When A Ghoul Falls In Love

The street is rather crowded, full of carriages. The main market in the capital is known for its liveliness. The shops are never closed. Unlike the human world, this dimension is made of magic only. As the flow of the dark energy is strong, foreign magic stands out like water bubbles in oil.

The magic that he felt earlier at the boutique is subtle and elusive. He can’t sense it again. Was he followed? Eli doesn’t lack enemies because of his past. It’s one of the reasons why he didn’t bring Nell to the boutique with him. The mansion, though it is full of ghouls and demons, is still better than being exposed to people from his past.

Eli sighs. All he wanted was to get married discreetly. Bringing Nell here was the last resort. He’s not happy how things are turning out. The fae is more dangerous than his enemies at the moment. A fae never plays fair.

The person can’t be detected anymore. He needs to wait for another slip-up. As long as the person directly uses magic, he can find him out.

Since he’s here, he should visit that healer.

Eli covers his head with the hood of his cloak and hurries away from the boutique. He needs to go back to the mansion soon. Although the shadow and Devil will protect Nell, a lot can go wrong.

***

Lennix lies down on the floor, exhausted beyond words. He can’t move at all. Why is his life so difficult? He shouldn’t have come here. However, he can’t lay still. His body moves on its own, taking the guard’s position.

His elder brother, Drace, isn’t doing any better at the other end of the corridor. They don’t have control over their own bodies because their shadows are being controlled by the master shadow who is standing in front of the door.

Even though Fourth Brother has lived in the human world for a while, he is still as sharp as he used to be.

“I am tired,” Lennix whimpers. “When will Fourth Brother come back?”

In the past few hours, they have gone through everything. Their siblings visited them one by one. Siouxsie demanded to get through. Julianne claimed that she was looking for Belinda. Then, Eoin came with two guards. Even without their will, they had to fight the guards and their older brother. Their bodies moved on their own as if they were puppet dolls. It was too much for their mind to handle. The master shadow took advantage of their weakening mental strength and got control over their bodies.

“Fourth Brother is too scary.” Drace complains, “It’s no wonder that he’s a war hero.”

“I wonder why he changed though.” Lennix peers at the master shadow. Unlike their shadows, it’s pitch black as if there’s a hole of human size in the space. It’s Fourth Brother’s shadow and it doesn’t hold its own consciousness. However, it will follow commands without a second thought, as expected of shadows.

“Wouldn’t Siouxsie know about it?” Drace props his chin on his hand. He can move his body a little now. Maybe they can relax because nobody is coming to bother anymore. There might be more traps, but the master shadow is enough.

“She doesn’t like talking about it.” Lennix sighs. “I wonder how this human will affect Father’s decision.”

Their elder siblings are too much. Even if nobody says it, there’s internal strife among the elder siblings.

Seventh Sister is extremely loyal to Fourth Brother, even if she doesn’t show it. She likes eating and playing around. Even if Father begs for it, she would never become a duchess.

Second Brother, Eoin, definitely has an interest in the position. He’s much more ambitious. But he’s too nasty.

Third Brother, Ephraim, doesn’t have the confidence. Although he is highly knowledgeable, he always feels inferior to Eoin. It must be twin inferiority. But he’s a two-faced snake. He can’t be underestimated.

Fifth Brother, Nicholai, listens to Second Mother too much. Father doesn’t like it at all.

Fourth Brother has done enough to ruin the family reputation, but he’s still popular. It must be because he’s both beautiful and evil. Then again, his achievements cast a shadow on all of them.

The other scary person in this family is First Brother, Ark. The problem is that he’s half-ghoul and half-wendigo, a lowly demon race. Because of that, his magic is somewhat unstable. The problem is that none of them might live another day if he becomes the head of the family.

As for him, Voss, Drace, Julianne, and Belinda, they are not even considered because of the gap between them and their elder siblings. Sixth Brother, Cyan, is too aloof, but he likes causing troubles in the background.

“Isn’t it strange that Siouxsie went with Fourth Brother instead of First Brother?” Drace looks at Lennix. “Even Cyan is older than her, even if it’s only by a few months.”

“Cyan might know why,” Lennix contemplates. But he probably won’t tell them. That’s just how Cyan is. “Thinking about it, it’s mandatory to send only one family member to the war. Even if Father couldn’t go, it should have been First Brother. Why was Fourth Brother sent there? He was barely an a.d.u.l.t back then.”

“Yeah, why was he sent there when there were three older boys in the family?” A new voice interrupts them.

“I wonder the same.” Drace nods his head, not looking at the person. “Fourth Brother was Belinda’s age when he was sent there. After winning the war, he didn’t come back home. Thinking about it, he didn’t have to go if he had accepted the second prince’s proposal at the banquet.”

“Fourth Brother doesn’t like men.” Lennix makes a face. “Perhaps, Father was embarrassed because Fourth Brother wore a dress to the banquet and Second Prince fell in love at first sight. Fourth Brother didn’t stop. He even wore dresses when he was attending the academy. He’s too eccentric.”

“Maybe it was a punishment.” Lennix suggests, “If we rank the trouble makers in our family, Fourth Brother takes the first spot and Siouxsie is definitely second. But why do we get scolded for minor things? Compared to Fourth Brother and Siouxsie, we haven’t done anything at all.”

“He knows how to get on someone’s nerve,” The person concludes.

“We should make more troubles.” Drace fists his hands. “When Fourth Brother was our age, he was fighting devils. So, we should invade his room and taste that human.”

“I don’t think that you can get past the door though.”

“What do you mean?” Lennix looks at the person. Oh, it’s a cat. He pales when he realizes that it’s the human’s familiar. “Why are you here?”

“She let me out to take a stroll.” Devil’s face lits up. “Do you really want to make trouble? I think I have better ideas.”

Drace frowns at him suspiciously. “Why should we trust a human’s pet?”

“First of all, I am not her pet.” Devil raises his paw. “I am their child.”

“Child?” The crease on Drace’s forehead deepens. Has it progressed that much? But how could it be a cat?

“Second, I do not like Eoin. Let’s bully him.” Devil releases a low laugh. “And a few others. If you want to be recognized for trouble-making, you need my help for sure. Didn’t I defeat Voss and ruin your father’s study room?”

“Er” Lennix shakes his head. “That is high-level trouble for us. We can’t harm family members.”

Is that so? Devil is also bored. He wants to pick on Eoin. Since it can’t be like that “How about Carmine Highmore?”

“Fourth Brother’s self-acclaimed betrothed?” Drace knits his brows. The engagement is not broken yet. Why is she so quiet? “I guess you want to spy on her for your master.”

Nell isn’t his master. Devil huffs at the demented fools. Just how many times does he have to say it? The moon also favours him. It’s true that he has to listen to Nell and her emotions affect him a lot. But he also has his own thoughts. This is not how it should be between a master and a servant. In the end, he doesn’t bother correcting these fools.

“I want to destroy that woman.”

“She’s not someone who can be destroyed easily.” Lennix doesn’t bat an eye. “She’s a talented little demoness. Perhaps, she’s the only woman in the kingdom who matches Fourth Brother’s talents. If Fourth Brother marries her”

“He might have enough support to become the king.” Drace blinks his eyes. “Ah that’s why Father approved of her.”

“Fourth Brother as a king?” Lennix squints at the master shadow who seems to be glaring at them. He shudders at the thought. “It’s too scary.”

Little Marshmallow as a king? Devil isn’t against the idea completely. How would Nell fare as a queen? He still can’t imagine her as a queen. Nell should be the king. She should pamper Little Marshmallow every day. Should he have a talk with Nell? Before that

“Take me to Carmine.”