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Tales of Fairies and Other Creatures is the title of a series of fantasy romance novels that only became more acclaimed after a successful manhwa adaptation; a well-loved story known for memorable characters, beautiful illustrations and a loosely fairytale-inspired narrative.

Set in a human Kingdom — ruled by the Female Lead’s father — along with the neighboring forest — ruled by the Demon King and inhabited by a variety of magical creatures — the setting initially lends itself to be fairly cliché, between Princess Iris being kidnapped by the Demon King and a Hero setting out to rescue her.

Rather than the typical plotline where the human Princess is rescued from an evil monster’s lair by a knight in shining armor, however, TFOC centers around Iris’ discovery of her father’s involvement in a magical-creature trafficking operation, the Demon King kidnapping her in a last ditch effort to protect his people.

It’s a series full of slow-burn romance, joint efforts to overthrow a corrupt King, heartbreaking deaths and a happy ending where human and fae Kingdoms unite through the FL and ML’s marriage. All in all a good balance between cliché tropes and fresh enough twists to make it worth a read. 

Mizi was first introduced to the novels by her childhood friend, quickly becoming enamored with the setting and moving onto the manhwa adaptation upon its release. She has read both sources enough times to know each scene and character design by heart.

A teenage girl stares at her reflection in the mirror, moonlight pouring into the room through tall windows to reveal familiar surroundings. She recognizes each element, from elegant furnishings down to their placement; how could she not when she’s watched Iris move around the room a million times before.

So she drinks in the sight, taking note of how her hair grows pink from the root instead of requiring dye, how previously brown eyes are now pure gold, and how the lack of glasses doesn’t make her vision blur in the slightest. 

Mizi Kim was an 18 year old Korean woman, adopted by a loving single mother and raised in a quiet, affluent neighborhood. Her life was the very definition of comfortable but average. Then, while returning home from school with her childhood friend, she was involved in an unfortunate traffic accident and tragically killed.

Mizi Anakt is the only daughter and sole heiress to the King of Anakt; the crown Princess and current 15 year old female lead.

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Mizi suspects this is what college entrance exams season would’ve been like — had she lived long enough to experience it, that is. She does vividly remember her senior complaining about exhaustion, nausea and babbling anxiety, so it sounds just about the same as far as she’s concerned.

Waking up hours before sunrise after a nasty fever, Mizi spent the rest of her time up until now crying over her own untimely death. She silently prayed for it all to be an awfully lucid dream, but is sad to report that after all the tears,  she feels just as any awake and living person should: horrible.

Her crying session and overthinking, however, did allow her to reach a few conclusions:

1. She did, indeed, die and reincarnate into the world of TFOC. She can deny it no longer, arms pinched sore to no avail and eyes swollen.

2. She was reincarnated 15 years ago but just now regained the memories of her past life. Mizi once read an isekai manhwa where the original FL’s body is possessed, but is certain this isn’t such a case; if it were, Iris’ original appearance and name would’ve been preserved, but this body and name are undoubtedly her own.

3. She vehemently refuses to allow the original plot to play out.

“Princess…”

The soft call snaps Mizi from her thoughts, finally taking note of how she’s been poking at a grape for an unspecified amount of time, lady in waiting silently judging her from where she stands. The worst part is she can’t quite blame Maria for the obvious concern in her eyes, seeing as she looks less like a Princess and more like a widow at the moment.

“Sorry, Maria,” Mizi offers a rather unconvincing smile, “I’m still a bit tired. Mind if I eat alone and rest some more afterwards?”

“Of course, your Highnesss,” she gives a hesitant look but bows regardless, “Please call if you need anything.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The door clicks shut behind her. Mizi waits a few more seconds before leaving the bed and walking over to the desk by the window. She doesn’t have much of an appetite, and would prefer to sort her thoughts out anyways, so the grapes will have to wait.

Tales of Fairies and Other Creatures is — although more progressive than other pieces of similar media — a hetero-centric romance story. This was a fact she had no issue with as a reader, but which she is now painfully aware of as a lesbian trapped within the FL’s role.

Pulling an old journal from the depths of a desk drawer, Mizi readies ink and a quill before writing the title ‘TFOC’s plot and how to avoid it’ onto a fresh page. With the knowledge that Korean isn’t spoken in this world and thus makes for a safer way to record her plans from now on, she opts to use hangul rather than the loopy writing system she’s been taught in this life.

Let’s see, I should start by writing down the general order of events.

At the age of 16, Iris awakens unmatched healing powers. Her abilities allow her to play a key role in aiding the Demon King, but also serve as a plot device to make them grow closer in the long run.

At the age of 19, Iris is abducted and taken to the forest Kingdom, Blocell. Her father’s corruption is revealed to her soon after during a discussion with the ML. 

As the Princess becomes familiar with the forest and fae, her childhood friend and the story’s Hero sets off to defeat the Demon King and rescue her. Except he’s instead pulled into the main couple’s shenanigans, joining their ploy to overthrow the King. 

Iris should be around 21 or 22 by the time the rebellion against her father picks up, and she marries the Demon King a year after taking the crown. Tapping the quill against her desk, Mizi hums. 

Unlike Iris who gets kidnapped without knowledge of her father’s actions or a single clue on how to become a useful ally, Mizi has the upper hand, seeing as she knows the plot like the back of her hand.

Instead of marrying him, maybe I can just become a good ally for Soren…?

It would certainly allow her to live a good life of her own. Successfully defeating her father would result in her inheriting the crown quickly, and rather than uniting the Kingdoms through marriage, a strong friendship should suffice.

“That could work!” A genuine smile graces her lips, “All I have to do is focus on strengthening my magic. Iris only ever focused on healing, but I should be able to expand on it.”

Scribbling down a handful of notes, a sudden thought crosses her mind and brings her to a pause. “Can I save Sua if I become stronger…?”

Sua is the Demon King’s right hand woman, a genius witch and Mizi’s fictional crush since the ripe age of 14. She’s a beautiful, elegant, blunt woman who is abused for most of her childhood and then rescued by Soren, leading her to fall for him.

Unfortunately, Sua winds up dying at the hands of a powerful mage sent by Iris’ father to defeat the Demon King, with the Princess being unable to heal her due to her extensive wounds. Her death leads to the ML strengthening his resolve to kill the human King, while the FL decides to improve her magic.

Mizi still remembers the uproar caused by Sua’s death, her own forum posts ranging from crying and demanding explanations from the author who so cruelly disposed of her beloved character, Ivan attempting to comfort her the whole time.

Her thoughts come to a halt the moment Ivan’s memory appears.

Ivan Choi was the only son to the family across the street from Mizi’s home. With both children being the same age and sharing schools their entire childhoods, being friends came as easy as breathing. 

The truth of the matter is Mizi has very few memories without Ivan in them: they would study, play and head home together, spending hours upon hours reading manhwa on Mizi’s bed. He was her closest friend, the one who introduced her to TFOC, as well as the one by her side when she died.

The memory of her friend makes her eyes sting with fresh tears, glancing at her notes on each character before settling on a specific name.

The one who Ivan adored above all, and the main reason behind his obsession with the series, was none other than her current childhood friend, the future Hero of the story, as well as the man who will die protecting Mizi: Till. 

Iris meets him after sneaking out of the castle when she’s young, little boy encountering the crying Princess and not only comforting her, but also helping her return home. He was a fiery but kind child, bullied and abused throughout his childhood due to possessing mixed elven and human blood. 

His death was greatly mourned by the fans, with his loss greatly impacting and fueling Iris, even if the Princess never realizes his feelings for her in the end. 

If I become stronger, maybe I can save them both… He can move on from me and live a full, happy life.

Mizi takes a deep breath in, then out. “It’s fine, it’ll work out! I just have to do my best!”

And so, the plan is drawn.

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Ivan is 15 years old when he remembers his past life and realizes he’s been reincarnated into his favorite manhwa series.

The honest to god truth is he thinks it’s a little funny. Just a bit.

Don’t get him wrong: the situation is definitely difficult to process. The ravenette spends a good few minutes glancing around the room he’s seen drawn out countless times before the realization sets in. Then he spends a handful more letting the fact that his father in this life was killed a few days ago sink in.

Ivan’s previous life was a rather monotonous one. A wealthy but emotionally distant family, heavy expectations, repetitive schedules… The truth of the matter is he had very little attachment to it, so the realization he's lost it is almost entirely painless. 

Almost .

Mizi was a lively girl with a glass-half-full sort of approach to life, her mother equally warm and doting with her daughter: if Ivan was the moon, Mizi was undoubtedly the sun.

And sure, he didn’t lose much by dying young, but the thought of her passing away by his side and being unable to carry out her dreams of becoming a nurse certainly leaves a bitter aftertaste. In what would’ve otherwise been an almost unbearable existence, Mizi’s hand holding his own and her mother welcoming him into their home was Ivan’s solace.

“I wonder if she’s here too,” he mumbles into the darkness of the room, voice hoarse from crying over family he can no longer fully perceive as his own.

The Demon King, Soren, lost his remaining parent while being 15 years old. It left behind the pressure of caring for a Kingdom and forced him to grow up quickly.

The manhwa — although never going into much detail — provided the readers with small snippets of his upbringing, with his support system consisting of peers only a handful of years older than himself and the work left behind by his father probing grueling for a mere child. It was used to explain his initial cold demeanor, which slowly crumbles as he grows closer to Iris.

The manhwa — while never going into much detail — provided the readers with small snippets of his ubringing, support system consisting of peers only a handful of years older than him and work gruelling. This was used to explain his initial cold demeanor, which slowly clumbles as he grows closer to Iris.

… Wait a minute.

The realization hits him like a brick. Because he’s been reincarnated as Soren, and the plot hasn’t changed the slightest thus far, which means he’s currently the still young male lead of a hetero-centric romance. Even worse, this very same plot also results in the death of Ivan’s most beloved character.

Perhaps due to sleep deprivation after nights of crying over his father, or maybe because the whole situation is a bit ridiculous, Ivan manages to chuckle. “I’m doomed.”

Doomed to inherit a kingdom by morning. Doomed to have a woman (the one his lesbian best friend used to spam pictures of through KakaoTalk) fall for him. Doomed to meet the ungrateful woman who ignored Till’s love, and doomed to marry said ungrateful woman, no less! Doomed to watch Till lose his life for her, too!

Ivan wonders if he’s being cursed with another life of pretending to be heterosexual, and genuinely weighs the possibility of it being a sick joke. First he’s expected to become a surgeon, and now a King?

No… I’m settling. A lot of plot points are dependent on each other. The story will only happen that way if nothing changes.

Ivan has been assuming things will go exactly as they did in the original work, all without considering the new variable in this ridiculous equation: him . 

He not only has in-depth knowledge of the world building, plot and characters of this series, but is also now able to alter the world around him in whichever way he deems fit. It also so happens he’s been reborn as the most overpowered character in the entire series, too.

“If I play my cards well, I can make this work nicely…”

In the original story, Soren maintains a diplomatic relationship with Anakt up until the magical-creature poachers begin trespassing into the forest. Even then, he attempts to keep things cordial, appealing for the King to intervene. 

The breaking point that leads to Iris’ kidnapping is when the twins who cared for him after his father’s death are attacked by the poachers, leaving one of them dead and the other badly injured.

Unlike Soren, Ivan should be able to avoid the injury that leaves Hyuna almost dead, save Hyun Woo, help Sua sooner, and reduce the poacher’s harm to the forest with the information he has. If he builds his team’s strengths with clearer goals in mind — teaching Iris stronger magic, for example — he can even save Sua and, most importantly, Till. 

As for meeting the ungrateful woman (aka Iris), there really isn’t much he can do about it. Ivan could opt not to kidnap her and attempt to take down the King on his own, but her healing magic is second to none in the story.

Even if Ivan did manage to kill the King by himself, not teaching Iris stronger healing magic could still lead to Till dying, which is likely to happen considering who his killer in the original story is. All this to say Ivan isn’t willing to gamble with the elf’s life like that, and the safest way to get the Hero on his side is if he comes looking for Iris in Blocell.

Meeting her is an unfortunate but small price to pay if he can ensure Till’s well-being.

In the novel, the romance is a slow-burn that only progresses due to Soren being drawn in by the female lead’s personality.

He rises from the bed and moves to rummage through a few drawers before finding spare paper, ink and a quill.

Iris’ borderline saintly kindness holds no appeal to him in any meaningful way, so the chances of any romantic feelings surfacing without his engagement are fairly low. If he makes no move, the likelihood of Till and her getting a happy ending of their own also increase.

I should focus on Sua, Hyuna and Hyun Woo first. The twins are already strong so they should be easy to handle, but Sua doesn’t fully develop her magic until she leaves her owner’s grasp.

At a young age, Sua was illegally sold off to a particularly unsavory woman looking for cheap labor; a talented, young witch certainly made potion production much quicker, and the mistress was anything but lenient when it came to mistakes. 

Her business had been an unmistakable success when Soren stumbled upon it at 17 years old, taking Sua under his wing swiftly after. Ivan could theoretically wait two more years to find her, but the thought of leaving Mizi’s treasured character to be abused for longer doesn’t sit well with him, so he decides to do it in the morning.

“Haha, I have a headache…” there’s the slightest hint of genuine amusement behind his laughter, circling Sua's name on the page.

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Mizi’s plan had been crystal clear upon its initial conception: use the remaining year until her powers awaken to pour her attention into studying magic. Building a strong knowledge foundation should make improving applied magic easier in the future, right>

Barely 3 days in, however, she comes to realize it was a naively simple scheme. She completely failed to take into account how rigorous the education of a crown Princess would be.

Mathematics, economics, political science, etiquette, philosophy… her lessons take up 6 full hours of her day, and Mizi has no doubt in her mind that the author of TFOC was most definitely Korean, seeing as her tutors are carbon copies of the most hellish teachers she had to deal with in her past life.

Still, she persists. It becomes ritualistic to spend 2 hours studying magic after her daily lectures, lunch delivered to the library and small bites taken while furiously scribbling down notes on every minute detail deemed important enough. 

While not exactly the most studious in her past life, Mizi has always been a curious person, and the moment something catches her eye she can’t help but be drawn in completely. It just so happens TFOC’s magic system is interesting enough to keep her engaged.

The magic system is mostly element-based. The author did make it a bit complex with the spell formulation, but…

Let’s say Mizi gets a cut on her arm, for example. In order to heal the wound with magic she would first need to understand which layers of tissue to fix, then be able to visualize their reconstruction and ultimately formulate the correct spell to carry out the process. It’s similar to coding in the sense that it requires in-depth knowledge on processes and formulas to execute them.

It’s right up my alley!

Becoming a nurse was a childhood dream of hers, and Mizi often found herself engrossed in books on anatomy, physiology, biology and chemistry. A novel in which the FL’s strength is already healing magic, but also with a system that plays right into Mizi’s personal strengths is unbelievable luck!

Mizi sets her book down with a soft sigh, glancing out the window and taking note of the sun’s placement. It’s the perfect time of day to carry out the next step of her plan.

Faking a yawn and stretching a little, the Princess turns to face her lady in waiting. “Maria, I think I’m going to take a nap,” she does her best to feign exhaustion, “It’s okay if you don’t bring my snack later, I’m really full today!”

Maria bows from her spot by the door, “Of course, your Highness. Please, rest well and call me if you need anything.”

The door clicks shut and Mizi holds her breath, waiting for the footsteps in the hallway to move further down before she springs to her feet.

Rummaging through her closet, she soon retrieves a bundle of clothing prepared in advance, because Mizi may adore dresses, but pants are far preferable when one plans to escape their room through a window. How else is she supposed to meet Till?

Iris meets the boy by pure coincidence, sneaking out of the palace through a hidden opening along the garden wall only to get lost in the surrounding forest. After their first encounter, however, the Princess picks up the habit of sneaking out every few days to meet the half-elven boy, who soon becomes a dear friend and her confidant.

It’s been a week since her last outing — preoccupied with getting sick, regaining past life memories and all that fun stuff she never meant to do — so the chances of Till overthinking her absence to hell and back are high. This is something she must absolutely do!

Can you see me, Ivan? I’m about to climb out of a freaking window for Till. Are you proud? Do you find it funny?

He most definitely would. Especially so when Mizi’s knees seemingly turn to jell-o, tossing tied blankets out her window only to realize how high up she really is and– oh dear god, she used to do this twice a week?! Who knew regaining memories of a modern Korean life would weaken her nerves this much? It’s as though every ounce of fantasy-novel-bravery has drained out of her

You can do it Mizi! One day you’ll lead a revolution against your father! This is nothing compared to the battlefield. You’ve done this so many times before, too!

Her descent is very, very slow, with shaky and clammy hands clinging onto fabric for precious, dear, second chance at life. She’ll be damned if she dies from an accident again.

Using the stairs to make her way down to the garden would’ve been much easier, sure, but the risk of the hidden opening being discovered and sealed shut has always made her reconsider the method used. What if Maria sees her and snitches? So the window is her only way out, scary as it may be. 

Mizi feels lightheaded by the time her feet touch ground, crumbling to her knees with a soft wheeze. She did it! It’ll likely take a few more times before she regains her previous confidence with it, but a win is a win.

Finally regaining her composure, the young Princess makes her way through the flower garden her room faces. The wall that surrounds it is made of stone that stretches impossibly high from where she stands, decorative bushes and flowers planted at its feet and keeping her little treasure hidden.

Mizi drops to her knees, hurriedly feeling along the surface hidden behind vegetation and beaming when her palm suddenly passes through. Bingo! She only has to push a few branches and flowers aside before she’s able to worm her way through the opening and out of the castle. 

The forest on the other side of the wall is thick, but Mizi knows exactly where to go by now, having met Till countless times before. She stands, dusts herself off, then begins treading through the maze of trees until reaching the familiar clearing. Amidst a sea of red poppies, she spots a lone boy. 

“Till!”

The figure startles at the sudden call, silver hair a mess and teal eyes wide with surprise. His expression lights up at the sight of her, scrambling to his feet, “Mizi!”

It’s a bit strange, how her memories from before remembering her past life often don’t feel much like her own; it’s more like watching them happen to Iris rather than herself. But the joy that comes with seeing Till feels entirely hers . It’s the same familiar warmth she felt when seeing Ivan after being apart for longer than a few days.

Maybe that’s why she tears up a bit, and maybe that’s what compels her to tackle Till in a hug. She’s not sure. But as they fall amongst red flowers and the young boy lets out a soft ‘oof!’ with his arms around her, the relief of not being utterly alone in this world washes over her.

“Mizi?? Are you okay?”

“Hm? Oh, yes!” the girl pushes herself up, looking at him through tears and with the brightest smile she’s managed in the past few days, “Yes. I’m really good, actually! I missed you.” She may have no romantic interest in Till, both due to being a raging lesbian but also mentally 18 while he’s barely 14, but she treasures him as her dearest friend in this world.

The way he blushes all the way to the tips of his pointy ears is cartoonish. Mizi can’t help but laugh a bit while giving him space to do the same.

“I-I missed you too…” he mumbles while averting his gaze, the suddenly seems to realize something and quickly meets her eyes, “But where were you? I haven’t seen you at all in a week.”

Guilt stabs at her consciousness with the way his eyes turn a bit dejected, her brain conjuring Ivan’s voice demanding she fix what she’s done. “I’m so sorry, Till. I really did mean to visit, but I got sick and had to stay in bed for a few days.”

His eyebrows furrow with concern, “Wait, are you okay now?”

“Yes! Good as new, don’t worry!” Mizi wonders if Till was always this cute in the manhwa and she was too enamored by Sua to notice, or if their current friendship is making him cuter in her eyes, “How about you, have you been well while I was gone?”

Till blushes again, eyes glued to the ground while twirling a flower between his fingers, “Yeah, a bit lonely,” he mumbles, “B-but! I managed to get a new job! And it’s paying really well, so I’ll be able to get my own place eventually.”

Her heart aches at his words, smiling nonetheless, “I’m glad… you know, I could always give you some stuff to sell so you can get out sooner.”

“No way! I don’t wanna sell your stuff, I’ll just work for it!”

Mizi thinks she finally understands why Ivan took such a shine for the story’s Hero.

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Upon first reading the novels, Ivan immediately took a liking to Hyuna.

A wild, no-nonsense, straightforward character who shone brightly on her own… she reminded him of Till right away, albeit with a more cheery disposition and a peculiar bravado. The later friendship between her and the elf only fueled Ivan’s positive views on the demoness.

Hyuna and Hyun Woo are a pair of demon twins who grew up in Anakt’s slums, barely scraping by with whatever leftover food they could secure before stealing became their main source of livelihood.

Between impeccable team work, Hyuna’s proficiency with the bow, Hyun Woo’s swordsmanship and their sharp intuitions, the demon twins were a force to be reckoned with. So much so, in fact, they managed to catch the late Demon King’s eye, leading to him taking them under his wing.

They were young — only 5 years older than Soren — yet were trusted enough to be made the young Prince’s closest guards. So when Soren’s father is killed by a young but powerful angel sent from Anakt, the barely 20 year old siblings take over caring for he now orphaned Prince.

In the novel, Soren often speaks of their childhood under their tutelage with fondness, recounting all sorts of stories of the chaotic years after his father’s passing when he becomes closer with Iris and begins opening up.

“Hyun Woo, fucking do something!”

“What you want me to do about THAT?!”

Ivan stares, smile frozen on his face as he drinks in the sight of Hyuna rushing around the castle’s kitchen with a frankly ablaze pan in hand. The thing is burning so fiercely he can’t help but be mildly fascinated, actually.

Soren was a fairly sensitive and kind child before his father’s passing, and up until regaining his memories Ivan had been practically the same, albeit less shy. It would seem the twins took this into account and requested the castle’s staff vacate the premises for a few days, hoping to give him space to mourn in peace.

This decision, evidently, included the royal cook.

It would also seem they heavily overestimated their ability to care for him on their own, seeing as Ivan is forced to get up, take the pan from Hyuna’s hand and put out the fire by placing it under the running faucet.

There’s a brief moment of silence, all three staring at the smoking but no longer burning kitchenware with unspoken relief. 

“Well done, Iv!” Hyuna breaks the silence with a hearty laugh, ruffling his hair, “You’ve always been quick on your feet, hm?”

Ivan chuckles a bit, looking up and feeling ‘Soren’s’ lingering affection bubble up, “Noona’s never been great at cooking. Yesterday’s dinner was also burnt.”

The twins blink owlishly at him before Hyuna speaks up, “‘Noona’? What’s that?”

Ah… old habits die hard. “Hmm… common language for an older sister?”

“Ha?! No fair, I want to be an older brother too, the hell?” Hyun Woo complains while pushing his sister aside.

“Hyun Woo would be Hyung,” Ivan hums, picking out a new pan and rummaging through the kitchen in search of ingredients, “We really don’t have much left… I’ll just make scrambled eggs.”

“You know how to cook?” Hyun Woo raises an eyebrow in disbelief.

“I do.”

I used to cook for myself and Mizi almost daily, after all.

Cooking while listening to the twin’s lighthearted bickering and endless chatter is comforting. Makes him realize he’s not as alone as he initially believed, but also makes him miss a certain pink haired girl. 

The castle has a lavish dining room full of elegant furniture and expensive decor.  All three of them seem to silently deem the small wooden table in the corner of the kitchen as preferable, settling down to eat once each plate has been served.

Ivan pretends not to notice worried glances exchanged between demons, and ignores the silent looks sent his way. Instead, he casts his focus on the first proper meal he’s had since his father’s death. 

“You seem to be in better spirits,” Hyuna comments, tone cautious as if to not unleash another wave of hurt, “Want us to call the staff back? If you feel like eatin' again, we really can’t do much on our own.”

He considers it briefly, “No… I don’t think I want staff anymore, actually.”

“You do realize this castle is huge, right?” the demon motions vaguely with his spoon.

“I should be able to clean it with magic, and I don’t mind cooking for us,” Ivan takes a spoonful and glances around as he chews. “Plus, I’m bringing someone in today. We’ll have another set of hands to help around.”

Hyuna reaches over the table, pushing at Ivan’s horns so their eyes meet, “Who the hell you bringin' in?”

Ivan smiles, snaggletooth and gleam in his eyes making him look a tad bit too conniving for a 15 year old, “I’ve found a promising witch in need of some help.”

“Why the fuck do you look so evil?” Hyuna makes a face, using his horn to shake him around just a bit.

“Una, you’ll give him a concussion…” her brother smacks her hand before turning to Ivan, “So, who’s this witch?”

“Her name is Sua. The madam who owns that one popular shop downtown bought her illegally and has been forcing her into labor.”

“What? How do you even know this?”

“I have my ways,” he hums, finishing his breakfast, “Slavery's illegal in Blocell, and I’m supposed to take over the crown, no? The madam should be punished, the shop shut down and the witch freed. Plus, now that I’m becoming King I’ll need more people on my side, doesn’t a talented witch sound like a good ally?”

The siblings stare briefly before Hyun Woo sniffles, “What the hell, what happened to our cute little Ivan?!”

“No, for real. What’s with that twisted personality all of a sudden!”

Ivan chuckles, “Isn’t that a rude thing to say?”

“Is it grief? Do you need someone to talk to?” Hyun Woo’s genuine concern makes him feel almost guilty.

Had he not regained his memories, Ivan is certain he wouldn’t be able to joke around or plot any rescue mission. He’d be grieving as any other well-loved and recently orphaned child should.

Ivan has been aware of his peculiar personality since he was young. His past life’s mother was relentless in drilling into him how one should smile and speak. How to be liked. The right way to not be as unpleasantly himself.

What was the late Demon King’s name again? Nevian?

“No, I’m all right. I’d just rather focus on what I can do from now on. I'm sure father would want the same."

Not entirely convinced as they may be, the twins exchange a glance before nodding. It strikes Ivan they genuinely care for him, but his smile doesn’t falter. What an odd pair.

Chapter Text

Her reunion with Till is, sadly, short. After an hour of catching up and making flower crowns together, Mizi is forced to return to the castle before her absence is discovered and her cover blown. And so, the young Princess makes her way back to the garden wall and worms herself within the castle’s confines once again.

Returning is a much easier affair than leaving. All she has to do is pretend to have gone out for a stroll in the gardens, easily explaining away her reentering of the castle with muddied clothes.

“Princess.”

Still, her heart does a little flip when addressed, anxiety flaring. Has she been caught?

“Hm?” She gives Maria as steady of a smile as she can muster, mind already sifting through excuses in case she's questioned.

“His Majesty has requested to have dinner with you, your highness,” Maria smiles, “He prepared a new dress for you to wear as well.”

Oh.

Oh no.

It was inevitable; Mizi isn’t delusional enough to believe she can go the next 4 years without meeting the father who, up until she regained her memories, used to be her favorite person in the entire world. 

Iris always had a very close relationship with him, the King often spoiling his one and only daughter without a care in the world. So this was bound to happen, but Mizi had hoped it might take longer. That he’d stay busy until she managed to prepare herself to face him without distaste bleeding into her expression.

That man killed my Sua!

Had her killed, to be more exact, but it was his fault regardless, and Mizi has already decided to lead the rebellion with even more fervor than Iris had. Eating lunch with the man you’ll one day overthrow and behead is a very special kind of awkward.

