A Demon had no need for sustenance in the way a human did but that didn’t stop Augrun from enjoying the chore and boon of humans, and that was eating off of plates and bowls with cutleries.

The cheese-glazed steak prepared by the inn was simply succulent and delectable. The rum that he washed it all down with was extremely fragrant with the right amount of sweetness and a delightful bitter aftertaste. The dessert was just as luscious, organic ice cream topped with chocolate biscuit crumbs. He was halfway through his ice cream when the door to the private dining room he was in flung open vigorously and in strode a maid with a deep scowl.

“Young master!” Sera roared.

Augrun cast a sidelong glance at her with a frown but he did not stop eating his ice cream. He could see Sera was barely holding in her anger but she still had the sense to not shout out his true title.

A troubled server trailed behind Sera hesitantly. The server looked like he was on the brink of suffocating but he breathed easy when Augrun gestured for him to leave them be.

Augrun turned away from Sera’s scowl and checked his pocket watch. “I said I will be gone for two hours. There’s still half an hour left.”

“That’s not why I’m here, young master!”

“Ice cream?”

“No, that’s not what I’m here for either!”

“Well, alright then? But can you keep your voice down? You’re making it difficult for the employees and uncomfortable for the other customers. I quite like this inn and I don’t want to be given an unwelcomed look every time I come back here in the future. They had good mead and steak and this ice cream is fucking delicious.”

Sera’s scowl deepened. “Where is the Progenitor?”

“I sent it back to its cavern after I was done with it.”

“Straight away back to the cavern?”

“No. We took a slight detour to a cake shop. We were wearing cloaks and masks, of course. For a clumpy mass of black worms, you would never think that it loves cakes. And it loves sharing things too.”

“So it’s true… I thought I was going crazy when I saw the maids and servants having cakes from the human realm and they told me the Progenitor gave it to them.” 

“That does sound very bizarre when you put it like that.”

“What were you thinking, young master? Do you understand the severity of bringing the Progenitor out of the Abyss Valley, let alone walking it around a human settlement?”

“I was thinking that it was pitiful that the Progenitor doesn’t seem to think it could enjoy the wonders that we all had taken for granted. So after it helped me with my problem, I decided to treat it to some cakes.”

Sera sighed with a scoff of disbelief. “You used an Abyss Worm?”

Augrun nodded with his mouth full of ice cream.

“Do you know why Her Majesty did not use these things often?”

Augrun shrugged. “I have an idea as to why but tell me anyways.”

“The victims slowly become mindless thralls to Your Highness and the Queen’s will. They don’t last long and they are inept as spies and informants.”

“I’m well aware of that, Sera, and it’s what I’m aiming for.”

“Why would you be aiming for such an outcome?”

“To make an example. To prove my point to those agents of ours who were beginning to think of ways to retaliate against us should the day come when we decide they are not worth the trouble.”

“You’re the Prince of the Demons, Your Highness,” Sera said with a low but firm voice. “You don’t need to prove anything to these humans. If they defy us, we destroy them. Simple as that.”

“I don’t need to prove anything but I want to do that anyway. I have been on the receiving end of this sort of treatment for my whole life. I want to know how it feels like to be the one on the other end.”

“And how does it feel like?”

“Exhilarating. Addicting, even. You are fully aware of how terrible you are being but the ecstasy simply overwhelms everything. I enjoyed every second of it as I tortured and tormented that poor old Lord Bealor.”

Sera raised an eyebrow. “The one you made an example of by putting an Abyss Worm into his brain is Lord Bealor?”

“Problem?”

“Besides Lady Valena, he is the only agent we have who is close to the king.”

“Well, we still have Valena, then. By the way, who is she to the king?”

“She’s the king’s fifth consort.”

Augrun raised his brows higher than Sera did to hers. “How many consorts does the king have?”

“The king has a legal wife, the queen. He has seven consorts and at present, nine mistresses.”

“Oh, damn. He sure has a lot of women. Must be tough satisfying all of them,” Augrun remarked as he ate the last of his ice cream.

