Chapter 91

So there was a truth different from the one I knew.

As I gazed into his blue eyes, feeling a little unsettled, the meeting room door opened again.

Heros walked in, wearing an annoyed expression.
He came to stand before us, glaring disapprovingly at Etias’ hand holding mine.

Etias, unbothered, asked him:

“What is it?”

Finally, Heros spoke, reporting the situation outside.

“Another nuisance has appeared.”

…A nuisance?

At his signal, I rose and stepped outside.
There, I saw the villagers gathered around something.

“How did such a cute puppy end up here?”

“Its fur’s a bit singed.”

Panting with its tongue out among the people was a very familiar-looking border collie.

“…The Duke?”

When I approached, Lancelot wagged his tail and licked the back of my hand.

“That damn mutt…”

Heros muttered, but I raised my voice quickly:

“We’ll find the owner of this dog, so please, everyone, return to your work.”

The villagers dispersed at my words, and Heros sent away the children who had been lingering, staring at the dog.

Soon, we brought the transformed Duke back into the meeting room.

“Not an ordinary dog.”

How could I explain this?
With Etias’ sharp eyes, I had no choice but to tell him about the Beast Peak.

“This dog is Duke Obierre of Montella. Here’s what happened…”

I explained the whole situation.
Etias’ brow furrowed as he listened.

“A Beast Peak, then.”

“Yes. As I said, Duke Obierre has the ability to beast-transform. The problem is…”

Pant, pant.

The border collie by my side panted innocently with bright, trusting eyes.
I sighed softly, and Heros added:

“Looks like something bad has happened.”

The Duke seemed to have lost his reason.
With the drugs he had taken, he should have been able to maintain it during Beast Peak.

But why was he like this now?
The Beast Peak usually lasted no more than four hours, yet judging from when the villagers had found him, the time had long since passed.
And still, he hadn’t returned to human form.

“It could be that an accident caused both his ability and memory to collapse. If he hasn’t reverted by now, something is definitely wrong.”

“Let’s send a carrier pigeon to Montella to inform them.
As much as I’d rather leave this useless dog behind…”

Heros looked down at the Duke with distaste.

“…we’d better take him with us and get him treated, to avoid diplomatic trouble.”

“…Unbelievable.”

Etias’ expression was cool as he looked at the dog.

“That this is Duke Obierre.”

I asked carefully:

“This is your first time meeting him, isn’t it?”

“No. I met him not long ago—though he was human then.”

That was unexpected.
For Etias, who had been busy with the revolution, to have met him.

“I warned him not to send reinforcements to Deus Karl Clyde, no matter what. He agreed.”

“…Ah.”

Etias had been more thorough in preparing for the revolution than I’d realized.
Indeed, reinforcements from a neighboring duchy would have been troublesome.

“I didn’t like the look of him even then.”

His blue eyes flickered coldly, as though recalling an unpleasant encounter.

“I don’t like him any better now.”

As I stroked the Duke’s fur, my hand flinched at Etias’ words.
Our eyes met.
Seeing my stiffened expression, Etias’ lips curved faintly.

“It’s just personal feeling. No man likes someone coveting what’s his.”

“….”

The Duke didn’t seem greedy to me—what exactly had he coveted?
As my curiosity rose, Etias continued:

“As emperor, I’ll fully cooperate in treating the Duke. We’ll make sure he’s restored to human form and sent back. For the sake of relations with his duchy.”

The question remained unanswered, but at least he was willing to cooperate.

The camping supplies I’d stored safely in Biyo’s body weren’t plentiful, but they were a great help to the villagers, whose homes were destroyed and food scarce.

One good decision was sealing the well at the village’s entrance—it meant the water had stayed clean despite the chaos.

“Haa… my body’s stiff.”

I wasn’t fond of night walks, but I stepped outside to loosen my aching body.
The full moon shone brightly, and since the road to the village hadn’t yet been cleared, there was no danger of outsiders.

We’d also repaired the village prison and locked up Lucia and her group again.

“Uuugh.”

I stretched, glancing at the tents lit by campfires.
They weren’t bad shelters, built from salvaged wood and cloth, enough to last a few days.

Etias was probably sleeping somewhere among them.

‘He should have just stayed in the palace. He’s suffering for nothing.’

I shook my head and took a step forward—when a low voice came from my left.

“Katrin.”

“Eek!”

Startled, I turned—and there stood Etias, bathed in moonlight.

“You scared me! Why show up now of all times?”

“Were you thinking of me?”

His words made my brows twitch.
I averted my gaze.

“N-not really.”

My heart pounded like I’d been caught.

“I’m curious.”

His hand rested gently on my shoulder.

“What were you thinking of, about me?”

His blue eyes, lit by the moon, seemed to consume me.
My lips went dry.

‘And why is it always his lips I notice…’

Just a moment, but I remembered clearly: the kiss he had given me when we reunited.

Feeling my face heat too much, I looked away.
I sensed him smiling faintly, slantwise.

Then, removing his hand from my shoulder, he took my hand instead.

The feel of his strong hand gripping mine made me flinch again.
Yet I couldn’t bring myself to look at him.

“Let’s take a walk together, Katrin. There’s somewhere I want to take you.”

Leaning against a tent pole, Heros’ brown eyes glimmered darkly.
He was watching the figures of a man and woman vanish into the forest.

“…Tch.”

He clicked his tongue irritably—then noticed a black bird circling overhead.

It was the same species as the Scavengers’ messenger birds, but what was tied to its leg wasn’t their container.
Heros’ sharp eyes saw it clearly even from a distance.

When he extended his arm, the bird landed smoothly.
He removed the small container from its leg and unrolled the paper inside.

The fine writing on the high-quality paper began to fade as soon as he opened it—written with ink that vanished upon contact with air.

He read quickly before it disappeared.

Forgive me for not recognizing your true identity sooner, O King of the Underground.

I can guess for whom you risk such ventures.

Perhaps you harbor great resentment toward me, who once tried to kill your precious one.

But consider this well.

If her dream world comes true, you will be forced to leave in loneliness.

You know full well that she will never look at you that way.

So, I propose we join hands, even as possible enemies.

I promise you my support, so you may spend a happy life with her.

You gain your beloved; I gain eternal power. What better deal could there be?

The chance comes only once.

The writing vanished completely.
Staring at the blank page, Heros’ lips twisted into a crooked smile.
The sender seemed to be in quite a hurry.