บท 11: It's My Job
Erevan had been waiting for the opportunity to show his true worth as Molly's attendant after successfully pulling off his lottery scheme. Unfortunately, it took a lot longer than he thought. She wasn't willing to hire anyone to help her until they moved into the house she was building.
Despite his frustration, he told himself this was fine. He would take this time to learn as much about human culture and the realm he was now living in to better serve her.
He focused on everything from common speech patterns to cooking lessons to what humans did to relax. He was going to do everything in his power to help the woman who saved his life after all hope was lost.
Realizing he would need to disguise himself as a woman to do so was another annoyance but it couldn't be much worse than being a cat. Though that form did have its perks. He had grown rather fond of being petted. If anyone from the demon king's army could see him now, they would mock him mercilessly.
Not that he cared about any of them. They had watched what happened to him without batting an eyelid. And after all he did for them too!
No matter. Stella wasn't nearly as troublesome a comrade though she did frequently get sassy with him and compete for Molly's affection and praise. The cat would have to see. Once he proved himself more useful, he would come out on top.
That was how Vanya Peterson came into existence. He could transform into any shape but there was nothing he could do about the coloring. It came out as close to his true form as possible while still fitting whatever creature he transformed into. Because of his white hair and red eyes in his demon form, he kept ending up as an albino. He learned what that meant from the internet.
Erevan took very good care of his mistress in his human female form and managed to annoy Calvin at the same time. It was a win-win.
Though he had to admit he wouldn't have gotten the position without Stella's cooperation. She wouldn't let him hear the end of it either. He knew that to get chosen out of all the possible candidates he needed to have an edge up, which was why he proposed the plan that she acted as if she liked him.
She only went along with it because she knew he was serious about taking care of Molly. He was less of a gamble than humans she knew nothing about even if she did still refer to him as 'Monster.'
She wouldn't stop lording it over him either. He was reminded rather unpleasantly of the demon king when they were children.
Erevan couldn't be too bothered though because the cat finally acknowledged he was useful to have around. Take that, doubtful feline! Of course he was useful. He was Erevan the Bloodbringer, the mightiest demon in the realm!
Well, he had been anyway. He hadn't killed anyone since escaping the battlefield because the master he currently served was far more peaceful in nature. Honestly, he preferred it this way. He had bathed in more than enough blood for a lifetime already for the demon king's sake.
He had never wanted to kill anyone. When the old demon king's servant found him half-starved and beaten, left for dead on the side of a road, he had been a pansy unwilling to fight even to survive.
Weak. Pitiful. Unable to protect himself or his deceased younger brother. He would have been better off dead.
Despite young Erevan's weakness, the demon king sensed great power in him and told him he would have access to the best magic and combat teachers in the realm if he swore to serve and protect his son, then the crown prince. He had been so desperate to grow stronger that he accepted the old king's offer. He hadn't realized what it would cost him over the years.
If Molly knew that blood-soaked hands were preparing her food and pawing her face to wake her up, she would likely be horrified. From what he had seen in his time in the human world, his mistress was a kind and gentle soul.
No matter. She would never discover the truth unless he revealed it personally and he had absolutely no reason to do that.
Erevan prepared a hearty breakfast for his mistress, who sat at the kitchen table listlessly. He didn't like seeing that forlorn expression. It meant something was bothering her. He couldn't fix what he wasn't aware of.
"Mistress Molly, is something on your mind?" he asked as gently as he could manage.
Molly sighed and gave him the ghost of a smile. "You're very good at seeing through me, you know that? I'm bummed that Calvin can't go out with me today. I was kind of counting on it since it's no fun going places by yourself and I don't have anyone else to go with."
It was true that she was rather isolated. Aside from her attendants, her only contact was that suspicious human male. She didn't have any other friends.
"I could go with you," Erevan suggested. "Unless you think it would cut into my work too much. I planned to get the laundry done today but I can still make that happen even if we do go somewhere."
Her expression immediately brightened. "You would really do that?"
"Of course. It's my job to provide whatever you need and right now it seems like you need someone to accompany you out."
Molly rewarded him with a brilliant smile. "Thanks, Vanya! I really didn't want to go alone but I did want to go to the zoo today. I could really go for some cotton candy."
Erevan didn't know what cotton candy was but if his savior wanted some, he would do anything to procure it for her. "You're very welcome, Mistress."
He anxiously watched her eat breakfast and sighed in relief when she dug in with gusto. Her appetite wasn't as good as usual when she was upset so it seemed that agreeing to go with her had cheered her up sufficiently after all.
She thanked him for the food and headed upstairs to get dressed since she had been in her pajamas all this time. She put on a pair of jeans and a red hoodie with some sort of abstract drawing on the front. Her hair was tied back in a braid and her hands were in her pockets as she asked if he was ready to go.
He was so he followed her out to the garage and offered to do the driving if she told him where to go. She did but otherwise didn't talk on the way there.
It was strange having her be this silent. She talked to him a lot when he was in cat form but much less so in human form. Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around since as a human he could actually respond to her?
Perhaps Erevan wasn't being relatable enough. She certainly talked to Calvin when he was around. He had tried very hard to learn human speech patterns though. As a result, he had started using contractions and speaking less formally for the most part.
He had looked up what people did at the zoo while Molly was getting dressed earlier so he would know was he was getting himself into. That gave him some idea of how to start a conversation.
"What's your favorite zoo animal?" he asked.
She didn't seem terribly surprised by the question, which meant it was a normal one to ask. Good.
"Probably a tiger. Call me a crazy cat lady but I love all cats, big and small. Tigers are particularly beautiful but I also like lions, cheetahs, panthers and so on. They're all so majestic! Sometimes it's hard to believe they're related to my little housecats at all."
Erevan was vaguely insulted at being called both a "little housecat" and at the implication that he wasn't majestic. He hadn't chosen his cat form on purpose, okay? But he supposed Molly wouldn't have saved him if he wasn't a cat. If he had looked like his usual self, she likely would have screamed and run away since demons were nothing but fiction in this world.
"Are you saying Stella isn't a majestic and noble creature?"
Molly laughed. "I think she's a bit too cuddly for that. Casper better fits that mold. He's the least cat-like cat I've ever seen."
Oops. Was he not playing his part well enough? He didn't lick himself or play with toys the way Stella did but it was beneath his dignity as a former great demon general. She didn't seem to be suspicious of his identity though, which was a relief.
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