REFDL 34

Valita sensed it. Something unusual was unfolding before his eyes.

It was a change that would profoundly impact his future path. He suppressed his excitement, which fluttered like a freshly caught fish, and smiled at the duke, who was enveloped by a cold aura.

“The dragon was quite adorable.”

“……How did you get here?”

“Ah. I saw the door was open, so I came in.”

“……It was open.”

Kaelus’s mouth twisted as he repeated the words.

“Didn’t you see the chains and lock?”

“I did. They were lying by the door.”

“Is that so.”

Valita shrugged.

“My apologies if I offended you. I grew bored waiting and went for a stroll. I saw this splendid-looking greenhouse and couldn’t resist my curiosity.”

“There should have been someone guarding the door to the room I showed you. Why didn’t you ask them for guidance?”

“It was just a quick step outside. Why bother someone else?”

Kaelus’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly.

All expression vanished from his face.

“…Let’s stop beating around the bush. I have no desire to speak further with Your Highness. Did you not consider that I might make an issue of this?”

“Oh? And what exactly do you plan to make an issue of?”

The duke released the pent-up pressure and stepped forward. The startled knight of Denos blocked Valita.

Thud!

“……!”

Valita hadn’t even fully registered what had happened. He hadn’t even blinked. The knight before him crashed through the garden flowerbed and slammed into the base of a tree.

Even as the broken tree fell on top of him, the knight didn’t move. He’d been knocked unconscious with a single blow.

The duke kept advancing.

Valita gripped the handle of his can as if he might break it. His legs trembled, and his back was damp with cold sweat. His mind had nothing to do with it. His body was honest in the face of threat.

A chill ran through him as though his head were caught in a dragon’s gaping jaw.

“…Duke Irelion. What is this? Are you threatening me, a prince of Denos, who has come as an envoy?”

“How could I dare? I merely slipped and made a mistake.”

“…A mistake.”

“Yes.”

Kaelus spoke curtly.

“Since we’ve both committed an offense against each other, let’s leave this matter here. I won’t make an issue of it going forward.”

“Who do you think you are…!”

“Unless you…”

“……”

The deep gray gaze stared at Valita.

Without words. Only intentions were conveyed.

Unless you want to be buried here?

Valita felt his heart sink for the first time in ages.

It was a well-known fact that Tortan opposed war.

…But what about the duke standing before him?

If war was inevitable he’d want to eliminate the troublesome enemy nation’s Fourth Prince beforehand.

Wasn’t that line of thinking actually plausible?

But for this man, who smelled of dry yet sticky blood……

Kyak?!

At that moment, the dragon cradled in Kaelus’s arms suddenly began to fidget restlessly, groaning in discomfort.

The air, sharp as if laced with glass shards, diluted.

The duke warned with an expressionless face.

“Restrain yourself. This is Firmus.”

And then, poof, the threatening aura vanished.

Only then did Valita realize. He had been completely outmaneuvered by the young duke before him.

His pale face flushed crimson up to his neck.

‘This…!’

How could he… cling on longer?

He hesitated for a moment, but his lofty pride wouldn’t permit such a pathetic display.

The Fourth Prince, stepping back, forced a smile and growled.

“Of course this is Firmus. Does the Duke take me for a fool?”

“I do not consider you a fool.”

…Meaning he was considered something less than a fool.

Valita’s composure shattered completely. The man bit his lip, his eyes bloodshot.

Just as he was about to explode in defiance, Kaelus preempted him.

“If you like this greenhouse so much, please take your time and look around. I’ll have someone else show you around.”

With that, the duke turned his back.

Broad and solid, yet still a back.

The Fourth Prince was so enraged he couldn’t even speak now. The duke was essentially saying that even if he charged at him from behind with a sword, it wouldn’t pose much of a threat.

…The fact that it was true gnawed at Valita’s soul.

“…Haha.”

Valita glanced up briefly at the greenhouse ceiling, then straightened his head with a bright smile. The duke was already gone.

“Yes. I really do have to kill him.”

For the record, the target wasn’t the duke.

* * *

Kyakyak!

“……”

Kyakyak!

Kyakyak! Grr!

“……They can’t hear you from that distance. You can talk normally.”

Ah.

[He’s a bad person. He fiddled with me. Like he was going to crush…!]

