Dark Path to Heaven [Demon Romance]

Chapter 22

Chapter Music: "The Enchanted Princess" by Derek Fiechter

It would be dishonest of me not to admit that I felt like the center of the world most of the time. A lot of people do but only a few of them deserve to believe that. The world from my perspective only had a handful of such 'centers', namely, admirable personalities. I did not believe in concepts like equality or unconditional solidarity. I would often find myself wishing for such a possibility but, unfortunately, it was nothing more than a utopia. People are not equal. They deserve the same opportunities, of course, but their nature is different. And not all kinds of 'different' are equal. 

I was unable to accept that someone who unreasonably bullied their peers deserved the same treatment as someone who minded their own business or helped those in need. I could never admire an idiot without critical thinking as much as someone who kept searching for the meaning of life in everything he did, even if that effort was mostly fruitless. I understood that each one of us was born in a different social environment but not all poor people become thieves and not all only children grow spoilt. Either we like it or not, we were all born with several characteristics which the environment cannot erase but fade or enrich, depending on the circumstances.

Of course, beauty, fame, and riches mattered little to me – those were things I neither had nor wanted. And I was definitely not the smartest or the one with the best personality in the world. In fact, I probably wasn't even close to the top. But the population is vast and the number of people I knew very limited. As a result, I had always felt special compared to those around me. Even before my appearance in that foreign academic library, this was the attitude I had adopted. And, although I wasn't yet certain, I had a feeling that this new world wasn't much different in its essence from the previous one.

Thus, it was important for me to keep all of this in mind every time I examined my feelings for someone and vice versa. For a number of reasons, I believed I was special and that was exactly why my image of others depended on their image of me. In this case, if Mr. Astar liked me, that would make me admire him even more. If he didn't, not only would he be one of those pitiful men who make a habit of manipulating others, but he would also be brainless enough not to recognize my value. The more he liked me, the more I would like him back. I couldn't imagine these emotions to be unconditional.

At that moment, the butterflies in my stomach and the almost creepy smile I felt carved on my face were enough to prove my growing feelings for that man. But, more importantly, the basis of such reactions was the admiration and respect I now nurtured for him. I was fond of him partly because I was positive enough that he was fond of me too.

~~~

The next day felt like it was going to be nothing like the previous one. Even though I loved the way I felt around Mr. Astar and everything new he would teach me, I had missed the old days when I stayed at home relaxing and reading an interesting book. Nothing dangerous would happen today and I would do my best to enjoy that freedom. I wanted to talk to Merihem and thank him but I planned to finish my 'homework' first. I still felt a little tired, anyway, and I was hesitant to leave my apartment and start walking around just yet.

After tidying my room and getting a big cup of hot chocolate from the cafeteria I lay down on my bed and wore the ring I had been given. The title of the book was 'Delicate Wings Crushed' and it appeared to be the first one of a series. Just from these words, I could tell that it was probably going to be quite compelling. It wasn't big at all which meant that the author would stick to the point and avoid unnecessary information. I'm intrigued.

The tale was about a princess in a world where peoples were divided into small kingdoms. Her own kingdom was one of the most beautiful yet social inequality was present. Social mobility was nearly unknown to citizens and, hence, each generation was forced to live a destiny which was already written for them. The whole concept was not foreign to me. In fact, it was pretty common among the nations of Earth, especially in the past.