He played with Arienne until night fell, and her handmaid pulled her away. No one commented about Lloyd, but from the way the guard rushed off when they returned, Remy expected to hear about it before too long. Still, by the end of the night, the hammer had not yet fallen. He stumbled back into his room and dropped into his bed.

“Where do I sleep?” Lloyd asked from the doorway.

Remy half-sat up. He looked at Lloyd. “You know, I don’t know. Where do my manservants sleep?”

Lloyd looked at him for a few more moments, then gave Remy a thumbs-up. “I’ll figure it out.”

He vanished. The door shut.

Remy stared at the door for another few moments, then shrugged. He’ll figure it out.

In the morning, he rose bright and early to the pitter-patter of a little paw on his cheek. He peeled his eyes open.

A tiny pink nose twitched in his face. Two little hands patted at his cheek.

Good morning, Superior. I will soon accomplish our goals.

Remy stared at the rat. A purple eye glowed over its head. He furrowed his brows. He’d only dabbed a little bit of the cream on the rat. It should have worn out long ago. “How…?”

Do not fear! I have many plans. The rat scurried away, hopping back over to the cage. It scrambled inside, then closed the door behind it.

He stared at the cage for another few seconds, then shook his head. Sitting up, he rubbed his forehead. The most cautious move would be to kill the rat, but that was too hasty, in his opinion. Having a tiny pair of eyes and ears running around the castle would be an immense help. The main problem was the purple eye over the rat’s head. It was too obvious. If anyone saw the rat, they’d instantly know it had ate of the fruit of knowledge, and if they traced it back to him—

Remy’s eyes widened. Right. That’s it! He climbed out of bed and opened the cage, gesturing the rat out.

It hesitated, then crawled out of the cage. Superior?

He pointed to the space over the rat’s head. “I greatly appreciate your services, but unfortunately, the Goddess has marked you for death.”

The rat reached over its head and patted around. A mark? Whirling around, it clambered onto the cage and peered into the mirror. Wide-eyed, it patted its head. A mark!

“If you are found near me, we will both be executed. The only way to accomplish our goals, is to have no visible link between us. You can be my eyes and ears, but only if we are not seen as a faction,” he said gravely.

Of course. Of course! Superior is so wise, the rat praised him. It spun around on top of the cage. Leaping off, it scurried toward the wall.

He watched it with interest. He’d heard little feet that didn’t belong to his pets at night, sometimes. Maybe it would reveal where they came from.

The rat climbed into a hole he’d never noticed before, hidden in a nook of shadow. At the hole, it hesitated. Will Superior still feed me?

“As much as I can. But you understand, we must appear to have no connection at all,” Remy said, shaking his head regrettably.

The rat nodded. Yes. I understand. It glanced back at him one last time, then vanished into the wall. I will be Superior’s eyes and ears. I will further our goal.

“I’ll look forward to hearing from you,” Remy said, saluting the wall. He paused. Wait. Did I ever ask what it thinks ‘our goal’ is?

He wiped his eyes, cleaning the sleep out of them, and sighed. I’m no good right out of bed. That was a bad move. I normally would have asked, but I was too groggy to think of it.

Next time. I have to remember to ask next time.

Besides, it’s a rat. How much damage can it do?

Even thinking those words, he sighed. Remy rested his face in his hands. I fucked up. That was my bad.

“Good morning!” a cheerful voice greeted him from his feet.

Remy whirled. More rats?

Lying on his back, Lloyd waved at him, pushing his way out from under the bed.

“Is that where you slept?” Remy asked, startled.

“I’m not officially staff, so I figured it was easiest to simply sleep in your room,” Lloyd explained.

Remy opened his mouth, then shut it. He shrugged. It was better than spending hours working through the castle’s bureaucracy to get Lloyd properly registered as a manservant. If he kept Lloyd at his side long enough, the palace would simply accept his presence. The only people who would make a fuss of it were his brothers, and they didn’t pay enough attention to the castle roster to notice Lloyd wasn’t officially employed.

“Excellent. An expedient solution,” Remy said, patting Lloyd on the shoulder.