“From what I knew, the king does not satisfy his women and it’s not just the king. Human males usually don’t satisfy their women. They only care about their own pleasure and the women just have to put up with it by pretending that they are satisfied.”

“That sounds very stressful,” Augrun said, wiping his lips with a napkin.

“It had become a tradition for the women to learn to endure this sort of treatment.”

“Not in my former world…” Augrun muttered. “What about you, Sera? Are you satisfied?”

“That’s an unexpected question, Your Highness, and quite an unnecessary one.”

“I say it’s necessary, Sera. I don’t want you, Iora, Rynn, or any of the women that I’ll be having in the future to have that kind of… quandary.”

“Which is why it’s an unnecessary question to ask, Your Highness. Or do you simply enjoy hearing it from the mouth of your woman?”

“You know me so well, Sera,” Augrun said, taking Sera’s hand and tugging her onto his lap.

“I am more than satisfied, Your Highness, and I believe I speak for Rynn and Iora too. In fact, Your Highness, I was thinking maybe you could be a little less intense on us. Sometimes… it’s a little bit too much to handle, Your Highness…”

“I’m sorry, Sera,” Augrun apologised and they kissed, just lightly. It was no more than a brief touch of their lips but it was the complete opposite of perfunctory.

“It’s alright, Your Highness. For your sake, I will endure it even if it means breaking myself.”

Augrun chuckled with a cramped smile. “Let’s not be too fervent about that, shall we, Sera? As much as I love to fuck you all until I’m thoroughly quelled of all this insane lust of mine, I rather not see you broken after I’m done.”

“But Your Highness, I’m sure you have no shortage of suitresses and admirers. Even if I’m broken, you can always just—”

“No, Sera,” Augrun uttered earnestly, veering her gaze to his by gripping her chin tightly. “As I have said before, I will never break or discard any of my women. I’m greedy and lustful but I will not take any of you for granted. I will always cherish you all. That is my absolute vow and pledge to you, Iora, and Rynn.”

Red took over her cheeks and Sera cast her gaze down out of the shame that crept all over her face. “Forgive me, Your Highness… I was being presumptuous again.”

Augrun sighed. “You know what? I don't dislike that part of you, Sera. Be presumptuous as much as you want and I will just keep reminding you not to be.”

“Won’t that be tedious and vapid for you, my prince?”

“You will never be a tedious and vapid matter to me, Sera,” he declared and kissed her again. His hands slowly went from caressing her waists, stroking across her hips, to groping her twin soft and malleable rear hills.

Sera moaned but she immediately closed her lips and shook her head. “Not here, Your Highness…”

“Why not? Unless I call for anyone, no one will come in.”

“No… I don’t want anyone hearing my coition voice… That is meant only for your ears… Your Highness.”

Augrun simpered. “You truly know how to light my fire, Sera.”

“Your Highness…” Sera breathed feverishly. 

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and Sera snapped out of her tumultuous passion.

“Come in,” Augrun uttered loudly his permission without asking for the visitor’s identity. He didn’t need to. He already knew who the visitor was by his scent.

Sera was about to get off his lap but he made her stay. “Your Highness… they’ll see…”

“Let them. I want to show you off and let them know that you’re mine.”

A door was gently swung open and in walked a boy, dressed in well-tailored clothes, that looked a few years younger than Augrun. The boy bowed as soon as he entered the room. “Pardon me for the intrusion, my lord but are you perhaps Lord Augrun?” asked the boy, raising his head. He widened his eyes at the sight of a maid sitting on the lap of a presumably young lord with a tenor between them that was more loving than the one he had seen between his parents.

“Yes, that will be me,” Augrun answered.

The boy shook himself out of his shallow stupor upon Augrun’s reply. “My name is Mason, my lord. I have come bearing a message for your eyes only. It’s from—”

“Lady Valena, I know.”

“You do, m’lord?”

“I can smell her perfume on you.”

The boy, Mason, blinked with a blank expression.

Sera glared at Augrun.

“Jealous?” Augrun asked.

“No,” Sera replied instantly. “It’s about your response, young master. Are you aware of how that sounds to… them?”

“I’m fully aware, my dear Sera,” Augrun answered with a wide smile.

