CHAPTER 7: THE SECRET OF HOUSE USARVED

**Greg**

After spending a few hours at the checkpoint, we were finally allowed inside the city of Darkmoor. As Lady Noir had told me before, Prince Hurion Devras instructed his army to check everyone coming in and out of his stronghold—including his blood relatives, like his sister.

“…”

Well, learning how their society worked gave sense to the measure. I mean, while demons came from the same parents, familial ties were nothing to them. It’s immediately thrown out of the window once they were born.

And, of course, there’s no such thing as ‘family’ and ‘friends’ in politics, not even human ones.

“…”

In any case, so much for that. If I may comment on this city, I’d say Darkmoor was a well-managed, and disciplined, place. The roads were made of cobblestones, similar to the ones found in Chersean cities and towns. However, in contrast to the latter, demon thoroughfares were wider and well-maintained. Although it was on the ‘night’ region of Cherflammen, you would never lose your way since lampposts were installed at the sidewalks for every few meters of interval. And what’s even better, was the street signs were clear and visible to anyone passing by.

“…”

There’s also a touch of ‘modern Earth’ in this setting. Paper advertisements encouraging people to buy their products could be seen posted on every brick wall available, sometimes deliberately covering the older ones. Young demon children peddling newspapers on the streets. I also passed several pedestrian crossings, with a demon ‘traffic officer’ on duty to guide people and carriages of when and where they should cross. Of course, there were no traffic lights, for this world was still yet to discover electricity. But the systems in place reminded me of Earth’s early 20th century metropolises.

“My parents say that it is a system introduced to us by Lady Cassandra David,” Lady Noir told me. “Probably it came from your world, Sir?”

“Yep, that’s why it caught my attention.” Ah, that explains the similarities.

If I could describe Darkmoor, its huge size, the prevalence of paper ads and newspapers everywhere could compare it to a mix of modern and early 20th century New York, or Tokyo. Only that it was illuminated by primitive lighting, like candles, and lampposts, instead of neon lights. The ‘biggest’ cities of Chersea and Cherwind paled against this demon city, and I heard Lady Noir say that Helfan to the north was even bigger.

“Of course,” she puffed her chest, as she proudly declared, “it’s the capital of my brother’s holdings. There can be no fitting center to display his glory and power other than Helfan!”

“And Darkmoor is…?”

“This is the stronghold of House Usarved, milord,” it was Shevaun who replied. “We have our biggest supporters here, from the richest merchant down to the simplest peasant.”

“So, uh, based on what you said, House Usarved and House Devras are two separate but allied demon noble houses?”

“It’s ‘clan’, milord,” the chamberlain corrected me. “And there’s no ‘House Devras’, too. His Highness the Prince Hurion belongs to House Usarved like Lady Noir.”

“But where does his name come from?”

“Err…milord, please don’t—ow!” Shevaun was interrupted in her explanation by Lady Noir, who suddenly kicked her chamberlain’s shin lightly.

“Is that a matter we should avoid to discuss?”

“Your eyes are quick to notice, Sir.”

Don’t state the obvious, Lady Noir! “Alright, I’ll keep myself from bringing that up from now on.”

----------

Aside from that issue about the Prince’s name, we had a good time chatting about demon customs and traditions, all the way up to the gilded gates of House Usarved’s place, Castle Darkmoor. Shevaun had made it clear to me that House Usarved was a demon clan whose base of power was in the ‘night’ regions of Cherflammen, and it had a lot of ‘connections’—which she meant was their members. They were scattered throughout the entire demon realm, and possessed varying degrees of power and wealth.

Obviously, as Lady Noir always inserted to our conversations, her brother Prince Hurion Devras was the greatest ‘Usarved’ among them all.

“You told me before that His Highness is my friend, right?”

“Yes Sir. According to him, you fought together back in the grim days of the ‘Great Rising of the Undead’ of Chersea.”

“With me as ‘Kuro’, right?”

Lady Noir paused for a bit when she heard that, but then she said, “Yes, you’re still ‘Kuro’ back then…” Somehow, there was this poignant smile on her face once again, as if she’s remembering something precious to her.

“Ahem,” Shevaun cleared her throat; her subtle way for her to call my attention. “The Prince would like to see you again, milord.”

“H-Ha?!” the demon princess nearly fell from her seat. “Where did that come from, Shevaun?”

“Milady, I said it’s your brother, not you,” the chamberlain reiterated.

“O-Oh…”

“And he’s eagerly waiting for your arrival, Lord Greg.”

“What?!” Lady Noir suddenly raised her voice, “N-No!”

Shevaun and I threw a surprised look at her. The demon princess quickly retracted her statement.

