Duchess often has the thought that the only good man is a dead man. Sungkyu appears to be proof of that.
She has spied on him the same way she’s spied on everyone else, intimately acquainted with his personal dramas despite never meeting @j4dore face-to-face. She likes him. In fact she likes him very much. Even with the threat of literal decay hanging over him, his heart lacks the same rot as his companions. He is gentle and kind, though of course not without complication; even so, his complications do not tarnish him. He does not marinate in his faults the way so many men do. He has a profound, tender worthiness that glows from within.
Not since Salem has she seen a boy so pure of spirit. All this time she thought he was the only one. It gives her hope to find another.
Today she has decided to finally meet him. When she drank the visionwine, she saw far more than the genesis of her temple. Her eyes were opened to the truth of her life. She saw herself hiding in the mystic womb of the palace, wandering always in a state of dreaming, and it frightened her how alone she was. The necessity of connection struck her violently. You will be loved, a great snake with many heads whispered to her, but to be loved you must be witnessed.
And to be witnessed, she has to go outside.
So here she is. She waited until all the others were gone and stepped through a mirror into Zero’s abode. The house is quiet. Outside, she hears the distant cries of peacocks.
Duchess peers back into the mirror at her reflection. She takes a moment to smooth out her dress and arrange her hair so that it falls over her shoulder to show off its length. Suddenly she feels nervous. She doesn’t belong out here in the world. And her reflection leaves a lot to be desired: she looks so much more beautiful in her own realm. She considers abandoning this quest altogether, but she doesn’t get the chance. Sweet Thing, Zero’s dog, has materialized in the hallway, and is displaying a trait typical of its malamute breed: vocalization.
This, in turn, alerts the other dogs, who bound over and join in on the racket. The noise is overwhelming and it comes from all sides. How many dogs does a demon need? Duchess regrets everything. She buries her head in her hands and tries not to cry like a child. Dogs, especially loud ones, have always made her anxious.
She does not see the bedroom door open.
