Chapter 186: Zorathys Watching As The Nobles Make Elyn Stand
Chapter 186: Zorathys Watching As The Nobles Make Elyn Stand
Elyn’s POV
The sound of her heels striking the obsidian floor echoed through the dining hall like the ticking of a clock.
Each step was precise. Unhurried. Deliberate.
There was no tremor in her gait. No hesitation.
This was a woman who did not rush for anyone.
Not even the King of the Demon Realm.
She stopped several feet away from us and dipped into a bow that was graceful without being submissive.
"Your Majesties."
Her voice was smooth, melodic, and threaded with something sharp beneath it—like silk wrapped around a blade.
Then her eyes found mine.
Up close, they were even more striking. White lashes framed crimson irises that seemed almost painted at the edges. Her fox ears tipped slightly upward, alert but controlled, and behind her, nine pristine white tails fanned subtly, their red-dipped tips brushing the air like strokes of ink.
She straightened.
"I am Duchess Aurelixa Vulpyr of the Kitsunegawa Territory."
So this was her.
The only nine-tailed fox demon in existence.
The wealthiest duchess after the royal family, which to my understanding was only Zorathys.
The mind behind the gambling houses, the orchards, the invisible strings of probability itself.
I inclined my head in acknowledgment.
"Duchess."
Beside me, Zorathys made a soft, unimpressed sound.
"You’re late, Aurelixa."
He said her given name like it was something mildly irritating he’d found on his sleeve.
Aurelixa turned her gaze toward him slowly. The only indication of fear was the way her eyes twitched, but that didn’t show in her voice. She was calm when she spoke to him, every bit of poise.
"I am already here, Your Majesty," she replied evenly. "And earlier than most of the other nobles."
Her tails swayed once, almost lazily.
Zorathys gave her a bored look. "You are later than me. I don’t care if the others are late. As long as you are later than me, you are late."
Aurelixa’s ears twitched.
"Will this result in some punishment?" she asked him.
"There will be no punishment," I said, giving Zorathys the side eye. "Zorathys and I are just early."
"So she says," Zorathys muttered quietly.
I glared at him and he sighed. "Fine. Since you are early, Aurelixa, there shall be no punishment for you. Now sit your ass down."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Aurelixa said, bowing her head again.
She moved immediately, gathering her tails behind her with fluid precision before lowering herself into the seat. The movement was elegant without being performative.
Zorathys turned his head toward me then.
"Firefly, you should take a seat too," he told me.
His shadows reacted before I could answer, sliding across the floor like dark silk. One slipped beneath a nearby chair, dragging it back soundlessly. Another curled around its legs as if presenting it.
I looked at the chair.
Then I shook my head.
"I’ll stand until the others arrive."
There was a beat of silence.
The shadows stilled.
Aurelixa, who had just settled into her seat, watched me with quiet interest.
Zorathys frowned slightly.
"Why would you do that for demons unworthy of seeing you stand?" he asked me.
I shrugged my shoulders.
"You don’t need to stand, Firefly," he told me.
"I know."
He studied me for a second longer.
"The other nobles do not deserve to greet you while you’re standing."
His voice dropped a degree, quiet but edged.
"Honestly, they don’t even deserve to see you."
"Zorathys," I said in warning.
"I’m not lying," he told me. "They don’t deserve to see you. They’ve not earned it."
"They don’t need to earn it, Zorathys," I told him. "And again, I’m not sitting either way."
"Do you like work so much that even when you are supposed to be relaxed, you work?" he asked me.
I gave him a look. "How is me standing work?"
"You are choosing to stand when you should be sitting and waiting for the demons who parade like they are nobles, when you should be sitting and waiting for them to kiss your feet," he told me.
"How does that even translate to work?" I asked him.
"You are standing," he said, pointing at me. "And it’s tiring. Anything that’s tiring and sucks the energy out of us is work."
How was that even—where does he come up with this?
