Druella glanced at the battered woman to the side. She'd crawled off the bed and was now staring with fearful eyes. Her hair was partly stained with blood, but Druella could see it was light brown in colour and slightly curly.
Using her free hand, Druella removed her cloak and dropped it next to the woman, who quickly covered herself up with it.
"I'm sorry this has happened to you," Druella said. "For now, please be healed."
A soft red light covered the woman, causing her bruises to disappear in an instant. She blinked in surprise at the magical healing.
"And as for you…"
Druella turned back to Alain and decided to do something she might regret. She strengthened her connection with his mind, allowing her to peer into his memories.
The memories appeared as a series of visions with no apparent order. Druella saw Alain waking up, going to sleep, jockeying for power within his family, eating, interacting with other nobles at fancy parties… with relatively little time actually ruling, despite being heir to a count house and already a grown man. Judging from conversations he'd had with others, this lifestyle was actually quite common among Lescatian nobles.
Not that I have much room to judge that, Druella thought. Like many of my sisters, I've spent most of my time having fun. On the other hand, I never had to be part of "humanity's shield against the monsters", or whatever drivel they call themselves now.
At night, Alain amused himself with Mirri, a common-born mistress… though it would be more accurate to say she was his sex slave, since she had no choice in the matter. He'd kept this a secret since it was technically against the law in Lescatie. But even then, some of Alain's close friends knew about the relationship, and they laughed about it together…
A gurgling sound brought Druella back to her senses. She loosened her hand slightly before Alain choked.
Well, it looks like Lescatie has no shortage of hypocrisy behind closed doors… but what should I do now?
There were countless possibilities. Druella could kill Alain here and make it seem as if his friends were responsible. She could lock him in his mansion after evacuating everyone else, then set fire to the place. She could go on a rampage through Lescatie, killing every single one of these corrupt nobles. Or she could alter their minds by force so they all became devoted to their subjects and additionally sought peace with monsters.
But she couldn't. She was capable of doing these things, but she refused to. That restraint, and not the womanly appearances, was what separated monsters of today from monsters of the previous era.
Druella opened her hand, allowing Alain to slump to the floor. The nobleman gasped desperately for breath.
"G… Guards…" Alain said weakly. "Guar—mmph!"
Druella slapped a dark tentacle over Alain's mouth. After seeing his memories, she didn't even feel like letting this scum touch her skin.
Hmm… I can't do anything too overt… but I can't ignore this horror before my eyes. Then…
This is something I've only tried a few times… I have to hope it works…
Channelling demonic energy through her tentacle, Druella began to alter Alain's mind.
Druella had been trained in this field of magic by none other than her own mother, Demon Lord Lilith. And it was also her mother who'd taught her the importance of restraint, to respect the sanctity of others' minds when other options were available.
But now is exactly the sort of situation to use this skill. Persuasion or threats won't work here, not if I want to guarantee this stays hidden.
Druella searched around the inside of Alain's mind. It was a twisted and sickening place, like a shining castle with a dark dungeon full of torture instruments. Just being in here made Druella feel like vomiting.
After more than a minute, Druella came across Alain's desires. These appeared to her as miniature representations of Alain himself, carrying out the desires in question.
Trying her best to remain composed, Druella took hold of these desires and began reshaping them.
-ooo-
Five minutes later, Druella withdrew from Alain's mind and let out a deep breath. Alain was unconscious now, with an oddly peaceful look on his face.
It's not the first time I've done this, but it seems to have worked. But… I can't do this again.
"It's done," Druella said quietly. "He'll never want to hurt you, or anyone else, again. From now on, he'll actually behave as a noble of Lescatie should."
But I can't use this as a solution for everything. To begin with, altering the minds of many people would be nearly impossible to hide. And… it would affect my own mind as well, making me more willing to use this method in future.
"R-Really?" Mirri said, her eyes lighting up with a faint glimmer of hope. "That's… I mean, I don't doubt you, but—"
"It's the truth," Druella said. "More importantly, do you have any proper clothes? You may dress yourself."
