POV: Sekire

  Day 4 Without Mabel — Morning

  The castle library was my favorite place.

  Not that I'd explored much, but of the places I knew, this was the best.

  Quiet. Calm. It smelled of old paper and ink.

  Shelves reached all the way to the ceiling, with rolling ladders to access the highest books. Huge windows let natural light pour in.

  Perfect.

  I sat at a table near the window with a book open in front of me.

  Basic History of Axoland for Beginners.

  Not exciting, but informative.

  And I needed to understand this world—this kingdom, this place that was now my home.

  Or that I hoped would be.

  I turned the page.

  Chapter 3: The Foundation of Axoland

  Over a thousand years ago, there were two kingdoms where Axoland stands today...

  "Interesting choice of reading."

  I jumped—literally jumped. The book almost fell from my hands.

  I looked up.

  Harven stood there. King of Axoland. My host. The most important man in the kingdom.

  Standing there, smiling, holding a cup of tea.

  No crown. No royal robes. Just simple clothes—a white shirt and dark pants.

  Like a common person.

  "Y-Your Majesty!" I stood too fast, the chair squeaking beneath me. "I didn't know you were—"

  "Relax." He raised his hand in a gentle gesture. "No need for formalities. It's just me, you, and books."

  He pulled out a chair and sat across from me.

  "May I?"

  I nodded, unable to speak.

  He took a sip of tea and glanced at the book.

  "Ah, basic history. Good start." He smiled. "But that book is a bit... too simplified. It skips a lot of interesting stuff."

  I blinked. "Interesting how?"

  "Like the bloody details. The complicated political parts. The things that make history... real."

  He set the cup on the table.

  "Want me to tell you the uncensored version?"

  I hesitated, but curiosity won out.

  "Yes. Please."

  Harven leaned back in his chair, his eyes distant, as if seeing into the past.

  "Over a thousand years ago, there were two kingdoms. Axus and Ursoft."

  He gestured to the book.

  "You already know that much. But the book doesn't say what they were really like."

  A pause.

  "Axus had no king or queen. It was dominated by creatures."

  "Creatures?"

  "Vampires. Beings that fed on human blood, that enslaved people, that treated humans like... cattle."

  My stomach turned.

  Vampires.

  Like in the stories Yuki knew.

  But here they were real.

  "The humans of Axus were slaves. Born, lived, and died to serve as food." Harven fell quiet for a moment. "Until a girl decided she wouldn't accept that."

  "Akaester?"

  "Yes. A commoner. Daughter of slaves. Born in captivity." He smiled—small but proud. "But she had something the vampires didn't expect: exceptional magic and an iron will."

  Another pause.

  "She started alone, freeing slaves in small groups, teaching them to fight, to survive, to believe they could be free."

  Something tightened in my chest.

  A commoner who became queen.

  "And then she met her best friend—another slave with magic. Together, they led a revolution." Harven picked up his cup. "It took years. Dozens of battles. But they freed all the slaves and exterminated the vampires, until they reached their king."

  The pause that followed was heavier.

  "The final battle was brutal. Akaester and her friend against the Vampire King. It lasted three days and three nights."

  "And they won?"

  "Yes." His tone darkened. "But her friend died. He sacrificed himself to give Akaester the opening she needed. She managed to kill the king, but she lost the most important person to her."

  Silence fell between us.

  "After that, Axus was free. And the people chose Akaester as queen—not by lineage, not by birthright, but because she freed them. Because she fought for them. Because she proved she was worthy."

  He looked at me directly.

  "She was the first commoner queen, and the most beloved in Axus's history."

  Something trembled in my chest.

  A commoner.

  Who became queen.

  Through her own actions.

  "But Akaester was... empty. Alone at the top, carrying a victory that cost too much."

  Harven took another sip of tea.

  "And then there was Ursoft, ruled by King Alberon."

  "The book says he unified the tribes."

  "Yes, but it doesn't say how." Harven smiled without humor. "He conquered them through brute force. He fought every tribal leader and defeated them all—humans and giants."

  "Giants?"

  "Yes. Giants lived in Ursoft back then. Four, five meters tall. Strong. Territorial." He gestured with his hands. "Alberon dominated them through charisma and pure strength. He became the undisputed king."

  A pause.

  "But Ursoft was unstable—too many factions, too many tensions. So Alberon decided he needed an external war to unify the kingdom internally."

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  "So he invaded Axus."

  "Exactly." Harven nodded. "And that's where everything changed."

  He leaned forward, his tone lower, more intimate.

  "The final battle was between Akaester and Alberon. Queen against King. Magic against Strength."

  "Who won?"

  "Nobody." He smiled. "They fought for three days without stopping. And then... they stopped."

  "Why?"

  "Because they fell in love."

  I blinked.

  "...What?"

  "I know, it sounds ridiculous." He laughed softly. "But it happened. In the middle of battle, they realized they were the same—two leaders carrying impossible weight, fighting for their peoples, lonely at the top."