“I-I see… I should take a bath first, then.”

Let’s try to find the silver lining in this… maybe I can use this as an opportunity to find out more about Anakt’s Holy Order.

Anakt’s Holy Order is the Kingdom’s most prominent defense body, directly under the King’s command and with strong ties to the Clergy. The fact that they recruit only the most promising mages and soldiers is common knowledge, even amongst the subjects.

They’re also the organization responsible for assassinating Soren’s father, Sua and Till, as well as the force behind the poaching scheme that kick-starts the plot. Their usage of magical-creatures for experimentation purposes as well as illegal labor within Anakt is uncovered throughout the first novel.

Collecting any additional information regarding their members, organization or future plans could very well be used as a bargaining chip when negotiating with Soren, and could also air in preventing Sua’s death. Mizi feeds herself this knowledge as motivation while getting dressed.

The King certainly has a soft spot for his daughter; it’s obvious from the frilly pink and white dress he gifts her, with evidently expensive lace and jewels decorating the intricate design. 

Even in the novel he seems sweet at first. Pity he’s actually awful.

Standing before the dining room door, Mizi steadies herself by taking in a deep breath and slowly releasing it. She can do this. She’ll play nice until Soren snatches her up in a few years, for Sua and Till’s sake if nothing else.

The servants give her a funny look but swiftly school their expressions back to polite pleasantry once she’s ready to step in, dipping their heads and opening the doors for her.

“Ah, Mizi. You look lovely,” the King smiles from the head of the table, “Come closer so dad can get a good look.”

The man… looks almost nothing like her. He’s the spitting image of Iris, however, with light brown hair and the golden eyes Mizi did inherit. Something about seeing those eyes of his finally makes it sink in that Mizi is his child in this life, whether she feels familial affection for him or not. His blood courses through her veins, and it’s a daunting realization.

Forcing a smile on her face, Mizi makes her way over, “F-father! Thank you for the gift, it’s lovely!”

She almost grimaces when affection bubbles up, painfully aware that although Mizi Kim absolutely despises the man, Mizi Anakt loved her father unconditionally up until a few days ago. The dissonance leaves an uncomfortable feeling in her chest.

Her father smiles, “Anything for my little girl. Forgive my absence while you were sick, I was quite busy.”

“It’s all right, I understand,” Mizi can’t help but feel disappointed that a man this sweet to his child could turn out to be a racist monster in the novel. 

“I heard you’ve been spending a lot of time in the library since recovering. Make sure not to push yourself too much.”

“Yes, father.”

So they did tell him. 

It seems hiding her outings from Maria was the right call; were her father to discover she’s been sneaking out to meet a half-elven boy, Mizi wouldn’t put it past him to have Till killed. Maybe even worse, seeing as experimentation was the Holy Order’s main goal in TFOC.

“Well then, sit down, sit down. I had the cook prepare your favorite tonight,” he motions for the chair by his side, “I want to hear all about your studies.”

The Princess does as told, settling down by his side and attempting to ignore the heartache that comes with remembering her mother’s smile during similar interactions. Shine Kim, the woman who took her in and loved her as her own.

I wonder how she’s doing.

Pushing bittersweet feelings away, Mizi puts on a smile and begins telling her father all about her conveniently newfound interest in the Holy Order while dinner is served. 

When Mizi returns to her room a few hours later, she rushes for her journal, immediately scribbling down whatever bits and pieces of information she managed to obtain. She adds a specifically detailed note for a particular character:

Luka 

-Current strongest recruit of the Holy Order

-Has already killed Soren’s father and will kill Till

-Not human

-Seraph

Most importantly, a valuable, precious bit of information her father let slip out, and the key to saving Till:

-Magic capable of not only destroying tissue but corroding it

Bingo!

Chapter Text

‘Madam Nigeh’s Potions and Charms’

Ivan isn’t sure if he should be grateful or amused by the obnoxiously colorful sign above the shop’s door. Oh well, certainly makes his job much easier if it’s this easy to spot.

He takes a step towards the shop, only to find himself being pulled back by his coat, Hyun Woo raising a brow, “You're joking. Are you seriously just going in like that? How ‘bout a little planning beforehand?”

“I thought we did enough planning already?”

“Saying you’re going to arrest the woman isn’t exactly much of a plan, is it? How are you even going to prove she has the witch? Or that she bought her? Hm? Did you stop to think ‘bout that?”

Ivan tilts his head, lips curling when the gesture makes his dearest Hyung’s eye twitch. “Can’t we just abuse your power as the Royal Guard? I think that’d be the fastest way.”

Hyun Woo regards him with a silent stare before turning to his sister, “Una, I think something’s really wrong with him. Was he always this twisted?”

“He wasn’t, but I actually agree with the little gremlin,” she muses, “If a child is really being abused, we don’t have the time to go about this properly. I’ll pull the woman out to talk about some bullshit allegations and you two use that time to find the witch.”

Hyun Woo sighs, “Fine, fine… we’ll just have to be quick about it.”

“If what you’re concerned about is getting to the witch quickly enough, don't worry too much,” Ivan smiles, “I know exactly where to find her once we’re inside. If anything, Noona’s getting the short end of the stick.”

Hyuna grins, “I’m down for it!”

Ivan can appreciate a well-thought out plot with intricate schemes as much as the next person, but the fact of the matter is there’s no need for such a thing today. Soren rescues Sua with a similarly simple plan, witnessing the Madam’s abuse of her by pure coincidence and impulsively jumping in.

If anything, this is him playing by the novel’s rules one last time before he starts wrecking the original plot. 

The bell above the door chimes when they enter the shop, various herbs, bottles and jars lining shelves upon shelves of inventory. 

“Welcome, dear customers!” Madam Nigeh smiles from the counter, eyes scanning over their faces to determine how to best interest them in any given product. When her eyes settle on Ivan’s horns, however, her expression shifts. “Oh dear, to think the Crown Prince would visit my lowly shop… I’m honored, your Highness.”

Ivan watches her bow, doing as he was taught and letting the most polite, perfect little lie of a smile grace his features. “Thank you for your warm welcome.”

“Not at all! So, what may this humble woman do for you today, your Highness?” 

“I’m not entirely sure. Hyuna mentioned she had business to speak over with you, but I would like to browse the shop in the meantime.”

Nigeh turns to the demoness, long nails drumming softly over the counter before her smile broadens, “Certainly. I’m afraid the back isn't very organized, shall we speak here?”

“Actually, it’s sensitive information,” the brunette smiles, “Wanna talk outside instead?” Glancing at Ivan, then smiling at the Madam once again as if to say ‘he can’t hear about this so just comply’ the demoness opens the door.

The Madam seems to get the hint. Even if she didn’t, she couldn’t possibly refuse if Hyuna insists on speaking with her outside, seeing as the twins are not only part of the Royal Guard, but were also handpicked by the now deceased Demon King. With him gone, it’s only a matter of time and formalities before Ivan is crowned and they move even further up the ranks.

“Yes, of course.”

Ivan browses leisurely through the shop, feigning interest in various items until the witch and demoness exit the store. “Shall we?” he muses, circling the counter and heading straight for the door leading to the back of the building.

“How did you even learn where the witch is? You barely leave the castle as is…”

“I have my ways.” They step into a storage room, brimming with boxes, laboratory equipment scattered over multiple desks and herbs hanging from the ceiling to dry. Ivan is silently grateful for how detailed the manhwa was when it came to adapting this scene, seeing as even he was a bit confused by the novel’s description.

It should be through that one…

He walks up to a rack of shelves, pushing slightly and noting how light it is for the amount of boxes displayed on it. “They’re all empty. She’s careful about hiding this, I’ll give her that.”

“I knew she had a reputation for being… y’know, kind of crazy, but this is too much,” Hyun Woo helps push the rack away, revealing a door and trying at the doorknob, “Locked.”

“That’s all right. I’ve been practicing,” Ivan reaches his hand towards the shadow cast by one of the boxes, narrowing his eyes and watching the darkness slowly stretch into a tangible needle.

“Ohhh, you’ve gotten better at it! A few weeks ago you could barely make shadows move at all.”

“I’m a fast learner,” he brings the needle to the keyhole and pushes it in, making the almost clay-like substance mold to its shape before twisting and hearing a soft ‘click.’

“Anticlimactic.”

“You’re kind of a freak.”

“So I’m told,” he chucks the shadow back towards the box and steps into the barely lit room. He’s read this scene countless times, but actually having his senses engage with it… It’s grim. 

The room reeks of mold, stone keeping it chilly and humid enough to be unpleasant. From the corner of the dingy room, purple eyes peer at them, small figure unmoving but breathing growing shaky at the sight of unknown men.

Ivan isn’t nearly as tactful as Soren was. He hopes years of being around Mizi might provide some guidance in comforting another.

Mizi, give me strength.

“Hyung, you go help Noona detain Nigeh. I think having the both of us here might be a bit intimidating,” he whispers

“Sure. I’ll probably be the one to take her away, so I’ll tell Una to wait for you outside.”

Ivan waits for him to leave before turning his attention back to the girl, finding that she has yet to move an inch from her spot in the corner where she’s huddled up. Even in the dim room, Ivan can distinguish rather nasty bruises littering her arms and cheeks.

“Hello, you’re Sua, right?” Ivan crouches down in an attempt to meet her current height on the ground, “My name’s Ivan, nice to meet you.”

Sua stares at him, grip tightening over what he now realizes is her staff on the ground. At this point in the story her offensive magic is nowhere near developed enough for her attacks to be a genuine threat, but he’d prefer to avoid conflict entirely.

“We’ve arrested her, you know?” he notes the way her eyes narrow a bit, “Nigeh, I mean. Hyun Woo should be taking her away by now.”

“... Why?”

“We caught wind that she had participated in slave trade… and seeing as you’re injured quite badly, it seems she has a lot more to explain.”

The little witch purses her lips, pausing briefly. “Will I be taken away too?”

“No. Of course not.”

“Then what do I do?”

She’s so different from later on in the story… It’s kind of uncanny.

“Well, you can do whatever you want. You’re free now.”

For the first time, Sua’s expression sours, dull eyes casted downwards, “I have nowhere to go, though.”

Ah, this is why I didn’t like her. She’s just like me.

Unloved, only cared for so long as they behave how it’s expected, only forgiven if they’re useful, only happy when they have someone to love. Unpleasant, twisted people. 

He’ll never understand why Mizi took a shine to them both, but if she could forgive his twisted self and offer solace, maybe he owes it to her to forgive this twisted character she loved and give her a place to call home.

“You can live with me, then.”

“... Why?” Of course they’re also the same breed of wary, unable to conceive simply receiving mercy. 

“Right, you probably won’t come with me if I don’t tell you I want something from you,” he hums, “My father died recently. I’m going to become King and I need more people on my side. Is that good enough?”

Sua goes quiet for a moment, mulling over his words before slowly crawling out from the corner. When she moves closer to the light, her bruised skin and bleeding lip come into full sight. “I can’t use much magic.”

“You’ll learn.”

“I also don’t like you much.”

He laughs, “That's fine.”

She goes quiet once more. “I’ll go with you,” the girl agrees before pointing at her legs, “But I can’t walk. She hit me with a stick this morning.”

Ivan glances at blood-soaked bandages, humming in regard before turning his back to Sua, “I’ll carry you out, come on.”

The witch makes a face, but ultimately crawls close and helps him maneuver her into a secure hold before he stands up with her on his back.

When Ivan steps out with a girl on his back, missing most fingernails and with bleeding legs, Hyuna smiles in relief. As a soft breeze blows by, Sua concludes freedom sounds like Hyuna’s laughter and smells like Ivan’s shampoo.

Chapter Text

“How are they?”

Sua looks up as she exits the castle’s infirmary, meeting Ivan’s eyes and giving a small, pleased smile.

“They barely have a scratch. Just as you predicted.” 

Ivan’s lips curl up, “Can you go tell Dewey and Isaac? They’ve been asking nonstop.”

“Sure,” the witch brushes her hair back, “So, what now?”

The Demon King, properly crowned and now 19 years old, gives an almost sour smile. “Now we kidnap the Anakt Crown Princess.”

4 years have passed since Ivan regained his memories, and a lot has taken place since, between him helping Sua reach her magic prowess sooner than in the original plot, preventing Hyun Woo’s death, avoiding Hyuna’s injury and implementing aggressive defensive mechanisms to reduce the poacher’s impact on Blocell’s forest. All in all, 4 eventful but rewarding years.

Everything is going perfectly. He knocks on the infirmary door before stepping inside. Now all that’s left to do is kidnap Iris and help her magic develop more efficiently.

“Oh, Vani,” Hyuna grins at him from the edge of the bed where she sits, leg bandaged up rather than amputated unlike in the novel. Ivan feels a weight he didn’t realize he had been carrying lift off his shoulders.

“Sua told me you two are fine?” He turns to give Hyun Woo a good look over, the demon sporting a few patched-up, but ultimately superficial, wounds.

“Yep. A few bruises, nothing serious,” he grins.

Hyuna springs to her feet and stretches her arms, “All good to help kidnap a Princess, if that’s what you’re askin’!”

“Perfect,” he pulls out a pocket watch and hums at the time, “We should get going, then. Wouldn’t want to keep our precious hostage waiting.”

“We’ll get the room ready,” the demoness chimes.

“I’ll get Sua, then.”

—

Mizi sneezes softly, then raises an eyebrow. Perhaps this is the universe’s way of letting her know her kidnapping schemes are currently underway.

Getting kidnapped is more nerve wracking than I thought it would be… 

And really, you’d think that after 4 years of not only expecting this day but also planning for it, she would be less anxious. But if she’s being honest, the only thing keeping her nerves moderately under control is the prospect of seeing Sua.

Nevermind, today’s the best day ever!

“You seem to be in a good mood, your Highness,” Maria hums at the sight of Mizi’s puppy-like smile reflected in the mirror, “Are you excited for your birthday?”

Not at all! Mizi has discovered she might as well be allergic to the nobility’s flavor of social events. She’s spent the past years putting up with tea parties full of gossip and poorly hidden cruelty, her birthdays rarely proving to be any better. It’s no wonder Iris hated them! 

“Yes, very much.” She says, you know, like a liar. Maria doesn’t need to know she dreads greeting every guest more than her own abduction.

Her lady in waiting finishes braiding white flowers into her hair, smiling at her handiwork. “You look lovely.”

An intricate lace dress, long and impossibly expensive earrings, unnecessarily sparkly heels… a perfect outfit put together by the same father she will very soon turn her back to. Were he not absolutely awful, she’d feel guilty.

“Thank you, Maria… you’ve always taken very good care of me. I’m grateful for it.”

The woman blinks curiously, tilting her head, “It’s my pleasure.”

The princess smiles softly before her expression becomes determined, standing up and turning around, “Let’s do the damned thing!”

“P-Princess, language…”

Every year without fail, the Anakt castle is embellished to its full splendor when the Princess’ birthday comes around. From perfect flower arrangements, down to only the finest dishes, every detail is carefully curated to make the celebration a sight for sore eyes.

Mizi glances around the room full of people, all donning their most exquisite dresses and ornate jewels. Every guest smiles brightly, hoping to find themselves in the oh-so-lucky and well-loved Princess’ good grace, her future inheritance of the crown very present in their minds.

Mizi doesn’t find absolutely all of them to be terrible; she’s grown fond of the daughters from a handful of families, and Mizi has been introduced to a fair share of gentlemen who have become pleasant acquaintances if she ignores their underlying interest in marrying her. All this to say she has a few friends, which makes this not an entirely insufferable ordeal, even if it isn’t how he’d prefer to spend the day.

Now where on earth is he?

Golden eyes scan over the sea of people before finally spotting fluffy silver hair, poor Till standing near a window and looking much like a very angry and lost cat. 

It’s been 2 years since the young man applied to enter the army, struggling against stigma and relentless discrimination before ultimately joining their ranks. And while her father wouldn’t have allowed the half-elven to join as a guest, it would seem he had been too busy with the party preparations to notice him amongst the castel’s security personnel for the day.

Mizi navigates through the crowd, exchanging quick pleasantries and polite smiles until she finally reaches him, “Till!”

“Mizi!” the soldier looks around nervously, “You sure it’s fine for you to be talking to me?”

“Well, no. But who cares?” she leans against the wall by his side, “I wanted to see you. I’m glad they assigned you here today.”

Till’s crush for her had, unfortunately, yet to die down. The fact is evident in the way he blushes all the way to the tips of his ears.

Mizi has tried showing gentle but persistent disinterest to no avail, and she fears he might not get the memo for a much, much longer while. Still, she can’t bring herself to be upset about it, understanding why he would be attracted to those who are kind to him when his upbringing is considered. All she can do is hope someone else will catch his eye eventually.

For the meantime, she kindly pretends not to notice his embarrassment, instead opting to continue their conversation in hushed tones. Of everyone here, his reaction to her kidnapping worries Mizi the most, knowing the poor thing will likely be clawing at the walls with stress by the time she’s gone, so spending her last few moments in the castle by his side feels like her own discreet way of apologizing for the trouble she’s about to cause.

I feel so bad for not being able to tell him anything. Her internal lament is cut short by sudden yelling and the sound of glass shattering outside of the banquet hall, her stomach doing a strange flip.

Here he comes. It’s okay, she tells herself over and over again, Soren was never violent with Iris. It’s okay. You’ll be fine.

Even knowing this for a fact, her anxiety still flares when the building rumbles and the noises in the hallway grow closer, crowd flying into a panic and guests hurrying away from the doors.

Agh, who cares?! Even if he turns violent, my magic has gotten stronger!

“I’m not scared at all!” Mizi declares loudly amidst screaming adults and crying children.

“Is this the right time to be saying that?!” Till takes hold of his sword’s handle.

The hall’s tall doors are blown open with a loud bang, and Mizi swears the whole ordeal seemed a lot less horror movie-ish in the novel. Perspective is everything, she supposes.

“Go time, baby! Till, you better take good care of yourself or I’ll get super mad, got it?!” Mizi screams, adrenaline kicking in as she takes off running towards the now open doors. 

“Mizi?!”

She vanishes into the pandemonium of the crowd before he can stop her, pushing through fleeing guests and frantic soldiers until she spots a tall, horned man. The Demon King’s name is on the tip of her tongue by the time she recognizes him and pauses.

“... Vivi?” The nickname slips out without her thinking, wide eyes glued to the friend she has missed every single day since coming to this world.

“Mimi?” and really, he looks the same except for the horns and slight reddish tint to his eyes.

“Mizi, get away from him!” Till screams from across the crowd, attempting to push his way through. She catches the way Ivan’s eyes light up at the sight of him before suddenly grabbing her hand and tugging her closer.

“Shall we, ‘Iris’?” he grins, eyes gleaming with childish amusement.

Mizi beams, laughing freely when he picks her up and places her over his shoulder in true kidnapping fashion, “Yup!”

On her 19th birthday, princess Mizi Anakt is kidnapped by the Demon King.

Chapter Text

“VIVI- IVAN WE’RE GOING TO DIE!” forgive Mizi for screaming bloody murder, but what can a girl do when being carried, kidnapped and shot at with magic, all at once?

Ivan’s laughter at her horror only adds insult to injury, hurrying down the castle’s halls with her still draped over his shoulder,. “We won’t, promise,” he pats her leg, “I’ve got a plan, just leave it to me.”

“You awful man!” she bawls, vice grip on his coat only tightening as he takes a very sharp turn, “You should’ve kidnapped me earlier!”

“Had I known it was you instead of Iris I definitely would’ve,” he muses, “Mimi, I’m going to need a big mirror. Where can I find it?”

“Hm? Oh! Any of the bedrooms should be fine! Turn left, then go down the hall and pick whichever one,” she pauses and props herself up a bit, noting the sounds of soldiers chasing after them growing closer, “Actually, hold me steady real quick!”

“Yes ma’am.”

Mizi aims her hand toward the hall they just came from, eyes narrowing before a disk of light emanates from her palm and a beam shoots at the brick wall, making it crumble and block the way.

Ivan pauses, takes a look and whistles, “Someone’s been studying.”

She beams proudly. “Mhm, I’m a super cool Iris aren’t I?” she puffs her chest as he sets her down on her feet.

The Demon King chuckles and ruffles her hair, allowing himself to be tugged along by the hand, “You’re much better than Iris.”

The Princess giggles, rushing by his side and pushing a bedroom’s door open. “I have so much to tell you! Gosh, I’m really so happy to see you again!” and sure, they’re fleeing and in a hurry, but Mizi decides they have enough time for a hug, shamelessly nuzzling his shoulder.

He gives one of those genuine smiles that make his eyes crinkle and his snaggletooth show. “I’ve missed you too, Zi,” he dips down to hug her back, “Let’s get out of here so we can catch up.”

Ivan presses a hand to the mirror, murmuring under his breath before the surface ripples like water and their reflection morphs into an unfamiliar room.

Mizi’s heart does a little flip. Ivan gives a devious grin, “Ready to meet your precious Sua?” 

“Don’t tease me!” 

“It’s my god given right to tease you.” 

Before she can argue further, Ivan flashes an innocent smile and not-so-innocently pushes her through the mirror, waiting a few seconds before following after her.

Mizi squeaks as she falls through, heel catching on the skirt of her dress and making her stumble forward. Much to her horror, she not only crashes into someone but tumbles right to the ground with them.

“I’m so sorry, I tripped and-” the words die down in her throat, golden eyes lighting up like the sun as they fall upon the most beautiful woman she’s ever seen.

Sua blinks up at her, offering a soft smile before speaking in the loveliest voice Mizi has ever had the fortune of listening to, “No worries,” she turns as Ivan steps through the mirror, “Oh, good, you don’t seem injured.”

“The Princess was cooperative, so we got away quickly.”

Mizi hurriedly stands up and offers a hand, which Sua takes with a soft ‘thank you.’ “That’s good to hear,” she then glances at the Princess again, “So… have you explained anything to her?”

Her confusion is apparent and warranted; anyone would expect a supposedly oblivious and freshly kidnapped princess to be far more anxious — or at the very least confused — but Mizi looks plain and simple smitten instead.

“Ah, actually,” he points at Mizi, “Turns out we’re childhood friends and we simply didn’t realize who the other was.”

The witch raises a brow, “Is that so?”

“He’s right,” Mizi chimes in, excitement threatening to bubble over, “I'm Mizi, it’s really nice to meet you!”

“Sua,” she blesses her with that divine smile, “The pleasure’s all mine.”

She might be delirious, but the pink haired girl could swear she feels chemistry between them, she hears church bells ringing in the distance and feels their beautiful sapphic romance blooming-

“Well then!” Ivan cheerfully bursts their little bubble, Mizi sending him an appalled look.

Ivan, I hate you, you traitor!

“Seems like we have some catching up to do. Why don't you show Mimi around while I gather everyone and get started on lunch?”

Ivan, I’m sorry I ever doubted you. I love you! Mizi weeps internally, wishing very good and happy things upon her wingman.

“Very well,” Sua makes a face at him upon hearing the nickname, expression softening when she turns back to Mizi, “Shall we, Princess?”

“Eh? Ah-! Yep!” she stutters out, face warming up and pointedly ignoring the way Ivan covers up a laugh with a cough.

“Have fun, then,” he muses, leaving them to grow closer. 

If he’s being completely honest, he would love to have some of Mizi’s time to himself — it’s a joyous occasion to discover your closest friend is alive and well after assuming her dead for years, after all — but he knows better than anyone just how much she adores Sua. They’ll have plenty of time to catch up later.

This will make everything much easier. Mizi knows the plot as well as I do, so planning for the future should be a breeze-

Ivan pauses in the middle of the hallway, mind rapidly zeroing in on how he failed to take Mizi’s existence as Iris into account. Very quickly he realizes an irreparable flaw in his plans.

Till’s in love with a lesbian… Ah… I can’t give him his happy ending with Iris.

Ivan never much cared for the FL — he found her lack of appreciation for Till borderline offensive — but Till loved her. Ivan was willing to overlook Iris’ evident lack in taste if simply in favor of giving the elf the happy ending he always wanted. He was ready to swallow his opinion and gently nudge her in the right direction.

I’ll offer a shoulder to cry on. Because Mizi is much nicer than Iris, so he’s sure Till will need support. 

Ivan’s heart, treacherous thing, does a little flip when the fleeting thought of having a chance crosses his mind. He’s quick to take the useless thought and bury it. 

No time for wishful thinking, there’s lunch for 7 people to cook and a rebellion to plan. 

—

Lunch in the castle has become livelier with time, Sua slowly warming up to the demon twins and King, Dewey and Isaac joining eventually, and now with the novelty of Mizi’s arrival.

Ivan is pleased but unsurprised to see everyone take a shine to her pretty much instantly, cheery disposition making her a fan favorite in any world and life, it would seem. 

And honestly, he can’t blame them with how he himself has always been drawn to her warmth. Still, he opts to be a little selfish and places her between himself and Sua, who seems to have gotten more comfortable speaking after their tour of the castle. 

“Seriously, though, how did you two even meet?” Hyun Woo glances between the Princess and Demon King.

“Ah- we met by coincidence when we were young,” Mizi smiles, and Ivan is mildly impressed by how much better she’s gotten at lying.

“We kept hanging out, just children having fun,” he tip-toes around the truth with a smile, ignoring Sua’s unforgiving stare. She’s likely wondering when he found the chance to sneak away to have fun while leaving the castle’s chores to everyone else.

“Still, I’m surprised you agreed to come along so easily,” Isaac comments, “Ivan did tell you we’re planning a rebellion, right?”

Mizi nods, “Actually… I’d like to join in on the rebellion,” she admits sheepishly, “I know it’s probably fishy for the Crown Princess of all people to say that, but I really mean it.”

Dewey whistles, “You really are being cooperative. Bad relationship with your dad?”

“Insensitive, asshole,” Hyuna fixes him a healthy bonk on the head.

The Princess simply laughs, however. “No- Well, not exactly,” she sends Ivan a brief glance, “Vivi’s told me about the poacher issue, and I figured out my father’s involvement a few years ago… It doesn’t sit well with me.”

“You would be a great help to our plan,” Sua smiles, “Ivan told me you have strong healing magic?”

“Seems I might’ve underestimated her, actually,” Ivan chimes in, “She used offensive magic back in Anakt. Light magic, right?”

“Yes! I’ve been studying for every element and trying out different formulas when spell-casting, but I’m best at healing and bending light,” she hums proudly, “I can also cast a pretty solid barrier!”

“Such a reliable Crown Princess,” Ivan grins playfully, clapping.

“Mhm, I even gathered valuable intel for you, you know?”

“Oh?” 

Mizi’s expression turns serious, “It’s about Anakt’s Holy Order. I found out their strongest soldier’s name and what kind of magic he uses,” she fidgets a bit, glancing around the table, “I’m also certain he was the one who killed the late Demon King.”

Hyuna and Hyun Woo visibly stiffen before glancing at Ivan. The former King’s assassination was… gruesome, with injuries not a single witch or wizard could heal due to the peculiar magic used to inflict them. It had been an awful experience for everyone involved, and with his son still being a child, it makes sense for them to worry over the sensitivity of the subject.

