[……]
I laid my head down on the bed regardless of whether he was watching or not. Primarily, I had succeeded in deceiving my father. Recalling that fact brought a faint sense of thrill. Even though things had soured with Arden, that is.
‘I absolutely cannot approve.’
He hardened his expression, saying he couldn’t tolerate it. I lacked confidence in persuading him. It was already a done deal, and moreover, it was impossible to tell him about the things I had planned.
“Ah, I don’t know.”
[What are you doing after causing all sorts of trouble.]
As I muttered like a sigh, a rebuke flew in immediately. I abruptly sat up and glared at Cartel. Even the massive beast didn’t seem scary anymore after seeing it every day.
“In front of other people, obey me. Everyone thinks that way.”
It would be troublesome if he acted like this in front of Father or my brothers. I nagged at him, telling him at least to pretend to listen.
[Do that, then.]
How much had he been ignoring my words? The black ears that hadn’t twitched moved, perking up.
[Someone’s coming.]
He muttered, narrowing his eyes. With his superior hearing, it wouldn’t be a mistake. Could it be Father? He definitely said he wouldn’t come down… I carefully got up from the bed and stared at the stairs in high tension. But the one who came down into the cave wasn’t Father, nor Arden, nor Lacus, who had been assigned to manage the sewers.
Shining silver hair, sharply upturned eye corners, rippling light sky-blue eyes. A man with a straight, well-built body that seemed to announce his warrior status entered the cave suddenly.
“…Brother Rikael?”
I stared at him blankly with an expressionless face.
Rikael, the eldest son of the Bennon family and my eldest brother, had returned from the capital. I hadn’t heard that he was coming, and though I didn’t show it, I was extremely flustered. According to plan, he should have been staying in the capital right now. To handle the task Father had entrusted to him.
He seemed to have arrived at the castle not long ago, still in his cloak and armor.
‘He came down to the cave right after returning?’
Suppressing my surprise, I approached Rikael.
“Brother Rikael! I should have gone out to greet you, I didn’t know you’d come this early.”
I spoke to him with an affectionate expression. Excluding the surprise, I was a little glad. It had been about two weeks since I’d seen his face.
“How was the capital? I came down in a hurry with Father, so I felt a bit regretful.”
No matter how many times I tried to talk to him, I couldn’t get a response. In the long silence, I could only smile. Rikael was the person I found most difficult. Even in the original work, there was only basic information about him, and he was always an existence that carried out Father’s orders with an expressionless face.
Someone I grew up with, but whose inner thoughts I couldn’t fathom at all. To me, Rikael was a person it was hard to even distinguish as enemy or ally.
“Is that it?”
“Yes?”
What was he suddenly saying? Puzzled, I followed his gaze. At the end of it was Cartel. While Father and I brought Cartel, Rikael hadn’t seen him due to another mission.
‘Is he here because he’s curious about the magical beast?’
If so, that would be fortunate. I opened my mouth to explain to him.
“Ah, yes, this time from the imperial palace…”
“You’re going to marry that monster?”
He cut me off abruptly and approached the iron bars. Monster, I’d never seen Rikael react like this. Given his extremely calm personality and the fact that he himself was a different race, he had avoided prejudiced expressions.
“It’s not a monster, it’s the Crown Prince of Leoflon. He’ll soon be my husband.”
I subtly stepped in front of Rikael. He seemed to have just arrived, so it was unknown where he heard about the marriage. It was even more suspicious since it hadn’t been officially announced yet.
“No matter where you look, isn’t it just a beast? And of this size, too.”
Rikael’s eyes were coldly chilled. As if he hadn’t heard my words at all, they were filled only with scorn. Cartel, who had no interest in him, also rose at the words of monster and beast. However, he didn’t bare his teeth or act ferociously. Instead…
[Sparrow chick has lost its fear.]
Startled by the words ringing in my head, I looked at Rikael. He was still standing expressionlessly. It seemed he couldn’t hear Cartel’s words.
‘Sparrow chick!’
I glared at Cartel fiercely. He ignored my gaze and just wagged his tail.
Rikael was a half-beastman. One with the rare and renowned silver hawk lineage. I don’t know how he knew Rikael was a beastman, but Cartel was the first to treat him like a sparrow.
“Floria, are you planning to mix bodies with that monster?”
His scorn turned toward me. It didn’t particularly hurt. Rather, I found it novel to see Rikael acting so emotionally.
“Yes, if he just transforms into a human.”
At my nonchalant words, his pupils rippled. He was always hard to deal with, but especially so today. I couldn’t predict even an inch ahead.
“…Then, it would be fine to deal with him before he transforms.”
Ching—!
Before I could even understand his words. Rikael drew his sword with a sharp metallic sound. The still air rippled violently. A sharp wind surrounded his sword.
“What! Are you going to kill him?”
I hurriedly blocked in front of Cartel. Rikael could control the wind. Even a gentle breeze became a more lethal weapon than a blade after passing through his hands.
“It would be good to kill him right away. But his lifeline seems tough.”
Rikael was serious. I couldn’t understand it. For the one who had silently been loyal to suddenly say he’d kill Father’s collection. That was tantamount to opposing Father.
[Shall I blow him away with the wind?]
As if adding fuel to the fire, Cartel sneered. The black leopard bared its sharp fangs. If there were no iron bars, it seemed ready to tear into Rikael’s throat at any moment. The atmosphere was heading in an increasingly worse direction.
‘What should I do…’
I had to stop at least one of them. After hesitating, I shouted.
“…Caryl! Can’t you stop?!”
Caryl, ryl, stop, sto, can’t…!
My shout echoed through the cave. When the echo-like sound stopped, silence fell. It was a silence imbued with absurdity, far from the chill from earlier.
“You’ve even given it a name?”
“I can’t keep calling it a magical beast forever.”
I barely answered his question. Calling it by its true name ‘Cartel’ felt ominous. So, Caryl had come out on impulse.
[What the hell is that name like a stray cat?]
A wind-mixed sound rang in my head as if it were ridiculous. At the single cute name, Cartel seemed deflated and retracted its claws. Is this a good thing? Unable to judge, I pressed my forehead.
“…Let’s go up first. Brother Rikael.”
I sighed and pushed him. We weren’t originally this close, but if I didn’t do this, it seemed like Rikael would stay in the cave forever.
‘I’ll come later.’
I greeted Cartel with an eye signal. He made an displeased expression, but obediently stayed put.
‘In front of others, obey me.’
The words I said to him earlier lingered in my mind. For now… it seemed he had decided to listen to me.
Rikael’s expression was still stiff. But this incident seemed concluded for the time being. Thinking as positively as possible, I climbed the stairs.
Piiing—!
It was while walking down the corridor after exiting the underground. I turned my head at the familiar cry. A small dot-like thing was circling above the sky outside the window.
“Pie?”
When I opened the window, the thing circling in the air quickly approached. What entered was a hawk with silver wings.
Piik—!
The hawk naturally landed on Rikael’s arm.
“Pie. Long time no see.”
Pie was the hawk that Rikael commanded. When I extended my hand, Pie rubbed its head on the back of my hand and acted cute. With Pie’s appearance, the atmosphere with Rikael seemed to soften a bit.
Why on earth did he act like that earlier? And why did he return so quickly? Thinking that, I absentmindedly looked at the opposite side.
“Huh?”
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