A Majordome's Duty

For as long as he could remember, Kagamine had always been at the service of the Mikazuki dukedom. Although he did not know his last name, Kagamine's family came from a line groomed into servitude by the duchy. It was only natural for the Shadow Demon to pledge himself to the eldest lady of the family when the time came for him to take up the duties of an aide.

Krone Mikazuki, a First Blood of the highest pedigree, second only to the Royal Family of the Founders, was a Demon of grace and elegance.

She was his first Master. The one individual he pledged his Soul to, binding his core to her and leaving his life to peacefully dance at the edges of her deadly fingertips. Ready to tilt and fall to its death at any given moment.

For Nobles and, specifically old, long-standing, reputable families like the Mikazuki, the existence of a soul-binding contract was a sign of wealth and power.

Such contracts required a consequent amount of magic from the binding party, which could only be replaced by magic stones, a rare and costly material. Of course, in the case that the bounded party willingly submitted, the magic required would diminish. Nevertheless, the amount would still be significant, and Demons willingly submitting was a rare, almost impossible occurrence.

For Krone Mikazuki, such a contract was the manifestation of her strong magical powers and the demonstration of the Mikazuki Dukedom's wealth for providing her with the means to perform such a contract. The use of magic stones being an open secret, one never really knew if they came into play.

Nevertheless, as revered and romanticized as the term "Soul Binding" was, it did not change Kagamine's reality. For bounded Demons, it was nothing more than a glorified Slave Contract.

And so, like every slave that ever walked the surface of the Demon Realm, Kagamine received a mark to show his belonging.

A tattoo in the form of a collar that tightly wrapped around his neck.

And later, a large wing would cover half of his back when the youngest of his lady's sons would bind him. Erasing all traces of the previous contract in favor of a gruesome burnt mark hugging the entirety of his neck.

Kagamine's duty as an aide was something the Demon took pride in. It was the purest manifestation of his capabilities, the proof of his usefulness to his Master.

Nowadays, as the sole faithful aide and trained servant of the household, Kagamine's duties numbered up to quite a number. Kagamine was a busy demon from overlooking the household while ordering the small number of familiar his master would allow into the estate and make sure that the twins were performing according to standards while never doubting their faith— he was always busy.

He was not foreign to children rearing, having partly raised His Lord when his Master was still living, but it did not mean that the Shadow Demon enjoyed it. The twins were peculiar cases, and grooming them had been no chore for Kagamine, a professional at mind games.

Of course, Kagamine's duties did not stop to the household and its servant. As the most competent and only aide, Kagamine's responsibilities included waiting on his Lord and living up to his every wish.

Blinking his pair of sharp wine-red eyes, Kagamine's lips gently twitched into a calculative smirk. His eyes slightly bent, crinkling behind his spectacles.

"—Yes, that is exactly it, Alpha, Omega," he asserted, voice deep and pleasant.

"But- But then why doesn't Father care for us more if it's Mother that didn't want us?" Alpha stuttered out, her ears and tail dropping as she twiddled her thumb in embarrassed confusion.

Kagamine's smile did not drop. His eyes brushed across Omega to see the youngest's expression before he hummed, adopting his best expression of compassion.

"Why? As you might know now, your mother is a touchy subject to your Father. Please do understand, Alpha, Omega," he said, not forgetting to mention the twins' names. Repeating their names and rephrasing his previous words, again and again, would make them seep and settle into the twins' bones. They would soak into his words and imbue their brains in them until there was nothing else to question. "That is why you need to work your hardest for your Father."

Although Alpha seemed unconvinced, brows furrowed, as she bit her lower lip and her tail swished back and forth in unrest, Kagamine did not take her reticence to heart. It was essential to know when to push and pull. His gaze shifted to her male counterpart. Omega was as unresponsive and subversive as usual— pity almost dawning in his blank stare.

Kagamine did not scold Alpha for not taking her Father's side just yet. He smiled, kindhearted. "Do not worry. Your Father will not scold you for not liking him," after all, Aku only sought perfect obedience. He did not seek love from his offspring. "But do refrain from mentioning your mother in front of him," he reminded, his voice almost akin to a Siren's chant as he drilled into their mind the fictive story of both Founder and Wolves.

Brainwashing wasn't something that happened in a day. Especially since Kagamine was not the most proficient in magic related to it. Grooming the twins would take time, but as a professional and competent aide, Kagamine would be sure to have them thoroughly molded into perfect soldiers.

He would turn them into the perfect puppets his Lord expected. Not that Aku held lots of expectations for them, the thought of the twins would very rarely cross his mind, after all.

How entertaining, Kagamine mused with a chuckle. Here he was, doing what others had done to him hundreds of years ago. Taking him out of the cradle and working on his brain and perception from the moment he became aware of his surroundings. Yet, he did not feel the slightest remorse. Wasn't it proof of how effective the Mikazuki Dukedom's grooming methods were? The twins' lives already rested in Aku's hands, a Soul Binding contract drawn upon their skin the moment of their birth.

