#098
The next morning brought the usual quiet breakfast table. Normally, their guests Chezare and Col Chancellor would have joined them, but the two had returned to the imperial palace at dawn.
He said he'd leave early, but... not this early.
She would have been pretty bummed without that magic key. Catherine filled her stomach haphazardly and gulped down her coffee before speaking up.
"Grandma, I'm planning to leave Panya tonight and head back home."
The Panya Marchioness, who had been scanning the newspaper, turned her eyes toward Catherine.
"That's fast."
Yaong's voice floated in from somewhere. Where was he hiding? Catherine peeked under the table, just in case, and there he was—rolling around on the Panya Marchioness's lap. He'd already sweet-talked his way onto Grandma's good side.
"Karl and the knights will be disappointed."
"Don't worry. His Grace the Grand Duke gave me a magic tool that lets me go anywhere. I can drop by Panya anytime from now on."
"Karl and the knights will like that."
The marchioness folded her newspaper with a flick and tossed it forward before asking Catherine,
"You've heard about the Continental Peace Maintenance Conference being held in the capital, right?"
"Yeah, Chezare mentioned it yesterday. He said he came to ask you to attend as his proxy?"
"...You heard it from the grand duke? You two share everything, huh."
Her gaze carried a hint of displeasure. Maybe Catherine shouldn't have mentioned it.
The marchioness narrowed her brow and drummed the table for a long moment. Then she made a proposal.
"How about coming along as my aide?"
It was so out of left field that Catherine wondered if she'd misheard.
"Me?"
"Yes. You."
"I don't know anything useful. I'd just be in the way—no harm done if I don't screw things up."
"Think I'd miss something like that?"
Fair point. Grandma wouldn't overlook it.
The Panya Marchioness had always had uncanny intuition.
"That doesn't matter. If I needed real help, I wouldn't be asking you."
"Then what do you want me to do if I come?"
"Just sit there quietly."
The marchioness's answer was firm.
"Opportunities like this don't come often. It's held only once every five years—a precious seat where just three aides can attend. Only those approved by His Imperial Majesty himself."
Catherine had zero interest in being one of those three. Too much hassle.
And a pain in the ass.
Still, out of politeness, she asked,
"It was me, the Imperial Knight Commander, and the Seifran Crown Prince who were selected. But this year, I'm filling in for old Col Chancellor, and the knight commander has to guard the venue—so two spots opened up."
Perfect for the Morgichi Prince and Monat Princess, who were locked in a three-way succession battle.
"The host nation will also pick an aide for the chair, so it'll effectively be four spots instead of three. The Seifran Crown Prince will probably assist the chair, leaving three vacancies in the end. Two will go to the Morgichi Prince and Monat Princess, and the last one's the key."
Even with four spots, the lineup was star-studded. Catherine pictured the seven Iterana Empire reps standing together: Shagweed II, Chezare the Grand Duke, Panya Marchioness. Behind them: Seifran Crown Prince, Morgichi Prince, Monat Princess. And her, Catherine Panya, awkwardly tagging along. The odd one out.
"Isn't that a spot just anyone can't fill?"
"Obviously. Nobles, bureaucrats, professors—they're all fighting tooth and nail for it. So much greed."
That was exactly Catherine's point.
"How could I squeeze into something like that?"
"What's stopping my own granddaughter? That doddering Col shoved his job onto me. He owes me the right to pick whoever I want!"
Unlike the fuming Panya Marchioness, Catherine had no interest whatsoever. Best to shut this down quick.
She politely declined. "Sorry, Grandma. I don't want to attend the Continental Peace Maintenance Conference as an aide."
"Why?"
Reasons galore.
"As you know, becoming His Grace's apprentice has drawn all sorts of unwanted attention. Reporters camp out in front of my house. If I showed up at the conference too, the gossip would explode."
She could already see the morning headlines.
And so on—endless bullshit in real time. Thankfully, the Panya Marchioness fully understood her concerns.
"Hm. I hadn't considered that far. You're right. This needs more thought."
Phew, crisis averted. Catherine had nearly gotten dragged into a tiring mess. She sighed in relief and mentally sorted her schedule.
First, back home to wrap up the garden. For real this time.
Check in with Fontpado Madam too.
And above all, finish reading the guidebook her mother left behind. Once she made up her mind, she could accept or reject Lilith's inheritance.
"Catherine."
"Yes?"