“I-I mean…uhm…yes, my brother w-would love to see you again, h-his first, uh, h-human friend,” Lady Noir kept on stuttering, “H-However, uh…y-you see…haha…he-he’s not at the c-castle…at the moment. Haha…”

“Huh?” Shevaun, in her usual emotionless face, countered. But I could tell the sarcasm from her words, “Milady, how did you know that His Highness the Prince is out of Castle Darkmoor, when you’re always with me ever since returning from Chersea?”

“Sheeevaaaaauuuunnn!” the demon princess was smiling, yet I could feel the pressure behind her voice. “His Highness the Prince is out of Castle Darkmoor.”

“What’s your proof?”

“I can’t feel his presence.”

“It’s the first time I heard of us demons having that ability.”

“W-Why you…” this time, the smile on Lady Noir’s lips disappeared, and she’s clearly irritated.

“Err…” I decided to intervene. “Uh, if my arrival here is a nuisance to His Highness, perhaps I should just go back to Chersea right—”

“No!” Lady Noir immediately stopped my words. “It’s not safe for you to return, yet, and you’re mine—and my brother’s—guest!”

“For a second, I thought I heard you say ‘you’re mine’, milady,” Shevaun inserted. “Oh dear…how bold of you.”

“Please shut up, Shevaun,” the demon princess snarled at her. “Don’t make things even more complicated. Stop bullying me!”

“Ahahaha…” I could just let out an awkward laugh, for I had no idea of what to say. While Lady Noir did give off some perfect ‘ojousama’ vibes whenever she’s around, I could surmise that Shevaun’s her ‘fallback option’—that friend whom you could rely on whenever things go awry. In any case, based from their talk, it’s as if the demon princess was hiding something about her brother, while her chamberlain was trying to expose something to me.

“…”

I’d say, in these cases, let sleeping dogs lie. I went through a lot to get myself involved in newer problems.

“Lord Greg!”

I jolted when I heard Lady Noir call out to me, “Y-Yes, milady?”

“My apologies, Sir, but you’ll have to wait a bit. Nevertheless, we’ll meet my brother soon,” she told me. “I’m going to send a letter to him that you already arrived as soon as we came to our place.”

“Pft!” Shevaun narrowly kept herself from laughing, turning her head away from me to hide her expression.

“…” Lady Noir glared at her chamberlain.

Really, something’s going on with these two, I’m sure of it.

----------

Castle Darkmoor wasn’t really what one could call a ‘true’ castle. I mean, I’d done a few research about medieval fortifications when I was still a teacher, and from then on, I could distinguish between a castle, and a palace. In my country—which had no concept of ‘state’ and a ‘unified nation’ until the late 19th century, those words were interchangeable…at least, to the common folk. While we had our own versions of forts and defenses, by the time Europeans arrived in our land during the mid-16th century, our ‘castles’ were actually wooden ‘motte-and-baileys’ that also functioned as the ruler’s residence (palace), which crumbled against the cannons of the invaders.

So yes, that’s why we had little to no idea of the differences of a castle from a palace. Now, if I may describe what Castle Darkmoor looked like, in reality, it’s a huge mansion situated at the middle end of a lavish garden full of elegant-looking flowering shrubs (which I saw for the first time), and high residential-style walls. I would classify Castle Darkmoor as a palace; the only semblance of this place from a castle was that it was built on a hill on which surroundings the city of Darkmoor grew.

“…”

Upon reaching the courtyard, our convoy finally stopped, giving me a better vantage point of the place. The glass windows of the two-story palace were framed with intricate carvings made of gold, and the building itself was painted ivory-white. Lampposts stood at regular intervals, illuminating the entire place—as if telling everyone that ‘this is the residence of Cherflammen’s greatest living ruler’.

“You won’t believe that this is a formerly dark and somber castle,” Lady Noir said. “My brother had the original structure destroyed, and built this palace in its place.”

“Ooh…so this is a new building?”

“Yes,” she nodded. “Castle Darkmoor is a fort meant to protect the harbor downtown, erected by its former rulers to enforce their authority in this region. However, our ancestors seized it from them, and it became our home ever since.”

Listening to Lady Noir’s story made me excited about learning the history of this castle, which the Prince Hurion Devras may further elaborate for me. However, first things first; we had to get our baggage inside before we go to other matters.

Good thing that House Usarved’s servants were already waiting for us when we came. Once the carriages stopped, they immediately set to offload the luggage from the first coach. Meanwhile, an old demon guy with a butler’s uniform (similar to Shevaun’s, only darker) approached our carriage and opened its door.

