From now on, you can do whatever you want. I'm better off on my own anyway.

The words played over and over in her head long after they left.

I never asked either of you to put up with me, He'd said. 

Mary felt uneasy after hearing that. It was true he'd never asked them along. Vera was placed at his side by his father to keep him in line, but Damien no longer cared for his father's instructions.  As for Mary, he only took her along to keep her from his vindictive mother. Honestly, he did her a favor then. Muriel might've killed her just to prove a point. 

Why she didn't, Mary had no idea. She'd never hesitated to kill before and didn't make empty threats. Well, regardless, Mary was better off with Damien. 

That's why his words hit harder than she thought they would. Damien was kind to her. Both of them. Far more than Muriel had ever been. 

Now that they were alone and didn't have to worry about station or etiquette in the eyes of others, namely Elias and Muriel, he acted much differently.

Mary recalled many times when he'd surprise her with little treats whenever a wayward thought brought some unpleasant memory from the past. Or be at their side to carry them off to bed the moment one of them was about to drift off into sleep after an evening meal

On top of that, Mary in particular was shown much affection. It seemed as if he always had sweet words in storage for her. At first, it all made her feel a touch awkward. However over time she gradually accepted it. 

It also wasn't as if he expected anything in return. It seemed as if he merely enjoyed teasing and spoiling them. 

But between Mary's refusals and Vera's outright denials,  he must be wondering why they're still here. Any man would be annoyed, right? Being accompanied by people who constantly spurned his advances. 

Maybe he thought they were only still here to keep watch over him? Report to his father and mother? 

It'd be double-stifling then. No grown man would appreciate babysitters. Even though that wasn't the case here, she couldn't blame him if that's what he thought. 

"Is he... kicking us out?" Mary wondered aloud as they walked through empty halls. 

Vera laughed mirthlessly. "Of course not," She replied. "From his perspective, we were never obligated to follow him to begin with. He just never said anything because he liked being with us." Her face was pale, almost sickly. She had thought about his words to them all this time, too. And the more she did, the more ill she felt. "I'm sure you've noticed. That before, he still held some respect for his family and their image. So he practiced at least a modicum of restraint. Now that's gone and he's been getting worse. He only tried to keep himself tame for our sake, but there's no way he likes it."

Mary nodded thoughtfully. Her daughter knew him much better than Mary did. "So what changed to make him say this now? He endured before."

"He's more observant than you think," Vera spoke softly. "You think he can't read us just because our faces are like this?" 

Mary was silent. Now that she brought it up, he was the only person who'd been able to consistently tell how either of them felt. Even Elias and Muriel, people who knew her far longer--hell, Muriel had known Mary for centuries--could not do the same.

"He's noticed how we are around blood. Gore." Images of what he'd done to those bandits popped up in her mind just then, making her spine chill a bit. "So, you're asking why he said that? Because he knows that regardless of his justification, we feel sickened by it. Not to mention all this," She gestured to the throngs of people around them now, all of whom were mid-coitus. "Which we also find horrid. Like I said, now that he's out on his own and doesn't care about his family's reputation, every time he encounters scum he can't stand he'll just keep killing. As long as we follow him, we'll have to see that."

"And he'll see our disgust," Mary finished. 

To him it'd be like he was dragging them along, forcing them to watch and participate in such deplorable acts.  Maybe he'd even think they'd start to resent him for it? When in reality, they followed him of their own will. He'd never ordered them to stay, and even when he'd told them to help in this latest endeavor he phased it more as asking for a favor. 

I never asked either of you to put up with me, the words echoed once more.

So this is what he meant...

"I thought he was just irritated by our rejections," She admitted. "Or that he believed us here as babysitters.

Vera repeated that same hollow laugh, a short and humorless bark. Like the very idea was ridiculous. "He wouldn't care about such things. If anything he just takes it as an opportunity to grow closer to us. It's surely what he's thought about this entire journey. No. rather than dejection at our refusals, he's wondering why the hell we're still here even though he can tell we dislike what he's doing. Because he isn't going to stop."  