Mirri quickly hurried over to a nearby green dress and pulled it on. The dress was torn in several places and was… stained with certain fluids. Druella quickly patched over the damage and cleaned it up with magic.
Serana would be a lot better at this, and could even whip up a new dress for her on the spot, Druella thought, recalling one of her younger sisters. But since she's not here, this will have to do.
"Where do you want to go now?" Druella asked. "I can't imagine you want to stay here."
"I… I…" Mirri said. "I don't have anywhere else I could go…"
"Do you have family? Friends?" Druella asked.
"I-I'm an orphan, I've never known my family," Mirri said. She held her shoulders fearfully. "And as for friends, I used to have one, but now—no, forget it. I… don't have any friends I could count on."
There was clearly more to that story, but Druella didn't press Mirri on it.
Druella spent a few moments thinking. Asking Mirri to remain in this mansion, even with the lord having turned over a new leaf, would be unfathomably cruel. Leaving her anywhere else in Lescatie would be risky, since she might just end up getting exploited again. An alternative was for Druella to bring Mirri with her when she left Lescatie. It would mean cutting her visit short, but it was the best option.
Or… is it?
Druella had used magic several times now while near the very centre of Lescatie. But there were no heroes rushing to slay the monster in their midst.
Lescatie's security is… far worse than I expected. Or am I just that skilled that I can avoid notice?
I shouldn't overestimate myself, Mother and Father always warned me against that. But… perhaps…
Druella gathered her demonic energy, placed a finger on her own forehead and whispered:
"May one become many… Mass Doppelganger."
Druella pulled her finger away and a copy of herself appeared next to her, causing Mirri to gasp in surprise. Then Druella repeated this gesture three more times, resulting in five of her now occupying the bedroom.
"I'm sorry for surprising you," Druella said. "These are magically created copies of myself. It's a somewhat complex spell, but a useful one."
"A-Are you a hero?" Mirri whispered. "I've never seen anyone who could do that… Well, I've barely seen anyone cast magic, so…"
"I'm no hero, just a travelling scholar," Druella answered half-truthfully.
While conversing, Druella kept all of her senses sharp. But she still couldn't sense any disturbance outside, even after casting a powerful spell.
I did try to keep my energy from leaking out, as much as possible, but… really? This makes me feel silly for going through so many precautions.
Still, Druella couldn't get too confident. There was always a possibility she might slip up and encounter someone who could see through her disguise.
"Alright, it's time to move," Druella said. "Do you have any attachments to Lescatie? I can promise you safety, but only outside the country."
"I… I'm not attached to this place," Mirri said hesitantly.
Druella knew this wasn't the full truth, but that could wait. For now, she had to get Mirri to safety.
Druella's four copies turned invisible, while the original Druella led Mirri out of the bedroom. They passed several servants as they walked through the mansion, each one causing Mirri to flinch, but Druella's presence ensured that none of them noticed a thing.
Then they stepped out of the mansion. The original Druella continued leading Mirri, while her four copies split up to take different routes.
-ooo-
One copy went towards the royal castle at the heart of the capital city. She remained invisible to avoid the increasingly numerous guards.
The Shield Keep was an awe-inspiring structure. At twelve storeys tall, it towered over any other building in Lescatie. It was built from white granite that gleamed in the morning sun, and a single Lescatian flag was flying on its roof. It was a match for the grandest castles Druella had ever seen… but it simply made her wonder what dark secrets waited her inside.
The main gate to the castle was protected by six guards, each of whom radiated an aura of experience. Not wanting to take any chances, Druella slipped in through an open window on the third floor. There was an alarm spell here, but it was simple enough for Druella to dispel it quietly. It was far less security than Druella expected, but perhaps the people of Lescatie didn't think any monsters could get past the outer walls.
The inside of the castle was well-lit by golden crystals, like a thousand tiny suns. Paintings of various humans were hung on the walls, and Druella recognised a few of them from her parents' stories.