“That’s…” he murmurs, eyes wide in surprise. Even the novel never went into much detail on Luka’s magic, simply mentioning how unconventional and thus dangerous it was. Mizi has attained information not available in the original source material.

“Priceless. It’s priceless information,” Sua concludes, “From what Hyuna Unnie and Hyun Woo Oppa have told me, I could only conclude his offensive magic doesn’t simply break cell structures, but I couldn’t pinpoint what he’s changed about it.”

The Princess nods, “His offensive magic doesn’t focus on breaking tissue, it focuses on corroding it,” she explains, “That’s why nobody could heal it, it keeps progressing! If you don’t understand you’re fighting against deterioration rather than a fixed wound, there’s no way to heal it.”

“Of course,” Ivan hums in disbelief, “Healing focuses on repairing damage that’s already been inflicted, not stopping it from spreading, especially if it can’t be perceived by the naked eye.”

“Yes! I’ve been experimenting on plants and objects to replicate the magic so I can find a way to stop and heal the damage afterwards,” she speaks quickly, “I haven’t quite managed it yet, but I’ve made a lot of progress! Once I figure out the formula behind it, creating an opposite spell should be fairly simple! With a bit more time I can-”

Mizi suddenly takes note of everyone’s eyes on her, voice dropping until she quiets down completely. “Ah- I mean… Sorry, I got a bit carried away,” she feels her face grow warm before turning to Sua.

Does she think I’m a weirdo-

“Amazing,” she mumbles, “You’ve already made progress by experimenting on plants and objects ? You’re incredible.”

Ivan bites back a laugh when Mizi grows bright red, reaching to ruffle her hair. “She’s right. Seems we have two magic prodigies now,” he offers a softer smile when the Princess looks up at him, “I’m sure if you two work together, you’ll figure it out in no time.”

“It would be a pleasure to work with you,” Sua smiles, eyes fixed on Mizi and full of light, “If you wish, of course. I would love to hear about the progress you’ve made either way.”

“Y-yes, of course!” Mizi sputters out.

The Demon King watches as both girls naturally fall into lively conversation, momentarily surprised by how enthusiastic Sua is. He feels eyes on him and turns his attention away, finding Hyuna staring.

“What is it?”

“You two seem close,” she hums, a rare soft smile gracing her usually fiery features, “I’m glad you have someone you’re that open with.”

Ivan blinks when she reaches over the table to pet his head, soft laughter spilling out. “Noona, you’re playing mom again.”

And it’s true. Somewhere along the line, they all fell into an oddly family-like dynamic he still can’t seem to get used to. 

“Yeah, well,” she drapes an arm over her twin’s shoulder and grins, “We practically raised you! So you gotta listen to me!”

“Yes, yes,” he hums, listening to Dewey complain about raising him and Sua too, Hyuna appeasing him by bestowing the uncle title upon him and Isaac. Chaotic, peaceful, everyday life. 

Hyun Woo is in the middle of complaining about having to play dad if Hyuna is playing mom when Ivan suddenly lets out a soft ‘ah’ and turns towards them.

“I almost forgot to tell you. Someone from Anakt will enter the forest soon, please make sure none of you kill him.”

Sua turns her attention away from Mizi at that, “Who is it?”

“Oh! You mean Till, right?” the Princess chimes in.

“Till? Who’s that?” Dewey glances at Isaac and then back at Ivan, “We'll prolly need a description to make sure nobody shoots him down or anything.”

Mizi gives him a questioning look, and it hits him that he hasn't updated her at all regarding Blocell’s current state of affairs. 

“I’ve tightened Blocell’s security a lot in the past few years. The poacher issue was worse than we initially imagined,” he explains, “So I created a small protection guard with… 'aggressive' defense mechanisms to overlook our border with Anakt.”

“‘Aggressive’ doesn’t begin to cut it,” Hyun Woo chuckles, “The previous King was quite the pacifist, all things considered. When Ivan implemented his strategy and began recruitment and training, Una and I were worried armed conflict might break out full-force.” 

“As expected of Vivi,” Mizi smiles, “You knew Anakt wouldn’t start a war so soon.”

“Of course, because the King’s involvement with the poaching scheme is unknown to the public,” he muses.

Anakt and Blocell’s populations have mixed a fair amount since peace was established between Kingdoms, and while stigma surrounding magical creatures still exists, a considerable amount of Anakt’s population has mixed families or mixed blood themselves. The King’s involvement in the poaching and exploitation of magical creatures would result in public outrage.

“Till is Mizi’s friend from Anakt. He’s half human and half elf, silver hair, teal eyes,” Ivan lists out, watching Isaac take note of it, “He should enter the forest in a few days to come rescue her.”

“Then what should we do with him? We can’t let him run around making a mess, but we also can’t let him take the Princess back,” Sua frowns.

“Oh, he’ll join our side once we explain everything,” Mizi says.

“Under different circumstances, I’d suggest Zi goes out to meet him in the forest to make things easier, but Anakt and Blocell’s relationship was already crumbling before I took her. I can’t be sure the King won’t take aggressive measures to get her back if she leaves the castle,” Ivan sighs, “It’s fine, I'll help Till reach us quickly. Just don’t hurt him, okay?”

“Yes sir,” the rest of the table choirs back, Mizi giving him a very smug and cat-like smile. He pretends not to notice. Mizi knows he did.

—

The rest of the day is spent pouring over their plans for the future, with Mizi being brought up to speed and everyone else taking careful note of her intel. All in all, a very productive day.

Nighttime comes and Ivan sits in bed, eyes canning over every note he scribbled down throughout their updating session. Call him obsessive if you wish, he insists it’s caution.

A soft knock at the door snaps him out of thought, raising an eyebrow, “Come in.”

Golden eyes peek at him through the now open door. “... Sleep over?”

“Sleep over,” he agrees, setting the notebook aside and patting the empty side of the much too large bed, “Come here.”

Mizi beams happily, closing the door before joining him on the mattress, “Is it weird to say I’ve missed sleeping with you?”

“It is, considering you always kick me in your sleep,” he teases, laughing when she gives a small kick under the blankets.

“And you always hog the blankets!” she laughs back.

“That I do,” he hums, “Want me to braid your hair while you tell me about the past few years?”

Her smile softens, “Yeah.”

Mizi tells him all about life, about Till and about the painful classes she’s been subjected to. In turn, Ivan tells her all about Sua and the other members of the castle, sharing every detail about the many creatures in Blocell. 

By the time morning comes, Hyun Woo walks in to find the Demon King and Anakt Princess still asleep, pink hair in an overly-complicated braid, horns decorated with ribbons and an empty bottle of wine on the floor. Chaotic, peaceful, everyday life.

Chapter Text

Till has heard stories about Blocell’s forest since young: the man-eating plants, lurking creatures, missing travelers and various dangers hiding amongst the tall trees. They’re all fairly common stories in Anakt, used to keep children from wandering too far.

They used to scare him to death. Now he’s just pissed.

“Leave me the fuck alone!” he yells in irritation, attempting to shake off the flurry of little fairies that tug on his hair and throw pebbles at him.

“Get out of Blocell!” one of them demands, chucking another pebble his way. They may be small enough not to hurt, but it’s still obnoxious.

“Like hell I am! Your King kidnapped someone, you know?! I’ll leave once the son of a bitch gives her back!”

“How dare you speak of His Majesty like that?!” another cries, tugging on his hair hard enough he fears it might be ripped right off.

Two days. He’s been wandering this hell of a forest for two days already, and the only truth to the stories his old man used to tell him is that the damned place is an absolute pain to navigate. 

The trees are massive, the terrain is difficult to push through, the plants aren’t man-eating but they sure are man-chewing and man-spitting, and every creature he has encountered so far has been varyingly hostile towards him.

Till’s certain he’s made some progress — he’s left markings on the trees to make sure he’s moving forward, and the amount of creatures he’s come across has also increased while venturing further into the kingdom — but how long will it take him to reach the castle when he’s yet to reach any city or town?! Blocell may be small, but the capital’s still impossibly far away…

“Out of my way! At this rate, the Princess will be dead by the time I find her!”

His outburst gives the fairies pause, exchanging glances. “Princess? Do you mean Princess Mizi?”

Now that gives him pause. “Y-Yes! Do you know her? Have you seen her?!”

“Of course we have, The Demon King has taken a shine to her!” one of the youngest beams, tugging on his sleeve as if to guide him and ignoring the sour expression her statement provokes, “You should have told us you know her! Are you Till, by any chance?”

“Eh-? Yeah, I am,” he complies and follows as more little hands pull at his clothes.

“Oh dear, I hope His Majesty won’t be mad we held you back,” another mumbles.

“Listen, Till, we really didn’t realize it was you,” the youngest speaks again, “His Majesty’s description of you was more– well, it doesn't matter! We’ll make it up to you, so don’t tell him about us, okay?”

“Wait a minute, what? How do you know the Princess? Also, what did he even say about me??”

“The Princess has visited with His Majesty a few times. They said someone called Till would come soon, and told us to be nice to you,” another chimes, “You’re trying to reach the castle, right?”

“Yeah?”

“We’ll get you there in a jiffy, and in return you don’t tell His Majesty about us at all! Pretty sweet deal, no?”

Teal eyes narrow at the small golden creature, “You’re not supposed to make deals with the fae. Everybody knows that.”

She gives him a confused look, “You’re half fae, silly. That doesn’t really apply to you.”

Before he has time to dwell on the anger his father taught him to associate with such a statement, he spots the mushroom ring he’s being guided towards.

“Wait a fucking minute- you’re not taking me to a fairy ring!” 

The same fairy rolls her eyes, “Oh just shut up and get in already! His Majesty told us to help you reach the capital sooner and this is the fastest way,” she motions widely, “Unless you prefer walking — which I doubt — you’re out of luck.”

Till ponders briefly, “How will this get me to the capital?”

“All fairy rings are linked, with them being portals and all,” the youngest moves to sit on his shoulder, “We’ll send you off to the one closest to the castle.”

“You can do that?!”

“Mhm! And considering how much progress you’ve made, it will save you more than a week of travel,” the other jumps in, “Once you get to the capital, just call His Highness. He’ll go fetch you.”

Till steps closer to the ring, “How do I even call him?”

The fairy pauses, “Boy, there’s no doubt you’re half fae, but you lack all the natural instincts that usually come with it.”

“Shut it.”

She sighs, fluttering over to grab a fallen leaf and using a small twig to carve a shape on it. “Here, just draw this sigil on a mirror. If it’s you, I’m sure he’ll answer.”

Till takes the leaf with a mumbled ‘thanks’, fixing her a strange look, “I don’t get why you keep saying stuff like that. It’s not like I’ve even met the guy.”

The fairy shrugs, “Perhaps the Princess spoke highly of you.”

He feels heat crawl up his cheeks, clearing his throat and pocketing the leaf, “A-Anyways, thanks for helping me. I won’t tell him about you or whatever.”

“Good. You should get going, you’ve kept him waiting two days already!”

Who’s fault is that?!

Just as he prepares himself to ask her as much, the flurry of tiny hands begin nudging at him again, effectively guiding him towards the ring. 

His surroundings change the moment he steps in it. Rather than the middle of the forest, he finds himself in a small clearing.

… Okay, maybe fairy circles are kind of cool. He crosses over the mushroom lining, careful not to disturb it. 

Till has always had sensitive ears — it comes with the fae blood, regardless of how he feels about it — and while all he could previously hear were the sounds of various creatures lurking amongst trees, this time he picks up on the distinct sound of voices.

Trailing after  indistinct chatter and pushing through much more forgiving flora, Till stumbles past trees and ultimately reaches an open field, children happily running around and various other people sitting in blankets spread over grass.

A park?

“Mommy, a half human just came out of the bushes…” a nearby child tugs on her mother’s sleeve, pointing straight at Till.

The woman quickly lowers the little girl’s hand, “Don’t point at people, dear. It’s rude,” she scolds gently before turning towards him.

Till feels dread bubbling up already, preparing himself for the inevitable remarks on his bloodline and the hostility that often accompanies each comment. All the bracing himself proves itself unnecessary, however, with the lady offering a sheepish smile instead.

“I’m very sorry about that!”

“Ah, no- it’s fine,” he blinks owlishly, glancing around to find that most people in the park have pointed ears like his own. Even those with rounded ears sport different fae traits such as small horns or wings.

“Excuse me, this is the capital, right?” He takes a few small steps towards the woman, who has scooped her daughter up.

“Yes, it is,” she tilts her head, “Oh! You must be from Anakt.”

“Y-Yeah,” he feels strangely embarrassed that it’s so blatantly obvious, “Um, sorry, I need to find a mirror. Do you know a shop or something where I could find one?”

“Well, if you head down that road you’ll reach the main plaza. It has about everything,” she points in its direction. “Head straight down that path and follow the crowd. There’s an antique shop that might have some mirrors, or you could ask around the furniture shops.”

“Okay, thanks- I mean, thank you,” he nods.

“No problem, have fun during your visit!” 

—

Fuck.

Staring at his reflection on the big antique mirror, Till is suddenly forced to confront the knowledge that he’s been walking around the capital looking like a mess.

What else could he look like after two days of fighting off various plants and creatures in the forest? He cleaned himself and changed clothes in multiple occasions, but that didn’t prevent his hair from sticking out at odd angles or his skin from being covered in scratches and bruises.

No wonder the owner gave me a dirty look. The lady at the park was a saint even talking to me.

Whatever, he can worry about his appearance later. What matters right now is that Mizi’s been taken and he’s finally made it this far.

Truth be told, he’s hesitant to use the sigil the fairies gave him; they couldn’t have lied about knowing Mizi, or about the Demon King instructing them to help him, but the latter’s motivations to speed up his arrival remain unknown. 

Worst case scenario he actually wants to kill me and I give him my location… But if I don’t call, what am I gonna do? Waltz over to the castle and break in?

The odds aren’t in his favor, and he admittedly didn’t have much of a plan when he set out to save Mizi. It was all impulse and done purely out of concern for her safety, his own be damned.

“Fuck it,” he pulls the leaf from his pocket, inspecting the sigil before realizing he has nothing to write with.

Teal eyes land on a small injury on his forehead — courtesy of a pixie he encountered and who chucked a pine cone right at him — and figures it should suffice. He presses a finger to the wound and mentally apologizes to the shop owner before drawing the sigil with what little blood he was able to collect.

The mirror’s surface ripples immediately, reflection becoming distorted as the glass undulates like water. Till’s heart hammers in anticipation before a familiar figure appears.

“Till!”

“Princess?!”

—

“I’m going to hang out with Sua in the lab!” Mizi calls out from the kitchen door, Ivan turning around from his place in front of the stove.

“Got it. Come up when I call you, dinner’s curry!” he smiles.

“Okay!” she hesitates slightly, “Is it really okay for you to always cook? Aren’t you busy with, I don't know, paperwork and King stuff?”

Ivan hums, sorting through ingredients, “Isaac helps out with the cooking if I’m too busy, and Sua helps out when there’s too much paperwork, so it works out. Unless you’re tired of my cooking?”

Mizi playfully rolls her eyes, “No sweetie, you’re doing great. I love your food.”

“You better,” he chuckles, “Now, go frolic with Sua, or whatever it is you lesbians do in the basement.”

“We do important work, Ivan! We’re girls in the magical equivalent of STEM!” she calls out while happily skipping down to the basement, which Sua has converted into their lab as of recently.

Mizi has discovered that, unlike in the novel where Sua had romantic feelings for Soren, her and Ivan’s relationship is far more sibling-like. The two will bicker and pester one another incessantly, with Hyun Woo often mediating.

Ivan has also commented on Sua warming up to Mizi surprisingly fast, and although the Princess has her doubts regarding said statement, she’ll admit it made her heart do strange things when she heard it.

“Oh, you’re back.”

How can someone be so pretty?

Sua is truly a sight for sore eyes, every little thing about her always leaving Mizi pathetically breathless. 

“Ivan said he’ll call us up for dinner!”

“He’s making dinner already? It’s still early.”

“He’s making curry. You know how he gets about his curry.”

They exchange knowing glances before laughing. “So, where did we leave off yesterday?”

Reaching for a nearby book, Mizi flips through the pages before smiling, “Oh, here it is. We were trying out this formula.”

The two have had plenty of time to get closer, with them spending the past two days pretty much locked up together in the lab. It’s been between shared coffee or tea that Mizi has witnessed Sua’s bloom in real time, with warm smiles and genuine laughter coming easier by now.

The Princess smiles, resting a cheek on the palm of her hand while the woman across the table reads through their notes. She takes in the soft curve or her cheeks, violet eyes shaded by long lashes, glossy lips…

She’s so pretty!! Mizi weeps internally, only snapping out of her gay yearning when she notices ripples on the mirror in the corner or the room.

“Sua?”

“Hm?”

“The mirror,” Mizi points, “It’s rippling.”

Dark eyebrows furrow, turning to take a look and then hurriedly standing, “It’s him!”

“Him?! Him who?!” Mizi springs to her feet.

“Till, was it?” Sua moves closer, examining the mirror, “Yes, I’m certain of it. This is rudimentary magic at best.”

The witch turns towards her, “Could I leave you to speak with him while I let Ivan know? I’m sure he’ll be relieved to see you first.”

“Yes, of course!”

It would’ve originally taken Till approximately a week and a half to reach the Demon King’s castle, attempting to break in only to be detained by Sua and Hyuna.

Ivan and Mizi both agreed that leaving the poor Hero to his own devices for such an expensive period of time was not only unnecessary but also fundamentally impractical. The quicker they recruit him, the better.

And so, the Demon King and Princess sent word to Blocell’s border, informing its inhabitants a half-elven man would soon arrive and asking the fae native to the area to aid him if possible. It would seem their requests and visits paid off.

Mizi approaches the mirror, mimicking what Sua taught her to do and pressing both hands to the surface before smoothing it out. Sure enough, Till’s image comes into sight right away.

“Till!”

“Princess?!”

The man — half in tears and with a blood trickling down his forehead — presses both hands to the mirror, “Princess! Are you alright?! Did he hurt you?!”

Till’s first impression of Soren in the novel was atrocious, leading to a strained relationship for the major part of the story. It’s only after Till realizes Iris has fallen in love with the Demon King that the two begin getting along to some extent, the Hero dying not too long after.

Soren didn’t like Till much, but Ivan adores him. This is my chance to help them get along! What would make Till like him?

As someone who has always aspired to become stronger, Till would admire someone strong, right?

“Till, it’s incredible, he can use really powerful magic!”

The Hero pales. Did he torture her with it?!

“He can even turn into a big dragon!!”

“What?!” Till screeches, practically clawing at the edges of the mirror, “Where are you?! I’ll come get you right now!”

“Oh, I’m in the castle’s basement! Vivi will come down soon, so just wait a second okay?”

A heart attack. He’s having one, Till’s sure of it. The shock of everything that just came out of Mizi’s mouth is great enough to render him speechless.

“Oh, here he is!” 

Till watches Mizi step out of frame, a familiar man with black hair and horns replacing her instead. The sight of him finally snaps the Hero out of his trance, expression immediately shifting to fiery.

“You son of a bitch! Just you fucking wait until I get my hands on you! Give Mizi back!” He all but barks, owner of the shop and multiple customers sending frightened glances he promptly ignores. 

Ivan blinks before his eyes light up with glee,  shit eating grin spreading over his face, “Oh yeah? Or what?”

“Or what?!” Till sputters.

“Mhm, what will you do if I don’t give her back?” he smirks, glancing down at his sword, “Will you slay me with that flimsy thing?”

There goes the last thread of patience Till had left. In the not giving a fuck war, he always seems to lose first.

Ivan bursts into roaring laughter as he watches Till devolve into a hell spawn, screaming incoherent profanities and threats while banging on the mirror’s surface. 

Mizi looks at Ivan, appalled — she’s been doing that a lot lately — and Sua fixes him a moderately disgusted glance.

“Are you planning on angering him into an early grave?” the witch questions, judgmental glare unwavering as always.

“It would be pretty fun,” Ivan hums, “But no.”

Before Till has a chance to process what’s happening, Ivan’s hand shoots out from the mirror, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and then dragging him forward, “WHA-”

In a small, family owned antique shop, multiple customers watch their King kidnap a very angry half-elf through a mirror.

Chapter Text

The fae can’t lie. 

Rather than a moral or ethical matter, it’s a bodily restriction: if a fae attempts to lie, the words won’t come out. Plain and simple as that.

“Are you having fun?” 

Noticing the bite to the elf’s tone, Ivan intends to say ‘no’. He swears he means to say no. But the fae can’t lie, so the truth tumbles from his lips before he can think better of it.

“Yup!”

How could he not be having the time of his life when Till is this cute? Just look at him, brows furrowed and murderous intent plainly displayed in those teal eyes. He’s truly wet cat-like in a way Ivan can’t properly verbalize, cuteness aggression flooding his system despite his best attempts to hide it. 

“He’s annoying,” Till huffs, turning to Mizi with an almost pleading look, “Why do we have to join him ?”

Hyuna barks out a laugh. Mizi sighs. “Like I said, the poaching issue is really bad, Till,” she attempts to soothe his bad temper, honestly feeling pity with how relentless Ivan’s bullying has been since pulling Till through the mirror.

She knows the ravenette has a difficult time conveying his emotions, but teasing him about his height, stealing his sword, picking him up and even tossing him around some… she can’t blame Till for his sour mood. It took her, Sua and even Hyun Woo’s intervention to move everyone to the living room for a more civilized conversation.

“I get that, but still…” he mumbles, sending Ivan a dirty look, “He kidnapped you.”

“I was planning on joining forces with him anyway,” she rubs his back, “Plus, Vivi’s nice! He’s just… playful, but he’s taken good care of me.”

The thought that he’s playful in the way an orca is when it punts a seal into the afterlife does cross her mind, but Mizi brushes it away quickly enough.

Till’s eyebrow twitches, “‘Vivi’...” he mumbles, getting the look of a kicked puppy, and Ivan desperately wishes microwaves existed in this world, because he needs to put Till in one-

His deplorable thoughts must bleed into his expression, because Sua sends him the nastiest look he’s ever been on the receiving end of, Till bristling like a cat as his fight or flight kicks in.

Cute.

“What you grinning at?!”

“Don’t worry about it!” he beams, “So, you’ll join us, yes?”

Till swears he loses 5 years of his life everytime Ivan opens his mouth.

“You will, right?” the Princess gives a hopeful smile. 

And just like that, Mizi adds the 5 years right back.

“... Fine. But,” he points an accusing finger at Ivan, “If you try hurting Mizi, I’ll kill you, got it?”

Ivan feels the corners of his lips twitch, fighting back a smile as the familiar warmth in his heart threatens to consume him. He fell in love with Till’s character because of that brightness; that fiery determination that makes him outshine the sun.

“Got it.”

“Stop grinning!!”

Hyuna laughs and reaches to mess his hair from behind the couch where he sits, “That’s the spirit! I like this lil shit!”

“Agh-! Hands off, hag!”

“Oof, that’s rough, Nana,” Dewey mocks.

“Till!”

“S-sorry, Mizi…”

The Demon King smiles at the sight. His attention is drawn to the side when an elbow nudges him, however.  “Hm?”

Sua fixes him a silent stare, expression impassive,  “You’re being childish. The teasing is too much, even for you.”

“I’ve never claimed to be mature, though?” Ivan smiles, “I just find him refreshing… same as you with Zi.”

“Don’t lump me in with your freak behavior.”

“Oh, please. I’ve seen the way you light up around her,” his eyes narrow, “Our darling Princess seems to like you plenty, too.”

The witch’s face turns red, giving his shoulder a light punch, “Quiet!”

“Why so defensive, Noona?” he croons, as obnoxiously as he can manage. His ear gets pinched almost immediately, drawing him away from her.

“Stop pestering Sua and help me serve dinner, you,” Mizi says while giving a small tug, “I bet Till’s hungry after two days in the forest.”

“Wait, Mimi-” 

“Don’t ‘Mimi’ me. Come along, sir!”

As the Princess drags the Demon King away by the ear, they both miss the way Till’s expression drops at the sound of the nickname. 

—

Ivan isn’t entirely sure how he’s supposed to carry on with life now that Till’s around. 

Fixing another healthy serving of curry and sliding the bowl in his direction, dark eyes easily catch the way the elf’s expression lights up for a moment, then grows hesitant while sending Ivan a glare. 

“Is it really fine if I keep eating…?”

“Yes, there’s plenty,” Ivan nudges the bowl again, and Till murmurs a ‘thank you’ while taking it.

“So, elf guy,” Hyuna leans on the table, smiling, “What’s your deal? Are you a knight?”

“Soldier,” he hums, “Also, I have a name.”

“Oh yeah, I’m well aware,” she chuckles, sending Ivan an amused glance. The demoness’ been around the ravenette since he was little, and swears up and down she’s never heard Ivan talk about something or someone quite as much as he does about Till.

The silvernette shoots a confused look before Dewey chimes in, “And? How does a soldier befriend a Princess? You two seem close.”

Mizi smiles, “Ah, I snuck out of the castle when I was young and got lost. Till found me and helped me get back home,” she explains sheepishly.

“That’s nice,” Sua hums, glancing his way and noting how his cheeks warm up, violet eyes narrowing in understanding.

“Y-yeah, well, she was lost and crying, I wasn’t about to just leave her there…”

“Awww, you’re a pretty nice guy, aren’t ‘cha!” Hyuna ruffles his hair, Till complaining immediately.

“Should we catch him up to speed about everything?” Isaac turns to Ivan.

“He did spend two days in the forest, we could wait until he’s well-rested.”

“I don’t need coddling,” Till huffs, “If I’m joining this thing, I want to know everything.”

Ivan smiles, “Very well. Mimi, will you do the honors?”

“Sure!”

Till listens as the Princess goes on to explain everything — from her father’s involvement with the poaching scheme they briefly mentioned, Luka, their plan for the rebellion, Blocell’s current state of affairs —- finally providing some clarity on the exact reasoning behind their alliance.

He also notes the way she and Ivan seem much closer than one would expect of people who’ve only known each other for a couple of days.

“When did you two meet…?”

“When we were-” Till raises a hand when Mizi speaks.

“I’m sorry, Princess, but I want him to reply.”

“Oh?” Ivan smiles at the request, “May I ask why?”

“The fae can’t lie. I want to know exactly what your intentions were when befriending her.”

Hyuna whistles at the accusing tone while Hyun Woo sends Ivan a worried look.

“Sure. I met Mizi when we were kids. Pure coincidence, really, since we happened to run into each other.”

His eyes narrow, the color of seafoam but with the intensity of a raging storm, “Did you know who she was? About her magic?”

“No.” Because he didn’t; he met Mizi when she was a perfectly average Korean girl who just happened to live across the street, and even when the fae can’t lie, that’s never stopped them from dancing around the truth in convenient ways. 

In all honesty, Ivan can understand where Till’s concern stems from, and is even thankful for it. Mizi can lean into the overly-trusting side of the spectrum, so having someone who worries for her is reassuring.

“Did you decide she would be useful after learning about her magic, then?”

“Till,” she furrows her brows.

“I did,” Ivan admits.

“And? Are you planning to take advantage of it once people get injured with your rebellion? Are you going to throw her into the battlefield just like that?”

