Chapter 131: Of Heels, Hunger, and the Moment the Castle Held Its Breath
Chapter 131: Of Heels, Hunger, and the Moment the Castle Held Its Breath
Everyone in the room turned to Seraphielle.
She didn’t look surprised. If anything, she looked pleased—chin lifted slightly, wings relaxed but alert, eyes glinting with the unmistakable satisfaction of someone who had just identified a problem and was already ten steps ahead of everyone else.
She gestured lazily at Vaelory.
"Take it off."
Vaelory blinked.
Then blinked again.
"...Take—?" she started, then stopped when she realized what Seraphielle meant.
She reached for the fabric of the gold dress, fingers hesitating only a moment before slipping to the clasp at her back. The dress loosened just slightly—
—and she froze.
She could feel it.
The weight of stares.
Rin. Seraphielle. The fox demon. Every single pair of eyes in the room was on her, attentive in a way that suddenly made her acutely aware of the fact that she was, in fact, about to undress in front of an audience.
Vaelory cleared her throat sharply.
Rin, catching on immediately, rolled her eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn’t get stuck.
"The human apparently thinks she needs privacy to change," Rin announced to the room, her tone flat with mild annoyance, like she was explaining something painfully obvious to children.
Vaelory shot her a look. "I don’t think," she snapped. "I know."
Rin scoffed. "Again, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen someone naked. The last human who died by my hands was naked too."
Vaelory gave her a look. "Again, not helping matters."
Seraphielle sighed, already turning away, her wings shifting as she faced the opposite wall. The fox demon followed suit without comment, rotating neatly as if the two of them had rehearsed this exact moment.
Rin lingered half a second longer, wondering why the other demons had just turned immediately.
She gave Vaelory a look—long-suffering, unimpressed, and vaguely judgmental—before turning as well.
"Prude," Rin muttered.
Vaelory didn’t respond.
She focused instead on the dress, sliding it carefully down her shoulders, then her arms, the fabric pooling softly at her feet. The room felt warmer without it, or maybe that was just her imagination.
She quickly stepped back into her old maid dress, the familiar weight and structure settling around her like armor. Once dressed, she picked up the gold gown, folded it as neatly as she could, and walked over to Seraphielle.
"You may turn around," Vaelory said quietly.
Seraphielle did.
Vaelory handed her the dress.
Seraphielle took it, inspected it with a critical eye, then turned to the fox demon.
She gave the demon a barely concealed look of disgust, and the fox demon returned the look.
Seraphielle made sure there was a little distance between her and the demon.
"Make it sexier," she said immediately.
The fox demon frowned. "Sexier?" she asked.
"Yes," Seraphielle replied, unbothered. "Something closer to what I would wear."
Vaelory’s eyes widened slightly.
Seraphielle continued, her voice smooth and unapologetic. "Naviel’s ex was a succubus. Succubi dress a certain way. If Vaelory wants to catch his attention, she needs to look like temptation, not restraint."
The fox demon hesitated. "That seems... excessive."
Seraphielle smiled thinly. "Excessive works."
The fox demon studied the dress again, her ears twitching once before she nodded. "Very well."
She set to work immediately.
Fabric shifted under practiced hands. Seams were undone and redone with alarming speed. The neckline dipped—then dipped further. The waist was taken in just enough to emphasize curves Vaelory hadn’t realized the dress could highlight. The material shimmered faintly as enchantments were adjusted, responding to the changes like a living thing.
Vaelory watched with a growing sense of dread.
When the fox demon finished, she held the dress up.
"...Put it on," she said.
Vaelory did.
The moment the fabric settled against her skin, she felt it—how it clung, how it shaped, how it revealed. The neckline plunged low enough that she instinctively crossed her arms before remembering that would defeat the point entirely.
She stepped closer to the mirror.
And froze.
The dress hugged her body like it had been made for her alone. Her waist looked smaller. Her hips more pronounced. And her—
She swallowed.
Her cleavage was unmistakably on display.
Vaelory turned slowly to Seraphielle, her cheeks burning. "A-are you sure about this?"
Seraphielle nodded once. "Naviel wouldn’t be able to take his eyes off you."
The fox demon frowned. "I don’t know if this is appropriate for a servant."
Rin, who had been watching with open fascination, waved a hand. "There are succubus and incubus servants in the castle. They dress like that all the time."
The fox demon rolled her eyes. "Succubi must always expose themselves," she muttered. "As usual."
She stood, bowed to Seraphielle, then turned on her heel and left the room without another word. Rin and Seraphielle were shocked that the demon had even stayed as long as she did with the ruler of the succubi in the same room, especially since both demons resented each other.
The door closed softly behind her.
Seraphielle scoffed. "I hate being around fox demons."
Then she turned back to Vaelory, her eyes scanning her from head to toe with renewed interest.
"Now," she said, "heels."
Vaelory blinked. "I don’t have heels."
Rin smiled.
"Oh, don’t worry."
Before Vaelory could ask what that meant, Rin shifted—her body dissolving into shadow and feathers as she transformed into her raven form. She shot through the open window like a bolt of black lightning.
Seconds later—seconds—she returned, her wings straining slightly as she carried a massive box in her talons.
Vaelory stared. "How are you even—"
Rin landed, shifted back, and dropped the box with a heavy thud.
"Talent," Rin said smugly.
She opened it, and inside were heels along with many shiny jewels. Vaelory had no idea how Rin had even gotten them.
Rin picked one shoe and handed it to Vaelory.
Vaelory slid them on.
They fit perfectly.
Seraphielle stepped closer. "Now walk."
Vaelory tried, but with every step she took, she wobbled. She wasn’t used to walking in heels, so this was a task for her—a very hectic one.
Seraphielle caught her arm instantly. "Posture. Shoulders back. You don’t walk in heels—you command them."
She demonstrated effortlessly, her heels clicking with lethal confidence.
"Again."
Vaelory tried again and failed. She tried three more times before she earned a "manageable" from Seraphielle. And she thought that was all until the instructions changed.
"Strut," Seraphielle told her. "You don’t apologize for being seen."
Rin frowned suddenly. "Wait, something’s missing."
She reached into the box again, pulling out jewelry—necklaces, bracelets, rings, chains. She began piling them on Vaelory with alarming enthusiasm.
"You need to shine," Rin said. "Being shiny is the best way to attract a partner."
Seraphielle intervened occasionally. "No. That one overwhelms her collarbone. Yes, that one. Remove this—add that."
Rin ended up with jewelry draped over both arms like sleeves.
It was sometime later—none of them were sure when—that they noticed the silence.
The singing from the gargoyles had stopped, and the chattering had stopped too.
Seraphielle’s eyes widened. Her wings snapped upright. She was the first to leave, and Rin wondered what was going on.
She and Vaelory followed her outside the room. They stepped out into the corridor but stopped when they noticed how every demon was staring in shock. One gargoyle didn’t move; he remained stone and fell straight to the floor.
The king and queen were back.