Hearing those words, Azena reacted first.

“I told you to run away…….”

“Even if I’m alone, I won’t go.”

Procyon groped at his side and, realizing that there was nothing, he drew Azena’s sword instead.

Swing!

The attack was aimed at the neck at once. He swung wildly without even holding his posture, but Kadan caught it with his bare hands. Procyon groaned.

“What. Strength.”

It would not release even if he twisted the sword.

It was a monster-like grip that reminded him of Shaula.

Procyon almost stumbled and barely came to his senses.

His eyes narrowed.

“I was wondering why there was the sudden order to wait in the castle, was it because of you?”

In retrospect, it was strange that there was a movement restriction when a territory war was unlikely. The closed bell tower, which flashed day and night, was also suspicious.

‘I should have asked too.’

Most of the knights seemed to have satisfied their curiosity to some extent by asking Count Elliott, but Azena and Procyon had somehow passed it over.

Azena didn’t want to talk with his brother, so he justified himself that ignorance was gold.

Procyon didn’t care much whether it was or not.

First of all, it was because Her Grace, the most important grand duchess, had returned safely, and secondly, the Lord’s face was also bright.

Finally, how thrilled he was to hear the Lord mutter mother in front of Her Grace’s portrait before running away. The atmosphere in the castle was also a bit tense, but it wasn’t terrible.

‘Is it because of this guy?’

Procyon tilted his head to the side.

Kadan’s hand that had grabbed the long blade was fine without a drop of blood. In order to deal with a monster like this, the movement restriction was a fairly lax measure.

Kadan looked into the distance and smiled with a troubled face as if he could understand Procyon’s mind.

“My Sister-in-law has a good sense of humor. I really want it, how can I not have it?”

“Stop talking nonsense and answer me.”

“Coming to me would benefit Sister-in-law, too. It’s also fun.”

“…… What kind of crazy bastard is this?”

Procyon got annoyed because there was no sign of Kadan answering his question.

Kadan giggled.

“You have to be careful with your words, goldfish. This is not a fishbowl protected by the Grand Duchess and the spirits.”

“Oh, come on. Can you speak in a way I can understand?”

Kadan’s gaze turned to the distance before returning to Procyon.

“Do you know why the Grand Duchess put you on standby? If I tried to attack with great force, you’ll only die a useless death. I didn’t even hit you guys with all my might in the first place. You are so weak.”

His white hands closed together and crushed the blade like tofu.

“That’s too bad. You would have been safe in the castle.”

The red eyes that were hidden by the lowered eyelashes flashed.

“Still, I guess you didn’t fully understand it, considering that the castle wasn’t sealed off? If you were really sure that I would come myself, I don’t think you would have finished with such preparation.”

As Kadan chattered, Azena groaned on the ground. It was strange. He was only strangled for a moment, but his insides were a mess as if his intestines had been ripped open.

“Did you dismiss it as a nonsense dream? I’m sad~”

Procyon’s face showed bemusement far from fear.

“Can you match your words with your facial expressions? I can see that you’re really nervous right now?”

“…….”

“No matter how ridiculous Sir Azena and I are, if you glance at the castle once every ten seconds, anyone can see that it’s weird.”

The smile disappeared from Kadan’s lips.

“I was just going to let you go, but you keep barking.”

Azena desperately tugged on Procyon’s trousers. It meant to please shut up.

However, Procyon got on Kadan’s nerves by constantly making fun of him.

“Aren’t you stupid? How do goldfish bark? You look similar to the first Lord, but don’t have the same intelligence.”

“Sir, please stop…….”

Procyon listened to Azena’s plea with one ear and let it out the other. Procyon laughed at Kadan.

“Why, have you changed your mind? Why don’t you kill me?”

“…….”

“Then why didn’t you kill me earlier and keep bluffing, you idiot.”

Procyon let out his tongue and grabbed Azena.

“I’m going, you fool! Farewell, fool!”

After Procyon teased Kadan to his heart’s content, he fled without hesitation. A shadow fell on the spot where he fled.

Kadan scratched his face.

“Ah, this is how it ends.”

A snake large enough to fill the alley was slowly descending along the wall.

The eyes of the Master’s familiar lit up, thinking that if he bit Kadan, the master would praise him this time.

* * *

In my dream, I sat quietly on a chair at an outdoor table.

It smelled of black tea and fragrant grass, and I could see Morgana’s mansion.

This was a beautiful garden attached to the mansion.

Perhaps it was a tea party, the round table was filled with black tea and cookies.

Across the table was my tea party partner.

A girl with cotton candy-like pink hair faced me with her eyes wide open.

“Oh my, you are cute!”

Looking at the thirteen-year-old me, I burst out exclamations.

“So lovely.”

“…….”

“Too adorable.”

“……”

The beast shut his mouth.

If you came to see me in my own image, you would have to endure such rain of compliments.

