(A/N: Sorry @MishLB... the author who's writing this is insanely lazy. As an apology, I'll publish extra to make up for lost time.)

8 years later...

(A/N: Sylvien's POV.)

The majestic white owl swooped down and landed on his forearm with a dazzling flourish. The maturing young man dressed in purple and gold robes smiled gracefully. His cold and brilliant disposition seemed to shine more and more as he grew. "How was your run, Nore?" He softly asked.

The bird ruffled its feathers, slightly revealing the golden band hidden under its thick winter coat of feathers. "Heh. Good, good, Remis is too good!" It hooted mightily and seemed to take on a beaky version of a sneer.

"You got more treats from him? You're really spoiled, aren't you." His feathery laugh made the bird squawk loudly in protest. His quiet chuckle was carried away by the wind.

The night was silent and peaceful. The roof of the palace overlooked the colorful south garden. The stars shimmered brightly, giving Sylvien an ethereal, wispy glow. He looked up into the brilliant night sky, at the bright full moon. An almost intelligible whisper escaped his lips, the sound carried away by the breeze.

"I wish to meet him."

----

(A/N: Remis' POV.)

I sighed and sat quietly on the cushioned floor of the bay window. The musty and smoky smell of the library permeated my senses, rendering me relaxed and sleepy. The warm dawn rays gave me a fleeting sense of warmth, lulling me to a state of tranquil satisfaction. I yawned sleepily and placed the thick tome over my eyes. After an early morning cram, I thought it was only fair to give me some form of relaxation, especially in such a quiet, serene environment. Alas, I knew that this moment would be fleeting due to...

"Remi~!"

...the pests that continue to follow me around, even after eight years of constant avoidance on my part. I hesitantly took off the comforting heaviness of the tome that covered my face and moved my head to face the pest in question, Cyrus Fortier. Even though he had his ever-heavy duties as the duke's son, he still chose to 'continue to forge connections with the Young Master of the Xenith household.

My gaze silently followed his approach. As he was about to jump and attack me, I expressionlessly stuck out my arm and distanced his overly-friendly head away to prevent his nuzzling. His struggle to wring himself from my grip and fling himself into my arms made me reminisce.

----

"Young Master Remis, Young Master Cyrus has come to pay you a visit. May I let him in?" The Head Maid, Irene, bowed and asked demurely.

I watched as she gestured to the door, my gaze becoming increasingly annoyed. That person... was here again? I thought to myself. A vein popped from my forehead as I struggled to calm myself down in fear of reopening the wound.

"No, don't let him in. Tell him that I'm sleeping." I ordered quietly yet firmly before laying back down on the feather-stuffed pillow, feeling a minor prick as I rested my head.

She bowed. "As you wish, sir."

Irene scuffled to the door, her head down all the while, and closed the door softly behind her. The muffled dialogue I heard from the room sounded like Irene was currently brushing that Young Master off and trying to usher him away. I nodded in approval and let out a smug simper. The mind games Cyrus and I have been playing were fierce; and I had never won one before. However—I glanced out the door—I finally beat him.

Then just as I was about to celebrate my newfound victory and clap, the door opened with a click and I hastily shut my eyes, accidentally changing my expression to a small frown.

One set of footsteps approached, and by how it was carried, I didn't think it was Irene. A gentle, cool hand brushed the strands of hair poking my eyes, revealing my small white forehead. Soon after, I felt a cool sensation on the tip of my nose, soft yet somewhat sultry, leaving after a brief moment of silence.

Cyrus began to walk to the door. Unable to stand the curiosity, my eyes snapped open and I flicked my head towards his figure. "You! What was that! What did you do!"

He glanced back, his eyes wide and surprised showing a brief vulnerability before his signature 'angelic' smile slid onto his face. "Now Remi~ why would I tell you~? Isn't it better as a surprise~"

Just like that, the door shut behind him. Unable to scratch the itch of interest, I resorted to inward rants. Again! It happened again! Even after the Head Maid told him to kindly fuck off, he was pushy enough to prevail again!

As expected, capture targets are another level. I should be especially careful not to raise a Death Flag with this pushy demon, he would do anything once he set his mind to it.

----

After eight years of putting up with this obsessed capture target, I have learned one vital thing. That it was almost impossible to stay away from this clingy beast.

I wasn't dense. I knew that he was interested in me, and that at this point, it was probably impossible to stop his attachment. Therefore, if I constantly praised him and said 'I admire you' to him like a standard extra, it would probably just make him more appeased, so there was really no point. Also, the thought of praising him now made me want to puke.

I wretched his head away from me sporting a blatantly repulsed look. He stuck out his arms to try to reach me and whimpered, dropping to the floor. I really was done with this demon. In a rather pathetic and vulnerable position, I saw the demon's eyes flooding with tears so fast that I could only praise his dramatic personality. His angelic looks coupled with his impenetrable angelic facade further enhanced his naturally pathetic stance on the floor.

"Remi~" He bawled. "Do you no longer like me?"

"Yes. In fact, I never liked you."

"Wahhh~!" Large, fat crocodile tears that seemed to shimmer in the morning light devotedly plopped onto the floor, soaking the dry oak wood in an instant.

Bruh. I felt a headache coming on. Rubbing my temples sorely, I placed down the heavy tome on advanced enhancement magic and trudged away, ignoring the demon's dramatics. I stormed out the library doors.