She ran her gaze across the ballroom as they passed, where the orgy bloomed in full. "At least not as long as he keeps traveling and meeting people who need killing."  Right then, and even earlier, hungry eyes leered at them.  "By the time this is over, a lot of men here will be dead too."

Vera loved the Damien who could be so overbearing with his care and concern of those important to him. No matter how they fought or cursed at him, like Vera, he would take in in stride and smother them in so much affection. 

But the merciless, cruel Damien did scare her. Even though she knew with an absolute fact he'd never turn that same violence her way, watching him maim and kill as easily as biting a nail was haunting. Deep down, below her supposed indifference and casual appearance, she found it utterly chilling. 

So did her mother.

He knew that. So he tried to toe the line. But once someone tried to target either of them, he refused to show that restraint.

Here, for example. He could tolerate them staring at her mother. She was a mature woman, with stunning looks and curves bountiful enough to put all others to shame. 

But they'd given the same ravenous looks to Vera, a young girl. That, alone, signed their death warrants.  She didn't pity the men, don't get her wrong.

It was only him being able to make the decision to kill so fast that frightened her. 

If he could be put in an environment where it was just him and those he loved, his cruelty would never show its face. But reality wasn't so gracious.

Vera recalled that sweet mirage shown to her by Bea. The image of his bare back soaked in sweat as he worked the fields, laughing as their children came out to mess with him...a simple life, surrounded by loved ones. That's the kind of life he wanted, needed. 

But there were just so many reasons it couldn't be with Vera, and he didn't seem to care about or understand that. He simply thought of them as "excuses." And he was getting tired of waiting for them to stop. 

He wasn't exactly telling them to leave. He just wanted them to choose. And If that choice wasn't him, then why stay? It'd be better if they were all just left to their own devices. 

At first, Damien only started sleeping around to taunt Vera, both punishment and urging. Are you really satisfied watching me fuck other women? 

He wanted to force her to make a move. To maybe explode and admit she wanted him to stop, that she hated seeing him in a constant string of affairs with women who didn't even care about or know him. 

Yeah, that was the original intention. But he was a Sex Demon. Corrupting and dominating women, bringing them to the height of pleasure and reveling in their subsequent adoration, came naturally. The more he indulged, the more he found himself enjoying it. Well of course. There was no reason not to.

Not for a woman content serving a woman she feared and maybe even hated, watching the man she loves forgive any and all transgressions in the naive belief his wife had any real goodness in her.

And certainly not for a girl who was too cowardly to even admit she loved him. Who was entirely convinced it wasn't even worth trying to be with him because she couldn't bring herself to believe they had any chance at lasting happiness. Maybe that he'd even find someone much better someday and leave her, or a thousand other little excuses and fears she used to deny him. 

That was the other side to it. He was indeed tired of their rejections, but only so far as he was starting to resign himself to the life of a manwhore already. Their continued presence, however, kept him hoping he had a chance at more, something real. 

All the women he'd met since his Incubus powers kicked in only wanted him inside them. And even if he got them fully under control, he'd always wonder. Do they really know, or care, about me? Or are they just enamored by my aura?

Sure, he'd been abnormally attractive since forever. But this time there was something more than pure physical blessings at play. Now there was a magical, supernatural pull.

Vera and Mary were among those who'd known him far before that became a factor. If even they couldn't love him, what chance did these other women have? 

Worse, Vera did love him. He knew that. She just wasn't willing to fight to have him. He knew that, too...

It frustrated her so much. Her weakness. If she was someone stronger, more confident, she wouldn't need to fear his mother. Wouldn't care about making those excuses. 

She wished she was more like Bea. That woman didn't seem to fear anything. Even though Muriel had utterly ruined her, before that she was the type of person who wouldn't have bothered to tip-toe around the woman at all just because she was so wildly outclassed. 

Her first words to Muriel were probably, "Mother-in-law~!" Though that was probably how she ended up turned into a Horror, now that Vera thought of it. 

"I'm sorry," Mary said quietly. 

"For what?" 

"Not being someone important." Mary couldn't look at her daughter, walking with her face forward."If you had been born to a mother more powerful, of higher status, you wouldn't need to experience something like this."

