HNSW - Chapter 11 - Another Demon!

Lilussees once again found herself awake at an ungodly hour, facing the important demon under the scrutiny of their entire house. Her eye twitched as he smiled at her.

Why?! Why was this stupid, evil, early-rising demon tormenting her once more?!

Lilussees didn’t bother waiting this time around. Her mother had told her “keep up whatever she did” so that is what she would do. The moment that important demon sat down, she marched right over to him and started hissing in his ear.

“Why are you here? I told you to leave!”

The important demon looked up at her with a smile, chuckling sadistically to himself as he leaned in to whisper back.

“To find out what you’re up to, of course. You won’t be able to drive me away that easily…unless you want to tell me what it is you’re aiming for?”

Lilussees had to hold back a sigh. Of course, the important demon had to come up with some complicated, convoluted delusion that would now require e-word from her to resolve. Because the demons were never satisfied unless they made her apply e-word at this horrid time of day.

“Sleep, obviously!”

He stared at her blankly. Of course, he would be stupid as well.

“I am only awake at this ungodly hour because you came and made my pillow abandon me! You understand? Every minute you waste here is a minute of sleep you’ve cut from my life. Now go and bother someone else!”

The demon stared at her before making a sadistic sneer.

“Trying an absurdity defense, huh? A valiant attempt but you won’t throw me off balance that easily. Very well, keep your secrets. I shall remain here and enjoy your house’s hospitality until your true aim is revealed.”

Lilussees barely held in a screech. And so began one of the longest, tensest, most excruciating hours of her life.

And her torment would only grow worse in the near future…

***

Avreer and Prince Galois once again rode back in their carriage.

“Are you certain about this, Your Highness? We can just about get away with two meetings, but if you return to her house a third time we will need to begin the formal procedure. Lady Lilussees would become your fiancé, so long as negotiations between your families don’t break down.”

Prince Galois just chuckled.

“It’s fine, I think I’ve figured it out. If we accept the rumors about her dark magic as true, then it all makes sense. There are countless forbidden magics she might have grown curious about within dark magic, far more than for any other school of magic. If she were experimenting with things she should not, then it would make sense that she would not want more eyes on her. Indeed, if that were her goal, she would not mind if my hasty withdrawal scared off all potential suitors…”

Avreer stroked his beard.

“I see. It is a logical explanation, that much is true. But would not Lady Baillairgé have put a stop to it if so?”

Prince Galois smirked.

“That is where Miss Lilussees made a mistake, her excuse revealed her ploy. Lady Baillairgé is just her tutor and so wouldn’t be watching her while she supposedly sleeps at night. No one outside her house would. The only thing I can’t figure out is why she thought I’d buy that excuse, unless she panicked and accidentally said too much.”

Prince Galois smiled and laughed once more.

“After all, what noble girl would send the crown prince away just to get an extra hour of sleep?”

Avreer chuckled and shook his head.

“Indeed.”

He then steeled his expression.

“Your Highness, I have two objections to your current plans.”

Prince Galois gave him a knowing smile.

“The first is my safety? You need not worry about that. Lady Lilussees clearly knows what she’s supposed to be doing, her perfect etiquette is proof enough of that. She must know what would happen if anyone, whether my attendants or Lady Baillairgé discover proof of her experiments. Any move against me would result in far worse consequences than even that.”

Avreer did not relax, however.

“Be that as it may, magic is powerful and dark magic in particular is feared for a reason. You must remain cautious, Your Highness. I would not recommend exposing yourself to a dark mage skirting the restrictions on their craft if you do not have a good reason to do so.”

Prince Galois nodded.

“I understand, but in this case, I do. If Lady Lilussees becomes my fiancé for the time being, we will be able to observe how my other candidates respond, for however long I desire. It will give me a better chance to take their measure…and then once I’m ready, I can simply expose Lady Lilussees’ deeds.”

Avreer chuckled and shook his head.

“I see. I suppose that much mischief will be allowed you, Your Highness. But that does bring me to my second objection. As probable as your theory may be…have you considered the case where you cannot find evidence of any wrongdoing? You would have no good reason to break an engagement with Lady Lilussees in that case.”

