CATB Chapter 17

"Young Lord Hiphayne, Young Lord Ivanzel, Young Lord Moerson, Young Lord Alsion"

They hadn't expected that I would know not only Hiphayne's name but all of their names, so they opened their eyes wide and looked up at me.

"You lot don't even deserve the honorific 'Young Lord.' Nobles are a class that must show others an example by their very nature. Today your actions showed neither noble dignity, nor refinement, nor majesty."

"......"

The young lords opened their mouths and stared at me.

Right now I'm just talking, but why do they look more terrified than when I was just beating them mindlessly? What a bunch of cowards.

"Grand Duke Belkellion is truly a member of the royal family in name and reality. What you did today was a direct challenge to royal authority."

"......"

"How dare you. How dare you worthless things."

"That's because Princess Alexa doesn't know! How much His Majesty and the Prince regard the Grand Duke as..."

"That too is the royal family's personal business. Something that you, who are not royalty, must never dare to interfere in. Am I wrong?"

"......"

"I don't care what position His Majesty and Wilhelm take toward the Grand Duke. The fact you must keep in mind is."

I paused to create more dramatic tension.

This was something that absolutely needed to be emphasized.

"The fact that I stand behind Grand Duke Belkellion. From now on, lose all interest in the Grand Duke. You wouldn't want to oppose me, would you?"

The young lords nodded frantically. They didn't seem to directly refute the perception that the Grand Duke was cursed. Since he rarely lived in the capital and the Grand Duke himself wasn't well known, they must have felt comfortable making this kind of plan.

But if it's Alexa the Beast, that's a different story.

Alexa from the battlefield was quite famous, and decisively, her appearance alone could instill tremendous fear in people. That would be why Alexa, despite staying in the capital as rarely as the Grand Duke, received incomparably more attention and criticism than the Grand Duke.

Shit, I'm about to cry.

Even if she no longer looked like a beast, the name "the Beast" was still effective.

I looked down at them with satisfaction, then turned my gaze to Young Lord Hiphayne. Even while kneeling abjectly and looking up at me, perhaps his ducal family's pride couldn't be bent, as his rebellious look couldn't be hidden. He'd probably go to the Duke as soon as he escaped from here.

But I had no intention of going to unnecessary trouble.

"Young Lord Hiphayne. You don't seem to think so?"

"....No.."

If you're going to grit your teeth while answering, you shouldn't answer at all.

I smiled and bent my knee to match the young lord's eye level. I could feel Hiphayne's body instinctively trembling. The remaining young lords were holding their breath and staring at him and me.

I stroked the young lord's soft blonde hair.

I guess rich boys take care of their hair too.

Young Lord Hiphayne looked at me with eyes asking what I was doing.

And I immediately grabbed his hair and slammed his head into the ground.

"Urk!"

A death groan flowed from between his head buried straight in the ground.

I twisted the hair I was holding to turn the young lord's face toward me.

When our eyes met, I grinned and lowered my hand to grab his neck.

"Uh...urgh!!!!"

His neck was very fragile. Since his face and upper body were at an inclined angle anyway, if I put a little more force into it, breaking his neck would be an easy thing.

"I'll give the young lord a special additional warning. Ah, the rest of you listen well too."

"Cough...cough!!! S...save me...."

The groaning got louder when I grabbed his neck. Perhaps thinking he might really die, Hiphayne's arms flailed as he tried to pry off my hand gripping his neck.

"If the young lord's body moves even once more, I'll want to swiftly end your life."

The flailing body immediately stopped moving.

It's amazing how he clearly heard my low voice even in his frantic state.

Well, when you want to live, what can't you do.

"Young lord, do you want to die?"

I was gripping his neck so tightly that Hiphayne's face, dripping with tears and drool, shook frantically left and right.

"Then remember today well. What the result of opposing me is."

I put force into the young lord's neck one last time. Despair beyond fear appeared in the eyes of one buried in the ground, unable to move.

"Mercy comes only once."

Finishing my words, I let go and stood up to look at the others.

Except for Hiphayne, whose whole body was trembling like an aspen tree in the terror of death he still couldn't escape, the rest couldn't say anything and just looked up at me.

I turned my head toward them.

"You are no exception either."

