"Is something bothering you, Aku?"

Said male blinked his golden eyes, he lowered his lashes, pausing in his actions for a second as he contemplated his eldest brother's question. His tongue peeked out of his mouth, lightly licking his upper lip before he lifted his gaze from the map in front of him.

"What do you mean, Lord Brother?" he asked, his voice calm as a light genuine smile adorned his face. His eyes shone with reverence as he gazed at the older Founder.

Carla didn't lift his gaze from his book. His long fingers stretched to grasp the porcelain teacup by his side to lightly sip on it. Setting the cup aside, he placed a bookmark between the pages of his book and closed it, letting his fingertips brush against the leather cover.

"I won't force the words out of your mouth," Carla stated as he stood up. He handed the book to the attendant behind him and made his way out of the large library. "Once you've finished your report, bring it to me," he demanded, sparing the youngest a glance.

Aku could only bow and agree to his brother's request. Once the door closed, only the youngest Tsukinami was left in the library. He brought his attention back to the map in front of him, fingers tracing the many roads and borders of the Demon Clans.

His father wanted war, so they would give it to him. Carla, as usual, was tasked with leading the battles, while Aku was tasked with looking for which tribe to attack. Taking in the pros and cons, which would be most beneficial for them and bring less damage if they were to lose— Aku didn't understand why his brother asked him to take loss into account. To Aku, there existed no stronger Demons than Carla, apart from his father of course.

A quill in hand, Aku lightly dipped its silver peak into ink. On the parchment next to him, he began to record the different tribes of the Demon World. He limited himself to the potential target and Clans they shouldn't fight against. With ease, he wrote the reasons behind his choice next to the tribe's name.

Next to the Wolves Clan, he stated the economic loss would be too important and that there existed no animosity between them. For the Vampire Clan, he added that Karlheinz was someone Giesbach wanted to keep for himself. Regarding the Adler, he stated that their land was far too poor, and aerial battles would bring more loss than gain. Lastly, for the Vibora Clan, he highlighted their strong military that rivaled the Wolves Clan and would put most other Clans to shame.

Those Four made up the Great Demon Clans if you excluded the Founders. They were pillars of the Demon World, and although most Founders found them to be a thorn in their side, they could be tolerated so long as they didn't overstep their boundaries.

It had been a few human years since his first trip outside of the Founders' territory and Aku was already one of the most feared and respected diplomats of the Demon World. His name inspired both awe for his achievements, and fear for his blood and power.

"Yo, Aku!" the cheery voice of his older brother made the blondish male peel his gaze off the parchment. Two pairs of golden eyes met, leaving a grin to stretch on Aku's previously flat lips.

"Brother! Did you come to see me? Are you looking for Lord Brother?" the youngest asked, setting his quill aside as he walked around the table to stand next to the taller First Blood.

Shin grinned, he chuckled and enthusiastically patted the younger's shoulder. "I came to see you, of course. If I was looking for Big Brother I would have gone to Mother," he answered matter of factly. He tilted his head, his eyes sweeping past Aku to look at the map and stationery behind. "Oh? Ya part of the War Committee Aku?" he mused with a raised eyebrow, his grin dropping as he uttered the words.

Aku looked back at his material before nodding. "Yes, Father tasked me with looking for a territory to attack," he explained, silently walking back to the table and map that laid atop of it. His finger started to point at the different territories as he explained the situation to this older brother.

"I first thought of aiming for the Bat Clan," he began pointing at a rather small piece of land. "Although they are small, their mineral resources aren't lacking, and their ability to gather information is equal if not better than the Shadow Clan but after some consideration, I thought against it. After all, the Bat Clan and Vampire Clan have tight ties, and Father wants to keep the Vampire Clan at bay at the moment."

Shin hummed in mild disinterest. He didn't know how his younger brother could spend his time thinking about who to and not to attack. They were the strongest Clan out there, they could wipe anyone out if they wanted, why make things so complicated? His eyes traveled the table before resting on a small piece of parchment. He picked it up with some interest. "What's that?"

