Back to the present

[Lilith point-of-view]

“So, that’s your whole life story?” Kenji asks.

“Not quite.” I answer while cocking my head. “I also had a falling out with daddy shortly after. But now at least you know why I am not with the demons.”

“Yeah, I see.” Kenji replies. Feeling relaxed after hearing my story, he searches for something to sit on, but any place to sit on is too dusty so he remains standing. “You are half human. You were born here and lived among us. But, doesn’t your demon half push you to do evil things or something?”

“Nope, not at all. I was raised right here. In this dusty dungeon.” I say with a smile and wave my hands around, showing Kenji around. “Well, it wasn’t dusty back then. But yeah, among humans. I feel more human then demon. Though i admit, sometimes it feels good to let the demon parts come out. They are a part of me and i need to accept that. I just don't always have the privacy of doing so. The only time they come out without my control is when I feel angry, typically when I remember the things Enzo has done to my mom.” I stretch out my wings a bit and move my tail around so Kenji can better see them. “I see it as my human feeling being the thing that pulls out my demon half. But I can assure you, even as a demon, I am perfectly safe for a human like you to be with.”

“Alright then.” Kenji nods. “So, how did you fall out with your dad?”

I take a deep breath and sigh. I cross my arms in front of my chest and start slowly pacing back and forth.

“Sometime after my 15th birthday, daddy sent me on a few spying missions. It wasn’t too difficult really. Mostly, I hid in some bushes next to some mansion and used my ghost magic to see if there were any ghosts around. If there weren’t any bushes, I decided to play by myself and when people asked whom I was talking to, I just said it was to my imaginary friend. I would ask these ghosts if they would fly into the mansion and do some spying for me. People without ghost magic or some rare skill can’t hope to see or interact with ghosts, so they make for pretty good spies.

“And none of those ghosts ever got caught?” Kenji asks.

I look over at him and smile. “It is rare for a ghost to be seen by a living person. If they are surprised at me seeing them, it means I am the only ghost whisperer around. If they aren’t surprised, it’s a sign there is another like me.” After explaining that, I continue with my story.

“Anyways, I was fine doing some basic spying for Enzo. But then … he went too far.”

I look into Kenji’s eyes and I say, “Enzo asked me to kill someone.”

I had expected Kenji to be surprised. Instead, he keeps his cool and simply asks, “Who?”

“I don’t remember.” I shrug. “Doesn’t matter even. The point is, he wanted me to commit ****. I wasn’t even 16 yet. I guess he thought my demon half would have pushed me into being fine with killing humans. It doesn’t work like that. My demon half are just body parts, not some kind of other personality.” I throw my hands up and start pacing again. “I was also not very interested in creating a new ghost. Especially one that would chase me wherever I go and start yelling at me every time I use my spell to talk to ghosts. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t kill someone. So, I went to the royal guard to report him.”

This time Kenji’s reaction did change. “Wasn’t that dangerous?” He asks worried.

“Very.” I say. “At first, they didn’t even believe me and told me to get lost. Then I showed them my horns, and suddenly they had to arrest me.”

Kenji walks closer to me and asks, “What did they do?”

“Interrogate me, of course.” I say with a smile. “They mainly tried asking me where the other demons were. I decided to tell them that Enzo was in league with the demons, that he was hiding their leader in a farmhouse outside the city and if they wanted to learn the demon’s plans, they had to capture her alive.”

Kenji squints his eyes at me and says, “So, you lied to them?”

“Do you think they would have believed me if I told them the truth?” I asked. Kenji looks away, knowing they wouldn’t have.

“So, what happened after?”

“The Royal Guard raided Enzo’s mansion of course.” I reply. Then I take another deep breath and say, “But, they didn’t exactly capture my mom after a glorious fight. They in fact found her half dead.”

“Wait, what the hell happened?” Kenji asks surprised.

“It turns out that every time I went out on a mission, Beth was sent to follow me.” I explain. “Before, she didn’t have to report anything out of the ordinary, because I was a good little girl. But When I went to the Royal Guard, it was a different story. She reported that to Enzo, who of course wanted to ‘get rid of the evidence’. Tammy at least stood up for my mom, but she got killed by Beth and the other maids. Then Enzo started beating my mother … if the Royal Guard hadn’t arrived when they did, she would have died.”

“Geez. No wonder you have issues with Enzo.” Kenji says. “So, what did the Royal Guard do then?”

The next few sentences are a thing that always make me feel depressed when I think about it, so to not let my emotions get the better of me, I lower my voice and talk more gently. “They initially decided to take my mom back and heal her to reveal the demon’s secrets. But … mom never woke up. She had fallen into a coma. To this day, she is still in the palace, surrounded by guards waiting for her to wake up.”

Like expected, tears started gathering in my eyes. I quickly wipe them away and continue.

“It was at that point that Zhoron came to me for another interrogation. This interrogation was different. He was smart enough to understand my last confession was a lie. That Enzo was not in league with the demons, that my mother was not the leader of an infiltration group and that there were no other demons. That is when I told him the real truth. About me being Enzo’s half-demon child and my refusal to **** a human noble. Zhoron was actually quite impressed at me. He said I did the kingdom a favor by coming to the authorities. Though because of the circumstances, he could not let my mother and me go. He instead made me the following offer. I join the Royal Guard, and they both take care of my mother and do their best to help her wake up again. And … after a couple of years … that brings us to today, with me telling you my entire life’s story.” I finish off by offer Kenji a little smile at the end.

“Well, that was quite a story.” Kenji replies. “I feel I have to apologize. I just saw your demonic side and jumped to conclusions.”

“I don’t blame you.” I tell him. “If I was spying on someone and they revealed themselves as a demon, I would have reacted the same way.”

“So, what now? Did you find what you were looking for?” Kenji asks.

“No.” I answer. “I had hoped to find evidence of fraud or money laundering. Blackmails, bribes, that kind of stuff. But there was nothing to be found. Just painful memories. I am done here.”

I use my [Shape Shift] skill and return my body to look like any ordinary human girl. Then Kenji and I both leave the dungeon and push the bookcase back in front of the entrance. I would prefer it if my past remains secret for just a bit longer. There is no need for Darx and the rest to investigate the mansion one more time before we leave and discover all of this. After that, Kenji and I return to our tent, and this time we actually get some sleep.