Chapter 209: Understand

He glanced at Emelia, then halfway through his sentence,  he looked at Val.

Leon: “To put it simply, it is a manifestation of a demon’s desires. Of course, I’ve never seen it have such a lasting impact on a person's state of being.”

Hugh: “Val became a different person altogether. Can you simply call that his instinct taking over?”

Leon: “It might not be a prominent trait within my children, since you are half human. But within a demon, the instinct may come at any time. Val being of noble blood, of course, his instincts would be more concentrated.”

Sylphy looked under Hugh’s chin toward Emelia.

Sylphy: “Emelia.”

Emelia looked to see what it was.

Sylphy: “Hugh said Val changed when he was with you, what did it look like?”

Emelia spoke and everyone looked her way.

Emelia: “His voice and eyes changed. He was much more assertive and aggressive.”

Sylphy: “When you say his eyes changed, were they brighter in color toward the center? Almost like mana was filling them.”

Emelia shook her head in agreement.

Red: “Val’s eyes were like that when I asked him about the princess at the wedding. He was much more aggressive as well.”

Sylphy: “I remember Hugh was like that a few months ago.”

Hugh: “What are you talking about?”

Sylphy: “I don’t know if he was like Val with his instincts taking over, but Hugh’s eyes were very bright. His tone was very aggressive when he found me in the Asterisk Kingdom.”

Hugh: “That’s because you were bound in chains, being paraded around like a pet.”

Sylphy: “You still resembled that description.”

Val: “But His Highness remembers those events, I don’t remember some of the things that happened last night. Why’s that?”

Everyone looked at Leon.

Leon: “That comes down to the amount your instincts have taken over. Think about it this way. There are three main sides to a demon. When you restrain your desires or keep them fulfilled that is your normal self.”

“When you give in to desires slightly or just forget to restrain yourself, that is the half state. In both states, you can remember your actions.”

He looked at Val.

“Then from the behaviors I’ve heard you exhibit, that is the full demonic state. A demon is their most true and most reckless selves in the third state.”

Val “So me wanting to restrain myself isn’t what I truly want?”

Leon: “I can tell you want what’s best for Emelia. You try protecting her, but you also want her to be yours. I believe when you resisted my daughter's advances as a way to protect her, you subconsciously pushed your emotions and desires away. This much restraint from a human isn’t going to change anything, but from a demon, it will cause their desires to be released all at once and they will lose themselves.”

Luna noticed the looks on everyone’s faces, they didn’t like the sound of this unescapable demon trait.

Luna: “It may sound bad, but losing control can come in handy sometimes.”

Leon: “Yes, I’d say the only reason I’m still here is because of it… Your father was quite the adversary, Val. A final swing of his sword could have ended it, but luckily I heard Luna call out to me. The instincts took over, and before I knew what happened the fight was over.”

Emelia: “Father, you are telling Val the story of how you killed his father. Isn’t that.?”

Val: “It’s alright Princess. I’ve heard the story plenty of times.”

Leon: “Look, Val, the reason I gave you my blessing is that you are a far better candidate for my daughter than any prince or noble individual. Hugh was going to make you a demon lord and have a great work ethic, so you're more than qualified. More importantly, you cared about my daughter so much that you disregarded your feeling and desires just to keep her safe.”

“Even though my rule has made demon kind less reliant on their instinct, it’s still hard to have complete control. Going this long without even indulging those desires only shows how strong-willed you can be.”

He turned to Emelia.

“I expect you to court her before anything else. I think last night was pushing the boundaries of what is allowed.”

Hugh: “I don’t condone this, not just because he’s going after my sister but because he’s dangerous. He almost choked me out last night.”

Val looked at Hugh.

Val: “Your highness, I am sorry for what happened last night. I’ll accept any punishment or way of testing my sincerity.”

Luna: “As long as Val accepts his feelings, I doubt we’ll see him lose control again.”

Emelia: “Yes, so let bygones be bygones.”

Leon: “I already warned him about losing control again, son.”

Hugh: “When was the last time we fought Val?”

Val: “We last sparred a couple of months ago.”

Hugh smiled.

Hugh: “Fighting helps appease a demon's instinct, doesn’t it?”

Leon: “It can.”

Val: “Your highness, I’ll accept any form of recompense you perceive as being necessary.”

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To be continued