After five weeks, the entire kingdom of Aquilonis had been transformed.
No one, not even its own people, could quite believe it. That in just over a month, the ruins left behind by war and chaos had become something even grander than what they had before.
It would've taken less time, too, if it weren't for the frequent interruptions.
Interruptions caused by one particular demi-human prince's tantrums.
And the most infuriating part?
Tuf didn't deny it. He even admitted he was throwing tantrums whenever Ceres ignored him.
The more time Ceres spent with him, the more she couldn't help but admire the Demon Lord Caelum, because truly, how the hell did he manage to raise someone like Tuf and survive it with his sanity intact? Ceres herself had caught herself clutching at her scalp on multiple occasions.
Now, inside her private bedchamber in the newly constructed Empress Palace, larger, more breathtaking than ever before, Ceres found herself dealing with a different kind of headache.
"Empress, please… change your mind. Let me come with you."
Aurelian's voice was calm, but beneath it trembled desperation.
Tomorrow, Ceres was set to leave for Velrathis, with Delphine, her Saintess Knights, Legion, and Seiryu. The kingdom had celebrated for seven days straight to honor the rebirth of Aquilonis, and now, it was time for her to fulfill her promise.
And to finally meet the Demon Lord.
And she wasn't letting Aurelian come with her.
"No, Duke," she said again, tired but firm. "The kingdom needs you. There's still so much to be done. Trade agreements, council structuring, someone has to oversee all that. We both can't disappear at the same time."
"Aurora can take over. She ran this kingdom when our father fell ill. She can handle it again," he insisted.
"I know she can. But everything is new now, Aurelian. The systems, the architecture, the economy, it's all fresh. You know I don't need you where I'm going. But Aurora, and this kingdom, they do. I'm not changing my mind."
He bowed his head, defeated.
Ceres sighed softly. From her seat on the velvet chaise, she rose and crossed to him.
Without warning, she straddled his lap, gently cupping his face in her palms. Her thumbs brushed over his cheekbones, lifting his face so his velvet-colored eyes met hers.
"Duke," she whispered, "you know I have to do this. You understand that, don't you?"
"I do," he murmured, voice thick with emotion. "I know how much you want this. That's why I'm not stopping you. But… I just feel like everything's going to change once you meet him."
His eyes darkened with a sadness she couldn't quite soothe.
Ceres exhaled slowly. "I wish I could ease your mind, but even I don't know what will happen. All I know is… you and I, we both have our roles. I have to do this, for my peace of mind. And you have to stay, for Aquilonis."
Aurelian nodded, the weight of his crown heavy even in silence. He knew she was right. And he knew, too, that if he tried to stop her again, she would only grow to resent him.
So instead, he asked quietly, "Then promise me one thing."
Ceres tilted her head, watching him.
"Promise me you'll come back," he said. "No matter how long it takes. I'll wait for you… even if it takes a lifetime."
Her heart clenched.
She smiled, and leaned down to kiss him.
Soft. Gentle.
"I promise," she whispered against his lips. "I will come back… And let me bribe you," she added with a mischievous smile. "Why don't you stay over tonight? Just snuggling. Nothing more. We don't want that crazy panther losing his mind again."
Aurelian gave a bitter, sorrowful smile, but he nodded.
And a few hours later, all peace shattered outside the Empress's chamber.
"You fucking lizard, get out of my way!" Tuf snarled, his obsidian eyes narrowed into murderous slits as he faced Seiryu, who stood unmoving in front of the door.
Per Ceres's request, Tuf had embedded a Rune spell around her bedchamber, a powerful ward that allowed only those she personally invited to enter, by physical or magical means. Only Delphine and Seiryu had unrestricted access.
Not even Tuf could override it. And now, as he stood outside the very door he had enchanted himself, he was beginning to regret ever saying yes to her request.
The moment he arrived, he smelled it. Him.
The Duke was inside. Alone with her.
"The Empress is already in bed," Seiryu said with one brow raised. "Do you want to wake her and delay tomorrow's journey?"
"I want to go to bed too," Tuf gritted out.
"Then go to your room," Seiryu replied dryly.
"I have the right to sleep beside her. She gave me permission," Tuf growled, voice dangerously low.
"Not tonight, though," Seiryu countered coolly.
"You fucking lizard," Tuf snarled, his voice rising. "Get out of my fucking way."
Some palace staff paused nearby, half-horrified, half-used to the demi-human prince's increasingly frequent tantrums. But after only a moment's hesitation, they simply went back to their tasks.
Tuf and Seiryu locked eyes in a silent war of dominance.
Then, unexpectedly, Seiryu smiled.
He stepped aside with a mocking gesture toward the door. "Be my guest."
Tuf hissed in irritation and stormed forward. He grabbed the door handle and pulled, but the door wouldn't budge.
