The Demon Lord Is An Angel
Chapter 375: Jealous Hearts

Chapter 375: Jealous Hearts

The day after arriving in the city, in the privacy of his own thoughts, Kassin’s mind buzzed with all the strange possibilities of what might occur over the next few hours. All the while Montmorency maidservants picked and plucked at the formal clothes he was being given, talking about adjustments and how soft the fur on his tail and ears was.

In truth, he found Montmorency fashion a bit stuffy compared to the looser-fitting styles of Gra’Rhuel. Kordia got away without being hemmed and hawed over for measurements because she had enough mana to fit a change of clothes in her storage.

Kassin didn’t even have a regular tattoo, much less a storage one. He had more mana than was average for his age, but that was because his mother had insisted he start learning enhancement magic in case he ever needed to escape a situation. She’d also said it was how she got her second tail earlier than most, but he didn’t feel anywhere close to that event... and Kordia was already at six.

He sighed to himself, wondering if there was anything he could do to catch up, unaware that from outside the room, several other maids were watching him with adoring expressions.

"That should be all for measurements," the maid in charge said. "We shall have your clothes tailored within the hour, young prince."

Stepping behind a screen, he stripped of the clothes he’d just put on, tossing them atop so that they could be taken while he donned his travel clothes. The sounds of the leading maid shooing away onlookers caught his ear for a moment, and he peeked to find several rather fetching women fleeing as they chatted with each other.

They were all rather fetching beastkin, which made him suspect it was now widely known that a beastkin prince was staying in the palace.

Wandering out into one of the three palace yards, he found a small contingent of thirteen or so mages exchanging spells with each other or at stone targets. In manasight they seemed more like fireflies compared to the bonfire that was Kordia’s silver-edged near-blue.

She was out there too, demonstrating what she considered proper shielding. Segmented, hexagonal sections instead of the singular solid bubble. Lattice shields, which were relatively well known of but expensive in mana... and she wielded hers as readily as any warrior with a board strapped to his arm.

What does she even need from me? He wondered. Theirs was an arranged marriage. He’d somehow thought that, even if she only had three tails when last they met, he could catch up quickly. Perhaps be a warrior for her like his father was for his mother.

But he didn’t have much talent for weapons. He could do a bit of hand-to-hand combat, but after having seen Kir’s "martial arts" in a fight between him and a demon general, he felt completely outclassed even there. He was a competent mage, but competent didn’t feel good enough...

His hands tightened into fists as he thought of Kir. What does he have that I don’t?

Power. Genius. Confidence. An army... Put aside that he was a demon, and he was at least equivalent to a king now, even if he had no land...

The more Kassin thought, the more he wondered if Kordia was just humoring him until she could escape their engagement, or if she intended to go through with their marriage. She said she wanted to make things work without sacrificing anyone... But did that mean she wanted a political union between her and Kir and him? And what was the deal with Lapins?

As if thinking about her had summoned her, he heard a familiar clearing of the throat as Lapins came to stand beside him, Mercy at her back. She was wearing boyish clothes today.

"Prince Kassin," she said, offering a hand.

"Princess Lapins," he took the hand and pressed his lips to it, just like he’d been taught.

"She’s really something else... isn’t she..." Lapins sighed.

Kassin nodded, before asking, "Why did you date her?"

"Isn’t it obvious? She’s practically a prodigy. We’re both princesses... And I thought it would help things between Montmorency and Gra’Rhuel down the line."

"So you didn’t love her?"

Lapins burst out laughing. "Of course I love her. She’s a genuinely good person... But you should know how it is. Love is secondary to who we must be. What, did you think I would try to steal her from you?"

"The thought did cross my mind," Kassin admitted.

"You have honest ears, Kassin. From what she’s told me, she’s found a love unlike anything we are supposed to have... Politics be damned, she even said there would be a place for me with her if I wanted. And I have to admit, it’s inspiring to see her try."

"You mean a place under Kir?" Kassin scoffed. "I’m worried he’ll get her pregnant... and then everything will be ruined." Kordia hadn’t gone to Kir since this long journey started, but she hadn’t come to him either.

"Well, I can assure you that won’t be happening," Lapins said confidently.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that Kordia and I had a conversation over that very thing last night. In fact, I learned a lot about Kir, which makes things seem so much clearer over the last two years. But most of it was girl talk; you wouldn’t understand."

