Chapter 1

-Yerpena, Ornikarn's capital, imperial palace-

Niris stepped onto the dirt floor of the castle's main courtyard. The space was swarming with people running around between the pages who had come to welcome the guests and the new arrivals who, tired from the long journey that had brought them there, did not have the patience to wait for someone to come and attend to them. In this teeming crowd, the angel moved quietly, making his way to a less crowded part of the courtyard. The pages hadn't noticed his presence at all, and no one had come to greet him. Inja, the only close guard who had accompanied him, dismounted in turn and began to unload their meager belongings.

Waiting patiently to be taken care of, the two angels waited for long minutes until an exhausted page came up to them and invited them to follow him without even taking the time to officially welcome them according to the codes of the intergalactic nobility. Niris smiled inwardly. "So this is what it's like to be practically unknown to high society," he thought. It wasn't unpleasant after all. The angel liked the anonymity and the calm it brought. Next to him, he saw a family of five arrive with great fanfare on the backs of chorcamol, the huge, metal-hard, and brown-skinned, pachyderms from the planet Masanchia. He frowned. He didn't understand why some people still used them as a means of transport. They were so smelly and noisy! The journey was not even pleasant on their backs. These poor animals were much better off in the wild than in the courtyard of the castle of the capital of one of the most important planets in the inter galaxy...

Curious, Niris looked up to see who would be coming out of the main palanquin on the largest of the three mounts. He immediately recognized the Imperial family of Esethea. He nodded. This whole circus was making sense. The Esetheans were very attached to apparent wealth and always did things in an excessive manner whenever they visited Egea...

"You may follow me, my lord."

Niris was interrupted in his thoughts by the small brown-skinned page who indicated to follow him with a mediocre bow. The demons did not do things by halves and never missed an opportunity to show their contempt for the angels. Niris said nothing. He wasn't here for that. He nodded and followed the young demon.

"We requested special accommodations for our two pegasuses, has that been taken into account?" he asked as he followed the page who trotted ahead of him to compensate for the difference in size, followed closely by Inja.

The two-winged animals followed the little group without a second thought. The page turned around and gave an embarrassed look to the two animals who were listening attentively, curious to know their fate.

"Well... I think something has been arranged for this," he began, clearly annoyed at having to deal with this. "Allow me to ask the Senior Intendant."

Without waiting for an answer, he trotted over to a demon who was giving instructions to the pages running in from all sides. The two angels stopped to wait for their guide to solve the problem of accommodation for their fellow travelers.

Pegasuses were an endangered species, and few people really knew what their needs were and often treated them in the same way as horses. But pegasuses weren't horses at all, although they had the outward appearance of horses. Gifted with extraordinary intelligence, they were able to understand the language perfectly if they were taught it, although they weren't able to speak themselves. They communicated mainly through emotional waves which they were able to transmit but which few people, apart from angels, could decipher. This is why Pegasuses were naturally very close to the angels.

Niris put his hand on Azure's muzzle, the beautiful black Pegasus who had accompanied him everywhere since his childhood. He tried to reassure him with a confident smile.

"Don't worry, we'll find a solution, even if it means letting you lose somewhere in an open space. I won't let them lock you up in a stall for the duration of your stay! That would be torture for you!"

Meica, the mare accompanying Inja, shook her head in support of the little prince's words, which made him laugh. The page finally returned with one of his comrades.

"My Lord, if your...mounts...will follow us to the place prepared to receive them," the page said, casting a wary glance at the two large quadrupeds.

"Is it an open space you have provided for them?" asked Niris to ensure that his two friends were in good condition.

"Yes, my Lord, outdoor space has been provided for them," he replied, eager to get this over with and move on.

Azure nodded to his friend to reassure him and followed the page, who had already started trotting off in another direction. Niris returned his greeting and turned to join his guide. He would visit them later with Inja. For now, there was too much activity in the huge castle of Yerpena, the imperial capital of demons. He would go later when all this beauty had calmed down and he could move around in peace.

Entering the great hall of the palace, the activity of the staff and the guests was still not diminishing and continued to give the immense building the air of a beehive in full activity in spring. From everywhere, the angel could see elves, dwarves, giants, Ruthenians, and all sorts of inhabitants of the intergalactic planets. The palace itself had been decked out in its finest colors to impress its guests and convince them of the power of the demon empire, based on the planet Ornikarn.