“Now wait a minute-!” Mizi frowns at that, but Ivan places a hand on her back.

“It’s fine, Zi,” he smiles, turning back to Till, “I’m not forcing her to do anything, if that’s what you’re implying.”

“I don’t believe that. Not when your plan boils down to her having to kill her own father for your Kingdom’s benefit.”

Ivan opens his mouth, ready to retort before a cold voice beats him to it.

“Her father killed his first,” Sua glares at him, gaze steady, “He killed dozens, hundreds of us.”

“That doesn’t mean you can send her off to-”

“Who’s sending her?” she frowns, “She joined this on her own accord. Stop assuming she needs saving and discrediting her own decisions. She’s been working on this for years.”

Till freezes, turning to Mizi, “You have…?”

The Princess watches his expression shift from confusion to hurt, quickly reaching for his hand, “I’ve been doing research to help, yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? I… I could’ve helped.”

“I-” she hesitates, at a loss for words, because how does she explain that she’s known for years he might die due to her family.

“Her father’s been doing more than just kidnapping and selling magical creatures,” Ivan provides, “Of course she’d be wary about involving you. If she got caught he would’ve become strict, but if you got caught he would’ve done much worse.

Till’s expression seems to ease a bit at that, and Ivan feels his heart become lighter again. That’s better… no need to hurt him over their strange reincarnation circumstances.

“I understand your concern, Till,” he assures, “But I think this is something Mimi and you need to figure out on your own. Why don’t you take a bath and then talk privately?”

“Yeah… you’re right,” the Hero grants, opening his mouth as if to add something but ultimately saying nothing more.

“Very well, then.” Ivan stands.

“We’ll do the washing up,” Hyun Woo offers with a thumbs up.

As everyone files out of the kitchen to go back to their own business, Till catches a glimpse of Sua heading for Ivan. The witch takes ahold of his arm, murmuring a quiet ‘are you okay?’ and examining his expression. It takes multiple reassurances before she lets him go.

“Shall we?” the Demon King approaches with a smile, motioning towards the stairs.

“Y-yeah.”

Shit… I shouldn’t have jumped in like that. The topic of his old man ended up being brought up because of me.

The silvernette glances at the man by his side, attempting to decipher his mood. He almost jumps out of his skin when dark eyes meet his own.

“Something the matter?”

“No,” he blurts out instinctively before cringing a bit, “Well, just… my bad… for not taking your father into account.”

Ivan smiles, heart melting at the mumbled apology. “It’s fine, it was years ago,” he says lightly, “Sua’s just protective. Scary older sister, you know?”

“Oh,” Till wracks his brain, attempting to formulate a response, “I thought she was your girlfriend, I guess.”

At that, the ravenette laughs, barely subdued, “Not the case, trust me.” They pause in the hallway, with Ivan pushing one of the many doors open, “This will be your room. Next is Hyun Woo, then Dewey and Isaac in the third.”

Till nods, turning when Ivan points at the hallway to their left, “And then on that hallway is Hyuna, then Sua, and at the end Mizi. Mine’s upstairs.”

“Got it. I-” he seems to chew on his words for a moment, “I’m not really… the polite and proper kind-”

“You don’t say.”

“Asshole!” Till huffs, then clears his throat, “B-but, I’m also not ungrateful. Thanks for the food and the room and… well, for looking after Mizi, I guess.”

Ivan stares, wondering how mad Till would get on a scale from 1 to 10 if the ravenette shrunk him and shoved him in his pocket. He has half the mind to ask.

“Say something!”

“Ah– Sorry, I got lost in thought for a second,” Ivan smiles, “But don’t worry, if you need anything at all just say the word and it's yours.”

That’s an odd way to phrase it, but this guy seems like a bit of a freak… 

The look Till gives him is reminiscent of that one homophobic dog meme Mizi used to harass him with in their previous life. It takes all his might not to flick the elf’s forehead.

“Right, thanks.”

“Mhm. Mimi will probably be waiting for you downstairs after she bathes, so you should hurry.” With that said, Ivan promptly turns around and leaves.

A freak , the elf concludes before sighing, not looking forward to his talk with a certain lady.

Chapter Text

His walk down the stairs and towards the living room feels like penance for angering Mizi.

In their years of friendship, Till has only witnessed Mizi’s wrath once before, not directed at him but rather at his father. The prospect of being on the receiving end of that disappointed look makes anxiety crawl up his chest.

There she is, sitting on the couch and looking as pretty as she always does in is eyes, except her arms are crossed and she’s giving him the slightest frown.  

“Mizi… I’m sorry.”

“I know,” she sighs, patting the couch, “Come here, let’s talk.”

He does as told, sitting down and facing her despite shame making eye contact difficult, “I apologized to him– to Ivan, I mean.”

“I’m glad,” Her expression softens, seemingly relieved, “Till, I genuinely do appreciate all the effort you’ve put into coming to get me. I know me being taken away was scary, and I’m sorry for worrying you.”

Teal eyes raise to meet golden, the woman smiling softly.

“But I made this decision based on my own judgment, not Vivi’s. That’s something I need you to understand.”

“It’s not that I don't think you can make your own decisions,” he clarifies, “I just… I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Her heart squeezes when he chokes up a bit. Because, unlike what his initial temper might lead others to believe, he’s always been sweet and had a genuine heart. 

The man before her is the little boy who once comforted and befriended her, bruises littering his skin but more concerned about the tears in her eyes. His care isn’t lost on her; even less so when she knows just how far he was willing to go for Iris.

“Till…”

“I’m not done, wait!” he clears his throat, so she listens, “I just- you’ve helped me a lot with my childhood stuff and- well, you know, my old man. You’re my friend, and I know you were close with your dad. I don’t want you to get hurt or for anyone to take advantage of you.”

She hears the unspoken I care about you, I don’t want you to go through painful things, please don’t push me away .

Mizi smiles, “Thank you. I know you care about me, and I really care about you too. You’re my dear friend,” she reaches up to pet his head, “I’m not mad that you’re worried, I just don’t want you to blame Ivan for this, you know? He’s also someone dear to me.”

Till nods, visibly relieved, “I won’t. I’ll remember you decided on your own.”

“Thank you,” she softens, “You also don’t have to join us if you don’t want to.”

His head jerks up at that, “Oh hell no, I’m in. You know my feelings about the fae are a bit complicated, but that doesn’t mean I agree with what the Holy Order or your father are doing.”

“Yeah, sounds like you,” she giggles.

Till feels heat crawl up his face, glancing away. He’s always been easy to fluster and quick to color, much to his embarrassment. 

“... you and Ivan seem close.”

“We are. I’ve known him for a while,” she hums, observing his reaction, “I’m getting closer to everyone else, too. I’m sure you’ll warm up to them very soon as well.”

“Yeah, well, Sua for sure hates my guts,” he mumbles, “I didn’t realize she was his older sister.”

Mizi reaches to braid her hair, smiling softly, “They aren’t actually blood related. Ivan helped Sua when they were young, so they see each other as siblings. I doubt she hates you, though. She's kind.”

Till blinks a bit, attempting to understand the way Mizi’s expression lights up when she speaks of the witch, eyes full of something soft and warm he doesn’t fully comprehend, “Really?”

“Mhm! We’ve been getting to know each other. Oh, Till, you like singing! You should listen to her sing, her voice is lovely.”

He smiles, because she’s happy and that’s all he’s ever asked for. “Hmm, I’ll apologize tomorrow, maybe she’ll let me listen sometime.”

Mizi smiles — that warm gesture that has saved his heart many times before — and he listens as she tells him about the Hyun twins, Dewey, Isaac, Ivan and, mostly, about Sua.

—

“Rise and shine, Tilly!” The loud call is accompanied by a slamming door and heavy footsteps.

“What the fuck did you just call- AGH-!” Till’s world tilts and spins as the blankets are ripped off him, finding himself being thrown over a broad shoulder like he weighs nothing, “Hey!”

“Time to train!” Dewey chimes.

“Hah?!”

And really, the last thing he was expecting was to be forced to run a marathon first thing in the morning but, by the time Till emerges wearing the clothes provided by Isaac, he realizes everyone else is outside already.

“Good morning, Till!” Mizi beams from Sua’s side, the witch giving a silent nod of acknowledgement.

“G-good morning,” he says, nodding back, “You’re training too?”

“Yup! We do magical training, though,” she holds up a simple but beautiful golden staff, “Sua’s teaching me more spells.”

“You’re a fast learner. Ivan will have to take over your training in no time,” she praises, dulcet voice making Mizi’s cheeks flare with heat.

Till blinks at the sight, attempting to decode its meaning before a smack to his back cuts the process — and his breathing — short, nearly sending him tumbling to the ground.

“Morning, lil guy!” Hyuna beams enthusiastically, Hyun Woo giving Till an apologetic look and much more peaceful greeting.

“Are you trying to kill me?!” he barks. All the demoness does is laugh cheerfully.

“Man, if that’s me tryin’ to kill you I can’t wait to see what Dewey does to you during combat training!” she calls out while beginning to trot away.

“What’s that supposed to mean-” another powerful smack to his back makes him choke on his words, Hyun Woo helping stabilize him as Dewey cackles.

“No dilly-dallying, start running lil elf!” he beams while dragging Till along.

“What’s with all of you calling me little and elf?” he mumbles, grumpy, “What even are you, anyways?” 

“Weird way to ask, but demon! Same as Nana and Woo,” he beams, “Isaac’s a werewolf!”

“For real?” he turns, mildly curious.

Isaac, catching up to them and running by Dewey’s side, simply shrugs, “It’s not that interesting.” Till disagrees.

Spotting a familiar man approaching Mizi and Sua, he speaks again, “So there’s 4 demons in the castle?”

“No, 3,” Isaac corrects, following his gaze towards Ivan, “The title of ‘Demon King’ is misleading. Ivan’s a dragon fae.”

Listening to the werewolf and running, Till misses the way Ivan glances his way from afar.

A castle full of strange but mostly friendly people.

—

Combat training goes… terribly. Till stops counting how many times Dewey tosses him to the ground like he weighs no more than a feather, all covered in bruises and dirt by the time he decides to have mercy and stop for the day.

“Hey, weird question but were you raised by humans?”

Till stiffens, giving Dewey a slight glare, “What about it?”

“Nothin’, just… you really don’t know how to connect with your elven blood. At all.”

“A bunch of fairies said the same thing, but I have no idea what that even means.”

As much as Anakt has seen an increase of mixed families and bloodlines, most magical creatures in the kingdom live fairly secluded lives. Societal perception has improved in recent years, but it’s practically impossible to avoid discrimination entirely. His interaction with fellow fae — mixed blood or not — has been spectacularly limited.

“Well, elves are good at stuff like element manipulation or using supporting magic. You should at least be able to apply that during combat, by instinct, but you don’t.”

“Sua mentioned you used a sigil to call her,” Isaac suddenly adds, “Most fae know how to call the Demon King by instinct, it’s a simple spell. You’re disconnected from your fae blood enough that you need human techniques.”

Of course he would be, seeing as he was raised by a racist, abusive son of a bitch who only picked him off the streets because his mother was pretty enough to catch his eye. Not that Till remembers her, with her leaving when he was barely 3 years old.

He’s often called a half-human or half-elf, but the truth of the matter is he barely has any human blood in him at all, with his mother being full elven and his biological father only half-human himself. It’s a bit embarrassing how disconnected he is from his heritage, all thanks to his old man beating the interest out of him.

“Yeah, well, nothing I can do about it now,” he grumbles, brushing dirt off his clothes.

“‘S not true, we could prolly help you reconnect with it,” Dewey ruffles his hair, “It would help you in combat and with the sword. How’s that sound?”

The silvernette hesitates slightly, “I’ll think about it… thanks.”

“Mhm. Now, let's go shower and have breakfast.”

—

Hyuna likes breakfast in the castle. Call her old fashioned if you will, but sitting around and sharing a meal with others really is much better than eating alone. 

She remembers her days in the slums, Hyun Woo and her struggling to get by with whatever scraps they could fish out the trash or steal from market stalls. 

When the memory of blonde hair creeps in however, she’s quick to wash it away with practically boiling coffee.

So far, Ivan is the only one who knows. She still hasn’t figured out how he found out — he won’t tell — but it never changed their relationship. The demoness is grateful enough for that, avoiding the subject entirely, even after Mizi mentions his name upon arriving at the castle.

Dewey and Till are in the middle of a bickering match when she spots familiar wings from the corner of her eye, black owl carrying a thick, sealed scroll while hovering outside the open window.

“I’ll get it,” Hyun Woo walks over, carefully retrieving the delivery and handing it over to his twin.

Hyuna hums a ‘thank you’ into the mug, sharp nail snapping the wax seal open before unrolling parchment and scanning it over. It does wonders at ruining her perfectly good cup of coffee, taste suddenly bitter on her tongue. 

“What is it?” She turns to find Ivan’s eyes already on her, the rest of the table quieting down as they catch onto the energy shift.

“Letter from Anakt’s King. He’s threatening to break the peace treaty if we don’t give the Princess back,” she sighs, skimming through the text, “Apparently ‘Anakt has continuously fostered an amicable relationship with us, and our behavior is unacceptable. But they’re willing to forgive and forget if we return her.’”

Ivan hums, lips curling in amusement, “Let me see.”

The Demon King takes the letter, positioning it so Mizi can read along.

It’s far more hostile than in the novel, he notes, As expected, our relationship getting worse did impact the plot. They’re more openly aggressive.

“ A lot more hostile, no ?” With Mizi’s arrival came the agreement to speak Korean when discussing manhwa or novel related information, attempting to prevent anyone from eavesdropping. 

The Princess’ eyes scan over the document, “ Yeah… I’m kind of nervous they might get aggressive sooner than in the novel .”

“They’ll probably send people sooner, but Blocell’s border is more secure than in the manwha,” he points out, “They won’t be able to get in, and if they do, the castle’s security is also much better now, with Hyun Woo still alive and your magic being stronger.”

Golden eyes turn to give him a concerned look, “ I wish we could hurry things along and just get rid of him. ”

“ Me too. But if we kill him without revealing his involvement in the poaching scheme first, the war will only get worse. We need proof that he’s behind it. ”

That was the order of events in the original plot: war broke out after Blocell refused to give Iris back, with Hyuna taking advantage of the conflict to infiltrate the Holy Order and obtain proof of the King’s involvement, later revealing the truth to the subjects and leading to the King’s execution. 

Without proof to condemn Mizi’s father in the eyes of the public, killing him would only lead to more trouble.

 “ If we want to kill him, we need the proof. Our main obstacle is the seraph .”

With Luka’s peculiar magic and their lack of ability to heal injuries inflicted by it, breaking into the Holy Order’s quarters would be nothing short of suicide. 

“ I’ll hurry up. If we can decode his magic… if we learn how to heal it, we’ll have the upper hand. ”

Ivan hums, petting her head to soothe the anxiety that bleeds into her tone, “ Don’t push yourself too hard. I believe you and Sua can figure it out, but even if you don’t we can come up with a backup plan. ”

Finally rolling parchment again, the two lift their gazes to find all eyes on them, varying levels of confusion, annoyance and curiosity behind each stare.

“What language was that?” Sua is the first to ask, glancing between them.

“Oh- It’s sort of a code we developed when we were kids,” Mizi lies, knowing Ivan won’t be able to cover for them this time.

“Only the two of us can speak it in this world,” the Demon King says: a truth.

“That’s kinda cool, actually,” Dewey suddenly blinks, “Wait, is that the little round symbols you’re always filling notebooks with?”

Busted. “Yes, I’ve been using it since I was young,” Ivan smiles.

“What were you talking about?” Till narrows his eyes, “If it’s about the plan, we all should know.”

He keeps assuming the worst, Ivan sighs internally, slightly amused.

“It was out of habit, you’re right,” he concedes, recounting their conversation while carefully omitting any manhwa or novel information.

“I see,” Sua sighs, “We’ve made some progress, but we’ll still need more time to figure his magic out. Give us a few days to measure how quickly we can solve it.”

“I’ll delay them for as long as I can,” the ravenette reassures, “For now, I’d like Dewey and Isaac to help Till develop his skills, Zi will keep learning magic and working with Sua, and I’ll work with Noona and Hyung to strengthen Blocell’s security in case Anakt tries anything.”

The choir of ‘yes sir’s rings out before everyone begins clearing the table.

—

“Did you need something?”

Till briefly considers Mizi might’ve been sleep deprived when describing Sua as ‘kind, sweet and forgiving.’ The violent eyes currently in front of him remind him of a cat staring at its prey, gaze intense like Ivan’s, just colder.

“A-Ah, yes, well- Not something,” he stamers out, clearing his throat, “I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I spoke impulsively… my bad.”

The witch blinks in what seems like surprise, expression softening ever so slightly, “Oh, I see. Have you spoken with Ivan?”

“Yeah, I apologized last night,” he admits, face burning a bit, “Also to Mizi.”

In that moment Till thinks he finally understands what Mizi meant when she called Sua doll-like, watching the smallest smile grace gentle features, “Good. Apology accepted.”

“Really?” he startles.

“Yes. I didn’t think you’d apologize, but it seems I didn’t give you enough credit,” she speaks calmly, “Let’s put this behind us and try to get along. We’ll be spending a lot of time together from now on.”

The elf blinks, smiling a bit and rubbing the back of his neck, “Okay, yeah. I’d like that.”

Sua decides not to mention how Mizi went to her earlier in the morning, appealing Till’s case and vouching for his kindness and sweetness. The witch didn’t quite believe her at first, and also didn’t quite understand Ivan’s apparent interest. Perhaps she understands a bit better now.

Mizi’s too good for the world, is what Sua concludes.

Chapter Text

Ivan has been spending a lot of time in his office as of the past two weeks. He fears he might be losing his mind a bit.

Blocell’s relationship with Anakt has begun to crumble at an alarming speed and, though he wouldn’t otherwise care much to preserve it, Mizi and Sua need whatever additional time he can buy them. And thus, he grasps for whatever miserable straws he can.

His initial letter of refusal to return Anakt’s Princess was accompanied with a promise to keep her perfectly safe and sound, as well as a note expressing his willingness to compromise and give her back if Anakt allowed him to take action regarding the poaching scheme.

The human kingdom did not take kindly to his message, ensuing letters crowded with thinly veiled threats of war, obviously misleading lists of supposed culprits for the poaching issue and vehement refusals to let anyone from Blocell participate in the ‘investigation.’

All in all, a fucking mess. Much worse than in the original novel, where Anakt couldn’t quite pick a proper fight with how Soren exposed Hyuna’s injury and Hyun Woo’s death at the hands of a member of the Holy Order, citing these incidents as the reason behind kidnapping Iris. 

Ivan, on the other hand, has nothing to use as leverage, seeing as every poacher they’ve stopped from entering Blocell has ended up dead and no magical creature taken has been returned.

Hyuna was meant to be the exception: a survivor and witness that couldn’t be refuted. But with Ivan’s defensive strategy, the attack she and Hyun Woo experienced was nowhere near bad enough to excuse the kidnapping of a royal.

The Demon King exits his office, shadows under his eyes and mind racing through possible courses of action. The latest letter sent out to his neighboring kingdom was more sycophantic than the last, attempting to renegotiate an investigation in exchange for Mizi’s return. It will inevitably be refused, but it should buy them a few more days.

The only thing keeping Ivan anywhere near sane at the moment is the knowledge that a certain man is within the castle, safe, eating properly and far away from his father.

“Woah, you look like shit.”

Ivan smiles, finding his beautiful lifeline at the bottom of the stairs. Whenever those teal eyes bless him with their undivided attention, Ivan feels giddy.

“Good morning to you too, Till.”

The elf blinks, “Yeah, morning, but did you even sleep?”

“How sweet, are you worried about me?” Ivan makes his way down the stairs, grinning when the younger one rolls his eyes.

“As if.”

“You’re right,” because why would he, they barely know each other, “I’m guessing you’ve been too busy worrying over Zi to care for little old me?”

A barely dodged punch helps rid him of lingering exhaustion, and also manages to pull a laugh from him.

“Shut up, bastard!”

“So mean,” he feigns innocence, attempting to suppress the sadistic urge to tease and poke at him until he’s red to the tips of his ears. Before he can speak another word, however, Till’s gaze shifts away.

“Mizi already has someone looking over her.”

… Oh? Now that expression is new. Ivan is startled enough by it that he leans down to get a closer look, ignoring the way Till bristles.

“What do you mean?”

Till looks away again, “Sua.”

Oh. Oh god, is Till going through heartbreak?! How monumentally catastrophic is it that Ivan has spent the last 14 days locked away, unaware that his beloved favorite is struggling with the realization that the love of his life is a lesbian?

“They’ve been spending all day together, I can barely see her.”

Ah… perhaps not. It seems Till is even more dense than Ivan initially believed. 

“I see,” he weighs his options. It would be cruel to give him hope when he knows better than anyone Mizi could never love him, but Ivan also has no place outing her. “They’ve developed a special bond since Zi arrived.”

He notes the way Till’s eyes drop a bit, heart squeezing both in pain and adoration that he can be so cute, “Cheer up, Till. It’s not like she could replace you as her best friend.”

“Yeah, well, but you… forget it,” he mumbles under his breath, shrugging Ivan off and picking up his pace.

The Demon King blinks before chasing right after,  “What was that??”

“Nothing.”

“Say it again.”

“It was nothing!”

“Tiiiiiiilllllll-”

“Agh shut up! Don’t pinch my cheek!”

—

It seems he really has missed a lot as of late. Chewing on his breakfast, Ivan takes to silently watching Sua and Mizi interact as though it were a documentary. Same as he has been locked away in his office, the two women have barely stepped out of their lab, spending most of each day seemingly joined at the hip.

It shows.

They’re so syrupy sweet it makes his brain bluescreen for a moment, witnessing usually allergic-to-touch Sua brushing back pink locks, smile like an angel’s and voice dripping with honey.

His eyes drift, now taking in the sight of his childhood friend looking so smitten he mourns the lack of cellphones in this world, because she’s looking at Sua like the witch hung up the moon and stars with her bare hands, and it would’ve made excellent blackmailing material. 

Till… you poor thing.

It’s hard not to pity the Hero, looking all deflated and abandoned at the corner of the table. Ivan can’t bear the sight, but is also incapable of providing Till with love as gentle as Mizi’s. Instead, he opts to play footsie with him, watching the elf grow increasingly incensed whilst sending murderous glances his way.

A job well done, if he does say so himself.

“So.” Hyuna clears her throat, giving Ivan a strange look he doesn’t fully understand, but which he also doesn’t much care to dwell on. “How are things going with Anakt?”

Right, focus.

“Oh, terrible,” the reply tumbles out against his better judgment, still kicking at Till under the table, “I’m barely holding them back. How is figuring out the magic going?”

“Not great, but better than whatever my father’s putting you through, apparently,” Mizi scans his expression, as if he hasn’t been sitting across from her the entire time and she’s just now seeing him, “Vivi, you look awful.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“No, really,” Sua takes a good look as well, “You look awful .”

“Ah, everyone is so kind,” he sips his coffee, “How much longer do you think you’ll need to crack Luka’s magic?”

The girls exchange a glance before Sua speaks up, “We can’t be sure. We’ve been going through every file and record of injuries he caused when he broke into Blocell, but we can’t figure it out yet. If Mizi hadn’t done research for years already we wouldn’t even be at this point.”

“It could still take months for us to go through every possibility we’ve come up with, and that’s assuming we won’t find new ones,” the Princess adds. 

Ivan taps a finger to his cup, thinking. “Our initial plan won’t work. Anakt is barely covering up their threats to start a war. I can hold them back for the rest of the month, but we’ll need a new strategy after that.”

“What if Mizi sent a letter, then?” Hyun Woo suggests.

“It could work,” Ivan grants

“How?” Till furrows his brows.

“Well, they’re using the kidnapping as the excuse to start the war, right? We took a royal but have no proof Anakt’s monarch is tied to the poaching scheme, so we just end up looking impulsive and unreasonable. If Mizi sends a letter stating she’s willingly staying with us, we could use that as leverage,” the demon explains.

“Oh, that’s a good idea!” Mizi beams.

“It is,” Sua turns to Ivan, “But there’s no way you didn’t consider it already.”

“You’d be correct,” The King sighs, “Mimi could send a letter simply saying she’s standing on our side after witnessing the situation in Blocell, but they’ll likely claim we’re forcing her hand and become hostile regardless. She could also send a letter condemning the King and serving as the testimony we need to excuse dethroning him, but that would make the war break out full force without us having a preventive measure against Luka.” 

The table goes quiet, everyone weighing both options. 

“Is there really no way to kill him without cracking his magic?” Isaac asks.

“We could try, but the chances of him killing most of us are high. I’m not risking it,” Ivan declares. Luka kills Till in the original novel, with another completely random magician killing Sua even sooner; them going to war with their current preparations wouldn’t prevent anyone’s death.

“Isn’t Mizi buying us more time is better than nothing?” Till turns to him, “Even if they do say you’re forcing her hand, she could still play into it by denying it and extending the negotiation period.”

“How much time will it give us?” Sua asks.

“Let’s say I give you two more weeks, and with Zi’s letters we get another month, best case scenario. Worst case, they could very well attack tomorrow.”

“We’ll just have to gamble, then,” Hyuna sighs, “Instead of focusing on decoding the magic, maybe we can come up with a backup plan?”

“Already on it,” Ivan reaches into his coat’s pocket, pulling out a fistful of pages folded into the most miniscule squares he could manage and unceremoniously dumping them on the table for him to sift through. He’s honestly too tired to address all the questioning and concerned glances cast his way, so he opts to ignore them entirely. 

Mizi reaches for a few, reading through the hangul without issue and frowning at the contents, “Vivi…”

“They’re just options,” he soothes, avoiding her glare, “Take them all with a grain of salt. Let’s discuss the main ones only.”

They really don’t have much to discuss; the options range from overly conservative and positive to downright up fatalistic. The few they do confer about go as follows:

1. Mizi returning to Anakt and them kidnapping her again later on. The Princess herself proposes this first, but it’s taken off the table almost instantly.

2. Them somehow luring Luka away from the Holy Order, allowing someone to break in. Despite being discussed a fair amount, it’s ultimately voted too dangerous for more than obvious reasons. 

3. Attempting to kidnap a few poachers to get — or more accurately, beat — information out of them.

“That one could work,” Hyun Woo chimes in, “We usually just kill them off after we catch them, but we could try keeping a few alive. It won’t be easy, but it’s doable.”

“I thought so too,” Ivan rolls his shoulders back, exhaustion creeping up on him, “Give it a go while Mizi and I negotiate. I’ll come up with a better plan by then.”

“You need to go sleep,” Till kicks at his foot, no real strength behind the gesture but rather to drive the point home.

Ivan offers a sly smile, “Aw, you really do care.”

“You–!” the elf huffs indignantly, the next kick with actual malicious intent behind it.

They bicker back and forth before Ivan pauses, “Oh, how is your training going?”

“Eh-? Ah, it’s going fine,” Till mumbles, Dewey giving him a perplexed look.

“It’s not?”

“Shut up??” 

“But it isn’t???”

Now it's their turn to bicker, Isaac turning to explain in their stead, “He’s having trouble connecting. It’s a mental thing.”

