CATB Chapter 27

"The reaction to Princess Alexa is far from ordinary."

A thick voice echoed through the dazzling room covered in gold.

A sharp-featured man with wire-rimmed glasses perched on the tip of his nose soon removed them and placed them on the marble table studded with diamonds. Fatigue seeped from the man's gesture as he roughly swept one hand down his face.

"A proposal to appoint Princess Alexa as Military Commander has been submitted to the council over this incident."

"......"

"The radical nobles are all throwing their votes, and even the military elders are joining them."

At the man's words, the figure who had been pacing around the room stopped in his tracks. There was another man in the room, draped in golden silk and boldly asserting his presence.

"Your Majesty."

"Silence."

An irritated voice cut off the bespectacled man's words.

Raphael III, the sovereign and ruler of Pellipe, was currently in a very annoyed state. Duke Manuela, judging that it would do no good to provoke him in his uncomfortable mood, obediently shut his mouth.

The king's footsteps as he paced around the room grew faster and faster. Impatient and irritated steps wandered aimlessly around the spacious office. The duke merely watched what the king was doing with a quiet gaze.

Eventually, the duke couldn't stand the silence and opened his mouth.

"You were too hasty. You should have offered encouragement and then moved your position. At this rate, the princess might really become the first female marshal in Pellipe's history."

"Silence!!!"

The irritated voice was directed at the duke.

"There's nothing to worry about. Alexa is a good child."

"Still, the forces currently supporting the princess are far from ordinary. If she rises to the position of marshal in this situation..."

"Naturally,"

The king's calm voice, completely different from his previous irritated tone, echoed through the room. He was so confident that the duke momentarily felt foolish for having worried.

"That will never happen."

"The proposal has already been submitted to the council. What do you plan to do about it?"

"Before it's voted on, Alexa will already be gone from here. How can they proceed with business when the person in question isn't present?"

"That would be the case. Then where do you plan to send her?"

"Since the monster incident has erupted anyway, I hear monster hordes have appeared on the western border causing tremendous damage. That place should give us enough time to sort things out here."

"Still, I'm somewhat uneasy..."

The king shook his head.

"She unnecessarily participated in this incident and received unwanted attention, but Alexa is my daughter. She has never disappointed me once up to now. My daughter,"

"....."

"Has become a very faithful tool for her father. As a father, there's nothing more joyful. Isn't that right?"

The duke gazed at the king silently without saying anything.

The king's face, illuminated by candlelight, glowed coldly.

For someone who had just spoken affectionately about his daughter, his face was unspeakably frigid.

"Princess!!!"

Ah, Lily again...

I closed my eyes at Lily's voice coming from the garden entrance.

Apparently, the luxury of enjoying alone time isn't permitted to me.

"Oh my, where have you been? I've searched the entire palace."

"Let me be alone for a bit. Please."

"Oh no! That won't do. You just returned from the brink of death not long ago... Who knows what might happen if you're alone!! Oh really, do you have your wits about you or not!!"

Since the hunting competition, Lily and Jen's nagging (written as nagging but read as surveillance) had increased dramatically.

Due to the sudden appearance of monster hordes, the royalty and nobles had hastily evacuated, and Lily and Jen had also returned safely to the palace by tagging along with the knights' escort.

Of course, they never thought that I, a beast, would die there, so they returned with peace of mind.

They had been relatively at ease, but they hadn't expected that I would have faced all those monster hordes.

"Somehow, the time got so late that I was anxious!! You should have escaped right away!!"

"That's right! What would we do if the princess kkaekko-dak*?!"

"Princess, you're not a god!!!"

Uh... is kkaekko-dak even a word?

I listened to the two girls' nagging with an uncomfortable expression all day long.

Wow, it was a long night. I shook my head vigorously to dispel the memories of that nightmare-like day.

"Anyway, what's the matter?"

"Uh... well..."

"If there's nothing wrong but you're bothering me, I'll have you executed, Lily."

As payment for disturbing my alone time, I'll make you drink my special green juice. Keke

"There are two things for now. Which would you like to hear first?"

"Either one. Just tell me quickly, will you? You know I'm impatient."

"Uh... the first is about that sachet the princess asked me to look into..."

I bolted upright from where I had been lying leisurely. That day, I had no choice but to force away that leather pouch that the grand duke didn't want to give me until the end. Just wait until I catch whoever it is.

"Did you find them?"

"Yes, we found the maker of the pouch."

"Where are they?"

"But... well... it's sold by a traveling merchant group, and they already packed up and left Pellipe last month. They said they were going to the Empire next, but after that their whereabouts are unclear, so any further tracking..."

"Damn, didn't they notice and escape in advance?"

As I grumbled, Lily glanced at me and opened her mouth.

"But why are you suddenly looking for that leather pouch? If you want one, I'll buy you a prettier one. That one is too crude!!"

I looked down at the pouch in my hands. It was about the size of two finger joints, seeming like it could barely hold a ring or earrings. I had stored the contents separately (damn, there were five or six black pellets the size of rabbit droppings inside, which Mile had taught me were made by solidifying the secretions of female monsters) and kept only the pouch.

So someone secretly attached this tiny thing to Kuro without Belkellion knowing.

Thinking it would take a bit more time to catch the culprit than expected, I pocketed the pouch again.

"Then what's the second thing?"

"...Um... His Majesty the King has summoned you again."

"Again?"

"Yes, I kept telling him you had gone for a walk, but His Majesty insisted you must be brought to him, so actually the chief secretary is waiting outside the garden."

