In a large hall of the palace, a meeting of the diplomats representing the most important planets present at the event was being held with the utmost seriousness. At the head of the table, Seiran presided over the assembly of dozens of men and women seated in armchairs arranged in a circle around a coffee table on which sat a magnificent gold and earthenware tea service.
To her right, her mother, looking as stern as ever, was scrutinizing the assembly with her cold gaze. Everyone was afraid of the one they called the Regent. For no one was fooled, and everyone knew that behind the current emperor until Seiran's official accession to the throne, it was she who managed state affairs. Seiran's uncle was known to be idle and spendthrift, not at all interested in politics or intergalactic affairs. The one who kept things running and all the finances of the Ornikarn empire from disappearing into gambling and escorts every day was none other than the widow of the late Emperor Hijvrik.
And given Seiran's submission to his mother, it seemed that this would continue under her rule. It was not so bad after all! Stability was the best thing about intergalactic relations. They knew what to expect for the next thirty years and did not have to adapt to major changes in the conduct of their foreign policy towards Ornikarn. It was a situation that basically satisfied everyone.
-Let's just leave it at that," Seiran said, putting his cup back on the dark wooden table covered in pink marble.
The diplomats nodded and stood up, following the demon's lead. This meeting had been marked by tension. Tension created mainly by Yousmail, who had not let go of the prince's dark gaze throughout the entire exchange. The anger that radiated from his attitude had made everyone nervous, automatically tending the exchanges on crucial subjects. For this reason, Seiran preferred not to drag out the event.
As he escorted his guests to the exit door of the lounge, the Amadean princess gave him a murderous look as she passed him by. Seiran kept his professional smile. The vampire's moods didn't affect him in the least. On the contrary. The more she made a fuss, the more likely she was to commit a mistake.
After the sultry princess had left, he finally closed the door of the great hall all in gold and red behind the virtinian Prime minister and turned to his mother who was waiting for him in the back. She gave him a reproachful look. He approached her and tried to soften her up with a smile. He already knew what she was going to say.
"We've laid the groundwork for the creation of an exclusive free trade zone with our best-trading partners, isn't that good news?"
The regent sighed and turned on her heels to head to the back of the room, towards the door that led directly to the Imperial flats. Seiran followed her.
"That's right, and because of your nonsense, we almost lost our main partner in this! If I hadn't calmed Yousmail down last night, we would have had the biggest diplomatic incident in Ornikarn history to deal with!"
He didn't have to wait long. Seiran knew what his mother would tell him anyway. Now it was up to him to do whatever it took. He had to convince her, even if he hated the very idea of what he was going to say. He concentrated on putting on his model son's mask for the duration of their exchange.
"But it all worked out in the end! You did a great job and she didn't make any trouble," he smiled at her casually.
He knew exactly how to behave to extinguish her suspicions.
"Do you think it went well? She set everyone on fire with her eyes and her aura was more oppressive than ever!"
"She won't do anything serious if she wants to marry me," Seiran shrugged.
The regent then stopped and faced the blonde-haired demon who was looking at her with the same casualness.
"As long as nothing is decided, everything is in the balance. I've told you that enough times for you to know that now. So don't make the mistake of wrecking the most important deal of our era over a stupid story about an angel!"
He looked at her for a moment. His mother was quite anxious for a woman who was always in control and kept a tight rein on everything. Her behaviour was unusual, which intrigued him.
"But we're not breaking the agreement anyway, so there's no risk of this agreement not happening," the prince said.
"They can break this informal agreement at any time. And I remind you that, because of your insistence on not signing anything definitive, nothing will be finalized until you are officially engaged," said her mother, who started walking again.
They had stopped in the corridor that linked the reception rooms to the imperial flats. With a quick movement, she opened the door to her personal office. Seiran followed her inside and closed it behind them.
"I don't understand... They made us this offer, why would they go back on it?" he said once they were out of earshot.
"Because ever since Emperor Aroslan sent out that press release, a lot of our partners have been wondering if it's such a good idea to go after angels," his mother said, turning around. "They're suddenly remembering the power of angels during the Great Schism War. Not all of them, but some remember and distrust them. And now that they've seen the Emperor making threats to protect a minor prince from a distant planet, they wonder if the Aegean Empire would seriously take legal action against them to make them pay for their attempted assassination of the Emperor! And worse, if they would not renounce pacifism to attack those who threaten them directly! But we are literally planning an organised destruction of Egea and the elimination of the emperor. They fear discovery and armed retaliation!"
Seiran looked at her in surprise. He didn't think the members of the secret alliance would react to the Emperor of Egea's statement. Angels were usually mocked and derided in intergalactic diplomacy by planets close to the demons, he didn't expect that all of a sudden this bunch of morons would recover their memories and remember that angels were in fact very powerful people.
"All we have to do is reassure them that we are stronger than them and they will soon forget their fear," the crown prince nuanced as he sat down in one of the armchairs that furnished the room. "We are allied with the greatest intergalactic powers, I don't see what they would be afraid of."