----

I opened Mother's study room doors with a bang. I felt my head literally light on fire as I watched the scene taking place inside. My father, gently placed on my mother's lap, giggling contentedly while being fed some sort of cherry. At that moment, I could keenly feel the last remnant of my sanity shatter in my mind.

"Mother!" I hollered, breaking the jovial atmosphere in the room in an instant. I huffed and puffed, my hair in disarray as it was brushed to and fro by the flames.

She slowly looked up with a sly smile and placed the last cherry in my father's mouth. Her expression was relaxed as if my display of indignation was irrelevant to her. "Remi~ What are you doing here on this fine morning!"

I pulled my hair out and screamed. The flames went from red to lightning blue in an instant. A few seconds of unadulterated raging was all I got before my father snuck behind me and doused my head with cold water.

It took me a while to calm down.

----

"Mother, we made a deal."

"Yes."

"You told me that you would minimize the visits from the Fortier's to once a month."

"Bahhh, that was a long time ago, let it go!"

"We made the deal yesterday, Mother."

"You know, now that I think about it, I don't think I even discussed this with you, Remi. Maybe you dreamed about it."

"ARGH!"

I rubbed my temples sorely. I could feel the throbbing in my head coming back. "It's happened again. This always happens, god, why do they never keep their promises! Oh, yeah, sure, she forgot, yeah right, that totally happens. You know what, I'm fine, it's fine, everything's fine. I'm not angry, oh no, because why would dear old me be angry..." I ranted in Japanese while pacing back and forth the study room like a duck with its tail set on fire.

"Remi~ you know we can't understand you when you speak that language of yours~!"

Please, Mother, please stop speaking before the last of my sanity snaps.

I stopped and took a deep breath. The jitteriness in my body seemed to calm down as my mana slowly seeped back into my mana pool.

Right, that's right. I spent eight years of my life putting up with two slightly obsessed capture targets, dealing with their whining, their rants, their stickiness, and their strange behavior. I couldn't die from anger now. There was no way. I threw my head back up and looked my parents dead in the eye with a determined stare.

"Alright, Mother. What do I have to do?"

----

In the carriage, we made our way to the capital of Vires. It was quite a long drive because the countdom was notably far away. I watched boredly as the ports of Xenith faded from view and tall evergreen trees replaced them.

Aileen and Raen chattered energetically as the carriage rattled on the hard-paved dirt road. After their first meeting eight years ago where our two families were introduced to each other, those two have become seemingly inseparable. I groaned silently while watching their friendship in full bloom. Another plot point twisted by me.

I looked down at my lap and saw Cyrus laying down while smiling blankly at my face. My familiarity with this scene only made my vexation grow. And there's the other one.

I moaned and used my hand to cover his head. I felt a tickling and sultry thing lick the palm of my hand. I chose to just close my eyes tiredly instead of bothering to do something about it. Sometimes, it's best to remain ignorant. I looked outside the stained glass windows once more and watched the scenery go by.

----

A large, open courtyard with brilliantly blooming roses and tulips was the first thing that greeted my eyes. I looked up with the bright midday sun piercing my eyes and gawked at the royal family's seal etched magnificently on the marble above. The building had a simple yet dignified presence, with beautiful shining arched columns that adorned the outside and a height that seemed to pierce the clouds.

The Royal Archives of Vires. The most exclusive library in the country, only open to a select few families close to the king and queen. My knowledge of this place was exceptionally vivid due to my previous sister's fanatical squealing that lasted throughout the night.

That's right. It was originally a location of something that was... not for the faint of heart. Let's just say that if the game was rated 18, the developers wouldn't hesitate to... ahem. I digress. Anway, it's not like that less-than-innocent scene will happen to me, so it's fine, I suppose.

Yes, I won't think about it in depth. What's more important is... that I have access to all of these exclusive and ancient tomes that will surely lead me to greater depths of knowledge! Usually, a count's second child would never even hope to have access to the Royal Archives. Even if Xenith was a special case, since we did have great control over the kingdom's economy, I'm afraid that it would still be extremely unlikely. So I guess I should thank... the demon.

I swallowed my pride and turned to face Cyrus. He seemed to be talking to one of the guards who accompanied us. His expression was solemn, something I had never seen on him before.

I slowly and unwillingly dawdled towards the demon, eventually working up the resolve to catch his attention. I tugged on his sleeve gently. He turned and his expression almost immediately morphed to a doting, frivolous grin. "Remi~! Do you need something~? Give me a kiss and maybe I'll give it to you~"

Argh! Now it's even harder to say! I bit the bullet and kept my head firmly hung down. "T-thank you... for bringing me here."

His grin widened as he proceeded to say, "Awww~ you're so cute, Remi! Give me a hug and I'll accept your gratitude~" He spread his arms and beckoned me closer. I swallowed my pride and, after a few seconds of deliberation, silently walked into his arms and pressed my head to his chest.

Cyrus was shocked silent. He seemed to not know what to do for a while. I just stood there, feeling a full-frontal attack of embarrassment, while his arms slowly encircled my body as if holding a delicate treasure. I felt my face flush bright red to the tips of my ears as I remembered that Aileen was surely watching me do all of this at the moment, not to mention Raen and the massive amount of guards surrounding all of us. I unconsciously hugged him tighter and shut my eyes.

Little did I know that while I embraced him, his usual angelic and innocent smile had long since warped, his eyes slowly darkened with obsession, fixed on my body as if addicted.