The Demon Lord Is An Angel
Chapter 376: Romance Of Three Kingdoms - Part 1

Chapter 376: Romance Of Three Kingdoms - Part 1

The slight chill to the evening air of late spring could not dampen the spirits of the party goers who arrived by carriage at the gates of Montmorency Castle.

Rumors of the reappearance of Gra’Rhuel’s lost prince and future princess drew in the curious and the scheming alike. Royals, ambassadors, and their guests queued in a long line as their invitations were received and their names loudly announced.

"Marquis Rymehart, and Lady Seflorian..."

Kordia and Kassin had been given the honored guest seats at the table with the Montmorency royals, and Kordia held herself alert and upright as she eyed the crowd, hoping her nervousness didn’t come across too strongly.

The crystal was broken... She’d had so little time after her audience with the King and Queen and she’d wanted to tell Kir the news but it was broken and there was no backup plan and knowing Kir, he was definitely going to come...

"Mistrum Jane Stefan Sterling, Esquire..."

Kordia kept looking around for Kir. Watching for his wolfkin disguise, even though she should have been making small talk and actually greeting the people who came to give their greetings to her and Kassin.

Kassin, for his part, looked a bit shy from all the eyes on him, especially from the beastkin girls who seemed to all be gathered at one table, eyeing him over their drinks as they hid their mouths behind hands and glasses to whisper.

Montmorency was a monarchy, so it made sense to Kordia that they would consider him far more than her. She was just trying to think of what to say about the crystal because she hadn’t had time to tell Kassin with all the maids around and getting dressed and-

"Are you alright?" Kassin asked her across the table as the next course was being laid out. "You haven’t touched your food."

On the other side of Kassin was Jassiel, with Lapins sitting to his left.

"I’m not really hungry," Kordia replied, barely looking at the braised white fish that had been artfully placed before her before looking back up. She spotted a wolfkin man at the door and stood to see more clearly before realizing that it was just an older gentleman in the garb of a plainsland merchant, with a large staff that assisted his slightly limping walk.

"What’s gotten into you?" Kassin asked as soon as she sat.

"I... I think I broke the radio crystal."

Kassin swallowed. "Why do you think that?"

"After all that dance practice and the audience I went to use it and it was broken. It must have happened after I put it away this morning or - or..."

"What’s the big deal?"

"Kir will be coming. He’ll be in danger."

"He wouldn’t attack here-"

"I’m not worried he’ll attack. I’m worried he’ll sneak in. With all the angels around, someone might see through his disguise. Or - or..."

"Are you scared of him?"

"I’m scared for him. If he comes tonight, it’ll be like he’s walking into a trap..."

"Why would he come now? He’s supposed to give us a day, right?"

"That was before we got pulled into this ball... and he’ll come because the crystal is broken!"

"So?"

"What do you mean ’so’? Kir told us it was one crystal in two places. That anything happening to one happens to the other. That’s why we were able to talk through it. Which means that when I broke it, I broke it in both places! Assuming Moshui’s watching it like she was this morning, he’d be informed almost as soon as it happened!"

A look of panic finally started to set in Kassin’s eyes. His ears flattened behind his head. "Kordia I... I need to tell you something-"

The loud bash of a gong interrupted Kassin as King Montmorency stood, glass in hand.

The only ones left moving after the guests turned to face their king were the servents, who quickly and silently charged as many glasses as they could while he spoke.

"My lords!" he gestured a bit at the crowd. "Honored angels!" he gave a slight bow to the Ambassador on his left. "Honored guests," he gestured with his free hand to Kordia and Kassin. "Tonight, we celebrate Princess Lapins’ return. Though it pains me as a father to cut short her education, I am more than confident that she has already proven her merits as both mage and noble. Would that her brothers were also here, if not for the invasion at our border. But rejoice, my citizens, for Montmorency cannot fall with Heaven’s might behind us. With time, and the the presence of Heaven’s guiding hand, one day we shall all see a secure and prosperous future from one shore of the Lakelands to the other. With Montmorency its capital."

He raised a toast, and the crowd replied with cheers before drinking after him. Kordia did not share in the toast except to lightly touch the edge of her glass with her lips.

