ALGTS: 5

“Lord. A human is here to see you.”⁣

⁣

At that moment, lord was sitting in the giant bath. It had once belonged to the previous king. The one he had swiftly ended. The water was scalding hot, nearly boiling. “The human woman that spoke to me.”⁣

“Yes.”⁣

Of course. There was no other human that would seek him out. Even if they wanted to.⁣

“Very well. Just like the humans of the palace instructed you, welcome her in.”⁣

⁣

Everything was the exact same. Everything except the lack of humans. Celestria did an excellent job managing her face and body language, but it was wholly unsettling. The maid that led her to the sitting room was flawless, from the way she walked to the bow she gave. But she had vividly purple eyes and a slender purple tail tipped in black. The guards that escorted her were large and imposing, and yet one of them had green, scaly skin and the other was three-eyed. The demons had replaced the humans that serviced the palace.⁣

⁣

Once she was seated, she was offfered tea and refreshments. She did not decline. “His majesty will be with you shortly.”⁣

“Thank you.”⁣

And then she was left in an uncomfortable silence.⁣

⁣

It did not last long, however. After only half a cup of tea had gone by, Celestria heard the door swing open, and the soft, yet resounding step that she heard told her that the being she was looking for was here. That, and the way her skin prickled and her muscles stiffened.⁣

⁣

𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.⁣

Celestria gathered every ounce of courage and determination she could find just to stand. Her knees quivered ever so lightly, but they would not give.⁣

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥.

“Glory be to the Merciful King.”⁣⁣

⁣⁣

Before Lord could even see the human’s face, she had given a deep bow, holding her hands out. He simply stared at her, folded neatly and elegantly. “Mm.” He acknowledged, then sat in the opposite seat. He watched her return to her standing posture and swiftly return to stand by her seat. But she did not sit. “Why aren’t you sitting?”⁣⁣

“I am waiting for your permission to take my seat, Your Majesty.”⁣⁣

The lazy smile Lord always seemed to have on his face twitched. “Sit.”⁣⁣

And so she did.⁣⁣

⁣⁣

“Why are you here?”⁣⁣

“I have come to volunteer my services to you, Your Majesty. I wish to help you become a king unrivaled by any other.”⁣⁣

“Oh. Why is that?” She was silent for a while. The air about her was stiff, fearful yet purposeful. She was trying to gain control of the fear.⁣⁣

“Because a demon king ruling a human kingdom will have unprecedented challenges. Without a doubt, your demon subordinates are impressive, but I am unsure if they know how to navigate the socialites of nobles.”⁣⁣

“Are you saying they aren’t capable of this?” It was a genuine question, but by the way she shuddered, he wondered if she had interpreted it as a threat.⁣⁣

“Not at all. Just that it will take a long time for them to fully understand all the nuances involved in running a kingdom. The culture of demons and the culture of humans are very different. My only wish is to facilitate skillful communication between them.”⁣⁣

“I have learned everything I needed to learn about being a king from the library in this palace, as well as from the teachers of the crown prince. Why should I need you?”⁣⁣

Another silence. Another admirable attempt of the human trying to gather herself.⁣⁣

“Because there is nothing I want more for this kingdom than peace and prosperity. Even though I am but an ordinary noble’s daughter, I am the one that handed over to you this kingdom. I have an obligation to see it through to the end, and ensure that nothing happens to it.”⁣⁣

Oho. This made Lord’s faint smile widen. Although he had never spoken directly to a human being, somehow it was not hard to figure out what they wanted to say. I’ll make sure you don’t ruin this kingdom. Ill make sure everyone can live peacefully and happily. How wonderful it was that the single human being he was able to talk to was such a responsible one. And yet, he wondered how long she would last.