"Pardon? What the fuck did you just say?" Llyr asked with the nastiest glare he'd ever given someone. He hadn't even given a glare like this to Victor, whom he considered his biggest obstacle in getting Lev to be his completely.
"Haha, now now, calm down and let me explain!" Octavius laughed nervously, his skin suddenly feeling drier and himself suddenly feeling hotter.
"Oh, please, do explain. If your explanation is accurate enough, I may forgive you for lying to me about being friends with Lev." Llyr angled his chin up and crossed his arms, trying his best to look intimidating, but he wasn't quite used to things like this.
'Pfft, how funny of him! Trying his best to intimidate me just because he feels insulted, how truly laughable!' Octavius thought, trying his hardest to prevent himself from laughing aloud.
"My dear friend, I did not lie, Lev and I are quite…close, I suppose one could say," Octavius leaned forward with an agonizing smile, one of joy at seeing Llyr's face turn in anger. "Anyways, the bet, right? There's this person who always ticks me off, and I would absolutely love to see them mad. If you help me out, it would be a great deal of help! In fact, I'll owe you a favor, too! Sounds like a good deal, no?"
"...Like I'd want a favor from a mere merchant who wants to use his 'closeness' to my fiancée to get what he wants," Llyr scoffed, gritting his teeth. Despite his face being scrunched up, Llyr was still quite handsome.
"Hahaha! I knew you would say that! So, how about this: I let you name your price, even if it's me delivering Lev to you? Just help me win this bet?" Octavius suggested, clasping his hands together with puppy dog eyes.
Llyr thought about it for a moment, really thought about it. While it would make getting his beloved back sooner, he didn't like the thought of it being at the price of betrayal from someone 'close' to Lev.
He didn't trust the words of this so-called merchant, but Llyr knew that he could get something of use out of him, no matter the odd bet conditions. Thinking back to what Miss Retha told him about the lead donor to the Thien Church, Llyr knew Octavius was a man who'd do anything to get what he wanted. And Llyr wasn't any different himself, being a 'man-child' and all.
"Okay, tell me what this bet actually is, then I will decide," Llyr sighed, reaping the benefits that he figured far outweighed the cost.
"Great! I'm so glad you have decided to hear it out! Well then, allow me to lay it all out neatly for you…!"
***
"And then here we are, that's the gist of it…The whole reason why I'm here and was able to meet you," I ended, telling Sephtis all about my relationship with Llyr, Oryn, and why I wasn't able to reciprocate his feelings…ever.
"..." Sephtis remained quiet, just staring at the floor. He looked confused, distraught even. Like, he couldn't even entertain the thought that the people who were supposed to be the good guys here ended up being awful.
"Sephtis? Are you okay? I know it sounds like a lot, but I've learned to deal with it, and I'm okay now," I smiled and lightly touched his shoulder, showing him that I really was alright despite being on the run from a crazy fish man.
"I- Haaa, I am okay, but you really aren't," Sephtis looked up with a frown and a sympathetic look on his face, then pulled me into a tight hug, "How could so much happen to such a good person? That's unfair! I am so sorry, Lev."
Sephtis started to cry, burying his face deeper into my neck as he did so, trying to muffle the sounds. I honestly couldn't quite put my tongue on why he felt so sorry for me; it was something I could never comprehend, even when Yasuo, Keiji, and Akihito were around.
'Me, a good person? Sephtis can be quite ignorant sometimes, I'm only like this around him and Lorenzo to keep up good appearances…I'm really just a disgusting bastard.'
"You do not have to feel sorry for me, if anything, I just attract people like that…Most similar people tend to be attracted to each other," I commented, pointing out what I really felt.
I felt that I could be most honest with Sephtis, that he was someone who, no matter what I did, wouldn't cast me aside with criticism. He was just that good a person, and I liked that fact about him; maybe that's why I was so drawn to him.
"Please, don't say that about yourself!" Sephtis hugged me tighter, clutching my shirt, "The way you act toward those people shouldn't define you as a person. We all have our reasons for acting a certain way, one that we all know deep down would never be understood by another!"
Sephtis was now sodding, his chest spiking up with each 'hic-!' Sighing, I hugged him back. I knew he was right, and I felt sorry for him. The fact that even with all these words, I couldn't understand his sympathy, nor get the words he was saying.
I didn't respond to his words, just hugged him, and absorbed the meaningless sympathy from him. I couldn't lie to myself; it felt good to have another cry for you, though I still didn't understand it.
***
Just a few moments later, Sephtis fell asleep after crying too much. So, out of the kindness of my heart, I laid him down on the couch, covered him with a blanket, and let him sleep.
'I'll make sure to wake him up for dinner, I wouldn't want him missing it because I let him fall asleep after making him cry.'
Closing the door to the office behind me, I was going to make my way down the hallway when I saw Praxis standing in the doorway of his room across from me. He had his arms crossed and was leaning against the framing, an emotionless expression on his face.
"Oh, hello, Praxis. Is something the matter?" I bore a fake smile and tilted my head slightly before fixing it back in place. Praxis' expression shifted in one of disapproved displeasure. I had clearly displeased him somehow, but I wasn't quite sure how.
"...Yeah, something is. Can we talk?" Praxis admitted, straightening himself and stepping into his room, hesturing for me to come in. I was surprised; he'd been quite reserved about his private space ever since he got here, but this was a nice change of pace.
