5.30.

“This is an unofficial announcement of the engagement which has been approved by the royal family. This banquet serves to let this news be known, the official announcement of our engagement will be held in a few months time, I hope to see you attend.”

Whispers dominated the silence. Those that knew spreaded to those that didn’t.

“Following this, taking responsibility for Her Highness Evelyn as my first wife, I will also let it be known that Leticia Estia, would take the seat of my second wife.”

Evelyn’s heart raced at how he said those words with such a calm tone. On cue, Leticia came forward and stood beside him. She bowed, giving the crowd a glance.

The looks on their faces, the noble girls especially, were rather varied. Leticia reminded herself that this disgusting attention was something she had to accept if she were to continue to stand by his side.

‘Why the second wife… isn’t that supposed to be Schwii…’

Leticia peek at Evelyn who kept her smile, then at Sequencee whose serious face took her breath away. He scooped her hands into his, her heart skipped a beat. However, before she could admire anything, her eyes instinctively shifted to the direction he was looking towards.

The ensuing silence prompted the crowd to do the same.

“Do I have your understanding on this matter, Sean Stravince?” Sequencee’s voice was like the din of a crushing hammer.

His lips curled up into a smile. “What a cunning person you are. How did you know I was here?” the people near him distanced themselves.

Leticia’s chance to speak had been interrupted, the soft music playing in the background halted.

‘Sean Stravince? This guy.. I don’t really remember him anymore but..’

The unpleasant memories remain– was what Leticia wanted to say.

“I don’t remember having invited you?” Sequencee said with a plastic smile.

“I don’t remember hearing that those who weren’t invited were not allowed to attend?”

“It’s common sense is it not?”

“Now, isn’t that rude to call me a human with no common sense,” Sean stood up from his seat and looked at Leticia, “Father is excited to meet you. How about you come back with your fiance to ask for father’s blessing? Your brother also, I’m sure he would be overjoyed if he heard. Perhaps it isn’t too late to offer you the rebuilt land to be put under the management of the royal family?”

Evelyn sighed in her heart. Shiro and Risa meanwhile wondered if his sense of TPO (time, place, occasion) was alright.

To say something like this at a party hosted by a member of the royal family, he was like inviting himself to a public execution.

Sequencee let go of both of their hands and got off stage. The crowd split a path open between them. Evelyn stood close to Leticia.

‘W-What’s going on?’

“It’s going to be alright,” Evelyn reassured.

“What do you intend to do now, murderer?” Sean grinned.

“I don’t know much about the regulations of the royal court, but I think your actions here could warrant death,” Sequencee said.

“Is that so?”

Sean looked much larger than Sequencee in terms of size. It looked like a small guy was trying to stand up against a big bully.

“Leticia, does this mean you’ve decided to abandon your brother?” Sean shifted his attention to her.

Leticia, looking disinterested, said, “Sure...”

“Seriously? Is that the answer you’re going to give? How overjoyed he would be to hear that. I will relay the message. It was nice being...”

Sweep–

Plop.

His body was bisected cleanly into two parts. An invisible spatial tear in space accelerated towards him and dispersed.

Screams echoed as the corpse faded into black ash. The other instructors who saw, went blank. Evelyn frowned, Leticia recoiled at the pleasant sensation of seeing him sliced into two. Ro and Lilian froze up, Risa and Shiro readied themselves to act should anything happen.

Sequencee had revealed his horn, still somewhat wounded at the tip. Either way, it wouldn’t be long now for it to reach full recovery. He swept a glance towards the crowd. His detached cold stare sent shivers up their spine.

“Let me make this clear to everyone here. I am a demon lord, one of the sons of The Sovereign. Try anything on my wives, I’ll not hesitate to kill you,” his sharp and piercing gaze stopped a few seconds longer on a ‘special guest’ whom Evelyn had invited.

Cabural smile cracked. A pressuring silence loomed over the venue.

“You.. didn’t need to go so far..” Leticia croaked.

“No, I had to,” Sequencee said solemnly.

This feeling of happiness– why was she feeling this? What kind of person was she becoming, to feel joy from this kind of situation?

Sequencee stopped there and turned to her, “I don’t care what extreme methods I have to take, if it’s to protect you, I’ll do it from now on.”

– It takes shape and blossoms, the beautiful flower within her. Glorious petals unfurled, revealing the lushion pink colour within.

‘Sequencee..’

“I’ll make sure the family stops trying to bother you, alright?” Evelyn held Leticia by the shoulders.

– Her home destroyed.

– Safety ripped apart.

– Virginity taken away.

– Abused by her foster family.

– Forsaken by her last familial brother.

These memories flooded back to her. Yet despite all this, he stood up for her.

“Besides, that wasn’t his real body anyways.”

[“Sequencee, the one here was fake too.”]

“Do you have any clues to where the real body may be?”

‘Fake?’