That one is… Crown Prince Noctis? Druella thought, looking at a painting of a man with green eyes and spiky purple hair. From the era before Mother fixed all monsters, if I remember correctly…
Now wasn't the time to get lost in history. Druella walked quietly down the corridor, keeping an eye out for anything noteworthy.
Servants occasionally came into view. They were dressed in gorgeous blue clothing that looked to be made of silk, yet they still went about their duties without using any magic.
Even the servants of royalty have to do this? Is there an official law against servants, or commoners in general, doing anything to make their jobs more convenient? Are commoners not allowed to learn magic, for fear of them opposing their masters? Is it a status symbol in Lescatie to have people work hard for your sake? A combination of these reasons?
While Druella pondered this issue, she noticed a door up ahead with two guards. These guards were even better equipped than those at the castle gate, with swords and armour literally glowing with enchantments. Furthermore, they radiated an intense aura of spirit energy that suggested they were heroes.
Druella could faintly hear voices from beyond the door. Trying to go through the door would be extremely risky: even if Druella could subdue the heroes quietly, she might leave magical traces on them which another hero could notice. But the potential rewards would likewise be extremely high, judging from the amount of security here.
After some thinking, Druella decided to take another option. She remained far from the door and cast a weak spell—hopefully too weak to be detected—that amplified sounds coming from that direction.
One of the heroes immediately looked towards Druella, causing her to hold her breath. After a few tense moments, the hero looked away. He seemed to think it was just a passing insect or something similar.
Then Druella heard words from beyond the door that drew her attention.
"Your Majesty, I have a proposal that requires your attention…"
-ooo-
Another copy of Druella turned visible and spent some time exploring the city, before deciding to find a tavern and have a meal there. Not only could she learn about the local cuisine, she could also listen to local gossip.
Druella stepped through the doors of a tavern called "The Fierce Stallion". She looked at the food on the tables, smelled the scents in the air, and was slightly disappointed. There was a decent variety of foods: chicken and duck and pork for meat, carrots and potatoes and cabbages for vegetables, both hard and soft breads, a range of different cheeses. But most seemed to be overcooked or undercooked, and the only condiments available were various kinds of jam.
Still, this tavern was packed with people having lunch. For learning more about everyday life in Lescatie, it would be hard to find a better choice.
There were no empty tables, but that didn't mean the place was completely full. A dozen or so patrons were standing as they ate and chatted with one another.
Druella went to the counter, where a grey-haired man in a dirty apron wiped a mug using a similarly dirty rag. Near him was a pile of small wooden tablets with numbers painted on them.
"Here for lunch?" the tavern keeper asked gruffly. "What'll you have?"
"This is my first time here, so I don't know the menu," Druella replied. "I'd like something with chicken and with an average price."
"Anything to drink?"
"Just water will be fine."
"I wouldn't trust the water around here," the tavern keeper advised. "Sure you don't want anything with more kick in it?"
"Then… I suppose I'll have some of your weakest ale."
The tavern keeper turned around and barked an order towards a cook working in the kitchen behind him. He then said to Druella, "Take a number. When your food's done, I'll call out your number. You come here to take your food."
Druella took a wooden tablet with the number 27, then moved over to an empty spot to wait for her food to arrive. While waiting, she eavesdropped on the other patrons of the tavern.
"Prices are goin' up lately," grumbled one burly labourer. "But our wages aren't budgin' at all. At this rate, me and my family'll end up in the slums."
"I saw Hero Mimil two days ago," boasted a middle-aged man with a rotund belly. "No, really! She's younger than my youngest, but she's a hero! Isn't that amazing!?"
"The merchants say there's a big caravan of goods coming in soon," said a woman who looked like a seamstress, judging from the calluses on her hands. "Hope they bring some good fabrics. I was planning to make something good for my Richard's birthday."
"There's a lot o' monsters nowadays," said a soldier. "But I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. I've seen our heroes fight, and with them on our side, there's no way Lescatie could fall."
Not all cities are taken in combat, Druella thought. But again, I shouldn't overestimate myself.