“I see,” Sera muttered dryly. “Please carry on, then, young master. Forgive me for the interruption.”

Augrun’s gaze turned back to the boy, Mason, and gestured for him to continue with the message.

The boy fumbled through the satchel on his waist and took out a roll of parchment sealed by a wax stamp. The boy then handed it over to Augrun, though it was Sera who took it from his hands. Mason was already perturbed by the sight of Sera sitting in the embrace of Augrun like they were in a stellar brothel. His perplexity deepened when the supposed maid received the parchment instead and the intended receiver didn’t seem to mind it. Mason widened his eyes some more when the maid tore open the wax seal and read out the contents in a faint whisper for the intended receiver. Fearing the repercussions of hearing something he wasn’t supposed to, Mason quickly excused himself and promptly left the room, closing the door behind him.

“He’s in a hurry,” Augrun remarked. “And I was just thinking about giving him a tip?”

“Give him a tip? What does that mean?” 

“It means to offer some compensation or a small token of appreciation for one’s minor troubles. Is there no concept of tipping here?”

“I do not completely understand that concept but we do have something called a bribe here.”

Augrun chortled mildly. “So, what does the report say?”

“Kara’s found,” Sera answered.

“Kara’s found?” Augrun exclaimed. “Truly?”

Sera nodded. “Lady Valena is very loyal. She has already done a lot for Her Majesty long before she was bestowed a portion of the Demon’s power.”

“Interesting to know but I rather know how she found Kara so quickly.”

“I believe it’s her network of maids and servants. She’s very lovely to them. This network of hers spans further than the capital and even the nation itself. Her spies often look into places and corners that no other spies would think of looking.”

“Maybe I should have asked her from the beginning.”

“It’s not your fault, Your Highness. Mister Alvon should have carved up the tasks from the beginning but he’s always eager to please.”

“Well, remind me if anything should happen to Kara due to this retardation, I’m going to make sure he does not see the light of the day again.”

Sera shrugged to those ominous-sounding words from her prince. “The report says that the noble who bought Kara got into an accident on the way back to his fief. There was a terrible storm that night. The carriage she was on fell off the cliff due to a landslide. Kara was the only one who survived the crash and she’s now living in a small town called Luxton just three days from the capital. And it would seem that Kara had lost her memories from that accident and she was taken in by a young knight from Luxton.”

“I see… so that’s why.”

“You already knew something, young master?”

“Iora did say Kara was the one with the brain. I just thought it was odd that Iora heard nothing from her, not even a small piece of crumb. She got into an accident and she lost her memories. How is she?”

“Kara’s currently doing well, a testament from the maid working for the young knight and a few other local servants. Kara woke up from the crash, covered in wounds. She wandered, limping, into the town like that and the young knight took her in then. She was properly taken care of but it would appear that she has to walk with crutches or move around in a wheelchair.” 

“At least, she’s faring well. What of the crash?”

“The carriage’s crash site was only discovered the next day after Kara wandered into the town.”

“And no one heard of this? Not even Alvon?”

“It says here that the messenger lost the report along with some other letters. He was chased by monsters in the forest while making his delivery and in his haste, he lost a lot of letters and reports he was supposed to be delivering.” 

“Yikes… What happened to the messenger?”

“Dead, young master. He hung himself since the court held him responsible for the loss of those important letters and reports.”

“Typical.”

“Typical, young master?”

“The unfairness, I mean. Something just doesn’t change. Well, let me digress. Luxton is a very lovely town with spring-clear rivers and lakes and lush forests nearby, if my knowledge is correct. The seafood dishes there are amazing and delicious. It’s also the capital’s largest source of freshwater seafood. They had good beer there too. Sounds like an exciting place to visit.”

“I have been there, young master. It is indeed a very lovely town but it does have its dreadful moments and bits.”

“So, do we have a… what’s the term again? Ah yes, a marker. Do we have a marker in this Luxton town?”

“A marker? You mean a portal anchor, young master?”

“Yeah, that.”

“We do, young master, but it’s in a place that’s very… unsavoury.”

“A place that you would call unsavoury… Where is that?”