Her mother began to pace the room. A crease in her forehead showed the nervousness that had overtaken her. This attitude continued to puzzle Seiran, who didn't quite understand her mother's behaviour. She, who was always so offensive towards the angels was suddenly becoming anxious at the idea of having to confront them when she was the one behind the secret plan to exterminate them. A radical plan that Seiran intended to put an end to before it even got started.
"Why do you think the enslavement of angels has intensified over the past twenty years? For the sake of having angelic slaves? There are so many easier creatures to capture and control than angels, why do you think I've gone out of my way to support the angel trade since I've been in power?"
Seiran did not answer. He could read the fury in his mother's eyes. A faint glint, camouflaged behind the icy mask she usually wore, but present enough for Seiran to notice. It was something passionate that burned deep inside her and pushed the rational woman she was to leave reason aside and let herself be consumed by a fire that pushed her to act against her own nature.
"I did all this to have constant leverage over the angels," she resumed in response to her oratorical question. "With all those slaves scattered around the world, we have our hands on thousands of lives that are all hostages that we can use against Egea at any time."
"And it is this drastic increase in the number of slaves in the intergalaxy that is driving Egea to want to put a permanent end to this traffic, using force if necessary..." thought the Prince at the same time as he pretended to understand as he slowly nodded his head. He was used to following his mother's ideas as if he shared them.
-They are our slaves, what do you want them to do?" he replied with the same false disinterest in the question. "It's not like you haven't managed to carry out your plan..."
His mother sat across from him and leaned forward to respond to her son's flippancy.
"Angels are much more powerful than we think, and although they are pacifists, they know how to pound their fists on the table. And when they do, it's always very painful."
She sat back in her chair and grabbed a sheaf of documents that were lying on the coffee table in front of her. As she leafed through them, she continued her presentation.
"That's why we need to reduce them to nothing, take away their ability to do harm and make sure they're no longer a feared people, capable of overthrowing anyone when they decide it."
She paused, scribbling something on a page and turning it over in a controlled gesture that ensured her return to her normal state. She had regained control of herself and was now back to being the cold, confident woman she used to be. It was then that Seiran realised that his mother was afraid of angels. It was not so much hatred as the fear that she hid behind her stone mask.
"Mother, why do you hate angels so much?"
He took a risk in asking this question, but his mother's strange behaviour made him want to understand. He had always thought that his mother was replicating the pattern she had learned from her own parents that were the norm for the Imperial family: ensuring demon supremacy in the intergalaxy and maintaining the angel trade. But what he had just seen was something different, something emotional. As if there was something personal about it all.
The regent did not answer immediately. She took the time to finish reading a document before looking up right into her son's golden eyes.
"You inherited your golden eyes from your father..." she began wistfully.
She sighed, then put the papers in her lap, turning her head to the large window just behind the large solid oak desk in the middle of the room before continuing.
"Don't make your father's mistake of trying to get close to the angels. No good can come from palling around with these creatures. Their place is in our service and nowhere else. To give too much power to such fickle and seductive beings is to lead the intergalaxy to its doom."
She quickly returned to her documents and Seiran did not interrupt her. Perhaps he had been wrong after all? His mother must have simply had a moment's fright when she saw the diplomats expressing reservations after Emperor Aroslan's press release. It was more in line with the person his mother was. He was about to get up to leave when his mother questioned him without looking up from her document.
"I hope it's nothing serious with this angel, Jangta? Yousmaïl told me that he told her you were having a love affair?"
Seiran bit his cheek. He had hoped to escape the questioning but his mother had not forgotten the main topic of their conversation. Seiran had come home early this morning to attend breakfast with his uncle, mother, and cousins, but he hadn't had any time with his mother all day. It was the first time they had been alone together, and he knew she wanted to talk to him about it. So he had been prepared for it, but when he saw that the conversation had taken a different direction, he thought that he might be able to slip through the cracks.
Unfortunately, the regent hadn't lost sight of the main subject of their conversation for a moment. She had simply waited until she had regained her wits before confronting her son with what she considered to be the crux of the matter. Seiran took a long, silent breath and imposed a mental straitjacket on himself that he had to endure. He had to in order to protect Niris. The angel's safety would depend on his acting. He had no room for error.
"Did he really say that?" he laughed. "Why do you give credence to what an angel tells Yousmail? He probably said it to provoke her..."
His mother looked at him with piercing eyes.
"You didn't deny it to Yusmail," she replied suspiciously.
"Mother, do you know how terrible Yusmail is? I've told her tons of times that she doesn't need to seduce me since the agreement between Egea and Amadeus on our marriage was already in place, but she never let go! I'm sick of her behavior, and I don't get along with her so I used the situation to poke her in the eye and hope she'd leave me alone."
The regent listened intently as she continued to read her paperwork.
"You should try to get along with her, she will be your wife for the rest of your life," she warned him.
"Not everyone is lucky enough to love their partner in an arranged marriage as you and Father did!"
