowers?"

She tilted her head lightly.

"That simply is."

Such a strange woman. It seems like going to be entertained while being here. I straightened my shirt and fixed the collars.

"Then shall you give me a tour around this place?"

"This one would like to."

She bowed.

We walked around the mansion. The grand hall, the sitting room, the library, and the other quarters—all of which didn't interest me. We didn't talk much. I only asked sparsely and Scylla would reply in a quick and concise manner. For example, if I were to point to a vase and ask what it is, she would reply, 'It is a vase' with little enthusiasm.

Even by how much I tried to poke her, she wouldn't react to most of what I do.

"Hmm?"

We walked in the hallways, with candles that lit up automatically as the sun outside fell into the background. I started to notice that there were fewer maids and servants now compared to the earlier impressions I had.

"Where have the other servants gone?"

"That is because the servants are busy with an upcoming event, young lord."

"Event?"

"Did the young lord not come here for that same reason?"

Huh? What event?

"Would you be so eager to tell me what that is?"

"It is the Eve of Walpurgis, young lord."

Eve of Walpurgis... the night that all Demon Lords gather. I remember now. I was sent here by Dantalion as his representative. For whatever reason, Demon Lord Dantalion sent his son instead of showing up himself. I don't really know him that much, and my memories about him are just as muddled as the others.

Could the ambush have been the reason for that? Did he know that his carriage would get ambushed and instead sent his son as a scapegoat?

That is a rather scummy move for a father.

"When is that night in particular?"

I asked Scylla. She looked at me oddly, as if I were asking the most basic things that even a toddler would know. She composed herself and said plainly.

"The Eve of Walpurgis happens during the 25th day of the 13th month of the year, which is a week from now, young lord."

A week from now.

"And the venue is..."

"Here."

"I see."

. . .

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