"For his sister!" Mirage's derisive snort made Victor blink. "Of all idiotic reasons to abandon a mission! What kind of demon gives this much of a shit about family in the first place?"
He kicked at the floor, petulant like a child. Blood droplets flicked from his heel, joining the others already splattered all over the marble. Well, it wouldn't be too difficult to clean up.
"Hmph, but I suppose you'd sympathize, wouldn't you?" Mirage turned those golden eyes upon Victor, his expression full of bitter mirth. "You're the expert in brother complexes, after all."
"If you say so, Captain," Victor said, keeping his voice emotionless.
Mirage lounged in the chair, one leg extended, his usual languid grace back in full force. "Family! Ha! As far as I'm concerned, it only chains you down. It's made you into a disgusting freak and that – " He fluttered his hand at the bloodstains on the floor " – a pathetic failure. Myself, I learned the true meaning of family the moment my father sold me into slavery. I suppose that's the one thing I should be grateful to him for."
"I'm sorry to hear that, Captain," Victor offered.
Apparently it had been the wrong thing to say, because the next thing he knew the rose that had been decorating Mirage's lapel slapped him in the face. The impact barely hurt – Mirage wasn't a very strong thrower. Victor watched impassively as the flower tumbled to the floor, shedding a trail of scarlet petals.
"I didn't tell you that to make you pity me," Mirage declared, drawing himself up haughtily. "I'm merely explaining why family is worthless. But you won't be persuaded, will you? Not when you put on that armor for your brother's sake."
Victor nodded. One thing the two of them could agree on, he supposed.
At least Mirage seemed to be back to his usual self. He even whipped out a hand mirror and absorbed himself in adjusting his bangs. With nothing else to do, Victor watched the captain work. His fingers wove through the silky pink strands with an almost hypnotic grace, and he studied the mirror with a diligence that Victor rarely ever saw on his face.
The dim blue glow from the lamps gleamed off Mirage's scarlet horns. They felt smooth to the touch, Victor thought idly, as if they were carved from ruby.
When Mirage snapped the mirror shut, Victor forced himself to focus on more relevant matters. The captain had leaned forward in his seat, his expression suddenly sharp.
"You know," he said, "I might have been going about this the entirely wrong way."
It was rare for Mirage to admit to any kind of error. Victor had to confess his interest was piqued.
"Yes, that's precisely it. I can't trust anyone. Not family, and certainly not this army of incompetents beneath me. If I want it done properly, I must do it myself."
Despite himself, alarm surged through Victor. "Captain, you're not – "
"Silence!" Mirage barked. "Use your brain if you can, stupid human. Of course I'm not going to fight. Indeed, why was I even attempting to best the prince in combat in the first place? As long as she has the homunculus knight, it's nothing but a fool's dream. No...there are other ways to bring her to me. Subtler ways. For is that not where my skill truly lies?"
"What do you have in mind?" Victor asked cautiously.
"Hmm. What indeed?" Mirage cast Victor a sidelong smirk, resting his chin on the back of his hand. His eyes sparkled with amusement, which Victor supposed was an improvement over sulking or scowling. "Actually, I think your precious Theo will be central to this plan."
Victor stiffened, hands curling into fists. "Don't touch him."
He fully expected a slap to the face at the very least for this show of insubordination, so it caught him off guard when Mirage merely laughed. "Spoken like the brother-lover you are. Relax, I won't harm a hair on his dyed head. Indeed...one might say this is a way to get what you want as well."
"What I want?" A prickle ran down Victor's spine. Whether from excitement or dread, he couldn't say.
"Of course, of course." Mirage fluttered his hand. "Think about it. You want the boy by your side, don't you? Then we merely have to lure him in. And Prince Darian, being the noble do-gooder that she is, will surely come to rescue him. When she does, she'll have fallen straight into our trap."
As he chuckled, Victor turned his words over inside his head. "But first we have to capture Theo, right? It won't be that simple, since he's the homunculus knight's wizard...."
"Who said anything about capturing him?" Mirage gestured and obeying the unspoken order, Victor stepped closer. "He wants to see you as much as you want to see him, doesn't he? Then we'll just give him what he wants. Or what he thinks he wants, if you catch my drift. By the time he realizes, it will be far too late."
He lowered his voice to an intimate whisper, forcing Victor to lean close to hear. Like this, all he could see was Mirage's face, the golden eyes alive with savage joy. It gave him some kind of pause, perhaps. Yes, he wanted to see Theo again. But Mirage no doubt intended to ensnare him through trickery and illusions.
Then again, what did it matter? So what if Victor wouldn't have to fight to bring Theo back to his side. The means weren't as important as the goal itself.
He'd already thrown away all pretense of honor and integrity. Abandoned it along with everything else – cello, Dad, his foolish weakness – that would only get in the way of accomplishing his mission. For this reason, perhaps, he did admire Mirage. The demon pursued his goals with steadfast determination, regardless of what anyone thought of him or how he dirtied his hands.
So Victor looked Mirage in the eye and lowered his head in a solemn nod.
Mirage leaned back, looking satisfied. "Of course. Even if I can't trust anything else, at least there's always your brother complex."
Victor bowed low. "Thank you, Captain."