Vera scoffed at that. "You think that woman would care how highborn a female is? I could be the daughter of the Phoenix emperor himself and she'd still have problems with me."

No one was good enough for her son. Besides, he was Dolly's in truth. Only a daughter of Okeanos was worthy of a son of Okeanos.

"Well, that's because they hate each other," Mary made a pitiful attempt at humor. 

Vera ignored it. "At the end of the day, I'm not sure if the Young Master is destined for the kind of happiness he imagines for himself. I hope he can find it with someone, someday, but... I think he'll just have to settle for something a bit lesser," She muttered.

"By taking on concubines, you mean?" 

Concubines...

Women meant solely to bear his children and therefore increase the Dragon population. Of course, Dolly would be chief among them all, his true mate and likely his only wife.

She simply wasn't sure if Damien could ever actually accept Dolly as a lover, at least in his heart. Because his mother would surely find ways for him to accept her body.

"He'll love his children. And he'll attempt to love their mothers, too."

"Even if they can't really love him back the same way," Mary said drily. She'd all but read the thoughts running through her daughter's head a few moments ago. They weren't wrong. How could anyone in his situation not wonder if what they had with someone was real or just a fabrication brought about by supernatural charm? It's just that most in that situation didn't care. Muriel certainly spared it no thought.

"Perhaps he can pick one he especially likes and choose to believe she does love him." 

All of this was, obviously, the worst-case scenario. But it was also the most realistic, the one most likely to actually play out. Tragic though that is.

"After all, a lesser happiness is better than none at all."

Vera wasn't sure if she meant that solely for him, or for her as well. She supposed it didn't matter.

Mary shifted uneasily, folding her arms.  "And where will you be?"

Vera paused for a moment near the veranda. The moon was a small sliver in the sky, stars blacked out by clouds. Even so, it was beautiful.

"I've already resolved myself to staying nearby. Be content helping to raise his offspring. " It was probably the first time she'd told this to her mother. It was so similar to her own history that they both turned silent. The current situation was already identical, but the future as well? It was too much...

For the second time now, the image played out in her mind. That future. They'd be cute and mischievous, his kids.  Eyes violent and hair dark among them all, for she could not--or maybe didn't want to--imagine what traits their mothers may give them.

No, to her they were all little copies of their father, boys and girls alike. "Aunty Vera~!" They'd chirp. 

She could already tell that even though she'd probably make them cry more often than not with her face being like this, she'd still spoil them as often as she could. Giving all the love and affection she couldn't give their father. And just like that, the faces of her own little saplings faded away. Replaced. 

Tears all of sudden stung at her eyes. 

"Can you survive that?" Mary asked, blessedly intruding upon her thoughts. 

It was a cruel question, one that needn't, or shouldn't, have been asked. But she knew the answer, and it was one Vera latched onto with everything she had whenever she asked it herself.

 "You did."

Without a word more, she continued on her way. She'd go back to the room they'd rented in the city, away from all of this. Maybe cuddle with Rex and try to not be haunted by memories of Muriel's hand around her throat.  To not hear the whispers of, "He isn't for you."  With that same cold venom she'd hissed at Vera all those months ago.

As if Vera didn't already repeat those exact words on her own every day since, desperate to accept the truth of them. 

Meanwhile Mary, not for the first time, watched Vera's small, lonely back getting further and further away. She felt like an utter failure as a mother.  She'd never wanted her Vera to "survive" through something like this. All there was is sadness, heartache, and dead hope. She should've sent her away the moment she'd noticed the feelings Vera was growing for him. Should've done something, anything, to keep her safe from loving him.

But duty bound her, as did the very blood in their veins. They could never truly escape that family even if they wanted to.

What hurt the most was that she can already see something in her daughter starting to wilt. It was the same something that had been burned out of Mary herself so long ago.

The woman could only turn, as if peering through the walls, in the direction of a brightly-lit room off in the distance.

Grow strong fast, Young Master.  Strong enough to overthrow your mother, and fast enough to do so before you put her through more pain than even you could bear.

...If that meant she had to drag all the world's most prided Daughters of Heaven and deliver them onto his lap, then so be it.