Sequencee turned to Risa and Shiro.

Risa shook her head, she got nothing significant from [Blessing: Appraisal].

“It’s alright then,” Sequencee held his pendant, “Schwii, Reese will pick you up, we’re waiting.”

[“Alright.”]

Sequencee gestured to Evelyn, she nodded.

“Leticia, can you stand?”

“I can..”

Settling down the crowd after the expected interruption, Evelyn followed up, “I know Sequencee’s identity may come as a surprise to many, I implore that everyone here would treat him as equals. This engagement had been decided in hopes to avert the future of war between the two great empires. This matter was agreed upon by both the royal family, and the Sovereign himself.“ She breathed, “In other words, this is a banquet to unveil a new possibility of a future where demons and humans can finally coexist together.”

The crowd had mixed feelings, Evelyn saw their colours change and jumble into a mess. Though, the general hue was orange– the colour of curiosity and wariness.

“Please understand that this isn’t merely a marriage for political sake. I hold sincere feelings for him, and I find this engagement to be more of a blessing than it is a misfortune.”

The guests looked amongst each other. Many of which had looks of doubt, none dared to voice their thoughts, fearing that it may incur the wrath of the demon. More so, it was apparent here that this demon had close ties with the heroes.

Evelyn pushed Leticia in front.

‘A-Ah.. seriously? I have to introduce myself here..?’

“You can do it,” Evelyn whispered.

Leticia trembled, but knew that she needed to do something. Sequencee was looking at her from downstage, a firm expression on his face.

She took a deep breath.

“I am Leticia Estia, a victim of the incident of the demons which happened three years ago. Without going into too much detail, Sequencee was the one who saved me from the life which I was forced upon following the incident. While I abhor the fact that demons were the ones who took away my home, I can’t deny my feelings for the person who saved me from the humans that tried to take advantage of one. One of which was the man who intruded on us earlier. I apologize for the inconvenience, he wasn’t supposed to have come,” Leticia lowered her head, “I love Sequencee, and I’m happy he’s willing to accept my feelings. I am also grateful that the imperial princess has been lenient to allow me this position as his future second wife.”

An applause rang out as cheers of support resounded. Evelyn grabbed Leticia’s hand and smiled.

Then a gasp was heard.

Everyone turned to the unfurling of a black mass in the middle of the stage, a girl appearing from the shadow. A silky black dress wrapped around her lissom body, her cleavage minimally exposed. A dark red coat over her shoulders, translucent fabric layered over the skirt. Her short hair adorned with a white flower, stray strands of hair looped around her exposed horns. Below the dress, a black tail could be seen, and an opening of her back allowed her wings to show itself.

Schwii quickly held Sequencee’s hand. She then glanced at the small crowd. It felt foreign, to speak to humans like this.

Schwii smiled, nudging herself close to him to assert her fondness, “It’s an honor to be standing in front of everyone tonight. I am Schwii Arch. As a demon, a succubus queen, I hope to get along with everyone here.”

Funnily enough, her short introduction was met with awkward silence.

“Um.. did I come at the wrong time perhaps..?” Schwii muttered.

“Perhaps..”

Schwii was just about to let go of Sequencee when..

“Let’s get along!” Risa shouted.

“Oi?!” Shiro tried to zip Risa’s mouth.

Aaron began clapping. Followed by Nynim, Daizo.. the rest.

It soon spread to most of the guests. Of course, there were those that found it hard to accept, which Schwii thought to be fine. Evelyn had invited these guests on purpose for the sake of spreading rumors.

Schwii, faking a cough, continued away from Sequencee’s arm. “While it may be unadvised for such relationships between close cousins to exist, I don’t wish for it to be a reason to let go of him. Put otherwise, Sequencee, please take care of me from now on, and forevermore,” she stared at him intently.

“It would be a pleasure,” Sequencee smiled. He then turned to the crowd, “As embarrassing as it is to admit this, Schwii will be my third wife. I won’t be excusing myself from this fact.”

‘This is painful to watch..’

Leticia felt ashamed and unnerved by Schwii’s bold advance; Evelyn thought she would have to reassess her standing in this relationship; Schwii reaffirmed her resolve inside her heart to do her best to support Sequencee in this complex dynamic.

Not even the emperor was so bold as to announce himself with three wives in one go. And for this banquet to have such a purpose, many of the guests here would consider it a scandalous move on the demon lord’s part. Nevertheless, Schwii believed that this was appropriate to make a statement.

Considering the needs of each of them, it would be best to make it as open as they can to prevent any obfuscation of information. They didn’t want false rumors to muddle the truth.

“Congratulations!”

“You do you Sequencee!”

“May your love be blessed.”

“Don’t neglect them okay!”

“You’re going to have a hard time for sure, but I suppose you have no choice either way.”

Random thoughts were thrown here and there. The applause grew louder and louder–

Music resumed in the background.

Turning to the three girls.

