Lady Blodmane’s morning began with a concerning series of disparate reports of strange goings on across the estate in the night prior. She would have been far more concerned, had the likely connection between the seemingly unrelated occurrences not been already known to her.


    By far the most concerning were the rumors concerning Victor herself. Namely, that she’d called upon Damian’s branch at some unholy error to demand the branch leader’s blood. Victor had done no such thing—yet the Rank A mage had no doubt that someone looking very much like her had.


    Still, this was troublesome. It was troublesome that the Blackwell Demon was brazen enough to attempt such a thing—let alone that she succeeded. But what was more troubling was that now she’d have to reassure Damian and put a stop to any rumors. Rumors that are already spreading, given how she herself found out in the first place.


    Less concerning by far was the drunken report of another drunkard being shaken down for information in an alley nearby in the residential areas. That sort of thing wasn’t exactly normal, but it wasn’t uncommon. The only thing noteworthy was how close in both time and place it occurred to the impersonation and blood request.


    Aside from that, there were the numerous reports of ‘suspicious activity,’ followed by an alarm going off from a tripped ward in the archives. As Lady Blodmane stepped out of her manor and into the open air of the estate, she decided that would be the first place to go. Knowing everything that she did, Victor suspected she’d find the common cause of all this terrorizing the archivists.


    It only took the house head several minutes to reach the archives. She could have done so far, far faster—but she took the route that didn’t use skills and did necessitate the use of her feet. Walking was, in some circumstances, more dignified—not to mention better suited for a healthy combination of planning and procrastination. I really don’t want to deal with Damian right now.


    It was hard not to notice that the archives were still closed when she arrived. That was never supposed to happen, and it seldom did. I’ll take that as another indication our guest has remained on the premises. The only thing that could make one of the master archivists tardy was if they were still tied down with wrangling the Demon.


    And, as was often the case, Lady Blodmane’s predictions proved correct. In the very center of the main common area, surrounded by heaps of assorted scrolls and books, Master of the Archives Walter sat—by no choice of his own, as the poor man was at the mercy of a higher Demon.


    The tormented creature’s head snapped up at their arrival—as did the Demon Zoe’s.


    Relief, then confusion, and lastly an uncertain cocktail of dread and hope flickered behind the archivist’s haunted features. In contrast, the Demon wore a facade of sheepishness—as well as Victor’s own face.


    “Please tell me you’re the real Lady Blodmane and you’ve come to save me.”


    Victor quite nearly burst out in laughter at that. Just what did she do to him? He didn’t look injured or sick—less an exhaustion of body than of mind and perhaps spirit. “I’m the real Lady Blodmane and I’ve come to save you.” She paused. “Although, I do hope you won’t mind me asking what I’m here to save you from.”


    The archivist’s joyous expression faded as he froze. Victor could almost see the thoughts churning. He wasn’t sure what was going on, he didn’t want to admit everything, and he thought she already knew—but he had little choice but to speak. “Of course, Lady Blodmane. This evening—erh, I mean last evening—I detected someone entering the restricted section not long after the archives were closed. At first I assumed it was one of the younger members of the current noble generation hunting for forbidden techniques or the like. But uh.” He scratched his head. “It was actually some kind of shape-shifting monster…”


    Master Walter trailed off a bit, shifting a bit further away from Zoe and giving her a wary look. Victor had to make an explicit gesture to continue, and he cleared his throat. “Well anyway, it wasn’t acting violent and it just wanted me to teach it how to read, so that’s what we’ve been doing.”


    “Ah. I see.” That was only half true. While the explanation was both clear and enough to explain most of the incidents during the night, it raised a few new questions. For how fluent the Demon was, Victor assumed she was equally literate. She wouldn’t have left a written note otherwise. And while most higher Demons were good at communicating with mortals of any linguistic background, the ways they accomplished that were different from speaking. For that, even archDemons had to learn new languages the hard way like everyone else.


    Given just how fluent Zoe was in the Veyrse tongue, it wasn’t much of a leap to think she’d spend a considerable amount of time in the region already. If that were the case and she hadn’t learned how to read the language yet—what was the rush?


    Victor didn’t ask directly. She would find out eventually—and in the meanwhile, it confirmed how much Darius was still hiding from her. He wouldn’t even explain how or why this Demon is connected to the elder artifacts we’ve uncovered. Victor couldn’t blame him for it—she would most likely have done the same. I’ll just have to stay extra vigilant.


    It helped that the alchemist considered her an ally trustworthy enough to place such a critical piece of the puzzle entirely into her care. But enough of that. There’s much to be done yet—and I’m sure poor Walter could use a rest.


    “That was very good of you, Master Walter. I’ll see to it from here, though. I have business of my own with Ms. Blackwell here—may you take the next few minutes to finish up?”


    For the first time in their second meeting, Zoe Blackwell’s face lost its amused confidence. The Demon looked a little—nervous. That was understandable, but there was truly no need for her to worry. As for Walter—Victor had hardly seen the archivist happier.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    _____


    Zoe was not happy. Not only did the librarian guy call her an ‘it’ like everyone else—he called her a monster. A monster! That was beyond insulting. It’s deHumanizing! Literally! Did the people of this world not understand the concept of respect?


    “You do realize we aren’t Human, yes? We are also quite literally a monster.”


    Be that as it may, Zoe was not pleased. Sure, point about not being Human taken—but one, you can have guy monsters and girl monsters and so on—and two, monsters can also be people. Lilith already explained how higher Demons were the kind of being that the system classified as both. So really, I think I’m more than justified in being upset by this.


