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Ask my muse invasive questions! Nothing is off limits and they have to answer honestly-

No matter how uncomfortable they are! Happy TMI Tuesday~

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Gusion shook his head. "You are asking a lot. What are you defining as 'the end'? How far ahead are you trying to see? The farther you look the murkier the future can become. There are decisions yet to be made and they can change what is happening. The last thing you need is to be riddled with indecision over the possibilities or become obsessed with a specific future and try to force others around you to conform to its outcome."

He rose and a few imps wandered into the room to tend to the Duke's feathered cape as he stood. "As for what you have already done, I can grant you access to your possibilities. These are rows of books that contain the untold stories of your life. These are the decisions you did not make or futures that were closed to you. One word of warning I will give you is to be extremely careful. It is far too easy for someone to become lost in what could have been and be left with nothing but regret."

Gusion's eyes narrowed. "Do you understand me, Caim?" Again, he knew the answer, but only because he asked the question in the first place. Still his delivery contained a practiced emotion to it. It needed to in order for the question to actually make an impact.

"I want to see if Yukitaka will be happier in the end following the current state of affairs, or if he would have been happier if I had married Andrealphus and he was raised among the goetia." She needed to see the outcome of both paths, for it would tell her if she had made the right choice. Caim was well aware that seeing what would have been might be more damning than good, but that was a risk she was willing to take.

If it turns out that Yukitaka would have been better off being raised a goetia, then she would have to see if there was a way to curb what had happened. Perhaps her father could work something out to get her position restored, and perhaps Andre would agree to take her hand again.

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"Bring it to me."

"My Lord?"

"Bring it to me."

"You cannot mean-"

"You know I do not take this lightly."

"Yes, Sire."

Gusion looked over the grimoire- and its most dire prophecies. "What did this act ensure?" He mutters, staring grimly over the tome.

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Gusion crosses his arms. "I am half tempted to make it a command. Your problems are about to make my life a lot more chaotic, so the least you can do is take care of yourself so I won't be the one handling it all."

He waved his talon again and several other little mirrors shone in front of them, showing different bustling mortal cities. "These are a few of my personal favorites. The mortal realm is a good place to find rest if you know where to go." It was also convenient that as immortal demons with almost no known way of being harmed by them, they could also afford to be adventurous if one was feeling particularly bold. Though, the duke felt that was the last thing Andrealphus wanted. "Where do you want to go? I had been considering Tokyo. It has been nearly fifty mortal years since I was last there in earnest. Besides that, does your ex-fiance not also live there? She and her wife may appreciate a visit."

The question caught him off guard. Andrealphus knew it had been quite some time since he last took a vacation. In fact, it had been Caim who dragged him out of his office and into the human world when he overdid it with work, and that was a good few years ago. The marquis was long overdue, but with the current state of affairs he simply couldn't drop everything and leave.

...could he?

"...is this a suggestion, or an invitation?" he asked, looking skeptically at the duke. Yes he now has a steward who could take over most of his affairs, which would make leaving to go on a vacation a non issue, but again Andrealphus felt responsible to keep pushing through his work. Besides, it wasn't like the duke was actually inviting him on any sort of vacation.

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B-But Daddy Gusion, I love you!

"I SAID BEGONE!"

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Could I please call you 'Daddy,' Gusion?

"You will refer to me as Duke Gusion, Your Grace, Your Highness, or My Lord. Nothing else. Now begone."

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"That is correct." Gusion stated between another mouthful of his own food. One more gulp before he continued. "When you return very little time will have passed on your side. At least if the spells to do so are prepared correctly."

He already knew the answer Yukitaka was going to give, but he wouldn't do so without the choices being provided. It was always a chore when one half of the conversation had basically already experienced it. At this point the Duke was simply going through the motions. Half the time it felt like reading from a script.

Small wonder he was so distant with his own family.

"Where else would you go that is safe?" He countered. "I can foresee all possible guests that would arrive so we would have ample warning if you had the possibility of being discovered. I can offer you an itinerary of safe rooms to be a specific times in case of such events. Furthermore very few can navigate the whole of my library without my guidance. This is going to be the best place for you moving forward. When someone finally does discover you, it would be best for them to only know that you are my ward and that to question me further is not permitted." This implied that he wouldn't be discovered by anyone higher ranking than the Duke. Hopefully the young man would pick up on it.

