DSB 53

The people of the northern castle were surprised when they saw Lebel appear with a young beast, and after hearing from the knights about his deeds, they were left speechless.

Leaving the dazed onlookers behind, Lebel returned to his room with Karon.

Yutis, who had returned to the castle with Lebel, seemed to intend only to see him off, and he went back to the village again.

Because houses had collapsed from the aftermath of the battle, he said he needed to investigate the damage and arrange support, so he went out to oversee it.

Thanks to that, Lebel was able to have a quiet conversation with Karon.

“Karon, did you come alone?”

[Yes! I couldn’t leave Lord Lebel alone, so I, Karon, came. I left the territory to another. No one would dare invade Lord Lebel’s domain, so please don’t worry!]

“I’m not worried about that.”

The last war had been three hundred years ago, after all.

[I can’t express how happy I am to serve you again, Lord Lebel!]

Karon wagged his tail as he shouted, and he looked adorable.

The dependable figure he once had was gone, but his loyalty was the same.

Lebel stroked Karon’s head. There was no way he wouldn’t welcome a long-time subordinate who had come to see him.

[Lord Lebel, how can you sit and watch the insolence of these humans?!]

Karon, who had been enjoying being petted, suddenly opened his eyes wide and spoke. Through the Demon God’s mirror, he had seen how Lebel was living and it was nothing like before.

Humans who once wouldn’t have dared even to meet his eyes or survive a flick of his hand were now outrageously rude!

More than once, Karon had almost fainted watching the scenes.

What shocked him most was that Lord Lebel had married a human.

The position of consort, which none had ever dared covet, had been taken by a mere mortal!

[Now that you’ve regained your strength, please come with me! Would it not be better to become the king of a nation than the bride of a human? You could lead beasts and build a realm!]

Karon’s eyes sparkled brightly.

No one in the Middle Realm knew of Lebel’s true identity.

Karon thought this was the perfect time to help Lebel spread his name across the realm.

“…Karon, do you think I’d do something like that?”

Karon’s ears drooped. Knowing Lebel well, he understood it was impossible.

When the demons had once chosen a ruler, every demon had tried to raise Lebel as king of the Demon Realm, but he had flatly refused the position.

‘Does Lord Lebel have no desire at all?’

Perhaps it was because he had been born between the Demon God and the Celestial God, but he was not greedy, which was unnatural for a demon.

Or maybe it was because he had been born possessing everything. He had no will to strive for anything. He had no craving to become stronger or to seize more.

Demons were usually obsessed with one thing, but Lord Lebel had never shown such a side.

Even when he was slothful, he was lazy but when something happened, he still stepped forward to act.

Karon could guess why he had tolerated the humans’ insolence. By Lebel’s standards, their attitude hadn’t been enough to offend him.

It had been the same among demons. He ignored threats that were all talk. He would rather say, “If you can, then try.”

But Karon had no intention of leaving the insolent ones alone. Without Lebel knowing, Karon had already dealt with those who didn’t know their place.

Yet now, humans, creatures even lower than demons, had dared to treat him with contempt!

Though their attitude seemed to have softened, remembering how they had acted at first made Karon’s teeth grind.

[Will you forgive those humans? They committed insolence without knowing Lord Lebel’s greatness.]

Lebel knew that better than anyone, but he didn’t hate humans. That was simply human nature.

“Do you dislike humans?”

[…I hate those who insulted you, Lord Lebel.]

“Then shouldn’t you like Yutis, since he never insulted me?”

[That human became Lord Lebel’s partner without knowing his place! And he even dared to wound your precious body! Among humans, that one bears the greatest sin!]

Karon jumped up in anger.

Lebel laughed because the answer was exactly what he expected.

“The humans’ attitude wasn’t good, as you said, but what does it matter? They’ll die in the blink of an eye. It’s not as if they’re trying to poison or kill me.”

That last reason was the biggest. Showing malice was nothing more than a trivial nuisance.

[That’s… true, I suppose.]

The northerners are said to be belligerent, but they were nothing compared to demons.

Among demons, there had been many who wanted to kill Lebel to gain fame.

Lebel had no mercy for those who ignored his warnings. If they threatened his life, they had to pay the price.

By that measure, the northern humans were harmless. They showed hostility but rarely intent to kill, and none had ever tried to take his life.

“They’re much better than the humans of the Empire.”