If I've done this much, they should understand.

I left. I'd delayed too long.

'What if he's already been caught?'

My steps heading west quickened.

From the forest entrance heading northwest, this direction seems right....

Since the area is too vast, finding the Grand Duke seems faster than finding the traps they set.

Wouldn't it be more efficient to find him and then take him somewhere else?

Trap removal... well... I don't know. Let me think about the Grand Duke first.

I frantically looked around, trying to find even a strand of the Grand Duke's hair.

Even for Alexa with wide vision, this wasn't easy work.

Where the hell is Belkellion? Did he just go home?

No, I'm here, surely he wouldn't leave without even saying goodbye...

Countless thoughts followed one after another, ultimately reaching the thought of 'what am I doing here?'

Why am I looking for him like this?

No matter how much he matches my ideal type—

was I generous enough to scold four noble young lords for him and now suffer here desperately searching for him?

He's not stupid either, so he wouldn't be caught so easily.

But why am I worrying about him like this?

I haven't even known him for long.

My previous flirtations were just my tricks to seduce a handsome man or merely my goodwill toward a handsome man.

What I'm doing now has exceeded that range.

This is as if I absolutely must... to him...

"Stop."

I blocked the chain of thoughts that was about to continue.

I'm a very defensive person.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth—I've lived more faithfully by Hammurabi's code than anyone, and I've never shown this level of consideration focused purely on the person himself, without calculating the outcome.

Should this even be called consideration?

I don't even know what to call these actions I'm doing for the Grand Duke right now.

What's wrong with me, why am I like this?

At the complicated thoughts, I shook my head back and forth.

Let's find the Grand Duke first. Then this fluttering heart will calm down a bit.

Snap!

"Hm?"

I think I heard some sound?

I realized I'd been lost in thought and not paying attention to my surroundings, so I carefully took a step.

Squish!

.

.

.

"Shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I cursed out loud.

Damn, I shouldn't have stepped forward.

What is this, a swamp?

Where I was standing was a black swamp hidden by flat ground.

As soon as I stepped, something grabbed my foot firmly, and I could see a small black circle that could be considered a puddle.

It gradually grew larger and began to slowly engulf me starting from my ankles like an actual swamp.

I could feel sticky, disgusting liquid wrapping around my foot.

Even when I tried to lift my foot, it stuck like flypaper and bound me strongly.

"Damn, damn, damn"

I thought I'd be able to escape easily, but it's harder than I thought.

I tried using magic, tried striking down with my sword, tried all kinds of strength, but the swamp was slowly pulling me in.

Above all, what made it unbearable for me was that from this black liquid.....

"Shit, it smells like poop!!!!!!"

Crazy, I'm really going to lose it.

It feels exactly like falling into a shit pit.

Was this the prank they were planning to play on the Grand Duke?

"Those bastards, I really should have killed them."

I ground my teeth and grabbed my nose.

How fortunate that my hands are still free so I can do that.

Had about an hour passed?

I'd given up trying to escape the black circle and was standing there listlessly.

The circle had already submerged up to my waist.

I can't really smell it anymore since I've gotten used to it.

Damn, are my eyeballs getting moist right now?

No matter how stupid those young lords who played this prank were, they probably didn't intend to kill the Grand Duke.

That would make things truly irreversible, so this is probably one of the nasty pranks they prepared for the hunting competition. Belkellion showed up and they completely switched their target to him.

Then this black circle will probably end once the target is completely submerged and reeks of shit all over their body. I can only wait quietly for it to end, what terrible luck I have today.

I shouldn't have rushed to save the Grand Duke pretending to be a defender of justice from the start.

I trusted my luck too much.

No, when have I ever had good luck?

First I reincarnated as a hairy beast, didn't I?

Don't I have a complete b*tch for a sister?

Now I'm covered in shit.

Shit, I can never be happy.

Rustle,

While I was muttering to myself, I heard footsteps stepping on grass.

With hearing rivaling Somers', I can trust it.

I quickly raised my head.

"Hey! Over here!!!........?"

I was about to ask for help when I recognized the owner of the footsteps and my words stopped.

"....."

"....."

"....Alexa?"

Dark green eyes look at me.

"...Marquess?"

Shit, I really can never be happy.