When both of them settled, Yukitaka was the first to begin putting food on his plate. However, before he could give the customary phrase, the Duke's words captured his attention. He knew that there were some goetia, namely the king himself who cared little for his existence. It was why he spent the majority of his days in the human realm and rarely visited his father. It only made sense that his existence be hidden.

When the duke mentioned 'this time,' it all suddenly made sense. The reason his father seemed off to him was due to the fact that the man sitting next to him was his father from the past; the father he knew was still in Yukitaka's present, no doubt panicking alongside his mother as to where their son ended up.

"So wait a second: I travelled through time?" He already knew the answer, but the teen still wanted some form of confirmation none the less.

When it came to where he would stay, Yukitaka's first instinct was to say his father's place. However, that would interfere with his younger self, and put him at risk of being discovered. He also didn't like the idea of staying with this duke's children, who were just as much strangers as the goetia before him.

That left only one option. "You are offering for me to stay with you?"

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Gusion knew there was some truth to this, but at the same time he would have to temper 'pay no mind to lords and nobles' to mean that title and politics should be a secondary concern. That was dangerous. Then again, so was Athena. The girl was far too ambitious for her own good. She would need someone to challenge her and temper her like the queen said. He did have his son Memnon for a more politically-minded match after all. He could afford this.

The problem was that his daughter's future seemed so... fragmented. He couldn't get a solid look into what she would or could do even in short bursts. "Perhaps you should go have a talk with her yourself at some point, my Queen. Words from you, even if it were the same thing I would say, may carry more weight than mine own- not only from your status, but as a fellow woman."

Of course, such a favor from the queen wouldn't come freely. He would have to owe Vine.

Vine could foresee things going multiple ways.

Either Athena was going to continued as she always had, with a great deal of arrogance, waiting for a foe to strike her down properly. Or she was going to meet someone with an equal level of audacity, and find herself in better company, and with one enemy less. Save of course, for duels in the bedroom.

"I suggest, you find someone with teeth to match her edge-" She said wisely. "-pay no mind to lords and nobles. Just find someone as vicious, cunning and cutthroat as she is. She will never fear for growing slack with someone like that." Vine giggled. "In fact, the moment she starts seething about them, the better. Her tune will change with prolonged exposure to a proper challenger."

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Gusion didn't like social calls. He often found them distracting from a lot of very important work. Besides, if he had planned on seeing anyone ahead of time, he would have read about it in his grimoire. Though he did see that would need to, to his great irritation, speak with Focalors regarding some upcoming events.

He stood at the other end of a table with all the necessary hospitalities already prepared. The Duchess's preferred choices of teas and snacks- but not too overboard as to make it look like pandering, as well as an environment suited to civil discussion.

"When it's important." He answered curtly, "You likely already know why I of all people who bother to speak with you- to prevent you from doing something stupid."

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Focalors was not one to mingle with most goetia, only showing up to functions and meetings when summoned. While there were a few she got along well with, Gusion wasn't one of them. She found her fellow Duke to be far too stuffy and uptight, not unlike Paimon whom she also cared little for but listened to out of respect for their stations.

When she found herself on his doorstep, a heavy sigh left her beak as she was shown in and to his study.

"Dare I ask why you summoned me out of the blue?" she asked, her tone one of boredom as she placed a hand on her hip.

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Gusion is simply flipping through his grimoire, looking up when he will be called to actually mediate this whole mess and do his job.

He's still looking.

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Gusion nodded. It was the usual reason someone came to him.

He unfurled his hand and his grimoire appeared in his hand in a plume of magical flame. He remained unblinking as he opened it and the pages started to flip on their own. "I can tell you what is certain. However, there are some parts of the future that will hinge on certain events taking place or decisions being made. You are going to have to be more specific with what you are seeking."

It was an uncomfortable paradox. He knew what she was going to say, but only because she said it and he read that in his grimoire. Bemoaning the reality of causeless effect, he awaited the response he knew was coming.

