Chapter 85

Sep 05, 2023

The request had indeed come entirely out of the blue. Sylvia anxiously waited for Roxana’s response.

Pretending as if it really were a difficult decision, Roxana glanced from side to side before answering, “Sure, why not?”

Sylvia’s face almost instantly turned pink with joy. She seemed to spring up from her seat to lightly walk over to her crimson-eyed companion in an almost playful manner. Then once she was behind Roxana, the glimmer in her eyes appeared to play in the light.

“Your hair is just so beautiful like silken threads. I’ve always wanted to feel it. B-By any chance, may I brush it?”

“Do whatever you like.”

“Then... what about tying it with a ribbon?”

“That’s fine too.” It hardly mattered to Roxana, but Sylvia was as happy as a child who had just been given her favorite candy. The Agrece watched her Pedelian friend with a strange feeling swelling up in her chest. Sylvia, however, was entirely engrossed in Roxana’s blond tresses. Her excitement was practically flowing out through her fingertips.

In the end, Roxana had completely forgotten what she had intended to say to Sylvia only moments prior.

* * *

“You’ve changed your hair.” Cassis entered her room immediately after his sister’s departure.

As his eyes continued to peruse and evaluate the new style, his comments sounded as though they were laced with mild derision.

“Yes, Sylvia tied it up for me.”

His sister had gathered Roxana’s long, blond locks into a loosely plaited braid, then tied the end with a red ribbon that matched the color of her eyes.

“Does it look strange?” she asked.

“No.” It was an easy answer for Cassis to give since nothing could actually detract from Roxana’s beauty. His only issue was that the new hairstyle reminded him slightly of Orka Fipellion’s. But seeing as Sylvia had never met the fellow, Cassis thought it likely to be a coincidence.

Roxana, however, was a different matter. After spending a few more seconds looking over her various features, he walked toward her. Then he slowly extended his arm until his hand touched her hair.

“Did you... ask Sylvia to tie it this way specifically?” Even to his ears, his voice sounded rather dry.

“No, I told Sylvia she could style it however she liked.” Roxana answered him almost immediately since she had no idea what he was getting at.

He played with the ribbon at the end of her hair while wishing he could yank it loose and toss it away. His eyes gleamed with a brutal sharpness akin to a predator staring down his prey. But he valiantly fought off the strange urge, then lowered his hand.

Then he finally spoke in a much calmer demeanor. “I won’t be able to dine with you tonight.”

“Right, Sylvia already told me.”

“But I will return as soon as I am able to, so don’t even think about not eating.” He ignored the frustration that immediately came over Roxana’s face before departing. “Until later then.”

* * *

“Goodness, I had no idea such a beautiful person existed in your clan!” the White Demon Tamer said. “Had I known such a destiny awaited me, I would have been much more observant of the clan gatherings.”

It was a grand supper for just the four youths, but Orka seemed to be the only attendant who was in a remotely festive mood. He seemed to only utter one inane thought after another each time he opened his mouth, which caused the faces of the other three to harder a more and more as well. He gave the impression of a swindler in search of his next unsuspecting pawn. Although his exterior resembled a pristine glass sculpture—clean and bright—the words from his mouth were rather crude.

“‘Destiny’? I wouldn’t call it anything like that,” Sylvia replied coldly and aimed her icy dagger-like words at Orka’s ego.

He, however, was not one to be so easily discouraged. “Then, my lady, think of it this way. You are a gorgeous flower, and I am a beautiful butterfly. I am confident such a pairing would only lead to a most harmonious relationship. Don’t you agree? Or if you wish, I can take on the role of the flower and you may serve as the butterfly, as I am indeed as radiant as any flower. Speaking of which, do you like butterflies, Lady Sylvia?”

As Orka continued to blabber on, Cassis, Sylvia, and even Pandora each glowered at him in their own way. The Blue Heir’s expression had become so cold it was rigid, while his younger sister’s was that of utter disbelief. Meanwhile, Pandora—Orka’s own blood relation—eyed him suspiciously while pondering if her cousin had indeed gone over the deep end.

“White Demon Tamer, if you continue to make such base remarks toward my sister, I may just have you sent back to the dungeons.” Cassis’ warning came in a rather deadly-sounding voice.

“Oh! Please do forgive me. You know, I’m actually quite shy, so I have a tendency to run off at the mouth whenever I’m nervous. If what I said caused you any discomfort, Lady Sylvia, please accept my humblest of apologies.” His apology wasn’t just preposterous because of the way he delivered it, but because of what he claimed while doing so. Orka Fipellion? Shy?! There wasn’t a man or demon who had crossed his pass that wouldn’t laugh to hear such a ridiculous thing.