It had to be said that the occasion was no small one! The empire was preparing to celebrate the coronation of Prince Seiran as crown prince. And in the process, gather all the nobles of marriageable age to find the ideal partner for the most successful arranged marriage in the history of the intergalaxy. Or at least that was what the emperor had announced! So everyone had flocked to this month's ceremonies with hope in their hearts. Especially since the Prince had no preference over genre! So everyone had a chance...

The Prince was a popular man, after all, Niris analyzed as he continued to observe the architecture of the palace while climbing the stairs behind the page that led them to their suite. He was said to be blessed with great beauty, one of the most beautiful according to Kala's ranking, the fashionable magazine in the intergalaxy at the moment. But that was not all! He was a fine strategist. He also began to take an interest in affairs of state at an early age! Everything about him was complimentary. He was seen by the people as a man capable of the greatest sacrifices for the people of Ornikarn.

The angel knew nothing of this in concrete terms since he had never seen the prince, not even in photographs! He had been so busy with the complex preparations for the trip that he had forgotten his father's most basic recommendation: to have a picture in his head of the prince so that he would be able to recognize him when he arrived in Yerpena. He felt a bit foolish to have forgotten something so essential, but he told himself that he would eventually find a painting of him in the great castle. In any case, he was curious to see if the rumors about him were justified or if they were just unfounded gossip.

"The propaganda about him has been particularly intense," Niris said to himself as he and Inja followed the page through the maze of corridors of the house. They seemed to be moving further and further away from the center of the castle, which did not surprise him, as he was one of the most insignificant guests at this great masquerade. He smiled. At least he wouldn't attract attention with this status! He could do his little business as he pleased without anyone bothering him. It was perfect! He asked for nothing more. All he wanted was to be forgotten during the three weeks of the ceremony.

At last, they arrived at a tiny suite consisting of two rooms and a small boudoir which also served as an entrance. The page gave them the dematerialised keys to their room and, after a quick bow, withdrew, telling them to pull the little bell in case of need. The two angels found themselves alone in their suite, in the quiet, far from the bustle of the main hall. They must have walked a good thirty minutes to get here. Niris looked out of the window of the small boudoir, and seeing the green surroundings, concluded that they were in a minor wing of the palace, as far away as possible from the large suites and reception areas.

This was how guests were treated. They were given accommodation according to their status. The more important they were, the closer they were to the ceremonial areas and the nerve center of the palace, and the larger their suites. The less important they were, the more remote they were, sometimes having to walk up to an hour to get to the ceremonial and living areas.

"Inja, will you take the room on the right? I'll take that one, I like the orientation and the bed looks comfortable," he said as he dropped onto the mattress, a satisfied smile on his lips.

"Good, your Highness," replied the guard.

"Ah... no "Your Highness" here, Inja. I don't want people to realize that I borrowed a false identity to come here," she then took her back. "Call me my Lord, like everyone else. Don't forget that here, I am only Jangta of Meripea, the son of the Lord of Meripaea, a very small planet inhabited by a few angels and a bunch of former slaves. A rock on which grass grows with difficulty and which has no natural resources.

Inja hesitated, then bowed apologetically.

"Sure, my Lord. I will do my best not to make your mission any more complicated than it already is."

Niris laughed. Inja was truly trustworthy. Intelligent, she was quite capable of setting aside the rules she strictly enforced when it came to fulfilling the prince's somewhat whimsical desires. But since she was still serving him, he assumed she enjoyed the task even though she had to go against her principles to do it. Or perhaps she just felt sorry for the little prince who seemed so fragile amid this world in which only physical strength seemed to matter. After all, it was only a few years ago that she had chosen to place herself at his service. Like most of the angels in the intergalaxy, she wasn't aware of all the secrets that Niris hid, the reason for his mysterious exclusion from the public scene since his childhood.

"Get some rest, it's going to be a long week. You'd better get your strength back, our journey has lasted almost a week, don't underestimate the fatigue that our stay here will cause," he advised her.

"Well your...my Lord," she replied, pulling herself together at the last moment.

She left the prince's belongings packed in a small traveling bag in the corner of the room and went to her room after a quick bow.

