Aiden listened in silence, but his mind was already racing.

  This wasn’t a school—it was a battlefield. And he was stepping in unarmed.

  He was human, first and foremost. Weak and breakable. Aiden guessed that the demons have monstrous physiology like that King on the Colloseum. A cracked rib or a deep cut could put him out of commission for weeks. He couldn’t imagine what the limits of those demons truly have.

  Then there was the issue of power. He had none. No noble bloodline, no prestigious family name, all he has is Selveria but he wasn’t sure at to what extent she would lend him a helping hand. The Academy wasn’t some fair and just meritocracy where the best rose to the top—it was a playground for the rich and powerful.

  Then there were the students themselves. A collection of noble heirs—many of whom were raised with blood feuds and political grudges running through their veins. He doesn’t want to be entangled with that kind of mess. His life is already miserable, Aiden doesn’t want to add another eccentric noble ruining his sanity like Selveria.

  Aiden thought that ‘The worst of all, demons weren’t human.’ Selveria’s word struck deep to Aiden. They are already mistreating their own blood, what chance did an outsider like him have?

  Overall Aiden thought that there is not one single thing that is beneficial to attending this school.

  Aiden hesitated, gathering his courage to speak. “I've been thinking. Maybe it's better if I just stay here in the mansion. I mean, this academy you mentioned sounds dangerous, and—“

  He paused, swallowing hard. "—and I don't think I'm cut out for it. I could stay here, learn more…”

  Aiden glanced at Selveria, hoping for a flicker of understanding. But her expression remained unreadable. Silent. Her crimson eyes bore into him, and the air grew heavy.

  Aiden felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck. An intense searing pain was felt in the back of his neck. Aiden shrieked. That pain was the slave seal that Selveria branded on his neck. This pain reminded of his status in hell: a slave.

  Aiden looked at Selveria’s face. She had a cold look gazing upon his body. She had a huge disappointment etched to her face. “That wasn’t a request Aiden, it was a command.”

  Selveria stood up from her seat and approached Aiden, she leaned forward slightly and looked straight in his eyes. She raised her hands and Aiden felt her fingers brushing at the back of his neck. “Let me remind you at the position you are in right now. You don’t get to decide what you need, I do.”

  The pain that was tormenting Aiden a while ago was gone. It was as if the pain he felt earlier was just an illusion of his mind.

  “You are nothing but a mere slave.” Selveria came closer to Aiden’s face and looked at him with such intensity.

  She was close now. Too close. Then there was silence, a silence so long that it felt awkward. They didn’t speak to one another, seconds dragged on, and turning into what felt like minutes.

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  The sound of them breathing and their heartbeats are the only noise in this place. The only sound was their breathing. His, erratic and shallow. Hers, steady, controlled. Aiden swallowed hard, feeling his heartbeat hammer against his ribs.

  Then, Selveria shattered that silence.

  “You wouldn’t be like the others, would you, Aiden?” Her voice dipped lower. “The ones who swore loyalty… only to disappoint me in the end.”

  Her lips twisted into a sickening smirk. “Be grateful you even have the privilege of speaking to me, Aiden. I didn’t extend that courtesy to my own servants.”

  Aiden barely had time to react before Selveria’s elongated claws dragged down his cheek.

  Selveria looked down and there was darkness all over her face. Her eyes wide open and had a mad look on her face.

  Selveria’s lips curled into something resembling a smile, but there was no warmth in it—only malice. “I was raised by maids, you know. They were more like parents to me than the pathetic wastes of flesh that gave birth to me. I gave them my trust. My heart. I thought—na?vely—that I could bare my back to them and they wouldn’t stab it.”

  Her sharp canine teeth clenched. The sound of grinding filled the room. Aiden winced—how was she even doing that?

  “But they had loose lips, Aiden. Loose enough to let filth spill out like sewage. Whispers. Gossip. Their spit-laced tongues polluting the air with their filth.”

  Selveria leaned closer, her breath warm against his ear. “And do you know what I did, Aiden?” Her lips brushed his ear and whispered.

