Chapter 112
“What are you trying to do right now?”
“W-well, that’s…!”
Bjorn, cornered, stammered.
He had clearly put the lizard in and locked it properly earlier, so where on earth had it gone.
Did it soar into the sky? Or sink into the ground.
Anyway, since he had stepped forward as a witness, he had to say something.
‘Please help me, Marquis!’
In desperation, he urgently turned to Karon.
But Karon had already turned away long ago with a deeply furrowed brow.
Bjorn, suddenly left to take the full blame, stammered.
“W-well, that is, so… Sir Dylan must have secretly taken it out beforehand. Sensing it would be discovered, he acted before we arrived—”
“Until coming here, Sir Dylan was with me the whole time.”
Edenber said firmly.
“There was no time to hide anything.”
“E-even so… You weren’t together every single hour… Right!”
Bjorn’s face suddenly brightened as he sweated coldly, searching for an escape.
“The very fact that this iron cage is here is the problem! Isn’t it a reflection of Sir Dylan’s intent to poach whenever the opportunity arises?!”
“…….”
At the attitude of clinging desperately, Dylan, genuinely enraged, clenched his teeth.
He approached the iron cage, examined it closely, then opened his mouth toward Bjorn.
“Do you see this, the double lock on the bars?”
“Yes, I see it, but?”
“This is a unique custom only in the western region. Since the western region lives mainly by hunting, they use double locks to prevent other hunters from stealing their prey.”
Dylan glared at Bjorn.
“It’s known that installation and retrieval are difficult, so only westerners use it. Yet coincidentally, Sir Bjorn is from the west. I am from the south.”
“There’s no reason someone from the south wouldn’t use a double lock!”
Bjorn growled in rebuttal.
“Sir Dylan could have specially ordered a double-lock cage to be extra cautious?!”
“Using an unfamiliar iron cage for poaching that needs to be done secretly.”
“W-well, that… He could have practiced in advance…”
“In the south, there are much better things than western cages. If I had really poached, I wouldn’t have used this crude thing.”
“Crude! This is such a well-made cage—!”
Bjorn’s face reddened at the words belittling his judgment. Then he realized his mistake and hurriedly shut his mouth.
But everyone had already heard.
Edenber, now knowing who the real owner of this iron cage was from that reaction, looked coldly at Karon.
“Marquis Skya.”
“…Yes.”
“What is the standard punishment for falsely framing a comrade with a crime during wartime?”
Karon could not answer immediately.
But at the following urging, he mumbled.
“I dislike saying things twice.”
“…If done by action, the hand… if by words, the tongue… is cut off…”
“I see. You seemed to like principles earlier, so handle it according to principle, Marquis.”
Then he left without looking back.
Just before leaving, he glanced briefly under the bed where Asil was hiding, but it was only a fleeting moment.
Dylan, completely cleared of the false accusation, also left the place leading the knights.
With all the Monlepe people gone, Bjorn, suddenly facing the loss of his hand, wailed.
“M-Marquis!”
But Karon left the tent without even glancing at him.
Meanwhile, Asil, who had watched this entire scene from under the bed, swallowed dryly.
Her husband…
He had become incredibly scary while she hadn’t seen him.
* * *
Only after the wailing Bjorn was dragged away and everything became quiet did Asil come out and check the surroundings.
It was infuriating that he had secretly brought her here while she slept, but this was an opportunity.
‘I need to tell them, as an envoy of the beastmen, how this war can end.’
She planned to meet Edenber first.
Though he had become a bit much scarier than the last time she saw him.
‘Still, we’re friends, so he wouldn’t try to roast and eat a baby dragon.’
…Right? Probably?
Asil unknowingly swallowed dryly from tension.
Anyway, now was the time to find Edenber.
Asil lifted her head high and sniffed.
‘Where did my husband go?’
Since he hadn’t left this place long ago, she should find him quickly.
But unexpectedly, it wasn’t easy at all.
There were many humans nearby, and the smells of metal and sweat were chaotically mixed.
In the end, Asil decided to run through the human camp until her paws sweated.
Of course, staying in the bushes to avoid being seen was basic.
Dash, dash.
Whenever she sensed people, Asil poked her head out from the bushes and checked the other party.
And soon became disappointed.
‘They’re all humans I don’t know.’
Even setting aside the Skya marquis family, she didn’t recognize a single one of Monlepe’s knights.
It was because only a very few knights had followed Edenber to the capital 7 years ago.
‘Where on earth is my husband!’
No matter how much she searched, she couldn’t even see a strand of hair, so Asil gradually became upset.
She would be happy to see even Dylan, but everyone was hiding somewhere and not appearing.
After running around for a long time like that, growl, her stomach rumbled.
‘I’m hungry.’
Asil looked down at her hungry stomach gloomily.
Come to think of it, she hadn’t eaten anything since leaving the forest today.
If she had known she would be out this long, she should have brought at least a few strawberries.
Not bringing anything was the problem.
‘Is there anything nearby I can eat?’
It would be good if there were tree fruits or something.
Just as she was looking around with desperate eyes.
‘…Apple smell?’
A sweet apple scent came from nearby. Along with the smells of other delicious-looking fruits.
Asil unknowingly turned in that direction.
And discovered knights wearing the Monlepe ducal house armor sitting around a campfire, chatting quietly.
“Wasn’t the atmosphere earlier really scary?”
“Yeah. I thought the duke wouldn’t find it strange even if he cut down Marquis Skya too.”
They were all humans she didn’t know, but seeing the Monlepe crest still made her feel familiarity.
Asil carefully approached, silencing her footsteps.
One of the knights clicked his tongue.
“It’s probably because he mentioned the lizard.”
“Well, the divine beast he lost a few years ago was a lizard. The honorable name was Asil, I think…”
Huh, why is my name coming up here? And whether it was a misconception or not, the tone was full of respect.
Confused, Asil paused. Then she flinched again upon seeing the basket piled high with fruits behind the humans.
Gulp.
Asil’s throat bobbed greatly.
She was so hungry that thoughts of being roasted as a baby dragon or anything disappeared.
Taking someone else’s things is bad, but—
‘With so many piled up, one should be okay, right?’
Above all, she was an envoy who came to end this standoff.
She once learned in a book that it’s courtesy to treat an envoy bringing important news to delicious food.
‘So eating one apple should be fine.’
Asil stealthily crawled over, grabbed an apple the size of her head.
And crawled under the table and took a big bite.
Crunch.
The refreshing apple scent filled her mouth.
How could this be.
‘It’s so delicious!’
Tears welled in Asil’s moved eyes.
Really, she didn’t know why human fruits felt tastier than those from the forest.
Was it because she ate when hungry?
Asil quickly finished the apple and promptly climbed up to grab another large-looking banana.
‘Just one more.’
I’m an envoy who brought important news.
Rationalizing like that, she went back down and skillfully peeled the banana with her nimble front paws.
Because of that, she didn’t properly hear the humans whispering above.
“They even erected a statue in the training ground saying never to forget.”
“Mmm, because she liked strawberries in life, they place strawberries there every year on the anniversary.”
“It seems he serves her with much more devotion than Lord Raine, I’m curious what kind of person she was…”
“She was truly a legend. She must have gone to a good place by now.”
“Eating lots of delicious things and living happily. Rest in peace. Legendary divine beast.”
“Rest in peace.”
The knights drew the sign of the cross, thinking of Asil.
In the midst of that, they spotted the back of a lizard noisily chomping on a small banana under the table.
What is that?
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