Kassin scowled at the ambiguity. He was used to being pushed out of the room when his mother wanted "girl talk" with her court.

"You don’t like him, do you?"

"What makes you say that?" his scowl deepened.

"Because I spent hours last night going over relationships I never knew existed, with someone who just may have the power to change things for the better, even though she never wanted it."

"Kir’s powerful, but is he really changing things for the better or is he just another king?" Kassin watched as another explosion did nothing to Kordia’s shields, and the mages gathered around to chat after.

"I was talking about Kordia," Lapins replied. "No one is powerful alone. That’s why kings have kingdoms. And the impression I have of Kir is that he isn’t going to be a king for long."

"Doesn’t matter if she’s going to stay with him over me..." Kassin looked away.

"You’re jealous," Lapins said. "What do you want to happen?"

Kassin clutched his shirt, feeling like he was under attack. "I want her to love me. Is that so bad?"

"You can’t make someone love you. Even if you love them," Lapins warned. "And if you’re jealous about it, I don’t think it’ll work. She’ll marry you because it’s the right thing to do because of what she is, but love? That has to be built... and she’s willing to do that. You just have to keep talking with her and figure out how."

"Is that what she said?" Kassin asked, forcing back tears.

"Not so much. It’s just something I inferred." She reached out, touching him on the shoulder. "Being jealous is tough... but I can set that aside to do what I must for myself and my future kingdom. Will you be alright, tonight, when I try to present Kir’s letter to my father and the court?"

"I’ll be fine," Kassin shook himself free. "I’m just here to make sure she’s alright," he tilted his head towards Kordia.

"She doesn’t need a protector... that much is certain..."

A moment later, all the gathered mages tried detonating spells around Kordia’s shields at once.

"Then what good am I?" Kassin asked as the smoke cleared to reveal Kordia standing atop an island amidst a crater, completely unscathed.

"I think... we need to be good for ourselves before we can be good for her. And I’m far, far behind in that regard."

"We both are," he agreed, tail swishing angrily.

"We could help each other with that," Lapins smiled, "if you’re willing to hear me out."

He looked at her, sensing there was something... mischievous, to her. It reminded him of his mother.

"What did you have in mind?"

Her smile widened.

*

Kassin returned to his room in a bit of a fluster.

It was madness... utter madness. But it could work! Lapins’ plan, if it could be called a plan, could do so many things... Hell, his mother might even approve once she found out...

If she found out...

A fear rose inside him. What if Kir didn’t approve?

If he didn’t approve, and it came to a fight... Would Kordia choose his side? Lapins and her kingdom and probably the angels would fight him if need be... even he couldn’t overcome all of that, right?

Surely he wouldn’t even know something was amiss until tomorrow. And once he did, he wouldn’t come alone, would he? That would be suicide, and Kir didn’t love Kordia as much as he did, Kassin thought. He’d stay away. Surely.

Right now Lapins was presenting her plan to Kordia. Kassin just wanted one day to... shift things, with Kordia. And she’d already called him that morning, so he knew they’d be at the ball... Knowing her, Kordia would want to relay Lapis’ proposal as soon as she had a chance alone with the radio...

Maybe I just need to make sure she’s not alone.

No, she’d report with him in the room too, and they only had hours before the ball. They had a private audience with the King and Queen of Montmorency, who were pleased to have Kordia and Kassin as surprise guests, or so they’d indicated last night during their brief meeting.

Making his decision, Kassin slipped out of his room and into Kordia’s, which was next door. He found her pack next to the bed and opened it, extracting the magic-made crystal that was the key to the whole device. The thing Kir had called a "quantum radio." The little clear quartz was only about the size of his palm, and he placed it on the ground before stomping on it with the heel of his boot as hard as possible.

When that failed, he put mana into the strike, pressing it until with a final crunch it broke into three satisfyingly large pieces. One by one he scooped them up and placed back in her bag before slipping out of the room and back into his own.

To his surprise, during the brief span of his departure, a maid had arrived and was waiting with his tailored suit. She was a wolfkin woman with a fully evolved body, to judge by the shape of her. "Your clothes for the ball, Prince Kassin... and may I say I think the blue will look rather fetching on you."

"Thank you," Kassin accepted the box with the clothes, feeling better about himself than he had for a while.

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