“A cave on the outskirts of the town. The last time I travelled through that portal, the cave was… defiled by animals and beasts.”

“Fauna’s privy.”

“That’s… one way to describe it, young master.”

Augrun wiped his mouth with the napkins provided and rose from his seat. “Well then, let’s go.”

“Immediately, young master?”

“Of course, Sera. This concerns a woman of mine. My women always take precedence and priority, including you, Sera.”

Sera smiled. “I’m happy to hear you say that, my prince.” And they kissed again with her leading this time and it lasted longer than the last kiss they had. 

Augrun had to pry himself off of her for the kiss to be over. “Easy there, Sera. I thought you don’t want to do it here?”

“I thought so too, Your Highness…” she said, gasping for air. “But it just feels too good to be kissed by you, my prince… Everything you do to me is just… tantalising. Can we do it now, Your Highness…?”

“I would love to but Iora and Rynn need to hear this.”

Sera had a hint of disappointment crossing her gaze but she held onto her smile. “Understood, Your Highness. There’s always tonight.”

“Always,” Augrun affirmed with a knowing smile.

****

Augrun found Iora in the courtyard at the foot of the tower. She was honing her martial prowess as always whenever she had time. Thanks to the guidance of some of the veteran warriors among the Demons, her skills and abilities had increased by leaps and bounds in only a few days. This phenomenon could not be attributed to the warriors’ guidance solely. Iora herself was a fearsome and talented warrior in her own right and Augrun had heard many sincere praises of Iora as he walked through the halls and corridors around the tower. Sera had gone to retrieve Rynn who was at the library, not because she enjoyed reading books, but rather it was painting that she enjoyed and all of the painting supplies were in the library.

“Iora,” Augrun called out just as she punched her current sparring partner to the far side and off the stage. Her sparring partner for today was a Shadow Mould, a Demon moulded of shadows, hence the name. It was essentially impervious to physical harm which was just perfect as a sparring partner and punching dummy.

The Shadow Mould took notice of Augrun long before Iora did and once it was knocked off the stage, it slithered out of the courtyard in its puddle form to give its Prince and Lady their privacy.

“Augrun,” Iora returned a dry greeting. “What’s the occasion?”

“Occasion?”

“You’re always busy this time of the day, so why are you here?”

“You don’t sound happy to see me, Iora.”

“Are you here to fuck me because Sera or Rynn are unvailable?”

“Well… I will admit that such a notion does always cross my mind whenever I see any of you three but no, that’s not what I’m here for.” 

Iora raised an eyebrow. “Then why are you here at this time of the day?”

“Kara has been found.”

Iora spanned her eyes to their wides as she turned her gaze fully to Augrun. “You better not be joking about that.”

“Not about this, Iora.”

Iora was wearing the closest equivalent of sports undergarment of this world and her sweat had soaked through the fabric, giving Augrun a near-translucent sight of what was underneath. Iora would normally scowl at Augrun for glancing gleefully at her oversights but this piece of news had cast all of her sense of mortification aside. She practically dashed straight to Augrun and tossed herself onto him.

“Good god, you’re heavy!” Augrun exclaimed as he felt her full weight plunging onto him. 

“Where is she?!” Iora asked, completely ignoring the rude remark of her. “Where is she, Augrun? Is she fine? Is she here? Does Rynn know too? What—”

“Calm down, Iora,” Augrun said. “Kara is well and Rynn has been told by Sera.”

“Thank heavens…” Iora breathed easy, calming down from the sudden high that overtook her when she heard the news. “Where is Kara now?”

“In a town called Luxton.”

“Is it near?”

“Three days from the capital but there's a portal anchor in the town, so we will arrive there in an instant.”

“Are we going to Luxton right now?”

“Yes, we are.”

Iora inhaled deeply from her irrepressible excitement and kissed Augrun deeply on her own accord. “Thank you,” she said after she parted from the kiss with a string of saliva dangling between their slips. She was even sobbing. “Thank you… Augrun. Thank you…”

Augrun smiled warmly and kissed her again, which she let him do without any reluctance or qualms. “Your gratitude is needless, my sweet Iora. You’re my woman. This is just a matter of course.”