CBDBS l CH 12

Chapter 12

“It was an attempt to poison Duke Kreutz! Seal the Black Dragon Fortress—don’t let a single rat escape!”

“Yes, sir!”

As expected, the entire fortress erupted into chaos.

The culprit was known to be a kitchen maid, but no one could tell how many accomplices she might have had.

Perhaps it’s just as well—we can uproot the whole place while we’re at it.

Gerard and the captain of the guard seemed to think the same. They ordered the fortress sealed and began questioning every servant face-to-face.

While the keep boiled with noise, Duke Kain’s bedchamber lay heavy and silent.

“It’s a mana neurotoxin,” Gerard muttered, lifting the overturned soup bowl from the floor.

Even wrapped in a handkerchief, his fingertips trembled faintly under its effect.

“Mana… neurotoxin?”

“It destroys the neural structure of mana itself—making it impossible to circulate normally.”

Kain tilted his head slightly, signaling for more detail. Gerard continued grimly:

“It’s strictly forbidden outside of research. Extremely toxic. In minute doses, it’s rumored to enhance a mage’s limits… but the risk…”

He trailed off. Yet everyone in the room, myself included, knew what he meant.

He means Kain.

Had that drug entered his system, the result could only be catastrophic.

He would have lost control…

An image flashed in my mind—half the fortress reduced to rubble, myself included.

The Kreutz line held more mana than any beast clan in existence. And among them, Kain’s reserves were said to rival the very first Black Dragon.

Balanced on the edge of control, even a drop of such poison could ignite it all.

I thought it would just be some mushroom toxin that didn’t react to silver… but this? This is far worse.

I swallowed hard and glanced at Kain.

What thoughts filled his mind, betrayed here in his sanctuary, his safest refuge?

“…Not something an ordinary maid could have acquired.”

Leaning back against the sofa, he closed his eyes.

Only the faint tightening of his brow revealed his thoughts. He was sifting through countless names, weighing who might truly be behind this.

He looked numb—resigned.

But in his voice, a quiet self-mockery bled through.

Born a Black Dragon, this had always been his fate: wealth, honor, unimaginable power—balanced by a lifetime of fear and betrayal.

The air in the room grew colder, heavier.

It was the physician, surprisingly, who broke it.

After a few deliberate coughs, he removed the ice pack from my back and spoke.

“Fortunately, aside from a mild burn on the skin, there’s no lasting harm. Since you possess no mana whatsoever, the neurotoxin had no effect. Naturally—because you are no beastman.”

He chuckled lightly, dabbing ointment on me as though to lighten the mood.

But, as the saying goes, sometimes a stone thrown carelessly kills a frog.

And I, Muriel Eymond, was the frog.

This vile old man…

Not only had he shaved my silky fur bald in patches earlier, now he dared jab at my most painful secret: mana-less.

I glared at him, my eyes narrowed to slits—when suddenly, the conversation swerved.

“How perceptive, to notice the soup was tainted… Truly remarkable. It’s no exaggeration to say this squirrel saved the Duke’s life.”

“…Eh?”

I blinked.

The old physician bowed his head to me with genuine gratitude.

And then—

Large, gloved fingers slid under me. My body lifted smoothly into the air.

“Is that so?”

I didn’t need to look to know who it was.

Only Kain Kreutz would so casually scoop me up by the scruff.

And so I found myself face-to-face with him.

His eyes, usually cold and sharp, softened with something like satisfaction.

“You saved me.”

Then he flicked his gaze toward Gerard.

A faint sigh escaped the steward’s lips.

“…I must acknowledge it. Suspicious as you remain, today at least, you did save the Duke.”

His emphasis on today was deliberate.

Still, his tone carried respect, the kind reserved for high nobility.

“On behalf of all who serve my lord, I, Gerard Viper, offer you my thanks. While you remain in this fortress, you will want for nothing.”

Somewhere in the background, I heard worried murmurs about a “Ferdinand,” but I dismissed it as unimportant.

What mattered was—

“Chrrt, chrrt!”

—Muriel Eymond had gained another subordinate.

***

Days passed after the storm that had swept through the fortress.

In the investigation, the kitchen maid and two accomplices were uncovered.

The maid, it turned out, was a displaced refugee—her homeland destroyed in Kreutz’s conquests.

Though the wars were long past, and Kain himself had not wielded the sword, her hatred had never cooled.

But a mere refugee couldn’t have obtained such a drug.

Indeed, the true mastermind remained hidden.

“The Duke himself passed judgment. Officially… their crime was ‘causing burns.’”

Gerard shook his head as he delicately shelled sunflower seeds for me.

Not attempted regicide—just burns.

Kain Kreutz truly was unfathomable.

“All those involved have been purged… but I doubt the infiltrators in this fortress are finished.”

Agreed.

I nodded gravely, plucking a plump cherry from the dish.

Life had changed completely since the poisoning attempt.

No more cages.

I now roamed the Duke’s chambers freely—no longer a mere animal, but the honored guest who had saved him.

My daily routine? Sleep late, dine like an emperor, sprawl and snack at will.

And today—

“It is an honor to serve you, M-Master Thief Squirrel!”

A maid had been assigned solely to me.

Her name: Ria Viper.

Her short green hair brushed her shoulders; her slanted eyes mirrored Gerard’s exactly. Twins, of course.

But just now… did she call me Master Thief?

I narrowed my eyes. She blurted out a confession.

“Forgive me! I’ve heard so many stories about you, the words just slipped out!”

Then she dropped to her knees and slammed her forehead to the floor with a thud, thud that rattled the bedposts.

So this is the Black Dragon Fortress’ way of apologizing…?

A bit extreme, isn’t it?

I hopped down from the bed and patted her hand with magnanimous grace.

“Chrrt, chrrrt.”

It’s fine. Mistakes happen.

But at that touch—

“Th-the warmth… the softness… the moist little paws… Ahh—! I can die happy!”

Ria’s face went scarlet, her nostrils flared wide, breath rasping as if she’d sprinted miles.

So forceful that I nearly wobbled from the gusts.

Wh-what is happening?

Before I could flee, Gerard appeared, calm as ever.

“Ria. You’re frightening our guests.”

With a practiced chop to her neck, he brought her back to her senses.

“Ah… apologies if I startled you.”

Gerard bowed slightly.

“You must understand—those who live here are hardened, always surrounded by danger. Few small, soft creatures remain in this fortress. You are… irresistible to them.”

In other words, there was a fierce competition to become my personal maid.

“Every female servant applied,” Gerard explained.

“Mm-hm. A brutal contest,” Ria murmured, smiling faintly.

Her words proved no exaggeration.

Even now, from outside the chamber door, muffled sobbing could be heard.

“Waaah, I want to see the squirrel toooo!”

“Down with nepotism! Down with nepotism!”

“C-curse those Vipers…”

Only days later would I realize that when they said “battle,” they hadn’t been speaking metaphorically.