As Catherine mulled it over, the Panya Marchioness spoke with uncharacteristically grave seriousness.
"You've really decided on that guy?"
That guy?
"What?"
"Chezare Christopher, Grand Duke."
Her teacher. Catherine nodded firmly.
"Yeah, it's been a while now."
Their relationship was already public knowledge anyway (though not as master and apprentice), so backing out now would be awkward.
Giovanni might be miffed.
I'll leave a note in the ledger when I get back.
"I'm worried. Can you really handle Chezare Christopher, Grand Duke?"
His dazzling reputation was a lot for one person to shoulder.
A tsk from Yaong under the table.
"What's wrong with my granddaughter?"
Catherine shook her head and reassured the marchioness.
"Don't worry. His Grace treats me great."
Hard not to, with their contract.
The Panya Marchioness let out a long sigh and relented.
"It does seem that way. Yesterday, you two stuck together all day like cicadas on a dead tree until sunset. I've never seen the grand duke like that. That easy smile—like a normal person—was downright strange."
She thought it was lessons all day? Catherine nodded quietly.
"Fine. If you like him, I won't interfere. People's hearts don't bend to others' wishes. Do what you want."
"Thanks."
Permission to date, officially granted? Felt like it.
"Oh, right, Grandma."
The marchioness, about to reopen her newspaper, looked up. Catherine made her most solemn face in days.
"Before I go, could you sign two sheets? Demian's your biggest fan."
Tsk. With a reluctant expression, the Panya Marchioness agreed.
Grandma's stylish signature with a cat paw next to it. Perfect.
"Cool. Let's do that."
Catherine resolved to add hers too.
That evening, Catherine returned to the mansion with Demian and Yaong in tow. Roze, reunited after so long, laid out a feast like she'd been waiting.
The flood of letters had noticeably slowed. Though the Morgichi Prince sent another one amid it all.
Before bed, Catherine recalled her conversation with Chezare the night before.
'Remember that warning Mars gave me up in the papal airspace?'
The warning to run because something big would happen at the Holy See.
Chezare had paused mid-sip of tea and given a light nod of affirmation.
'Was that warning tied to the Holy See summoning Behemoth?'
'Quick on the uptake.'
He'd asked with a troubled look.
'Interested in the Holy See's inhumane dealings?'
'Nope. Not at all.'
'Good. Keep ignoring them like that.'
Exactly what Catherine wanted. But for some reason, one vivid memory lodged deep in her mind refused to fade.
Catherine ventured carefully,
'The Behemoth from 600 years ago and today's Behemoth—they're different, right?'
After staring into her eyes for a long moment, Chezare answered slowly.
'The previous Behemoth died by my hand right after subjugation. The current one inherited his legacy—the youngest among the archdemons, in human terms.'
'Why did you and Mom form the demon king subjugation squad?'
'Other archdemons joined too. We just took the lead.'
His gaze lingered briefly on the rippling red tea in his cup.
'At the end of their mental lifespan... some snap and go mad. That's what happened with that era's Behemoth. We handled it ourselves before he could turn Eden to ruins.'
Tolerance among archdemons? Mental limits driving them insane. Definitely beyond human ken.
Catherine thought of the man locked in the iron cage. Every word they'd exchanged remained etched in her memory.
'What about the previous Behemoth's contractor?'
Did contractors keep reincarnating even after their demon died?
Chezare's response was icy.
'Quite the interest in the Sixth Demon King... Normally, the soul perishes completely with Behemoth. Normally.'
So exceptions existed. His eyes screamed, Why do you care?
Catherine offered an excuse.
'He said something weird, that's all I remember.'
'Did that bastard confess or something?'
Maybe half-serious, half-not—but close enough. Catherine had no intention of relaying such trivial nonsense.
Instead, she mentioned the creepy part.
'He said if the Seventh Demon King appears in the future, I'll know it's him.'
'To you, Catherine?'
'Yeah. That's his sign so I'll recognize him.'
Chezare crossed his arms with a faint smile.
'Interesting.'
He murmured thoughtfully,
'Very interesting. If he shows up, it'd be fun smashing him piece by piece.'
With a 100% genuine, beaming smile.
No worries about the continent burning over the Seventh Demon King, then.
"Telling him right away was the right call for sketchy stuff like that."
She'd contributed to world peace or something? Whatever—the Continental Peace Maintenance Conference could stay far away.
Catherine drifted into pleasant sleep in her top-of-the-line Ludfong cherry-picked bed.