“I’ll be in your care, Evelyn, Leticia, Schwii. This is not going to be easy to maintain, but let’s do our best.”

With their quack of an announcement, the real party began. Lively music played, people danced. Sequencee who had forgotten most of the steps kept tripping. At least there were two other people who also didn’t know how to dance. Evelyn would have to hire someone to teach them at a later date.

The food was great, Risa and Linton absolutely wiping the table clean, Shiro feeding Linzy.

Judy was with Grian, Din with other instructors. Cabural was nowhere to be found.

Leticia’s gang was having a blast, Quora and Daizo went missing from the merry group, Lilian and Ro making a clutz on the dance floor.

Reese standing in the crowd observed as these events took place. Having declined a couple invitations for a dance from a couple bold students, she kept looking between Shiro and Sequencee.

‘Was my memories false after all..?’

Reese, whose logic worked against cultural norms, couldn’t make sense of the current situation.

She looked towards the edifice of the pagoda in the distance, she caught a glance of a fleeting purple light.

“Just what I’m I to you O savior..” she muttered to herself.

As the party progressed, seeing as everyone else was busy with their own errands, Reese walked into the garden, alone. The buzzing cicadas replaced the sound of the fading music.

“Why do I feel like this I wonder?”

Her master, Sequencee had just announced that Leticia, Schwii and Evelyn would be his wives. She felt excluded, recalling the him from her past.

She held no feelings for him– or was supposed to not have any feelings for him.

“Life is a mystery,” Reese looked at her hands. Open, close. A sixth finger grew and disappeared.

Just a month ago, she had died thanks to Aaron’s interference. By chance or fate, she was reborn as a blood homunculus. She was still herself, but now unattached to the old conditions which held her hostage.

While not everything had come clear, there were fragments of her consciousness which she found suspicious.

She took a seat at a lonely bench by the side of a hedge. She gazed up at the sky.

‘What is this feeling..’

Seeing Sequencee declare them three as his wife while she..

‘What happened to us back then anyways?’

“What are you doing here all alone?”

“Hm?”

Reese turned to the source, and found Shiro there.

“Were you stalking me?”

“I was following you. So yes, maybe.. well, Risa told me to check what’s up, since you looked down.”

“Thanks.”

“That’s so unlike you. Mind if I take a seat?”

“Sure.”

Reese shifted her butt and gave him some space.

“So what’s up? Does it have to do with Sequencee?”

“Let’s talk about our future.”

“...”

“I’m kidding,” Reese giggled, “Though, that is something we need to discuss at length sometime. Perhaps not now.”

“Right..”

“Shiro, I have a question.”

“What?”

“Do you believe that Hero Rika is alive?”

“.. Why do you ask that?”

“As her worshiper, I’ve been suspicious of the teachings of our religion. When the new dawn arises, the hero will return. Something along those lines are preached everywhere.”

Shiro mulled a little before replying. “I believe she’s alive, somewhere.”

“You do?” Reese blinked a couple times.

“You know, before I came to this world.. Rika and I were supposed to be lovers but.. five centuries. Even if we happened to cross paths again here, I wonder if her feelings still remain the same? I think it’s really unlikely..” Shiro said depressingly.

“Looks like I learnt something new about you again.”

“Don’t make it sound so suggestive.”

“What about it is suggestive? Are you thinking of something else, perhaps?” Reese leaned on his shoulders.

“That’s what makes you dangerous,” Shiro didn’t move away.

“Am I?”

Reese closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of his shoulders, the light scent of perfume he smelled of.

“What if the 'true one' was the black knight..”

“The 'true one'?” he whispered back.

“The black knight.”

“Is that what the knight is called?”

“Yes. The 'true one', believed to be Hero Rika’s minion. Some say it’s her double. It’s a debatable topic.”

“Then, this 'true one' tried to kill my sister once.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

“But it failed. I don’t know why, it just left.”

“Interesting. I never expected that it would make a move on you too. Then there must be a reason why she acted that way.”

“Why would she destroy Estia barony, and kill Sequencee’s mother, that sort of thing huh?”

“Who knows honestly.”

She raised her head to look at Shiro, he looked back at her.

“If Hero Rika is still alive, will you still love her?” Reese asked seriously.

Shiro heaved a sigh. “It depends. If she’s better off without me, then I’ll back off.”

“Right..”

The world around them seemed to fade the longer they stared into each other’s eyes.

Reese closed her eyes. Shiro, who held her shoulders, leaned in.

“.. What are you doing!”

An interference.

They quickly parted.

A girl wearing a light blue dress, her platinum-blonde hair dangled loosely over her shoulder. Her mint-blue eyes shook, cheeks reddened at the sight of the two as she contrived a lance of holy-light and raised it high.

“Matilda..?” Shiro called out.

“Hero Shiro, get away from that witch!”

“Uh-oh–”

The bench was split into two halves.