Just as Kassin opened his mouth, Kordia assumed to resume what he was saying earlier, a crier stepped forth "Guests, the dance shall now begin. Princess Lapins shall honor us with the first dance."

Lapins made a face as she stood, ignoring the look she got from Jassiel as she quietly stepped out from behind the table.

Mercy took up a post at the corner of the dance floor. Before Lapins arrived, every eligible young man had been sent to the edges of the stage to await the selection of her dance partner.

But to everyone’s surprise, once she’d curtsied in polite greeting to all of them, Lapins turned around and raised both of her hands, open and inviting.

"Prince Kassin... Princess Kordia, would you honor me with a shared dance?"

Kordia and Kassin stood, just as they’d planned, and went hand-in-hand to the floor as the crowd murmured.

"Is she going to pick a partner or not?" Jassiel scowled, still seated as he sat back. He spoke loud enough that the whole room must have heard, and the angelic Ambassador on the opposite side of the king gave the young Executioner a withering glare. Not that he noticed.

"Angel Jassiel, I have my partners," Lapins smiled, accepting Kordia and Kassin’s hands as the band began to play a tune far jauntier than the normal Montmorency ballroom fare. A midsummer song meant to be shared by whole villages dancing in a circle, but on the floor, it was just the three of them.

Kordia and Kassin had enough practice from earlier to keep up, with Lapins leading and keeping the moves basic except for her flourishes. The crowd found the unexpected event enjoyable, at least in the sense of whispering their curiosity over what it meant right up to the moment it ended, and everyone broke out with polite applause. Lapins led them both in a bow towards her parents.

The band struck up a slower tune while the King and Queen clapped with strained smiles on their faces, Lapins’ father tilting his head a little at Jassiel while he widened his eyes expectantly.

But instead of doing what Kordia considered an obvious interpretation of the gesture, Lapins turned back around and placed her hands on both of their shoulders.

"That was more fun than I thought," she said as she started to sway a little into the slower dance, which more couples joined.

"I think we might have made your parents mad," Kordia whispered.

"They’re only worried about what the angels think. That angel they’ve been foisting me on doesn’t care at all about me or my people."

"Is he that bad?" Kassim asked.

"You didn’t spend a week on a boat with him, trying to be nice even when he flew off with his cronies to go kill the local wildlife," Lapins answered. "Ugh, I wish my parents hadn’t gotten Ambassador Jeviel involved."

Kordia grimaced, "Was everything alright in Norneau when you left?"

"Yes and no. The angels are wedging themselves into more places, especially with the merchants. All the refugees mean that everything’s up in the air, especially with all of Lumin’s reforms, and there’s some sort of mob with Heaven’s backing going around beating up demonkin to the point they started building houses over by the steel mill rather than come back to the city. If they knew an entire nation of demons was about to try and move in, there’d be no way to avoid blood in the streets, to say nothing of when they actually get there. Even I’m having a bit of a time trusting you that Kir will keep his demons in line."

"All that in three weeks?!" Kassin gasped.

"Politics is only slow when it isn’t fast, Kassin," Lapins advised.

Kordia sighed. Then she remembered. "What was it you wanted to say to me, Kassin?"

"I-"

"Can it wait until after the big thing?" Lapins asked, "I want to do it now before I lose my nerve."

"Wait, Lapins, there’s something I need to tell you too. Kir is c-" Kordia sped up her whisper as she felt Lapins pulling away but was too late.

Lapins had the look on her face she always got when she was steeling herself.

"Father, Mother, I apologize for interrupting the dance, but if you would allow it, may I address the court?"

"Does this have something to do with that... unusual display?" Queen Montmorency asked.

"That unusual display was a diplomatic gesture," Lapins calmly explained as Kordia came to her place behind Lapins, with Kassin at her side. "One that I’m sure will be welcome, now that Montmorency needs all the allies it can get."

King Montmorency looked at Lapins for a long moment before casting his gaze sidelong at the ambassador angel, who was having a little trouble hiding his confusion before he gave the King a shake of the head.

Nodding his acknowledgment, the King turned to his daughter.

"I’m sorry, Lapins. I cannot permit it."