iIt had been a while since the day Andreas learned about his mother.
'It seems Arden is finally back to normal.'
For weeks now Arden had been acting differently. Andreas wasn't sure how to describe it precisely he would look at him in a particular way and ask if he was okay, more often than the question warranted. Andreas genuinely didn't understand why he was worried, but it was good news that he seemed to be returning to himself.
Kaela and Barderossa had each asked once and then continued as they always had. That had felt more natural to Andreas.
Is it really that significant that his mother died? His grandfather and great grandfather were dead too and he hadn't known them either. So why was a mother different?
He didn't really know. He wasn't sure he was supposed to know.
"Is something the matter, young master?"
"No, I was just thinking, Arden."
They continued through the streets of Valekor, the territory moving around them with its usual morning energy. Andreas watched it for a while and then a thought surfaced that he realized, with mild surprise, had never occurred to him before.
"Arden, you are a great demon as well, aren't you?"
"Hahaha, yes I am, young master. Every close confidant of the Valekor bloodline has been a great demon. It has always been so."
"Then how many great demons does our house have?"
"It should be around twenty at present."
Andreas counted in his head. Arden, Barderossa, Peruguis, Kaela.
"I only know four. Who are the other sixteen?"
"I have a daughter who works as a mage under Barderossa. Barderossa himself has two sons and his wife is also a great demon. Lord Peruguis has two children Kaela and Rubert and his wife as well. And then there is another confidant of the lord whom you have not yet met. He is Lord Agaresh. His position is somewhat unique, and he has nine other great demons working directly under him."
"What does he do?"
"Lord Agaresh's duty is to maintain and protect the wall that guards us from the great forest. He rarely comes to the palace."
Andreas hadn't known there was another great demon family serving under them. He filed that away.
"Then how many great demons are there in the world altogether?"
Arden took a moment to consider.
"By rough estimate, a little over five hundred."
'That's a lot.'
"And how many archdemons?"
Another moment.
"If nothing has changed significantly, a little over seventy."
"And how many demons altogether?"
"That is considerably more difficult to answer with precision, but the number should be higher than seven million."
A comfortable silence settled between them. They had been walking for some time and had reached the edge of the city. The great wall rose beside them, ancient and thick, and beyond it somewhere lay the great forest. If they climbed high enough they might even be able to see the human countries that bordered the forest on the opposite side.
Andreas looked at the wall for a moment.
"Arden."
"Yes, young master?"
"Why were you worried about me?"
Arden went quiet in the particular way he went quiet when a question arrived from a direction he hadn't expected. He recovered quickly but not quite quickly enough.
"I was simply worried that you might blame yourself for something that was not your fault, young master."
Andreas tilted his head.
"Why would I blame myself for something that isn't my fault?"
Arden looked at him for a long moment with his old face and his grey hair and his short worn horns and his glasses catching the morning light, and something moved behind his expression that didn't quite make it to the surface.
"Perhaps you are right, young master. I must be getting old, worrying over nothing."
"Then are you okay now, Arden?"
"Couldn't be better." He said it simply, without the weight it might have carried. "I was worried for the young master's sake. It seems that truly was for nothing."
They stood together at the edge of the city for a while longer, the wall beside them and the world beyond it, and neither of them said anything more about it.