The Prince of Demons

Mom dragged me to her office despite my protests to try and avoid the paperwork; it was all for naught as one way or another I was about to assist her in filling out the forms for the formal draft. I was sat down in her office as she gleefully went through the process of writing a proper law proposal. Mom brought out plenty of notes, addendums, and reference documents as she showed me how to draft the proper proposal. This is so boring. I wanted to slam my head into the table to try to escape the tedium of writing a proper law proposal. Mom seemed to enjoy watching me writhe in her office; she was going into all the fine details on how to properly write the proposal for the sanitation laws.

"Why is there not some form to fill out? If it is all standard except for the law itself, why not have a premade form?" I checked as I was trying to write the proposal correctly.

"We probably could standardize some forms and make premade forms for some things. Now, while the language for a most of this is standard, which parts you use for each is not." Mom explained with a smile.

"This is so tedious." I grumbled as she was showing me another reference document.

"I know dear; it is a fact of being the next Emperor you will need to learn." Mom lectured me in response.

"Why do you seem to enjoy watching me suffer with this?" I inquired because Mom had a gleeful smile that had yet to fade.

"It is fun to get to teach you something even if that something is as tedious as a law proposal." Mom answered. I mean, I can kind of see her point.

I tried enjoying spending some time with Mom, but the monotonous paperwork made it a daunting task. Mom showed me several of the facets of figuring out which variant and section of phrasing was needed when drafting a final law proposal. There was plenty of documentation and references to use at least which I wasn't sure was good or bad; I think it was a good thing at least as it helped reduce a lot of me guessing what the proper terminology was. This was something I would have to face and learn eventually. There had been so many upsides of being a member of the Imperial Family, so it was expected there was to be a downside. Now that I am thinking about it, what kind of ruler would I want to be? It wasn't something I gave a lot of thought up until this point. Being honest, I focused heavily on enjoying <Magic> and my new life rather than some of my responsibilities as the Crown Prince.

Papa told me a few times that I had plenty of time to think about what kind of ruler I wanted to be, but to focus on my duel with the Void King. Was it right to ignore this though? At least ignore it until I hopefully won my duel with the Void King? Demons lived a long time, easily living several centuries. It was a nice benefit of being a demon, that I had a long life provided nothing cut it short. The ruling and noble portion of my life tended to be my breaks from training whenever my body needed to recover. Duthane's lessons were not that bad after a while, but that might have been I got over the hurdle of the initial dancing lessons. What did it mean to rule? I didn't think the gravity and reality of that had fully set in yet; parts of this life still felt surreal to me being honest.

"What are you distracted by Nil?" Mom probed as I clearly was too lost in thought.

"I was thinking about what kind of ruler I'd want to be. I don't think I have yet to fully grasp what it's like to rule." I answered. It was odd as I thought about it; my brain just did not grasp the concept for some reason.

"It takes a while for that feeling to go away, Nil. I also struggled with the concept of being Empress when I initially dated your dad. Ruling is not something that came all that naturally to me either." Mom informed me as she ruffled my hair.

"How did you get over it? How did you overcome the not knowing what to do? What you wanted your rule to look like?" I inquired. Mom thought about it for a few seconds.

"By working through the process. As problems came, I slowly but surely formed my opinion on what I wanted and how I wanted to be remembered. I had a moment where it kind of all clicked together for me." Mom explained. That was unfortunately the most helpful answer.

"What about Dad?" I checked. Mom chuckled a bit.

"He always had a vision for what he wanted. Granted, that vision has changed a bit over time but he always good at knowing what he wanted. It's one of your dad's best traits." Mom told me with a different smile.

"Really?" I probed. That sounded a bit different from some of the normal stories I heard.

"Really. He may fumble sometimes, and he may have his moments where he is not the most articulate, your dad has always been great at envisioning the future." Mom complimented him.

"Interesting." I quipped. It was interesting hearing about a side of Dad I never got to appreciate or see all that much.

"We both suspected that you might struggle with this part of being the Crown Prince, and that is okay Nil. It takes time to learn everything; there is no need to try and rush things. One of the benefits of being a demon, time is on our side usually." Mom stated as she reviewed part of the proposal.

"Why do you two think I'd struggle with this?" I deflected, trying not to feel too embarrassed.

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"Because someone would much rather read and study <Magic> than almost anything else." Mom pointed out with a smile.

"Not necessarily true." I tried, not meeting her gaze.

"Other than spending time with Luna of course." Mom teased me.

"She is my girlfriend." I defended myself.

"You may be a Reincarnator, but you are just like your dad and uncle in that regard. It's kind of funny just how similar you are like a Crowthorne on that front." Mom explained with a chuckle.

"Am I that similar?" I asked, wondering how true that statement that was. Mom began laughing a bit harder.

"Almost a textbook example of how Crowthornes are when it comes to being in relationships." Mom laughed, clearly amused by this. My face felt a bit red at the moment.

"It's not that funny." I replied. Mom ruffled my hair again.

"You'll see the humor eventually; you truly belong in this family Nil." Mom assured me. I felt this odd warmth at that statement.

"How am I similar to them?" I inquired, kind of curious as to what the answer was.

"You all fall hard for the person you pursue. It's cute and you should see the faces you make when Luna is around you. You have the subtly of a brick about how you feel towards her." Mom explained. She was still chuckling a bit.

