IPDT 36

So Igor caught and ate one of the stable hands who worked in the household. The reason was simple. It was because the stable hand smelled delicious.

His position as the heir was convenient. He lied to his father, Margrave Javier, saying that the stable hand had stolen some jewelry and run away. The Margrave believed the words of his heir, Igor, without a doubt. Igor buried the treasure the stable hand was supposed to have stolen along with the bones, which had not a single scrap of flesh left on them, outside the castle.

After that, Igor ate a few more people. He didn’t discriminate between men, women, the old, or the young. People who wouldn’t be suspected even if they disappeared—there were many such people in the Margrave’s territory. So Igor was happy, until recently.

When the Hero came to the castle, the Margrave ordered Igor, his heir, to refrain from going out. The position of heir, which had been a convenient tool, became uncomfortable. Igor clutched his starving stomach and muttered in a gloomy voice.

“I’m hungry, I want to eat, that Hero bastard, I want to kill him, the Hero probably doesn’t taste good, I’m thirsty, if I just eat one, I won’t get caught, right? Like the stable hand, a servant too…”

Igor’s muttering came to a sudden halt. Igor looked at the open window as if possessed by something.

“…A delicious smell.”

Igor crawled towards the window. The delicious smell was getting closer. He rolled his clouded eyes to find the source of the smell. Soon, golden hair, fluffy like a cloud, came into view.

“The Guide.”

That was the Hero’s guide. He had sensed it since the dining hall. The guide smelled delicious. If the Hero, who smelled disgusting, hadn’t been sitting next to the guide, he would have caught and eaten him without even caring about his father.

“What would he taste like?”

Saliva dripped from Igor’s open mouth. Igor pressed himself against the window and watched Ilyas. He wanted to catch that thing that was moving away with steps as light as the wind.

I want to eat him, I want to eat him, I want to eat him, I want to eat him, I want to eat him, I want to eat him, I want to eat him, I want to eat him, I want to eat him, I want to eat him, I want to eat him, I want to eat him, I want to eat him, I want to eat him, I want to eat him, I want to eat him, I want to eat him, I want to eat him.

His mind was filled with a single thought.

Bibiana’s representative guided us deep into the forest. Rustle, rustle. The sound of stepping on grass was pleasant to hear. I used the sound as music and bobbed my head slightly. The night forest was cool and quiet, making me feel excited.

I wonder if Yul feels the same? I glanced at him, but he was just glaring intently at the representative walking ahead.

Ah, come to think of it, Yul is also like the night forest. Because he has hair as black as the night, and he smells good like a damp forest. And these days, he was also chilly, which really gave that kind of feeling. But I like warm things better than cold things.

While lost in meaningless thoughts, I spotted a lantern flickering not too far away. It was Bibiana, standing with two knights.

“My lady, I have brought the Hero and the Guide.”

As the representative bowed his head and spoke, Bibiana looked our way.

“You’ve come.”

Bibiana, holding a lantern and wearing a dark gray hood, looked like a protagonist from a cruel fairy tale. After looking at us with a gloomy expression, she opened her mouth to her subordinates.

“You all may step back. I have something to say to the Hero and the Guide for a moment.”

Bibiana’s subordinates bowed their heads one by one and then stood at a distance from us. Only after confirming that they were far enough away did Bibiana let out a long sigh. Today, Bibiana looked sad.

“Last night, you told me. That my brother… Igor, is turning into a monster. That he’s already reached a state where he can’t be satisfied with human food and must have eaten a ‘human’.”

“Yeah. So, have you found any evidence you can accept?”

Bibiana looked at me with trembling eyes. Those eyes overlapped with the ones I had seen last night.

“To say that Igor ate a person, I cannot believe such words. Until I find the evidence myself…”

When I told her the truth about Igor, this was Bibiana’s reply. The reason she hadn’t come to the luncheon today was clearly not because she was truly sick, but because she was searching for evidence. One could tell just by the fact that she had summoned us to the forest this late at night.

“…To have eaten a person must mean he has already stepped outside the bounds of humanity.”

Bibiana’s face, illuminated by the light, contorted as if she were sobbing. A face clearly filled with sorrow. In the end, Bibiana had found proof that Igor had committed cannibalism.

“You already know the answer to your question.”

“…Yes. The Igor I knew died from the moment I discovered this.”

Bibiana squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them. Having barely managed to compose her grief, Bibiana abruptly turned her back. Then she began to walk deeper into the forest. As if telling us to follow. As I quickly followed after her, Yul, scowling, followed a step behind.

In the spot where Bibiana stopped, a deep pit had been dug. Inside the pit lay a piece of rotten clothing, a pure white human bone, and an ornamental sword embedded with several jewels. After watching it for a moment, Bibiana turned back to look at us.

“This is the ornamental sword Igor received for his fifteenth birthday and the bones of a stable hand who worked at our castle. I’ve deduced it from the clothes and belongings discarded with them, so the identity is certain.”

“It seems no one suspected anything when the stable hand disappeared from the castle?”

Surprisingly, it was Yul who posed the question to Bibiana’s words. I quickly looked up at Yul. It was because the suspicion about their relationship had not yet disappeared from my mind.

However, Yul was not looking at Bibiana with affection. Rather, his eyes were as cold as the wind on a snowy plain. Bibiana, overwhelmed by Yul’s presence, bit her lip hard.

“…You seem to be underestimating our domain, Sir Hero. After the stable hand went missing, the heir, Igor, personally told our father that ‘the stable hand didn’t go missing, but ran away after stealing jewelry’. The people of the domain simply believed his words.”

“Even hearing the excuse, it seems just as pathetic.”

“Our domain borders another country, so power is concentrated in the lord and the heir, who are the decision-makers. In this situation, what more do you mean we should have done?”