Displeased with Orka’s presumptuous attitude, Sylvia chose to bite back even more openly. “And another thing. As I never agreed to you addressing me by my name, please refrain from doing so. You may refer to me as Lady Pedelian.”

“Ahaha! But of course. However, please just call me Orka, my lady.”

After that, the proceeding conversation took on a more normal cadence, although Orka did continue to direct the majority of his remarks at Sylvia as if she were the only person at the banquet who mattered.

Cassis would cut in now and then to remind the White Heir of his place when the young demon tamer became a little too familiar toward his sister again. As the conversation continued to bounce back and forth, Orka’s participation slowly began to wane, until he had essentially fallen silent toward the end of their meal. Instead of taking pity on what appeared to be a poor, discouraged soul, Sylvia was simply relieved that he was no longer pestering her.

“Argh! My stomach...” Orka suddenly clutched his belly, then at his chest while making a sliding motion up and down from one to the other. “Perhaps since I’ve grown accustomed to eating nothing but wild plants during my travels, my stomach is having trouble digesting all this hearty food.”

There were even traces of a cold sweat forming on his forehead.

“Agh! It’s as if nature’s call is ringing through my bow—”

“That’s enough of your revolting ramblings! Just go if you need to!” Pandora hissed at him under her breath in her hope to spare everyone of her cousin’s absurdness. As if he really was at his breaking point, Orka ran out of the dining room after quickly excusing himself.

“The Fipellions seem to be rather... carefree in their customs.”

“No... just Orka. He’s odd even by our standards.” Pandora had decided it best to answer Sylvia’s tactful query with blunt honesty. Had there been a hole in the nearest wall, she imagined she would have crawled into it due to the mortifying ordeal her ridiculous cousin had put her through.

As soon as Orka had left the table, Cassis gave a look at the Pedelian guards to signal that they should follow the suspicious character. Without a sound, the two who had been standing off to the side in the dining room turned, then left to pursue the White Heir.

“Please accept my sincere apology for Orka and his impertinent behavior.” Although she was internally seething at him, Pandora still attempted to garner forgiveness for her cousin’s sake. “Since he’s always in search of some new demon monster habitat, I suspect he’s become so used to living in the wild that it’s even affected his behavior in a strange way.”

Whether she loved or hated him, Orka was still the White Heir.

“I personally feel deeply responsible for the breach of your fortress wall,” Pandora said. “As I am not the most skillful of demon tamers, I had requested his assistance in my research of certain habitats nearby when we accidentally flew over your compound.”

Thus, as her cousin was her clan’s heir, she couldn’t just sit by and let his antics besmirch the entire clan’s reputation.

“We should have applied for your approval beforehand, even regarding the initial research plan, but we were in such a hurry, so... I also apologize for my own carelessness contributing to the confusion.”

As she offered excuse after excuse, Pandora found herself contemplating why there always seemed to be a person who created messes and another who would pick up after them. Try as she might, she really couldn’t figure out why that dynamic continued to plague the world, but she accepted that there still very much needed to be someone to clean up. But what made everything worse was that it had been her demon monster that they had been caught flying on.

“We Pedelians are also well aware of the White Demon Tamer’s... unique reputation. Please don’t feel pressured to explain any further or make any more excuses on his behalf since the official statement from the Fipellion leader has already settled the matter.” Cassis spoke in such an official tone that he gave the impression of not taking Pandora’s efforts to redeem herself to heart. In fact, his tone contained so little emotion that he almost sounded dismissive. He seemed to already be aware that Orka was in truth the sole reason and mastermind behind the intrusion.

“Then I thank you for your kind words.” Pandora of course knew that the Blue Heir wasn’t excusing her, but she still felt she should remain polite under the circumstances.

For a moment, he stared dispassionately at her, then lowered his gaze. Pandora, however, continued to stare at him. She was quite impressed by the young man before her.

The Blue Heir has certainly developed into quite the man. She had seen him a few years back, but at that time he had appeared to be a bit delicate. She observed that time had indeed changed him dramatically. Even then, Cassis had been rather fair in complexion and attractive in a way akin to sighting the moon during the daytime. But as she sat there staring at him, she realized she had mistaken his past sapling-like state to be the finished product. For the remainder of the meal, she continued to steal glances at him. Truth be told, she had been doing so from the moment she stepped into the dining room.