"Your Highness."
"Your Highness."
"Your Highness."
Marcus couldn't help but sigh.
'Well, isn't he popular…'
"Lord Kain." Another maid bowed as he walked through the castle's corridors.
"Good afternoon." He smiled.
The maid was visibly stunned.
Seconds later,
"I-I can't believe Lord Kain answered me…!" The maid whispered in disbelief.
Kain was already more than a dozen steps away, but he heard that whisper and chuckled awkwardly.
'Prized bachelor, I guess.'
The baby's gaze moved back towards the castle's walls. Marcus found tapestries and portraits very interesting.
'They're all blonde with blue eyes. Just like this guy.' He thought as his gaze moved towards Kain for a moment. 'I guess the King looks that way too. Now that I think about it, I don't really know what I look like…'
Dozens of guards, maids, and servants were passed on their way through the castle and down from the first floor to the ground floor.
A small amount had actually paid attention enough to notice the baby basket carried by the Lord.
"I should have had that same guard move you instead." Kain chuckled in a low voice. "Can't have everyone think I'm carrying a child of my own out of wed… Well, I kind of am, aren't I?"
'How?!'
It was obvious that Kain wanted to say more, but he couldn't do so freely due to the presence of maids and servants.
"You'll meet the King, your father, later. As well as the Queen… Although I would rather that meeting not taking place. Queen Lia is hellbent on seeing the bastard Demon child…"
'Bastard AND Demon child…' Marcus sighed before shaking his head. 'Going to meet my mother. I didn't have a mother in my past life. Well, I never got to meet her. So I'm kind of excited about this. Hearing that she was a Demon put me off, but if it's just a Human with some Demon blood like me, then it should be fine, right? Still, I get excited with each room we approach thinking that that's where she will be… When are we getting there?'
To Marcus' surprise, they walked down another staircase.
'Underground…? I have a bad feeling about this.'
And he was right to.
Deep under the castle. Four levels below the ground floor.
"It looks scarier than it is." Kain whispered.
'It's dark… The only light is from those torches hanging on the walls-'
Marcus' thought was interrupted as a sudden scream echoed through the darkness of the underground dungeon.
"That… Might be her."
'She's being kept underground like a prisoner? Like a Demon… You mean that the King impregnated her and threw her into a cell?! What kind of-'
Another scream echoed, sending a shiver down the baby's spine.
'Fuck, I'm actually scared of seeing her.'
A silence slowly settled, interrupted only by the rhythmic sound of Kain's footsteps.
"Oh, now that I think about it. We talked about blood, but not about the way we can spot Demons… It's actually incredibly easy to spot them."
'Guess I'll listen carefully. This does sound important.'
"The way to spot a Demon is to illicit a strong emotional respond from that Demon. There are a thousand ways of doing so, but some work better than others depending on the Demon. Some respond better to feelings of Greed, some to feelings of Lust, others to feelings of-"
"IT'S YOU!" She screamed. "IT'S YOU, KAIN!"
"When it comes to your mother," Kain continued, ignoring the screams. "Feelings of Wrath make it happen very quickly."
'Make what happen…?'
Two dozen steps away, two Guards could be seen through the darkness thanks to the torches they were holding.
"You'll speak to His Highness with respect!" One of the Guards shouted as he tightened his grip over his Lance and prepared to strike with the blunt side.
"There's no need for that." Kain interrupted.
"But, your Highness-"
"I said there's no need." He whispered as he placed a hand on the Guard's shoulder, which seemed to immediately freeze him in place.
"YOU… YOU TOOK HIM FROM ME!" As the Demon screamed, the two Guards slowly parted, allowing Kain to walk through the space between them. "GIVE HIM BACK!"
Marcus gulped.
He could only see darkness in the direction from which the screams came. It took a couple of seconds for his eyes to adjust.
Despite not being able to see them, the sound made it clear. The metallic chains around her screamed as she tried to free herself. As she tried to lunge in their direction.
"Phew." Kain whistled. "These chains are made of Nyrix. They suck out the Mana of anything they touch. Plus, the Nyrix is mixed with Adamantium. Still…" His eyes narrowed. "A crack on the chains… Who would have thought?"
"..."
Unlike earlier, the words that came from the Demon couldn't be discerned now. The quietest whisper.
"Give… Him back…"
Marcus's eyes opened wide as his vision adapted to the darkness.
For some reason, and despite the information given by Kain, Marcus had expected horns, bat-like wings, a tail, hooves… Something. Something that would justify putting her in a dungeon, in a prison cell.
But no, there wasn't anything like that.
'She's…'
Her body was covered by dirt. Her clothes were torn rags. Her pale skin was covered by filth.
Despite that, he could tell. Staring at her black hair that blended perfectly with the darkness surrounding her, staring into the endless abyss that seemed to reside in her eyes. He could tell that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
"..." Another whisper.
She seemed dizzy, and disoriented.
"You should rest." Kain sighed. "You can't fight like this only hours after having given birth-"
"Give me back…" She suddenly lunged forward, cutting him off. Another crack appeared on the chains, which seemed to visibly perturb Kain. Her voice echoed through the darkness sending reverberations through Marcus' chest, and the metallic chains around her wrists and ankles screeched once again as, from the bottomless void that resided in her pupils, a torrent of blood burst forth.
"My child!"
And her eyes shone crimson.