Stolen Words

Carmilla was making a grave for Owen, whereas I stood silently behind her.

"We weren’t related by blood... and we couldn’t be more different." Carmilla began to speak with a voice that was still shaking a little.

"Still, he treated me like his own granddaughter..."

Her lips trembled.

"I owed him so much...! I even became a general just to make him proud! After that, I wanted to do so much more! I wanted to become so much stronger and more reliable, so he wouldn’t worry anymore!"

In such scenes, the main character would have always found a way to cheer the person up. However, nothing came to my mind as I continued watching the sobbing Carmilla.

I didn't want her to cry anymore. So what should I do...?

"Carmilla."

"My apologies, my liege... It must be insulting to you when I'm such a mess..."

Carmilla slowly turned around to me while wiping off her tears.

"I'm certain that he, too, doesn't want to see you sad."

The only thing I could do was recreate Alice's speech.

"He fought for a reason — even when he knew that his opponent was too formidable. He kept fighting and fighting without running away. For that fact alone, you should be proud of him. His death wasn't in vain."

In the midst of the speech, I began to confuse myself. Somewhere, I started to ask myself what I was blabbering about. Reason to fight? I didn't know Owen for that long — Heck, I met him today for the first time! But even if I didn't understand what I was saying, I kept going.

"He was a spectacular person who cleared the way for us. And because of him, we can move forward. So stand up!"

I guess noting down and memorizing Alice's most iconic moments was not in vain at all. Now, I was able to repeat them fluently! And hopefully, Carmilla's teary eyes were still blurry or else she would have noticed the excitement in my eyes.

"From now on, don't just fight for yourself! Fight for his sake as well!"

However, I had to change the last line.

"Carmilla!"

Get revenge for him to make him rest in peace!

"Let's make his dream come true so that he won't have any regrets!"

Now follow me and let's kill all the demons together!

"Now take my hand, Carmilla. I need you to change this twisted world!"

Stunned, Carmilla hesitated at first before finally reaching for my hand.

"I... I don't know if I can do it..."

She turned meek before touching my hand.

"B-but still! I want to try! I want to do it for him!"

And now she was bursting with energy again. I suppose my impromptu speech was not that bad...

"That's what I'd expect from my general."

I pulled her up to her feet.

"However, there's no room for uncertainty, Carmilla!" I announced firmly.

With my other hand, I pointed at myself.

"Don't you know who I am? I am the Demon King! If I want to achieve something, then it will happen!" I added, flashing a cheeky grin as I said one of the lines I'd always dreamed of saying out loud back then when I was a child.

"Yes, my liege..." she replied softly as if she was in a daze.

"But for now, let's return to the castle." I stated.

Thus, the two of us headed back with Carmilla following behind me. Despite cheering her up successfully, it was somewhat awkward now... It didn't help either that she didn't initiate a conversation the whole time. Wasn't she supposed to have a gal-like personality? Someone who had no trouble striking up a conversation or lifting the mood?!

"A-ahem...! S-so from what I was told, Owen had the skill to summon and command people he killed..."

I was shocked when Valer told me that for the first time. It was certainly a powerful skill befitting an individual who was one of the strongest demons.

"Yes, that's right, my liege." Carmilla responded diligently.

"Then, tell me about your skill. Due to the hero's sudden raid, I had no chance to hear about yours."

"But of course."

Following that, she stopped in her tracks.

"Please watch me, my liege... Change!"

I turned around to look at her body, which suddenly began to glow brightly. It was not just the light, but her silhouette also began to change.

"Could it be...?"

Once the light started to dim out, a small and cute cat was in the spot where Carmilla had been just a few moments ago.

"This is my skill."

It was Carmilla's voice, but it came out of the mouth of the cat.

"My skill allows me to change my and other people's appearance to whatever I want." she explained while rubbing her fluffy fur against my leg.

"The transformation can only be undone at will. So even if I were to die, the skill's effect will still last."

"This is it!" I shouted in excitement, lifting Carmilla's body up.

"M-my liege...?"

There was nothing to worry about, Carmilla... With your skill, I could finally do it...!

"Listen, well! The next step is..."

And thus, a week passed.

"It's been a while..." I murmured.

I was currently standing in a line while wearing a hooded cloak to protect us from the intense sun rays. However, I was still sweating buckets because of a certain someone who had to make themselves comfortable around my neck!

"Couldn't you have come up with a better idea to hide...?" I grumbled.

"Sorry...! But I really like it here!"

Well, at least that person seems to be in high spirits again...

"Next one!"

The guard at the front of the line called for the next person in line.

"Be quiet from now on. We're almost inside." I ordered.

Carmilla, who transformed into a small cat, and I were currently at the entrance gate of the kingdom of Esfar.

"Next!"

"Good day."

"Meow!"

We greeted the guards while I revealed my face to them to avoid any suspicions about me. And of course, I made Carmilla change my appearance as well. If we had not done that, then there would have been naturally a great uproar.

And I have to admit, I didn't look so bad. My demonic traits disappeared, meaning that I looked like a regular human with blonde hair and red eyes, instead of white hair, black eyes, horns and a tail.

"State your business."

The guards weren't necessarily kind, but I couldn't really blame them. Under this scorching heat, it would be a pain in the ass to work outside, especially with their uniforms.

Unfortunately, Carmilla wasn't so understanding and hissed at them.

"W-what's up with that cat?"

"Please excuse me, sirs...!" I apologized, smiling wryly at them.

I flicked my finger at Carmilla's forehead, ignoring the fact that she was currently a defenseless cat.

"I am just a mere traveler who wants to do some sightseeing in this great kingdom!" I explained, trying to smile as enthusiastically as I could.

"..."

Did I say something wrong or why did they keep staring at me?

"You can go in."

It had been a while since I was that nervous, but luckily, they finally let me through. I couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"We're finally here, my liege!"

After going through the gate, the sight of humans came into sight. We were on a big street where people tried to promote the products of their small stalls. It was bright, lively and peaceful.

"Stop talking so loudly. You're a cat." I reprimanded Carmilla, who crawled on my shoulder.

But I had to admit, I was excited.

"Remember our mission, Carmilla?"

"Surely! While disguised, we will smuggle ourselves into the ranks of Alice and her companions, get close to her and then kill her once we manage to catch her off guard! After that, the war between humans and demons will finally come to an end!" she elaborated proudly while making sure that nobody else in the vicinity heard her.

Well, how should I say...

I guess I did say that I wanted to get close to Alice using Carmilla's skill because that would surely bring us one step closer to this war's end, however, I couldn't remember the details that Carmilla sneaked in...

"Correct." I said firmly.

Nobody had to know yet that I just wanted to use the opportunity to finally have a normal conversation with Alice.