“You should take over his training, Vivi,” Mizi suddenly speaks up, looking perfectly content while Sua braids her hair.

“Me?”

“Him?!” Till pulls a face that could almost hurt Ivan’s feelings. Almost, because it’s far funnier than it is hurtful.

“Yes, Ivan,” Mizi rolls her eyes at them, “He’s the Demon King, if anyone understands what the fae need, it’s him.”

“ You’re saying that because I know the plot, ” Ivan accuses in Korean, “ I don’t want to take advantage of knowing his backstory. ”

“ It’s not like you’re using it as blackmail or anything, you’re using it to help him! ” she defends, “ It’ll increase the probability of him avoiding death, too. ”

He considers it briefly before turning to Till, smiling innocently, “You have to call me teacher from now on.”

“Like shit I am!”

“They’re always bickering…” Sua hums, playing with pink hair.

“They’re sensitive boys,” Mizi replies, melting into the attention.

—

“You really should be sleeping instead of… whatever this is,” Till gives an exasperated sigh, sitting in the middle of the garden.

Ivan sits across from him, fighting off sleep in favor of this priceless opportunity to spend the day with Till. “I can sleep later. Now, focus while I explain this to you.”

Another sigh followed by silence.

“Magic is fundamentally used by layering orders to manipulate elements, but the way the fae and humans use magic has differences. Humans have to build commands up from nothing, while fae have a baseline access to raw elemental magic from birth.”

“I get that,” Till frowns, “Dewey explained I should be able to access raw elemental magic very easily, but I don’t know how to do it.”

“It’s not something you have to know, it’s instinctive. It should come to you as easy as breathing or blinking,” Ivan explains, “The issue here is that you’re subconsciously repressing it. We need to tackle the root cause.”

“And that is?”

“You’re rejecting the fact that you’re fae. I’m guessing it has something to do with your upbringing.”

Till’s eyes sharpen immediately, poison bleeding into his tone, “Don’t. I’m not here to talk about this shit with you, just teach me how to use it.”

“You quite literally can’t use it until you stop-”

“That’s it, I’m leaving.” 

Logically, Till understands Ivan’s right. He understands his father has done a lot of damage to his self concept and relationship with his heritage; he’s not stupid enough to be unaware. But the last thing he needs right now is to lay his heart out to a stranger. 

“Till-”

“I’ll just keep using the sword like I always have,” he walks towards the castle, ignoring the man who follows after him.

“That’s not good enough to win a war and you know it.” 

It’s true, Till didn’t become a worthy opponent in the novel until he finally let go of his childhood… with Iris’ help. And that’s where the problem lies, because Iris doesn’t exist, Mizi wants him to do this, and Ivan is nothing like the original or current female lead.

He can’t kindly and gently nurture Till into healing, so how is he supposed to help?

“Then I’ll learn to use it like Mizi does. I’m human too-”

“Barely.”

The elf pauses, turning around, “What did you just say?”

“I said barely. You don’t really count as human.”

Unlike the previous one, he doesn’t dodge this punch. To be entirely frank, Ivan doesn’t even try! The shine in Till’s eyes as he lunges forward keeps him right where he is.

Perhaps his past life’s parents were right about him being a twisted child, because his heart does strange things behind his ribs at the realization Till is looking . Not at Ivan Blocell, but at Ivan Choi, with all his unintentionally mean and sharp words that always upset everyone brave enough to approach him at school.

Ivan’s taken a few punches to the  face — no biggie — but this one comes with an electric aftershock that has him seeing white for a split moment, hand moving to his face.

Oh? That was most certainly magic he just used.

“Shit…” he hears an almost breathless curse, lifting his face to see Till’s wide eyes glued to him. The shock is replaced by a flash of guilt, “Hey, are you okay- of course not, I just punched you in the face. Shit, you’re bleeding-!”

As the elf devolves into muttering, Ivan laughs, drops of crimson staining the grass below. “See? You can use magic by instinct,” he muses.

Till pauses, “What?”

“Magic. You used it.”

“When??”

“Just now,” Ivan smiles, pointing at his bloodied nose, “You electrocuted my face a little.”

“No way,” Till looks down at his hands, “How? I didn’t do anything.”

In the original novel, it takes Till releasing his past to finally access his magic; it takes him being at peace. However, it would seem him being enraged enough has the same effect!

Peace, Ivan cannot provide. But rage?

Till flinches, “What the fuck is that smile for?”

“I know how to train you, Till,” and something about Ivan’s sing-song tone activates the elf’s fight or flight instincts once more. 

Chapter Text

“What were you thinking?!” Mizi cups Ivan’s face, the ravenette smiling much like a smug cat despite his bloodied nose and bruised body.

“It seems anger works nicely to trigger Till’s magic. It’s raw electric magic, and he doesn’t know how to regulate it well, but he managed to electrocute me a few times.”

“So you decided to jump him?!” she hisses, healing his face despite her evident anger, “And you , why would you go along with his nonsense?!”

Till straightens his back, hands on his lap and sweating bullets under Mizi’s blazing glare. “I-I’m sorry…” and he means it, with how alarmed Mizi looked when they walked in all bloodied and covered in dirt after beating each other for who knows how long. The elf actually felt bad.

“You two are idiots,” Sua concludes from where she stands, looking exasperated.

Ivan laughs, thanking Mizi for healing him only for her to pull on his cheeks, “You’re not even sorry at all!”

“Haha, I’m not.”

Till silently watches the Princess reprimand Ivan, the latter brushing her complaints off and attempting to quell her rage through appeasing smiles and an even tone. It if were the elf on the receiving end, he’d at least wish the ground would swallow him whole, but the King seems unbothered and even used to her scolding.

Sua takes notice of his staring, saying nothing and instead glancing at Ivan. 

Men .

Mizi discharges them with one last reproach for their behavior, disappointed sigh thrown in for good measure. Sua practically kicks them out of the lab right after.

“So,” Ivan is the first to speak as they head up the stairs, “I’ll train you for a few hours everyday. Early morning sound good?”

Considering an hour of his life was spent being bullied into magical-activation via Ivan hurling shame and mockery his way, Till would very much like to decline. The Demon King really used everything he could think of, from his crush on Mizi, to their slight height difference, down the fact he’s been unable to climb up the ranks. Doing this on a daily basis sounds detrimental to his physical and mental health.

However, after actually witnessing the increase of damage that incorporating magic into his attacks granted him, he can understand why everyone has been pushing him to give it a go. This is also, unfortunately, the most progress he’s made.

“Fine, but I’m not holding back just because you’re King or whatever.”

Ivan, creepy bastard he is, seems delighted with his response, “Good.”

He’s thought so since meeting him, but Ivan is quite strange. While the ravenette isn’t exactly extroverted he has no difficulty playing the role if needed, his control over his expressions is freakishly good, and composed as he may be — accommodating, even — with those in the castle, every thread of self-control seems to fly out the window if the chance to poke fun at Till presents itself.

Not to mention how the elf can practically feel those black and red eyes burning holes into the back of his head all day long, almost like he’s keeping tabs on the silvernette.

The Demon King pauses when the younger man stops walking. “Till?”

“Ivan… do you like Mizi?” he asks bluntly, teal eyes staring right at him.

“Romantically?”

“Romantically.”

Silence. Ivan swears he could hear a pin drop with how deafening it is, and he fights back the urge to burst into laughter.

Don’t do it, Ivan. Control yourself. He swallows it down and clears his throat.

“No, I do not like Mizi romantically,” he manages to squeeze out, “Why, are you worried I’ll steal her from you?”

Till feels heat crawl up his face at the evil grin. “Oh, shut the fuck up,” he pushes past him, heading up the stairs. 

Of course not, he was silly for thinking he might like Mizi, and even more so for being worried about other men approaching her. It’s not like he stares at Hyun Woo, Dewey or Isaac when they’re around her, so why worry about Ivan?

“Aw, talk to me, Tilly.”

“Don’t call me that!!”

—

Every Friday without fail, Ivan would show up at Mizi’s house with snacks in hand. She would rearrange the living room furniture and the two would binge watch movies and talk until they passed out on the couch. 

It was a tradition coined during their elementary school years and maintained until their death.

The two of them have fallen back into the habit, adjusting a few details on account of their new circumstances. Sure, they have plenty to worry about with threats of imminent war and death, but the occasional distraction doesn’t hurt. It’s good for morale!

Ivan opens his bedroom door, Mizi standing in the hallway with two glasses and a bottle of wine in her hands, “I’ve secured the goods.”

“Wonderful,” he opens the door, then locks it once they’re both inside.

Movies may not exist in this life, but conversation has yet to fail them, so they settle on the large bed and share bottles of wine far too expensive for weekly sleepovers. And because potato chips are also not readily available, they settle for odd little cheeses and fruit.

“So?” he pours her a glass, “How are things going with Sua?”

Mizi groans, “Vivi she’s so pretty,” her afflicted whines are muffled into the pillows, “And she keeps being so sweet and affectionate with me, but I can’t tell if she likes likes me or just likes me, you know?”

He hums thoughtfully, handing the glass before pouring another for himself, “Sua is incredibly touch-averse, so I find it hard to believe she’s just being friendly.”

“You really think she’s interested?” The Princess swirls her drink while mumbling, “If I ask for a favor will you do it?”

“Go on.”

“Can you like… ask her? Not too directly! Just try gauging her interest?” 

Ivan can’t say no when she gives him puppy eyes, all full of lesbian yearning and dreams of a spring wedding she used to have a very lengthy Pinterest board for. Honestly, even without all that he can’t bring himself to refuse Mizi of all people.

“I can try,” he drawls, “She might not take kindly to me asking, but I’ll see what I can do.”

The ‘because I love you and I want you to be happy’ goes unspoken, but Mizi hears it loud and clear.

A smile that most certainly rivals the sun lights up her features, moving to lean against him, “Love you, Vivi.” 

“Yeah yeah, love you too, Zi,” he chuckles, leaning right back.

“In return, want me to wingman for you? You’re not doing a very good job at flirting.”

Ivan blinks, turning to her with a confused glance, “Who says I’m trying to flirt?”

“You aren’t?” she gives an incredulous look, “I figured you’d try winning Till over. You adore him!”

That he does. Ivan couldn’t begin to accurately estimate the amount of Till content he devoured throughout the years. Ranging from fanfiction, art and even purchasing official merch, anything that had the Hero’s name, color or face on it would discreetly be added to his collection. 

For all intents and purposes, Ivan was the biggest Till fan out there.

“My plan was to help him end up with Iris,” he then motions at her, “Wasn’t counting on the female lead being a raging lesbian.”

Mizi rolls her eyes, “Well, I am a raging lesbian, but surely he’s catching onto it?”

“Doubt it, considering he asked me if I’m in love with you like he uncovered a dating scandal,” the ravenette muses, emptying his glass.

The Princess purses her lips, glancing down. “I should probably tell him so he can move on,” she then snaps her fingers, pointing finger guns at him, “And that’s when you swoop in and romance him!”

“Romance him,” Ivan echoes.

“Yes, romance him! You support him through heartbreak, he realizes you’re tragically gay for him, and the two of you get married.”

Ivan gives a wry smile, “You’re missing the main issue, Mimi.”

“Which is?”

“That I have no interest in romancing him.”

Ivan has yet to so much as entertain the thought of Till noticing — let alone reciprocating — his affections, considering his love for the FL was often explicitly described as the purest form of devotion the Hero could reach. He loves Iris, in this case Mizi, like one loves something holy.

Ivan is anything but. The elf deserves someone who can provide the sweet, gentle love he desperately craves, and Ivan is not that someone. 

“Vivi,” Mizi sighs, “You’re self sabotaging again.”

“I really am not. I would like to see him happy with someone who is… softer.”

Mizi can provide Sua with the warmth she lacked during childhood; can soothe away the pain and help her grow into a better version of herself. 

Ivan can’t do that for anyone. His love, if one can even call it that, has always been intense, jagged, obsessive. 

“Listen, I won’t push if you don’t want to, but…” she hesitates, holding his hand gently, “I really would like it if you could be happy this time. I hope you can be sickeningly happy.”

He blinks, giving her hand a light squeeze, “Thank you, Zi. I hope you and Sua can be happy, too.”

—

“Mizi?”

“Hm? Oh, good morning, Till!”

The elf could swear time stops for a brief moment, staring in disbelief as Mizi makes her way down from the third floor… first thing in the morning… when her room is on the second floor.

Mind still racing in a desperate attempt to piece together the information being fed to it, he watches in honest to god horror as Ivan descends shortly after, all dressed and ready for their training session unlike the Princess, who still sports her pajamas and looks half asleep.

“Good morning, Till,” the Demon King smiles casually, looking perfectly well rested, “Ready to head out?”

“Yeah…” he mumbles out absentmindedly, shock seemingly disabling all ability to formulate thoughts.

“Don’t be too rough with each other,” Mizi gives Ivan a tired but pointed glare, “You. Be nice to Till.”

“Yes, yes,” he playfully pushes her cheek away, “Go to bed, you look half dead.”

“And who’s fault is that, hm?” she grumbles while making her way down the hallway, towards her room.

The door clicks shut with Till still struggling to grasp whatever the fuck he just witnessed. Ivan pays his state of shock very little mind, instead dragging him along while yapping about who knows what.

“Why… did Mizi sleep in your room?” the words only manage to come out when the cold morning air snaps him out of his stupor.

The dragon fae turns, expression impassive, “We spend Friday evenings together.”

“You what ?” his voice comes out choked.

Ivan raises a questioning eyebrow. Then the puzzle pieces click in place, eyes lighting up with mirth, “We sleep together on Fridays. Why?”

“YOU WHAT?!” 

He shouldn’t, he knows Mizi’s going to be so mad…

“B-But you said you didn’t like her romantically?!”

… Come on, how is Ivan supposed not to poke fun at him when he’s so reactive? He lacks the self discipline not to engage and incense him further, specially when the sight of his emotions bubbling over is this entertaining. So Ivan, being the bastard he is, pours fuel over the fire.

“Do people need romantic interest to sleep together?” 

The Demon King witnesses, live and in real time, as the Hero’s expression flickers from shocked to incredulous before settling on outraged.

“What the fuck?! So you’re just sleeping with her for fun?!”

“Yes.”

Till gapes at him, apparently distressed enough with his supposed discovery that his hair becomes frizzy with unchanneled electricity. A lovely sight, really, with those eyes raging like a storm and his fists crackling with energy.

“You bastard,” he hisses, “You think you can just play with her emotions?”

“I don’t believe I’ve done such a thing?” Ivan puts on a perfectly innocent smile, preparing himself for another brutal beating between them, “How is what we do any of your business, again?”

Till bristles. Ivan's heart flutters. Another productive day of training begins. 

—

Mizi gives him a piece of her mind, alright. She scolds and nags at him in that familiar way she has since they were 10, healing him, then swiftly kicking him out of the lab so she can give Till a similar treatment.

“You really are an idiot.”

Ivan turns to find Sua standing by the stairs, arms crossed and eyes full of disapproval.

“Were you waiting for me?”

“This is an intervention,” she dodges his question.

“No.”

“No?”

“No thank you?”

“You don’t get a choice, I’m tired of watching you be homosexual and obtuse. Come along.” The witch turns on her heel and heads up the stairs, Ivan sighing heavily but complying.

Argue as frequently as they do, it only really feeds into the distinctive sibling-like dynamic they’ve developed. Ivan and Sua will swing between sharp annoyance and undeniable care for one another depending on the time, day or astral alignment. They’ll gag if someone dares suggest they care for the other, but have also developed the habit of sharing tea in Ivan’s office once or twice a week.

Sua is finicky with her affection towards him. Ivan is sedulous about keeping his feelings tucked away in general. In conclusion, emotional constipation is a bitch.

The witch glares at him over the edge of a porcelain cup, inspecting him like he’s some strange critter she’s just now discovered, and assessing which handling protocol will be most appropriate. The usual.

“I have a feeling this will be an unpleasant conversation,” he sighs.

“Not as unpleasant as hearing you fawn over Till without even meeting him, only to then relentlessly bully him once you do,” she raises a brow.

“We’re making a lot of progress, isn’t that good enough?”

“The end doesn’t always justify the means, Ivan,” Sua rests the cup on its saucer, “Mizi asked me to knock some sense into you, so I will give you one piece of advice: stop pestering him to feel something and take a good look at why you’re behaving this way.”

Ivan raises a brow, hit with the realization, “You think I’m in love with him.”

“I can see it, Van,” she rubs at her temple, irritated. Has he always been this dense? 

“You just have the flirting skills of a 10 year old who thinks pushing their crush around is a proper way to convey affection.”

Ivan ponders briefly, and he hates to admit Sua is partially correct. He may not be trying to gain Till’s affection, but he definitely is behaving this way out of poorly channeled and slightly morbid cuteness aggression.

“Okay, fair enough,” he concedes, “I think you should focus on your own love life, though. Unlike me, you actually have a chance.”

She freezes, cup halfway to her lips before shooting him a steady glare, “... Mind your own business.”

That’s Sua language for ‘I’m embarrassed, shut up, you’re so annoying’. That’s Ivan’s cue to fulfill Mizi’s request.

“I mean it,” he chuckles at her reaction, “I’ve seen the way you look at her, and Zi looks at you the exact same. It could work out.”

The witch quietly sips her tea, taking a moment to digest the uncharacteristic sincerity in his words. “I don’t want to rush it,” she finally speaks, “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m trying to get to know her more.”

Ivan blinks, surprised she actually opened up to this extent.

“That’s good,” he hides a smile behind his cup, “Be nice to her, Noona.”

An unfamiliar emotion crosses violet eyes before her expression settles on a tiny smile, “Hypocrite.”

Chapter Text

It happens while Sua makes her way through the castle’s halls, attention caught in the way light pours into the building through tall windows.

If the sun was a sentient being, it would be jealous of Mizi. 

The sappy thought crosses her mind in the way a passing fact would: you gaze out the window and establish the sky is blue, the grass is green, and Mizi puts the sun to shame. 

The realization that’s a rather strange thought to have also hits her with some delay, which is somehow even more agitating, because for the brief moment it only registers as perfectly average, she feels entirely at peace.

Sua pauses in the middle of a hallway, sunlight pouring through the windows, sky blue and grass green, and it dawns on her she's changed.

—

‘Lovely’ is a fitting adjective to encapsulate Mizi’s being; from silky pink locks, eyes like pools of gold and bright smile, she’s truly a presence unlike any Sua has experienced before.

“We should try this one,” the Princess points at their notes, and Sua briefly — tragically — wonders how even her handwriting can be lovely, too. Everything about her is terribly endearing.

“Sounds good.”

The witch belatedly realizes that the only reason she enjoys working at the lab is because it allows her to exist around Mizi for extended periods of time, her presence seemingly invigorating enough to make up for frankly grueling work. The kind that leaves her in desperate need of a bath and a nap.

She’s changed. She most certainly has. What other explanation could there be to the way she feels nearly electrified when their fingers brush together? Ivan has called her ‘allergic to touch’ on multiple occasions, and it resonated deeply enough she never once told him to shut it, which is miraculous with how often Sua would prefer if he did.

Much like a curious child peeling off flaking paint to reveal what lies beyond, the Princess seems to have begun chipping away at her layers, somewhere along the line and without hesitation.

Sua is only realizing now that the wallpaper underneath has begun to peek through, and it’s a bit daunting to realize she doesn’t know herself all that well.

“Would you like to go downtown with me later today?” The ravenette barely realizes she’s spoken up until she notices Mizi’s eyes on her.

“Sure! Did you need to buy something?”

Not at all, Hyun Woo always restocks ingredients for her, knowing she’s not fond of crowded places. 

“There’s a store that sells dried herbs,” is the reply her brain supplies, unable to lie and say ‘yes’, but also too embarrassed to simply say ‘no’. It’s painfully obvious she’s changed. When did she start biting her tongue like this?

“We could also get something to eat afterwards,” she adds, “Ivan recommended a bakery. You like sweets, yes?”

Golden eyes glitter like water under sunlight, big smile piercing right through the witch’s heart, “I do! I’d love to get some with you!”

Sua’s heart swells, smile breaking out before she can even hope to contain it, “Is that so?”

She’s hopelessly drawn in by that warmth.

—

“Vivi, I’m going out with Sua!” Mizi pops into his office with the biggest grin he’s ever seen, practically vibrating with excitement.

“Someone’s happy,” he chuckles, “Where are you going?”

“Downtown. We’re shopping for ingredients and grabbing dessert.”

The thought of Sua willingly heading downtown is funny enough of its own, but the added knowledge that she’s down bad enough to somehow convince herself they need ingredients has Ivan biting back laughter. “Sounds like a date, if you ask me.”

“I choose to be happy and pretend that it is a date,” she sighs dreamily, “That’s why I need your help.”

“Outfit?”

“Outfit.”

Amongst the preparations Ivan made for Mizi and Till’s arrival, clothing for them both was one of the first he tackled, enlisting the twins’ help with preparing basic options for the first few days before actually taking their measurements and tastes into account. He may or may not have splurged a bit; that’s nobody’s business but his own.

All this to say Ivan got Mizi a lot of dresses, and now he’s being faced with the monumental task of helping her pick one for her date. Actions do have consequences, it would appear.

No matter. He sits down on the edge of her bed and allows her to model an obscene amount of them for him, helping accessorize the one they settle on and even going the extra mile by styling her hair. 

Ivan never had siblings in his past life, but vividly remembers reading a manwha where the male lead knew how to style hair due to having a younger sister. He spent the next few days learning how to do Mizi’s, a strange sense of satisfaction bubbling up whenever she would excitedly show each new style off to her mother. 

Another silly way of socializing he stole from random media.

“Do you like it?” 

“I love it! You’ve always been so good at this,” she smiles up at him, and Ivan doesn’t have to force the smile he shows in return.

“Thank you, Vivi,” she gives him a hug.

“You’re welcome,” he hums, returning the gesture, “Have fun on your date.”

—

Ivan sure hopes their day is going better than his.

Barely 30 or so minutes after Sua and Mizi leave the castle, a familiar owl shows up at his office window with a scroll in its talons. Dread washes over him before even receiving the letter, giving the unknowing bird a gentle pet on the head.

The message is predictable down to the penmanship, the King’s involvement in the whole poaching ordeal glaringly obvious with how belligerent their refusal for another investigation is. It boils down to ‘we won’t agree to let you investigate on your own, stop asking, also we are this close to starting a war so give my daughter back.’ Not ideal! 

What’s even worse is their best case scenario has already failed them, seeing as Ivan had hoped the reply would take two weeks to arrive, only to do so in 7 measly days. 

Setting parchment down, Ivan allows himself a rare moment of lethargy, tilting his head back with a groan of annoyance. He deserves to make his grievances known to the world, even if just through bad posture and unintelligible sounds of complaint.

Playing the role of a monarch after growing up in modern day Korea was anything but easy at first; as much as he paid attention and did fairly well at subjects such as economics, he had been preparing to become a doctor most of his life. If not for the teachers his father assigned him in this life, Blocell would be in shambles.

How can exchanging letters be this dangerous? How can it be the most stressful thing he’s had to do since reincarnating? He pinches the bridge of his nose when a headache threatens to aggravate him further.

The door being slammed disrupts the lovely silence in his office, letting out a near exhausted sigh, “ Please tell me you did not set the kitchen on fire again, Noona. I really don’t have it in me to fix that right now…”

“Does she really burn the kitchen that often?”

Ivan slowly lowers his head, meeting an unimpressed stare.

“Ah, Till,” his day is immediately going much better, “How unusual for you to visit. Did you need anything?”

Teal eyes scan around the office before settling back on the Demon King. “Letter,” he provides, showing the envelope in hand, “From Hyun Woo.”

Ivan sighs. Of course, another letter, just wonderful, “Thank you for bringing it…”

Their training sessions have been going fairly well ever since the previous week’s misunderstanding regarding Mizi’s sleepover, with the Princess and witch forcing Ivan to answer for his crimes and clear the entire situation up. 

Till had been angry enough to almost attack him again, so Ivan assumed their already rocky relationship would deteriorate further. Surprisingly enough, it didn’t change a thing! And seeing each other on a daily basis has actually helped the elf relax around him to some extent.

Opening the envelope, he extracts a rather wrinkled piece of parchment, inspecting its contents before sighing again. The Hero raises an eyebrow.

“What’s it say?”

“Remember how they caught three poachers a few days ago?”

“Hm.”

“It appears the Holy Order trains them pretty well. They won’t speak,” he smiles grimly. It seems they’ll have to rely on Mizi’s future letters to buy them time.

Hyuna was hopeful capturing a few poachers would result in them obtaining intel regarding Luka’s magic or Anakt’s plans. However, even days into their… ‘handling’, all three of the captured men have yet to crack. 

Ivan knows Hyuna’s methods, so he can assume what they’ve been trained to endure if none of them have so much as uttered a peep thus far.

Till — fascinatingly enough — pulls a chair back to sit on it, and if he notices the way Ivan stares at him like some mystical hallucination, he kindly doesn’t comment on it. “So, what now?”

“Now, yes,” the ravenette mumbles, regaining his train of thought, “Right, now we have Zi support us and buy us time with her letter.”

“Right,” his brows furrow, mulling over the information provided before speaking up again, “Hey, so about my training.”

The Hero has shown a tremendous amount of improvement. He’s still nowhere near proficient enough with magic, specially with how little control he has of it past the generation threshold, but has been showing consistent progress. Ivan suspects his motivation is mostly fueled by Mizi’s praise.

“Hm?”

“Isn’t there a way to speed it up?”

Patience is a virtue Till does not possess. This question has been rephrased and hurled at the Demon King on multiple occasions, the reply well rehearsed by now:

“No, but you’re making steady progress. You’ll be free in no time.”

“Yeah yeah, you always say the same,” he huffs.

“I mean it.”

“It’s still annoying!”

Ivan snickers and the elf shoots him a glare.

“Shut up, asshole!”

“I really don’t understand why training bothers you so much.”

“Because it’s embarrassing that I have to be taught how to do things apparently even toddlers can do!”

An uncommon display of sincerity that leaves Ivan blinking in surprise and Till looking away. His mood is clearly sour, but in a fan’s eyes the sullen expression is downright adorable; perhaps that’s what prompts Ivan to speak from whatever it is he has in place of a heart.

“Till, children in Blocell can do those things because they are in Blocell. They may face hardships, but discrimination for their race is not one of them,” he hums, “Your progress is actually unnaturally quick because you’re so determined. If you were any less dedicated, it could’ve taken you a month to get to where you are now.”

The elf turns to him, ears ever so slightly drawn back and eyes scanning his expression, “... Really?”

“Yes. I’ll adjust our program as much as I can, you just focus on practicing.”

There’s a beat of silence where Ivan wonders if he somehow managed to screw things up again. He’s never been much of a people person, for all the tips and tricks he developed to appear charismatic, and the fundamental lack of comprehension tends to bleed into his words.

“Y’know, you’re not that bad when you’re not being an insufferable ass,” Till stands up, “Did Mizi go out?”

Ivan’s sure he looks stupid, his mind is blank and his mouth feels dry-

“Yes. Downtown, with Sua.”

