Queen Of Adis

"Adis, I have souvenirs for you!" Ilyas unceremoniously barged open the door of the royal study. His two hands were full of different food and clothes from Eremus. Moreover, his face was giving off an after-s.e.x glow and his grin was tempting Adis to claw it out from his face.

"Woah, Aqua look, there are so many delicacies from Eremus. Let's try it out!" Zen was jumping with glee as he took the bags and boxes in his little hands and ran off outside the royal study.

"Hey, you brat, leave some for your big brother. I brought it for him since he's not popular and no one would give him any gifts." Ilyas made sure to say it out loud enough for the indifferent man on the royal desk to be ticked off.

Aquarius softly chuckled. "Big brother Ilyas, you know that big brother is not fond of junk food. He wouldn't care even if you give everyone in the palace a souvenir and not him." He calmly said then followed the unruly devil outside.

Ilyas shook his head as he suddenly had a nagging feeling that Aquarius would grow to have a nastier mouth than his big brother someday.

"So, you remember that you still have work to do after being hiatus for two weeks," Adis spoke while his attention was still on his papers.

"Aww, I miss you, too!" Ilyas ignored his friend's biting words and sat on the chair as he took some doc.u.ments on the desk. "Aren't those kids supposed to be in Atlantis and training with old man Triton?"

He was referring to the two young Delacroix. He could see that his friend's work was starting to kill him as he was governing the entire three realms while annihilating some demons and monsters on the side. He knew that Adis already took upon himself to nurture his brothers, but the way he sees it, Adis was just spoiling those brats.

"I deferred it to a later time until they are ready to face their duties as King," Adis simply replied.

Ilyas scoffed and shook his head helplessly. "And when are they going to be ready? When you're already dead from your work? When was the last time you had s.e.x or gone out to have fun? When are you going to get married? Adis, you need to get a life!"

"I just want them to enjoy life a bit more. Is it wrong to want for them to experience something that we could never have?"

"You are hopeless. Don't act like their father. You don't even know how to act like one." Ilyas sighed and took another doc.u.ment to read. His forehead instantly creased upon seeing the request. "Didn't I already rejected this proposal? Why are those corrupt elders still insisting on creating more sanctuaries in Atlantis and Umbra when they have enough in Lumine? Trium Regum's treasury has not recovered yet from the Great Wars of Yore and now they want to bask in riches? What do we have them for? Useless fools! I know we needed them as they bridge the gap between the royals, nobles, and citizens but they're getting out of hand. What did grandfather Camus say to this?"

The Great War of Yore was a tragic war that the late King had waged to unify the three realms and clean the lands from its corrupt officials. It lasted for 10 years and caused five decades of famine and grief.

Ilyas' day was totally ruined as he continued to scan some other piles of doc.u.ments and saw other different proposals that he repeatedly rejected in the past. "What the hell? Who sent these in? Did Fang and Drako lost their touches and didn't even check these doc.u.ments?"

Adis walked towards him and snatched the papers in his hands. He checked the contents and gave it back to him. "It has no stamp of Ignis seal. That means it did not come from my people. But it has your palace's seal on it. Did you ask your aide to bring these papers here?"

Ilyas looked surprised. "Aide? I don't have a royal aide right now. I asked him to go to the Eremus Mountains to investigate what's causing winter to a supposed to be a desert wasteland."

Adis tilted his head in curiosity. "Then, how do you explain your palace's seal?"

They heard a soft knock on the door and a young man in a butler uniform came with a pile of papers in his hands. The demon twins instantly scowled at the unfamiliar being that burst in the royal study.

"Who the hell are you?" Ilyas snarled at the impertinent young man. "Were you not briefed about the royal etiquette of this palace? Only the Royal Family and their trusted aides are allowed to enter this chamber. Leave at once before I throw you to Gehenna!"

The young butler trembled and cringed, causing a bunch of papers to scattered on the floor. "P-please forgive me, Your Highness and Your Majesty. I-it's my first day of work in the Eremus palace and the s-servants there told me to bring these to His Highness immediately." When he saw the Prince's eyes narrowed dangerously, he shook even more and knelt on the floor. "P-please forgive my impudence. Please don't fire me. M-my name is Alfred. I-I am just a commoner and I need this work to have money for my mother's medication."

"You're from my palace?" Ilyas looked aghast that this unforgivable mistake came from his palace. He shook his head and placed his palm on his forehead in disappointment. "Hey, Adis, can you lend Fang or Drako to me to train this idiot? I only need one day. I don't think my aide will be coming back anytime soon."

Adis went back to his desk and spoke, "Suit your self. Drako, come forth!"

Drako suddenly appeared from the shadows and bowed deeply. "Your Majesty, I am ready to receive your command."

"Wow! You Ignis brothers are so damn efficient. Ah, right, I got an approval from you King to train this new butler of mine about the rule of sorting some doc.u.ments. And while you're at it, teach him some of the royal conduct. You..." Ilyas shifted his attention to Alfred, "Follow Drako and learn the basics from him. This prince will be magnanimous this one time. Stand up and leave at once."

