Walking through the estate felt strangely familiar, almost like stepping into Janus' room but on a grander, more haunting scale. Fantastical carpets lay on the ground and hung on the walls, and the air was thick with the scent of tropical blooms, their colors almost too vivid in the dim light. Statues and vases stood everywhere, perched on pedestals like silent witnesses, each one whispering stories from distant lands and forgotten artists. Some were delicate busts, others nude figures of men and women frozen in time in their lustful throes, some so lifelike we had to cover the children's eyes. I half-expected them to breathe; others twisted into impossible shapes that made me wonder what the sculptor had seen in their dreams. The vases were even more mesmerizing, painted with scenes of monsters and heroes locked in endless struggle. I lost myself tracing the petals on one, each one no bigger than a grain of sand, painted with such care it almost hurt to look away. The walls were crowded with paintings and portraits of places I could only imagine: a desert of blackened sand where dragons circled overhead, a colossal hermit crab locked in battle with a sea serpent, a whole coral city clinging to its shell. There was a man with red eyes and a single, glowing, jagged red horn, his gaze so cold it made my skin prickle, and an elven woman with pointy ears whose golden hair and piercing green eyes left me blushing for reasons I couldn't quite name. There were so many that it felt like I could get lost for months just looking at them.
But unlike Janus' room, where chaos reigned, and every surface was cluttered with memories, here everything had its place. Each piece seemed to belong, as if the room itself had been waiting for them. Zayr was just about to launch into the stories behind his treasures—tales of distant shores and wild adventures—when Fiona and Maggie, swept up in their own excitement, nearly toppled a vase. Zayr barely managed to catch it, his hands trembling as the girls chased after the mountain of fur that Zayr called a dog down the halls. Any hope of a proper tour vanished in laughter and scolding, and Zayr was left to herd the children instead of showing off his collection.
Maybe on another day, I would have cared more about Zayr's disappointment, about the stories behind each artifact, about the adventures I was missing. But today, exhaustion clung to me heavier than any siege. All I wanted was to see my children, feel their warmth, and then disappear beneath a blanket while the world spun on without me for a while.
It seemed I wasn't the only one ready to retreat; the other adults drifted away to their rooms, leaving the halls quiet again. I followed Emma for a quick visit to Sera and Alex. When we arrived, they were already lost to sleep, curled together in a cradle so beautifully carved it looked like something from a fairy tale. Sheer curtains hung around them, softening the light and keeping out the chill, with a slightly rounded bottom that let them rock from side to side. Teresa was still awake, rolling on the carpet, her little legs kicking in the air as she gnawed on a damp towel. A few of her tiny front teeth had already come out, and the ones still in the back caused a lot of pain and made breastfeeding a pain.
I wanted nothing more than to hold them, just for a moment, to feel their tiny hearts beating against mine. But I couldn't bear to wake them, so I promised myself I'd wait until morning. For tonight, I would have to settle for curling up beside their father, if he would still have me after what I'm about to tell him. Sigh…
I slipped away as quietly as I could, my heart pounding so loudly I was sure Emma could hear it as I left her to finish her shift. Tomorrow, it would be my turn again, but tonight felt heavier than any other. When I reached our room, Janus was waiting for me, still dressed, sitting on the edge of the bed, his eyes searching my face for answers I wasn’t sure I could give. The promise I’d made—my promise to finally share what the church wanted—hung between us, hot and sharp. I couldn’t keep lying to him, not anymore. My throat tightened with dread, and tonight I would have to give him the truth: that I am a demon.
It sounds simple when I say it, but it isn’t. How do you begin to confess this to the person you love? Imagine your wife turning to you one night and confessing she’s a demon, not some sex-crazed postmodern interpretation, but a force of nature, bringing ruin and sorrow wherever it goes. In every tale I’ve heard here, demons are the monsters in the dark, the curse mothers whisper to their children, the terror in every old story. There is never redemption, never hope. There is never a good demon, not in any story I’ve read in this world.
I drew in a shaky breath, trying to gather the scraps of courage I had left, and sat beside him. My hands twisted in my lap, and I couldn't bring myself to meet his eyes. Instead, I stared at the hem of my skirt, watching my feet fidget restlessly beneath.
“I… You… Sigh.”
“I'm your husband, Ruby. I married you knowing full well that you were keeping secrets from me.”
His words pierced my heart like a dagger—sharp, unexpected, and somehow a little comforting. Janus seemed almost oblivious to the storm inside me and went on to say,
“I love you so much that I don’t care what you’re hiding, Ruby. Nothing you could say would ever change the way I feel about you. I don’t care if you’re an Ibasan or a runaway slave; my heart is yours, no matter what.”
“You say that, but I can’t help but be terrified, Janus. This isn’t something anyone else knows—no one, except the pope and...”
“Wait, the POPE!”
“She was the one questioning me, along with the solar knight's grand master. I don't know how many others in the church know. I wanted to tell you sooner, but I feared you might start a fight with the church on my behalf if you knew what I was before coming here.”
“Ruby, what?...”
“I’m a demon.” My voice broke on the words, barely more than a whisper.
"Huh? A demon, what do you mean?”
“It's like I said—I’m a demon, a real in-the-flesh demon, the same as the fairy tales, the same that…”
Janus’s laughter burst out, harsh and too loud in the silence of the room. “Pft—hahaha. Stop joking, Ruby! HAHAHA—a demon?”
“I’m not joking, Janus,” I said, my voice shaking. “It’s just... not all demons are like they are described in books.”
“Hehehe”
“Will you listen?” I snapped, my voice cracking as desperation welled up inside me. “Please, Janus—just let me finish.”
“Sorry, I don't know where you are going with this, but keep going.”
At first, he just laughed, brushing off my words as though I were spinning some wild prank. But as I kept talking, my voice trembling as I laid bare the truth about demons and where I came from, his laughter faded. The color drained from his face, and he began to pace, his steps restless and his hands clenching at his sides as anxiety built with every impossible detail I revealed.
“Is this true? Really true?”
“Yes”
“So you died, met the real GOD, then decided fuck that and instead became a demon?”
“Not the exact words I'd use, but that sums it up.”
“How come there aren't way more demons?”
“Well, many fail and become corrupted, dying shortly after manifesting themselves, or they use up too much mana just from existing and die.”
“And you don't have that corruption thing?”
“I do, it's just perfectly sealed within me. It can't get out.”
“Good, good... Wait, but then how are you still alive? On your first day here, you exhausted so much mana healing everyone that you fell asleep.”
“There are safeties I put in place, like falling asleep, so I don't use everything up like on my first day or when I saved you.”
Janus collapsed backward onto the bed, all strength and bravado draining away at once. He lay staring at the ceiling, breathing deeply to calm himself before asking,
“And the kids?”
“They are one hundred percent human. I only made sure they would be the best and healthiest kids we could ever have, and that's it.”
“And the white hair?”
“I don't know why they have it too, but with me it's like a curse upon my soul, making it almost impossible to change my skin, hair, or eye color. And even if I do, it changes back soon after.”
“And is this really all true?”
“I promised myself I wouldn't lie to you ever again, so yes, it's true. You can ask me anything.”