Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Pippi? No, Silver Fang
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“Damn.”
The Northern Grand Duke—no, Calderon Grand Duke—roughly ran his hand through his hair.
“Nothing’s going right...!”
The relationship between the Calderon Grand Duke's family and the Argentus Imperial Family was poor. Was it just bad between the current duke and them?
No, it wasn’t.
The two houses had been bitter enemies for a long time historically. Centuries of enmity that started from a romantic entanglement.
Even the closest of friends can fall out over love. And the Imperial Family and the Calderon Grand Duke's house were no different.
Originally, the Grand Duke's family served as the shield of the North, while the Imperial Family supported them in a mutually beneficial relationship. But one single mistake had torn them apart.
The hatred between the two houses had been passed down through generations, and for centuries, they had been waiting for any chance to tear into each other.
The cause of the hatred had been forgotten, passed down only as pure animosity.
“It was a chance to drag the Imperial Family’s prestige down to rock bottom...!”
What he had planned was for the beasts to rampage due to the Imperial Family’s negligence in management, resulting in numerous nobles dead or injured.
And amid that rampage, he himself would step up, display heroic valor, and then boldly pressure the Imperial Family right in the capital.
Moreover, if he later captured the cultists responsible for enhancing the beasts with Demonic Energy in this incident, it would complete a perfect narrative.
And this was a gamble with quite a high chance of success.
It was even a chance to impress Sena, the woman he had recently fallen for...!
“But...!”
Things went awry with the appearance of the Fenrir.
The sudden emergence of the mythical beast called Fenrir stole everyone’s attention, turning what could have been blamed on Imperial negligence into an unpredictable catastrophe that no one could have foreseen.
And to top it off, Yujin—the Emperor’s loyalist—had handsomely dealt with it. Plus, it was Yujin, not the Grand Duke himself, who had saved Sena.
That idiot Crown Prince hadn’t even been a contender from the start.
...In the end, there were injuries but no deaths.
Instead, it had become a stage that only highlighted Yujin’s heroism.
“That damned bastard...!”
Grind—
The Northern Grand Duke gnashed his teeth.
This made it difficult for the noble faction under the Grand Duke to attack the Imperial Family.
What could they do about an unforeseeable disaster? It was in the realm of natural calamities. And to make matters worse, Yujin—the Empire’s Sword Master and loyalist—had slain that Fenrir.
“Kuh...”
The Grand Duke quietly ground his teeth in jealousy and contempt toward Yujin.
“...What the hell was that massive wolf in the first place? I’ve never touched anything like that...”
The Northern Grand Duke muttered under his breath.
Where the hell had that Fenrir monster popped out from?
It was true that the Grand Duke had enhanced the beasts with Demonic Energy. More precisely, he had used the rootless cultists for it. They had aligned goals of sowing chaos in the Empire and Imperial Family, so he had briefly joined hands with them.
But Fenrir?
“...Could it be... the cultists’ doing...!”
That was the only explanation.
“Nng...! Kking...!! Hek hek!”
The baby Fenrir kept rubbing against Yujin’s chest and licking his cheek.
Slurp—
Slurp—
Slurp—
“Pfft...”
Irene and Lucia, watching from across from him, smiled as if it were amusing.
They had somehow moved from the Imperial Palace to the Banus Marquis residence in the capital.
But why had they followed him?
Lucia’s home was the Imperial Palace, so she could have just stayed there. And Irene was a duke’s daughter—wouldn’t her father worry? She had been through a certain incident(?), so he’d surely be concerned.
Besides, there were no signs of abuse on Irene, and considering her reputation in the capital, it was clear she was cherished in her duke’s household.
So it wouldn’t be strange if her father had rushed over to check on his daughter by now...
‘Hmm.’
...Except that Yujin had taken her precious daughter’s purity... It was something impossible to put into words.
Lick—
‘...Enough licking already.’
Yujin stroked the baby Fenrir that kept licking his cheek. Its tail wagged furiously.
It looked so fluffy he wanted to grab it tight.
Yujin absentmindedly stroked the Fenrir while thinking.
‘...Is this a good thing?’
This baby Fenrir refused to leave Yujin’s side at all.
So when he had to enter the palace today, it had been quite the hassle.
If he set the little beast down even briefly, it would trot over and leap into his arms demanding to be held. If he used force to keep it from climbing up, it would whine pitifully right there.