Alfred cried in relief of not getting fired on his first day. "Thank you, Your Highness. Thank you, Your Majesty. I will be forever grateful to your benevolence."

Before Alfred completely close the door, Ilyas remembered to ask something. "Are you a half-blood?"

Half-blood is a half-demon and half-human beings and very rare species in Trium Regum. Most of the half-blood could live like humans, they don't have special abilities and they grow old and die. Since no human mother had ever survived during childbirth for a demon, Ilyas could safely assume that Alfred's mother was the demon and his father was the human.

"Ah, yes, Your Highness. My mother is a demon," Alfred respectfully confirmed. "But she recently got sick and the noble house that she served for a long time chased her out... so I have to work hard for both of us."

Ilyas nodded while Adis just listened with an indifferent expression. "Very well, then you should keep working hard from now on. Aim to be a real royal aide so you can give your mother a better life."

Alfred's eyes lit up and nodded vigorously. "Yes, Your Highness, I will definitely persevere and I won't let you down." He kowtowed in front of Adis and Ilyas then finally left with Drako.

Adis walked towards the window and looked outside with hands behind his back. "I read on the report that the commoners' livelihood is getting worse every day. I wish there is something I can do to elevate the lives of my people. Something that my father has always wished for up to his dying breath."

He continued, "The lands of Umbra are vast, but not suitable for cultivation of grains. If only there is something I can do to improve the agriculture of this realm, then I'm sure more peasants won't have to slave themselves or attack innocent civilians just to have food on their tables. I've been racking my brains for so long but I just couldn't figure out how."

"I'm sure something or someone will come to bless this land and save the people from complete destruction. And until it happens, our job is to keep the storm at bay." Ilyas replied and stood up from his chair. "Well, why don't we scout the area for a bit and see it for ourselves. Perhaps we can finally meet the miracle we have longed for, or better yet, your fair maiden."

Adis did not comment on his last statement and just jumped out from the balcony of his study chamber while Ilyas followed through. As they neared towards a poor village, their features and clothes changed, completely masking their true power and form.

Adis' eyes glimmered in torment and helplessness as he witnessed how the citizens scr.a.p.ed the soil for food, the children and women were crying as their flesh was already sticking to their bones while many bodies laid on the ground due to extreme starvation. Numerous *wraiths eerily drifted in the air, looming over the oblivious citizens. Reading the report was already painful enough, but seeing it in person was totally devastating.

This scene was the usual occurrence in every part of the three realms, and in truth, Adis was so close to giving up. "Gods, why have you forsaken my people?" Adis whispered painfully as his eyes glistened in tears.

Ilyas' patted his shoulders firmly while his voice was stern. "Don't give up and don't you dare close your eyes to this reality. Imprint it into your mind and use it as your inspiration to surpass this ordeal. I will always be at your back and I will never get tired of pushing you forward."

Adis lifted the corner of his mouth as he sneered. "You mean, I'll be the one to push you lazy a.s.s forward, stupid."

Ilyas laughed, "Damn right you are." He suddenly stiffened when he felt someone pulled his sleeves to get his attention. When he turned around, he saw a *yamauba carrying a sniveling one-year-old ogre.

"G-good gentlemen, can you please give this poor child a bit of food to eat? I think he has not eaten for days." The yamauba spoke slowly.

Ilyas immediately took out two breads from his space ring. He gave one to the yamauba as he carried the baby ogre in his arm and feed him the other bread. "You eat too, *baba. You are trembling yourself while carrying this child. You're not planning to eat him, are you?"

"N-no, no, kind sir. I just saw him crawling on the ground while I'm on my way to the orphanage to ask for food." The yamauba replied while gulping the bread in three huge bites.

Adis silently offered water to her. She muttered her thanks and reached out to get the bottle gourd, she inadvertently looked up to see Adis' face. The old woman accidentally dropped the bottle as her mouth gaped open.

She panicked and knelt in front of Adis. "Y-Your Majesty, please forgive this unsightly monster, I did not notice that it was you."

Adis' eyebrows furrowed as he asked, "You can see my true form? You must be a very powerful witch."

"No one in this world is more powerful than you, Your Majesty." She kept her head low, afraid to commit another mistake.

"No need for such formality or else you will expose my disguise. Thank you for taking care of the child." Adis shifted his attention to his friend. "Ilyas, we need to leave."

Ilyas hurriedly gave the baby back to the yamauba and followed Adis behind. They both stopped in their tracks as the old witch called the Demon King.

"Your Majesty, please take care of yourself. A great tragedy is about to happen." Her warning made the two men slowly turned and faced her again. "One of the stars around you is about to reach its final stage. A huge sacrifice must be made in order for you to find your fated mate." The old witch gradually vanished as she completed her forewarning.

Ilyas' skin crawled at the fading vision. "Well, that is one hell of a love messenger, huh? Despite the creepy declaration, at least we now know that your mate is coming."