~Chapter 18~
“Gerard, check the first bookshelf in my office. You’ll find a copy of the report on the territory subjugation we conducted two winters ago. Organize it and leave it on my desk.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Gerard bowed and left, closing the dressing room door behind him. Christan, assisted by his servants, took off his battle clothes. Under the stained white uniform, his flawless physique was revealed.
He handed the dirty laundry to the maids and stepped into the bath alone. Even though he was of royal blood, he had been bathing alone since he was nine, so he didn’t care much for bath attendants.
After finishing, Christan dried his body and put on the clean clothes that had been prepared. He was about to dry his hair only enough to stop water from dripping but remembered there was a guest in the castle. He dried it completely—there was no reason for the master of the castle to appear disheveled in front of a guest.
Once ready, he opened the door to head back to his office.
“Ah!”
Someone waiting outside the door nearly screamed. Christan was just as startled to nearly bump into her.
“Lady Winterpull?”
“Uh… hello, Your Highness.”
Amelie hurriedly bowed, her face oddly red. Christan asked, still slightly shocked:
“When did you start waiting out here? Your legs must hurt. Why didn’t you say something…”
“I… I heard you were bathing… I couldn’t possibly knock on the door…”
“Ah.”
Now calm, Christan looked at her properly.
“I thought about waiting in your office, but… I had something urgent to tell you, so I waited here instead.”
“…I see.”
Although she seemed to try to keep a neutral expression, her face turned redder with every word she spoke.
‘She looked so composed during the subjugation…’
Now she seemed like a normal girl her age. Sometimes shy, sometimes bold—the kind of innocent charm Christan wasn’t used to.
But that was as far as he would allow himself to go. Whether because of age or personal reasons, he could not indulge further.
“So, what did you want to say?”
He asked in a voice that sounded colder than he intended. Amelie, unfazed, spoke up.
“I just came from talking to Kamarin… I mean, the monster we captured.”
“Kamarin?”
“The monster’s name is Kamaritanes. I’m just calling him Kamarin for short.”
“You’ve even exchanged names. It might sound like unwanted advice, but you shouldn’t get too attached. Once the research is done, it’s likely he’ll be locked away in the underground prison.”
Amelie swallowed hard. Christan looked directly at her and asked,
“Do you… have a different opinion?”
It was as though he could see into her thoughts. She quickly answered,
“Yes. I want to make Kamaritanes my familiar.”
“…”
Her eyes were strong, just like when she had used magic to control the monster.
Christan had prepared himself for her to want to keep the monster alive, but for some reason, this time he wanted to step back.
“That’s not a bad idea. Do you need any special method to do it?”
“The familiar bond doesn’t take much effort. But since Kamarin can’t understand others, I plan to make a translation potion and feed it to him regularly.”
That was a relief. Christan nodded.
“Then others besides you will be able to control him?”
“There’s no direct control, but as long as he’s willing, he’ll obey. And anyway, Kamarin can’t do much on his own, so he’s not that dangerous.”
“…I see.”
They stood silently, staring at each other. Amelie swallowed nervously.
She had tried to make Kamarin sound as safe as possible, but Christan had always wanted to kill him before. He could easily refuse her again.
“…”
In the tense silence, Amelie remembered something.
When she lived at the witch academy, some witches had raised familiars. But they were always weak monsters—nothing close to a top-tier one like Kamarin.
When witches took their familiars out in cages, villagers would kill them.
‘Hey! Why are you killing my familiar?! I told you it’s safe in the cage!’
‘Are you crazy?! We’re doing you a favor just letting you into the store, and you want to leave that filthy thing outside?! Get out!’
Because such incidents were so common, witches eventually gave up raising familiars.
But for Amelie, things might be different. Outwardly, she was a noble.
‘If I can help reduce discrimination against witches… my actions could influence others.’
It wasn’t why she first wanted to keep Kamarin, but it wouldn’t hurt either. She wanted witches to have freedom and rights—that was her dream.
With that hope, she looked at Christan.
“…”
Christan let out a short sigh in his mind. Her gaze was just as strong as before.
If he saw himself in the mirror before battle, even then he wouldn’t look as determined as she did now.
In the end, it wasn’t even something he needed to permit. The conclusion was simple.
“Be careful and raise him well.”
“Yay!”
Amelie bowed deeply, overjoyed.
“Thank you, Your Highness!”
But Christan only smiled awkwardly.
“You don’t need my permission, nor my thanks. You were the one who captured him in the first place.”
“R-really?”
Amelie was startled but quickly brushed it off, reminding herself of his position.
‘He’s probably never had to ask anyone for permission… That’s why he says things so easily.’
She knew someone of his status couldn’t easily relate to the witches’ hardships. She didn’t expect him to.
Still, she was grateful for his words and smiled softly.
“Thank you anyway, Your Highness. I’ll head back to my room now.”
“…Alright.”
Amelie turned and left. Christan watched her go with an unreadable expression.
Amelie walked quickly back to her room. But when she opened the door, the sight that greeted her was chaotic.
“Miss!” Nina cried, running into Amelie’s arms.
『Be quiet, human! I promise I won’t harm you, just open the cage!』
“…What’s going on?”
As soon as the door opened, Nina clung to Amelie. She held the trembling maid and looked around to understand the situation.
“Kamarin? What happened to you…”