Aku flicked his gaze to the paper before bringing his attention back to the map. "Oh, that," he echoed while going over the remained territories in his mind. "It's a memo of the list of Clan we shouldn't attack ant the reasons," he explained, his finger traveled the map as he pointed each Clan and their location out. Although Shin probably knew them all already, Aku was used to doing so when speaking.

"There's not a lot of Clan we should be wary of, so I just listed the other four Great Demon Clan: the Wolves Clan, the Vibora Clan, the Vampire Clan, and the Adler Clan."

Shin nodded in contemplation, lightly murmuring the names in an echo, his eyes carefully took both the map and parchment in before they glinted with mischief and excitation. "Ne, Aku, your list's accurate, right?" he rhetorically asked, not looking for an answer as his mind began to scheme.

Aku raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit offended he didn't complain as his brother was the one who made the statement. "It should be, yes. Why, is there a problem with what I wrote?" he asked, trying to recall where a possible mistake could be.

Shin shook his head, a gleeful grin taking over his lips. "Nah, don't sweat it," he refuted, ruffling the other's lock of blond hair. "That said, you won't mind if I take it?" he said, already stuffing the folded piece of parchment in his breast pocket. "You can always make a new one, can't you?"

"Well, yes, go ahead, I don't mind," Aku conceded, giving Shin a probing glance. "But I would have taken it out during the War Committee, you would have received one then," he told him as he pulled another piece of parchment to re-write his list.

At the mention of the War Committee, Shin's mood fell, he hummed, his lips turning into a pout. "Yeah well Father doesn't want me to be part of it," he complained with a sigh, lightly rolling his eyes in exasperation. "Supposedly, my swordsmanship isn't good enough yet," he added.

Aku raised an eyebrow, feeling somewhat unconvinced by the reason. After all, he learned most of his swordsmanship skills from his brother. To him, Shin already was one of the finest and deadliest swordsmen out there, combined with his magic prowesses, he was practically unstoppable. Then again, Carla was much stronger, and probably already on par with their father— ie. the strongest Demon known to the Demon territory.

"Oh, maybe next time then?" Aku tried to comfort, a wry smile on his face.

Shin grinned, nodding. "Yeah, just wait for it Aku, you won't know how it happened!" he boasted, already getting out of the library and not leaving any time for Aku to voice his answer.

Aku watched his brother's back disappear and the door slamming close. He sighed, licking his fangs before going back to the map. He didn't know what Shin was scheming, and although he felt mildly interested, he didn't have the time to look into it.

He spent a few more hours alone, a quill in hand as he recorded the Clans and their resources, not forgetting to write the latest treaty before he leaned back and stretched his muscles. His eyes glanced at the lines of ink that tainted the parchment as he reviewed his words. Finally satisfied, he rolled the map and stored his quill and papers away.

At once, as if long waiting for him to finish, a silhouette appeared from the shadow of one of the many bookshelves. The male had long ink-black hair tied in a low ponytail and a pair of penetrating wine-red eyes. His shoulders were broad and he was taller than Aku by more than five centimeters. Through his spectacles, he observed the First Blood and began to store the material away.

The man was Kagamine, his mother's aid, and in the future, his.

"Young Master, will you be joining Mistress Krone for tea time?" the Shadow Demon voiced as he picked up the material scattered above the wooden table.

Aku didn't take the time to ponder over the inquiry, agreeing as soon as he heard his mother's name, he teleported away to her quarters. What War Committee? Where was the urge to hold one? Spending time with his mother was more important!

"Young Master, someone from the Wolves Clan is requesting an audience with you," the voice of the servant was weak, slight tremor coated it, and if one looked close enough, sweat beaded his forehead. The servant was obviously embarrassed and uncomfortable.

Aku raised an eyebrow, finding the situation amiss. For one, he didn't remember having a meeting with the Wolves Clan today, also, he didn't think that he was scary to the point that the staff would tremble in fright before him.

