Chapter 101:

The 100 Days War - Chapter 9

The Children of Eris


The Dread Keep was the seat of the Demon Emperor’s power and the symbol of his tyranny.

A terrifying bastion of evil that oozed the foul stench of death for miles around.

The corpses of traitors were hung from every wall and, once they had rotted, they were fed to the demons that guarded those walls.

At least, those were some of the stories Rebecca had learnt off from Eva.

Rebecca would’ve laughed a little had she not also learnt about her new title the people had given her.

The Lady of Dread.

The first of the human lords to turn traitor and declare themselves a loyal vassal of the Demon Emperor.

Among those who worshiped his majesty, Rebecca was quite popular and well regarded.

Among those who wished to seem him hang, she was despised.

“We have attempted to spread rumours painting you in a better light, but those have not been as well received, my lady.”

“It’s fine, Eva. It’s not unfair of them to think of me like that, though.” She smiled thinly. “It does hurt a little.”

“Everyone at the castle knows you made the right choice, my lady, and that’s what really matters.”

“For the time being, perhaps, but it also means that some people will try to assassinate me, even if I’m still at the Dread Keep.”

“There’s no way anyone would be foolish enough to try and sneak into the Dread Keep.”

Rebecca held up a piece of paper. “This report from Lord Mímir details three separate times assassins have tried to sneak into the Dread Keep since the Demon Empire’s ascension. This one.” She held up a different piece of paper. “Details a list of assassination targets from a rebel cell of key members of the Demon Empire, and my name is close to the top.”

“I didn’t know things were that rough, my lady. Well, at least they were caught before they could even get close.”

“Well, yes, I don’t have to worry about my own safety, thanks to Lord Alaric’s followers. I just wish this castle didn’t have this much paperwork to process daily.”

Ever since the Demon Emperor had assigned Rebecca to run the Dread Keep’s day-to-day operations, she spent most of her days at her desk, going through stacks and stacks of documents.

At first, it had been manageable, but her workload had increased once the Demon Emperor started approving the expansions to the Dread Keep, and had given her other jobs to do too.

Rebecca was not just in charge of the Dread Keep, but also all the administrative jobs of the Demon Empire in the north-east of the country.

The Vampire Court had gladly volunteered to cover the rest of the country’s affairs, but Rebecca had been hand-picked by the Demon Emperor to control the north-east.

It did mean that Rebecca could push through more positive reforms, as long as they conformed to the Demon Emperor’s guidelines, but it meant she had very little free time these days.

Eva, Rebecca’s handmaiden and the head maid of the Dread Keep, could only offer her sweets, drinks and company as she worked.

The few times Rebecca did get a break from her desk was at the weekly council meetings the Demon Emperor hosted, though, at present, only a handful of the generals and other high-ranking officials could attend regularly.

Things were hectic across the empire and they were all busy.

In that sense, Rebecca knew she had an easier job than the others.

“Eva.”

“Yes, my lady?”

“Do you know what Hilda’s been up to lately? I haven’t seen much of her.”

“Hilda’s been attending to her duties at the capital and spends most of her time at the castle with the recruits.”

“The recruits?”

Eva stopped tidying Rebecca’s bed and turned to face her. “For the Dread Knights?”

“Dread Knights?”

“Were you not informed, my lady?”

Rebecca kneed her temples with her palms and tried to remember what she’d read in her paperwork, but nothing came to mind.

“…No. Maybe? What are the Dread Knights again?”

“Hilda’s new knighthood that she wishes to start. She’s recruited fifty of the slaves Lady Mania rescued from Stonefall and has started putting them through the same training she went through.”

“I imagine that they don’t have quite the same resolve and dedication to his majesty that she does.”

“…Actually, my lady, some of them do.”

“Really?”

Eva nodded. “Quite a lot of them had suffered for years at the hands of people in the Holy Empire, and so they feel nothing but gratitude towards the ones who saved them. From what I’ve heard, Hilda made them the same offer his majesty made her, and those fifty agreed very quickly. Everyone else though is-”

“Working around the keep, I know. Who do you think had to find those hundreds of jobs?”

The two smiled at each other, before Rebecca turned her eyes to the window.

It was a sight that both felt familiar and strange to her - her home, renovated into the Demon Emperor’s lair.

“Hey, Eva.”

“My lady?”

“When will it set in?”

“…I don’t know, my lady, but-”

“I know…I know.”

It wasn’t the first time Rebecca had felt like this and she knew it wouldn’t be the last.

She had chosen her path and now she had to follow it until it’s end.

That didn’t mean, however, that she couldn’t make it as bright or as hopeful of a path as possible.

There were people that she’d saved.

There were people who depended on her.

For the first time in her life, she had power and she was free.

But even that freedom brought a strange discomfort to her.

One day, she told herself, it will set in.

One day, you can be proud of what you’ve done.

It’s just not today.