Finally, Druella's lunch was announced with a shout of "Twenty-seven!". Druella walked over to the counter to pick up a sort of roll packed with chunks of roast chicken, with a slathering of red jam over the top. There was also a mug of ale next to it.
Well… time for a taste.
Druella bit into the roll. She immediately discerned that it was made of the cheapest ingredients, as one might expect of food in a common tavern. The chicken had a slightly burnt taste, while the jam tasted like it had been made from spoiled fruit, possibly raspberries. And when she tried the ale, it could best be described as bland even by the standards of weak ale. All in all, not the kind of meal a lilim typically ate.
But as she continued eating and drinking, Druella found that the taste was growing on her. She could understand why this tavern was so full.
Druella continued to eat and continued to listen to those around her.
-ooo-
The third copy of Druella went to the slums of Lescatie. It didn't take long to find them—she simply headed for the places that decent folk shunned.
As it turned out, quite a lot of Lescatie was slums, possibly a full quarter of the area within the walls. These were found on the outskirts of the city and away from the major roads.
Druella stopped in the middle of a street. She looked at the rubbish and literal excrement staining the ground. She looked at the ramshackle wooden buildings that would blow over in a strong wind or crumble to ash in a fire. She looked at the thin and haggard humans walking around.
With her magical senses, Druella could detect many more humans within the buildings. They were crammed in at dangerously high densities, with entire families living in huts smaller than Druella's bedroom back in Royal Makai. If there was an emergency, people would invariably trample each other in their rush to evacuate. Furthermore, Druella could sense millions upon millions of rats, cockroaches, ants and other vermin.
So this is the part of Lescatie where its flaws are no longer hidden behind closed doors.
A boy in rags bumped into Druella from the front, trying to distract her so that his partner, a similarly ragged girl, could steal her coin purse. Druella let the theft succeed and secretly cast delayed healing spells on the two street children—they'd wake up tomorrow morning feeling inexplicably healthy.
Druella explored the slums. The buildings seemed to get even worse as she went deeper in, to the point it was a miracle they were still standing. The locals watched her warily, though none of them made any move.
A sensible reaction, one woman walking through the slums alone would presumably know to defend herself. It seems those two children from earlier were just desperate enough to take the risk.
Whenever Druella saw a slum-dweller in especially poor health—such as a man who'd abused alcohol so much he would die within the year—she quietly healed them as well. She resisted the urge to heal everyone she met. While she easily had the strength to do so, that would draw the attention of Lescatie's authorities, no matter how neglected the slums might be.
After an hour of roaming the slums, Druella noticed fewer and fewer cases of sickness in the surrounding slum-dwellers. It didn't seem like she'd come to a relatively wealthy part of the slums, so there had to be some other explanation.
That explanation took the form of a church. It was smaller than any other church she'd seen in Lescatie, and moss covered much of its roof and walls, but it was better-maintained than any of the surrounding buildings.
A dozen children played outside the front of this church, laughing and kicking pebbles around. There was only one adult to watch over them all, suggesting they were orphans being cared for by the church.
Said adult was a woman who stood out from everyone else in the slums. She had waist-length green hair, soft blue eyes and a figure to rival Druella's. She wore a hat, dress and shoes with the Lescatian colours of white, blue and gold, and also black stockings. Her dress left her shoulders and thighs bare… an interesting choice for a woman of the Order.
Instead of approaching the church, Druella casually turned left into an alley. She looked back over her shoulder to confirm she hadn't been followed.
Sasha Fullmoon… Druella thought, drawing on information gathered by her other copies. It seems that not all of Lescatie's elite ignore the poor and downtrodden. But there's a limit to how much one person can do on their own…
-ooo-
The fourth copy of Druella left the capital city and headed northward. After walking around the shore of the lake for twenty minutes, she arrived at Castle City Salvarision.
Salvarision was a walled city like the capital. It also had the flag of Lescatie flying above it in several places. Unlike the capital, it also had a second flag: a cluster of six ice crystals resembling an open flower, on a gold background.