Whatever fleeting warmth he felt goes cold as he watches Till’s expression drop ever so slightly, “Right. Isaac is the one cooking, by the way, so come down for lunch today.”

“I will, thank you.”

The door clicks shut and Ivan groans, resting his forehead upon the wooden desk.

After being scolded even by Hyuna for his cuteness aggression towards Till, the King ultimately conceded he might be going overboard. Just a bit. 

With this in mind, the ravenette has tried in earnest to withhold from teasing the elf. But considering his years-long adoration, the endeavor is proving itself to be terribly difficult.

It’s like something ugly is clawing at his insides, urging him to irritate the Hero if just to get a morsel of his attention, because never once in either lives has Ivan been able to love something a normal, healthy amount. Even Mizi isn’t exempt.

He hears an oddly Sua-like voice reproaching him for his skewed priorities when war could break out any minute, and unlike when real Sua says it, Ivan actually listens and attempts to clear his mind. 

Focus.

Chapter Text

Mizi’s letter is sent at the beginning of the following month, two weeks after Ivan receives Anakt’s reply. The contents are fairly simple: she has witnessed the impact left behind by poachers, sympathizes with Blocell’s circumstances, appeals for her father to allow an investigation and refuses to return home until something is done.

In favor of avoiding war from breaking out, Mizi carefully omits any accusation that might hint towards her father or the Holy Order’s involvement, feigning ignorance and making a blanket statement without pointing fingers at anyone in particular. 

Her request is sure to be denied, and her siding with Ivan will most likely only anger her father further, but they’re hoping to stall Anakt’s hostility, not stop it. 

Ivan, for his part, has never been more exhausted in his life. Helping Till with training, doing paperwork after breakfast, managing the forest’s defense mechanism, catching up with Hyuna regarding the poachers they’ve taken, meeting up with Blocell’s nobility when issues arise… he has mentally thanked his previous life’s parents for their heavy expectations on multiple occasions; had they been any more lenient with his studies, he wouldn’t have the mental fortitude to keep his current workload up. 

He also silently thanks Isaac for helping with cooking on a daily basis. That man is a saint.

Still, he powers through, dragging himself out of bed at 5 am sharp and making his way to the courtyard after changing into suitable training attire. 

The sight of Till always eases his mind. Mizi used to send him fanart of the Hero whenever his parents would hold him hostage all weekend long so he could ‘study properly,’ and he would sneak glances in between cramming sessions.

Funny, really, how the silvernette is completely unaware he single handedly helped the Demon King live past 15 years of age in another life. So forgive Ivan for pausing a minute to soak in the sight like the invasive species of a weed he is.

The elf suddenly shudders, spinning around to fix him a grumpy glare, “What is it with you staring at me?”

“Helps keep your senses sharp.”

“Bullshit,” he huffs before his eyebrows knit in confusion, bridging the gap between them with decided steps.

“Till?”

“You keep getting worse,” he notes, tone irritated, “I told you to get enough sleep, did you sneak into your office again?”

When Ivan first regained his memories, he found it extremely abnormal whenever Hyuna or Hyun Woo showed care for him. Mizi had been the only person to ever concern herself with his well being, so receiving it from anyone else felt uncanny.

Even now whenever the twins, Dewey, Isaac or — god forbid — Sua show any care in their own strange and peculiar ways, the ravenette feels a strange twist somewhere in his chest. 

Till is a kind person, consistently described as empathetic and emotional despite his spiky exterior and the bite to his tone. With how he spends every morning with Ivan, everyone in the castle was expecting him to begin warming up and caring for him; everyone but the Demon King himself, that is. He’s still struggling to process it.

“Earth to Ivan,” the elf waves a hand in front of his face, “You look fucked, go sleep. I’ll train by myself today.”

“No, no, we can train,” he finally snaps back to reality, “I got lost in thought, don’t mind me.”

Till narrows his eyes, “If you keep pushing yourself, you’re gonna end up making mistakes you’ll regret later. I’m assuming stopping a war requires you to sleep? You know, so you have a clear head and all?”

Ivan smiles like it’s the easiest thing on earth, “There really is no need for you to worry.”

Never did his plans contemplate him becoming friendly with Till, but they naturally settle into amiable banter.

—

The progress is incredible. By now, Till is able not only to generate raw magic at will, but also is starting to be able to channel it properly, focusing it on specific points to use as he wishes.

As expected of the Hero. He burns brighter than any star.

“Let’s experiment a bit,” Ivan hands Till his sword, “Try channeling your magic to the blade and swing it at that tree over there.”

The elf stares at him like he’s grown a second head, “From here ?”

The tree isn’t exactly close, maybe 40 or so feet away from where they’ve been resting for the past few minutes.

“Yes, trust me.”

“... Fine.”

Channeling his magic comes much easier than expected. Even Till seems surprised by how quickly he manages it.

“Just swing at it?”

“As if you were cutting someone, yes.”

The elf pulls his sword back before lashing in its general direction and — in what Ivan thinks is a hilarious display of horror and shock — watching electricity crack the trunk in half upon impact, tree toppling over.

“Very good!”

“What the–?!” Till walks over to inspect the damage.

“You’re improved very quickly. With a bit more training you should–”

The words get caught up in his throat when the elf turns back, eyes gleaming, smile wide with excitement and sunlight caught on silver hair giving him a soft glow. His awful heart has the nerve to ache .

“Did you see that?! That was so– how did I even do that?” Till hurries back over, picking up the discarded sword and approaching Ivan with the brightest smile he’s ever seen, “Let’s do it again, yeah?”

“Yes, sure,” he replies, breathless. 

A strangely Mizi-like voice calls him gay in his head. He ignores her and focuses on the Hero striking down another tree.

—

“Hey!”

Mizi and Sua turn at the sound of a familiar voice.

“Unnie, welcome home.”

“Welcome back, Hyuna!”

The demoness gives a signature grin, walking over to pull them both into a tight hug, “I’m back! I was missing some feminine energy,” she sighs dramatically.

Mizi laughs and returns the hug while Sua simply leans into the gesture, “I thought you were supposed to return next week?”

Hyuna pulls away from the hug and offers up a thick journal, “Yup, I actually have to head back out in a few hours, but I wanted to deliver this personally. Can’t risk it getting lost or damaged.”

“What is it?” The witch carefully opens it up, Mizi leaning over her shoulder to read along. Hyuna watches their eyes grow wide before the Princess gives her a startled look.

“Where did you find this?!” she scans over the text again.

“It seems Luka injured a bunch of fae in the forest when he infiltrated Blocell,” she doesn’t have to mention the occasion: they all know it was the day the late Demon King was injured, “I had Dewey ask around for any information and a group of nymphs gave this to him. I figured you’d want it.”

“This really is priceless,” Sua mumbles, turning to the brunette, “Thank you for bringing it to us, we might be able to make some progress.”

“Glad to hear it’s useful!” she beams, “Don’t push yourselves too much, ‘kay?”

Mizi laughs when Hyuna ruffles her hair while Sua takes it quietly. The demoness has always been lively and rambunctious, the witch slowly warming up to her after moving into the castle. The Hyun twins and Ivan are the first family she’s ever had.

She can put up with messy hair for her sake.

“Alright, I’m gonna go pester Isaac into cooking something for me and leave you gals to your magic stuff,” she gives a light wave.

“Be careful out there, Unnie,” Sua speaks without a second thought, “Hyun Woo Oppa and Dewey Oppa too.”

Gray eyes soften, lips curling upwards. “Will do. You two be careful too, ‘kay? And if those two idiots give you trouble just tell Isaac to help.”

“Yes, thank you.”

—

The very first thing the two women did when beginning their experimentation was research, taking advantage of Ivan’s authority to gather every morsel of information about Luka they could find in Blocell.

The quality of this information varied greatly, with the least useful bits being nothing more than paperwork detailing the path the seraph followed after infiltrating the Kingdom, and the most valuable being doctors’ notes on the injuries he caused.

The most difficult to get through had been particularly graphic descriptions of Ivan’s father’s injuries. It allowed them both to develop a deeper understanding on why the Hyun siblings avoid the topic entirely: it was brutal.

Even those reports pale in comparison to this, with whoever took it upon themselves to create this record not only noting down each injury a fellow nymph sustained, but also including detailed drawings and updates regarding their condition. It’s a treasure.

“Look at this part,” Sua points with her finger, Mizi quickly scanning over miniscule handwriting.

‘Notes on Subject #3

Unlike other subjects who sustained lethal or more hazardous injuries, Subject #3’s appeared fairly inconsequential when she first came into the clinic. 

She had an open but relatively superficial laceration to the arm, not in poor enough condition to require amputation by any means. I administered stitches and taught her how to keep the wound clean. It should’ve healed without issue.

Barely a few days later, the subject returned to the clinic.

Not only was the injury bleeding profusely, but the laceration had grown wider and deeper, with the sutures starting to fall off, as if the skin around the thread were melting away. 

We administered sutures again, but the same happened a week later. In the end, what had once been a small injury deteriorated aggressively and quickly enough amputation became necessary to stop it from spreading past her shoulder.

The wound’s deterioration seems to hint at some corroding attribute to the magic used. However, the continued bleeding could indicate additional orders layered to create the spell.’

“Oh my god,” Mizi breathes out a chuckle, goosebumps trailing her arms as the realization strikes, “I know what causes the bleeding.”

They knew about the cell deterioration aspect to his magic; her father had confirmed as much during their conversation, but Mizi never once considered there might be another variable playing a role in how harmful Luka’s magic is.

Of course, how could I miss it?

“Mizi?”

“Platelets.”

“Platelets…?”

“They’re cell fragments that help form clots; they help stop bleeding,” she explains hurriedly, “His magic has something to do with them, I’m sure of it! It creates a wound, keeps damaging the cells around the laceration, and it somehow stops platelets from closing it up!”

Sua’s eyes widen, smile surfacing and hands reaching to cup Mizi’s cheeks, “You’re brilliant!”

Mizi laughs happily, hands holding Sua’s own to keep them in place, “We can fix it!”

A miraculous breakthrough.

—

“You really are something else, Mimi,” Ivan scans through the document she ran into his office to hand over.

“I’m getting so much praise today,” she smiles sheepishly, “Does it make sense to you?”

“It does. It would explain why amputation was needed after a while: the injury kept getting worse, the lack of coagulation made it unmanageable and probably increased the risk of infection… It's flawless.”

Mizi beams, adrenaline coursing through her veins at this new discovery. “Now we just have to figure out how it affects the platelets. If we do, we'll be able to replicate it and then create an opposing spell.”

“You said the journal is pretty detailed, right?”

“Shockingly so. The nymph who wrote it was really careful with every little detail. Why?”

“Check if it mentions anything about bruising on the patients,” he hums, “If someone’s platelet count is low, it makes bruising very easy. If the journal mentions an increase in additional injuries, or that the patient’s health after recovery remained poor, the spell probably targets platelet production .”

Ivan hands the document back, “If they didn’t experience additional effects, the spell focuses on destroying already formed platelets. Let me know if the journals mention anything, I’ll send Dewey a letter to track down the surviving patients so you can interview them.”

The Princess stares, wide eyed, “You’re a genius, Vivi!”

“I was trying to become a doctor, you know?” he laughs, “The journal was incredibly useful. I’ll reward Hyuna and Dewey for finding it.”

Mizi smiles, leaning back with a sigh, “It feels like things are looking up, no?”

“It does.”

“Good, so stop stressing so much and get proper rest,” she points accusingly, “Till and Sua are worried, you know? They keep telling me to force you to sleep, but you won’t listen to me either!”

Ivan laughs, putting both hands up in surrender, “Alright, I’ll try to sleep 8 hours tonight.” A truth only because even if he tries he won’t be able to. He’s certain of it.

“Promise?”

He almost feels bad, smiling at her, “Promise.”

—

Ivan does try. He stares up at the ceiling, rolls onto his side, tries breathing exercises… his brain won’t quiet down. 

He knows the original plot down to every minuscule detail — it's clear as daylight in his mind after reading over each novel and manhwa chapter multiple times — but with every decision he and Mizi make, things change and the story deviates.

Overthinking has always come as easy as breathing for him, unfortunately. He can’t tune out the part of his brain that keeps hurling what if’s at him.

What if war breaks out tomorrow? 

What if Hyuna and Hyun Woo get attacked again? 

What if Sua still gets killed? 

What if Mizi gets hurt? 

What if Till dies?

Sighing, he sits up and reaches for the candle by his bedside, bringing the wick up to his lips and gently blowing fire to light it. Perk of being a dragon fae.

Slipping out of his bedroom with practiced silence, he begins his descent. 

The castle is always eerily quiet at this time of night, but the thought of everyone fast asleep and just within reach brings him a strange sense of comfort. It makes him feel that, so long as he keeps that dear to him close, he can at least keep it safe.

The truth of the matter is there isn’t much for him to do tonight: he tackled most of his paperwork throughout the day, and Hyuna caught him up to speed with the poacher situation during her visit. If he stays in bed, however, all he’ll do is marinate in every pessimistic thought until the last thread of his sanity finally snaps. No thank you.

So what does he do? He makes his way down to the kitchen and, more like a rat rather than a man in his own home, rummages through the alcohol cabinet in search of something that might help his brain shut up long enough for him to rest.

Being a dragon fae really does have quite a few perks, amongst them particularly keen senses. He hears familiar footsteps from the moment they begin making their way down the stairs, not even having to check to know exactly who will be joining him soon.

“... What the hell are you doing?”

“Ah, Till, good evening.”

“It’s 1 am. Why are you sneaking around like a rat?”

So he thinks this is rat behavior too…

“I’m finding myself a drink,” he hums, picking out a wine bottle and moving to open it up, “How about you? I assumed you were asleep.”

“Can’t,”  he mumbles, clearly unwilling to provide an explanation. 

Not that it’s needed, with how the novel often mentioned the Hero having nightmares, frequently enough to give him seemingly perpetual shadows under his eyes, no less. Ivan is also aware those nightmares are about his father more often than not.

The raventte regards him silently, “Care for a glass of wine?”

“... Fuck it, sure.”

Being able to share a drink with his favorite ‘character’ feels surreal. They sit in the living room and he offers Till a glass. “So, what brought you downstairs?”

The elf inspects the drink as he replies, “I figured you’d be awake, too. And you weren’t in your office.”

Pause . He went looking for him?

A strange feeling bubbles up, the Demon King hiding a smile behind his glass, “I see. Did you need company?”

“I guess…”

It would appear lack of sleep has the distinct effect of making Till more candid with his words. It’s unexpected, but also terribly endearing.

Ivan hums a bit, “Something on your mind?”

He hesitates, giving the ravenette an undecided glance before sighing. “I’m not used to… this,” he motions vaguely, “To the place, or the people… I mean, Hyuna popped in to say hi to me, even said she misses me. It’s weird.”

Of all the admissions he could’ve formulated in his head, Ivan would never have expected Till to confess to feeling unworthy of the care and affection those in the castle show him.

Ivan and Sua are gloomy, dreary creatures; two sides of the same coin. For them to be unaccustomed to love is natural. Somewhat fitting, even.

But where Ivan and Sua are moths, Mizi and Till are the flame that draws them in. The Hero is meant to be loved and cherished along with the Female Lead.

“Is it really that hard to believe people can care for you?” For once he can’t bring himself to tease him, “Don’t overthink it too much. Let things flow naturally and you’ll get comfortable soon.”

Till blinks before heat rises to his face, huffing a quiet ‘yeah, thanks…’ and refusing to meet his eyes. 

Ivan would like to tell him that he’s lovely, and perfect, and so so bright. He doesn’t. Instead he  pokes fun at him until well past 2 am.

Chapter Text

Hyun Woo is very nice. 

Extroverted as he may be, there’s a distinct softness to him, far more calm and composed than his twin sister. Where Hyuna and Ivan poke fun at him for sport, Hyun Woo provides reassurance, always polite and brotherly… all in all a very pleasant person to have around.

So why the fuck is Till upset?

“Hyun Woo will be taking over your training.”

It makes sense if he thinks about it: Hyun Woo’s swordsmanship far surpasses the Demon King’s, and Ivan has spent the past week teaching him how to properly channel magic. There is nothing left for the ravenette to teach him.

And yet, the elf finds himself in a sour mood when the dragon fae drops the sudden news before retreating back into the castle. 

“Looks like I got in the way of something, sorry,” Hyun Woo smiles, because he’s really fucking nice, and Till feels like shit.

“Nah, you didn’t. I don’t know why I’m in a bad mood, my bad…”

The brunette pats his back, “Seems you’ve really warmed up to Ivan. I’m glad you two are getting along.”

Till tries to argue, but comes to the realization he’s not entirely wrong.

Calling their dynamic strange would be an understatement. The Demon King has the peculiar hobby of watching Till with a weight and intensity that makes it feel like holes are being burned into his skin at all times. It used to annoy him to death.

Now? Not so much. Maybe it’s because they’ve been training together daily, maybe it’s because they’ve been talking at night whenever Till jolts awake from a nasty nightmare, or maybe it’s because Ivan is always lingering around him, Ivan’s presence has become oddly comforting as of late.

Don’t get Till wrong, the son of a bitch can be extremely annoying; he has the nasty habit of hugging the elf and leaning all his weight on him, plus he's always teasing Till half to death, but the bastard isn’t all bad. It depends on the day.

Instead of using Hyun Woo as a therapist, Till reflects internally while they begin training. Somehow the thought of being upset because he started enjoying his training with Ivan only worsens his mood further.

—

For the past two or so weeks, Ivan has been expecting this. 

It was only a matter of time, considering he’s caught Mizi and Sua sneaking in and out of each other’s bedrooms, has watched them grow increasingly affectionate, and even walked in on them cuddled up and asleep on the couch on one occasion. 

He knows what’s coming the moment they sit down for breakfast; knows Mizi too well not to notice the slight shake to her hands or the bounce to her leg.

Poor Till.

The thought crosses his mind as the Princess clears her throat a little.

“S-so, we wanted to give you guys some good news!” she beams, face already flushing slightly.

“Hm?” Till looks up from his food, and Ivan swears teal eyes send him a sneaky glare before settling on Mizi and softening again. Cute.

“Well, Sua and I have been getting to know each other for a bit now…” she explains, fidgeting with her cup of coffee.

The witch reaches out to hold her hand gently — offering the softest smile Ivan has ever seen on her face — before she turns back to the rest of them.

“We’re dating.”

Silence… followed by an explosion of joyful congratulations and excited questions.

“Finally!” Hyuna laughs, “You owe me 5 coins, Dewey!” 

“Aw man! I thought it would take longer!” the man sulks, with Hyun Woo laughing at his gloom and Isaac patting his back.

“Congratulations, Noona, Mimi,” Ivan smiles at them, awfully soft despite his attempts to keep it casual, “I’m happy for you.”

Sua blinks at him, eyes lighting up a bit before she fakes a glare, “Gross, who are you?”

“You’re so mean~ I’m trying to be nice and congratulate you!” 

“Disgusting.”

They exchange softer looks. Her eyes say ‘thank you, I love you’, his say ‘I love you too.’ 

As everyone begins bombarding the new couple with questions regarding them getting together and whatnot, Ivan finally turns to look at the man sitting to his right.

Till stares at the Princess and witch with an almost lost expression, as if taking in and processing the information to the best of his ability.

“C-congratulations, Mizi, Sua,” he finally speaks up.

Mizi offers him a soft smile, and Ivan notices the concern behind it, “Thank you, Till.”

The elf settles back into silence, barely sparing his food another glance. He definitely looks sad, but not nearly as devastated or heartbroken as Ivan expected he would. It’s a tad confusing.

Black and crimson eyes widen as the Hero’s expression softens, lips curling into a smile. Till smiles like he’s at peace, like it doesn’t hurt, like he’s happy so long as Mizi is happy. 

Ah, that’s why , the Demon King thinks, Because he’s kind .

Not a single star could compare.

—

“Hey.”

Till cracks an eye open at the sound of the familiar voice, being met with Ivan looking down at him.

“Hey.”

Ivan would have preferred paying him a visit much earlier, but the mountain of paperwork for the day had been monstrous, and Sua was too busy with her own work for him to even consider asking her for help. In the end, the King tackles it by 6 pm, finally allowing himself a break. 

“Are you sulking?”

Annoying bastard. Till huffs and shuts his eyes again, enjoying the soft breeze and the feeling of grass beneath the palms of his hands. He ignores Ivan taking a seat by his side.

“So, are you?” 

“Stop talking,” the elf sighs, throwing an arm over his eyes, “I don’t… know, okay? I don’t know.”

Ivan hums, “I expected you to be more hurt by it,” he admits, and honestly? So did Till. It’s a bit puzzling how nebulous every emotion feels at the moment.

“I don’t get it,” he removes his arm, staring up at the clouds swimming across the sky, “Like, I am bummed, I guess. I did like her, but… I also saw it coming?”

“Did you?” he raises a brow, “You seemed pretty oblivious about the whole thing.”

“I didn’t realize it could happen with Sua, but a part of me always knew it would happen with someone else,” he hums.

Ivan watches him, leaning against the trunk of the tree providing them with its shade, “Does it bother you that it’s Sua?”

“No,” he says, easy and light, “I don’t even mind it being someone else. Is that weird?”

“I don’t think so. You care for her,” he smiles.

Till goes quiet for a moment before finally pushing himself up, the grass imprinted with his shape. He scoots backwards until he’s sitting by Ivan’s side.

“Are you going to tease me about it?” he gives a deadpan look, and the ravenette can’t help but grin.

“No, I was going to comfort you if you were crying.”

“Stop messing with me,” the elf pushes him lightly, rolling his eyes but chuckling a bit.

“I’m not!” Ivan smiles, leaning to rest his head against Till’s, completely ignoring every protest, “But I’m glad you’re not crying.”

The Hero pauses his complaints, listening to the chirping of birds and the rustling of grass in the breeze, “Yeah, I want to be happy for her.”

Ivan hums, “Hm. We’ll find you someone,” he offers, “Tell me what you like and I’ll find your soulmate.”

“Asshole,” Till chuckles, “I don’t need your pity matchmaking.”

“Aw, but finding you a girlfriend sounds fun. Or do you like Noona already?”

“Agh, gross!”

“Watch your mouth. I’m too hot for you anyway.”

The two of them turn to their right, spotting the demoness in question approaching with a grin.

“Ah, Noona,” Ivan smiles, even as she grabs him by both horns and shakes him around, “Ahaha, you’ll give me a concussion.”

“That’s what you deserve, lil shit,” she hums, with no bite and a smile on her face, “Sorry, lil elf, I’ll be stealing him from ya for a bit!”

“Don’t call me that!” he bristles.

“Noona, nooo,” the Demon King gives her the closest thing to puppy eyes she’s ever seen from him. ‘He was letting me lean against him, I don't want to work’ the looks says.

“I know, loverboy. But we have important info for you,” she ruffles his hair, “Come on, now.”

Hyuna has to peel Ivan away from Till, forcing him to his feet and dragging him away by the hand.

“See you later, Till,” he waves, smile back on his face.

“Yeah, good luck,” the elf waves back

Loverboy???

—

“They cracked.”

“They cracked…” Ivan barely contains a sigh of relief, feeling accumulated exhaustion leave his body with the news. It took much longer than expected, with even him paying a few visits to ‘handle’ them, but the poachers finally cracked.

Ivan sits down at his desk, the Hyun twins right across, “What did they say?”

Hyun Woo slides him a small stack of papers, “It seems your gut was right, Anakt is using the kidnapped fae and magical creatures for a bunch of stuff. It’s all illegal in theory, but with the Holy Order so heavily involved, nobody’s too worried.”

“It ranges from forced labor, entertainment, even darker stuff,” Hyuna glares at the report, “One of them fessed up about the supply chain. Looks like there’s a main market where the auctions take place… all the creatures get transported there.”

Ivan scans over the documents, humming. The supply chain is relatively archaic, all things considered, with most of the trafficking occurring in a single spot. 

It makes sense, the market must have a reputation already. Buyers will gather there; no point branching out to other markets if the ‘goods’ are a liability to keep around. It’s better to sell them off quickly. 

He flips onto the next page, blinking, “They gave this list?”

“Yup. They all started cooperating after the first one broke, I’m guessing they figured we’d finally kill them otherwise,” she sighs.

“From their experience and what they’ve seen at the auctions, it does seem the Holy Order is a huge reason why the poaching got worse in the past.”

The Holy Order is not only the main buyer, but they’ve also gone as far as to commission the poaching of specific fae and magical creatures. It’s no wonder the statistics were so grim before they tightened the forest’s security.

“I see. From the species they buy and request the most, I can already guess what they’re being used for.”

Medicine, healing, weapons, experimentation and research.

The species mentioned all share characteristics that would make them optimal for such purposes, whether it be due to their magic inclination or even physical attributes.

In the original novel, the Holy Order is eventually revealed to have kept the most human-like or human-blooded species alive for experimentation and labor purposes, while the more fae-like or magical creatures were instead used as ‘ingredients’ or ‘materials’.

It was also revealed the late Demon King had been no exception in the end. His horn had been taken when he was attacked and injured by Luka.

“It’s no wonder they’re so hostile. I bet their supplies are running low with how we’ve tightened our security,” he muses, “Plus, we took Zi from them.”

The Princess with the highest affinity for healing magic in Anakt’s history; her father saw Iris as a trump card. A priceless gem. The Kingdom’s treasure.

“What’s the plan?” Hyun Woo looks at him, gaze steady and full of a blind trust Ivan still doesn’t fully comprehend.

“Hm?”

“You have a plan, right?”

“There’s no way you don’t. All you do is scheme,” Hyuna adds.

The Demon King blinks before grinning. “Naturally. We’ll weaken Anakt from the inside and buy ourselves more time.”

“I’ll go get Sua and Mizi,” the demoness stands up.

“Then I’ll get Dewey and Isaac,” her brother nods, “I’m sure they’re with Till by now.”

“Perfect, I’ll get the parchment and coffee ready for us,” Ivan smiles, “We have a long night ahead.”

—

The realization his sleep schedule might actually be beyond repair finally strikes Ivan when he takes a good look around.

It’s 4 am, there’s crumpled parchment all over the living room floor, and their plan lies on the coffee table at the center. He’s about to voice a few lingering misgivings regarding their proposal when he feels weight land on his shoulder, turning to find Till sleeping against him.

The Demon King blinks, finally glancing around and taking in the curious sight.

Mizi lies on top of Sua, the two of them cuddled up on one of the couches and long lost in the land of dreams.

Hyuna — half asleep — leans against Dewey who —fully asleep and snoring away — leans against Isaac, the latter of them all struggling to keep his focus on the task at hand.

Hyun Woo is sitting on the ground, leaning back against his sister’s legs while attempting to keep his own eyes open.

With his entire team either on the brink of or already fully slumbering, there’s no other option but to admit defeat. They can skip training in the morning and improve upon their current draft once everyone is well-rested.

“Let’s call it a night, shall we?” he offers, hand reaching up to stroke silver hair, “Mizi and Sua can sleep where they are, but you should wake Dewey up so he can rest properly.”