    Lilith didn’t have anything to say to this—not that Zoe would care either way. She had more important things to think about. For instance, what business did Lady Victor have with her? She hoped it didn’t have anything to do with her activities during the night.


    “I think that might be too optimistic.” Lilith didn’t sound nervous, which meant the pesky Demon was just messing with her.


    Lady Victor led her back to the guest house. That—wasn’t a good sign, but it didn’t have to be a bad one either. When they entered the main receiving area, though, the Rank A noblewoman sent a pointed look towards the lantern still floating along the ceiling. Zoe replied to the look with her most innocent smile.


    “I suppose you’re wondering why I brought you here.”


    Zoe nodded. She was wondering that, yes. Why bother asking? That was the sort of thing villains said, not actual people.


    “I am going to tell you what I intended you to read in my note.” Victor looked at the enchanted paper lantern again. “As well as some other things—now that they’ve come up.”


    Uh oh. Zoe swallowed. I think I might be in trouble.


    “First, before you steal things, please consider asking for them first. Even if you intend to get something by stealing if necessary, asking is more polite. It makes things easier when the answer would be yes. I could have gotten you a proper lantern.”


    Zoe didn’t know how to feel about that. “Are you implying I can steal things?”


    The look she got in response was devastating. “You may not steal things that I do not allow you to steal. If you can steal something, I won’t be stopping you by definition.”


    It took Zoe an embarrassingly long time to parse what Lady Victor meant by that. It seemed simple when she figure it out, though—it bordered on a tautology. She wasn’t allowed to steal things, but if she was able to steal them, Lady Victor wanted her to ask normally first. “Okay, understood. That’s fair enough, though I usually ask for forgiveness, not permission.”


    “Yes. You are a Demon.”


    Zoe didn’t know if she should feel insulted. She already thought that way before the whole Demon thing—before she’d arrived to this entire world. Perhaps to her surprise, that robbed the noblewoman’s statement of its weight. And yet, was the lost weight not replaced by the implication her very personality was Demon-like?


    “Being a Demon is hardly a bad thing.” Zoe rolled her eyes at Lilith’s interjection, much to Lady Victor’s momentary confusion. “It’s quite good when you think about it.”


    It would be more persuading to hear an argument for that from someone who wasn’t a magical parasite trying to consume Zoe’s identity. Piss off, Zoe directed at her, the adults are talking. She did want to hear what else the leader of the Blodmanes had to say.


    “Regardless of whether you choose to steal, I will not tolerate impersonations of my likeness. I suggest you refrain from using me as material for your abilities.”


    Ah. That was understandable. It looked like she wasn’t going to get in trouble for doing it once already, just judging by the current tone of conversation. Zoe would do well to keep the noblewoman’s feelings on the matter in mind, though—she had to remember not to impersonate Lady Victor in any circumstances where the information could get back to her.


    “So we’re still going to do it and just try not to get caught?”


    Did Zoe need to reevaluate Lilith’s intelligence? The answer to that should be obvious. Granted, Zoe didn’t intend to go running around looking like an influential Rank A individual without a good reason.


    “With that out of the way, I’ll summarize what I meant for you to know last evening. I’m not going to be babysitting you personally, so I’ve recruited a younger relation of mine to the task. He’s Rank B and an adventurer. I’ll tell you this now—he’s not happy about it. He’s the most competent house member who has enough of my trust and the necessary time to take it on. To that end, you might want to prepare yourself for threats, mockery, and general cruelty.”


    Zoe gulped. What kind of ‘babysitter’ was this? Every one of those things was worse than the last.


    “But for all his talk, he won’t let you come to any real harm, and you shouldn’t be in danger with him.” Victor paused. “Perhaps I should say you won’t experience grievous harm and he probably won’t put you in mortal danger.” She frowned. “If he stays with you.”


    Nice job trying to be reassuring. Could Lady Victor possibly make this worse? Grievous  harm? Mortal danger? And what was that about ‘if’ he stays with me. Zoe didn’t miss the subtle indication her supposed ‘babysitter’ might just give her the slip. But given the picture painted here—maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.


    “Well, I’ll be going now. I suggest you stay here. There’s a chance you might leave the estate later today, so we need to get you more presentable. That includes a way to disguise your nature that doesn’t rely on your own skills.”


    Oh? Zoe perked up at that. Something like that could be useful, given how taxing it became constantly maintaining lesser disguise.


    “Everyone should arrive here within the next quarter hour. I find it difficult to imagine anyone taking pleasure in hunting you down across the entire estate, so find a way to entertain yourself that doesn’t involve leaving the guest house.” The noblewoman paused at the threshold of the door. “And that doesn’t involve excessive property damage.”


    The door swung closed, leaving Zoe standing in the same spot she’d been all along. Excessive property damage? All she’d done was ask for directions, borrowed some blood, and made use of the public library. She had no idea why Lady Victor felt compelled to say such a thing. It’s just because I’m a Demon, isn’t it.


    Lilith chuckled. Zoe got the feeling it was at her expense—but for what?


    _____


    Meanwhile, in another part of the city, an armored Templar stood before the Verdanport Temple steps, cold sweat pooling in the gap between his gauntlets and his hands. He steadied himself. The prospective paladin debated all night whether to obey the instructions of Lord Loch. He’d come to a decision.


    Sean hurried up the temple steps. The young Templar had important information to report first.