Chapter 99
“Ppiyat! Ppiya ssit. Ppiyaaaa!” (The fox friend is precious to both father-in-law and husband. Asil doesn’t want to see father-in-law and husband sad!)
“……”
Ikart could not continue speaking.
He was flustered, but the goodwill didn’t feel bad.
A smile kept trying to form on his lips.
To hide it, he covered his mouth as if washing his face dry.
Then he deliberately asked coldly.
“How do you know this silver helmet flower has no poison? The little one could be trying to kill Rain on purpose.”
“Ppiyaat ppiya!” (Asil would never do that!)
Seeing the soaked little divine beast roaring fiercely somehow made him feel pleasant despite the timing.
He now understood why Edenber and Father liked this little one so much.
And how heartbroken Edenber would be if this child returned to the forest.
He unknowingly muttered.
“If you leave, Edenber will lose a precious divine beast.”
“……!”
“No matter what happens, I will pretend I don’t know your true identity. I won’t stop you from returning to the forest.”
He carefully put away the glowing silver helmet flower and took off the coat he was wearing, draping it over Asil’s head.
“Ssit!”
“I’ll gratefully accept the flower.”
Then he leaped toward where Rain was waiting.
Would Edenber be able to endure it if that child really left?
Icart suddenly had that thought.
* * *
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince was dealing with the anxious Duke Skya.
“I drew blood as you instructed and handed it to the mage… but can we really summon a divine beast with that?”
Even though it was the imperial mage, having blood drawn from someone still felt unpleasant.
Moreover, as far as he knew, when Duke Monlepe used summoning magic, there was no such procedure.
The Crown Prince, leisurely crossing his legs, spoke soothingly.
“Of course. Didn’t I say we’re just waiting for the right time now?”
“But…But the sacred trial is almost here.”
The Duke, whose face had become gaunt from all the mental suffering, trembled his lips.
“In the meantime, my wife is demanding divorce, and my son hasn’t even shown his face, saying he’s getting his leg treated—”
“I will never abandon you, Duke, so don’t worry.”
Of course he wouldn’t abandon such a rare experimental subject.
The Crown Prince smiled brightly.
“Just trust me and follow well. Then everyone will look up to you again like before.”
“But the sacred trial…”
“I will do everything in my power to make sure you obtain a divine beast before the trial begins.”
It was a reliable voice, yet Duke Skya’s complexion remained pale.
He moved his lips silently as if wanting to complain more.
But in the end, he couldn’t say anything and only drooped his head weakly.
“…I will… only trust Your Highness.”
“Good. You may go now.”
With a bright smile, the Crown Prince saw the Duke off.
But the moment the door closed, his face turned demonic as he glared at the mage hiding behind the curtain.
“What the hell is going on? I mixed the Duke’s blood into the ink as you told me and drew the magic circle, yet there’s no reaction at all!”
BAM! The enraged Crown Prince slammed the armrest of his chair.
“According to you, Fear should have gone to the Skya ducal house long ago! Instead, he’s only moaning and hasn’t regained consciousness!”
“It’s because his consciousness and unconsciousness are fighting.”
The mage stepped out from behind the curtain.
He wore a smile on his lips as if this unexpected result was amusing.
“It’s a phenomenon that appears maybe once in a hundred cases—so fascinating. Perhaps the Lady Erzebet who was with him used some trick—”
“Whether she used a trick or not, can’t you control even one variable like that?”
The displeased Crown Prince snapped sharply.
“So we just sit and wait until Fear wakes up?”
The Crown Prince wanted the sacred trial to proceed just as little as Duke Skya himself did.
When else would he get to see such a rare experimental subject—a duke who lost his divine beast—if not now?
Once the Duke was locked in the abandoned tower, movement would be restricted, so the only time he could experiment freely was now.
The mage smiled gently.
“That is not the case. There is a way to forcibly wake Fear.”
“If there’s such a way, why didn’t you say—!”
“It’s just that I didn’t mention it because it requires taking a slight risk…”
The mage’s red eyes, glowing ominously, were half-hidden by his eyelids.
