Chapter 241: A Demon’s Word
Chapter 241: A Demon’s Word
Warm air hit my face as we stepped through the door. The chandeliers I had seen from outside looked even bigger up close. Light from the crystals hanging from the ceiling reflected off the white tablecloths, while the clink of cutlery mixed with quiet conversations.
Most of the tables were occupied by adults. There were a few noble students too, but unlike at the other restaurants around the academy, no one was sprawled in their chair or talking loudly. Everyone seemed to have learned how to behave here beforehand.
When Layla came up beside me, her shoulders were a little straighter. She was trying to look calm, as though she hadn’t been clutching her bag against her chest moments ago.
A young waitress greeted us with a smile.
"Good evening. Do you have a reservation?"
"It’s under Cassian. A table for two by the window."
The girl glanced at the book in front of her, then nodded.
"Of course. Please follow me."
I could feel Layla looking at my face, but I followed the waitress without turning toward her. When we reached a table at the side of the dining room, we took our seats. Layla said nothing until the waitress placed a menu in front of each of us and walked away.
Then she leaned toward me across the table.
"When did you make a reservation?"
I opened the menu.
"I’m the fastest living being in the world."
Layla stared at me for a few seconds.
"I’m asking you a serious question."
"And I’m giving you a serious answer."
Her eyes narrowed. She studied me as though there was something else about this visit that she didn’t know. Eventually, she realized she wasn’t going to get a different answer and opened her menu.
Her expression changed as soon as she looked at the first page.
Her eyes lingered on the prices beside the dishes more than their names. She turned a page, read a few lines, then returned to the previous one.
I glanced through my menu too. I had never heard of most of the dishes, but that didn’t stop me from choosing a few.
When the waitress returned, Layla was still going back and forth between the first two pages.
"Are you ready to order?"
"Valen-style fillet, moon mushroom tart, and root soup with saffron," I said.
Layla raised her head and looked at me. She glanced from my face to the menu as though trying to figure out what I had just named.
After writing down my order, the waitress turned to her.
"And what would you like, ma’am?"
"I..."
Layla pointed to a line in the middle of the page.
"This one with almonds. And I’ll have this with it."
She moved her finger to another dish below it. While the waitress wrote down her choices, Layla closed the menu as though forcing herself to stick with her decision.
When the girl collected the menus and left, Layla let out a breath of relief. Then she leaned back a little and looked at me.
"Hey, pervert. Do you come to places like this often?"
"No. I think this is my first time."
"Then how do you know those dishes?"
"I don’t. I picked them at random."
Layla’s expression froze.
"You don’t know what they are?"
"I’ll find out when they arrive."
She spent a few seconds trying to decide whether I was serious. Then the corner of her mouth twitched, and she let out a short laugh.
"You’re a real idiot."
"What did you order?"
Her smile faded a little.
"Something with almonds."
"Very informative."
"At least I know it has almonds in it."
Some of the tension had left her face as she picked up her water glass. I waited for her to take a few sips, then rested my elbow on the edge of the table.
"What has Felix been doing lately?"
Layla lowered the glass from her lips.
"What do you mean?"
"Outside of class. How does he spend his free time?"
"He trains. Sometimes he studies too."
"Who with?"
"It depends."
She set her glass on the table and touched its rim with a finger.
"I’m not with him all the time."
"Has he met anyone new lately?"
"I don’t know. He’s always talking to new people at the academy."
"What does he talk about when he’s talking to you?"
Layla looked back at my face.
"Classes, training... Normal things."
"Has he mentioned a new technique he’s learned?"
"No."
Her answer came more quickly this time. A few seconds later, she looked away and added:
"At least, not to me."
From the way she said it, I could tell she had already thought about this. The sudden growth she had seen on the training field wasn’t something she could easily forget.
But none of her answers so far were of any use to me.
"Has he ever talked about his childhood?" I asked. "What his life was like before he came to the academy, who trained him?"
Layla frowned.
"He tells me things sometimes."
"What sort of things?"
"I don’t memorize everything he says, Cassian."
"About his family—"
"Why is Felix all you want to talk about?"
She was clearly holding herself back from raising her voice. Her hand on the table had curled into a fist.
"You’re the one who asked for my help."
"You’re more interested in gathering information about him than helping me!"
I didn’t deny it.
Layla leaned a little farther forward. The suspicion on her face had turned into open anger.
"Why do you hate him so much? What did Felix do to you? What do you want from him?"
Just then, the waitress approached our table.
"Sorry for the wait."
Layla swallowed whatever she had been about to say and leaned back in her chair. She kept her eyes on me as the waitress placed the dishes in front of us.
The fillet I had ordered was covered in a dark sauce. The small tart beside it smelled of mushrooms, and a thin wisp of steam rose from the soup. The almond dish Layla had chosen at random turned out to be fish.
The waitress briefly described the dishes and wished us a pleasant evening. After she left, I picked up my spoon and tasted the soup.
Layla waited a few seconds for an answer.
When she saw me continue eating, she slowly breathed out through her nose.
"You heard my questions."
"I did."
"But you’re not going to answer."
I dipped my spoon back into the soup.
Layla stared at me for a while longer, then sighed. She picked up her fork but spoke again before starting her meal.
"So how are you going to help me?"
I set my spoon on the edge of the plate and looked at her.
"I can get rid of all the girls around him if you want."
Layla’s fork stopped in midair.
"Or I can put Felix in a desperate situation and make him need you. It’ll be easier for you to stay by his side when he has no one else to turn to."
"You..."
"Or..."
I went quiet for a moment. Layla’s eyes were fixed on my face, as though searching for some sign that I was joking.
"You can be a good girl, do as I say, and slowly win that useless heart of his. The choice is yours."
