Chapter 11: Fragments of Mystery
"Miss Esther, do you need anything?" A maid asks when I stop and look down at the floor, seeing many shards of glass. It seems someone threw a lot of glass items out the window, and they shattered on the floor.
"Whose glass is this? And why hasn’t it been cleaned up yet?" I question, as my maid looks up, seeming bothered by something and uncertain of what to say.
"W-Well, I believe it’s Evelyn’s, and it probably hasn’t been cleaned up because... well..." She speaks, as I crouch down, picking up one of the glass shards and smelling it.
I understand now, they haven’t cleaned it up because it’s the "family failure’s" mess, but that’s ridiculous. They’re maids and should clean it up regardless of who made the mess it’s their duty to keep everything in order.
’It’s different than I imagined...’ It has the same scent as Evelyn, but it’s slightly different at the same time.
"If you’re bothered, I can take care of it," my maid says while I look at her and then back at the glass shard. I pause briefly before speaking.
"...What’s your name again?" I ask, and she seems heartbroken, but I don’t care. I don’t bother trying to remember the names of mere servants.
"I’m..."
"You know what, never mind, you can leave. I want to be alone, and send someone to come clean up the path," I interrupt her coldly, as I start walking, stepping on the broken glass shards on the floor while carrying this single fragment.
The maid ends up leaving, disappointed, as I sit on a bench along the path, looking at the window of Evelyn’s room. She’s my older sister, but honestly, I’ve never expected anything from her.
She’s weak, she doesn’t have what it takes to be a real threat to me and the others... that’s what the truth was... until today, where that may no longer be the truth, since at the banquet she acted differently, with an unsettling confidence, as if she knew something no one else did.
’She’s still weak, she doesn’t seem to indicate many changes... but something has changed...’ I look at the glass in my hand, seeing my reflection, my red eyes being perfectly reflected in the glass.
"..." I decide to observe her room, I want to know if she will be a future threat to my goals or if she’s just being stupidly arrogant, after all, it could just be a desperate arrogance.
I’m not someone who underestimates others even a cornered rat can attack a cat, so even someone as weak as Evelyn can cause damage. Until now, I’ve been able to roughly gauge the pace of each sibling.
However, if Evelyn has changed, I need to re-analyze her and review what she can and cannot do. Evelyn always spent large parts of her time in her room, so I’ll start by seeing if that has changed.
’Mirrors... why did she discard her mirrors?’ Narcissism, that word perfectly defines Evelyn’s existence. I’ve never seen anyone as narcissistic and convinced of their appearance as her.
Even being weak, she never stops boasting about her beauty, as if beauty were something useful. In the end, beauty is the only thing she has, so it makes sense that she takes such good care of it.
’I can’t see from this position’ I wonder what she will do. I try to use magic to get a better perception of her room and see what will happen. If she doesn’t show many changes compared to the past, I’ll just dismiss this as mere madness on her part.
"..." I spend the next 4 hours standing by her window, analyzing everything I can about her a deep and detailed analysis. I’ve done this with all my siblings, and never expected to have to redo an analysis for the weakest sister in the family.
However, as time passes, I’m surprised by the things that happen. I don’t know 100% what’s going on in there, and I’m not using my power because I didn’t think it was necessary.
But what I’ve seen is enough to understand, and I’m surprised. That weak girl who lives like a sewer rat, hidden in a dilapidated room while stealing food from the kitchen, now shows her claws and teeth to a maid, trying to assert respect, and she actually succeeds.
The maid ends up on her knees, crying, probably begging for her life. I believe the maid didn’t notice what really happened, but I did.
’Those are... lines?’ Thin, very thin, the thinnest I’ve ever seen. They’re weak and fragile, but sharp enough to cause real damage. It’s not yet a real threat to anyone strong, but it shows something.
’I wasn’t wrong, from the moment Evelyn had the courage to speak to our father in that way, something wasn’t right... should I... kill her?’ It’s easy, she’s weak, with my power a small accident would end her life.
In fact, I could do it now, and in less than an hour, she’d be dead in a simple common accident. But the real question is, is it worth killing her? It’s not like we share any psychological, physical, magical, or biological bond.
Brother and Sister is just a silly title we’re given because we’re all competing for the title of Demon King, but in the end, we have nothing to do with each other, and we only call each other siblings out of convenience.
After all, in the end, we were all born of magic, not naturally generated like other beings.
Other "siblings" have also noticed the incongruity. We are analytical, we are competing, so we always analyze each other. Evelyn was the highlight of that banquet.
Some probably will just dismiss it as nothing special, but not me. I know the truth of this world changes mean things out of plan, which also means things can get in my way.
"For now, she’s still not a problem, but now I need to be more attentive to her." Even the mightiest of monsters can be killed by the simplest of things if well managed.
Demons live on the basis of strength, but sometimes the weak find a new kind of unique strength of their own, and that strength can be a real problem. For me, true strength is not pure individual power, but the ability to adapt with what one has and excel above others using it.
"Father also noticed, he let Evelyn use the same facilities as everyone else, which means he also realized it Evelyn has changed at some point..." If the Demon King himself recognized this, it shows that it’s not just a paranoid delusion on my part.
’I’ll go out for now and prepare for dinner.’ I need to determine the following: Is Evelyn a real potential threat to my future plans? Or, even changed, will she still continue to be a failure in everyone’s eyes?
Depending on which of the two she is, I will change my approach. If she’s a potential threat, I must decide between killing her, waiting, or letting her destroy herself, just as I’m waiting for my other siblings to kill each other.
But if she continues to be a failure, I’ll just ignore her as always. And if there’s a third option... well, I just need to adapt to that and change the rules in my favor.
I get up from the place, throwing the glass shard on the floor. I’ve seen enough for today. Evelyn can no longer be underestimated. It remains to be seen whether she will be a problem or not.
’I wonder which of the siblings will move because of this, and whether it’s good or bad is something I’ll have to see.’ I wonder which of them will move out of interest, and which will just ignore it.
I start walking the path in silence, feeling the fresh evening air. I look up at the sky, it’s beautiful, undeniably beautiful. I hear the singing of birds in some corners, preparing to go to sleep in their nests.
I hear the sound of the maids inside the castle preparing everything, and I can perfectly hear the sound of the insects in the environment.
’One day... I will kill all this...’ One day I will be the queen. When I’m strong enough, nothing will remain in this world. Thinking about this future puts a smile on my face.
I can’t wait to gain the power I so desire to be able to fulfill this dream.
"I believe Evelyn will appear at dinner tonight..." Dinner takes place in separate rooms, usually each of us goes to a room alone, since we don’t like to socialize with each other.
However, Evelyn has now changed. Before, she didn’t have a table set just for her, like the rest of us who have an entire table to ourselves.
And I don’t think that will change. The maids will continue to treat her badly, but she is now daring, and if she is really trying to show that she is not just a failure, then she will go to one of our dinner tables, even without being invited, and participate in the dinner.
’I wonder which table Evelyn will choose.’ This is curious and even slightly exciting. Finally, things are moving again, and with things moving, it means only one thing.
’Soon we will start trying to kill each other. I must prepare to kill any assassin who invades my room.’ I’m not a target for my other siblings, I’ve kept a low profile enough to be ignored as someone who doesn’t need to be attacked for being "neutral."
However, it’s obvious that at least some attacks made by them will happen to me. I just need to kill any annoying intruder and continue the rest of the night in peace.