At the question, Caim took a deep breath. "I...wanted to know if I made the right choice, or if what I've done has doomed myself, my son, and Andre in the long run." She knew that there was no going back to undo what she had done, but Caim still sought some form of closure none the less. She had thought she'd find it here, for she heard that the Duke could see all possible timelines and events. If she could know just where it would all lead, and if her son would be happy in the end, then maybe she could cast out her guilt and shame.

"I just want to know if this path will work out."

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Gusion saw the merit in Vine's words. What his heir wanted and needed were not the same thing. He knew Athena did not want an equal. She wanted someone she could command. He wondered how resistant she would be to trying to deal with someone who would challenge her.

He wondered if it would be worth consulting the grimoire about this. He would probably have to- already knowing how well things could work or not would be expected of him.

"I suspect you already have some names in mind." Sure he could have tried to foresee her answers, but it was honestly tiring to be the "all-knowing" one in a conversation. Let her do it for a change.

At the mention of "eligible" sons, Vine had to roll her eyes. "The problem with the word 'eligible' is that it rarely coincides with aspects of 'compatible'." She said, educating him in the sense that only a female could. "Your Athena may wind every son of marrying age around her fist like a pack of well-minded hounds, but they will never be her equal if she sees them only as a means to an end."

A proper equal. Someone who would challenge her, and urge her to pursue greater heights.

"Find your daughter an eligible rival, I would suggest. Someone to provoke her. The rest will come on its own."

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Interrogate my muse!

ask about their relationships, crushes, past, regrets… anything! nothing is off limits!

[keeperofanswers]

IT'S CONFESSION TIME.

Slip a 🎙 into the inbox so my muse can confess something to yours. It can be a dark secret, or a guilty pleasure. Anything goes.

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Gusion tilted his head at the Queen's light-hearted jab. Even if she did plainly speak her mind and likely genuinely meant it, it was more an observation than a criticism. "I get around fine, thank you." Even if that was normally during his trips to the mortal realm to get even further away from his fellow goetia.

The thought of Vine intentionally giving his children bad matches to spite him was a worrying, if predictable response. Digging into possibilities later would have to happen. "So long as she does not wish to spear him more than bed him and the difference in station isn't unfathomably inappropriate I am certain she could do worse. I know a small handful of Dukes and Earls with eligible sons."

Vine laughed. "Is it a choice, if all Goetia girls would turn green at the idea of marrying you?" At least with mistresses, there might be the option of leaving to marry later. "If you're looking for a role model, perhaps you ought not look to my brother for all that!"

At the idea of matchmaking for Athena, she gave a sly grin.

"Careful Gusion, my dear-" She teased. "-I may pair her up with someone who would give you fits."

It wouldn't be hard. A step down from Athena's station would be all she had to do to give Gusion half a heart attack.

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Send "Words of Wisdom" and my muse will give you/your muse some advice.

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As much as the Great Duke of Hell was known for seeing the future, he could see the past just as easily. He knew the illnesses would begin- there was no stopping it. However, now it was time to discover what was behind this rampant string of poisonings. It was too widespread to be a simple accident. The culprit could be found simply enough, but that was not the point. Mitigating the damage was. He could not have mobilized before it happened- no one would have allowed him to, stubbornly insisting the clairvoyant couldn't possibly be using this to his own ends. He couldn't blame them. But now that the illness was spreading? He could act.

Gusion's grimoire flared to life as it floated between his outstretched arms. "QUARE!"

Images were cast along every surface of the grand library. Every book, every page, every map, every window, and on the floors and ceiling played images and trails of information. Illnesses tracing backward to tainted food which in turn followed their routes of distribution backward while an army of Gusion's contracted staff and servants began taking substantial notes.

"Send all information you can to all of these locations! Use the transport glyphs! Legions! Confiscate anything shown to contain the contagion and burn it! Leave nothing unturned. Break into shops and homes if you must!"

He allowed the images to continue to fill the library with increasing speed as his commands echoed through the entire massive manor.

"Poisoner, you will be found in due time, there is no doubt. But that will not be my role to play. Mine is curbing the aftermath of your madness."