Chapter 127
“Then make up quickly.”
At Asil’s sharp glare, the fight subsided in an instant.
As if they had never been arguing fiercely, the two beastmen, now cooled off, huffed and turned their heads away.
“……Ahem, sorry.”
“Me too.”
“Now hug each other tightly.”
“…….”
“And pat each other’s backs too.”
“…….”
The two beastmen looked as if they had bitten into something sour and unpleasant.
However, because Asil threatened once again that she would not wear the dress unless they reconciled, they had no choice but to awkwardly embrace each other and pat one another’s backs.
Watching the two beastmen, Asil shook her head once more.
Anyway, sometimes I feel more like the adult than Mom and Dad.
* * *
“Ah, hold it properly! The stitches are about to come undone!”
“I’m holding it just fine. You’re the one who needs to sew straight!”
Even while bickering endlessly, the two beastmen continued making Asil’s dress without any hindrance.
Despite all the squabbling, their hands and feet matched so perfectly that it was almost astonishing to watch from the side.
While the dress was being completed, Asil heard from Count Arcian Erzébet about what kind of person the empress was.
The empress had originally been on good terms with the emperor, but after giving birth to the Third Princess Eokaste, they had lived almost like strangers.
This was because, in the imperial family where silver hair was the symbol, Eokaste had been born with dark hair.
Because of that, the empress cherished only her son, the crown prince, and treated Eokaste like an abandoned child.
‘Then the empress probably won’t like me.’
Since the Third Princess, whom she usually regarded as a thorn in her side, had chosen her, there was no way she would be pleased.
Noticing Asil’s thoughts, Count Arcian added further explanation.
“It’s not necessarily because of the Third Princess; the empress was opposed to the Divine Beast Thanksgiving Festival being held in the first place.”
“Why?”
“Because there are only three divine beasts. She doesn’t want to see an incomplete festival.”
This was not only the empress’s opinion but also the view held by the majority of the imperial family.
For that reason, in past years, the Divine Beast Thanksgiving Festival had been entirely omitted several times.
However, not holding the festival did not bring back Skya’s lost divine beast, so the Great Temple had declared that they would resume holding the festival starting this year.
Naturally, the empress was in a foul mood because of this.
While continuing the explanation, Count Arcian suddenly recalled something and briefly changed the subject.
“Speaking of Skya reminds me of something.”
“Hm?”
“Do you remember Skya’s twins?”
He was referring to the siblings Briden and Lilibet, whom Asil had rescued from the basement back when Skya was still a ducal house.
In particular, Lilibet was also the master of Skya’s divine beast, Eter.
“Oppa and Unni!”
Asil’s eyes sparkled brightly.
In the beginning, after the two had left for the Feyrunt count household, they had exchanged letters.
But ever since Asil returned to the beastmen’s forest, the contact had abruptly stopped under the excuse of recuperation.
“Yes. They heard that you had returned to the capital and sent a letter.”
Count Arcian handed over the letter he had kept.
‘I’ll read it in my room later.’
Asil tucked the letter bearing Briden and Lilibet’s signatures into her pocket.
Count Arcian gazed at his daughter with affectionate eyes.
“Anyway, even if the empress says unpleasant things, it is absolutely not your fault, so there’s no need to feel down.”
“I’ll go with you too.”
Briana interjected.
“It’s a tea party in the garden, right? If I stay in my true form perched on a tree, no one will notice.”
“I’ll go too.”
Even Snowa, who had been quietly watching the dress being made from the side, joined in.
“I’ll pretend to be a passing snow leopard and hide behind a tree.”
“Take Dad along too. If you say it’s the family’s sacred lizard, they won’t suspect anything.”
“Kkyu!”
“No, that’s okay. I’m all grown up now.”
While even Todori raised one front paw, insisting on being taken along, Asil, who had rejected everyone’s suggestions, straightened her back maturely.
As a beastman in the midst of her lively adolescent years, she wanted to try doing everything on her own.