Lloyd brushed off his shoulders and tugged his shirt into place. “What are we doing today, sir?”

“I need more skills before the ball. Let’s go hunting.” He paused. “The normal kind.”

“A monster hunt? Good suggestion, sir.”

Remy frowned at him. “I don’t remember you being so servile.”

“I’m sir’s servant,” Lloyd said, bowing deeply.

Remy wrinkled his nose. “Stop. It makes my skin crawl. Act as you normally do around me. Save the servant act for when my brothers are around.”

“As you wish.”

He set off through the palace. Lloyd followed at his heel. In short order, they arrived at the stables. Horses stretched off as far as the eye could see. The royal horses, for his father’s royal ass. The ceremonial white horses, for his father’s royal carriage. The black horses, for funerals and other stately but demure events. A few high-bred chestnuts and various colors, suited only for royal hunting. The fast horses, for quick messages to close allies. The short, powerful long-haul horses, for slow messages to far allies. A few mares and stumpy farm horses, for the gardens and other work around the castle. And down at the end, the princes’ horses.

“Why are they so far away?” Lloyd asked.

“We rank lower than my father,” Remy informed him. He reached for the tack, familiar with handling horses from his time on the run.

Across the stable, a stablehand noticed him, did a double take, and ran over. Remy waved him off. The stablehand nodded, but hovered concernedly anyways. Ah, well. He’s the one liable if I get kicked or bit. Ignoring him, Remy greeted his horse and fed it the bit, strapping the harness on over its ears.

“Lower than your father’s farm hands?” Lloyd asked, peering over his shoulder at the working horses.

“Technically, yes. Their authority flows directly from my father. Any authority I possess ranks lower than my father’s, so the farm hands rank higher than me.” He patted the horse’s neck, and it let out a low rumble.

“That doesn’t seem right,” Lloyd remarked.

“It’s bullshit castle politics. My father is reminding us that we’re all lesser than his least authority. He’s warning us that our infighting should not extend to him, lest he act. In summary, this stable means: fight amongst yourself as you wish, but remember that I am the King.”

Lloyd looked around. He raised his brows. “Huh.”

Remy waved his hand. “It’s all bullshit, in any case. The castle is fake, all fake. Reading too deeply into it is counterproductive.”

“Am I riding behind milord?” Lloyd asked.

Remy glanced down the line of horses, then gestured. “Take Third Brother’s horse. Poor thing could use some exercise.”

Lloyd scanned left and right. “Third…”

“The Third Prince. The Third Royal Brother,” Remy said. He pointed at the top, where numbers counted up and down at seeming random as they marched further down the stalls. “My first brother is the closest to my father, because he has father’s favor. Then me, because he perceives me as the least threat. Third brother, fourth, fifth, second, sixth. Second recently got moved down two slots. My father wished to express his distaste with some mistake of the Second Prince’s.”

He paused, then, and lifted his head. His eyes gazed off into infinity. “Why the fuck do I remember that.”

“It’s good to have a clear memory,” Lloyd commended him.

“Anyways, Third Brother won’t mind if you borrow his horse. Go ahead.”

“Heading somewhere?”

Remy barely glanced over his shoulder, already knowing what he’d see.

A slovenly man leaned against the wall, a jug dangling from his hand. His hair hung lank and oily around his face. Unkempt clothes clung to his limbs, wrinkled from a night’s sleep. He belched, then grimaced and waved his hand in front of his face.

“Fifth Brother Gerard,” he greeted the man.

“Shouldn’t you bow? I rank higher than you,” his elder brother reminded him.

Without turning, Remy bobbed a short bow to the man. He slung the saddle blanket on the horse’s back, then placed the saddle on top. His arms ached from that simple motion, and Remy grimaced. I forgot how weak I was. I need to work on my physical strength and stamina. Not even waste points on it, just do basic physical training.

Gerard clicked his tongue. “Someone’s feeling his oats this morning.” He gestured at Lloyd. “Who is this?”

“My new manservant,” Remy said shortly.

“Prince, I’m ready to go,” Lloyd informed him.

