Two voices – the voices of my parents filled my father's study. He'd just returned from the human realm.
Upon arriving back home, my mother practically jumped on him. "We have to talk about that. Now," she commanded, waiting in the middle of the lobby as the front doors flew open.
That? Surely… She won't. Not that, right?Don't you dare!
I'd watched my father exit his black carriage from my window and up the stone path to the front steps. I burst out of my room, racing down the marble staircase to the second floor, and then, to the first.
"Father!" I'd almost cried out, happy to see him, but my hands stopped my mouth in time. Mother had beaten me to him. I couldn't risk being caught by her outside my room.
I made myself scarce and slipped back up to the third floor. As I sat at the edge of my bed in front of my closed door, an ominous shadow stopped outside my room briefly.
"Where's Luna?" the shadow asked. No response followed. "Haaah," it sighed, understanding the situation. "Don't tell me you both fought again? Why are you still trying to ground an adult?"
"No matter. Come on, hurry," my mother rushed. While she ushered my father towards his study at the end of the hall, just a few doors down from my room, I decided to act.
I'd better make sure. She'd better not.
And so, as the footsteps faded and the creak of the iron hinges cried out down the hallway, my operation began. I stepped out into the wide hallway, catching a waft of the scent that my father wore on him like cologne. It stung my nostrils, but smelled sweet. 'Plums', the humans called it.
I approached the door of my father's study, and once again, found myself crouching on the other side of the massive cedar door. This time, they'd left the door slightly ajar. Eavesdropping on them would be easy, I thought.
My father sank into his black leather armchair behind his desk, resting his briefcase next to it at his feet.
"So? What could be so urgent that we need to rush like this?" he asked.
"Well," my mother said, climbing atop the mahogany desk and facing my father as her legs dangled over the edge.
Phew. Her back is to me, but I still have to be careful of Father…
"I think it's time. Time that we introduce her to some prospective suitors."
!! This! This… Wench! You promised! Liar!
My mother's voice was undefiable. It was regal, but absolute. It was a voice that would make you kneel, whether you wanted to or not, and unfortunately, my father rarely went against her.
They both spent hours talking whenever my father returned from the human realm, but today was different. Even after I'd confronted my mother earlier and made her promise to drop the issue, it seemed like just empty words.
She doesn't treat me like an adult, let alone a succubus or a vampire. It's almost like I'm a doll or something… Just a pawn for her to control! Well, I'm not! But I know you don't care, Mother.
But it's no wonder. My mother, known in the underworld as the 'Goddess of the Night', was no ordinary being. She's a high-ranking devil – and "one of the most powerful beings in all of the three realms." Or so my history books had said.
When I was young, I felt lucky to have such a strong woman as my mother. But not anymore. Living in her shadow has been nothing but cold and dark.
"Lilith, darling, don't you think it's still a little too early? She's just twenty-one. Besides, I don't think that I like any of the young devils for her, either," my father retorted.
My father pulled his tie off and, along with his blazer, threw it over the guest couch in the middle of the room.
"But today, the house of Stolas sent an envoy, offering their son in an arrangement. They want to meet as soon as possible. I think we should really consider it."
"Stolas? That boring man? You really think his kid, who dreams of being an apothecary, could keep up with our Luna?"
Eugh! Stolas?! We've never even spoken!
"I don't think that's important, dear. Their house is in a similar standing to ours, and from what I've heard, the boy is nice. Luna is just inflexible. With time, we might even be able to absorb their house."
Is this woman serious right now?! So this is all just politics in the end, Mother?!
My father looked up at her and rested his hands on her waist.
"Haaah, what's the rush?" he sighed.
"Well, we have to eventually. The future of our domain depends on her, and I'm worried. She really doesn't know how to talk to the opposite sex, either."
If there was one thing she was right about, it was that. I'd hardly had any chances to meet boys when I was younger, and especially not since I became home-tutored while others my age went to magic academies.
"Tch," I muttered.
Why is it that she can't just trust that I'll find the person that I'm meant to when I'm meant to? And enough with the house! All that woman worries about is "The House of Gremory this", and "The House of Gremory that"! It's all just the name! I'm sick of it!
Earlier that day, my mother had been working from home, calling the human world to make contracts. The house had recently found itself desperate for energy for some reason, so she was recruiting "strong" humans. As for Father, he often spent weeks in the human world, mainly in the city they call 'Tokyo'.
Suddenly, I could make out my father's voice clearly again.
"Did you bring the stuff?" he asked.
"N-no, it's in my office. I'll get it soon, but… Darling, please! Focus! It's about time that she finally becomes an adult! She has yet to choose her path, and the way the house is going, we just might crumble before she takes over."
Strands of my father's long, usually well-kept hair fell into his face. He never usually looked so dishevelled, nor was he this bold with mother. Surprisingly, she didn't fight back.
"I understand that you're worried," he continued. "So am I. But remember that she's still young. We have to trust that she'll choose the right path for herself, which will in turn be the right path for the future of this house."
"I know that, but–"
"But nothing," he pressed again, as he slammed one hand on the desk next to my mother.
"She's at a critical point in her life. I mean, we are asking her to essentially take over a company as well as become a King one day. She's got to rule this whole domain and protect the peace with Heaven, after all. Give her a bit of space to step into it."
My mother exhaled, letting out a sigh of her own.
Ugh. I'm so sick of this. It's always the same thing. Succubus this, vampire that…
I didn't ask for any of this! Why couldn't I just be born into a more normal family? Why couldn't I just be born a human?
