The Onboarding Process, Pt. 5

The old man... guffaws. 

That was unexpected.

"Even I know to stand down when people can read me so easily. Not that I've bothered to conceal myself..." He chuckled. "So you have beaten me in this instance. I’ll grant that. Though even a toddler could see my heart was not in Highcliff, and never was... ever since the true Blac'hils left."

Kael's eyebrows twitched.

"But protocol, as I helpfully illustrated, is far more complicated than one clever argument." A pause in the old man. Then, a smirk—calm, controlled, but stretched just a little too tight. "So, let me do us all a 'favor', then."

His chair scraped softly against the stone floor as he rose.

"No, girl. You did not win." Eyes flickered between them like spectators waiting for the final blow. "I am relinquishing my position on my own terms."

The demon gave a slow, considering nod, as if savoring the weight of his own words before speaking them aloud. “Perhaps, Kael, you are doomed to be cursed, just as your parents were.”

A flicker of something passed through Kael’s expression. “What?”

The demon exhaled, almost pitying. “I have served this family for almost five centuries. I lived through a Bi-Centennial Invasion. And while I do not doubt the Blac’Hils’ excellence and cunning for waging war and maintaining a stable government, less can be said of their methods.”

His gaze sharpened, glinting like a blade turned to the light.

“It’s like a ticking time bomb latent in your blood.” He gestured loosely, his voice smooth, slow. “For a time, all will seem fine. But eventually? For your father, it was his sense of sacrifice. For your mother, ambition. And you—” He let the pause stretch, heavy, deliberate. “Your vices are far less virtuous than theirs were. Yours is doomed to happen far too soon.”

Kael’s jaw clenched. He said nothing.

The demon smirked.

“Like clockwork—once a Blac’Hil finds themselves at war, they regress. Shrivel into themselves like a shell. They have always been a cut above the rest, in more ways than one.” A tilt of his head, thoughtful. “But sometimes, that brilliance has been to their detriment.”

Elisa’s voice cut through, firm. “I feel as if you are broaching onto irrelevant topics again, general.”

The demon gave her a look. “Irrelevant?” His smirk widened. “It is incredibly relevant. It is why Highcliff is this way today. Understanding the root causes of mismanagement is far more valuable than obsessing over its symptoms.” He turned back to Kael, voice dipping into something almost fond. “If you were still in your studies, Kael, if you were posed this question as an academic exercise, you would have agreed.”

Kael inhaled sharply through his nose, his voice a controlled blade. “Do you have anything to say other than smearing my character and that of my parents—who are not here to fend for themselves, general?”

The demon’s smirk flattened. "No, I smear your character in response to your betrayal."

Kael’s fingers twitched at his side.

“You betrayed the economic and landscape studies professors in the capital,” the demon continued, unbothered, adjusting the cuffs of his coat. “Tell me, how are the committee members enjoying the echo chamber you’ve so carefully curated?”

Silence.

The demon turned, already making his way toward the door.

“I’ll make haste to the capital. Send a letter once the committee regrets your decision and needs someone to fix your messes.” A glance over his shoulder, something like amusement flickering in his eyes. “They are here more for the Blac’Hils and what they did than for the demonkin. Don’t forget that. And all the houses back home who protect the name Blac’hil, as if that means something when the one who inherit—”

“I think you’ve had your piece, and more. Please leave before you do something we both regret.”

“…huh.”

When he finally left the room, she thought she would feel elated. But it didn’t feel like a victory.

It felt like a weight settling over her shoulders, like the slow realization that all eyes—from everywhere, High Lord Lands, Concordant, hell, the Forests of Highcliff—were all on her now.

No getting away now.

But when Kael’s hand found hers, steady and certain…

When his fingers curled around hers, warm against the coldness creeping into her bones. He didn’t say anything, didn’t need to.

Somehow, as they stepped out of that chamber together, she felt like she was ready.

\\

The bedroom got warmer in the day. Not only a place for rest, but also a place to recoup if things got too bad. 

That was Kael’s excuse, at least. He practically dragged Elisa in there with him.

Kael’s voice was quieter than usual when they finally caught their breath. "Elisa, I..."

She braced herself. "Kael, let me explain—"

"Holy shit. I am so proud of you.”

She didn’t answer immediately. It took two blinks before he could tell she started scheming. 

She tilted her chin up, just slightly—enough to close the space between them, enough to make him forget whatever point he had been trying to make because she looked so godsdamn cute.

Then she kissed him.

A slow, very decisive press of lips. She even let him indulge in a little... tongue. 

Oh Lords. 

His breath hitched, just for a second, before letting her take what she wanted.

When she pulled away, her lips curved, her words just shy of a whisper. “It was the most terrifying moment of my life." 

"You know what he meant by that, right? If we don’t quell the rebellion, they’ll send their royal goons after us and challenge for the thr—”

“Right now, Kael, I do not care…”

With how hard Elisa was breathing, it was little wonder how the air around them turned stuffy.

Her eyelids lowered slightly. “Hehe… I thought you liked it when the stakes were raised...?”

Kael let out a slow breath, his gaze molten. “Incredibly.”

His voice had gone lower then. She liked that.

Her fingers traced the fabric at his collar, a feather-light touch that wasn’t quite right. “Then I deserved a reward for succeeding. Don’t you think?”

His lips parted, his expression shifting.

The door quietly shut behind them.