Gerard gave Lloyd a look. “How rude. Ignoring your master’s superior?”

Lloyd bowed deeply to Gerard, staying down overly long. Remy nudged him. “Let’s go.”

“Where are you going?” Gerard asked. He tried to push off the wall, but immediately fell back against it.

“Hunting.”

“Does Father know?” Gerard sing-songed.

“Does Father care?” Remy returned flatly. He grabbed the saddle and hauled himself up, but his limbs failed him. He stood there, silently staring at his own slender arms and weak legs. I seriously need some stamina. Seriously.

Lloyd grabbed him under the armpits and lifted him up, placing him on the horse. “Your Highness.”

Remy pressed his lips together. Every ounce of his being screamed in rage and embarrassment, but he had no retort. He wasn’t eighteen, he was fifteen. Pre-growth spurt. Small. Weak. It wasn’t Lloyd’s fault that he couldn’t climb onto the horse. And yet, he hated it.

Lloyd beamed at him.

He swallowed his rage, already knowing Lloyd would only smile brighter if he shouted. Stiffly, he tilted his head downward. “My thanks.”

Gerard turned away, but it didn’t do much to stifle his giggles. With some effort, he straightened up and touched his forelock, stretching out a leg in a mockery of a bow. “Have a good hunt, Your Highness.”

Remy ignored him. Straight-backed, he rode off. Lloyd waved cheerily and hopped on his horse, riding after Remy.

Behind him, Gerard stumbled out of the stable. He waggled his bottle at Remy’s back. “Bring back a souvenir, and I won’t tell Father!”

“Lloyd.”

The demon rode up beside him. “Yes, my liege?”

“If I put a few points into strength and stamina…”

Lloyd’s eyes shone. “Yes, my liege?”

Remy took a deep breath. He shook his head. No. Stay strong. I only need the strength and stamina of an average fifteen-year-old. Some basic training, and I should be able to catch up. “Never mind.”

Lloyd shrugged. “I’m right here whenever you need me.”

Ignoring him, Remy lifted his finger. “The royal forests are just over there. They stock them with game whenever my father feels like hunting. However, they also need to regularly clear out monsters, so nothing threatens my father during his hunts.”

“I take it the forest hasn’t been cleared in a while?” Lloyd asked.

Remy shook his head. “They should be relatively low-class monsters. The dangerous ones stay away from cities, and the knights would never allow strong monsters near the palace. From what I remember, it’s mostly slimes and wolves. Monsters of that class.”

“And you’ll be hunting them?” Lloyd asked.

“We will both be hunting them. You under my direct orders,” Remy declared. “I’d simply order the knights to hunt them, but I couldn’t help but notice that the adventurer’s kills at the Sanctuary didn’t give me any points.”

Lloyd inclined his head. “They do have to acknowledge your authority.”

“Right. The adventurers only acknowledge my brother’s authority. Even if I asked them to clear out the Sanctuary, they did it because it’s their duty to kill monsters. Not because I asked. It would be the same for the knights. They acknowledge my father’s authority, not mine. If I asked, they would kill the monsters. But not because I asked. Because it was their duty.”

“How astute,” Lloyd commented.

Remy gave him a look. “Yes, thank you. I figured out my title’s mechanics. Very impressive. You don’t need to pretend to butter me up all the time.”

“No. But I enjoy it,” Lloyd said.

Remy rolled his eyes. “Thank you.”

The forest loomed. Remy took a deep breath. With his magic enhanced by the System, he wasn’t worried about killing the monsters. No. He glanced down, giving his already-sore legs an uncomfortable look. This hunt would put his strength and stamina to the test. His youthful strength and stamina, untrained by months of running and hiding.

He gritted his teeth. Time to regain all that strength, starting now.

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I'm gonna be completely honest, I'm writing this for fun and don't have chapters on Patreon yet, but if you wanna show me ur support or would be interested in Patreon, click that link, join as a free member (or idk pay me teehee who would do that but like if u wanna?) and lmk. 

Or you can always check out Skill Hunter, my cultivation novel! Free chapters here on sh & rr & 25 ch ahead on Patreon!