“Edenber did everything by himself even when he was much younger than me. I’ll become a wonderful adult just like Edenber too!”
Crack.
The moment Edenber was mentioned, Count Arcian crushed the jewel he had just picked up to attach to the dress.
He had suddenly recalled Edenber, whom he had forgotten about—the one who had dared to visit in the middle of the night for a secret rendezvous with Asil.
Briana and Snowa, who recalled the same scene, also had small veins bulging on their foreheads.
But Asil, not noticing this, continued what she was saying.
“Mom and Dad absolutely cannot follow me. Oppa and Todori too!”
To become a cool adult, she had to overcome hardships like this on her own with ease.
If they followed her, she would never play with them again!
Leaving the now-silent family behind, she took only Todori and scampered up to her room.
* * *
“Kkyuuu! Kkyu!”
While Todori fervently pounded on the desk, protesting why he wasn’t being taken along, Asil opened the letter from the twin siblings.
It began with greetings inquiring about Asil’s well-being and stretched to a very long letter spanning five full pages.
“It seems they’re doing well at the Feyrunt count household.”
Joy practically dripped from every single word, completely different from their formerly gloomy selves.
Just as Edenber had grown impressively, Briden oppa and Lilibet unni must have changed so much that she wouldn’t recognize them either, right?
As Asil turned page after page of the densely written letter, she giggled happily.
To summarize the long letter briefly: thanks to diligent training in the meantime, they could now summon Eter without difficulty.
In addition, they included a question asking for Asil’s opinion on whether it might be okay to come up to the capital soon, since they felt ready.
‘Of course it’s okay to come up.’
Now that Skya had been demoted to a marquisate, there was no way they could harm the two siblings who handled a divine beast.
Ah, while they were coming up anyway, wouldn’t it be even better if they attended this Divine Beast Thanksgiving Festival together with Eter?
Many humans were said to lament that the empire had only three divine beasts, so if Eter appeared, people would undoubtedly be overjoyed.
Asil quickly picked up a quill and wrote a reply to the siblings.
It included greetings, updates on recent events, and a suggestion that if it was all right, they could time their visit to coincide with the Divine Beast Thanksgiving Festival this time.
After finishing the letter shortly afterward, Asil gazed up at the empty air for a moment, pondering.
“What should I bring when I meet the empress?”
She had read in a book that when going to meet a person of high status for the first time, it was good to bring a gift.
It was said to have an even greater effect if it was something the other person truly needed, but she had no idea what would please her.
It would be nice if she at least knew the empress’s preferences.
“Kkyu!”
Todori, whose cheeks were puffed out in dissatisfaction, tapped his snack grass bundle.
If there was nothing to give, take this at least—that was what it meant.
“No, humans don’t eat grass.”
She appreciated the sentiment, but this wouldn’t do.
As Asil shook her head, that was when it happened.
“Do you need a bribe to offer to Her Majesty the Empress?”
Suddenly, a deep voice came from outside the window.
Thinking she had misheard, she froze for a moment, and then someone knocked firmly on the window.
Asil reflexively opened the window.
Then Jet, who had been hanging upside down from above like a spider, suddenly poked his head in.
“Hwaaaaaah!”
Startled, Asil fell flat on her bottom.
Why, why does he always appear like that!
Kkyuuuuuuut! Equally shocked, Todori spat out the grass he had been eating.
Seeing this, Jet looked slightly embarrassed and stammered a little.
“C…… Can I come in?”
When he had been at the Sunrise ducal house, he had always appeared silently in this manner, so he hadn’t realized the other party would be this startled.
“C-Come in!”
Barely calming her pounding heart, Asil quickly brushed herself off, stood up, and glanced up outside the window.
How was he hanging there without wings?
Jet, who had politely saluted, explained why he had come.
“I came to repay the favor for saving Lady Sol. You are going to have an audience with Her Majesty the Empress soon, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Fortunately, we happen to have an item that Her Majesty would likely be looking for.”
He took out a small box from his bosom and held it out to Asil.
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