"Well now, it's not like I'm being dragged away."

I wasn't particularly surprised since I had an inkling that contact would come around this time. When I returned to the palace after dealing with the monster attack, he didn't even look for me, but after it became known that Belkellion and I had saved people and the fact that the royal family had fled with their tails between their legs spread through the soldiers (though the royal escape seemed to be circulating only within the palace, given how much blood they must have spilled to keep mouths shut), the incident had cast new light on Belkellion and me alone.

The common people still seemed to retain some fear of us, but the nobles wouldn't miss such an opportunity to weaken royal authority. Marquess Sergey, the head of the noble faction, unofficially criticized the king (of course, since they too were part of the nobles who fled, officially making an issue of the king's absence wouldn't benefit them either) and submitted a proposal to appoint me as Pellipe's marshal in recognition of my achievements. The intentions of the forces suddenly supporting me were obvious, but since there didn't seem to be any particular reason to step forward and refuse, I had just left it alone.

The king couldn't have viewed my attitude favorably. Not long after the proposal was submitted, the king summoned me, and I avoided him with various excuses. Sometimes I lied about having a severe fever from the aftermath of the hunting competition, and other times I left the palace claiming to be inspecting it. I wanted to take some rest in advance since I could pretty much guess what he'd say if I went, and—

Crucially, if I were the type to meekly go along with the king's intentions, my personality wouldn't have become this foul in the first place.

Well, I'd avoided him about five or six times with ridiculous lies, but yes, the king had been patient for about two weeks. As the intervals between his summons grew shorter, his patience seemed to be wearing thin as well.

I clicked my tongue and stood up.

"Let's go."

Lily quietly followed me, and when we reached the garden entrance, the white-haired royal chief secretary saw me and bowed.

"I greet Princess Alexa."

I nodded to acknowledge his greeting and followed him without a word.

Knowing that this gentle-looking old man reported every word I spoke and every action I took to the king, it was better not to reveal anything from the start.

"Lily, you go back first."

"Yes?"

"Go and buy what I asked you for. Make sure to get something pretty, okay?"

"Ah, yes... Princess, but..."

Lily hesitated, seeming worried about sending me off alone with the secretary. While I appreciated her concern, since her presence here wouldn't help with my plans for today anyway, I shook my head. Lily looked at me worriedly, then bowed and spoke.

"Then please be careful."

Using the word "careful" for the glorious task of having an audience with the king would seem strange for a maid. Lily's rare sense of justice, unusual for her age, wasn't keen enough to perceive the king's cold side of using Alexa like a tool, but she had noticed the king's irritated wariness toward me.

The secretary quietly gazed at Lily's retreating figure as she returned to Iris Palace. I narrowed my eyes. If the secretary were to take issue with Lily's attitude, there was no guarantee that if the king and I later came to conflict, he wouldn't try to target her first. While I could sufficiently protect myself, the young maids had no power before the king. Lily was the first person to see me in this world. Since there was a way to avoid losing her unnecessarily, leaving the danger alone would be a foolish thing to do.

"She's still young and lacks maturity. Please understand."

"How could there be any question?"

The secretary bowed respectfully. His tone, like that of a faithful missionary, made me smile slightly.

"The conversation just now probably doesn't need to reach His Majesty's ears."

"...Pardon?"

The secretary raised his head at my following words.

"I'm well aware that His Majesty is very curious about me and those around me. I also know that you're faithfully reporting that to him."

"......"

"If His Majesty asks, naturally you must tell him. That's a subject's duty, isn't it?"

"Princess, I..."

"I'm not trying to blame you. You're naturally doing your duty as a subject, so how could I prevent that?"

"......"

"However, let me say this out of my own concern."

I stopped walking and met his eyes. I felt the need to make this part clear.

"Everything you report to His Majesty should be based on accurate evidence."

"...I don't understand what you mean, foolish as I am."

"I'm telling you to be careful with your words."

"......"

"I'm well aware of the secretary's loyalty in wanting to pay careful attention to all matters. However, if an innocent child is hurt by your excessive or unnecessary suspicions, that wouldn't be right either. If that happened to one of my people, I couldn't just sit by with my hands folded."

"...Princess..."

"In any case, I will protect Lily to the end. But do you think His Majesty will protect you?"

The secretary was speechless at the unexpected question. As someone who assisted the king's every move right beside him, I didn't think he could have failed to see through the king's true nature. Whether from experience or natural ability, he seemed like a very astute person.

"Are you certain that you are His Majesty's person?"

"......"

"If you wish to live out your remaining years comfortably, be careful. I'd like to see you around for quite a while, Albert."

"...Princess Alexa."

"Seeing you like this so often, I've somehow grown fond of you. I worry about such useless things..."

The old man's eyes briefly flickered with surprise that I knew his name, then faded. I smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Albert. I hope my concern proves to be groundless. More sincerely than anyone."

"......"

"I hope I won't have to say such things again."

I don't want to see unnecessary blood spilled.

Though I swallowed the words in my mind, Albert would have already understood the meaning of my last statement.

He gazed at me quietly, then bowed and headed back toward the palace. From that gesture, I could tell that he had fully understood my words.

I smiled faintly and followed him.

Translator Note:

*Kkaekko-dak (깨꼬닥) is a Korean onomatopoeia that mimics the sound of something breaking or cracking, like an egg cracking or something fragile shattering. I'm not sure what would be similar in English other than maybe: "...if the Princess croaks?!" while making the frog croaking sounds.