Isaac nods while the Hyun siblings slowly rise to their feet, mumbling a few groggy ‘good night’s and ‘see you tomorrow’s as they leave. It takes the ravenette some effort to awaken Dewey and convince him that sleeping in bed sounds preferable, bidding their farewells before heading upstairs.

Perhaps Ivan is more sleep deprived than he initially believed, turning his head to nuzzle fluffy gray hair without a thought or care in the world. It’s fine , he reasons with himself, Till’s asleep and I won’t do anything else .

The Demon King glances around until his eyes land on the blanket Mizi keeps folded up and draped over one of the chairs. He wills it to rise from where it rests, fluffy fabric spreading out mid air and slowly moving to cover the two girls curled up on the couch. Magic sure is convenient.

“Till,” he calls softly, still combing fingers through his hair, “Let’s go to bed.”

“Hm, I’ll sleep here,” the elf mumbles, regaining just enough consciousness to give a coherent answer before he’s slipping into slumber again.

“There are no more blankets here,” Ivan chuckles, mindlessly twirling the hair at his nape.

The silvernette grumbles an intelligible response before pressing further into his shoulder and promptly going right back to sleep.

The dragon fae, for his part, feels his heart do something strange behind his ribs, breath stuttering momentarily.

“Take him to bed, you.”

He turns at the sound of Sua’s groggy voice, sleepy violet eyes drinking in the sight with their usual discernment. 

“How long have you been awake?”

“Long enough,” she gives him a knowing smile, “But I’m too tired to berate you for being a blind fool. It’ll wait until tomorrow.”

Ivan chuckles softly, maneuvering so he can pick Till up without disrupting his sleep, “No need,” he stands with the elf in arms, “Good night, Noona.”

“Good night,” she mumbles, tugging the Princess closer and drifting back to sleep.

The Demon King heads upstairs, tucking Till into bed before heading for his office.

Chapter Text

Anakt’s pharmaceutical industry has always been inferior to Blocell’s. It's a historical constant resulting from the fae’s magical abilities and better understanding of herbal properties.

Because of this fundamental truth, the human Kingdom has consistently and quite heavily relied on the imported goods from their neighbors, Blocell’s main exports ranging from medicinal syrups, tonics, balms and even raw ingredients.

When consulting the Kingdom’s records and interviewing different merchants, however, an anomaly can be identified: throughout the past 6 or 7 years, the amount of goods purchased by Anakt have consistently decreased.

The reason? With the poaching of fae and magical creatures to experiment and use in the development of medicine, their interest in purchasing finished goods has naturally dwindled. 

With all of this in mind, their plan to sabotage the neighboring Kingdom included the following aspects:

1. Attack the supply chain. If what little ‘goods’ the poachers managed to procure never made it to the auction, it would represent a huge hit for a variety of industries. Those seeking for fae-based labor would fail to obtain it, and those wanting for ‘ingredients’ would go without.

2. Economic sanctions. Without the already scarce supply it had been getting before, Anakt’s pharmaceutical industry was sure to struggle. The poaching issue and their refusal to allow any investigation could also be used as leverage for Blocell to apply penalties according to the peace treaty, considerably reducing the amount of exported goods.

3. Travel limitations. After rescuing the fae and creatures taken for auction, Blocell could not only warn their own population not to travel to Anakt as a safety measure, but also make entering the fae Kingdom much more difficult. This would apply additional pressure on their economy and make it impossible for medical supplies to be purchased directly.

The trickiest part about the plan was, without a doubt, targeting the supply chain. This initial step required them to call for the fae living closest to the border to retreat further into the forest, as well as a complicated rescue mission to extricate the poached creatures from Anakt.

It was an awfully fastidious process. Ivan stills remembers all the sleepless nights spent planning the ordeal by using whatever information the kidnapped poachers could provide to coordinate their movements. 

In the end, the Hyun siblings had to infiltrate the auctions and get a general idea of the layout, providing Sua with the intel so she could set up a portal to facilitate the mission. Meanwhile Dewey and Isaac were tasked with the duty to create some sort of diversion that would grant the twins and Till enough time to free and transport the kidnapped creatures.

Now, two months later, Ivan is certain their efforts were worth it. Anakt has been falling apart ever since.

The initial domino effect after their already small supply went missing had been glorious to witness, with requests for higher purchases of medicinal goods flooding Blocell barely a week or so later.

He had been borderline jovial when informing his neighbors that not only would he refuse to satisfy their increase in demand, but he would also be applying sanctions due to their lack of cooperation regarding the poaching issue, as well as limiting travel between Kingdoms in light of recent hostility.

With their pharmaceutical and tourism industries crumbling to pieces as well as the population's outrage that the peace treaty was clearly being compromised, Anakt began to descend into chaos by the second week. The plan worked perfectly! 

Sure, Ivan is still drowning in work with having to handle internal affairs as well as addressing economic and public concerns regarding their current standing with Anakt, but the two months of distraction have allowed Sua and Mizi plenty of time to continue their research, Till his training, and everyone else their preparations for the war ahead. 

“Vivi.”

He startles awake, still sitting in his office and immediately being met with concerned golden eyes.

“Zi?”

“Are you okay?” The Princess approaches his desk, “For you to fall asleep like that… you should take a quick break and get some proper rest, Iv.”

The Demon King blinks lingering exhaustion away, offering a smile, “Don’t worry, I’ll take a break soon,” he placates, “So, what did you need?”

The woman suddenly brightens, smile wide, “We made some progress, want to take a look?”

—

“First, I have to explain how order-layering works in magic,” Sua begins once everyone gathers at the lab, sitting around a desk full of books and notes.

“Magic is extremely customizable, and the more personalized one makes it, the more difficult it is for others to develop directly opposing spells,” she explains, “Luka’s spell has a ‘layer’ that focuses on cell corrosion, while another one focuses on preventing clotting.”

Mizi smiles as the witch gives her a nod, “We managed to crack the code regarding the clotting ‘layer’! We are certain it has something to do with the destruction of platelets, so we were able to create an opposing spell.”

“That’s great news!” Hyuna smiles, “So you can heal the injuries?”

The Princess shakes her head, mood dropping slightly, “Not quite… we ran into a small issue.”

“Which is?”

“The cell corrosion,” Sua sighs, “We think he picked a very specific condition to model it after, maybe an illness or a process… something that causes it but that isn’t simply cell death. Until we can figure it out, we can’t create a fully opposing spell.”

“But!” Mizi chimes in, “That doesn’t mean we have nothing. Figuring out the platelet layer meant we were able to develop a spell to increase platelet production and stop Luka’s magic from killing those already in existence,” she explains.

“I see. So you can’t stop the cells from dying, but you can make the wound close up quickly enough to prevent bleeding or infection,” Ivan hums, “Luka’s magic will keep trying to reopen the wound, and yours will keep trying to close it up.”

“Exactly. This isn’t a definitive cure for whatever spell he uses, but it’s probably as close as we’ll get to it until we have more information on him,” the witch nods, “We can at least prevent death and amputations.”

“Wait a minute. If you have to keep producing the platelet-thingies, doesn’t that mean it’s going to take an insane amount of energy?” Till suddenly speaks up.

“Correct. The patient would likely still be in poor health until we manage to counter the whole spell rather than a single layer of it,” Mizi admits, “But figuring out what is causing the cell corrosion is like looking for a needle in a haystack. We need more information.”

“We won’t be able to get much more intel on him unless we sneak into the Holy Order’s building,” Hyun Woo glances at Ivan.

“I won’t send anyone before war breaks out, it’s too risky. Until Anakt deploys them, the chances of them being distracted enough to miss an intruder are nonexistent,” the King counters.

“Yeah well, with how things are goin’ the war won’t take long,” Dewey hums, “We received a few tips about suspicious activity near the border.”

It would be more suspicious if there was no movement after two months of internal collapse. Anakt is in no position to allow Blocell to continue as they currently are; both their refusal to satisfy medical supply demand as well as the sanctions are a clear symptom that hostility is taking root. Diplomatic relations are crumbling and they’re at too much of a disadvantage for them not to take action.

“A week, at most,” Ivan mumbles under his breath.

“What?” Till leans closer to listen.

“It probably won’t take longer than a week for them to make a move,” he explains, “I doubt this war will be the regular kind, either. I expect Anakt to keep most matters hidden from the population to preserve the King’s reputation. We have to be smart about our strategy.”

The tension in the room is thick, but all members nod with clear determination. 

With the discussion settled, everyone begins leaving the lab in small groups. Ivan and Mizi head out in hushed discussion in that made-up language of theirs, Hyun Woo goes over training plans with Isaac, and Hyuna debates further defensive measures with Dewey. 

“Till.”

The elf turns, finding violet eyes already on him. As Mizi anticipated, Till has slowly warmed up to everyone in the castle throughout the months. Sua is not the exception.

The witch is quiet and reserved at first glance, but has a gentle personality underneath the initial blank stare. She is an older sister through and through; a peculiar one, but a sister regardless, and Till would have to be blind not to notice how happy she makes the Princess.

“Yeah?”

“Care to have tea with me?”

“Sure, why not,” he blinks, confused by the sudden request but not necessarily against it either. 

—

The past two months have been hectic. Between the usual work at the lab, the rescue mission being carried out and Blocell’s internal affairs, Sua has had little to no spare time. 

She’s thankful to finally have a moment to breathe, considering she’s been meaning to approach Till for a long time now; since waking up to the sight of Ivan stroking his hair and nuzzling him, really. 

The Demon King did not mean to be seen, and the witch did not mean to snoop, but the truth of the matter is she caught her foolish brother red handed, and the expression on his face made concern coil itself around her heart.

“Do you love him?” she had asked him the next morning.

“Of course I do, but I don’t want him to love me back. It’s not the kind of love you think it is,” he had replied. 

Sua scans over Till’s expression as she pours him a cup, “Thank you for agreeing to join me… I’ve actually been meaning to have a conversation with you, simply couldn’t find the time.”

The Hero thanks her as he receives and admires hand-painted porcelain, “Yeah, no problem. What did you wanna talk about?”

The elf, Sua has concluded, is actually rather sweet. He’s a bit awkward and clumsy due to impulse, but his feelings are genuine and his heart pure.

“I wanted to ask if you’re still in love with Mizi.”

The witch almost feels bad for her straightforwardness when Till chokes on his tea, coughing into his forearm. She stands up and pats his back until he settles again.

“Fucking hell- at least give me a heads up or something,” he gives her a hesitant look.

Sua chuckles, smile soft, “Sorry, I should have,” she concedes, “But truthfully, I would like you to give me honest and direct answers. I figured the surprise factor could help.”

Till shifts, averting his eyes for a moment, “Honest… how honest?”

“As much as possible.”

There’s a small pause before seafoam eyes meet hers once more, “I love her as a friend, and I love her as a person, I guess,” he explains, “But I’ve been thinking about it a lot and I don’t… think I’ve ever even loved her romantically?”

That gives her pause as well, “What made you reach that conclusion?”

“Well, I’ve always known Mizi would never like me that way. And when you two started dating, it hit me that I wasn’t even disappointed? I was a bit sad, but… I don’t know, it’s confusing.”

Sua blinks, lowering her own cup, “I’ll be honest with you, too.”

“Sure.”

“I think you loved her as a symbol and a person. She’s your friend and a safe place, from what little I know about your life,” she hums, “Somewhere along the line, it began to feel like a crush.”

Till stares at her, “Yeah… Yeah, that sounds about right,” he sighs a bit, “It’s kind of relieving to put it into words. Ivan kept giving me hints, but he’s no fucking help at all.”

“He rarely gives you the answers to your questions,” she agrees, remembering their first year living together, “He prefers to let people reach their own conclusions.”

Sua’s conclusion is that Ivan loves Till more than he allows himself to think. She has no intention of spoon-feeding that truth to him, however: that’s for the Demon King to ponder and realize on his own.

But Sua also doesn’t like owing favors, and she’s aware he played a part in Mizi and her dating, so she’ll repay his efforts in her own way.

“You’ve grown closer to Ivan as of late,” she hums, taking a sip of her tea.

Everyone in the castle has noticed how much time they spend together. Hyuna worried that after Hyun Woo took over his training, Till would lose interest in Ivan. 

Instead, the two of them often seek each other out, Ivan less subtly than Till.

The elf hums, “Yeah, I guess so,” he takes a sip as well, “He’s actually not that bad when he’s not bothering me.”

Sua smiles a bit, “I see… Till, my brother is an idiot. He’s pesky, cocky, vague, and loving him often feels like holding a cactus.”

“Well damn-” he lowers his cup, shocked.

“But,” she raises a hand, giving him pause, “He’s someone who cares deeply, in his own bizarre ways. He’s someone who offers a hand, even if he claims he doesn’t. Ivan is someone who holds and doesn’t let go, even if it would be smarter for him to do so.”

The elf’s expression softens a bit at her words, eyes full of confusion but saying nothing.

“What I’m trying to say is, please see past what he wants you to see,” she brings the teacup to her lips, “I’m not sure if you’ll find what you’re looking for, but you’ll find something true.”

“Okay…” Till doesn’t fully get it, but Sua often speaks in riddles like Ivan, so he takes what she says and tucks it away for later examination.

It might take some time to figure out, however, because a few days later a letter arrives at the castle.

‘Holy Order members were spotted entering the forest.’

Isaac’s signature at the bottom marks the truth behind the message. No fire, no massacre, no people raiding the castle. 

Just like that, a war quietly breaks out.

Chapter Text

“Till?”

“Hm?” The elf turns his attention back to the man sitting across from him, coffee cups and pastries placed over the desk and at a careful distance from important documents.

Till recently began paying more attention to the details. Like how Ivan styles his hair very little due to his horns getting in the way, how his snaggletooth digs a bit into his lower lip when he smiles, or how the way his eyes crinkle is different depending on if the smile is genuine or rehearsed.

A lot of things about him are rehearsed, he realized. When he asked Mizi about it, she vaguely hinted at Ivan growing up with immense pressure surrounding keeping appearances up. 

He’s been taking small mental notes over the past few days. The differences are subtle, but noticeable once you know what you’re looking for.

For example, when the smile is fake, Ivan’s eyes narrow perfectly, lips curled just right to make him look princely. When it’s honest, it looks a bit more childish.

When the laughter is acted, the sound is melodious and lasts around the same every single time. When it’s real, it’s a bit breathless, not so perfect, contagious.

When he looks at people he doesn’t really care for, his eyes look like obsidian, expression carefully controlled to appear pleasant but devoid of any true warmth. When he looks at anyone in the castle, however, they look like black velvet, smile warmer, eyebrows relaxed.

“You’re staring an awful lot. Am I that handsome?” the Demon King gives a playful grin, childish mirth giving its honesty away. 

The bastard is almost cutesy, Till thinks, at least until Ivan’s words and his own thoughts finally register, heat rising to his face.

“Handsome my ass!” he hisses.

Ivan laughs, stabbing a small fork through a piece of cake. He likes desserts a shocking amount, specially the strawberry ones.

“Then what are you looking at me so intently for? Something on your mind?”

Yes, Till has some questions he’d like to ask.

Such as ‘why do you look at me like that?’, because ever since Sua spoke with him, Till has been paying closer attention, and recently became very aware of how Ivan looks at him. Nobody but him .

The Demon King watches like he’s trying to burn Till’s image into his mind, with a warmth that borders on scalding if the elf thinks about it for too long.

“You still look like shit, I’m staring at those eyebags,” Till says instead, motioning vaguely, “You really need to catch up on some sleep, dude.”

Ivan raises an eyebrow, grinning, “You think, dude ?”

“Yes, dude ,” the Hero rolls his eyes, chuckling. He pretends not to notice how black eyes soften at the sound.

—

Blocell has remained disturbingly peaceful despite the knowledge that war is now effectively underway. It’s an unsettling feeling.

The Hyun siblings left the castle along with Dewey and Isaac a few days back, leading Blocell’s soldiers, knights and defensive team to combine their efforts in hunting down the Holy Order’s members. 

So far, a handful of them have been successfully detained and ‘handled’. Still, the situation remains murky at best, considering nobody even knows how many there are to begin with. The one thing that remains clear is their intent: they’re trying to kill Ivan as quietly as possible.

Anakt currently cannot afford to openly and loudly declare war, seeing as the King’s involvement with the Holy Order and the poaching issue remains hidden. This means they’re unable to deploy the Kingdom’s military force in full capacity.

However, the Holy Order has Luka, who remains their biggest threat by far. 

Ivan insisted on going to the forest himself; he’s not against getting his hands dirty, and would’ve much preferred keeping a close eye on his entire team. It took Hyuna, Sua, Mizi and even Hyun Woo ganging up on him to get him to back down.

“You’re the King, for fuck’s sake!” Hyun Woo yelled at one point, and hearing him curse so angrily finally made Ivan realize he was fighting a losing battle.

In the end, all he could do was have Sua prepare magical communication devices — glorified marbles that double as phones, really — and force one upon every member who left the castle. 

“It’s okay. We’ve prepared the best we could,” Mizi tried comforting him the night everyone left. He didn’t comment on how she also couldn’t sleep because of worry, but the fact wasn’t lost on either of them.

She’s right — they’ve put hours of work into this plan — but the knowledge that there’s not much left for them to do brings little comfort. Instead of wallowing, strategy brainstorming sessions are held between the four members still in the castle.

Overworking themselves is not the healthiest coping mechanism, but considering the witch and elf have yet to complain, Ivan figures they’re feeling just as uneasy.

“Noona mentioned they found a few around here,” Ivan draws a circle over the map spread out on his desk, “All of them were killed, but we lost some of ours as well.”

“I heard Isaac mention one made it pretty far. Up to the lake around the first town over here,” Till points and the King swiftly draws a circle.

“They’re advancing pretty quickly…” Mizi frowns. 

Blocell’s forest has an unforgiving terrain, and the weather has also begun to change as of late, rainy season already blessing them with a few light showers every now and again. It’s surprising they’ve managed to cover so much ground.

If it weren't for Hyuna’s brutal leadership and Hyun Woo’s careful training over their forces, Ivan suspects they would’ve reached a few fae settlements already.

“But not as quickly as they should be,” Till frowns, “It’s the Holy Order we’re talking about, and they’ve infiltrated Blocell in the past. Plus we’ve heard nothing about Luka… they probably sent some lower ranking people first, to test the waters.”

“That would be the smartest thing to do. But if the lower ranking soldiers are already so far in our territory, Unnie will need more help,” Sua, up until that point silent, speaks up. The Demon King feels dread wash over him when violet eyes meet his own.

He knows the witch well enough to discern when she’s about to say something unpleasant, and the knowledge of the original novel makes him piece it together before the words even leave her mouth.

“No.”

“Ivan.”

“Already said no, didn’t I?”

She stands up, glaring at him hard enough Ivan’s mood instantly sours.

“You cannot be serious! The magical corps are Blocell’s strongest military structure, we’re meant to support Hyuna and Hyun Woo!”

“Deploying you so early on is a huge risk. I already don’t like that Noona and Hyung are out there, I’m not sending you as well.”

Because sure, the plotline has been completely messed with, and the war is breaking out even earlier than in the novel, but Sua originally dies at the hands of the first round of mages sent from Anakt.

“Ivan, people are dying,” she hisses, “Why did you even put me in charge of training and leading the corps if you won’t deploy us?”

He sees Mizi stand up out of his peripheral vision, approaching Sua with a gentle tone, “Love,” she holds her hand, “Let me.”

Golden eyes meet black, and all he can do is chuckle, “You’re joking.”

“Vivi, please listen to me first?” 

He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose, “... Go on.”

She takes a deep breath, “Sua and I have talked about this a lot. We think that if we go together–” she flinches when Till jumps up, abruptly enough to knock his chair over. 

“What?!”

“If we go together, we can help push back this first round of soldiers. We can buy some time to regroup,” Mizi continues, “My magic’s gotten really strong, you said so yourself! I’m good at defensive and offensive spells now!”

“And her healing is second to none,” Sua squeezes her hand gently, “We’re going.”

“Fuck it, then I’m going too!” Till turns to Ivan as well, “I can use magic pretty well, and I can even beat Hyun Woo with the sword.”

Everything's a mess. It’s a fucking mess and Ivan wants to get run over again.

“We’re going,” Sua declares.

“Me too.”

“Vivi-”

“I need you all to shut up for five minutes,” comes out before he can stop himself, not even amused as all three stare in surprise. 

Deep breath in, deep breath out. He slowly regains his composure, glancing at the map and tapping a finger against the edge of the desk.

It takes exactly 8 taps before he turns back to them, “Okay, but I’m also going.”

—

Blocell’s military groups can be classified in two categories: physical combat oriented and magical combat oriented.

The Hyun twins are directly in charge of overlooking all physical combat groups, meaning the Kingdom’s knights, soldiers and the freshly established defensive team that overlooks the forest. Dewey and Isaac serve as their closest aids when it comes to the latter branch.

On the other hand, only one magical combat group exists: the magical corps, which is solely under Sua’s supervision. 

Not only is this the most extensive military group Blocell has, but it being handled by the Kingdom’s genius witch also means each and every member has been trained as close to perfection as possible. 

Noona might break one of my arms.

Ivan silently wonders if Hyun siblings might actually lock him in the castle for the rest of his life. He couldn’t blame them much, seeing as their concern stems from his father being killed.

And yet here he is, going against their pleas to stay in the castle, sitting on a staff and soaring through the sky along with at least 200 or so members of the magical corps. Sua insisted no more were needed.

“Aren’t you a dragon or something?” 

The Demon King turns to his right, noting the way Till regards the distance between his feet and the ground with nervous caution. It’s almost like he’s trying to determine how likely he is to survive if they fall.

“I am, but it would be easier for them to spot me if I turn,” the ravenette explains, “I fly like this more often than not, we won’t fall.” 

Teal eyes finally peel themselves away from the abyss, scanning over his face, “Are you mad at Mizi and Sua?”

He hums thoughtfully, “No. I understand why they wanted to come.”

“They’re pretty strong, y’know. I know you’re the Demon King and all, but they’ll probably be fine even without you.”

Ivan raises a brow, giving a playful grin, “Are you trying to comfort me?”

He’s expecting a lovely blush followed by sharp words of disdain; maybe a few insolent adjectives thrown at him, colorful insults… instead, Till frowns and reaches up to flick at his forehead.

“Ouch!”

“That’s what you get for always deflecting.”

“I do?” Ivan holds the now reddish spot above his brows.

“Yeah, you always change the topic when I try talking to you. It’s annoying as hell,” the silvernette chides.

It’s been a while since he last got called out for it; the last to do it had been Mizi’s mother during their elementary school years. 

“My bad…?”

“Why is it a question…?” Till gives an unimpressed glare.

“Attention,” Sua’s voice rings out, all eyes turning towards the front from where she leads, “Prepare to land and split into groups. Comb the entire perimeter, set up whistle barriers, and remember: any intruder you find, you shoot to kill. Order clear?”

“Yes, ma’am!” the choir echoes back.

“What the hell’s a whistle barrier?” The Hero asks in a hushed tone.

“They’re relatively easy to shatter; even regular human civilians can break one, but when it’s damaged the magician who cast it is informed of it,” Ivan explains, “Very useful to keep track of the enemy.”

“That’s pretty cool,” the elf hums before the color drains from his face, seeing the front rows of the formation suddenly nose diving to the ground, “That’s how you land this thing?!”

“Hm? Oh, yeah,” black and red eyes suddenly acquire a devilish gleam, arm around Till tightening while his free hand holds the front of the staff, “Hold onto the staff and me unless you want us to get catapulted!”

“You bitch-!”

Till scrambles to cling onto him and the metal underneath, barely biting back an undignified scream as they descend.  

—

Mizi’s hands feel clammy, grip unnecessarily tight. 

It’s okay, deep breaths, she attempts to self soothe, You’re here, your magic is better than Iris’. You can help Sua.

“My love.”

A pale hand moves to her cheek, gently guiding their eyes to meet. Suddenly it’s easier to breathe.

“Sorry, I’m really nervous…”

Sua smiles, leaning close to press a gentle kiss to her lips, “I know,” she whispers, “We’ll be okay. Believe in me.”

Mizi does nothing but believe in her; she believes with reverence and devotion, flurry of butterflies rising in her stomach as she basks in her god’s light.

“Okay,” is all she manages.

It will be okay. Her healing powers come to her as easily as breathing after relentless training, Ivan is also nearby in case they need him, and Till is the story’s Hero through and through by now. 

Mizi has paid the forest a fair share of visits over the months, attempting to familiarize herself with the difficult terrain in hopes it might grant her an advantage over the enemy. As they push through in their search, she’s grateful to have done so.

The sound is so faint she almost misses it, just the quiet rustling of leaves. Golden eyes dart in the direction just in time to see a staff poke through a nearby bush.

“Watch out!” She tackles Sua to the ground, scalding heat of the beam shooting overhead before crashing into a tree and toppling it over.

It’s okay. It’s okay. The mantra loops endlessly in her head, adrenaline making her ears ring.

The Princess points her staff, sending a blast of her own. She barely registers Sua dragging her up to her feet as the explosion rings out.

A flash of blue engulfs them just in time to intercept another shot, fire rolling off the spherical barrier. She freezes up for a moment.

“Mizi,” Sua smiles reassuringly while repairing the cracks on the spell, “Shoot to your heart's content.”

It’s okay. Sua’s here. She’s fine.

“On it!” She points her staff, a disk of light emanating from it before it shoots a flurry of arrows, targets igniting upon contact.

Then, silence. 

Behind the curtain of smoke, she spots the mage, drawing his staff back like a bat.

“Down!” Sua grabs her by the neck of her shirt, dragging her to the ground. The breath gets knocked from her lungs. 

The man swings, gust of wind roaring above them and slicing through the trees. Alarm bells blare in Mizi’s head, gripping the witch and rolling to their side, just barely missing a toppling trunk.

“He’s slow but packs a punch,” the Princess hisses, flinching when Sua casts a large magic circle. Electricity crackles as the lightning takes aim and shoots out intermittently. 

The rumble leaves Mizi’s ears ringing for a moment. She peeks over the fallen trees to see scorched wood and bloodied soil.

“I’m fast and I punch harder,” Sua smiles, using her staff for support and rising to her feet before offering a hand, “Shall we keep going?”

The Princess feels heat crawl up her face, taking the deceptively delicate hand, “M-mhm.”

They continue treating through the vegetation, occasionally running into other members of the corps as well as soldiers and knights. Mizi busies herself with healing the injured while Sua keeps guard.

In the original story, Sua gets killed after failing to spot an enemy when she stops to heal an injured fae. With this in mind, the Princess refuses every offer to help with aiding the wounded, asking her to stay alert instead. 

On top of their security, the witch also tasks herself with setting whistle barriers up as they go, allowing the walls of faint light to spread horizontally until they connect with those cast by other members of the corps. 

“General.”

Sua and Mizi turn to spot one of her mages, clothes soaked in crimson but seemingly uninjured, “His Majesty assisted us and we’ve completed the whistle barrier.”

“How far does it go?” the Princess asks.

“Up to where the mountains rise, your Highness. They’ll have to climb if they wish to avoid them.”

“Good. Let’s focus on cleaning up, then,” Sua reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small sphere, “Attention, all members of the corps-”

Her eyes stray to the side and blue light flashes in an instant. It’s not quick enough.