  Another pause.

  "Akaester had lost her best friend. Alberon never had anyone who saw him as more than brute force. And they saw in each other what no one else saw—humanity, vulnerability, understanding."

  Something tightened in my chest again.

  "So they got married?"

  "Yes. They united the kingdoms. Axus and Ursoft became Axoland." He gestured around us. "This kingdom was founded not on conquest, but on love."

  He fell quiet for a moment.

  "But seven years after their marriage, Akaester died."

  "How?"

  "A curse. Mysterious. Nobody knows where it came from. Not even Alberon could save her." His tone grew sad. "He ruled alone after that for thirty more years, but he never remarried."

  Silence settled over us—heavy and melancholic.

  "That's... sad."

  "It is." Harven agreed. "But also beautiful, in a strange way. They had seven years together. Happy years."

  He looked at me.

  "Sometimes seven years of happiness are worth more than a lifetime of loneliness."

  Afternoon

  We continued talking—about history, about politics, about the system of government.

  "Axoland is a constitutional monarchy," Harven explained. "The king rules, but there's a council of nobles. They can contest decisions and propose laws. It's a balance."

  "And if the king and council disagree?"

  "Then we vote. Majority wins." He shrugged. "It's not perfect, but it works better than absolute monarchy."

  A pause.

  "And better than civil war."

  That made sense.

  "Did you always want to be king?"

  The question slipped out before I could think.

  Harven fell quiet—so quiet for so long that I thought I'd offended him.

  But then he spoke.

  "No."

  "No?"

  "No. I was the second son, not destined for the throne." He looked at his own hands. "My older brother, Aldric, was the heir from childhood."

  Another pause.

  "And I was free. I could study what I wanted, do what I wanted. I didn't have the weight of the crown."

  "What happened?"

  "Aldric died. Two weeks before his coronation."

  My stomach tightened.

  "The... the curse?"

  "No." Harven shook his head. "He killed himself."

  Absolute silence.

  "He couldn't handle the pressure, the expectations, the weight." Harven looked toward the window. "He left a letter. It said he wasn't ready, that he never would be, that he'd rather die free than live imprisoned."

  He took a deep breath.

  "And then the crown came to me—not because I wanted it, but because I had no choice."

  "And you... resent that?"

  "Sometimes." Brutal honesty. "But I also understand. Someone had to rule, and I was the only one left."

  He looked at me.

  "Carrying unchosen weight is hard, but sometimes it's necessary."

  Something trembled in my chest.

  Unchosen weight.

  Unwanted inheritance.

  Being a demon's daughter.

  "I understand," I murmured quietly.

  Harven tilted his head. "You do?"

  I hesitated, but something in the way he looked at me—without judgment, only understanding—made me continue.

  "I didn't choose my parents. I didn't choose my heritage. I didn't choose to be... what I am."

  A pause.

  "But I have to carry it anyway."

  Harven remained quiet for a moment, then reached out and touched my shoulder gently.

  "Sekire, what you are doesn't define who you can become."

  Another pause.

  "Remember that."

  I swallowed hard. "I'll try."

  Later

  We continued reading together.

  Harven brought more advanced books—more detailed ones about wars, alliances, and treaties.

  But then I found something.

  A small footnote.

  "References to demonic creatures appear in ancient texts, dating approximately 5000 years ago..."

  I looked up.

  "Your Majesty?"

  "Harven. Just Harven when we're alone."

  "...Harven, what are demons?"

  He stopped and looked at the book.

  "Ah, you found that part."

  "Are they real?"

  "They were." He leaned back. "Five thousand years ago, according to the legends, demons inhabited our world—powerful creatures, dangerous ones that brought chaos."

  A pause.

  "But they were purged."

  "By whom?"

  "Cael'anya. The Seraphim Goddess."

  The name echoed through my mind—powerful and ancient.

  "Who was she?"

  "One of the oldest deities worshipped in Axoland. They say she was a seraphim, an angel of pure light, a divine warrior." Harven picked up another book—an older one. "She descended to the mortal world when demons threatened to destroy everything."

  He opened to a marked page showing an ancient illustration—a winged female figure with six wings and a sword of light, radiating power.

  "She purged the demons. Alone. Using power so immense it tore reality itself."

  "And what happened to her?"

  "She was purged too." His tone darkened. "The power she used was too much. It corrupted her, consumed her. And she disappeared along with the demons she killed."

  Another pause.

  "Some say she ascended back to the heavens. Others say she was consumed by her own power. But since then, she's been worshipped as a protector goddess—the one who saved us from extinction."

  I looked at the illustration.

  Something about it bothered me, but I couldn't identify what.

  "And there are no more demons?"

  "There shouldn't be." Harven closed the book. "But Feitan found one in Kitsumi."

  A pause.

  "So maybe the legends are wrong, or incomplete, or some survived in hiding."

  Late Afternoon

  I kept reading after Harven left for a meeting, but he'd left a pile of books behind.

