Chapter 14
The Duke of Eberhardt’s Estate, Great Hall.
The secretary standing beside the duke smirked just enough for everyone seated to hear him.
“If this is merely a dissolution ceremony, surely there was no need to gather here, was there?”
“Dissolution? There will be no dissolution! This council has safeguarded the ducal house for centuries! Your Grace, please reconsider! This is not some petty position to be cast aside in a moment of sentiment!”
The duke replied.
“Count Dusty. You speak of tradition, yet you profited from the very trade routes you were meant to protect as a vassal. Am I mistaken?”
“T-that… ahem, if you look deeper, it was all for the good of the duchy, not my own gain! In any case, there shall be no dissolution!”
The secretary answered his stubborn logic with amused derision.
“Count, take a look at those empty seats, will you? Isn’t it admirable how Marquis Pascal had the sense to step down on his own?”
“S-step down? How dare a mere civil aide utter such insolence to the chairman…!”
The old retainer trembled with rage.
And he was not alone.
Everyone in the chamber seemed appalled by the duke and his secretary’s newfound audacity.
Until recently, the duke had gone along with nearly all of their proposals.
Even if he didn’t always seem enthusiastic, the disappearance of the duchess and the late duke’s will had made it easy to bend his resolve.
But not today.
No — perhaps it began the moment they treated his daughter as an impostor.
The elder retainers, watching the duke’s cold demeanor, exchanged meaningful glances and nodded to one another.
It was as if they were preparing to enact their last resort.
Count Dusty rose as their representative.
“Your Grace, the reason the Council of Elders holds more weight than any assembly is because of the special covenant forged by the first duke and the imperial throne.”
The first duke, a close friend of the emperor, had signed a treaty granting the council the right to speak as equals to the crown.
A fine-sounding agreement — but a double-edged sword.
For while it allowed the ducal house the same immunity as the crown in cases of grave offense, it also meant the true authority lay jointly with the council and the emperor.
Meaning…
“If Your Grace truly wishes to dissolve this body, you must first obtain the Emperor’s consent.”
“……”
All the elders nodded fervently, clearly having agreed on this in advance.
Watching them, the duke finally understood.
Not only why the covenant existed — that flimsy reason they’d used to resist returning to the imperial fold —
but also why Marquis Pascal had not appeared today.
The marquis’s daughter was the Empress herself.
He had no need to lift a finger; the fate of the council would be settled through imperial means.
“So it ends here. I knew this moment would come, though I didn’t expect it so soon.”
Darkness clouded the duke’s eyes.
As always, beyond every wall he overcame, another unseen wall awaited.
He had once hoped to at least free his late sister’s son from this ant heap of a world — but now, there were even more he had to protect.
Then it happened.
The great doors of the hall burst open.
BANG!
It was the young lady — the duke’s daughter — holding her divine beast in her arms.
“O-oh, that creature… is that the sacred beast?”
“Ah, such holy energy! But, wait — it doesn’t look much like a lion, does it?”
“Indeed. All I see is an oversized shadow. Rather unimpressive, isn’t it?”
As murmurs spread, the girl thrust out her divine beast and shouted:
“Hurry up and disband already, you idiots!”
“……?”
Did that tiny thing just call them idiots?
“The Divine Beast Ragu just said so!”
“Pfft!”
Secretary Logan burst out laughing, and the elders, faces clouded with confusion, quickly turned red with fury.
“Pretending the beast is speaking? What insolent lies are these?!”
“Even if she’s the so-called lady raised outside, this is outrageous behavior in a sacred council chamber!”
“Guards! Remove this rude child at once! Quickly now!”
But the beast’s menacing hiss kept the guards from approaching.
The girl thrust the creature out again, further aggravating them.
“That ‘special covenant’—the first emperor faked it! Look at the original document if you want! His handwriting was so sloppy it’s probably faded away by now! That’s what he said, you fools!”
The first emperor… a fraud?
Surely not. No five-year-old could invent words like that.
Then the next suspect had to be the beast itself.
The elders, trembling with indignation, began shouting and pointing.
“Silence, you fiend! To defile the radiant name of His Imperial Majesty—!”