Kaelus’s footsteps halted abruptly.

The expression he’d worn since cornering Valita vanished completely.

A chill like dry ice dripped from his entire body.

Huh…

I’d hoped for sympathy, but hadn’t expected such a violent reaction. As I hesitated, trembling, the fierce look on his face vanished.

Instead, slightly clouded eyes turned toward me. It had been a long time since I’d seen that kind of gaze.

A gaze that was ‘What kind of dragon is this?’ but also ‘Even if raised, could this be used on the battlefield?’, tinged with a hint of pity.

But it vanished just as quickly.

“This matter was my mistake.”

That was true.

The sudden greenhouse incident was Kaelus’s effort to hide me from the Fourth Prince.

“The Fourth Prince… as you can see, is no easy opponent.”

He phrased it indirectly, but it seemed he really wanted to call him a madman.

“I never wanted you to encounter him in the first place.”

Because of that, the area beside the homeowner, Kaelus, who would inevitably have to meet guests, was out.

“If it were a room within the mansion, he’d find some excuse to enter, or sneak in.”

Therefore, the bedroom and all other rooms were also rejected.

Thus, the greenhouse was chosen.

They pretended construction was underway, hastily piling materials and tools around the door, and secured the entrance with chains…

I patted Kaelus’s shoulders, his eyes grew dulls.

Kya.

[How is that Kael’s fault?]

“…I told you not to call me that.”

Hmph…

“…You shouldn’t look at me like that either.”

Tch.

Kaelus sought out Donon first.

Then he had him fetch the new cage. He habitually tried to hand me over to Donon, then hesitated and sighed as he took the cage back.

…He was undoubtedly thinking about the possibility of that snake-like Fourth Prince and Donon encountering each other. Even with separate guards, it would be difficult to completely prevent it.

[That bastard. How long is he staying here?]

“It’s not ‘that bastard’. It’s the Fourth Prince.”

[The Fourth Prince bastard. How long is he staying here?]

“……Until tomorrow.”

[Why?]

It meant, Why are you letting that brat stay at your house?

Kaelus understood perfectly.

“It wasn’t me.”

If the homeowner doesn’t give permission, who else would?

“His Majesty ordered it. He begged so earnestly to stay even one night in this historic mansion of a distinguished family. How could I refuse?”

Kaelus sneered sarcastically.

I was fuming.

No, the landlord said no! What gives the Emperor the right to just decide that!

……Of course, in a medieval fantasy setting, the Emperor is a big deal. But I still don’t like it!

I tapped the cage floor with my front paws. Kaelus wiped the smile from his face, stared at me for a moment, then turned away expressionless.

I felt a little better.

* * *

But that was just the beginning of the Fourth Prince’s antics.

He spent the remaining day trailing Kaelus around like a shadow.

He stood somewhere between teasing and picking a fight.

“Oh. We meet again here. Just in case you’re curious, I’ll tell you: the knight the duke knocked out is lying in the Irelion Knights’ infirmary. If he were seen outside by a physician, word might spread. That would put the dube in a rather awkward position. Haha. No need for thanks. I’m naturally overflowing with consideration, you see.”

“So the cage tucked under your arm was the Kremlis’s after all. The one in the greenhouse was quite luxurious too, those blue bars aren’t bad. They contrast nicely with the Kremlis’s amber-colored ones… Hmm. Much nicer than I expected? I should remember this.”

Why would you remember that!

Kaelus and I gave him a look that said the same thing, but the Fourth Prince just chuckled.

Kaelus’s stress levels were visibly skyrocketing in real-time.

Of course, he wasn’t just taking it lying down.

“Was the person I took care of a knight? Ah, a trainee knight is still a knight, I suppose. …Ah, he isn’t a trainee? Your Highness, perhaps you should pay a bit more attention to your personal safety…”

“The cage in the greenhouse is platinum, and this blue-tinged one is an alloy of a special mineral called ‘Adelrite’. It’s not common, but it’s not incredibly rare either… Ah, Denos doesn’t have Adelrite? Well, that’s a shame…”

“…….”

This was the first time I had ever seen Kaelus talk so much.

It was a series of KO wins, and there was even a real one-off.

“But Duke. Why do you keep stopping mid-sentence?”

“Ah, I….”

“……I?”

Kaelus didn’t answer.