Tensions were starting to run high.
And as happy as Kael was to see everyone in his corner, he also knew that this was not the ti for them to get angry.
"Everyone, listen carefully. I know that you’re angry at the temple and the council, but don’t take your anger out during this eting. I don’t want to hand them any ammunition they could use against us in the future."
Kael did not emphasize those words, but he had a feeling everyone understood what he ant anyway.
They all nodded, and Kael went back to preparing for the eting.
Kael sighed as he finished his tea and stood up.
He imdiately felt sothing tugging at his pant leg and looked down at Lyra.
Her expression told Kael that she wanted to co with him, which made him sigh.
"I’m sorry, Lyra. I know you want to co with , but the place I’m going is too dangerous for you. I don’t want anyone to mistake you for a stray beast and harm you. So you’ll have to stay ho."
As much as Kael wanted to see the expressions on those old fossils’ faces if he showed up with a trained demonic beast, he knew it would not be good for his reputation.
The council would start questioning whether it was appropriate for the Hero to live with a beast when he was expected to fight demons in the future.
’Those arrogant fools don’t even want to admit there’s a difference between beasts and monsters, yet they still act all high and mighty. They are such a pain...but unfortunately, they’re necessary for administrative work.’
Unfortunately, just because the council was a pain for Kael did not an they were a pain for the public.
In fact, they were one of the reasons the public could live in peace.
So Kael had to swallow his complaints.
(Or he would have to dismantle the council and appoint a new one, which was far too much work and would make him far too many enemies.)
Lyra looked at him with an annoyed expression that clearly showed she was unhappy about being left behind.
Kael could only sigh and reach out to pet her.
That instantly made her growl before she relaxed against his hand.
"I know you want to co with , but I’m afraid I can’t risk your safety. You’re family now, and I want to keep you safe."
The Demon Queen froze and looked at Kael with her hooded eyes, making him nervous.
He could not read what she was thinking.
Then she slowly butted her head against his hand, and the gesture felt surprisingly affectionate.
[Lyra’s affection 15]
[Lyra’s trust 10]
The Demon Queen seed to have liked being called Kael’s family far more than he had anticipated.
She was nuzzling his hand and even licking it.
Right now, she was behaving exactly like a puppy greeting her favorite human.
It was adorable, and Kael felt a chuckle escape his mouth.
"Well, it seems like soone is happy to beco family. Do you want to go out for a walk?"
Kael asked as he moved his hand from Lyra’s head to her back.
She imdiately rolled over to show him her belly, and her eyes practically begged for pets.
It was easy to indulge her until she seed to co back to her senses and realize what she was doing.
Then the growling started again.
But this one was all bark and no bite.
’Looks like Lyra has been tad. I hope this ans she won’t make those bad decisions in the future and that there won’t be a human-demon war.’
__________
’What the heck am I doing? This is so embarrassing. How could I show a human my belly?’
Lyra felt mortified by her own behavior.
It took her so ti to realize what she was doing, and she growled at Kael as soon as she rolled back over.
However, her dignity was gone, and so was her composure.
’I-I cannot believe I showed soone my naked belly! I...the Demon Queen Lyra...ugh...But this human said we were family, right? Then it should be alright...’
Demons had a different concept of family compared to humans.
Unlike human babies, who needed to be cared for, demon babies could walk as soon as they hatched.
Moreover, they were highly independent and left their parents’ den as soon as they physically could.
There was also very little affection between parent and child.
’Family was only composed of a mated pair in the demon world. Becoming family was nothing short of a marriage proposal.’
Lyra logically knew that things were different in the human world and that when Kael called her "family," he was speaking from a human perspective.
But her instincts refused to listen.
They were already possessive of Kael because he slled familiar and made her feel safe.
Now they were in overdrive, constantly asking why she was letting her "mate" walk away from her.
It was becoming overwhelming, and she wanted to follow Kael when he left.
She needed to get herself under control.
So she decided to smack her head against the ground.
So pain would help her feel better about herself.
The sound she made was much louder than she intended, and she watched in dread as Kael walked back into the room and imdiately picked her up.
"What’s wrong? Did you fall? Are you alright? I should ask Seraphina to take a look...or maybe a potion would work..."
Kael was too close to her, and he was talking far too much.
It was too much for Lyra’s heart to handle, so she smacked him in the face.
That finally stopped Kael’s rambling, and he looked at her with wide eyes.
"Alright, I get it. You don’t like it when I fuss over you. So, what do you want to do now? Do you want to head outside and run around?"
Kael asked, and Lyra was not in the mood to run around.
But it was true that she was feeling restless, and her instincts were still screaming at her.
In the end, she spent over an hour running around before finally exhausting herself.
As soon as she ca back, she fell asleep.
She slept through the evening and well into the night.
anwhile, everyone else got ready to attend the eting that no one was looking forward to.
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