Azazel noticed Elias gaze on him, he tilted his head then asked—
"What is it?"
Elias frowned, torn between asking or keeping his curiosity in check.
"Which one is the real you?" he spoke eventually.
Azazel raised a brow.
"Excuse me?"
"Nevermind."
Azazel noticed his hesitation, he clearly heard the question Elias had asked but he chose to ignore it, instead he asked a question of his own.
"Your highness, do you want to awaken?"
Elias' steps faltered.
"What?"
"You heard me." Azazel replied seriously.
Elias' voice trembled.
"Y-You must be joking, what do you mean awaken, you know it's hopeless."
His voice dropped low, almost a whisper.
It wasn't harsh, rather it felt like a soft plea.
"You know, I knew you were a scumbag but seriously, mocking me with my disability, that's low, even for you… I've tried everything, there's no hope for me, you know that and yet you… you—"
Azazel sighed.
"I decide what's low by my standards or not, and no I'm not kidding, all I need to know is, are you willing to risk your life for it, if it means you can awaken your bloodline."
Elias looked shaken, his lips quivered as he struggled to find the words to say.
"You… mean it? Can I really awaken?"
Azazel lingered for a bit then shrugged.
"Of course you can, you've tried everything but certainly not all methods, there are some methods that go beyond the mundane, even demanding a sacrifice in return. Till you've tried, can you truly say there's no hope for you?"
Elias stared down at his hands, his shoulders shook visibly as he held back choked sobs.
"I-I… I tried everything, I wondered why I was born with such a weak constitution, I can't protect anything with such a body, my sister… I want to help her."
"Oh save me the sad stories, I don't wanna hear em" Azazel groaned, although his lips curled into a knowing smile, "If you're willing to risk your life then you'll awaken, that much I can guarantee."
He brought out a pocket watch, one his mother had gifted him before his departure.
It looked like a precious keepsake rather than an actual item, even the way he held it spoke volumes of how much he cherished it.
He checked the time on the watch, it was a little after noon.
"We need to act fast or we might not make it back to the academy in time for the exams, wait for me at the West gate and also, look for someone called Nathaniel Taylor, just tell him you want to hire him, toss a few pieces of gold and you've gotten yourself a capable sellsword."
Elias' brows knit together, his lips parting slightly as though he wanted to question.
"What about you?"
Azazel allowed his gaze to drift lazily past Elias and further into the distance as though he could see something no one else could.
"I'll join you in a bit, I have… unfinished business you see."
Elias blinked slowly, then it clicked.
He'd been so absorbed in the promise of his awakening that he didn't seem to doubt Azazel's intention.
They certainly weren't close enough for Azazel to help him without a reason.
"You, what's your gain from helping me?"
Azazel snorted.
"A useful pawn, don't overthink things, if you grow stronger it benefits me as well."
A playful smile adorned his lips.
"Make haste your highness, the journey ahead certainly won't be a casual stroll."
Elias raised a brow but didn't object, instead he went towards the reception to notify the hostelry of his absence.
After all, a journey could likely take him more than a day, the royal family had to be informed of the abrupt arrangement.
After Elias left, Azazel returned his gaze towards the stairs leading to the room above.
His smile grew a little bit dangerous as he spoke.
"There's no use hiding, come out."
For a second, his words were met with nothing but silence and then.
A step…
Then another.
A figure slowly materialized from the shadow of the hostelry's second layer.
"Forgive me young master, I did not mean to intrude."
"Karina." Azazel whispered softly.
As she stepped forward, her features came into view.
Karina had short tousled black hair, reminiscent of a midnight black color, her eyes were steel blue, aloof and cold, the kind of expression which couldn't be read by others who didn't know her well enough.
She was dressed in a ruffled white shirt alongside a fitted black waistcoat and a tuxedo.
She didn't look like a maid, which was totally normal since assistants were allowed to dress in any style they saw fit as long as their masters permitted it.
In the game, Karina was often portrayed as a butler as her outfit suggested, similarly Lily who was Azazel's assistant was often seen in a black saintess garment.
It was always the same way in all playthroughs he'd witnessed her present; he didn't know why she, a demon contractor, would don such an outfit but then again, who was to say that she wasn't a member of some cult or anything.
'Not like she doesn't look the part, I wouldn't even be surprised if she was actually a part of an occult group.' He mused to himself.
Karina bowed formally to which Azazel responded with a curt nod.
An awkward silence stretched between them, lingering until Azazel spoke.
"How is she?" He asked.
Karina tilted her head slightly, her brows tightening in confusion.
"Pardon me young master Azazel but who are you referring to?"
"My sister, how is she?" Azazel repeated without missing a beat.
"The young miss is fine," Karina replied, causing Azazel to scoff.
"That's ridiculous, I know she hasn't been sleeping well these days, tell me what happened to her?"
A subtle frown appeared on Karina's face, one that was gone almost as instantly as it came.
"You don't remember, young master?" she asked, her tone almost hesitant.
Azazel caught the hesitation in her voice, the subtle frown also didn't escape his notice.
"Am I missing something here?" He asked with caution.
Karina shook her head.
"It's nothing, the young Miss has been having nightmares, it's just been… frequent these days." She said,
Nightmares? For her to look that shaken… it had to be something severe, is someone trying to lower her mental fortitude or is it just a naturally reoccurring trauma? Something from her childhood perhaps.'
He could hardly imagine anyone doing anything to the current Leona without her notice so that left the second option which seemed more plausible.
His eyes softened as he addressed Karina.
"Take care of her, I'll be back with a temporary remedy for her condition, till then don't allow anyone harm her, kill them if possible, my parents will handle the rest."
Karina bowed slightly.
"Understood, young master Azazel."