Before a royal birthday party, one has to dress up accordingly. That's what I'm doing right now.

The moment me and Mr. Skull-Head stepped into the castle, the maids and the guards immediately escorted us to the changing room. And now I currently have some maids confused about me.

"Excuse me, little one. But... Are you a boy or a girl? See, we have lots of options you can pick, but we must set you up appropriately for the prince's party..."

They look so nervous asking me that. But see, I don't even know either.

That's when this chunky maid lady comes in. She wears a long-dress maid gown, differing from the other maid's shorter dress. She doesn't seem too fat but she does have a double chin. With a mole right above the corner of her upper lip, her face it reminds me of that one teacher from Mathilda, and her lips seem to be permanently pouting too. She's even wearing a damn monocle, talk about the snobbiness that's through the roof. And she's supposed to serve me here.

She doesn't say a single word. She only stare at me for a moment. Right now, I'm only wearing my usual black robe that Mr. Skull-Head made, so the silhouette of my body is not visible. But then, Ms. Fatty turns around to the wardrobes of dresses and suits. She rummages through the mass for a bit, throwing back some nice clothes here and there.

Till eventually, she pulls out a pair of nice-looking velvet suit and pants with checkered patterns. The suit's hem elongate backwards to form a fabric tail, only that it's puffed and layered so much that it resembles the back of a gown. And the pants are still there and very much visible.

So much for gender neutrality.

Though the suit doesn't look bad, I wouldn't say it's my style. Ergo, I don't go to these types of formalities that much in my previous life.

And so, the maids dress me in and prepare me a mirror.

Mirror, mirror, who's the fairest of them all?

I guess me, because I look way too pretty for a 6 years old. And I'm not even wearing makeup. The style of the gown is downright gorgeous, it even has these sparkling effects right down its seams. And the suit itself suits me and my color, the gorgeous velvet compliments my ridiculously pale skin and hair. If someone is to look at me from the torso up, they would think I'm a really pretty boy. But if someone looks at me from behind, they'll think that I'm some rich Noble's daughter.

Well, this just makes me curious about what I'll look like when I grow up.

The fat maid chuckles to herself in accomplishment, though I must say that's pretty deserved.

Then I glance at Mr. Skull-Head and widen my eyes.

He looks dapper. Like, I'm shocked that he actually has a sense of style. Granted, these maids probably did the looks for him, but my goodness he's unrecognizable from the apathetic, weird, magician, skeleton-man I know.

He's wearing a white tuxedo covered by a black coat that has a fur lining. His black pants shimmer from the light, showcasing the snake-skin that make out their material. His black gloves are replaced with white gloves instead, contrasting his dark outfit.

And with his lousy black robe gone, everyone can finally see how his ram-skull head clearly separates from his neck and is actually just floating there as a head. Though he might still be terrifying for some, he's wearing a feathered top hat now, that'll probably lessen the terror a little. Very classy indeed.

"Dear esteemed guests, if you're ready, I'll take you to Prince Malach's birthday ball this instant." The fat maid bows in front of us, before giving us a proud smile.

Well, I do admit, you did very very good. Especially on him.

And so we both nod to her, and then she leads us out of the changing room.

Wow, I though the demon King's castle would be much more gloomy. But instead of dark and dirty bricks you see often in fantasy movies, the castle is almost made entirely of shimmering marbles. For the walls, floors, and the ceilings, they're all given different patterns and motives. Combined with the soft lightning of the candles attached to the walls, it makes for a very comforting vibe.

"Enjoy your stay here, esteemed guests," The maid says as she opens the door that leads to the Prince's birthday party.

And of course, the sight is an eyesore, at least for me.

I hate crowds, especially crowds of kids, dancing kids at that.

In this huge ballroom, an anaconda-length table sits in the far back of the room, away from the entrance, carrying on top of it various snacks and dishes, the most important one being a giant cake in the middle, with a giant, number 6-shaped candle on top.

In front of it is the dance floor, where the kids, mostly at the age range of 6 to 10, are paired up with each other, each pair twirling around in perfect harmony with the music.

Why would kids be taught this kind of dance at these kinds of ages?