"Of course. Please excuse me," I stepped in past him, and he closed the door behind me, it 'clacking' softly. Looking around the room, it was the same 'fairytale' style Sephtis decorated it, but the air was different.
Taking a deeper look, it wasn't just the air; Praxis had just ever so slightly changed the decorations. The curtains on the bed were replaced with a circular canopy; it looked like a bug-catching canopy from the modern era of Earth, except it was embroidered with vines and flower designs.
The lamps had a similar design and illuminated the room, replacing the large chandelier light from above. He had a tea set set at the table by the bay window in his room; there were two cups set out and a book in front of one of the seats.
"So, what did you want to talk to me about- huh? Praxis?" I turned to ask him, but was cut off by Praxis walking toward me with a glare on his face, eventually pinning me to the tea table.
"Pardon my language, Master, but what the hell is wrong with you?" He snapped at me, his glare sharpening and tail flicking behind him.
"I'm sorry, but I do not get what you are asking me," I replied, brushing him off. I truly didn't know what he was implying. I didn't want to think about it.
The position we were currently in was reminding me too much of what happened with Llyr, so I tried to push him off and get away, but he wouldn't budge. Perhaps Praxis thought I was trying to get away, but whatever it was, he wasn't letting me leave so easily.
"How could you not? I mean Sephtis. You led him on, whether you actually had feelings for him or not…" Praxis fired at me, pausing to calm himself down, "I would now consider Sephtis one of my friends, so it hurts me to see you toying with his feelings like that."
Praxis now wore a deep frown; his pupils shook slightly. He wasn't about to cry, but he was very clearly hurt by what he thought I was doing.
"Praxis, just hold on a moment. I think you are misunderstanding something," I sighed, using both hands to push him and finally getting him to back off.
"What? What is the misunderstanding? I heard what you said to Sephtis about not being able to reciprocate his feelings." Praxis turned as I walked past him and into the open space.
"I did say that, but did you eavesdrop on why?" I questioned, annoyed by the fact that he was spying on our conversation.
"I-...No, I couldn't bear to listen that far. I got too angry," Praxis turned his head in shame. "Apologies for eavesdropping. I was just worried about a friend."
"Haa, it's fine. It's already happened, so there's nothing we can do to change it," I brushed it off again and shook my head. "As for the reason why I can't reciprocate is that, well, I'm already engaged…and one that I can't end."
"..." Praxis' face turned into one of pure shock. He stayed silent for a moment, processing what he just heard. "I don't understand…is it because it's a marriage for alliance?"
"No, no. Though I would rather have it be that than what it actually is," I admitted, scoffing and looking off, "I would like to feel the same way about Sephtis. He is a good guy and exactly my type. But, the person I'm engaged to is rather obsessive, and I don't want to risk the life of my lover."
"I understand. It's not much different from my sister and me, actually," Praxis relayed, surprised me at his sudden openness, "I really shouldn't be telling you this, but I suppose I just want someone to relate to."
"What do you mean, your sister and you aren't much different?" I asked, puzzled at the statement, "Is the demon king pressuring the both of you to get married?"
"Something like that…for me at least," Praxis sat down at the tea table, motioning me to sit in front of him, "As the marchoness, his Majesty just wants her to make sure she has an heir. However, as her younger brother and the heir to no title, he wants me to marry another noble or militia to carry on the abilities of my household."
"Sorry, but I don't quite understand. What do you mean by carry on the abilities of your household? Wouldn't your sister also have the same abilities?" I wondered, sitting across from him.
"Similar, yes, but not the same. Our demonis sub-race has different capabilities for different genders, both working in different ways. It is fundamentally the same, except I'm what one would consider an abnormality," Praxis explained.
"How so? You don't seem much different to me, not that I know your sub-race of course," I blurted out, looking outside the window for a brief moment, only to find Praxis looking at me like I was stupid, "What? Is there something on my face?"
"I- haaa, seriously, master? Did you really take me in without knowing that?" He groaned, slouching in his seat.
"Well, I didn't think it mattered," I commented, looking down with a slight pout, "I just wanted to help you, even if you were something that could harm me. I was quite confident I could bring you to my side."
I smiled at Praxis with a sincere smile. He blushed a little, his expression one of disbelief, but it was quickly replaced with a sigh.
"Master, what you did was very dangerous, simply because of your lack of knowledge," Praxis shook his head, sighing before looking at me with a serious expression, "Not only am I considered an Archdemon, but I am also an Incubus."
I black out for a moment, suddenly remembering all of the stereotypes on incubi and sucubi, as well as how much the author of "How to Kill Demons Without Dying" loved their stereotypes.
'Please tell me it isn't going to be the worst one, please tell me it isn't going to be the worst one, please tell me it isn't going to be the worst one!'
"You know what Incubi do, right? We live off of sexual energy, any energy we can get to sustain ourselves," Praxis started, standing up and walking over to my broken self, "And once we recognize our master, we only have a desire for theirs."
"W-Wait a moment! What exactly are you implying?" I stammered, confused at the sudden shift in mood.
'Wasn't he mad because I hurt Sephtis' feelings? How did we get from there to feeling similar to each other to this?!'
"It means, master, that I am quite starved," Praxis chuckled with a smile and lifted my chin to meet his face, "While I was mad that you hurt a dear friend, I'm also annoyed at the lost meal. So, how are you going to make up for this?"