“We heard what happened to your convoy, Your Highness,” the demon butler bowed. “We’re all relieved when we learned that you’re safe, my prin—!!!” His eyes widened in disbelief and his body froze, once he saw me—a human—sitting opposite his mistress.

“Ahem,” Lady Noir brought him back to his senses.

“—cess. Yes, we-welcome back, err…uh…my p-p-princess! We’re all relieved when we learned that you’re safe!”

“You already said that, George,” Shevaun commented. “Please calm down; this is the Lord Greg of Arles. He may be a human, but he is a good friend of our prince.”

“Ahem,” Lady Noir cleared her throat once again.

“And of our princess, too, of course,” the chamberlain quickly added.

There’s really something they’re hiding from me…

“M-My apologies for my rude behavior, Lord Greg,” the butler bowed towards me. “I am George Venelli, loyal servant of His Highness the Prince Hurion Devras. It’s not that I hated humans; I’m just surprised to one who actually came to our lands, especially in this dark region.”

“Humans don’t come to this place?” I asked.

“Well, we do get human visitors from time to time…but it’s usually in Helfan, where there’s the ‘palelight’. It’s one of our best tourist attractions, see? You humans loved the dark sky with the ‘palelight’ on it.”

“Oh…” I wasn’t aware of that, honestly. I thought that the concept of ‘night’ was unknown to the Cherseans…

“In any case, please treat this as your home, good sir; you shall have your audience with our beloved prince—”

“Aheeeemmmm…”

“—cess. Our beloved princess—”

I’m confused on what he was saying, “Isn’t Lady Noir always with me?”

“I mean—”

“Aheeeeeeeeemmmm! Hrrggk! Aheeeeeemmm!”

“Milady, are you sick?” Shevaun—though her face emotionless—teased her. “You keep on coughing.”

“Grr…I’m fine, Shevaun,” Lady Noir was stomping her feet. “It’s just that there are a couple of bacteria irritating me…I mean, my throat.”

“Ahahahaha!” the butler then assisted us in alighting the carriage. “Enough of the jokes! Please, follow me for your refreshments, milord and milady.”

“Fetch us the best wine in the cellar, George!” Shevaun reminded him. “Our safe return is a cause for celebration!”

“At once, Lady Shevaun,” the butler then called to one of his servants, passed the instructions, and led us inside Castle Darkmoor.

----------

Similar to the human noble houses of Chersea, Castle Darkmoor was filled with elegance and opulence fit for an aristocrat of the same level as the Lady Noir, and her twin brother, Prince Hurion Devras. Velvet carpets and colorful marble tiles made up its floors. Gold and ivory white paints covered its walls. And intricate carvings of various flora and fauna (which could be found in Cherflammen, I think) adorned the frames of the doors and windows of the palace, like those that could be seen outside.

“George, please prepare me a change of clothes,” Lady Noir was handing down orders after we finished our light meal. “Shevaun, I’d like you to attend to the Lord Greg’s needs for a while. And after that, write me a letter for my brother. Tell him to come in haste; his friend is already here.”

“Right away, milady!” the butler bowed and went on his way.

“Lord Greg,” the chamberlain called my attention. “Please follow me.”

And so, with that, Lady Noir and I parted ways. Shevaun led me to another room, which could be meant for their guests, since it was wide and opulent enough for visitors.

“Please wait here,” she pointed to the couch. “While we prepare your own bedroom, would you like some snacks?”

“Ah,” I shook my head, “the light meal you served is enough for me at the moment, thanks!”

“How about a bath?” she suggested.

Now that the chamberlain said it, I noticed that I do need one. Days of travel and running away, combined with that time we fought, made my body and clothes dirty with grime and sand. I couldn’t help but to get embarrassed; I’d been talking to my noble student all this time, looking like some tramp. Good thing Shevaun offered a bath—I don’t like to be disrespectful, especially in my appearance, once I meet the prince.

“Yes, please do,” I told her. “And thank you!”

“No need to be shy, milord,” the chamberlain bowed. “Please treat this humble house as your home.”

And with that, she went out. Moments later, a couple of demon maidservants came in with towels and bathrobes.

----------

Castle Darkmoor’s dedicated bathhouse was smaller compared to the enormous one back at the Holy Palatial Gardens. Nevertheless, it won’t easily accept defeat; its facilities could match the Human Saint’s opulence.

“Would you like a hot bath, milord?” one of the demon maids asked me. “I heard it’s pretty popular with the humans.”

“Uh, if it’s possible, then I’d like one, yes.”

At once, the maid uttered a magic spell, and told me, “It’d be ready once you see smoke coming from the water, milord. I already set it to warm just right for your body, since humans have different heat tolerance from us demons. In the meantime, would you like some refreshments while you wait?”

