Nobility

Levi turned right into the hallway. The mansion they were in was uninhabited. 

It was adjacent to the palace, built some time ago. 

When noble families would come from far away those mansions would be used as temporary living quarters. 

Twice a week, someone would take care of this place, making sure no plants were dying and that everything was in place.

If there was a word that someone would use it, a horde of servants would work around the clock to prepare it for its new hosts.

Because of its proximity to the palace, it was convenient, as it took around 10 minutes by horse-drawn carriages to get to it.

Levi's stay at the mansion was unplanned. It was bustling with people who worked day and night to clean it from head to toe.

As he walked toward Syllia's room, he ran into a few maids. 

He awkwardly nodded his head, every time they would greet him as 'lord', still unsettled by his quick ascension to nobility.

Levi didn't particularly like this mansion, he'd have a better time with a room at an inn, he thought.

The amount of people he had to talk to was greater than he liked, and the space he needed to cover to go from one room to the next was just ridiculous.

"Sir Leviathan, would you like some tea, as I know you'll stay by Syllia's side tonight?"

Levi stopped and turned around, only to look down.

"Ah Lydia, yes please," replied Levi, staring at her head.

Lydia started blushing, but quickly turned around and walked away, as Levi stared.

He had learned humans weren't the only ones living in the realm. While other 'species' were extremely rare in Sungrove, they were around.

Most of them were human-like, with mainly human features. Lydia's head had two horns poking through her hair, that slightly curved backward.

As he shook his mind off Lydia, he started walking again, looking around to make sure he had taken the right way.

The hallways all looked alike, and the art on the walls was quite boring. It all looked the same: earth colors everywhere, even the carpets.

As he finally arrived before Syllia's door, he took a moment to hold the doorknob.

He breathed in, held it, and breathed out. Turning the doorknob finally, it opened to a spacious room.

The curtains were made of silk that started moving from the pressure change. 

They were of a bright white, like the sheets held by the four-poster bed. 

Levi could see Syllia's silhouette through the curtains on her bed, she hadn't moved.

Besides her bed, on the window side, were two chairs and a round wooden table. 

The table had a small pile of books, making Levi sigh as he saw them.

"Forgot to bring new ones..." he mumbled.

Like every room on this floor, the ceilings were quite high, and the sheer size of the windows gave the opposite of feeling 'asphyxiated'.

There was some furniture with drawers against the wall opposing the bed, with a mirror on one of them, but nothing decorated them.

Some candles were placed around and lit, probably by Lydia, thought Levi.

Levi walked around, sitting on the chair by the bed, as he glanced at Syllia. 

She looked the same as always, peacefully resting.

As he lost himself for a moment, in self-thought, a gentle knock on the door brought him back.

The door quietly opened, Lydia entered with a platter. 

She quickly went around the bed, laying the platter on the table next to Levi.

"Ah, just what I needed," said Levi.

"I realized you had forgotten those books in the study, you've been reading a lot lately."

A few books piled up on the platter beside the teapot and mugs.

Lydia simply put everything down on the table, as she took the books Levi had already read.

"Please, join me tonight again," asked Levi.

Lydia smiled, as she put what she was holding on the table again, sitting on the chair opposing Levi.

"Can I?" asked Levi, pointing toward the horns.

Lydia blushed again, simply tilting her head forward.

Standing up, Levi extended his arm over the table to touch them. 

They were solid but felt like polished wood. 

So smooth, it almost felt like they could break at any moment, yet as he applied pressure the resistance was perfect.

She didn't seem to feel anything.

"Doesn't it hurt you?" asked Levi.

"Not at all. It feels kind of good, actually."

"huh," simply replied Levi in thought.

He sat back down, looking at Lydia with a puzzled look.

"Feel free to ask me anything, Sir Leviathan," said Lydia who couldn't take the silent staring anymore.

"Just Levi is fine like I said. Sir is an improvement from Lord, but still feels weird," said Levi.

"I'll try to remember when it's only us," she replied.

Levi looked at her briefly before continuing.

"Are there a lot of people like you?" asked Levi.

"You mean..."

Levi brought held his chin, trying to figure out what he meant.

"Demi-humans, people who just don't look like me?"

"Demons like me are quite rare," replied Lydia while pointing at her horns.

"As for others, I hear there's a lot of villages where they live almost normally, just not in this kingdom," continued Lydia.

"Why not?"

"While we're allowed to be here, we're generally despised. Some people are brave enough to face this hate, and still establish themselves here."

"It's surprising. To me, your horns make you look even better," replied Levi.

Lydia looked down as she blushed.

"Well, Apostles from other worlds usually think so, but even then, not all of them treat us with respect like you do," she replied.

Levi faintly laughed as he took the teapot, serving them both.

 "Would you like me to help you read today again?" asked Lydia.

"Not today, I'd rather try doing it on my own, but maybe tomorrow you could help me with something harder than a kid's story."

"It's impressive you've made this much progress in so little time, you should see this more positively," replied Lydia.

Levi smiled, as he picked up the first book in the pile and started going through it.

Using his finger like a kid, he did his best to go through it one sentence at a time, sometimes making sounds as he read.

Lydia simply drank tea, while a comforting silence instilled itself in the room. 

She watched as Levi's eyes went from left to right. His eyebrows sometimes made funny expressions as he did his best to follow through a story mainly told by the drawings and a few sentences written next to it.

His head nodded a few times, as sleep was catching up.

When Lydia finished her tea, she got up and quietly picked up a blanket from a drawer. 

She laid it over Levi who had once again fallen asleep in his chair.

Carefully extinguishing every candle and lamp, she quietly exited the room.