In the end, unable to do anything, he had lingered in front of the palace when the Emperor simply ordered him to come in.
‘Haa... Why the hell is it doing this?’
The Emperor had told him to raise it, but did he really have to?
Yujin seriously pondered how to raise a puppy (or whatever it was).
‘Should I buy a doghouse first...’
Or dog food?
But what did Fenrir eat? It was a wolf that bit gods, so maybe something with divine power?
...Of course, Yujin didn’t know, but Fenrir just ate meat. A wolf that ate divine power? That sounded like something the lunatics of Pandemonium would love.
“Haa...”
“Nng?”
The Fenrir tilted its head as if wondering what was wrong.
‘...You’re the problem.’
Irene, watching from across, playfully thought.
‘...Is it female?’
The little Fenrir was definitely cute.
But... something felt off. Woman’s intuition? It felt like seeing another female eyeing her man.
It was a bit weird that the object was a mythical beast and not even human... but that just meant the Fenrir was that adorable.
‘Look at that.’
Rubbing against him and licking his face.
Its fur looked so soft it’d feel great to touch. Having given her violent furball body to Yujin, how cozy must he feel right now?
‘Such a temptress.’
It even made her think about trying it herself...
...Of course, on the bed.
‘Yujin would love it.’
They’d already had their first time, so there should be more after that.
As Irene smiled mysteriously, Lucia quietly spoke up.
“What are you going to name that Fenrir...?”
“...Hmm.”
A name, huh.
Yujin had never named anyone or anything before. So he didn’t know his own naming sense...
“...Pippi?”
“...?”
“Pippi...?”
He could see Lucia and Irene’s shock.
“Grrrrrr...!”
Even the Fenrir stood on Yujin’s knee and bared its teeth. A name that horrified even a mythical beast.
‘Is it that bad?’
Yujin wondered if it wasn’t actually a pretty good name.
‘Sounds cute, feels affectionate... Seriously not bad.’
Of course, it was just his delusion.
Lucia and Irene realized in an instant that Yujin had zero naming sense.
‘...Yujin. Sorry...’
‘I’ll have to name the baby.’
If left to him, it’d be something like Cheolsu or Younghee. Of course, they didn’t have a baby yet, weren’t even dating, let alone engaged.
But there was a future, right?
The Fenrir thwacked his thigh with its tail as if demanding a different name.
“Hmm...”
He pondered for a moment.
What would be good...
......
Ah.
“...Silver Fang.”
“Nng?”
The Fenrir looked up at Yujin. He lightly stroked its head and said.
“How about Silver Fang?”
“Hmm, that’s a good name, Yujin.”
Lucia nodded first.
“I think Silver Fang fits too. Matches the fur color, straightforward yet pretty.”
Irene nodded as well.
Now for the main opinion—the party, or rather the party dog, the Fenrir...
“Nng! Kking! Hek hek!”
The Fenrir rubbed its face against his chest in approval.
...His clothes were instantly soaked with Fenrir—no, Silver Fang’s saliva.
Lucia chuckled.
“So from now on, Silver Fang is yours to raise, Yujin?”
“Somehow it turned out that way.”
“Seeing Silver Fang makes me want to raise one too.”
At Lucia’s words, Yujin wondered and lifted Silver Fang to offer it to her.
“Grrrr...! Woof!”
Silver Fang growled at her. Even though Yujin was the one handing it over.
Lucia said in exasperation.
“Hmm, Silver Fang doesn’t like me. Why?”
“...No idea.”
He really didn’t know.
Why did a mythical beast like Fenrir like a human like Yujin so much?
Maybe it wasn’t a mythical beast—just a wolf-like puppy? Or maybe Yujin was the exception.
‘...Why the exception, though?’
There were so many things he needed to figure out.
‘Tch.’
Silver Fang was now in his arms, getting saliva and fur all over him.
Irene, who had been resting her chin on her hand alone, gave Yujin a serious look.
“Hmm... Speaking of which, more than the Fenrir itself, that last thing you said at the palace... Is it true, Yujin?”
The last thing Yujin had said at the palace—about sensing familiar mana from the Fenrir beyond just Demonic Energy.
The mood grew heavy in an instant.
Only Silver Fang ignored the atmosphere.
“Hek hek!”
And Irene,
“...If that’s true, it means Calderon Grand Duke was plotting rebellion against the Imperial Family.”
calmly muttered the shocking words.