“I think I’m good…the light meal served to us made me full.”

“It’ll take a while,” she insisted. “And you might get bored…”

“Well…”

“Please, milord, treat this place as if it is your own,” the other maid entered our conversation and pleaded.

“Oookay?” For some reason, these ladies were kind of pushy. Is this normal to the demons?

“You heard him, Leiver. Please fetch the Lord Greg our finest food. Tell the chef to hurry as well!”

“Eh? I thought it’s just snacks?”

“Oh?” the first demon servant was acting as if she never said that. “My, did I really just mention it is snacks? My bad, milord. What I mean is, a full-course dinner delivered right to your side, all the while you’re bathing.”

“What?” It’s the first time I heard of such a thing.

“You don’t like it?”

“Err…is it a demon custom?”

The maidservant shook her head, but continued with her explanation, “You’re a distinguished guest, milord. Not only you are the esteemed hero of the humans and beastmen, you’re also Lady Cassandra David’s old mentor from her old world.”

Heh, as if I’ll believe that it’s the only reason you guys have. “That’s all there is to it?”

“And you’re also Lady Noir’s first connec—mmf!” the first maid quickly gagged the mouth of the second; but I did hear she was about to say ‘connect’ or ‘connection’.

“…” No shit. Maybe it’s just a misunderstanding. Lady Noir was my student, and she looked up to me as her teacher. Or it could be the word ‘connect’ meant more than what I was initially led to believe. In any case, to avoid trouble, I shouldn’t jump into conclusions immediately. I’m in another world, and it’s a wise course of action to be prudent with my decisions and behavior.

While I was pondering on my situation, the second maid was sent on her way to get my full-course ‘refreshments’. I thought only the first maid was left with me in the bathhouse, but I was wrong. Although she was the nearest one, other maids were there, keeping a distance from where I was seated—looking on as if I’m some kind of oddity.

“…” Of course, it’s getting awkward. I never liked people’s attention on me, what’s more with all those curious eyes checking every nook and cranny of my body? Besides that, I could also hear some of them whispering to one another,

“So, he’s the human, huh?”

“Shh! Not so loud, but I heard he’s a great hero in Chersea and Cherwind!”

“No wonder why our mistress took interest in him! This can be a breakthrough, finally!”

“Kyaa!!!”

“Ladies!” the first maid called everyone’s attention by clapping. “How long would you stand there watching? The Lord Greg is waiting for your services!”

“S-Services?” I was shocked to hear that. Various ‘intimate’ scenarios flashed in my head in an instant, and I had to shake my head violently to get it off. “W-What services?”

The first maid looked at me as if I said something funny, “Please stand with your arms raised to the sides, milord. Isn’t that a norm in Chersea? A noble being serviced by his or her servants?”

I think I knew where this was going, “Ho-Hold on. You know I can remove my clothes myself.”

“Don’t be so humble, milord!” the first maid took hold of my clothes. “Please stay still and let us pamper you.”

The hell? What pamper? I never wished for that! “Please stop! I appreciate your efforts, but I really, reeeaaaalllly, want to be left alone.”

“At the very least, let us change you into your bathrobes,” she haggled with me.

“Ahaha…no can do. Thank you for your extraordinary hospitality, but I can really take care of myself.”

“Milord…” the maid’s shoulders dropped, and she heaved a sigh. “You don’t want to accept our food, nor our services…we feel so useless.”

“My bad…” Yeah, I could see through her fake tears, despite that, I don’t wish to create a bad impression. So I just went along, “At least let the food; leave my body to me.”

“It’s a deal then, milord!” she immediately brightened up, in a complete turnaround of her emotions. “I already sent for your full-course meal by the bath side.”

Yes, you already did, even before I agreed to it. “Th-Thank you for your hard work!”

“It’s a pleasure, milord!” the first maid smiled. “And please, just call me Angelli, for that is my name. I’ll be your overly-enthusiastic servant from now on!”

I could only stare at her, a bit dumbfounded. A demon named Angelli…this world is really weird.

----------

The demon maids finally left the moment they served me my food…or more like, I asked them to leave. In line with how she introduced herself, Angelli was indeed overly-enthusiastic about her duties, even dragging along the other maid named Leiver in their attempt to feed me. It’s not like I disliked being pampered, but I’m not used to such privilege.

“…”

Come on, back on Earth, I’m just a nobody. What makes me think that getting summoned to another world would change my status? I mean, yes, it may have changed, but see, ‘old habits die hard’. I’m not some noble brat who couldn’t do anything on his own. Just like my philosophy in my online games, I prefer to solo everything if I could help it—I’m a self-sufficient bastard.