From what I've heard, this city is the headquarters of the Order of the Holy Ice Flower, Lescatie's most prestigious group of knights. This second flag must represent their group.
Druella went in through the main gate using the same ruse as before. It was almost disappointing how easily she was infiltrating Lescatie's strongholds. But then again, Lescatie hadn't gone through any major battles in more than a century, unlike when Druella's parents visited.
When she was inside, Druella raised an eyebrow.
The streets of Salvarision were even cleaner than the main streets of the capital. And while the capital had plenty of rough-looking labourers, every single person in Salvarision seemed to be a knight in gleaming armour, a handsome noble, a well-dressed merchant or a venerable priest. This was the picture of Lescatie that most people in the world likely imagined.
But Druella had already seen the dark side of the capital city of Lescatie. And even before then, she was familiar with the dark side of people in general. Seeing this glittering façade only made her curious about what was hidden beneath.
Fortunately, Salvarision was a much smaller city. Druella roamed around the city at random and, a mere hour later, she'd seen most of it barring the central castle. It was broadly similar to the wealthier parts of Lescatie, just with more people who'd been trained in combat. It also turned out that there were actually labourers here, they were just better-dressed and fewer in number.
It also had its own dark side. Druella discovered three cases of bribery, two cases of embezzlement and more than a dozen cases of illegal drug use. All behind closed doors to avoid harming the public image. Since these weren't nearly as harmful as what Alain had been doing to Mirri, Druella decided to avoid intervening in any of them… for the moment.
Also, there's many heroes here, Druella thought, looking over at a well-armed group who radiated spirit energy. I've already seen more here than I have over in the capital. Perhaps I should take the safe path and go to the nearest alley to unmake this copy, before someone notices me.
Or should I take a risk? I was able to get into the royal castle, and I can't imagine that Castle Salvarision has better security…
Druella considered this for some time. Eventually, she heard a commotion and jumped on the spot.
What the—have they realised!?
Druella was on the verge of unmaking her body in Salvarision immediately, but then she realised that everyone was shouting and pointing at something else. To avoid seeming suspicious, she followed the crowd down the street and around a corner.
A group of heroes was walking past. Even without sensing their spirit energy, Druella could understand their power from the sheer grace of their movements.
Druella carefully remained in the back of the crowd, keeping many layers of people between herself and that group of heroes. If she was discovered here, her real body would be unharmed… but she would reveal that a monster had infiltrated this country, something that could start a crusade.
"Ah, it's her…"
"Lady Wilmarina!"
At the head of the group was a young woman who couldn't even be twenty yet. She had shoulder-length blue hair and eyes of a similar shade. She wore a blue dress with a short skirt and puffy shoulders, along with leather armguards and boots, black stockings, and finally a red cape that streamed behind her as she walked. A dark blue headband rested in her hair, while a sheathed one-handed sword hung at her hip.
Wilmarina Noscrim smiled and waved towards the crowd. Those around her, who could only be the Order of the Holy Ice Flower, did the same. A scene straight from the legends, brave heroes basking in the adulation of the masses…
…but even with the crowd in the way, Druella noticed something false behind the smiles.
-ooo-
As for the original Druella, she was now outside the walls of Lescatie with the human woman Mirri. They were in the same grove of trees where Druella had first put on her disguise.
Druella gave Mirri some biscuits and dried fruit from her travelling pack. These were emergency rations for Druella, but for someone like Mirri they might have been pure ambrosia, judging from how she tore into them.
When Mirri was finished eating, Druella decided that it was time for honesty.
"Mirri," Druella said. "You may not fully trust me, and I understand that. So I'll let you in on a secret of mine. I'll warn you in advance, you'll find it shocking…"
Druella swiftly pulled off her dress, revealing her typical attire, and let out her succubus features. Mirri gasped and fell backwards.
"I am Druella, the fourth-born of the lilim, a daughter of Demon Lord Lilith and Hero Adam. However, this does not change my intention to help you."