"Is it that obvious?" I checked. I didn't think it was that obvious.

"Oh yes. Ever since you two returned with Nautilus it was blatant how close you two got. It's okay Nil to have feelings for your girlfriend, and it is okay to enjoy spending time with her." Mom answered. She was smiling at me while petting my head a bit.

"I guess I'm still getting used to it. It is just different to me." I told her. It still felt odd about how much my family trusted me.

"What about it is odd to you?" Mom probed. How do I phrase this?

"My parents used to control every aspect of my life and micromanaged everything I did or who I spent time with. You and Dad just, trust me to make good decisions." I informed her. Her face shifted as she mulled over what to say next.

"I am guessing your parents enjoyed guilt tripping and using other manipulating tactics like that?" Mom probed with a knowing look in her eyes.

"Yes. That was one of their tried-and-true methods." I confessed, feeling a bit bummed I resorted to using that.

"I believe you'll learn how to more properly interact with people, not use or rely on such methods. It just takes time and practice." Mom assured me.

"I know, I just, struggle with it." I grumbled. I did want to be better about it.

"I think you have felt everything around you is going to vanish in an instant and you'll wake up back in your previous life. You do belong here Nil, this is all real." Mom informed me. I felt really warm at her words.

"What do you mean by that?" I checked, as I had this odd conflicting feeling in my chest.

"I think you struggled to connect with those around you until you met Luna and have been coming out of your shell more and more since you've told us all the truth. Like, I believe you loved us and enjoyed being on Tenebrae, but you have started thriving and acting more like you belong since then." Mom clarified for me.

"Was I that bad as a kid?" I probed, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"No, you have always been a good kid. I'm glad that you are acting like you belong and we're your family. It's been great seeing you more comfortable with us as well as feeling like I am talking to the real you. It was a pleasant shift from when you clearly started seeing us as the family you belong in." Mom answered as she hugged me. I felt this odd emotion well up as I hugged her tight.

"Thanks Mom." I told her, hugging her close. Mom gently pet my head as I hugged her.

"It no problem, dear. Just know you always belong with us." Mom assured me.

We stayed hugging for a few minutes as I enjoyed my mom's embrace. She assured me that this was my home and that I just needed to take my time to learn who I wanted to be. Her words made me feel this incredible warm fuzziness as she talked. Did I really start coming out of my shell more when I told them the truth? It was hard for me to tell, but I could tell from my Mom's tone she clearly liked how the events unfolded. Maybe I should tell everyone, minus Grisbane. Not a chance I'm telling that cindelrock. Where should I start? Maybe Julius and his family? They had been my friends, caretaker, or helpful advice once in a while as I have lived here. I hugged Mom a bit tighter as I debated it. It felt so nice getting to bond with her like this. After a while of staying like that, we returned to where we were around her desk.

"Do you think I should tell Julius and his family about being a Reincarnator?" I asked Mom.

"That is solely your decision, Nil. Maybe check with Luna first as Helga will likely connect the dots in no time before hitting the roof." Mom informed me, chuckling a bit at the end as she imagined Helga's reaction.

"I wasn't that bad towards her." I tried, but Mom just laughed even harder.

"Your desire to torment and use her to practice your <Magic> with Lux was unparalleled as a kid. I suspect my mother will never know because of how a certain someone had a bit of a disproportionate reaction to her ruining their fun with their new friend." Mom teased me between fits of laughter.

"It was not disproportionate. She ruined our harmless fun, and it was our only way to win. But I have been told the poisoning may have been a bit extreme." I defended myself. Mom gave me an amused stare.

"It was Nil. Not entirely fine, but that's in the past." Mom stated with a happy smile going.

"You're right about me not wanting to tell her." I confirmed to move the topic along.

"That is fine Nil; I do not blame you at all as I know you two will unfortunately likely never get along." Mom confessed with a bit of a sigh.

"Sorry." I apologized awkwardly.

"Do not apologize Nil, I am fully aware my mom is not innocent. She has always been quite uptight on rules and decorum." Mom lectured me, looking a bit disappointed.

"You just look so disappointed about it." I pointed out, feeling a pang of guilt about it.

"I just wish she behaved better and was less uptight; she does not make friends or allies. Also, you should cool how you act with Luna in her presence as in her mind you two are practically halfway down the aisle." Mom informed me.

"I never got how she thinks kids should be married off." I told Mom.

"It is an archaic law and tradition that she believes should be maintained despite the fact it has fallen vastly out of favor. Do not worry, it will be the decision of you two, whenever you two want to take that step." Mom replied as she was sorting out some of the paperwork. Wait a second.

"What do you mean, 'take that step'?" I checked. Mom gave me the most deadpan stare in response.

"Nil do not act like you are not hopelessly in love with Luna. It's fine, you two are mentally a bit older and it is obvious you two mean a lot to each other." Mom lectured with the same deadpan stare.

"I don't know." I mumbled. Mom was clearly struggling not to laugh.

"Relax Nil. It is okay. Take things at your own pace." Mom assured me.

"Okay." I conceded, not sure how to continue the conversation.

"Now, let's finish this proposal." Mom prodded, as we began putting the finishing touches on the proposal.