28 First encounter with the demon tribe (1/2)

A week had passed, and Ashley soon became used to life in the castle with her new mom and family. She was the absolute darling of the servants and any request she made, even those mentioned in passing were immediately carried out.

Oh, the little duchess is hungry?

Five plates of different snacks and desserts were brought out.

Ashley complained offhandedly that the sunlight was a bit harsh that day….

Two servants ran behind her while holding an umbrella to keep the sun out of her eyes.

She was feeling a bit sleepy…

Suddenly a quilt was placed in the garden along with several fluffy pillows for her to rest.

It got to the point where Elise was wondering to herself who the true head of the castle was. Still she was glad that her daughter was not suffering from any homesickness after leaving the capitol city.

The strange dreams still haunted her at night but sleeping with Ashley was a godsend as the moment her powers started to go out of control, her daughter's null magic would calm them down.

Usually Elise would spend most of her time outside of the castle and patrolling the borders while culling the occasional monster approaching the territory, but she wanted to stay with her daughter for the first couple of weeks.

Her time with her daughter was cut short by the arrival of a mysterious letter on her desk. Elise narrowed her eyes into slits as she opened the letter and scanned its contents. It was a report by the secretary of her peace corps detailing a dispute that arose between the demon tribe and the mermaids.

The letter continued on, saying that the reason for this disagreement was unknown, but tensions were rising steadily between the two tribes and he advised that the duchess go mediate the argument personally. Both tribes refused to contact the other without the duchess as a mediator.

”The demon tribe….” Elise muttered softly.

Elise was the only human in the dukedom capable of commanding the demonkin residing in the territory. This was not due to her ownership of the land nor her noble blood but the enormous strength that she possessed.

Demons were a war-like race with strong physical bodies that more than made up for their lack of mana. The representative of the tribe was called 'Ares' meaning god of war. The demon known as Ares was chosen after a fighting competition was held amongst the tribesmen every five year.

The church used the nature of the demon race as the standard for all the dark races and their horns were seen as the marks of the devil.

Contrary to popular belief, demons were willing to form trade and interact with humans and other races. However, there was a simple condition as they would only treat someone of another race as their equal if they could defeat the Ares in battle.

Elise smiled as she recalled visiting the demons when she was eighteen and the newly appointed duchess of the north.

(Flashback)

”My lady are you sure about this?”, Gerald asked in a worried tone.

”Yes. My father proved himself as the worthy ruler of the demon tribe and I intend to do the same,” came a flat reply from the young woman in front of him.

Eighteen-year-old Elise wore a frozen expression which made her seem like an untouchable ice beauty. Her hair was tied backwards in a ponytail and her youthfulness resembled a flower beginning to bloom. Her horse was a magnificent white stallion whose very presence emitted a fierce nature.