Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

When Desmond closed the door behind him after they entered the residence, Jade came up to him with a pale face and scared expression.

"Brother…" She whispered.

Desmond\'s eyes were pulled to a letter in her hand. On the outside of the letter was a single symbol indicating the sender. It was the same as after the Exhibition Tournament: a shattered orb. He gingerly took the letter from her and opened it.

~Desmond Adler,

It seems you have made progress in developing a relationship with Lucius Kane as we requested. It was interesting to learn that you simply gave our private letter to him. The decision left us dumbfounded, but it seems to have worked in your favor.

We wished to make another request of you, Lord Adler. It is likely that Lord Kane will be forced to leave Arcadios. When he does, we want you to join him. Lucius Kane is an unpredictable variable to our plans. As such we wish for you to remain his ardent supporter.

He may make decisions that most sane people would never imagine. His actions will appear questionable, but we ask that you act as his intermediary. Our plans rely on him being unpredictable. Sometimes throwing chaos into an unstable situation is what is needed.

Whether you decide to disclose this request to your newfound ally or not is your decision. If you feel that it is for the best then do so.

Should you share it with him though? Please ensure to highlight this: Good luck finding us.

Await further information. But do not worry… We shall find you.~

Desmond slowly put the letter down before rubbing his temples. Part of him did not want to show this new letter to Lucius because he was not sure how the man would take this challenge. Lucius seemed somewhat competitive at times and completely uncaring at others.

"What will you do? What should we do? If they could get into our home…" Jade questioned.

"Don\'t worry. We will be leaving anyway for some time. So do not worry about security. I will also check with Lucius that we can stay the night at the embassy. I have a feeling these people would not dare infiltrate his actual residence."

Desmond quietly patted his sister on her head as they gathered some of their important items and left to go to the embassy. When they arrived, the guards let them in without fuss. Lucius and Rena had already retired to their private room for the day.

There was no way of knowing how long they would be away, so it only made sense they wanted to have as much time as they could together. "Desmond, welcome."

Lucius\'s mother, Rubellia, greeted them just inside the doorway. She had a soft smile on her face and wore simple clothes. Though she now had the funding from her son to afford much more expensive clothing, she simply felt more comfortable dressing as she always had.

"Hello, Lady Rubellia. Might Jade and I stay over for the night?"

"Of course! There are many spare rooms in the estate to be used."

"Thank you… are there any on the first floor? I think I would rather leave the second floor to the love birds." Desmond laughed.

Rubellia and Jade joined him in laughing at the duo upstairs. Things for Rena were unstable at the moment, so it was highly likely that they were up to their usual antics together. As such, no one really wanted to be nearby if they could avoid it.

Rubellia guided them to a table where Kalliope, Natali, and Lyrah were already at the table enjoying some simple drinks and snacks. They seemed to be chatting about the trial. Kalliope in particular seemed to be rather upset about the whole thing.

"It was simply a sham. Though I don\'t know what I expected from a human nation. Your laws are constructed to benefit the nobility." She grumbled.

"You know, that trait isn\'t unique to us, right?" Lyrah advised. "Even beastman laws favor those in power."

"Right, but in beastman kingdoms you can gain nobility by being strong. Some are lucky and born strong, others make themselves strong."

"Name one person who made themselves strong and were not so by right of birth." Lyrah smiled sarcastically.

"Your father." Kalliope answered with a deadpan expression. "He may have been born into the House of Kane, but he was weak before he made himself what he is now."

"Your brother as well." Desmond interjected as he sat down in an empty space next to Lyrah.

She glanced at him with her beautiful silver eyes. "That may be true, but what if it was destined for Lucius to be strong? What then?"

Desmond smiled, "Are you saying all futures are resolute? Do you not challenge the future in your position as an Oracle?"

Lyrah smiled at him, "A fair point, Lord Addler."

"Just Desmond."

"Of course, Desmond." Lyrah then looked back at Kalliope, "All I am saying is that laws are unfair no matter where you go. As far as punishments go, brother dearest got off well I think."

"We still don\'t know what he will be doing. Though I guess you do?" Kalliope grumbled.

"I don\'t have an answer for every little thing, you know. It takes a lot of effort to glimpse our futures. I only look at the important things." Lyrah said with a shrug. "Besides, I see many futures well past his exile for him still, so I at least know he will be okay and that is good enough for me."

"That\'s unfair, Lyrah… You can\'t just say that and not tell us!" Jade complained, though only half-heartedly.

"Of course I can. If I tell you things about the future, then you might act to change it in unpredictable ways. Now, not all things can be changed… but some of the important parts might. For example…" Lyrah stood and walked over to whisper something in Jade\'s ears.

It was quiet enough that even Kalliope did not hear because the wolf-girl did not seem to react. Jade, on the other hand, reacted very visibly. Her face became flushed and red.

"Surely not…"

"Well, if you don\'t want it to be true, you can make it not be. Congratulations, your future is truly in your hands. Of course if you choose to do nothing, then everything will go as predicted." Lyrah smiled, then she added with a giggle, "That is unless it is an unchangeable truth… Who knows?"

"Lyrah!" Jade shouted.

Desmond smiled and laughed at the antics of the two. He was starting to feel like he was part of the group. At first he wanted to keep himself separate for protecting his sister and also to avoid getting on Lucius\'s bad side. However, moments like this made him realize that his friendships with these people were a separate matter.

Though they were all connected to Lucius, they were not Lucius himself. Desmond felt himself start to relax for the first time in a while as he realized that he was making friends for the first time in his life.