He gave a dangerously charming smile.
“If you wish, I will wake him.”
Chapter 9.
She succeeded in giving the silver helmet flower to Icart’s fox, Rune, but she still hadn’t delivered it to Fear.
Because Fear kept thrashing dangerously without regaining consciousness, he had been placed in isolation at the temple.
“Dad will help so the flower lasts until
Fear wakes up.”
Arcian used magic for Asil, who was worried the silver helmet flower would wilt.
Thanks to that, Asil put the unwilting silver helmet flower into her sub-space and was waiting for Pier to wake up.
‘He has to wake up before Asil goes back.’
“Ssitchu!”
The cold she caught while making the silver helmet flower bloom still hadn’t fully healed.
Asil rubbed her red nose.
At that exact moment, the baby rabbit that had been playing with yarn and ended up completely tangled screamed.
“Kyuu!”
“Ppiya!” (Asil will help you!)
Asil dropped the yarn wrapped around her front paw and ran over.
That’s right.
Asil was currently making yarn dolls as farewell gifts for the humans.
Her small black front paws quickly unwound the yarn tangled around the rabbit.
But before long, she got tangled in the same yarn together with the rabbit.
“Kyuuuuuu!”
“Ppiyaaaaa!”
Rabbit friend, stay still for a second—you’re making it more tangled!
Asil firmly held the struggling rabbit with her front and back paws so it couldn’t move, then untangled the yarn mess.
Only after struggling for a long time was she finally able to escape yarn hell.
“Ppihya, ppihya, ppihya……”
“Kyuu……”
The dejected rabbit crawled into a corner.
It had tried to help make the doll, but ended up being a hindrance instead.
Asil gently patted the rabbit’s back.
“Ppiyatppi ppii. Ppiya ppiyaa.” (Thank you for trying to help. But Asil wants to make these alone.)
Since they were gifts to express gratitude to the humans, she wanted to make them entirely with her own strength from start to finish.
That was why, even though it was hard, she was stubbornly working in her original form without humanizing.
Because the one who became close with Monlepe’s humans was baby dragon Asil, not Lady Erzebet.
‘That knight human has a big nose, so I should attach this button. The other knight human has small eyes, so I need a really tiny button. And also—’
While thinking about various things, Asil’s eyes landed on golden yarn that was exactly the same color as Edenber’s hair.
Asil unconsciously made a sullen face.
That was when she heard footsteps of someone coming this way.
“……!”
Her ears perked up at the familiar steps.
Asil quickly took the baby rabbit and hid under the sofa.
She covered the mouth of the rabbit who was asking “Why, why?’ and waited for the person to pass.
But the footsteps stopped right in front of the divine beast’s room.
After a brief hesitation, the person knocked lightly and opened the door.
It was Edenber.
His complexion looked extremely poor, as if something was weighing heavily on his mind—far worse than when they talked at the auction house.
He looked around the room once and muttered.
“…Not here.”
Then he paused when he saw the brown yarn leading under the sofa.
Oh no! Only then did Asil realize she had yarn wrapped around her front paw and slapped it.
But it was already too late.
“……”
Edenber, who had been staring gloomily under the sofa, turned his gaze away.
Then, pretending didn’t see anything, he turned and left the room.
Only after the click of the door closing did Asil cautiously peek out and confirm that Edenber was completely gone.
Then she wiped her forehead, now moist with cold sweat, and let out a deep sigh.
“Ppihyuuuu.”
“Kyuu?”
The rabbit tapped Asil’s front paw, asking why she was hiding. Asil answered with a slightly sullen face.
“Ppiya ppii ppiya.” (I have to tell him I’m going home, but I don’t know how to say it.)
Dad promised to pretend to be Asil and act as Monlepe’s boss, but she couldn’t just disappear with a poof without saying anything.
She had to at least hint a little.
But whenever she imagined the expression her husband would make when heard she was leaving, her heart stung.
“Ppiya.” (Asil is a stupid dragon.)
Asil tightly hugged the yarn that was the same color as Edenber’s hair.
☆▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎☆
