Chapter 80
“Pyarrrrrrk…”
Elsewhere, the baby dragon glared at Eddenberr as if she might devour him whole.
From a distance, Elcai saw the scene and clutched the back of his neck, assuming that Asil must have been hurt.
Good heavens, this foolish grandchild of mine! How could he say something like that in front of everyone?
Caron, who had been frozen in place, forced a smile.
“So, we’re… friendly rivals?”
At that, the baby dragon turned her head sharply toward him.
Now both the dragon and Edenber were glaring at Caron—turning the moment into a sudden two-against-one staring contest.
Caron sneered openly.
“Still, I didn’t expect you’d go so far as to attack me with your divine beast. For someone so famously bound by rules, to break them like this—! I won’t let it slide. I’ll file a complaint… a complaint… I’ll…”
Caron’s eyes grew hazy, his words slurring as if his mind had gone blank. Then, as though waking from a dream, he shook his head briskly and declared:
“A complaint… about size would be most improper!”
“…What are you talking about?”
“I mean, if you’re going to complain that your divine beast is too small, that would make things awkward for both sides.”
What on earth was he saying?
Everyone, tense and on edge, turned to him in bewilderment.
Asil quickly looked at the baby dragon.
The dragon gave her a confident thumbs-up, as if to say Don’t worry, I’ve got this.
Unaware that his memory had been magically tampered with, Caron removed his glove and tossed it at the dragon’s feet.
“As the heir of House Skya, I hereby challenge the duke’s divine beast to a duel!”
“What?”
“I’ve heard you defeated Fear, but combat is a different matter entirely. Let’s hope your beast doesn’t end up bawling and running away.”
With that, Caron turned and strode out of the ballroom.
A clean, theatrical exit.
The guests could only stare as he disappeared, dumbfounded.
Both Ailpecia and Caron seemed to have completely lost their senses today.
☆☆☆
The sudden news of the duel threw House Skya into utter chaos.
When Eddenberr’s letter arrived—politely agreeing to the duel and asking for the time and place—the Duke of Skya exploded.
“What on earth did you say to them?!”
He was already tearing his hair out trying to find a way to placate the Crown Prince, and now this?
He’d sent Caron to the Monlepe ball merely to cause a minor disturbance—and the boy had returned with a formal duel challenge instead.
It was like lightning out of a clear sky.
Clutching the back of his neck, the duke glared at his son, who stammered in confusion.
“I… I don’t really know, Father. That’s not what I meant to say at all—”
“If even you don’t know what you said, who would?! A duel with a divine beast—have you gone completely mad?!”
“Send Eter instead.”
The duchess, who had been silent until now, spoke up coolly.
The duke turned to her, incredulous.
“Eter?”
“He meant to challenge the beast to a divine-beast duel, but the words came out wrong in his excitement. Duke Monlepe surely knows how absurd a man-versus-beast duel would be.”
“If I were the beast’s master, perhaps. But right now—”
“Then it’s all the better,” the duchess interrupted, her tone cold as ice.
“His resonance with the beast is high. Every time the divine beast exerts its power, his body will bear the strain.”
Her eyes gleamed, the look of a woman spinning a sinister plot.
“They say Monlepe’s divine beast is extraordinarily powerful. To fight such a creature, Eter will have to unleash tremendous force—force so great that its master might not survive it.”
“…You mean to kill her through the duel?”
“Yes. And then his power will pass on—to Caron, or to you.”
“Hmph. It’s not a bad idea. But will that boy Briden really fight with all his strength?”
“Use Lilibet as leverage.”
The duchess clicked her tongue, as if chiding a child for worrying about trivialities.
“Very well. I’ll reply to Monlepe immediately.”
She wasn’t wrong about anything.
Satisfied, the duke picked up his pen and sent his answer—setting the duel for the earliest possible date, at a lakeside location where Aether would have the advantage.
Then he headed straight for the second floor.
He needed to make sure the two children at the heart of this plan were still where they should be.
He unlocked the door to the room where the siblings had been confined.
Ever since it was revealed that they had raised the giant beast Ark, he had locked them up under the pretense of “disciplinary reflection.”
Summoning a divine beast without permission was insolent enough—but after all the chaos they caused, he’d cast away even the faintest trace of pity.
But then—
“—!”
The room was empty.
No children. Only the chill of the night wind sweeping through the broken window.
A makeshift rope of curtains and bedsheets dangled out into the darkness.
They had escaped under his watch.
The duke’s face turned crimson with rage.
“Guards! Outside! The children have fled!”
Knights holding lanterns unleashed the hounds and scoured the grounds.
Before long, Briden and Lilibet were caught, mere moments before they could escape through a warp gate out of the capital.
The siblings clenched their teeth in despair, their last shred of hope crumbling before their eyes.
“How dare you repay kindness with betrayal!”
The duke roared, livid.
“Lock them in the cellar! No food, no water until I say otherwise!”
“Brother, I—”
“No.”
Briden stopped Lilibet as she reached to summon Aether.
“You’re not well enough. You’ll collapse again.”
“….”
Lilibet bit her lip hard, holding back tears.
And so the two were dragged away into the cellar.
Ever since the Monlepe ball, Asil had been sending letters to Lilibet and Briden every day, worried about their supposed “house arrest.”
But no reply ever came.
This feels bad. Really bad.
Her beastkin instincts—the keen intuition of a predator—were blaring like an alarm.
After much hesitation, Asil went to visit House Skya in person.
Instead of the siblings, it was Caron who came out to meet her.
“Lady Asil came to see my brother and Lady Lilibet?”
“Yes!”
“I’m truly sorry, but I can’t go against Father’s orders. Their confinement will be lifted soon; perhaps visit again then.”
And when exactly will that be?
Asil couldn’t just walk away. Not when she knew all too well what kind of man the Duke of Skya was.
She began to rack her brain for a way to meet the siblings.
Caron, meanwhile—eager to find any way to impress her—ventured a suggestion.
“You’ve come all this way. Would you care for a short walk in the garden?”
“Mm.”
Asil nodded quickly. She could use the chance to look around for Bryden and Lilibet.
As they strolled through the quiet garden, Caron began to openly mock House Monlepe.
“Our family’s divine beast is far more impressive than that short, pitiful little lizard of theirs. I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but—”
“Hey.”
Asil glared at him.
A short, pitiful little lizard? Wasn’t he just insulting her?
“You’re shorter. And more pitiful. And uglier.”
“…”
“You shouldn’t badmouth lizards in front of Asil.”
She shook her tiny fist at him threateningly.
Then—suddenly—her eyes widened.
She’d caught a faint scent on the breeze.
Brother and Lady Lilibet’s scent…!
Without another word, Asil dashed off in that direction.
Flustered, Caron shouted, “W-wait, my lady! Where are you going?” but she didn’t even hear him.
The trail led outside the mansion—to what looked like a cellar entrance guarded by two knights.
Her stomach twisted.
They’re in trouble. Serious trouble.
Asil’s eyes gleamed fiercely. She had to get them out—now.
“You mustn’t wander off like that!”
Caron caught up and grabbed her shoulder, loud enough for the knights to look their way.
Not good. She couldn’t enter now.
“Okay.”
Feigning innocence, Asil turned away without hesitation.
Asil can’t do this alone.
She needed help—friends who would fight beside her.
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By Anna 💓