“…”

Nevertheless, though they did serve me food inside the bath, I hadn’t touched it. For one, I don’t think that dipping in the waist deep water while my stomach was full was a good idea. Second, I’m not starving at the moment.

“…”

Once I made sure that I was alone in the bath, I entered the warm water. Honestly, the idea of bathing in this manner was considered a luxury in my country. Heck, even the use of shower was something only the ‘upper’ and ‘middle’ class families would do; we commoners mostly bathe with a pail of water, and a dipper. So yes, while I didn’t like servants taking care of me, I really appreciate they prepared an entire bathroom just for me.

“Haa…” This was the first time I could relax, and it was a wondrous feeling. However, dark thoughts remain. At the back of my head, my concern for my friends back at the Holy Palatial Gardens remained. I felt a bit guilty; for I was enjoying myself, while I knew there was a problem at hand. Lady Madelaine’s condition worsened, just before I disappeared. And I really wanted to do something for her.

But how? Though I may be that man they call ‘Kuro’, right now, I’m just my old ‘me’…Greg. I have god-powers, yes, but I don’t even know how to help Lady Madelaine with those…

“…”

“Have you already sent the letter, Shevaun?”

“!!!” My train of thoughts dissipated when I heard Lady Noir’s voice echo throughout the smoke that filled the bath. I thought this place was reserved for me, but I just remembered that the demons had a different take on what we humans consider ‘intimate’. So it’s not rocket science that the demon princess would get in the bath, even though someone else was still using it.

In any case, I should get out.

“So, how’s the Lord Greg?” Lady Noir asked. I don’t know, but the moment my name was mentioned, I instinctively hid myself on one of the nearby pillars around the bath. It seemed that she didn’t know I was bathing; fortunately, the steam helped me conceal my presence.

“He said he wanted to take a rest, so I had the maids prepare a room for him.”

What? I don’t remember telling Shevaun I want to rest! She’s deliberately spinning stories!

“Ah, then it’s all good. Poor Lord Greg has gone through a lot recently, and he needs to relax. Also, at least with him sleeping, it wouldn’t look weird when my brother returns.”

Weird? Why it would be?

“Milady, forgive me if I may seem to be over-stepping my boundaries, but I think the Lord Greg is an honorable and reasonable man,” Shevaun told her. “Why do you have to hide the truth from him?”

Truth?

“Give me a break, Shevaun!” Lady Noir had her bathrobe removed, so I turned away as respect. “The Lord Kuro—now he calls himself ‘Greg’—is the first human I befriended in Chersea. I can still remember him back then, sitting on a bench in that plaza at the town of Fen. He looked so dejected because no one would sell him demon powder.”

“Err…why do you bring that story up again, milady? I’ve heard it countless of times!”

“Tch. Don’t be such a boor, Shevaun. At least, listen to my story!”

“I’m pretending to!”

At that point, I heard them enter the water.

“Well, the Lord Kuro is a man, though he may be human. And, you know…”

“You’re afraid that he would look down on you, just because you’re a girl, milady?”

I hadn’t seen it, but I could surmise Lady Noir nodded, for next I heard her say, “You know how it works, Shevaun. They won’t take me seriously because I’m a girl.”

“That’s our culture,” the chamberlain reiterated. “Humans, on the other hand, are pretty much open on the concept of women leading them. Look at the Human Saint, or the Queen of Amaranth, for examples!”

“Aah…I don’t know. You have no idea of how hard it is to keep my feelings from seeping out, whenever I’m talking to him, Shevaun! The Lord Kuro is my precious human friend; he didn’t turn away from me when I summoned my courage to talk to him…unlike those pretentious, high-and-mighty demon brats from the Conclave. Or those stupid humans who ran away when they realized I was a demon. Oh, I want to connect so badly with him!”

“!!!” When she said that, I lost my balance (as I’m keeping myself close to the pillar where I was hiding). I suddenly slid down the floor, hitting my butt in the process.

“What’s that?” Yes, of course. That sound would be heard by Lady Noir; it was a pretty bad fall, after all.

However…

“I think it’s one of the maids in-charge of cleaning the other side of the bath,” the chamberlain explained. But yes, that confirmed it. Shevaun knew I was here all along!

Wait a second…is this what are they trying to tell me before?

“Well, in any case, Shevaun, please prepare my princely clothes,” Lady Noir ordered. “I wanted to meet the Lord Kuro—I mean, the Lord Greg—as Hurion Devras.”

“And what about you, milady? What shall I tell him of your whereabouts?”

“Just say my brother sent me on a quick errand.”