Chapter 44 – Maximilian
2023.12.14
Lottie neither bared her teeth nor growled. She simply stared silently at the demonic beasts, her tail lowered halfway, just like she normally did.
The demonic beasts growled again and lunged at her. Lottie leapt lightly and sank her teeth into the neck of one of them.
It seemed impossible that such small teeth could pierce the thick hide of a demonic beast, but something astounding happened.
With her jaws locked onto its neck, Lottie shook her head side to side—and the beast flailed wildly, as if it were a dandelion puff in the wind.
Just like that, Lottie took down nine wolf-shaped demonic beasts with ease, as if she were merely hunting rabbits.
“W-What…?”
Cordelia couldn’t close her mouth the entire time.
‘Did I hit my head and pass out? Am I dreaming?’
Such a rational doubt naturally came to mind.
After all, how could a dog barely reaching her thigh take down so many demonic beasts? It felt surreal.
Lottie, her muzzle soaked in blood, trudged over to Cordelia and spoke calmly.
[I warned you not to come to Diloana’s domain. And yet here we are. Tsk.]
“W-What? Did… did you just speak, Lottie?”
[Seems you can hear me here, at least.]
“Weren’t you a low-grade demonic beast? How can you talk? No—more importantly, how did you kill those monsters?!”
[One question at a time, young human. We have plenty of time.]
“How is that even possible?”
“I didn’t believe it at first either. I had no idea Lottie was the demonic beast known as the Fifth Calamity… I thought she was just a stray dog.”
Cordelia mumbled this as she looked at the gray dog, who looked every bit like a normal mutt as she scratched her ear with her hind leg.
Baron also looked unconvinced, but the corpses of the demonic beasts offered undeniable proof.
Still dazed, Cordelia recalled their earlier conversation.
‘My name is Raustonio. The Fifth Calamity of Glendny, born of corruption and tears.’
‘Fifth Calamity? What does that mean?’
‘It means… well, let’s just say I’m a demonic beast who has survived for a long time. Leave it at that, human.’
‘How long exactly?’
‘Let’s see. By human reckoning, easily over five hundred years. But it’s only been about a hundred years since I gained self-awareness and a personality.’
‘…Should I be calling you Lord Rausto or something then?’
‘Call me whatever you want. Anyway, I warned you not to come to Diloana’s domain, didn’t I? I’ve told you time and time again that woman is cunning and cruel, yet you stubbornly came all the way here.’
‘What? When did you ever say that to me?’
‘The pure of heart can hear my voice.’
Just like that, Cordelia was labeled impure of heart. She pouted her lips.
Lottie looked up at the slowly darkening sky and spoke.
[Diloana is a cunning woman. You’d best leave this forest while you can.]
“Don’t worry, Lottie. Master already destroyed the barrier.”
“She’s also already surrendered and offered her body to the master,” Baron added helpfully.
But instead of being reassured, Lottie clicked her tongue.
[Tsk tsk tsk. Foolish humans. Do you even know how Diloana absorbs the life energy of the living? She pretends to be weak and pitiful, then swallows them whole the moment they let their guard down. She’s a vile creature.]
Cordelia suddenly remembered her sobbing like a child. If that had all been an act…
Baron shuddered and turned back toward the direction they had come from.
“The master is with Maximilian and Diloana right now. If what this one says is true, we must hurry back.”
“Maximilian? He’s here? How?!”
“He must’ve followed us from the Wylas Archipelago. The master seemed aware of it.”
“Then we need to go back immediately! Ugh, but what about Belluche? If we leave him here, the beasts might return.”
“I’ll carry him,” Baron offered.
“You will?”
Despite being smaller in build compared to Belluche, Baron hoisted him onto his back without showing any sign of strain.
Finding where Leonard was wasn’t difficult. They simply had to head toward the smoke and fire.
“S-Slow down a little…” Cordelia gasped, calling out to Baron’s back as he walked briskly ahead carrying Belluche. He was still faster than her, even with the extra weight.
Noticing she had fallen behind, Baron returned.
“Shall we take a break?”
“No, it’s okay. Just walking a bit slower would help. My side’s been hurting for a while.”
Cordelia clutched her left side and tried to steady her breath. Her body was covered in blood, and even a brief touch brought fresh red to her fingers.
Baron slowed his stride considerably, just as she requested.
“I didn’t get the chance to ask earlier, but how did you end up in this forest?”
“After Master broke the barrier, a surge of magic swept through the area. Lottie and I got caught in it.”
“I see. That must have been rough.”
“Maybe, but it turned out alright. Master needs me to perform the soul transfer spell anyway.”
At her rather pointed comment, Baron paused and glanced at her.
“…You knew? Let me guess—someone on my back told you.”
“Belluche has quite a loose tongue.”
“That explains why your expression’s been off lately.”
Only now did he understand why she’d looked so down ever since getting off the boat.
“Baron. Can I ask you something?”
“Anything, my lady.”
They continued walking toward where Leonard was. The smell of smoke was strong now—he couldn’t be far.
“Did Master take me in as a disciple just to use me from the start?”
“Hmm…”
It was a question she already knew the answer to, but the longer he hesitated, the more Cordelia’s face fell. At last, Baron sighed and spoke.
“I’ll be honest. Yes, I recommended you to Master for that purpose.”
If you expect nothing, you won’t be disappointed—but clearly, she had expected too much.
She thought she’d come to terms with it, but a fresh wave of betrayal and disappointment washed over her. It felt like the time they’d spent together had been for nothing.
“So it was like that from the beginning…”
“But Master was against it.”
“He was? Really?”
Cordelia’s head shot up in surprise. That alone lifted her spirits from the depths.
“Yes. I don’t know exactly what Belluche told you, but Master was never fond of that method. He’s low on magic, the success rate is poor…”
Baron trailed off, staring at her.
“Master truly cherishes you, Cordelia.”
“…”
“You’re the only one who’s ever gotten close to Leonard in such a short time. He may seem cold and ruthless, but he’s actually very soft-hearted with those he cares about.”
“Then…”
“So don’t worry. I doubt he’ll use you as a medium.”
His words were sweet as honey, and she wanted to believe them. But Cordelia knew all too well how fragile trust and kindness could be.
Had Lottie arrived a little later, she would’ve abandoned Belluche and fled alone.
“Then… how is Master going to return to his original body? Is there another way?”
“That…”
Baron fell silent. He clearly didn’t have an answer. Cordelia finally voiced what she had been organizing in her heart these past few days.
“Even if Master ends up using me as a medium, I won’t resent him. After visiting the Magic Association, I realized how amazing he is, and how lucky I am to learn from him. He scolded me a lot, sure, but I was happy. I truly was. So… I’m okay.”
“Lady Cordelia…”
“Let’s go. He’s waiting for us.”
Cordelia walked ahead with a smile, trying to act like it was nothing.
Fortunately, she’d already spent several days preparing herself emotionally. She held back the tears threatening to rise again.
If she thought about it, she was simply returning to the time before she knew Leonard. In fact, she was in a better place now—so there was no need to be so sad.
She comforted herself with those thoughts and kept moving forward.
Baron said nothing more and walked quietly beside her.
In the distance, the figure of Leonard finally came into view.