Prince Galois smiled.

“Well, if that’s the case, she at least won’t be any different than any of the others, so I’ll quietly accept my fate. But…”

Avreer raised an eyebrow.

“But?”

Prince Galois glanced out the window and giggled.

“If that’s the case, I’d be most curious as to learn what her intentions actually are.”

Soon, news would spread that Prince Galois’ fiancé had been decided. A scream would sound in the Atreis estate…and in others…

***

In a luxurious villa not unlike the Atreis’, a most unladylike screech filled the air. Countess Odiesees Bourdier de Jaubert threw her teacup against the nearest wall.

“Damn that Lady Atreis! How in the world did her daughter, of all people, seduce His Highness the crown prince? That so-called Lady Lilussees has not been seen at but a single function! Even as a mere child she has already developed a reputation of ill-repute, a gloomy loner who is almost certainly a dark witch! And the crown prince favored her over my Amia?”

She ground her teeth and screeched again.

“Get this mess out of my sight!”

She huffed and puffed as her servants scrambled to clear the broken porcelain and spilt tea. She began to pace in the meantime.

“It should not have been possible. I ensured my Amia was perfect in every fashion, and that her reputation as such has already spread. And the Atreis family may be higher ranked on paper, but they are already in the royal family’s faction. There should have been no benefit to marrying their daughter for his highness, our trade network should have been far more appealing. When I think of it that way…”

She came to a halt.

“No, there is only one conclusion. Dark magics must be afoot, no doubt the work of that harlot Baillairgé. His Majesty has let her run amok for far too long and now she is making her play. Only a woman like her would dare attempt such a thing, she never knew her place and now she has crossed the line.”

Countess Jaubert then paused…and slowly began to sneer.

“She’s grown arrogant, hasn’t she? Did she truly believe such blatant machinations would go unnoticed? Or does she believe herself to be untouchable? Well, no matter. It is high time she is reminded of her place. Gadiffer!”

At her shout, a neatly dressed butler walked up behind her and bowed his head.

“How may I assist, my lady?”

Countess Jaubert didn’t bother turning around.

“I have a job for our assets in the Atreis household. Their young lady has been dabbling in dark magic, I require proof.”

Gadiffer bowed his head again.

“I apologize, my lady, but we do not have any assets there at present. The Atreis family purged all compromising individuals after the attempt on the young Lady Atreis’ life a few years prior. Our man was caught in it.”

Countess Jaubert heaved a long sigh.

“For the love of…Gadiffer, have you not stated our contact network is second to none? For what have we spent all that coin for if we cannot keep eyes on a single rival household?”

Gadiffer kept his head bowed.

“I apologize, my lady, we deemed it wise to wait until their vigil waned. If you deem it worth the risk, shall I revise that policy?”

Countess Jaubert sighed again and resumed pacing. Eventually, she shook her head.

“No, your network has failed once already. We shall try another approach. If I recall correctly, Lady Bourcier mentioned her daughter is being educated at the Atreis household. I trust you have managed to gather accurate information on a simple baron’s household at the very least, correct?”

Gadiffer nodded.

“Yes, my lady.”

Gadiffer called for another servant. A few minutes later, the servant returned and handed Gadiffer a stack of papers. He read them out one by one as the other servants brought Countess Jaubert a new cup of tea. As she listened, she slowly began to grin.

“My my, such expensive tastes for a mere baron couple. They’re starting to wrack up quite a bit of debt, aren't they? Perhaps they might appreciate some assistance in the near future...”

Author’s Note:

Oh Lilussees, you have much to learn. You should have known no one would buy the “want to sleep” excuse. Whatever your true intentions are, they will certainly be revealed to the crown prince now. You’ll just have to extra careful about your secret plans now. Maybe you’ll even have to actually sleep at night now!

Anyways!

Can Lilussees hide her dark schemes from scrutiny? Will Prince Galois uncover her true intentions? Will Countess Jaubert expose Lady Baillairgé’s machinations? Tune in next time, to find out!