Niris, who had curled up in a ball on the bed to enjoy the softness of the bedding, felt his mind slowly drifting off to dreamland. Putting his advice into action, he drifted off into the arms of Morpheus to enjoy a well-deserved sleep. This week of travel had been tiring for him too. He needed rest to face this month of festivities which was going to be grueling.

---

A few hours later, Niris was walking in the palace gardens. After a good nap, he had decided to explore the surroundings, leaving Inja to sleep a little more. He had only just arrived and was already feeling the need for wilderness! The warm climate of the capital allowed many plants he had never seen to grow, so he was curious to explore this flora that intrigued him so much.

After wandering the corridors for a few minutes, he had found a small back door that led directly to the forest he could see from his room. Breathing in the fresh air, he entered the wonderful vegetation. The season was in full bloom, and flowers of all colors dotted the greenery, making it even more exotic than he had hoped. Between the huge Boucaras and the troglodyte flowers he had only seen in books up to that point, Niris was in awe of the beauty of this forest untouched by any conscious species. It was surprising for a green space that was in the middle of an imperial capital.

"Maybe we're being a bit hard on the demons, they're not so rough after all!" thought Niris. It was no secret that angels and demons had the worst diplomatic relations in the intergalaxy. Millennia of conflict had pitted them against each other, though the angels, deeply peaceful, had always refused confrontation. Using all possible and imaginable stratagems, the demons did everything to provoke their worst enemies, including the maintenance of a system that had been dismantled for a long time in the intergalaxy, but that the demons maintained thanks to the lavish attitude of some of the planets that saw it as a very lucrative business: the traffic of angels.

Abolished in the Saturnian year 3483, the demons were the only ones to openly oppose it despite the omnipotence of the angels. Since then, they have maintained a thriving black market despite the repeated complaints and threats of the Angel Emperor, as well as all the embargoes placed on much of Masanchia's trade in direction of Ornikarn. To the angelic emperor's chagrin, the intergalactic community's flexibility on the matter prevented him from putting a definitive end to this inhuman traffic. Every year, hundreds of thousands of angels were enslaved by demons, then sold to their commercial partners, who were greedy for these precious and rare beings with unique characteristics.

The Emperor had decided to put an end to all this once and for all, and Niris had been sent to this ceremony with this objective: to put a name on those responsible for the traffic, to bring them to justice before the intergalactic court, and to ban the trade of conscious living beings for good, if necessary by fear and the use of diplomatic power.

To do this, Niris had used the identity of Jangta Okram, the son of the Lord of the planet Meripaea, who was the only noble angel in the intergalaxy to have relations with the demon emperor because of the welcome he gave to the empire's former slaves in exchange for a promise not to give out information about their existence and the reasons for their enslavement. But all this had not stood up to the power of the emperor who had demanded this arrangement from the little Lord.

Fortunately, his son had not yet begun his public life, which gave Niris the perfect cover to infiltrate the demons' turf and carry out his worries without attracting the slightest attention. It was an excellent compromise, and Niris intended to play on the fact that the demons considered the angels too weak to react to their despicable trade to leave him free of suspicion.

Lost in his thoughts and with his head raised to contemplate more and more the plants that surrounded him, Niris was pulled out of his thoughts by the sun that caressed his soft white skin and the blue sky that suddenly invaded his field of vision. He looked around him and realized that the vegetation had changed dramatically.

In the middle of this magnificent virgin forest was a beautifully manicured garden, filled with sumptuous flowers and plants even rarer than those he had observed in the forest. "What an amazing contrast! Who would be foolish enough to maintain such a sophisticated garden in a wild forest?

He then approached a tin pergola on which a huge orange Imperia climbed, its flowers dried and its leaves hanging to the ground. "It looks in bad shape..." he observed. Placing his hand on the bark of the intertwined trunks of the beautiful vine, he inhaled and breathed his natural energy into his palm and then to the trunk of the plant. Closing his eyes, he felt the energy flow up the veins to the tips of the petals and the tips of the leaves, which instantly straightened under the influx of energy. Taking the opportunity to investigate the cause of his pitiful state, Niris removed a toxin from the plant's sap that had invaded the vital fluid of the beautiful orange-flowered plant.