“I concur! That thing is no sacred beast but a demon in disguise!”
“Exactly! No true divine creature would blaspheme the holy founder!”
As their curses filled the hall, the duke finally spoke.
“Pathetic. To call yourselves wise men and still prattle like frightened children… Are you saying divine beasts lie now?”
“Indeed we are, Your Grace! That thing is no divine beast! A sacred creature should possess grandeur, a majestic aura, and the wisdom to commune with man! Prove otherwise! That owl—or whatever it is—cannot be one!”
The beast clicked its tongue as if to say ‘See what I told you’, and shook its head at the girl.
The girl’s nostrils flared in anger.
Huff, huff.
“Fine. I’ll prove it!”
As if expecting this all along, she muttered to herself and tossed the creature into the air.
It flailed, eyes wide with panic.
“Kyao-ong?!”
Then the child clenched both fists, face straining, and her whole body began to glow with golden light.
“Nngh!”
Then—
BOOM!
Smoke burst forth, then cleared.
From within emerged a colossal beast: a lion several times larger than any man, with flowing silver mane and claws sharper than steel.
Its talons sank into the marble floor, cracking stone as its golden eyes narrowed.
The sacred beast stood revealed — the Silver Lion, lord of the shadowed forests, a creature that inspired both dread and awe.
ROAAAAR!
Its thunderous roar made the chandeliers tremble, and the retainers’ legs gave out beneath them.
As terror and reverence filled the hall, a deep, resonant voice rumbled from the beast’s maw.
“If you’re old enough to grow grey hairs, you’re old enough to listen. I’m the sacred beast raised by the First Duke himself. Got it?”
The divine beast growled menacingly, while beside it, the little girl stood like a street brat beside her gang leader — arms crossed, chin high.
“See? Told you!”
But her triumph didn’t last.
The golden light faded, and the girl collapsed, the beast catching her in its tail with a scoff.
“See? Passed out again. What did I tell you?”
Even so, the girl cracked one eye open, smirking faintly as if to savor the elders’ horror.
Until her gaze met her father’s grim expression — and she quickly shut her eyes tight.
A few days passed after her second collapse.
I told Rosy and Linda,
“I’m going with the Divine Beast today.”
But the maids didn’t seem willing to let it go.
“S-so soft… Can’t we keep him here, my lady?”
“She’s right! Just touching him brings peace to the soul…”
What was this mood?
I’d only asked them to brush his fur, but they seemed utterly enchanted.
And that amusement was not one-sided — the beast seemed to enjoy it too.
[Grrr… purr…]
As their brushes stroked him, he made strange, rumbling noises, eyes rolling back in pleasure.
“What! You said you wanted to go! You nagged me all day about it!”
[I will go! It’s your fault—your weakness keeps triggering my instincts!]
What nonsense… You said your soul was sealed inside a stone idol — since when do stones have instincts?
Honestly, he was an impossible creature to trust.
If I could, I’d have left him behind.
But today, there was a place we needed to visit together.
The Record Archives.
Normally, only the head of the house could enter, but since I was technically a ducal daughter by contract, the duke had given me the key.
And there was one reason we had to go together.
To read the chronicles of the Five Chosen Dukes — the key to understanding the sacred power, according to the First Duke.
And… because there was something I couldn’t face alone.
My hand trembled as I turned the doorknob — and of course, there he was.
The Duke, standing guard like a sentinel.
“For a liar, at least you’re punctual.”
“Nnngh…”
His eyes, looking down at me, were full of distrust.
He held grudges far too long.
Claiming I’d broken my promise not to risk my life, he and the secretary now took turns watching me personally.
I only fainted, not died! Honestly…
The duke lifted me into his arms, then glanced back at the beast trailing behind.
He muttered in a low voice.
“And that blasted owl again…”
[What?! I heard that, you insolent brat! You dare speak that way to a venerable ancestor of heaven? You think this is my fault she acts up? Huh?]
The beast hissed, but the duke ignored him cleanly and walked on.
I could only watch quietly as we moved through the halls.
At least he didn’t look like he planned to throw me out again.
If anything, his behavior puzzled me.
For someone so angry… his arms around me were strangely gentle.