Mirri trembled, but she took several deep breaths and asked, "Do… Do you plan to turn me into one of you? Into a monster?"
"Only if you want that," Druella answered kindly. "If, for example, you'd prefer to start a new life in another human country, I'd take you there."
"And… what do you want… with Lescatie?" Mirri asked. There was a new kind of fear on her face, fear for someone other than herself.
"That, I'm afraid, is something I'm still not sure about," Druella admitted. "But I can say this… whatever I do, I plan to leave Lescatie a better place than before."
-ooo-
After a few minutes of further conversation, Druella teleported back to Renais, now with Mirri in tow. While the human had agreed to this, she was immediately dumbfounded at the sight of Druella's home.
"Th-They used to say that the air here was poisonous for humans," Mirri said, looking at all of the new sights. "And that there were storms all the time, and the water could melt you if you touched it…"
Druella didn't respond immediately due to needing to catch her breath. While high-level monsters such as lilim could teleport to previously visited locations, it wasn't an easy feat. Druella hadn't even learned this skill until she was thirty-five. But it was extremely convenient for when time was of the essence.
"Some of that might have been true, a long time ago," Druella said. "But that would be a difficult place to actually live in, so my Mother and Father have worked hard to make Royal Makai more comfortable. I think the only legend about Royal Makai that's actually true is that it's always dark."
While talking, Druella established telepathic contact with Baniti. She gave him a simplified explanation of everything that had happened since she'd parted with him.
"This is much more than I ever expected," Baniti said. "I understand you have a lot ahead of you, Druella. Just… make sure you talk with your parents first, alright?"
"I've already planned that, just as soon as I get Mirri settled. Thank you for understanding, Baniti."
One option would be for Druella to leave Mirri at her and Baniti's house. But it wasn't an ideal option. Baniti was a nice person, but he didn't have the skills to take care of a trauma victim. Few people did.
About fifty paces away, two lizardmen suddenly started duelling each other, filling the air with the clamour of sword against sword. The nearby citizens whooped and cheered as they watched, and some started placing bets on who would win. But the duel caused Mirri to cower behind Druella.
"Please relax, no one will hurt you," Druella said. "Would you like to go somewhere quieter?"
"Y-Yes, please…"
The lilim led the human to a small park nestled in amongst the buildings. It consisted of a few clumps of purple-leaved trees, a ground cover of blue grass, and a single pond occupied by frogs. While approaching this park, Druella sent out a telepathic message to a friend in the area.
Mirri bent down and gingerly touched the grass, rubbing a single blue blade with her fingers. "It's real… I mean, it's alive," she whispered.
"All of the plants, and also all of the animals, in this land are infused with demonic energy," Druella explained. "That doesn't make them harmful, though, even to humans. It just means they look different, grow faster and are healthier overall.
Mirri broke off a blade of grass and smelled it. She then looked at the frogs swimming and croaking in the pond. A minute passed like this, with her and Druella simply relaxing in this little piece of urban nature.
"I still can't believe this is happening," Mirri said, standing back up again. "I keep wondering if this is just a dream… and that sooner or later, I'll wake up, and have to… have to…"
Mirri started hyperventilating, so Druella quickly placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You won't be forced into anything again," Druella promised. "And I'll make sure that never happens to anyone in Lescatie again. But for now…"
A holstaur arrived at the park. She had warm brown eyes, black hair and black fur on her limbs, a pair of curving horns, a short tufted tail and hooves. She wore a fluffy white dress of wool.
"…you should just relax until you've decided what you want to do," Druella said. "Mirri, this is Frieda, a holstaur and one of my friends here. Frieda, this is Mirri, a human I found in Lescatie who, to put it delicately, was in a horrible situation."
"N-Nice to meet you," Mirri said.
In the next moment, Frieda had crossed the distance and seized Mirri in a hug.
"Oh, you poor dear!" Frieda exclaimed. "You're so thin it's a wonder you're even standing!"
"Mmmmphhh!"