When the exercise was over, he withdrew his hand and opened his eyes again. The Imperia was now resplendent! The sun's rays engulfed the luscious flowers, exposing their enticing pistil to the view of the surrounding pollinators. Niris smiled. There was nothing more beautiful, in his opinion than a healthy plant, displaying its prerogatives for all to see. Lost in his admiration of the climbing plant, he turned abruptly as he heard a male voice behind him:

"Lord Jangta, was it you who healed my Imperia?"

His heart pounding with surprise, he tried to answer but found himself speechless before the person standing before him. A demon at least a head taller than him, with silky golden skin and hair so pure blond it rivaled the color of the sun, Niris was looking at the most beautiful man he had ever seen. He wanted to say something in his defense but was so stunned that he couldn't speak. "Since when are demons so beautiful?" he said inwardly, hesitating between confusion and embarrassment.

"I must thank you then, I am very fond of this plant and I despaired of seeing it wither away day by day."

As he did so, he bowed in gratitude to a confused Niris, who immediately motioned for him to stand up.

"Oh...I...it's nothing..." he began, confused. "I apologize for taking the liberty of treating it."

The demon gave him a magnificent smile that made the little prince's cheeks turn pink.

"Please, you have given it a second life! I am infinitely indebted to you."

Niris observed him for a moment. He looked sincere. The newcomer reached out and stroked the petals of a flower that was right next to the angel's cheek. He looked at the plant with eyes filled with love and longing.

"You are the owner of this garden?" asked Niris.

The demon looked at him in surprise and laughed slightly.

"Yes, a friend entrusted me with the ownership and care of it," he replied.

"Oh... you're not from the castle then?

The demon brought his head close to the flower he had grabbed with his hand and dipped his nose into it. Taking a deep breath he finally answered, a small playful smile on his lips.

"Mmmh... I'm a permanent visitor, so to speak. I live in a room at the top of the turret, in the corner of this wing."

"Ah, I see," Niris sighed. They were on the same level, he could afford to let off steam. Nobles of the same social rank could speak to each other much more casually since they considered themselves to share a family bond by being in the same social category within the highly hierarchical nobility of the intergalaxy.

"And you Lord Jangta, are you here for the coronation ceremony of Prince Seiran?"

"Oh please, no Lord between us! Just call me Jangta," the angel beamed at him. "And yes, I've come for the ceremony, just like everyone else."

He finished his sentence with the same warm smile, and the demon looked at him thoughtfully.

"Very well… Jangta. You may call me A-ran," he said in his soft voice.

"Oh, that's an unusual name," the angel exclaimed. "Demons usually have names with at least three or four syllables, how come yours has only one? It's usually angels who have mono- or bisyllabic names."

Still wearing his amused little smile, he looked at the angel with his beautiful yellow eyes with an expression that Niris could not quite make out.

"My father was very fond of angels, he was very close to their culture. That's why he gave me a short name, as a tribute to the culture he respected," the demon explained.

The angel stared at him for a moment. Had he heard him right? What kind of demon admired angelic culture? Suspicious, he turned his head away so as not to show his doubts to his interlocutor. That would have been extremely impolite.

"Your father must have really appreciated our culture to do such a thing..."

Seeing how his interlocutor stubbornly looked away, A-ran turned to reappear in his field of vision.

"Yes, he passed that admiration on to me as well," he then said.

Distracted by the topic of conversation, Niris avoided the demon's gaze again and cleared his throat.

"You like plants, I take it? This garden is beautiful," he changed the subject.

"Thank you! I do my best to maintain it," the demon said, stroking the leaves of a Jlanctis tree that stood beside him. The two princes walked side by side, strolling through the bright greenery. Niris had to admit, that this garden was beautiful.

"You must be close to the imperial family to have access to such a piece of land near the castle," the angel observed.

The demon smiled.

"You could say they owe me one, which is why I have the right to my private garden.

Niris nodded.

"Jangta, what you did to the Imperia... that wasn't ordinary energy use, was it?" the demon finally asked, obviously very intrigued and burning to ask the question for a while.

Niris felt his blood run cold. He was dreading this question. He dreaded it because it was dangerous. He didn't want to answer, but at the same time, he couldn't ignore it so much, since the person he was talking to had caught him in the act. He found himself in a delicate situation.

Seeing that the angel had closed in on himself, the demon tried to calm him down.

"It's just curiosity, don't feel obliged to answer if it makes you uncomfortable..."

"The gift of vitality," Niris said matter-of-factly.