His mother stopped short. Seiran noticed her hesitation but didn't ask questions. He knew she didn't like it when he mentioned his father and that's why he brought the subject up. His mother never spoke about her late husband and the prince was used to finding a closed door to all her questions about him. But her reaction to his pique seemed a little different this time. It was as if what he had said had awakened a memory in her, an emotion that she was trying to forget.
The regent was very strange today. Seiran had not imagined that talking about Niris and angels would arouse such reactions in his mother. She remained unmoved, but he could read the imperceptible signals that betrayed her emotion. His mother was a conscious being after all. She had feelings just like everyone else.
"Anyway, I'd appreciate it if you'd stop tormenting the Amadean princess and behave yourself until the ceremony. After that, you can do what you like, I don't care! There are few faithful couples in intergalactic high society anyway...."
Seiran inspected her with his eyes. This was where the hard part came in.
"All the demons do what they want with their slave angels, why shouldn't I do the same?"
"Jangta Okram is not a slave but a prince, whether we like it or not," she corrected in a deadpan voice.
"A prince! A prince of a planet forgotten by Egea itself and completely in our debt! Without us, their people wouldn't even be able to feed themselves! I don't see how that makes him any different from a slave to me..." he replied with a cruel smile.
He played his part to perfection. Over the years, he'd had to learn to pretend to support the slavery of angels. It made him want to vomit, but he was doing it for his survival. For his plan. Today, he was doing it for his love.
"Nobody's going to pay any attention to the crown prince sleeping with a nobody prince," he finished with that smug look he always had in these discussions.
His mother didn't reply. She watched him for a moment, pensive. Her son had never shown much interest in the slave angels of the palace, which reassured her. She was sure that he would never be attracted to these creatures that she hated viscerally. Also, the sudden interest he showed in his fellow Meripaean surprised her. She who thought she would never have to keep him from going to the angels saw in this little angel who didn't look like much, a potential threat.
"Even so, I don't like the idea of you being intimate with an angel. I've already lost your father to an angel, I'm not going to lose you to this insignificant creature either."
"You already lost me the day you killed Father." thought Seiran, containing his anger awakened by his mother's words deep inside him.
The regent's tone was unmistakable. Once again, Seiran was tempted to ask her about his father's death, but he restrained himself. He was playing a role. He had to stick to it and avoid any mistakes. For now, he was Seiran the model son who obeyed his mother, despised angels, and didn't ask disturbing questions. He was about to answer his mother when his uncle entered the room, a bottle of Nurpe alcohol in his hand.
"So, bogeymen, you still working?" he said in his gravelly voice, which echoed against the walls of the soberly decorated room.
His mother winced as she saw him enter. She only put up with her brother-in-law because she legally had no choice but to leave him the throne until Seiran was enthroned. Officially. Seiran had already become the crown prince on his twenty-third birthday. The demonic scum that was the interim emperor no longer had any imperial power, even though he had never exercised one before. She dreamed of being able to get rid of him for good by sending him to some castle around Yerpena where he could lounge with his slaves, playing with his money until he died.
"Party time, crows! Let's enjoy it! You don't celebrate an enthronement every four mornings!" he said, taking a sip straight from the neck of his bottle.
The regent turned her head in disgust at the scene before her. The half-dressed, unshaven demon in his fifties, with a bottle in his hand, staggering into her private office was unfortunately a situation she was used to experiencing regularly.
Seiran took advantage of the newcomer's intrusion to slip away discreetly.
"Don't drink too much, uncle, you won't find your way back to your room!
The latter laughed loudly and tried to kiss the golden-eyed demon, but Seiran dodged the smelly embrace. He headed for the door and apologised to his mother before leaving the room.
"I promised Eviris I'd train with him by tonight," he said to the marble-looking demoness.
His mother let him go without saying anything. Her gaze lingered on the door that had just closed on her son for a moment. She was pensive. This sudden attachment of her son to this Jangta intrigued her. She would have to dig into it to make up her own mind about the situation.
Once out of the room filled with files stacked in cabinets that reached up to the ceiling, Seiran walked to his quarters where he quickly took refuge after nodding to his captain indicating that he wished to rest.
Once inside his personal space, he slid down the door to the floor. With his head in his hands, he reviewed for a moment everything he had told his mother about Niris. Suddenly he felt a pang of guilt. This was what he found most difficult to do. Pretending to despise angels and treating them the same as other demons. That's why he avoided doing it as much as possible.
But he couldn't afford to avoid the subject all the time and sometimes found himself forced to play this role that revolted him. He laughed inwardly at himself. What a paradox! He who was in love with an angel found himself having to treat him like a slave in order to protect him. He hated himself. The very idea of what he had taken out on his mother revolted him. But he had no choice, and he knew it. He had to go through this and face his self-hatred to come out on top.
He sighed for a long time and got up. He needed to rest. He'd been going non-stop since this morning, and his exchange with his mother had exhausted him now that the adrenaline had worn off. Too tired to make it to bed, he lay down on his couch and closed his eyes, thinking of Niris, whom he would see in a few hours.