Kieran leaned against the wall, keeping his breathing steady as he heard footsteps come ever closer. He peeked through the crack between the closet doors and waited for his chance. There were three timid knocks before the handle turned.

The person who entered was a slender young woman with long, sky-blue hair that matched her similarly colored brilliant eyes. “Young Master, it’s mor-” Her greeting stopped short, a gasp escaping from her lips. She rushed his bed and tore off the sheets revealing a pillow.

Kieran chuckled and decided to end the charade. He leapt from his hiding place with a loud, “Boo!”

Teal, the young woman, jumped. With a hand over her heart she said, “By Bel’ekah… H-How could you do that to me, Young Master? You-You know I scare easily...” She was pouting.

“Sorry, sorry. I just thought I’d change up the routine a little,” he said as he closed the closet.

Teal was the younger of his two caretakers, being only sixteen, and was also one of the two servants who called him, ‘Young Master’. She, along with Alexandra, were the ones he interacted with most ever since he reincarnated into this new world ten years ago.

At first, he thought he got lucky and was reborn into a family of high-ranking nobles, but that notion was soon corrected in more ways than one. First of all, he wasn’t a noble.

A manservant looked in from the hallway, “Your Highness, are you alright? I heard a scream.”

“I’m okay,” he said as he shooed the man away.

Teal began making his bed. “Alexandra is looking for you,” she said.

“What would Alexandra want from me so early in the morning? If it was important then couldn’t she have just come?”

“It’s my responsibility to wake you,” Teal said, shaking her head.

The second notion corrected for him rested on Teal. Protruding from the right of her forehead was a single white horn, small and fragile, like an accessory bought for Halloween. She was the first person he had ever seen with their ‘blessing’ out. 

Who would ever think someone like her was a demon?

“Anyway, there’s no time to waste, Young Master,” she held back her excitement but he heard it in her voice and saw it in her eyes. “His and Her Majesty have decided it’s time for your lessons!”

He didn’t want to ruin the mood but his shoulders slumped, “That’s not exciting.” 

That’s work.

“I thought you wanted to start your studies.”

“No, I said I wanted to read a book.”

She tilted her head, “Is there a difference?”

He sighed. Teal had a point. In this world where the technology level was at the late medieval stages, save for magic that nobody ever told him about, books were probably all focused on history and storing knowledge. Still, he wanted to enjoy that history on his own time, not with a red-haired drill instructor breathing down his neck.

Then, a thought hit him.

“Teal,” he said.

“Yes, Young Master?”

“I can go to the library now, right?”

“Yes? What d- Ah, hey, wait!” She called out after him but it was already too late. Kieran bolted from the room and down the hall. He dodged a couple of surprised servants carrying trays filled with various dishes. The juicy aroma of meat served to quicken his step as if it called to him from the library.

He might have been older mentally, but right now he was a kid again. Might as well act like it and keep suspicions low if reincarnation happened to be a common occurence. Also, who wouldn't want to be free of all responsibilities again?

He had never been to the library before but he knew the general location. Whenever he went to the temple to pray with either his mother or his two caretakers, he would spot it like a sore thumb. It looked like an add-on rather than something planned beforehand. 

After running for a while in the same direction, he stopped in front of a pair of massive brass doors that stretched all the way to the ceiling. As Kieran tried to figure out how he could get inside, a group of white robed men appeared. An emblem of a tail coiled around a tree showed on their chests.

“Oh, are you lost, child?” said the oldest man in the group. “Are you here to observe the council?”

A bespectacled man nudged him, “What are you saying, master? The chamber room is at the opposite end of the palace. Besides, only scholars and Blessed bearing the rank of Elder Demon or higher are allowed to participate.”

“Please,” said a shorter man. “Do not hold your chest out so proudly. You are not yet a scholar.”

“But they let me in,” he cried. 

“Because your father holds the noble title of Claw Wreathed,” he snapped. “The Ywenir Family’s son will have his fate decided by the council soon. I pray they allow him into the scholarhood. He was so bright when we spoke last.”