I guess since these particular kids are rich, they don't have much going in their lives. I'm pretty sure the parents are using this party as an opportunity to seek connections with the Royal Family or with other nobles.

Numbers of round tables are handily prepared for the guests at the sides of the ball room. But the ones sitting are only the adults, as the kids are busy dancing.

Speaking of adults...

"Lord Re-Creator, you've made it."

The lousy demon king literally and suddenly appears out of the thin air in front of us.

"I see you've brought your... Art loving pet with you."

Seriously? What is this guy's deal with me? And didn't you specifically asked me to come? And for the love of God please stop staring at me as if I owe you something.

"Anything to fulfill your request, Your Majesty." Mr. Skull-Head answers.

"Hmm, yes, yes... Anyways, please enjoy yourselves in this birthday party of my third son's," Then he goes closer to me and say, "especially you, dear little Faerie."

Then he disappears suddenly, as if he teleported away.

Well, your departure definitely make my enjoyment goes up a bit.

Anyways, just like how I've always been in my previous life. I set my eyes at the food table. Then I just march my way through the dancing children. Don't care if it's unethical or not. Don't care if everyone's staring at me. I just want the food. Besides, it's not just me who's already eating anyways. Some kids and even adults are eating the dishes standing right beside the food table. If that's not unethical I don't know what is.

"Who's that?"

"What is she wearing?"

"Oh wow, is that a boy or a girl?"

Oh yeah, I'm surrounded by pre-hormonal kids, I forgot.

I'll just pick whatever dish I think looks nice and I'll just hide in the corner of the ballroom.

Now, I'm sit on the comfy chair, my torso barely reaching the table, let's see what I just snatched from the ball table.

Lizard feet-looking things, they are glazed with sweet and sour sauce and frankly they smell amazing. There's also two pieces of meat-pie, they're stuffed with garlic and they might be my greatest sins yet. And for the weirdest one, I decided to get one of the skewered centipedes, I got some barbecue sauce to go with those.

Finally, I've got what I came here for.

"For such a small girl, you're quite the big eater, huh?"

Oh, for God's sake. And just before I take my first bite.

But that's not the King's voice. Surely the King wouldn't turn into a child just to mess with me, right? So I glance to whoever's sitting next to me.

It's a boy with dark grey skin and blackish-green, wavy hair, suited in such a fancy, gold-laced outfit, far more expensive looking than the other kids here. He's staring at me with green eyes that are filled with morbid curiosity, almost like that of the Demon King's. With those black scleras and pair of green horns, I wouldn't judge twice that this kid's also a demon-

Oh shoot, he's the prince the birthday is all about.

I think I just brought trouble upon myself.

"You're not... Talking with the others?" Those words comes out without me thinking twice. Anything to NOT annoy this damn prince.

"I don't know anyone here."

Now he's acting all like the broody loner bad boy. And I have to do anything NOT to mention that.

"Then why come?" I ask again, as I take a bite of my meat-pie

"Dad forced me."

Of course he did.

"Why'd you come here for?" He asks.

"Food." I bluntly answers. To which the boy seems perplexed about.

"Did your parents force you to be here?"

"Sort of." Except that it's your parent that forced me to be here.

"But you still get to enjoy it here. That's still nice, right?" His tone comes out almost bitter.

So, I ask, "Are you not enjoying yourself?"

"No." He sighs, "I'm just here to make dad happy."

Daddy issues. Classic.

And speaking of the devil (literally). The Demon King's voice echoes throughout the ball room, "Ladies and Gentleman of Zagnair, thank you all for coming here for my third son's birthday ball. It is truly, my honor to have you here."

"Well, it's nice knowing you. I'll get going now," The prince in question stands up from his seat, then he begins making his way towards the ballroom's window.

"Now, I do appreciate all the applause and all the joy seeping out from our ladies and gentleman, as well as the little ladies and gentleman. But how is it a birthday celebration without the birthday boy himself?"

I follow the prince towards the window, and I see him opening a panel. He looks back at the nobles watching his father, then he looks at me and smirk.

"My youngest son, Prince Malach, would you come here and greet our guests?"

The moment the King glance towards our direction, the prince jumps out of the window, off into the dept of the castle's night.

And I've never seen the King's angry face, and all I could say is, "Oh, dear..."