  "Read what you want. The library is yours."

  I picked up the next book.

  Mythology and Religion in Axoland.

  I flipped through it, looking for something specific.

  And I found it.

  Chapter 8: Minor Deities and Popular Cults

  "Among the minor deities worshipped mainly by commoners, Lilitra stands out..."

  I stopped.

  Lilitra.

  The goddess Caliope had briefly mentioned—she'd said red hair reminded her of Lilitra.

  I continued reading.

  "Lilitra, according to the legends, was born as a hybrid—half elf, half human, and half demon. Born in brothels, mistreated for her impure nature, extremely mixed, considered an abomination by all sides."

  My heart raced.

  Hybrid.

  Like me.

  Not exactly the same, but...

  She had demon blood.

  And she survived.

  I continued.

  "Lilitra suffered terrible abuses in her youth. She was tortured, humiliated, treated as less than an animal—until one day, something inside her awakened."

  "She killed her torturers. All of them. And in that moment of fury, pain, and liberation, she ascended and became something beyond mortal—something divine."

  "Through this ascension, she created a new race—the Succubus. Beings that exist on the threshold between dream and reality. And she isolated herself in the Dream World, where she rules her own empire."

  I stopped, breathing heavily.

  She created an entire race.

  Just from herself.

  From her ascension.

  I continued reading, eager and desperate for more.

  "Lilitra, through dreams, grants happiness and pleasure to unhappy men in bad states—those abandoned, lonely, desperate. She welcomes them in dreams, giving them comfort the real world denies."

  "But her true purpose is another: rescuing girls—those abandoned, sad, mistreated, humiliated. Those who suffered as she suffered. She transforms them into Succubus, freeing them from their lives of pain and taking them to her empire, where they can finally be happy."

  "For this reason, Lilitra is widely worshipped by commoners, especially women in desperate situations. Shrines to her exist in almost every poor village on the continent. She is the Goddess of the Forgotten, the Protector of the Impure, the Savior of the Mixed."

  I closed the book, my hands trembling.

  She was like me.

  Not exactly.

  But close enough.

  Hybrid. Impure. Mistreated.

  And she survived.

  Not just survived.

  She ascended.

  Created something new.

  Became a GODDESS.

  Something trembled in my chest—not just hope, but possibility.

  If she could...

  Maybe I can too.

  Not become a goddess.

  But survive.

  Thrive.

  Be more than my heritage.

  I looked around the library at all the shelves.

  So many books. So much knowledge.

  So much I still didn't know.

  I need to learn more.

  About Lilitra.

  About demons.

  About what happened five thousand years ago.

  About what I AM.

  And then...

  Then I'll decide who I want to be.

  Night

  Harven returned and found me still reading.

  "Still here?"

  "Yes. Sorry, I lost track of time."

  "No need to apologize." He looked at the books scattered around me. "How many did you read?"

  I counted.

  "...Five."

  "Five?!" He blinked in surprise. "In one afternoon?"

  "I read fast."

  "Apparently." He picked up one of the books and flipped through it. "And you understood everything?"

  "Most of it. Some things are confusing, but... yes, I think so."

  Harven smiled—genuine and proud.

  "Sekire, you have a sharp mind. A curious one. That's rare."

  A pause.

  "Don't waste it. Keep reading, keep questioning, keep learning."

  He touched my head gently, almost paternally.

  "Knowledge is power, but it's also responsibility. Use it well."

  Something warm rose in my chest—not just from his words, but from the way he looked at me.

  Like a father looking at his daughter.

  With pride, with hope, with affection.

  "Thank you... Harven."

  "You're welcome, Sekire."

  He started to leave but stopped at the door.

  "Oh, by the way—I saw you were reading about Lilitra."

  I froze.

  "She's widely worshipped among commoners. Shrines to her exist throughout the continent. There's a particularly important one three days from here." He looked at me. "If you're interested, I can arrange a visit when you're feeling better."

  My heart jumped.

  "Really?"

  "Of course. It's part of your education—understanding the beliefs of the kingdom, all of them."

  A pause.

  "And who knows, maybe you'll find answers there."

  And he left, leaving me alone with a pile of books and a head full of thoughts.

  Akaester was a commoner.

  Like me.

  And she became queen.

  Lilitra was a hybrid.

  Like me.

  And she ascended.

  Both were what society despised.

  And both became something greater.

  Maybe...

  Maybe I can do the same.

  Somehow.

  I closed the book and looked out the window.

  The night was clear, stars shining.

  And for the first time, I felt something beyond fear or anxiety.

  I felt... purpose.

  Small. Fragile.

  But present.

  I'll learn everything I can.

  About this world.

  About magic.

  About demons.

  About Lilitra.

  About Akaester.

  About myself.

  And then...

  Then I'll decide who I want to be.

  Not who they say I should be.

  But who I choose to be.

  I smiled—small but genuine—and headed back to my room, ready for whatever came next.