The angel's sudden response surprised A-ran, who didn't know how to continue.

"It is a very rare gift that only a few angels possess. It allows its possessor to transmit vitality and natural energy to any living entity," Niris continued. "I don't know of anyone else who possesses this gift. And even if an angel is gifted with it, sometimes he lives his whole life without ever knowing about it. So in the end, I think less than 0.01% of angels have it."

The angel gave the demon a defiant look. He had decided to play his joker. He had come to find the slave traders, he would give them something to tempt their greed. It was the best way to flush them out, to use himself as bait. After all, it had worked before...

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. I would never divulge such important information to another demon, especially with all the trafficking that goes on in Ornikar," the demon replied, much to Niris' surprise. "I thank you for the trust you have placed in me, I am very honored."

A-ran told him this with the most serious air in the world. He seemed to take the full measure of what the little prince had told him, and he was putting his honor on the line to ensure that the information would not be divulged. Niris could not believe it. Either this guy was crazy or he was an excellent liar. And yet, no matter how much he was on guard, his angelic sixth sense, though extremely well-honed, told him absolutely nothing. A-ran looked the most sincere in the world.

The angel didn't know what to say, he couldn't believe it. He continued to move forward in silence, listening to the demon's soft, calm voice as it lulled him to the rhythm of his words. Something was telling him to let his guard down and trust him. His instincts were telling him to let go, and he had to fight against it to not let it get the better of him.

"Jangta?"

The angel was startled by the look on A-ran's face that suddenly appeared in his field of vision. Seeing that his interlocutor was no longer listening to him, he had placed himself in front of the angel and lowered his head to his eye level to get his attention. Blushing as he realized the situation, Niris looked away.

"Oh... sorry, I was admiring the flowers," he lied without much conviction.

A-ran smiled without saying a word. Confused by his apparent good humor, Niris could not help but continue to blush. Seemingly enjoying the situation, the demon continued to smile benevolently at him. Descending the few steps that led to the fountain, he held out his hand to make the angel's descent easier. The latter grasped it without thinking, delighted to have support to enable him to lift the bottom of his toga to descend the steps without difficulty.

"Thank you, A-ran," he said with his usual delicacy and elegance.

"I must, unfortunately, leave you, but we'll meet again for dinner, won't we?" the demon said as he stopped in front of the same little back door that led into the wing Niris had used to exit. He hadn't even noticed that they had already arrived!

"Oh, I'm not sure I'll be joining the welcome banquet tonight, I think I'll stay in my suite," Niris replied, a little ashamed to have to turn down the offer, but he was exhausted from the trip and wanted to visit Azure and Meica to make sure they were settled.

A-ran nodded.

"I understand. In that case, rest well, and feel free to ask for room service for dinner, the castle provides one for all guests," the demon said without leaving his beautiful smile. "And above all, feel free to walk around the garden, you have my permission. I'll warn the guards."

"Oh you don't have to..." The angel was stopped in his tracks by the demon's index finger that came to rest on his lips and which he squinted at as it came dangerously close to his face.

"No protest allowed," A-ran threatened with a wink. "If I don't see you enjoying the garden, I'll take you by force."

Taken aback by the behavior of his fellow nobleman, Niris turned his head, looking sulky. He was as unsettled by the demon's beauty as by his playful and provocative behavior. For some reason, it made him react instantly and against his will, which annoyed him somewhat.

"All right, I'll enjoy the garden, you don't have to drag me there" he replied with an air more sulky than annoyed.

He then suddenly realized what he had just said and quickly turned his head towards the demon to rectify the situation but it was too late. His words had not fallen on deaf ears.

"Perfect!" Concluded the demon. "Now if you'll excuse me… Not that I want to leave your pleasant company, Jangta, but duty calls, unfortunately."

He bowed slightly and Niris returned his courteous greeting. Watching him disappear behind the small wooden door, the angel sighed. He felt as if he had been completely taken for a ride by a master in the field. "His smile is the most dangerous weapon of all!" he said, thinking of his inability to refuse him anything. He was truly disturbed by the demon's beauty. He shook his head to regain his composure, his cheeks still pink from the effects of A-ran's charm.

Mentally flogging himself to stop thinking about the beautiful blonde-haired, golden-eyed demon, he headed for the stables to visit their four-legged friends.