He licked his upper lip, golden eyes dangerously narrowing, and the servant in front of him began to tremble even more. "Who?" he asked, his voice lower than usual and with a dangerous edge to it.

The man gulped. "A woman, My Lord," the servant hurriedly answered, not missing a beat. "She claims to be your acquaintance from the time of your first visit to the Wolves Clan," he developed before pausing and bringing clothing out to present it to the Founder. "She said to give this to you in case you forgot."

Aku frowned, apart from Wolfgang, he had no recollection of a remote acquaintance back in the Wolves Clan. With some distrust, he picked the piece of red fabric up. There was a light fragrance to it, it was slightly intoxicating, and if Aku had been a lesser Demon, he would have probably lost his mind.

An aphrodisiac?

The line of his lips turned flatter. The only time he encountered aphrodisiacs was when he stopped by the red light district. Was the woman a prostitute? Feeling that something was inherently wrong with the situation, the air around him turned colder. He silently exhaled, closing his eyes.

In a second, his overall air brightened, seemingly much more friendly and comfortable. A smile danced on his lips as he gently crinkled his eyes, his gaze slid to his paper as he hummed. "Let her enter, bring out some snacks and beverage, also, don't let my Mother know," he ordered, carelessly skimming through his documents as he began to lock the more confidential ones away.

A few seconds later, a woman entered his office. She was of average height, probably 160 centimeters tall. Her hair was a warm ginger color and was kept in a disheveled bun. She had a pair of animalistic honey brown eyes, and her lips were curved in an enchanting smile. As soon as she stepped in, Aku smelled the scent of aphrodisiac blended with that of the Wolves Clan.

The more he saw her, the more he hated the smell. Looking at her, she seemed vaguely familiar, he supposed she was the woman Wolfgang introduced to him back then, but he couldn't bother to remember her name. Nevertheless, he drew an amiable smile on his face as he ushered for her to take a sit.

"What brought you here, Milady?" he courteously asked, ignoring the servant that laid the snacks and drink for her to taste.

The female Wolves seemed flattered by the attention, her face brightened, and her demeanor grew more confident. She swept her gaze over the room as if searching for someone else before deeming they were alone. She cleared her throat.

"I am pregnant."

Aku raised an eyebrow. The declaration wasn't out of his expectations. Although it had been a few years already, pregnancy length rested on the womb's intake in magic to grow. The smaller the intake, the bigger the fetus' needs, the longer the pregnancy. With the woman's magic and status, a long pregnancy wasn't too far fetched. Especially if the Aku was the father, as part of the Founder's royal bloodline, his children were destined to at least be above average.

Nevertheless, he showed an unimpressed expression, merely sipping on his drink. "And?"

The short answer didn't deter the woman who confidently spoke. "The child— no, children are yours," she boldly stated as she brought a hand to cover her stomach, the light bump couldn't be seen under her ample clothes.

Aku lowered his gaze, gently humming. "Children, uh?" he echoed, feeling the term foreign as it rolled off his tongue. Fortunately, he had the people leave his office and cover the news of the woman visiting as soon as she came to his office.

The woman gave a confident nod. "Yes! I went to see a physician and checked my period and customers. My Lord is the only one to fit the bill!" she proclaimed.

"Is that so," Aku drawled, founding the woman more and more ridiculous. "So, what do you want?"

As if waiting for this question, the woman's shoulders slightly tensed. She exhaled, and in her eyes, Aku could read a blend of fear and anticipation. "Marriage," she stated. "Marry me, as a concubine or mistress I don't care, but marry me," she confidently stated.

Aku almost burst out laughing at her outrageous claim. How dare she ask for marriage when all she was was a lowly prostitute. Her greatest honor should be bearing his children, she shouldn't be asking for anything more. How many female Demons dreamed of her privilege?

"Marriage? Very well," he easily conceded. He knocked his knuckle on the wooden table and Kagamine soared from the Shadow. "Call for the royal physician, also, have a room prepared for the lady," he ordered, his narrowed golden eyes never leaving the woman's figure.

Thanks for reading, until next time^^