Despite my wishes, though, I was the farthest thing from being human. The blood of my father, one of the strongest vampires in the underworld, Marcus Gremory, ran through my veins, along with the power of my mother, Lilith. I vowed never to become like her if I could help it, though. Truthfully, I didn't want to be a vampire or a succubus, let alone a businesswoman, nor a king!
Why can't I just be 'me'?
I leaned my back against the edge of the doorframe and looked towards the high ceiling in the hallway. I couldn't look at my parents anymore. The more I did, the more I felt like I wanted to barge in and scream. I'd heard enough.
"Anyway," my father said. "Listen. What I returned early for was because of something concerning that I heard while I was in Shinjuku today. It's about the Bael family."
Huh? The Bael family? Aren't they the ones that went into hiding after the last Great War?
"Oh? What could those has-been recluses possibly be up to now?" my mother responded.
Good job, Father! Kill the conversation here!
"Well, I met one of the Sitri brothers in a cafe today. Said that they'd paid a visit to their domain recently on business. And whilst they were waiting to meet the Lord, the maids were all skittish. One of them apparently looked human."
"That sounds pretty normal to me, though? Haven't they always ruled there with an iron fist?"
"Yes, but here's the thing. Sitri said he smelled something. He doubted himself at first, but he swore to me on his name that he was sure. He said he smelled dead [inaudible] underground… Like they'd been buried there. And you know how keen his sense of smell is."
Huh? What did he say? Come on, father! Don't whisper!
"What?!" my mother gasped, planting her hands behind her. She almost fell off the desk in shock. Truthfully, my interest had got the better of me also. I had not only peeked back through the crack in the doorway, but half of my head had pushed its way through.
Crap!
I pulled myself back out and slowly began to stand up in case I needed to make a run for it.
"That's… That's impossible!" she continued. "There's no way that they could have made their way here! And what about Heaven?! Did they not know about this?!"
"I don't know, but if it's true, this is bad," he replied.
"Are you sure about this? You know that Sitri boy is prone to exaggerating. They love to spin a story."
"Unfortunately, whether it be exaggerated or not, is why I don't want to force Luna to decide on her future yet, or consider marriage. If we hand her the reins now, she won't be able to handle it."
Oh, thanks, Father! So here you were defending me just a second ago, but now I'm incompetent, huh? My mother is trying to control my life, and my father thinks that his daughter, his only child, is an incompetent buffoon! Thanks!
Before I could think, I'd started walking away. A wave of rage coursed through my body. My cheeks flushed hot, and my vision went blurry.
Not only had I heard this narrative before, but today was worse than any other. After I'd recently snooped around in my mother's study and tried to read up on the human realm, I'd been confined to my room for the last three days.
We had struck a deal. She'd stop trying to push me into marrying some noble from another family, and in return, I wouldn't try to learn about the human realm or contracts until she was ready to teach me. But now, she'd crossed me. My blood boiling and hands balling into fists, I crept back to my room.
"You know how they were after the war, Lilith. Their creepy interest in irregulars worries me. Anyway, just~" I heard my father's voice trail down the hall as I slipped into my room.
***
Shutting the door quietly as if pretending I'd never left, I threw myself back on the bed. My room sat on the third floor of our family's mansion. Many in our domain referred to it as 'Gremory's Castle', yet the criss-crossed bars that hatched the window made it feel more like a prison.
I pushed the glass window open, and a cool breeze greeted my cheeks. The thin white curtains that hung from the ceiling fluttered gently as the wind briefly soothed my fever. But nothing could calm the blaze that had begun to rage out of control within me. My mother was some kind of emotional arsonist.
Looking out and over the houses of the domain that stretched into the horizon, I lamented my birth and my captivity.
Why is it that I always wind up doing what they say, anyway? They're both never honest, and they never tell me anything, even if I do ask. "It's all for your own good, Luna." What a tired turn of phrase! I wish I could just get away from this place. No. I will.
It wasn't the first time I'd tried to run away. The last time, when I was a teen, I sprinted out the front entrance, but didn't get much further than the family's estate before the guards brought me back. Despite being a succubus and possessing superior physical strength, I was unable to overcome the guards, no matter how hard I fought. They had one incredible advantage over me: the ability to use mana. In other words, magic.
Being the daughter of two powerful magic-using races, the maids would avert their eyes from me, and their voices would tremble. The children at school would run when I'd talk to them, and their parents would shield them away. But that wasn't who I was at all. I couldn't use magic yet.
I pulled the window shut towards me, letting out a sigh as I rolled back over onto my bed. As I lay atop my bed, the frame of which was fashioned from the bones of a dragon slayed decades ago, I stared up at the ceiling.
Haha. It's crazy, isn't it? I'm supposed to be the next leader of this house, but I'm some kind of abomination who can't use magic, not even to save herself. Why? Why do I have to be the next head? I didn't choose to be born into this family. I don't want to be humiliated by magic again. I don't want any of this.
…
So…
I may as well just... Choose for myself, right?
With the end of that thought, something within me snapped. My room had become dark, and so had my mind. The moon, which shone peacefully through the window and bathed the domain in red, had now disappeared behind thick clouds.
My pulse, which I could hear racing in my ears, grew fainter and fainter until it disappeared. I had an idea.
If I'm going to do this, I have to do it right now. It's now or never.
Before I knew it, I'd snuck back out of my room and found myself in another – one I was forbidden to set foot in.
If she's going to break her promise with me, then the answer is simple. I'll break my promise with her.