Layla slowly lowered her fork to her plate.
This time, she didn’t immediately shout. She looked down at the table and remained silent. Her hesitation was clear on her face as she folded and unfolded the edge of her napkin.
I cut a piece of my fillet while waiting for her to tell me what she was thinking.
"I don’t want you to hurt Felix," she finally said.
"Then you’ve made your choice."
She raised her head.
"I’ll do what you say. But you have to promise that you’ll actually help me and won’t hurt Felix."
I tilted my head slightly.
"I didn’t think you were stupid enough to trust a demon’s word."
Layla frowned again.
"Hey! Then what was the point of this whole conversation?"
"Don’t get me wrong. I’m as honest as a saint, if not more so."
I put my fork down on the plate.
"But words mean nothing in a world where even gods break their promises."
Layla didn’t answer.
Her gaze was fixed on my eyes. Her anger hadn’t completely disappeared, but she was no longer trying to argue right away. She parted her lips to say something, then changed her mind.
She wasn’t going to hear the promise she wanted. I waited silently until she understood that.
Finally, she leaned back and looked at the plate in front of her.
"All right," she said more quietly. "I’ll do what you say."
I nodded and continued eating.
For a while after our conversation, the only sounds at our table were the clinks of cutlery. Layla glanced at me occasionally, but she didn’t return to her questions about Felix. I didn’t bring up a subject I had no intention of giving her answers about either.
The dishes had unnecessarily complicated names, but they didn’t taste bad. By the time I finished my last plate, Layla had already put down her fork and folded her hands in her lap.
"Let’s go," she said. "I don’t want to ruin my day by spending any more time with you."
"The food wasn’t bad."
"I’m not talking about the food."
I placed my napkin on the table and stood up. Layla immediately picked up her bag and followed me.
As we approached the exit, the waitress came over to us again. Layla opened her bag before I could say anything.
"Could I have the bill?"
"Your bill has already been paid, ma’am."
Layla’s hand stopped inside her bag.
"What do you mean?"
"Your order was covered by the payment the gentleman left when he made the reservation."
The waitress handed me the remaining money in a small pouch. As I took it and put it in my pocket, Layla stared at me in surprise.
"Have a good evening," I said.
The waitress saw us off with a smile.
Layla was still silent as we stepped outside and started down the stairs. But the moment we reached the last step, she moved in front of me and blocked my path.
"What was that about?"
"What?"
"You paid the bill!"
"Yes."
"But what you said on the way here... I was supposed to pay!"
Anger and surprise were mixed on her face. As she closed her open bag, she seemed unable to decide what to say.
"I’m a king. I would never let a little girl pay the bill."
I walked past her and continued on my way.
Layla stayed behind me. A few seconds later, I heard her footsteps again, but she said nothing when she caught up.
She only turned her head to look at me now and then.
Some of the shops we had passed on the way to the restaurant had closed. The street was quieter. As I put my hands in my pockets, Layla moved her bag back onto her shoulder.
She didn’t bring up the bill again before we reached the academy.
When we turned onto the path leading to the dorms, there were a few steps between us. Layla walked ahead, and I followed behind. I stopped when we approached the entrance to the girls’ dorm.
Layla kept walking without saying goodbye.
Just as I was about to turn away, I heard her voice.
"Hey, pervert!"
I turned my head.
She had stopped a few meters away. Holding her bag’s strap with both hands, she was trying to look at me without averting her eyes this time.
"You may be an idiot, a weirdo, and a scumbag..."
She pressed her lips together. She seemed to be thinking over what she wanted to say one last time.
"But you’re actually a good person."
I said nothing.
Layla looked into my eyes for a few seconds. Then her grip on the bag’s strap loosened.
"I trust you."
A brief silence fell between us after those words. Then she made a face, as though embarrassed by what she had said.
"Don’t get the wrong idea! That doesn’t change the fact that you’re a pervert."
She lifted her head slightly.
"Anyway... Good night."
She stuck her tongue out at me and turned around. Her steps were quicker this time. She didn’t look back before entering the dorm.
I stayed where I was and watched the door close.
"Trust..." I whispered.
After the word left my lips, I remained there a little longer. Then I walked away from the dorms and sat on one of the empty benches beside the path.
The wood was cold. I leaned back against the bench and raised my head, looking at the moon between the rooftops.
"Partner..."
My voice faded into the night.
I knew Fredrinn had died that night. Trying not to think about it didn’t change the truth. Still, the fact that nothing remained of him kept bringing my mind back to the same questions.
Nerath’s stone had also disappeared, just like the dragon hearts. There wasn’t even a trace left to help me understand what had happened.
I took my hands out of my pockets and rested them on my knees.
I remembered waking up in the White City. In those first moments, I had known nothing about my past. I had looked around without remembering where I had come from, what I had been through, or who I had left behind.
I had nothing except Nivelle and Auralis, who was still inside her egg.
Everyone had disappeared.
Not just the people who had fought that night, either. Lilith, the witches, and Cecilia hadn’t taken part in the battle, but they were gone too. What had happened on the battlefield couldn’t explain their absence.
By then, Cordelia should have reached the height of her power. Even so, I hadn’t been able to find her in the world I had woken up in either.
None of them were there.
I leaned my head back a little farther and looked at the moon.
As I let out a deep breath, the mist from my mouth spread out in front of my face.
"Lilith, Cecilia, Fredrinn, Cryomara, Cordelia..."
I said their names slowly.
I had wanted to say their names once more in the silence of the night. I knew no answer would come, yet I still left a brief pause after each one.
Then I raised my right hand and reached toward the moon.
As I looked at the pale light filtering between my fingers, the corners of my lips lifted slightly. That familiar excitement was shining in my eyes again.
"We’ll be together again very soon."