Pitifully entertaining, the Shadow Demon thought to himself in derision.

The mark that covered half of his back in the form of a large bat-wing burnt at his skin.

Twins' Doom

Alpha was the oldest of the twins.

Born from the union of two Demons belonging to a Superior Demonic race, Alpha's lineage was nothing to scoff at when it came to her blood.

Her Father was a Founder. Someone that came from what was also called the First Blood or Ancestor Clan— he was a part of the most powerful Demonic kin to have ever walked the Demon Realm. Following the teachings she received from her early childhood, the Race birthed all other four Superior Demonic races.

Although she had minimal contact with her father growing up. She could tell the man held power and authority from how people hung at his lips and awaited his orders. It was clear as the fullest of the Moon that Aku was not someone to trifle with, and from her teacher's words, he was someone to revere and respect.

And so, sometimes questioning but never forgetting to drink her teacher's words, Alpha learned that her Father: Tsukinami Aku, was a Demon of infinite power. He could very well gift her the meaning of her existence but also snuff out her life with one wave of his hand.

Alpha was no fool— or so she liked to believe. Indeed, when it came to smarts, she couldn't outwit her brother, nor her teacher or Father, but it would have been a lie to say she was dumb or stupid. Perhaps she was a bit naive, almost innocent in her lack of knowledge and awareness. Still, the teaching deeply engraved in her brain and bones would prevent her from seeing such disparities.

Alpha was not sure of her age. She only knew she wanted to grow up quickly to aid her father. She tried to be strong and reliable for her Father. She wanted to overshadow her features— those long blond curly locks of hers that she inherited from her progenitor. Because apparently, Father and that person did not get along, and that person was the one to abandon them in his care.

Who would want to be reminded of such a wicked person?

So Alpha toned her body with hard work. What Alpha couldn't overcome with witts, she overcame with pure strength and the little gifts she inherited from her parents; she honed them to become her deadliest trump cards.

Alpha was no gorgeous Demon per se. She was attractive indeed, something both of her parents were, but cute or pretty was the most she would ever be. Beauty was in the eyes of the beholder. In the eyes of her dearest, she'd probably never graduate from cute.

As the factitious leader of her pack, Alpha took pride in being strong and part of the strongest. She held strong belief towards her blood— her Father's at least, and the mark that burnt at her skin from the day she was born till the day she would die would always be her most beloved possession.

The seal, a full moon that proudly stood underneath her left clavicle, symbolized her belonging to the pack.

Even if it meant freedom to get rid of it, never would she.

After all, what was freedom to someone who never knew it or its existence?

Omega was a bright child.

Well, he was as bright as a child sent into the care of a professional manipulator was.

Born the youngest twin, Omega's biggest curse and blessing upon his birth was his blindness. It wasn't total blindness as he could still somewhat make out shapes and colors. Still, it made it impossible for him to live "normally" and even more so to live up to his Father's expectations.

Omega carried within him the blood of the Founders, and here he was: disabled.

So yes, it would not be an understatement to say that directly and indirectly, Kagamine, their caretaker, ingrained into his mind that he was inferior and a defective product. That he needed to work twice as hard and do twice as much if he ever dreamed of being acknowledged.

And probably— no, certainly it was because of this that his personality grew more reserved than his sister's. It was because of these teachings that he learned not to be outspoken and always subservient.

What could Omega say? He was already lucky enough not to be thrown away for his sight impairment.

So Omega worked hard, as hard and maybe harder than his sister in an attempt to prove himself to his Father— the brightest light in his life. Because, unlike Alpha, Omega was allowed no failure or second chance—his chance was taken the moment he came with those eyes.

Those glassy, golden eyes.

Pretty but useless.

Omega did not want to be a doll. The Wolves blood in him boiled at the mere thought of collecting dust in a corner. Omega strived. He sharpened his other senses in a way only someone like him could. And one day, his Father— his Lord and Savior, recognized his achievements and bestowed upon him a gift.

— a simple earing containing not even a fraction of his Father's powers.

A piece of jewelry that would allow him to telepathically communicate with the small number of wolf summons he could invoke.

It was not much. To his Father, it was probably insignificant. Yet, to Omega, it was proof of his achievements— the manifestation of his Father's acknowledgment.

Although he could not see the mark that sealed him to his Father, Omega did not care.

He felt regretful for not being able to admire its beauty, but the way it burned at his skin was a feeling only he who did not see could experience.

He had never seen the allure of the moon that stood beneath his right clavicle. Still, he had felt its searing heat digging into his skin— and that was more than enough to send chills of glee and unadulterated satisfaction through his spine.

I want to make small interludes like this after each arc because some things are just very tricky to develop during the "main story."

Also, are Alpha and Omega corny (and cliché) names? Yes— blame my Middle School self she's the one who birthed this story's concept and its characters  :')