Ceil stepped into the massive dining hall, which was constructed with white marble and decorated with banners bearing the symbol of the Codaire household: an open book with a tower above it, and atop the tower, a looming red eye with slit pupils, symbolic of demons.
Ceil's gaze shifted to the long dining table in the middle of the room, with numerous seats and plates set for each member and branch of the household. Ceil took a moment to look around and saw that most of the expected people were present; the only empty seats were the seat of honor and the two seats next to it. Ceil noticed the gazes from every other family member as he closed his eyes, nodded, and spoke in a nonchalant tone.
"Apologies for the late attendance."
Having sifted through the torrent of memories in his head, Ceil raised his head and slowly walked to his seat, which was directly next to the seat of honor.
Ceil's gaze shifted to Cassandra, who was sitting right next to the seat opposite his. She looked indifferent, but through Ceil's memories, he knew her well enough to know she was holding in her urge to burst out and say something to lighten the tension.
Ceil then heard the sound of the door opening again and turned to see who had entered. First was his father, Carden Codaire, followed by his older brother, Damien Codaire.
Damien walked over, his red hair glistening in the air and accentuating his black horns, much like they did for Ceil. In fact, Damien shared quite a lot of features with Ceil—they would be identical if not for Damien's slightly broader jaw and his short, well-cut hair.
As for their father, Carden, he had Cassandra's brown hair, or rather, it would be more accurate to say Cassandra got her hair and eye color from their father. He looked like Damien, but with a well-kept mustache adorning his face like jewelry. All four of them, however, shared the same shape of horns.
Damien walked over and sat in the seat opposite Ceil as their father took the seat of honor and spoke in a commanding voice, reflecting his role as head of the house of demons.
"Let us begin."
---
Sounds of biting, chewing, swallowing, and sipping filled the hall as the members began to gorge themselves on the food available. Ceil himself was enjoying a delectable block of solidified blood. Ceil was originally doubtful of the dish but quickly grew to enjoy it. He used his spoon to scrape up the jello-like piece and put it in his mouth. The block would melt and burst into blood, which tasted like finely ground beef. He also enjoyed letting some of the blood leak out of his mouth, imagining the horror movie appearance he would have.
He chuckled a little and thought as he put another piece into his mouth, "Maybe I really do deserve an Oscar for realism."
Ceil's thoughts were interrupted by the voice of Damien.
"Ceil, are you really only going to be eating that?"
Cassandra chimed in, "You should eat something with more substance. You look pale."
Hearing this, their father, Carden, put down his wine glass and looked at Ceil with one eye closed.
"Did you drink last night?"
Ceil looked at him, mirroring his expression, with one eye open as he spoke in his best nonchalant voice.
"No, I simply couldn't sleep for some reason."
Cassandra shot him a scrutinizing look.
"What... or rather, *who* were you thinking about, my dear brother?"
Hearing this, Damien let out a suppressed laugh as he looked at her with amusement.
"Oh please, Ceil thinking about someone? There's more chance of the moons in the sky combining and an ancient moon god coming back than that."
Ceil looked at his brother while squinting. "AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?"
Ceil wanted to shout this out loud but kept it in, shooting a glance at their father, who for some reason had a hopeful look in his eyes. It was no surprise—practically speaking, marriage was all Ceil was good for.
Damien was an outstanding mage, politician, and born leader. He was charismatic, had a will of iron, and commanded respect even from peers who were above him. As the firstborn of the Codaire family's main branch, he was destined to be the next head. As for Cassandra, she was an excellent swordsman and had been taken under the wing of the demon general Elara of the Frozen Leagues.
Then there was Ceil, with nothing special to note—no particular background, no outstanding talent, nothing. He didn't even have the family spell of the Codaire family bestowed upon him, so the only hope for him was to be used in matrimony to increase family connections. Thus, their father's hopeful look at Ceil was expected; it hurt to have to disappoint him.
Ceil raised his head and spoke.
"The chance of that happening is less than someone ever even thinking about marrying Cassandra."
A look of disappointment immediately came over their father's face as Damien nodded. Cassandra looked at the three of them and then shouted with a look of despair.
"That is not true! Once I grow up, I can snatch a man as easily as one can snap a finger. YOU'LL SEE!"
---
A few minutes later, as the household members were served tea, they began to discuss and talk about all the things going on in their lives. This was the most important time of the day for someone like Ceil, who had freshly transmigrated and needed credible information. Unfortunately, a lot of the information being thrown around was nothing more than useless gossip.
While this may have irritated Ceil to an extent, it also gave him comfort. Normally, in webtoons and novels like this, the protagonist is transported in the middle of a world-ending event or some sort of war. It was comforting to know that nothing of the sort was happening in this world.
The sound of a cup clattering against a teaplate resounded in Ceil's ears and across the table to every other member of the family. It was nothing more than a signal telling everyone to listen closely—only allowed to be done by one person, the family head.
Ceil turned his head, looking at his father, who had his eyes closed.
Damien spoke up in a mature tone.
"What is it, Father?"
He opened his eyes at the sound of Damien's voice. His eyes were deep, their slit pupils visible in the darkness of his green irises. Raising his head, he spoke.
"There is word of another holy war on the horizon."
Shock spread across the table as Cassandra dropped the spoon she had been using to stir her tea. A heavy silence spread across the table. Ceil only had one thought in his head:
"WHY THE F*CK DID I HAVE TO JINX IT?"