“Now, now,” the old man said. “Becoming a royal guardsman is fine as well.”

The shorter man nodded and addressed Kieran, “You must be the son of a noble. Run along now. The second meeting should end soon so you should be able to find whomever you came with.”

Kieran, as excited as he was to be there, was frozen in front of these men. Among all the royal family members, his was the only face unknown to the greater portion of the public. His younger sister, Lyla, was more well known than him despite being three years old.

She also started her lessons on time too.

“I’m, uh, I’m here to see the library,” he stammered.

“Ah, an aspiring scholar I see. Yes, yes. That is good,” the old man smiled. Pleased over his misunderstand, he reached for the library handle. 

What?

Inside the massive brass doors were two other, smaller, doors.

They entered and he followed behind. Kieran’s eyes widened as he tried to grasp the scale of the library. Bookshelves were lined up from corner to corner, each as tall as six meters and even wider. The room had few windows but was artificially lit by a glowing ceiling and various sources at the end of the aisles. Attendants carried stacks of books, climbing up wheeled ladders, that were stashed away at each end, to shelve them.

A long table of oak-like wood sat in the middle of the room, at each of its ends hung the kingdom’s winged banner. Scholars filled each side, as they read and wrote. In the middle of the table were cups meant to hold the quill pens and small holes specifically made for the storage of the ink bottles. 

One of the bookkeepers had an entire stack of books in hand and held on up with his tail. He glanced at their emblem and greeted them, “Welcome scholars of Yathmarra and... young man? Is he in training?”

“Oh, he’s not with us but I would be more than happy to consider adding him to our ranks,” the old man said while patting his shoulder.

Suddenly, the librarian’s eyes went wide.

“That would not be possible, scholar,” said a voice from behind. Kieran shivered.

The librarian bowed, “O-Oh, that red hair…” his voice was shaking. “It is my honor to meet the Blood Demon in person.”

Blood Demon? 

All the scholars turned and upon seeing her crimson hair, greeted her with the same gesture. It weirded him out to see a group of men bowing to Alexandra like they might’ve done to the king or queen.

Her cold stare did not waver. She had sharp features but had an even sharper tongue,“You pay your respects to me but not His Highness?”

They all looked at him at the same time. 

“Uh, hi.”

They bowed and then quickly excused themselves from the situation. The librarian didn’t leave.  The book held in his tail dropped to the floor and he covered his scaly ears. His body shook as he kept his head down.

“This simple subject apologizes for his insolent behavior, Your Highness. This one did not recognize you.”

Um, what the hell is happening?

Kieran frowned, “Don’t worry about it and please, go back to speaking like you did before.”

After a few seconds, the librarian seemed to believe him and looked up. His tail was gone along with the scales. “Thank you, Your Highness. I am Kull, the head librarian. I did not mean to flaunt my blessings in the face of the royal family.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Kieran reassured him. “Teal has her horn out all the time.”

“The girl from the north? I see. The label of Colorless must have stuck with her then.”

His ears perked. Colorless. He heard the word a few times mentioned by the servants in passing but never got a full grasp on what it was.

“The king and queen are truly kind for allowing her to display her gifts,” Kull finished.

Gifts. Another reference to blessings, their demonic traits.

Through sneaking around, he saw them from time to time, their horns, claws, and tails. But never, not even once, did he see anyone with wings. It struck him as strange because all of the war paintings always showed the demons, or Blessed as they called themselves outside of battle, with wings.

If they thought Teal was Colorless and showing her horn counteracted that, then...

“Bring the books I requested to the private room,” Alexandra said. “Come, Young Master.”

She led him away from the safety of a few dozen eyes. His train of thought derailed.

Oh shit, she’s gonna murder me.

 

---

 

By the time he returned to the room, his head filled with the day’s lessons. History this, history that. Bel’ekah their god and his enemy, Rithorn. Blessed versus Humans. Blah blah blah.