"And now if you are standing, then I’ll have to stand because I can’t sit while you are standing," he grumbled. "And that’s tiring."
"Don’t do it then. I never told you to stand with me."
"But I’ll do it because you are standing and I like you too much to let you stand alone," he told me.
Yeah, right. The only thing Zorathys liked was his sleep and rest and also avoiding work like it was the plague.
Aurelixa made a sound when he said that, but Zorathys and I did not pay her any mind.
"Zorathys, for the last time, I am not sitting," I told him.
His brows drew together.
"This is the first time I’m being officially introduced to them," I continued. "I’m not going to be seated when they walk in."
The hall felt very large in that moment.
The ceiling arched high above us, carved with ancient sigils that pulsed faintly with dormant magic. The long obsidian dining table stretched down the center of the room, polished to a mirror sheen. Tall black candelabras lined its length, their flames steady and gold, casting elongated shadows that swayed against the walls.
The air was cool.
Aurelixa’s eyes flicked between us.
Then, without a word, she rose from her chair.
Zorathys blinked in shock. "Why are you standing? I’m trying to convince Firefly to sit and you are standing. Or perhaps you like torture?" he asked her.
One thing I was beginning to notice was that the way and the voice Zorathys used with the other demons was different from the one he used with me and also how he spoke to me.
Aurelixa didn’t flinch from his words or the underlying threat there.
"It would be improper for me to remain seated if Her Majesty chooses not to," she told him in a neutral tone.
"But you can be late," Zorathys muttered.
"I apologize for being late. My son was throwing a tantrum," she said to me.
"Always the nuisances being used as excuses," Zorathys muttered.
I glared at him. "Behave."
He sighed, then looked back at Aurelixa. "You are lucky Firefly is right next to me. I can’t say what would have happened if she wasn’t..."
I stepped on him, then smiled at Aurelixa. "Don’t listen to him. But like he said, you do not have to stand."
She shook her head. "No, it is a sign of respect to the Queen. I appreciate you telling me not to stand, but it is a decision I made myself."
The doors at the far end of the hall groaned open again before I could say anything, and I adjusted, taking my foot off Zorathys.
This time, two figures entered.
Heat entered first.
Then a contrast.
Ignivar walked in with his usual controlled stride. His presence carried warmth that brushed faintly against my skin, subtle but undeniable. Today he wore a long, high-collared coat of deep crimson, the fabric embroidered with fine threads of molten gold that caught the candlelight like sparks frozen mid-flight. The shoulders were structured, the cut sharp, the silhouette unmistakably commanding. Black trousers and polished boots completed the look, and a dark leather glove encased one of his hands, rings gleaming faintly at his knuckles.
Beside him walked another man with a scowl on his face. He made sure he was at a distance from Ignivar.
The temperature shifted almost imperceptibly as he entered.
He was tall, though not broad like Ignivar. His build was lean, refined. His skin was pale—so pale it almost seemed luminescent beneath the candlelight. Faint scales shimmered along the curve of his neck and traced subtly beneath his jawline, catching the light in soft iridescent glints.
His hair fell past his shoulders in a sleek cascade of silver-blue, tied loosely at the back. A few strands framed his face, resting against sharp cheekbones and a composed mouth. His eyes were a deep oceanic blue—steady, unreadable, ancient.
His attire flowed around him in layered fabrics of muted sea tones—deep green, slate, hints of grey-blue—cut in long, elegant lines that moved like water even when he stood still.
He carried no visible weapon.
He didn’t need to.
Ignivar stopped a few steps away and inclined his head in greeting.
"Your Majesties."
His tone was respectful but direct.
The pale demon beside him stepped forward and bowed deeper than Ignivar had.
"Your Majesties,"
His voice was low, smooth, carrying a quiet resonance that seemed to echo faintly in the hall.
The scales along his neck caught the light, glimmering faintly like something seen beneath a river’s surface.
The pale demon straightened.
His expression was calm.
"I am Lord Caleth of the Thalassar Territory."