“How many people died while you all turned a blind eye to that monster bastard? Do you think that one stable hand is the end of it? Not at all. That bastard has already found a new target.”

Clap! At the unexpected sound, Bibiana and Yul turned their heads. I opened my mouth, still in the posture of having clapped.

“You’re both still young and full of vigor, aren’t you? That’s right, there’s a saying that you grow up while fighting.”

Yes, there was such a saying. I nodded and looked at the two again. Bibiana and Yul had expressions like they were looking at something strange. Why are they making those faces? It was puzzling, but I didn’t bother to ask. Because there was something I had to say first.

“Yul, you really are kind! You’re worried about the dead humans, and you’re even thinking about what’s to come.”

“That’s not it…”

“But what’s done is done, and there’s no need to worry about what will happen in the future beforehand. Yul, you should think of yourself first and foremost. Because you don’t need to worry about anything.”

It was true. I wanted to create a world where Yul wouldn’t have to worry. That’s also why I came to be Yul’s attendant.

When I smiled meaninglessly, Yul quickly averted his gaze. He seems to have understood what I meant, right? I turned my gaze to Bibiana.

“Bibiana, I know very well that there was nothing you could have done. With power concentrated in the lord and the heir, if you had raised an objection, you would have just been treated like a strange person. But from now on, it’s different. You have to make a move. You know that you can’t kick Igor out of the heir’s position with just the evidence that he killed the stable hand, right?”

Bibiana’s eyes widened. As if to say, what do you mean by that?

“Murder is a grave crime. Moreover, what Igor committed is not just murder but—”

“‘The Javier domain’s lord and heir have strong authority.’ You said it yourself. Even if you report the murder, Igor will easily get away with it, just like how he framed the stable hand as a thief. The situation might change a bit if it’s revealed that he practiced cannibalism, as you said. But will the foolish humans believe it? Even you, who dislikes Igor, said you wouldn’t believe it until you saw the evidence with your own eyes.”

“…”

Bibiana clamped her lips shut. It was probably because she had no way to refute my words. But this isn’t the time to be silent. A deep sigh escaped me. Anyway, humans only thought of one thing and not two. I decided to kindly explain what Bibiana needed to do.

“Bibiana, seeing as you found the person Igor ate in just one day, you must have people helping you. With them, find evidence that Igor colluded with another country. I even gave you the hint ‘drugs’.”

“…You are no ordinary guide.”

“I told you I’m not a guide, but Yul’s attendant! I’m a very great attendant.”

As I crossed my arms and sent a threatening glare, Yul said in an annoyed voice.

“Don’t decide things on your own.”

“I didn’t decide on my own. The head attendant also permitted me to become an attendant.”

Although a little bit of magic was added in the process, isn’t the result more important than the process? As I was sulkingly glaring at Yul, who only said unpleasant things, Bibiana laughed as if the air was escaping her.

“For a master and servant relationship, you two seem quite close, Sir Hero and attendant.”

“Really?”

Bibiana, with a faint smile, nodded her head.

“Because you speak to each other informally despite your master-servant relationship.”

…Huh? Come to think of it, at some point, I had started speaking informally to Yul. And yet, Yul hadn’t pointed it out at all. It would be absurd for an attendant not to use honorifics. As I was blinking in surprise, Bibiana looked towards Yul.

“Besides, it seems the Sir Hero is quite concerned about his attendant. Well, it’s understandable to be worried. Since you possess an attendant who draws this much attention. I’m coveting him myself.”

As soon as Bibiana’s words ended, I looked up at Yul.

“Is that true, Yul?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Yul answered harshly. If it’s not true, he could just say so, is there a need to call it nonsense? As I was idly thinking that I missed Fleabag, Bibiana continued as if in passing.

“If you act so cold, you will one day have cause for regret.”

Before Yul could answer, Bibiana called her subordinates over.

“We are returning, so get ready.”

Yul glared at Bibiana as if annoyed, then turned his eyes to me. I quietly gazed into Yul’s black eyes.

“…”

When I said nothing, Yul abruptly turned his back and started to walk away. This was not in my plans. Gasp, could he be sulking?

“Yul, let’s go together!”

I hurriedly followed after Yul. Yul glanced at me standing next to him, then started walking ahead again as if he had never seen me.

The next morning, the Margrave came to find us, saying he would give us information about the dragon.

We descended the castle stairs with the Margrave. In the basement we finally arrived at, there was an unexpected place.

“The information about the dragon is here?”

“Ahem, that is correct.”

It was a cave whose entrance was blocked by a rather heavy-looking wooden door. The Margrave, who cleared his throat with a stern face, commanded the gatekeepers standing in front of the door.

“Open the door!”

Several gatekeepers clung to the door and pulled. Rumble, the heavy door dragged on the floor, and the inside was finally, barely revealed. An abyss-like darkness lay within the cave.

“Why did that monster bastard follow us?”

As I was moving my head around looking inside the cave, I heard Yul mutter fiercely. His black eyes, filled with contempt, looked at Igor. Igor, too, stared back at us with his clouded brown eyes.

“Yul, just let him be. The Margrave says he wants to conduct the heir’s lessons.”

Though I don’t know if the half-monster Igor will listen to the lessons.

“Please come in.”

The Margrave, who had entered the cave first, looked back at us. Yul clicked his tongue, tut, and walked past Igor. I also stepped beyond the wooden door. A cuttingly cold wind blew from inside the dark cave.

“One moment.”

The Margrave, asking for our patience, touched somewhere on the wall and channeled his mana. Then, the light bulbs densely installed on the cave walls lit up. The dark space was instantly filled with light. I was scanning the brightened cave wall when I discovered something.

“A mural?”

“To be precise, they are murals left by the ancient people.”