"Your Highness," he said, his voice suddenly soft and sweet, completely at odds with the murderous rage in his expression. "I want to sleep beside you. Let me in."
He tried again, but the door remained sealed. The Rune spell he himself had embedded now mocked him, impenetrable and unbreakable.
He'd made it that way.
For her safety, of course. Back then, he had never imagined he would be the one on the outside.
"YOUR HIGHNESS!!! OPEN THE DOOR!!! WE MADE A DEAL!!!" he bellowed, pounding on the door with both fists. "I KNOW THAT STUPID DUKE IS INSIDE! IF YOU BREAK YOUR END OF THE DEAL, I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL HIM!"
Silence.
Seiryu stifled a chuckle.
"What the fuck is so funny, you overgrown lizard?" Tuf snapped, turning on him.
"You," Seiryu replied lazily. "I don't know how you and the Empress ended up with the same temperament, but the way you're both impossibly hard-headed… sometimes I forget you're not blood relatives. If not for the thousand-year age gap, I'd think you inherited that stubbornness from her."
"Fuck you," Tuf spat darkly.
"Holy beasts don't fuck," Seiryu said with a smug grin. "Try another insult."
Tuf ignored him, turning back toward the door with clenched fists.
"Your Highness," he said louder, his voice low and threatening, "if that pest lays a hand on you tonight… I swear, when we leave for Velrathis tomorrow, I will come back here just to fucking kill him."
His voice softened to something darker, possessive, feral.
"I'll stay right here. Outside your door. All night."
With that, Tuf crossed his arms, leaned against the doorframe like a predator marking its territory, and glared at Seiryu with a quiet, simmering fury.
Seiryu sighed and shook his head, clearly unimpressed. "Insane cat."
And true to his word, Tuf stayed, watching, waiting, listening.
All through the night.
Not a single moment passed without him trying to catch a sound from inside. A whisper. A sigh. A moan. Anything that might confirm his worst fears.
But nothing came.
As the hours crawled by, and the moon waned, his anger dulled. He began to realize the Duke and the Empress were simply… resting.
By the time dawn broke, casting silver light across the stone halls, Seiryu had finally had enough of the silence.
"Tell me, Panther," he said as he stepped beside Tuf, tone more curious than combative. "What's your connection to the Empress? You're not bonded. There's no blood between you. But still… there's a pull between you two. One I can't explain, not even as a Holy Beast."
Tuf didn't turn. He didn't roll his eyes. This time, there was no sarcasm.
"Because you won't understand," he said flatly, voice low and serious. "Because it's beyond your comprehension."
He paused, then added with a tension Seiryu hadn't heard before,
"And I can't tell you. I couldn't even tell her. The only way she'll understand the bond between us… is if she meets my father."
A long silence settled between them.
"…Do you think your father can really give her the HP she needs?" Seiryu asked at last. "I've met the Demon Lord face to face. Aside from his terrifying 'Instant Death' ability, I didn't sense anything else. And I still can't wrap my head around how a human like him fathered ten demi-human children."
Tuf's eyebrow twitched, a glint of annoyance sparking in his eyes.
"Just because you're a Holy Beast, you think you know everything?" he scoffed. "Sure, you know plenty about humans. That's your role, after all. But even you should've noticed, you can't read her mind, can you?"
Seiryu's face hardened. "Yes," he admitted. "I felt it when she subjugated me. I tried to link our minds, but something blocked me. I thought it was just because she's a halfling. She's the first I've ever been bound to. And my siblings… they've never had one either."
"She's not from this world," Tuf said quietly. "Not her soul, at least. She, my siblings, and my father, we all came from the same world."
Seiryu's eyes widened. "And… the Empress knows this?"
"Of course she does. How do you think she was able to read my message to the Magic Tower? That letter was written in a language from our world. I'm sure even you couldn't read it."
Seiryu's lips pressed into a tight line.
"And you didn't realize she's from another world? What did you think the Dream Spell was supposed to do?" Tuf asked, voice sharp. "Didn't she ask you for a spell that could cross worlds?"
"She did," Seiryu admitted slowly. "But I thought she meant the Twilight Cradle, the realm of the dead. Erevalon. I assumed she wanted to see someone who had already passed on."
Tuf snorted, shaking his head in disbelief. "You really are a stupid overgrown lizard."
"Shut up, you unhinged cat," Seiryu snapped. "If you're so great, then why not cast the Dream Spell yourself? You said you came from the same world. That means you have an anchor there, right? So why not do it?"
Tuf looked away, the shadows in his eyes suddenly deeper.
"Because I don't have an anchor there," he muttered. "Not anymore."
He exhaled, jaw clenched.
"All my anchors are here now. In Solmara."
And for the first time since they began their constant bickering, the Holy Beast said nothing.
Seiryu saw it, beneath the arrogance, the madness, the obsession…
A wound that never healed.
A connection not yet understood.
But deeply, irrevocably felt.