Blood sprays over her cheek and her subordinate collapses. The witch doesn’t glance. Instead, she yanks Mizi behind herself as the barrier cracks under another hit.

“Sua!” Her voice comes out unsteady, anxiety bleeding into it.

There’s two of them. They’re slow like the last one, but the moment the woman shoots, the man covers up for her recharge time with a hit of his own.

“Stay behind and shoot,” she raises her staff, attempting to fix the cracks before the next hit lands.

It’s oka–

The barrier shatters like glass, Sua hissing at a sharp sting on her cheek. She barely has time to cast a replacement before it’s cracking under another spell.

Mizi’s stomach churns. She doesn’t allow herself to freeze again, dropping to her knee and taking aim.

The blast is deceptively small. The female mage glances its way without much care. The spell hits a nearby trunk and detonates.

—

They see it before they feel it, standing on elevated ground in the forest. A blinding flash of light.

Ivan hurriedly places his hands over Till’s ears, barrier rising around them.

“What the fuck are you–” the elf’s words die in his throat as a gust of wind cracks the barrier and sends a few trees tumbling, explosion ringing out a few seconds later. It’s loud enough his head hurts despite Ivan’s hands muffling the sound.

He squeezes his eyes shut and digs nails into the knuckles over his ears, pain subsiding when the reverberation dies down.

“Are you okay?” The ravenette asks, carefully pulling his hands back.

Ivan barely flinches when hands shoot out to grab his face, turning it brusquely as seafoam eyes dart over his ears, “Shit, you didn’t even cover yours! Are you stupid?!”

“I’m fine, mine are less sensitive than yours so the barrier was enough,” he placates, eyes moving from Till to the rising mushroom of smoke. He feels dread bubble up. “That looks bad, let’s go take a look.”

The elf nods and they’re on their way. They’ve handled a few soldiers since arriving, with Till finally getting target practice and Ivan opting to keep them both safe from anyone sneaking around.

Making their way through the trees, the King takes careful note of a few corpses and damaged flora, following the trail until the smoke around them thickens.

“Till, let me cast a–” the words die down in his throat when he spots familiar pink hair amidst the smoke, instead rushing forth.

“Wait a second!” the elf calls out.

“Stay here and make sure nobody corners us!” Ivan says in return, not stopping. It’s not like he wants to leave Till alone — if he thinks about it too much he feels nauseous, actually — but he can see Mizi stumbling with someone by her side.

“Sua!” 

Violet eyes rise to meet his, blinking in surprise before softening a bit, “Stop shouting, idiot. I’m fine.”

“You are not!” Mizi cries, voice wobbly, “Vivi, help me carry her. The explosion injured her side but I can’t heal her here because of the smoke. She’s bleeding.”

“I can walk on my own.”

“Quit being stubborn,” Ivan sighs.

“Wow. I don’t want to hear that from you .”

“Can you two stop bickering?!” the Princess snaps, their mouths shutting immediately. She points at the witch, “You will let him carry you!”

“Yes, my love.”

“And you,” she turns to Ivan, “Will be very careful with her. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good!”

As he exits the smoke with Sua in arms, Mizi leading the way and Till rushing over, it hits Ivan they’ve successfully avoided Sua’s death flag.

Chapter Text

Everything that happens after healing Sua feels like a blur. Mizi figures it’s due to relief, but she can barely seem to focus afterwards. The death flag has been successfully avoided. 

It feels surreal.

Sua’s orders are carried out swiftly, with the magical corps focusing on ridding the forest of the remnants of the Holy Order still lurking around. It’s a tedious ordeal, but the soldiers are efficient and meticulous in their execution. 

In the end, all military forces regroup behind the whistle barrier, gathering to take orders from their respective generals as well as their King.

Mizi breathes easy again when Sua interlocks their fingers, and starts feeling more like herself when Till approaches, concern evident in his eyes. Relief replaces it when she smiles.

“Hey.” 

She turns at the familiar voice, Ivan’s eyes giving her a quick look over and eyebrows relaxing when he finds no injuries.

“Vivi…”

“Let’s go home, yeah?” he pets her head, “We should celebrate.”

Her eyes sting a bit, accumulated anxiety finally melting away. Mizi squeezes Sua’s hand, the witch squeezes back, and that simple reassurance is enough to make life feel a little lighter again.

“Yeah!” the Princess smiles, “Let’s celebrate.”

A small victory in the grand scheme of things; they simply pushed back the first wave of enemies, but to her it feels like winning the war.

—

What am I gonna do when the war’s over?

Staring up at the fogged window and sinking further into warm water, Till allows himself a moment of introspection.

Setting out to rescue Mizi was an impulsive decision born from care, yet it had led to extremely unpredictable results. Him currently sitting in a tub within the Demon King’s castle, for example, being one of them.

Even after their initial conversation when he first arrived, the road ahead always seemed clear and obvious: he would stay until the war concluded and then return to Anakt by Mizi’s side. What other option could there even be?

Till would go back. Back to his soul-sucking job, back to the small house he could barely afford rent for, back to fighting his father off whenever he needed money for booze. But he would go back with Mizi, and that’s all that mattered at the time.

He vaguely wonders if his conversation with Sua was what planted the seed of doubt in his heart. Or seeing her and the Princess so openly in love, plain for all to see. 

Perhaps it has more to do with how normal he feels when walking down the streets of Blocell. Like he simply belongs and there’s no deed to think twice about his ears, blood or whatever the fuck makes him so foreign in Anakt.

Maybe it’s something about the castle and the people within, all welcoming him in a way that feels like home. Not like the one where his father is or the empty house he rents, but a real one.

The thought that it has something to do with dark eyelashes, playful smiles and relentless teasing crosses his mind. A treacherous, fugitive notion that fades as quickly as it sparked, but still leaves the elf’s face hot with confusion. 

Figuring the heat of the bath has begun to melt his brain, he decides it's time to step out and confront the pandemonium unfolding downstairs.

While they were lucky the Holy Order sent relatively easy to handle soldiers instead of the menace known as Luka, it had still been a gruesome ordeal, not to mention how long it took. They left the castle before sunrise and barely managed to return several hours past sundown.

Needless to say, everyone is hungry, tired, but also brimming with their victory’s lingering adrenaline. Hyuna and Dewey insisted a celebration ought to include copious amounts of alcohol, while Ivan and Isaac silently agreed food was also in order.

Dried and dressed, Till makes his way down the stairs, sensitive ears already picking up on Hyuna’s booming laughter as well as unintelligible chatter from everyone else.

“Till,” Sua spots him while leaving the kitchen, multiple large bottles in arms, “Can you lend me a hand?”

“Ah shit, of course,” he jumps the last step and hurries over, taking half the weight off her hold, “We’re using the dining room?”

“Mhm, Mizi insisted,” she offers in lieu of an explanation, “Something about ambiance. Ivan agreed, so everyone just went with it.”

He hums, examining the bottles in his arms. They range from wines he’s tasted during the nocturnal gatherings at Ivan’s office, to other fruit drinks Till has never heard of in his life.

The table is, unsurprisingly, too large; the 8 of them manage to fit into the small table in the kitchen every day, but this one is meant to seat at least 12 people. They all pick chairs on the same side, crowding the surface with bottles, plates and more while the opposite end remains vacant. 

“Mind passing me the glasses?”

The silvernette turns to his left as Ivan takes the seat at the head of the table. Somehow the chair was left open for Till to grab, and the elf didn’t think twice before settling on it.

“Sure.”

Mizi and Sua are glued to one another across the table. Hyuna and Dewey are bickering about who knows what. Hyun Woo and Isaac preoccupy themselves with setting up the rest of the table. In the end, it feels like a regular dinner, just with more food and alcohol than necessary.

“Here, hand them out to everyone,” Ivan offers a glass of wine and Till complies.

“‘S it really fine for us to be drinking during a war?”

“Considering we won today, I don’t see why not,” he hums as they continue providing everyone with their own beverage, “I highly doubt Anakt will send anyone else for the night.”

The elf turns to receive his own glass, eyes lingering on the curl to Ivan’s lips when Hyuna springs to her feet. He forces himself to look at the demoness instead.

“A toast!” Hyuna beams while raising her glass, “To kicking Anakt’s ass!”

“Una…” Hyun Woo gives her an unimpressed look.

“To kicking Anakt’s ass!” When the Princess of Anakt is the first to echo the toast, what can everyone else do but follow suit?

“To kicking Anakt’s ass!”

—

Till is used to the sight of empty bottles littering the floor; it’s usually accompanied by the pungent smell of intoxication and vomit clinging onto clothes and skin, rough hands landing heavier blows and leaving darker bruises. 

As his eyes glide over the living room, he finds none of those. 

Instead, he spots Mizi and Sua cuddled up on the couch, alcohol making them giddy but also drawing affection out of them. It leaves the pair exchanging little pecks and playing with the other’s hair in a rather sweet manner of flirting.

His eyes trail to the carpet, where the twins, Dewey and Isaac have congregated into a square. They are currently fully immersed in a rather lively match of some card game Till doesn’t know the rules for.

The elf blinks blearily when he spots Isaac placing his hand on Dewey’s, the demon smiling as he draws it up to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss over the knuckles.

Till has known of them dating for a while now; it was brought up over breakfast after he caught them exchanging a brief kiss. Somehow, their expressions are softer this time, colored with disarming fondness that borders on adoration.

For whatever reason, the sight brings long lashes and dark eyes to mind, characteristic glint of mirth making them resemble a starry night sky. 

Momentarily, the realization makes something stir in his mind, like a puzzle piece mere inches away from snapping into place. But with alcohol in his system, the conclusion remains out of reach, frustration bubbling in its stead. 

He must be more intoxicated than he feels, Till figures, yet seafoam eyes still scan over the room. They catch a glimpse of black slinking out the door, and he’s on his feet to trail it a second later.

Ivan stands in the kitchen when he catches up, placing away empty bottles and dirty dishes before turning and blinking at the sight of him, “Someone looks pissy. What’s wrong?”

“Dewey and Isaac are being all… sappy and shit, I don’t know.” Even after it tumbles out of his lips, Till can’t help but feel that’s not the real issue.

“Want to unpack that?” The ravenette leans against the counter, and the elf strides over to sit himself atop of it.

“There’s nothing to unpack, it’s just…” he trails off, unsure what to say.

“Are you sure this isn’t about Mizi?”

“What about Mizi?” 

Ivan chuckles at the grumpy frown, “You know, her being all lovey dovey with Sua.”

“I don’t care that they’re being ‘lovey dovey’...” He cringes at the term, but it’s the truth. 

“But you do mind if Dewey and Isaac are?” Ivan raises a brow.

Till pauses, “Am… Am I homophobic?!”

The Demon King bursts into roaring laughter, leaving the Hero scrambling off the counter, “It’s not fucking funny! I can’t be homophobic!”

Still beside himself, the ravenette presses a hand to his lips, sound bordering on hyena-like by this point. “Sucks for you if you are, this house is full of gays,” he wheezes.

Till chuckles a bit before it too turns into open laughter. “Shut up, I’m not homophobic!”

“Then why does it bother you?” Ivan finally regains his breath.

Once his chuckling subsides, the elf speaks up, “I don’t think it bothers me, it’s just… It feels strange, watching people be all soft with each other, y’know?”

He really must be more intoxicated than he thought, for such a confession to spill out. The Hero half expects Ivan to roll his eyes.

Instead, Till looks up to find a devious but fond twinkle in dark eyes. He briefly wonders if the ravenette is also tipsy, with the light flush to his skin.

He’s not bad looking. The voice in his head, ever useless, provides.

“Does it?” Ivan hums, “I’m sure you’ll find someone who brings the softness out of you.”

“Have you?” The question spills out without a second thought.

“I guess…? Everyone says I have, but I don’t see it,” he shrugs.

Till lightly kicks at his shin, “You should give it a shot, I’m sure she’ll be happy if it’s you. You’re half decent when you’re not being a pain in the ass.”

A blink.

His eyelashes are really long. Another uncalled-for observation.

“Till…”

“Hm?”

“You do know I’m gay… right?” 

The puzzle piece snaps into place. His face must be one of shock, because Ivan is laughing again, but Till’s too busy processing every little clue he missed up until now to care. No wonder seeing Dewey and Isaac reminded him of Ivan, the fucker looks at him with that same fondness; that same something he couldn’t put a name to before.

“Oh.”

“I come out and that’s all you have to say?” The King chuckles, gaze shifting to confusion and then slight alarm when he notices the way Till is staring at him. “What?”

“You’re in love with me.” There goes the alcohol again, thoughts spilling without any regard for the consequences. 

Ivan stiffens; it’s a miniscule reaction. He relaxes just as quickly and smiles in the way Till knows is fake. He’s learned it’s fake, because Ivan always seems to smile more honestly when the elf is around.

“You have nothing to worry about,” he provides in lieu of a rebuttal, because he can’t say no. The fae can’t lie. “I’m not trying to woo you.”

He appears calm, but Ivan’s heart is doing odd things inside his ribcage. It churns and squeezes and aches, with the same anxiety it did whenever his mother asked if he had found a girlfriend yet. 

Pale eyebrows furrow. Ivan is doomed. Death is upon him. Rejection won’t hurt nearly as much as Till pulling away from him entirely — of that much he’s certain.

“The fuck you mean you’re not trying to woo me?”

Did he misinterpret too? Ivan should’ve known. Mizi, Sua– god, even Hyun Woo have approached to egg him into giving it a go. Of course Till would assume he wants to.

“I-” 

Think. What should you say? Minimize the damage-

“At least be serious about it!” 

“I beg your fucking pardon?” Ivan chokes out.

A beat of silence. The King wonders if he drank too much. Did Hyuna finally give him a concussion with the way she shook him around in the forest? Or maybe it was Till who drank too much? Although the notion of him saying such a thing while intoxicated still seems far-fetched.

“I don’t know, man. It’s fucking sad to just pine after someone.”

Till watches, in genuine surprise, as Ivan bristles . 

“I certainly don’t want to hear that from you , of all people.” There’s an unusual edge to it, almost defensive, and it strikes the Hero he’s never gotten a rise out of him before.

“I’m over it!” he counters.

“Yeah, because she’s a raging lesbian,” Ivan rolls his eyes. Has he always been this childish?

“Agh, this isn’t about me, it’s about you!” an accusing finger is pointed, “It’s about you being a loser!”

Dark eyes narrow into a glare. “Well my bad, Till. Should I start courting you? Hm? Should I buy you flowers, knowing fully well you’re straight?”

“Who said I am?!”

This time, the silence is longer. If the elf were sober, or any less proud of the way Ivan’s jaw drops, he would likely die of embarrassment right about now.

“You’re so stupid,” Ivan sucks a breath in, reaching enlightenment.

“What the fuck, don’t you like me?!” 

“I’m afraid I do,” he sighs, exasperated. “But you don’t like me, so can we just drop it? It’s fine. I don’t need you to reciprocate, just-”

Just don’t die. 

He swallows it back when fury flashes across Till’s eyes; when he has the nerve to look irritated.  

“You’re so fucking annoying,” the elf spits out, grabbing the front of his shirt, “Listen to me. I’m- I’m not good at this kinda thing-”

“You don’t say,” he laughs, sardonic.

“Shut up! I’m not good at it, and it took me a while to notice. Whatever.” He digs his heels in, alcohol doubling as liquid courage, “What I’m trying to say is to stop deciding how I feel for me, asshole!”

Ivan smiles. It’s a kind of smile the Hero hasn’t seen before, and doesn’t fully comprehend the meaning of. Still, it makes his fight or flight instinct kick in, and Till’s always been a flightless bird, so he readies himself to square up.

“In that case.” Hands shoot out to grab his face. Teal eyes go wide as their lips crash together.

Different from what he’s used to, but it definitely feels like a struggle with how Ivan kisses him hard , stealing the breath from his lungs and tugging until they’re impossibly close. He tastes of wine and some strange raspberry liquor Sua brought out like half an hour ago.

Till’s brain finally provides the spark needed to fight back, returning the gesture with equal force. 

Not a good kiss by any means. It’s full of teeth, force, unnecessary competition and frustration, all blended up into whatever disaster is taking place in the kitchen while everyone else parties the night away.

“Fucking– Move,” Till grumbles against his lips, because the bastard is too tall and Till’s all cornered up. He shoves Ivan back against the counter, rattling cutlery and breathless laughter ringing out in unison.

“If you break it, you fix it,” the ravenette murmurs while biting on his lip.

The elf hisses, grabbing a fistful of inky black hair and tugging him back, “Fuck you.”

“Gladly,” he laughs, cynical, “Wouldn’t want to decide your feelings for you, though.”

“You-!” 

Fingers curl against silver hair, dragging him right back for another kiss. It’s somewhat tolerable, both now more familiar with the way the other pushes and pulls.

Till isn’t sure if it’s the alcohol, the adrenaline, or something else he’s not entirely ready to face just yet, but a hand moves to Ivan’s side, pinning him back to the counter’s edge. He feels an insufferable grin form on the lips pressed to his own. Then the kiss deepens and his thoughts go a bit too fuzzy to notice it anymore.

Ivan leads him backwards, not giving Till a moment to breathe before he’s caged between the brick wall and him.

“So? What are your feelings?” The question comes out in between breathless and, frankly, filthy kisses. 

“That you talk too much,” he mumbles, pulling on the dark turtleneck to draw him closer. Biting to hear a shaky breath.

A hand slides under his shirt and the elf swats at it, earning a miserable groan.

“We’re– We’re in the fucking kitchen,” Till argues through the mental fog.

“‘S my fucking kitchen,” Ivan presses a kiss to his jawline.

“Still a no.”

“Bedroom, then,” he bargains.

Perhaps it should take him longer to decide, but another kiss has the elf yanking on black hair, peeling him away, “Fine.”

Dark eyes widen. He was not expecting to get this far. The shock lasts about two seconds before he’s getting dragged upstairs.

Ivan feels drunk off the man before him. 

They stumble into the bedroom, exchanging hurried kisses that only grow more impatient once the door slams shut. Till leaves little room to think, swiftly shoving him right against it, ignoring a groan of complaint and instead mumbling a barely coherent ‘lock it’ into the kiss.

With the elf’s tongue swiping over his lips and the gesture escalating at an alarming pace, however, the King fumbles with the doorknob before deciding he has more pressing matters to focus on.

His hands smoothe over Till’s sides, trying to memorize the path from his hips to his ribs to his cheeks. Trying to commit it to memory like it’s something sacred. When he feels a tug on his hair, he reads the ‘move’ behind the gesture, and begins leading the silvernette backwards. 

The kiss is a messy ordeal, but they’ve fallen into a more complimentary execution. It shows in the way they pull back panting for air. He takes the opportunity to drink in the sight of flushed skin, lidded eyes, the sound of ragged breaths, then the Hero bumps into the bedframe and finally speaks.

“Did you lock the door?” His voice comes out coarse, and the sound does strange things to Ivan. It has him dipping down to press kisses to his neck.

“Think so,” is all he provides, fingers cradling Till’s ribcage for a moment before pressing him down to the mattress.

The sight of silver hair over wine bedsheets feels surreal. He bites over skin crowded with faded scars and draws the faintest sound. It leaves his heart running a marathon.

Deeper into the night, when the bedding is messy, their limbs tangled and their breaths labored, Ivan allows himself to be a little selfish. He touches skin like it’s an act of worship, voice dripping with honey when he murmurs sweet nothings into every kiss, terms of endearment rolling off his tongue. 

For one night, he holds starlight in his hands.

Chapter Text

Morning arrives much too soon, golden light seeping in through windows and a cathedral-like silence reigning over the castle. Ivan drinks in the sight before him with bated breath. 

He admires the way silver eyelashes gleam under sunlight, relaxed eyebrows, messy hair, the soft curve of cheeks… Till truly is a sight for sore eyes.

Carefully reaching forth, he dips fingers into ashen hair, combing through to rid it of knots. Only then does the elf stir, eyebrows furrowing slightly before seafoam eyes peek at him.

“... Why are you watching me sleep, you freak?” The grumble has no bite, exhaustion evident.

The ravenette leans to nuzzle his cheek, breathing in faint citrus and mint, “Who knows?”

It’s a strange thing. It’s not like Ivan wasn’t oddly clingy before, but the affection that bleeds into every touch makes much more sense now, and it leaves Till turning red as memories of the previous night flash through his mind.

“You’re so clingy…” he huffs but doesn’t pull away.

“Only with you,” the other drawls before biting his cheek.

“Agh! Stop biting me!” Till finally snaps out of the sleep induced stupor, pushing at him.

Ivan breathes a laugh against his skin, pulling back, “You’re fun to bite,” is all he muses before rolling out of bed.

Teal eyes land on angry red streaks across the Demon King’s back, heat crawling up his face again. Tentatively, the elf reaches to feel over his own skin, flinching when he finds similar markings over it.

“Want to take a shower?” Ivan’s baritone snaps him out of thought. Till instinctively studies the curl of his lips, the crinkle to his eyes and the way disheveled hair falls over his forehead.

“Together?” 

Dark eyes gleam in amusement, “What? Are you getting shy now, my heart?”

“You’re annoying first thing in the morning,” he grumbles in complaint, ears red as he tosses blankets away to stand up, “I don’t do boiling hot showers. Just so you know.”

The Demon King beams, “Got it.”

—

The elephant in the room has been bugging Mizi for the past few days.

The celebration party is, quite frankly, a bit of a blur. With a few too many glasses of alcohol in her system as well as Sua’s even more intoxicating presence, all she can truly recall are needy kisses, tangled limbs… to summarize, she was busy that night.

Busy enough, it seems, she failed to notice what a certain pair were up to at the time. The shift to their dynamic was a dead give away from the following morning onwards.

With the war still ongoing and Anakt sending more members of the Holy Order, however, there’s little time to address Ivan’s evident affection or Till’s lingering looks. She’s busy healing the wounded, Ivan’s busy handling Blocell as a whole, and Till’s busy helping Hyun Woo with strategy.

“Have you noticed? The way Ivan and Till are behaving, I mean,” she murmurs one night, combing fingers through silky black locks and breathing in faint lavender.

Sua shifts, pulling back just enough to make out Mizi’s expression under the moonlight spilling past half-closed curtains. “Yes. I’m pretty sure I caught Till sneaking back into his room a few mornings ago,” she adds, “Haven’t had the chance to bring it up yet.”

The Princess hums, melting when lips press to her jaw. “I hope it works out for them,” she says, heartfelt. Ivan never doubted his sexuality in their past life, but his parents made it impossible for him to even consider dating. She sincerely hopes he will find happiness this time around.

“I do, too,” the witch agrees, voice softening in a way it only does around her. 

Almost a week in, Mizi can finally say she believes it’s going well! It’s become rather common to catch glimpses of them checking in on each other, and the fact Till is somehow managing to force Ivan to get more sleep shows in the vanishing of shadows under dark eyes.

With all of this in mind, she waits for Friday to arrive, picks out a bottle of wine and climbs up the stairs to Ivan’s room.

The door opens shortly after she knocks, a smile already on his face, “Hey.”

“Hey,” Mizi beams, displaying the beverage, “We’ve been busy lately! Can you spare little old me a night?”

“Naturally,” he steps aside to let her in.

Though not as frequently due to busy schedules and newly found partners, the two of them maintain their efforts to spend time together like this. They settle on the bed and chat the night away with good wine and familiar company.

“So,” she glances up from her glass, eyes meeting, “Anything you want to tell me…?”

 Ivan blinks before chuckling, “Of course you already know. What would you like to know?”

“Vivi, I want to know EVERYTHING. And I mean all of it,” she pauses to consider, “You can summarize the explicit bits–”

He laughs.

“–But I can’t believe you haven’t told me!” she finishes with a giggle of her own.

“I was hoping to tell you when everything felt a bit more stable,” he admits, “We have been pretty busy, and I haven’t had a proper chat with him.”

Ivan recounts the kitchen incident, politely glossing over the details, but painting a clear enough picture.

“Oh my god, Vivi!” she pushes him playfully, “I wasn’t expecting you to be that straightforward!”

He chuckles. “Neither was I. We’ve been sleeping — don’t give me that look, I mean literally sleeping — together every now and again,” the dragon fae hums, eyes soft, “And he lets me be more affectionate.”

“So you’re kind of dating but not officially?” The Princess provides.

Ivan blinks before echoing the word back, “Dating.”

“Well, yeah! That’s all couple stuff, no?”

He ponders for a moment, “Oh… I guess you’re right.”

“You’re surprisingly dense for someone who’s always been popular.”

“Can you blame me?” and it comes out whiny, childish, “He’s so cute, Mimi. I want to put him in a blender.”

“I get what you mean,” a knowing nod, “Like, it’s sad there are no microwaves here. I can’t even tell Sua I want to put her in one.”

“Yes, you get me,” he sighs, suddenly sullen, “He won’t let me call him anything cute around others… It’s such a pity, he looks so pretty when he’s embarrassed.”

“Aww! You have pet names already?” Golden eyes sparkle, leaning forward, “Tell me, tell me!”

In a rare display, his face heats up a bit as he smiles, “I call him Starlight. You should see the way he turns red, it’s adorable. I want to bite him.”

Mizi squeals, “That’s so cute. Sua also gets shy when I call her pet names.”

“I bet she does,” Ivan chuckles.

The night is spent fawning over their favorite people, same as they used to be spent fawning over favorite characters.

—

War is tricky. As much as offense and defense are vital aspects of it, something often overlooked is public perception.

After the Holy Order’s latest attack and their subsequent defeat, a heavily wounded survivor manages to make his way back to the human Kingdom. In mere weeks this becomes the opening Anakt had been hoping for.

The announcement reaches Ivan in the form of an Anakt newspaper, the title bold and in dark ink: ‘War breaks out after Blocell’s repeated violations of the peace treaty’. As to be expected, the entirety of the communication is riddled with bended truths, false accusations and plain dishonesty. 

The journalist in question insists Blocell’s aggressive defense of the border shows a lack of good faith, blames them for the disappearance of people around the area but never once mentions their status as poachers, condemns the Demon King for his ‘ill-natured’ economic sanctions, judges the fae as a latent threat against Anakt with their attack on the Holy Order who, according to them, had been hoping to reach an amicable agreement.

What finally makes the other shoe drop, however, is the last accusation: The Demon King refuses to return Anakt’s crown Princess, and is brainwashing her in an attempt to take over the human Kingdom.

Under the guise of preserving their freedom, Anakt openly declares war with full support from their people.

The damning news bring with them an increase in struggle. Now public and open with his hostility, the King deploys not only the entirety of the Holy Order, but also their military force. Ivan spends the next few days setting contingency plans into motion.

Moving the fae that inhabit the outer areas of the forest further into Blocell is an inevitable yet extremely difficult measure. It requires him making multiple trips to secure the relocation of entire settlements.

On top of this already taxing process, he finds himself attempting to contain panic from spreading, consulting with the military forces and strategizing for their next steps and mitigating the impact on Blocell’s economy to the best of his ability. All at once.

Hyuna and Hyun Woo work impeccably, organizing the physical combat branches. In the end, they leave Till in charge of allocating military resources, compiling information for strategy, as well as overlooking evacuation processes.