  Selveria chuckled, low and eerie, like she was reliving a fond childhood memory.

  “I cursed them… literally.”

  Her grin widened, slow and deliberate. “I ripped language away from them. Stole the very concept of speech from their tiny, worm-ridden minds.”

  Aiden’s throat tightened. His mind reeled. So that was why the maids never spoke. It wasn’t that they wouldn’t—it was that they couldn’t.

  “They can understand words, Aiden, but they’ll never form one again. I let them keep their thoughts—let them scream inside their heads all they want. But when their tongues move, when their lips part, all that comes out is silence.”

  Her grin widened. “But that wasn’t enough.”

  Her fingers curled under his chin, tilting his face upward.

  “I made sure they wouldn’t even have tongues left to wag.”

  Aiden’s breath hitched.

  “At first, I went the traditional route. Thread and needle. Stitched those gaping holes shut with the care of a loving mother.” She sighed wistfully. “But flesh is weak. Skin tears. And Gods, the screaming…”

  Selveria chuckled again, this time with something almost… nostalgic.

  “It was like listening to pigs being gutted. But more pathetic.”

  Aiden’s stomach churned.

  Her claws dug deeper into his jaw, forcing him still. “So I found a better way. A permanent way.”

  She leaned in closer, her smile widening. “I locked their heads in iron fucking boxes.”

  ‘If what she said was truly true’ Aiden thought, ‘then I am a slave to a psychopath’ Aiden vowed in his mind to be more careful around this demon. Aiden could only hope that Selveria would be able to hear his pleas of surrender within his mind.

  She chuckled again, softer this time, almost wistful. “I had them welded shut. Bolted tight. Their voices died in their throats, swallowed up by the darkness inside their new cages.” She tilted her head. “No more gossip. No more whispering. Just silence. Beautiful, obedient silence.”

  Selveria sighed, stretching her arms like she had just finished telling an old childhood anecdote. “And you know what, Aiden?” She smiled, slow and deliberate. “It came back Aiden… I felt they were loyalty to me. Aiden are you also loyal to me?”

  She looked Aiden again and this time her face was much closer. Her intense breathing from her mouth could be felt by Aiden’s skin. The expression on her face was latched with concern and weakness.

  “Aiden… you wouldn’t dare to betray me do you?” Aiden was staring back at her as if hypnotized, he was mesmerized at how the pupils of Selveria changed into a spiral, and it is the look of madness. Selveria then looked back again this time the stare was more intense

  Aiden couldnt speak anything, his jaw was held tightly by Selveria. Aiden wasn’t able to respond at this situation which Selveria misunderstood for incompliance. She clenched her teeth again and gripped Aiden’s face much harder this time. Her nails piercing Aiden’s face much more strongly so much so that blood flew out.

  Selveria blinked, and suddenly, the softness was gone—replaced by something sharp, something hungry.

  Aiden wanted to speak that wasn’t the case but the grip of Selveria’s hands at his jaws was preventing him from opening his mouth. He could only grumble incoherent words and hope that Selveria understood what he is trying to say.

  Selveria’s nails bit in deeper. Blood dripped onto the floor.

  “W-WON’T…. BETRAISH…ISH…OUUUU” Aiden tried his best to exhaust all the air in his lungs.

  She smiled.

  Selveria let go of her hands on Aiden’s face. She put her hands on Aiden's shoulder and leaned closer to his face. Before Aiden could react to anything he felt something wet in his face.

  Selveria was licking the face of Aiden, her saliva splattered all over. Aiden could no longer feel the pain but only numbness in his face. Aiden at this point was too tired to react to everything.

  Selveria separated herself from Aiden’s face. Between them is a silver bridge glittering. Aiden’s face was a mess of blood and saliva. Selveria nodded at him happily, as if she was satisfied about what she has done.

  Aiden just looked at her blankly, his emotions are confused as of now. He didn’t know what to say and had a dumb look on his face.

  “Umu” said Selveria.