Mirri wasn't able to reply or even breathe. Frieda was, in a certain physical aspect, even more blessed than Druella. Fortunately, the holstaur stopped her hug after a few seconds.
"Mirri, I'm afraid I'll be busy from now on, so I've asked Frieda to take care of you," Druella explained. "Are you alright with that?"
"I-If that's what you think is best," Mirri replied, looking confused by Frieda's exuberance.
"I'm honoured for this duty, Princess Druella," Frieda said. "Now, dear, it's time to get you washed up and properly fed!"
Frieda picked up Mirri in one arm, causing the human to yelp with surprise, and carried her off to her house. The holstaur was caring for several people already—those who had nowhere else to go, for one reason or another, and had been brought here by travelling monsters. She wasn't alone in this, either. The residents of Royal Makai and especially of its capital lived blessed lives, so quite a few of them tried sharing their happiness with others.
With Mirri in safe hands—quite literally—Druella took off and immediately flew towards the castle. She thought about her newfound goal.
I've changed a few small villages before, but that's nothing in comparison to an entire country with hundreds of thousands of people. For one thing, I was able to speak to every single human in those villages, get to know them personally.
Druella landed on the roof of the castle. There were a few people here who weren't guards, just tourists enjoying the view. One of them, a wide-eyed lamia, quickly slithered over towards Druella.
"Princess Druella! I hope I'm not being rude, but… I really admire you! I-If you don't mind…"
Druella was in a hurry, but not so much of a hurry that she couldn't sign a wristband that the lamia held out. After doing so, she headed for the stairs leading down, leaving behind one very joyous lamia.
The inside of the castle was all one familiar blur. Druella stopped briefly to ask where her parents were, then sped through the corridors until she reached her destination.
Druella threw open the door to one tea room, only immediately regret doing so.
Inside the tea room was a succubus and an incubus. Both were dressed casually in matching tunics and pants of a deep red colour. The succubus looked like she might be sisters with Druella, with the same white hair and wings and tail, but her horns were much larger and she had three pairs of wings instead of one. The incubus had dark brown hair, red eyes matching his companion's, and a magnificent smile.
These two were Druella's own parents. And at this very moment, Mother was playfully feeding a spoonful of ice cream to Father.
"What?"
"Druella…?"
At this moment, Druella wanted nothing more than to sink into the floor and disappear. No matter how important her request was, she'd just interrupted her parents while they were having fun. That was absolutely unforgivable.
Then she recalled Mirri's fearful expression, and the haggard expressions of everyone in Lescatie's slums. That lent her resolve once more.
"Mother, Father," Druella said. "I'm sorry for interrupting you, but I—gak!"
Druella bit her tongue. The pain was nothing in comparison to the mortification she felt at wasting even more of her parents' time.
"Wait, wait, sit down first," Mother said, pulling out a chair.
"Just what is the matter, Druella?" Father asked.
Druella sat down obediently. Taking more care with her speech, she continued, "I came here with an important request. You see, I've just been to Lescatie and seen it with my own eyes."
Druella's parents looked at each other, all sense of levity replaced by pure duty.
"…I see," Mother said. "Tell us everything."
For the next half hour, Druella explained her observations in detail. Words were insufficient, so she also conjured up illusions showing what she'd seen. Her four copies in Lescatie were active even now, so some of these illusions depicted events in real-time.
When she reached the part where she'd altered Alain's mind, Druella tensed up. She feared how her parents would react.
"I couldn't just leave Mirri there," Druella said. "And without doing something, that noble would have moved on to hurting other people. And I had to keep my actions a secret as well… so I…"
Both of Druella's parents grasped her shoulders reassuringly.
"You made the right choice, Druella," Mother said. "You had more justification for it than I did, for some of the people I've brainwashed."
"That can't be true!" Druella protested. "I was just taking the easiest way out!"
"Unfortunately, it is," Father said. "Druella, we've made our own share of mistakes and done things that we regret. And you shouldn't belittle your own efforts like that. Rescuing someone from the heart of Lescatie without being detected certainly wasn't the easiest option for you. You could have simply done nothing, as originally planned."