[Those humans treated Lord Lebel as a tool to use and discard. So I sent beasts to that place!]

“Hm?”

Karon lifted his head high and spoke proudly.

[How can such a human be called Lord Lebel’s father? I commanded the beasts to march to the capital and tear out the emperor’s throat.]

Lebel, who had been blinking slowly, laughed.

“Ha, that was well done.”

When Karon received praise from Lebel, he wagged his tail with joy.

[If there’s anything you need, please tell me anytime! That’s the reason I came here!]

“All right, I understand.”

Karon answered with vigor, but with his tongue hanging out and panting, he looked no different from a dog.

“Karon, I won’t tell you to like humans, but don’t harm this one.”

Karon’s expression instantly crumpled, but since it was an order from Lebel, he obediently nodded.

After that, Karon watched the humans from Lebel’s side, but he still disliked their kind.

In particular, Karon’s hostility toward Yutis, who never left Lebel’s side, grew stronger day by day.

To be exact, Karon was the uninvited guest, yet to him, Yutis seemed like the one who intruded on the time meant for Lebel and him alone.

Karon glared fiercely at the closed door.

“Karon, what are you doing?”

[I’m warning the human who will soon come.]

It had become Karon’s daily habit to bare his teeth the moment Yutis appeared at the same hour every day.

“Karon, he’s my husband. Of course, he can come into the room.”

[He has no manners! None! How dare he come in to see Lord Lebel just after waking up!]

“…I don’t think that’s the reason.”

[What do you mean it’s not! He doesn’t even bring an attendant! If Lord Lebel hasn’t woken up yet, who knows what he might do!]

“He would probably just watch quietly.”

When Lebel had opened his eyes at noon once, unaware that Yutis had come to wake him, Yutis had been sitting beside him.

[What? That happened?!]

Since he didn’t know, it seemed he hadn’t been watching Lebel’s daily life through the Demon God’s mirror all the time.

Right then, Yutis’s voice came from beyond the door.

“Are you awake? May I come in?”

[As if anyone could wake up to a voice that small! Don’t come in at all!]

Karon disliked everything about Yutis, how he woke Lebel, how he held Lebel’s hand, how he served him during meals.

Though he wasn’t much different himself.

[It’s a shame I don’t have hands. I should be the one serving Lord Lebel, not letting such a human do it.]

Karon stared down at his own paws as he spoke.

“Karon, stop thinking about serving me and try enjoying the human world a little.”

[I’m content just being by Lord Lebel’s side.]

Then the door opened, and Yutis approached Lebel.

“You’re already awake?”

“Yes.”

After helping Lebel up, Yutis informed him of the morning menu and guided him to the dining hall.

The day went by as usual. Only now, Karon had become part of that routine.

“Young Madam, I’ll take care of Karon’s meal.”

Lebel looked down at Karon. But Karon didn’t even glance at Mahan.

Since Karon was a demon dwelling in a beast’s body, he needed food to live.

Because of that, Lebel had once asked Mahan to prepare Karon’s meal instead. But Karon had fiercely resisted, and before even one second had passed in Mahan’s arms, he had returned to Lebel’s side like a guard.

When Mahan reached out, Karon bared his teeth and growled, so he couldn’t bring himself to try again.

Since then, Karon had always eaten alongside Lebel.

“It’s fine.”

“But…”

Mahan glanced nervously at Yutis beside Lebel. Yutis quietly spoke.

“You don’t even eat properly because you keep tending to Karon.”

“Me?”

Was it because he’d been answering Karon’s complaints?

“And you’ve been taking small portions from the dishes and giving them to him. Beasts are omnivorous, but human food might be harmful to them.”

“I didn’t know that. I’ll stop now.”

[No! Who knows what they’ve put in the food!]

Today again, Karon was unyielding.

When Karon had rushed out from the demon realm, it had been during the time Yutis was struggling with his rut.

Karon hadn’t known that the servants’ attitude had changed for the better since that day. Because he felt uneasy about the sudden friendliness of the humans, he was on guard.

He was convinced that they only acted kind because they wanted something from Lebel, especially after Lebel had shown his power.

When he smelled the foul scent and tasted the awful bitterness of the herbal medicine brewed for Lebel, he had gone wild, shouting that they must have planned to poison him by winning his favor and waiting for a chance to strike.