She had sweet-colored eyes, like they were made of flowers, and the reddish cheeks looked like a moving doll.

The video stone and portrait that captured that scene were hidden in Aedis’ safe.

Well, that’s enough of a joke.

“You know, you…….”

I wrinkled my nose without calling the beast.

“Do you really have any intention of making a name for yourself?”

The beast was fascinated by my self-praise and finally spoke out.

“…… as you know. Hmm. As you know, I am no longer in reality.”

Hearing him clear his throat, he must have been very embarrassed. Anyway, with such a cute face and aloof tone, there was a considerable sense of weirdness. I spoke with my pupils shaking.

“I don’t care. Is there a law that says only living people have names? If you come up with a name, I will engrave it on your tombstone.”

Even though Aedis turned the beast’s corpse into dust…… There are often graves without bodies.

The beast smiled brightly.

“Thank you for thinking about it. But girl, you didn’t find me because of my name.”

“…….”

“Tell me.”

“Are you not going to run away?”

“Last time I wasn’t mature enough.”

Oh, he readily admitted it.

“I know you know.”

“…… ”

“I am doing well with my husband and I am having a very happy day. So I hope you don’t worry too much.”

“…….”

“Hmm?”

As I tilted my head and hoped for an answer, the beast took a breath.

“…….”

“Yes? Why do you look so unexpected?”

“I thought you would be angry.”

You really do know your things.

I put my elbows on the table and rested my chin in my hands. I thought of my husband who was like a sculpture waiting for me in reality.

I thought a little bit about Gilbert, who was the husband of Maevia Morgana in the novel.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t angry. I was also upset. But when I changed my stance and thought about it, it seemed to make sense.”

“…….”

“Even if it were me, I wouldn’t have passed it by if I met a young child who went looking for the blood of the beast saying that in a few years, she was destined to meet the wrong husband and was going to be abused.”

Moreover, I was thirteen at the time. It wouldn’t matter if it was an ordinary beast, since the conversation wouldn’t have worked, but this beast was able to communicate and was very compassionate.

The beast frowned with my face.

“Girl.”

I corrected it.

“Please call me Maevia or just Eve, not girl. I am not thirteen anymore.”

“…… Eve.”

“Yes.”

“Even so, I can’t give up.”

Come on!

I kicked off the table and got up.

“What stubbornness?!”

Anyway, I couldn’t lead a good conversation. Even though I was choked up, the beast stayed aloof as if I was talking to a wall.

“I’m worried about you…….”

“So why! Are you! Worried!”

“…….”

I glared at the beast and spewed what I had been wanting to say.

“You left Kadan, the real bad guy, alone. Aren’t you being too biased?”

The beast let out a bitter laugh.

“Absolutely no bias.”

“Then what is it?”

The beast shrugged its shoulders.

“The reason I made the ban was because I couldn’t do anything else with my abilities.”

“…….”

“Now, after 500 years, it was all I could do to hold his ankles for a while.”

“…… So?”

I knew that my husband was superior, but what?

In 〈Esmeralda’s Crescent Moon〉, he is the husband who has the title of being the strongest in the world. Even if they didn’t appear until the part I read, Kadan and the beast were also part of this world.

Then it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that the beast would say such a thing.

It was a bit unexpected, though.

Aedis thought highly of the beast as being like a god, but the beast appeared to be afraid of Aedis. The beast’s face became sullen.

“So I’m against it.”

“You are not my parents, and we are already married.”

“I’m still against it.”

“You!”

My face, which had been as cute as a doll’s, suddenly began to look like an ugly thirteen-year-old.

“I’m not favoring Kadan. Eve, what do you think will happen if Kadan dies?”

“Peace will come to the world, no, the North.”

“What if the other way around?”

What. What answer do you want?

The thirteen-year-old girl’s lips trembled.

Emotions surged like a flood and darkened the eyes of a thirteen-year-old girl who was like a spring flower.

“Kadan has been looking for me for a long time to gain immortality. Now that I am free from the body, I regret not giving it to you.”

“Why…….”

The beast didn’t immediately answer my questions, but continued to tell stories toward a single destination.

“Do you remember the dream I showed you? That child, the Master’s childhood.”

The Master. He never calls Aedis by name until the end.

It was different from Kadan.

“…… how can I forget that? It’s the first time Aedis got mad at me.”

It seemed that that was also the beast’s doing. No wonder Aedis said he only smelled the cats and didn’t pay any attention to the feathers.

The beast pretended to be a person and took a sip of tea before speaking bluntly.

“I wish he had died in that cage then.”

“…….”

I couldn’t tell what expression I was making.

However, the cloth covering the table was mercilessly crumpled in my hand, and the beast soothed me.

“You should listen to the end. It was you, Eve, who wanted to talk.”

“…….”

“After hearing everything, it’s not too late to decide.”