It was around the time that I was meeting nobles after being taught etiquette by Lia. I was grateful to her, but it still got on my nerves that she seemed to always have the upper hand. Since I was always the one being teased, I wanted to get back at her at least once, but to do so I needed information.
Considering her connections and information network, there was no way I could secretly try to gather information about her. Therefore, I tried extracting information from the closest sources I could find. In other words, the succubi.
One day that I didn't have practice, I walked around and approached a slim, short-haired succubus that I found.
"Hello, do you a moment to spare?" I asked.
As she turned to me, I saw a subtle arrogance in her eyes, but she replied with the polite smile of a professional secretary.
"You must be Sir Elios, how may I be of help?"
"Oh, I was wondering if you could tell me what you think about the Queen."
As soon as I said 'Queen', the succubus immediately raised her wariness and glared at me.
'Damn it, that must have sounded too suspicious.'
In a frantic attempt at salvaging the situation, I quickly added, "Yo-you know, like cute childhood stories."
I didn't know how well my on-the-spot addition would work, but luckily the caution in her eyes was instantly replaced by excitement as she grabbed my hands.
"You want to hear about Lady Queen's childhood?!"
Since I recalled Lia telling me that her father looked at her with lust, I wasn't sure if her childhood was a very good topic either, but the succubus seemed eager to talk about it so I followed along.
"Yeah, that's right."
I was also eager to get some dirt on Lia, but I misunderstood her motivation. Once she got my confirmation, her eyes sparkled and she started.
"Then let me start from her birth, Lady Queen was born as the youngest daughter of a certain noble family. As her mother, who was already a low-ranking concubine, died during her birth, she could only rely on herself,"
I wasn't sure at first, but now I started to look forward to learning more about Lia. Unfortunately, the amount of useful information I got was small.
"That's all the information we're allowed to know."
"Wait, what?"
Ignoring my response, she went on with a faraway look in her eyes, "Moving on, I still remember the day that she rescued me. Me and some other girls had been captured from our village to be sold as slaves. As the eldest, I felt responsible for the rest of them so I acted strong but I was scared too. It was in our moment of need that she raided the caravan of slave traders like a prince on a metal horse. With one glance, I knew that she had to be one of proud lineage. Although she covered the top half of her face with a mask, the sensual aura that she exuded made me wet in an instant. I remember fidgeting in embarrassment as I hid my lewd reaction, but I noticed a few others in a similar position. She..."
The girl continued but I was starting to get creeped out so I slowly and silently escaped. If she wasn't so passionate I would have thought that she just didn't want to tell me anything important.
Although my first try ended badly, I still had hope that things would go better next time.
"Her dark hair glimmered beneath the moonlight. My heart skipped a beat as she turned around,"
Maybe next time.
"We were enemies on the battlefield, but I couldn't help but be charmed by her dashing figure. Looking at one so beautiful,"
The,re could still be-
"And then she pushed me against the wall and whispered into my ear,"
Okay, never mind.
I went through at least ten succubi, but not a single one provided me with anything but love stories. Tired of these responses, I decided to go to the library for a break. However, on the way there I met the devil I had been speaking of.
"Oh, Elios."
I briefly grimaced and tried to get away after a nod of the head, but then she said something that froze me in place.
"Why are you leaving so quickly? Don't you want to talk to me? You seem to be gossiping with my girls after all."
It was no surprise that she heard about my activities, so I sighed in resignation and faced her.
"I just wanted to get to know you better. Is that wrong?"
'I'm technically not lying.'
In response to the strong front I put up, Lia gave a sweet smile that nearly made me blush.
"I see. I'm glad that you're interested in me. So, after hearing their answers what do you think?"
I stared at her. I knew I wasn't perceptive enough to detect the intention behind her playful smile, so I answered truthfully.
"Honestly, I was surprised. Although they had some weird first encounters with you, I could tell that they weren't just in love with your beauty. They truly admire you."
Unlike my expectations, Lia's expression slowly turned solemn as she replied.
"That's good. As their ruler, I'm glad that they think I'm worthy of their respect."
Seeing this side of her, I couldn't help wanting to know more.
"Lia, why did you choose to become their Queen? Did you feel responsible for them as a descendent of Demon Queen Lilith?"
"Hmm, I suppose that might be one of the reasons, but no. Although I was born into a noble family, I had to fight for everything I wanted. I may have been a terrifyingly cute child, but that only brought me envy and suffering, so I strived to make a place for myself without relying on my charm. However, when I thought I had accomplished that, I realised that I still didn't have anything that was actually mine. Even the things I had to risk my life to get, were still items belonging to others. And so, I searched for something that would truly be mine."
There was a rare, determined edge to her expression that gave her a valiant air. I was vulnerable to her cold handsome face, so for a moment I imagined that we were close.
"And so you found the succubi."
"More like they found me."
"Hmm? What do you-"
"Elios, don't you think it's rude to pry into a girl's secrets?"
Seeing that she had reverted to her usual teasing self, I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head.
"Sorry, I don't remember that lesson teacher."
"Oh, then I guess I'll have to re-educate you."