"In your position, we would've done the same thing," Mother added. "So you don't need to worry. For now, please tell us the rest of what you've seen."
Druella breathed a sigh of relief. If her parents had been disappointed at her, she would have… well, she wouldn't have completely lost all will to live, but she would have come very close.
"Then, while I was bringing Mirri out of there, I noticed…"
-ooo-
At this very moment, Mirri was sitting at a table and staring at the plate before her.
Now I know this has to be a dream. There's no way I could possibly get a hot bath and then… and then get better food than I've ever seen in my life.
On the plate was a salad of various vegetables and scrambled eggs. Next to it was a cup filled with yellowish juice. Mirri wasn't sure what ingredients had been used to make this meal, but she knew for certain that it looked and smelled absolutely delicious. And while Mirri had already eaten recently, she was now starting to feel hunger again. Even a king would probably drool if presented with such a meal.
"Is it not enough?" the holstaur, Frieda, asked. "I thought I'd start off with something light, since overfeeding can be unhealthy in some cases, but—"
"No, no, this is more than enough!" Mirri replied. "I'm just… preparing myself…"
Mirri recalled a story from her youth, a story told by one of the older orphans. Supposedly, some monsters used gifts of food to trap humans. A human who took even a single bite would fall under the monster's spell, even being willing to murder other humans for the sake of more food.
After a few more moments, fear gave way to hunger. Mirri picked up a fork and tore into the food, washing each mouthful down with juice.
-ooo-
"…In summary, the quality of life is poor for those not lucky enough to be born nobles," Druella said, showing multiple illusions of Lescatie's slums. "And even the nobles seem to have their own problems… Combined with them killing innocent monsters, I think it's reason enough to act."
"What sort of action do you have in mind?" Father asked. "Remember, even the most well-meaning actions can have unintended consequences."
Druella bowed her head. "I understand that. It's why I kept my interventions there to a minimum. And it's why I returned to consult you. Mother, Father, you've changed corrupt regimes before—"
"We helped to change corrupt regimes, and that was never easy," Mother said. "You shouldn't trust the stories that bards tell. Events like the Dragai Revolution only happened because many of the local people wanted change, and even then, many people died, and there were lots of small problems for years afterward. Like Dragonia's neighbours trying again and again to reconquer it, something that would also happen if Lescatie fell to monsters. Even though Adam and I have five hundred years of experience by now, we're not perfect. We can make mistakes, just like everyone else."
"I… I understand that," Druella said. "But that's why I'm asking you, Mother, Father. You two would make less mistakes than anyone else. I… I want your help in setting Lescatie right."
Druella felt like she was a little girl again, begging her parents for something. And perhaps that was the truth. The stakes may have been far higher, but she was ultimately asking her parents for help with something she couldn't handle on her own.
Mother and Father looked at each other for a few moments. Druella kept her eyes on the floor, too nervous to say anything more.
At last, Father said, "Druella… we can all agree that Lescatie needs change. But what Lilith and I would like to know is: what ideas have you had? What plans have you thought up?"
Druella looked up, confused. What good would her half-baked plans be in comparison to what her parents could conceive?
"You're the one who's been there recently," Lilith said, as if seeing through Druella's thoughts. "The two of us haven't been there in hundreds of years. So… what do you think?"
Druella swallowed. She might make a fool of herself when she opened her mouth. But her parents had asked something of her, so she'd do her best to meet her expectations.
"Well, to begin with, I think some of the local people do want change…"
AN: That brings Druella's POV to a temporary end. Starting from next chapter, you'll be seeing POVs of characters from Lescatie itself.
Druella's exploration of Lescatie might have seemed a bit rushed and lacking in detail. This is intentional since Druella has to avoid detection and this limits how much she can observe (in particular, she doesn't speak to any of the heroes). Also, future chapters will show Lescatie in much more detail, and it would be pointless to write the same things over and over again.