Even though he looked similar to his past self, black hair, fairly large ears, and a roundish nose, he was hoping something had changed. Turned out, studying sucked in both worlds.

If it wasn’t for Teal’s humming when he came into the room, he’d have exploded. She organized the last of his drawers as he collapsed onto the carpet with a thick, leatherbound book in tow. She knelt next to him once she finished.

“Young Master, you seem tired.”

“An astute observation.”

“It seems like Alexandra taught you new words as well.”

With his face still planted in the carpet he gave a muffled “Yeah,” and stuck his nail into a page, pushing it up. A yellow bookmark dotted with black spots dug into the spine of the book. Teal opened it for him and took a glance at the page.

“You read quite a lot.”

“It took a while,” he muttered. 

Two harsh knocks at the door derailed the conversation. “Teal, come speak with me.” It was Alexandra. She walked him back and he thought she left.

“Yes, ma’am,” Teal gave him a slight smile and she closed the door behind her.

Kieran waited. One, two, three. He pushed the book away and pressed his ear against the door. This was one of the ways he obtained information about things he shouldn’t have known for most of his life.

“Have you spoken about the Colorless with the Young Master?” Alexandra asked.

“...Y-Yes. It’s been brought up-”

She cut her off. “Teal, His and Her Majesty allow you to keep your horn out of consideration for your circumstances, but the matter of the Colorless is not to be discussed with the Young Master.”

“M-Ma’am, I don’t understand why we’re avoiding this. Our actions make it seem as if he is Color-”

“Teal,” Alexandra raised her voice.

“M-My sincerest apologies! I did not properly choose my words.”

Unfazed, she replied, “You were chosen specifically to care for Young Master Kieran because of your particular skill set, despite your lack of experience and knowledge. I have no doubt the Young Master will unlock his blessings. However, do not speak of this again.”

“Yes, ma’am. Um, about the raise we discussed earlier this week...”

“It was not approved. You are paid more than other servants for your position as an attendant. The war has drained much out of the kingdom. The treaty will end in days and we cannot afford to risk frivolous spending should they choose to attack.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

He jumped back onto the carpet. When Teal came back, her smile was strained and she twiddled her thumbs. He swore he heard the words, 'It's not frivolous to us' whispered under her breath.

“Young Master, I apologize but we must continue your studies.”

Kieran sighed but sat up and rested the book on his lap. It pressed down on his little legs like a weighted blanket, a bit suffocating but relaxing at the same time. Teal observed from over his shoulder.

“Do teachers love reading over their student’s shoulder?” he asked aloud.

“Oh,” Teal shuffled to her feet. “Apologies, Young Master. That was quite rude of me.”

“I’m used to it.”

“Used to it?” Teal asked, tilting her head.

“Alexandra read over my shoulder the entire day today.”

“Alexandra did?”

“Mhm,” he nodded as he reread the last couple of sentences. 

“Really? I think I recall her saying- ah nevermind. Please, continue your studies, Young Master. I will be here if you need anything.”

He gave her a curious glance but returned to his reading with a slight smile. She knew there would be more lessons after the library and since she would be in charge, Teal took it on herself to give him the freedom Alexandra wouldn’t.

The book was finished with the story of the first people who split into the ‘Blessed’ and the ‘Humans’, and went on to describe The Sundering, the war between the gods.

“Are we humans?” he asked out of nowhere.

“Hm?” Teal, who had been reading alongside him, flinched at the question. “Humans? Uh, I-I’m not sure. We share the same ancestors but our gods are different, so...” Her silence went on for a while.

Feeling like she would never answer he asked a new question, “Are we at war with them?”

Teal patted him on his head, “No, Young Master. There’s no need to worry about war.”

Two weeks later, a year-long peace treaty ended. Within the next month, war was declared between the blessed kingdom of Kheonyth and the human empire of Marharden. The treaty was nothing but the smallest blimp of respite in their fifty year long war.