Ability Unleashed #2
The wolf ears on Ren's head twitched and perked up, trembling with alarm. Her tail puffed out to its fullest, signaling danger. It swished back and forth behind her hips in a frantic display, perfectly broadcasting her current emotional state.
"Ppiit."
All of this chaos stemmed from the unidentified little girl currently nestled in my arms.
My head was spinning, but deep down, I understood. This girl shared many traits with the Blackie I already possessed. The black coloration that had always been her signature was there, and she clearly had no intention of hiding that signature squeak of hers.
"Blackie."
"Ppiit!"
See? Those chubby, squishy cheeks were so adorable they could awaken a protective instinct in anyone who saw them. Those sparkling, wide eyes carried a destructive power strong enough to strain the heart.
"Ren, look at our Blackie. When did she get this big? Sob sob."
"...Is this Your Highness's ability?"
"Probably, I guess?"
"...?"
Ren tilted her head, clearly not understanding what I meant. But I genuinely had nothing more to say. I'd simply spat out some of the blood-soaked curse through Ayla, Blackie had absorbed it, and the next day she'd arbitrarily taken on this childlike form. None of it had been my intention.
What was certain, however, was that my desperate struggle to save my own life had triggered some kind of change in Blackie.
"Ppiit...!"
The moment that thought crossed my mind, Blackie suddenly reacted, squirming restlessly as she looked at me.
"Why do you look like a puppy that desperately needs to pee..."
—Twitch. Twitch.
Still in that state, Blackie trembled as if straining with effort.
—Glop.
"...Huh?"
She extracted a small amount of black substance from both hands and began kneading it with surprising dexterity, shaping it into something.
What the hell? What kind of situation is this?
"Your Highness, this is..."
Ren was just as clueless as I was. We simply watched as Blackie continued her little clay-sculpting session.
—Squish!
Soon, the object formed in the little girl's hands began to wriggle, proudly asserting its existence.
"....!"
It had an entirely black body, squirming faintly while opening and closing a mouth lined with sharp teeth.
"Blackie, what the hell is this..."
I was about to ask while staring at the grotesque, bizarre creature when Blackie held it out to me with an expectant expression.
"Uh..."
"Ppiit!"
She offered it like it was a genuine gift, so I took it. The 'black mass' wriggled across my palm like it was swimming. No matter how I looked at it, this was clearly...
'Blackie's summon.'
It wasn't unheard of in the original story for a summon to command its own summons. The eldritch lich controlled by a dark mage had once raised an entire undead army, after all.
"Blackie, is this for me?"
"Ppiit!"
"I'm genuinely touched."
I wasn't actually touched. It looked downright disgusting, and those sharp teeth kept snapping open and closed. Holding this thing in my hand made me seriously question my life choices.
"Still, it's better than nothing, right?"
"If it originates from the Blessing of Mana that Your Highness possesses, it will undoubtedly contain immense power," Ren said with conviction.
The Blessing of Mana. A cheat-tier trait granted only to members of the Eterna Imperial Family. It was also the simplest explanation for why the male leads of the imperial faction in the original story stood at the pinnacle of this world's power structure.
'Maybe I don't have to give up hope just yet?'
Even though I was living a pathetic, half-imprisoned life in this separate palace. Even though I'd been born weak because of the curse. The owner of this body was still a legitimate member of the imperial family.
"This seems like the perfect thing to test out somewhere."
I wanted to know exactly what this summon Blackie had given me could do. Did it participate directly in combat, or did it support me safely in some other way?
'For now, this isn't bad at all.'
My mood improved considerably. This was the moment that proved the value of risking everything to venture into the incredibly dangerous slums.
Struggle to survive. And in doing so, obtain clues.
The thrill I felt from that process was no joke. This was the dopamine-driven mindset of a modern person from the 21st century.
—Ayla. Thinking of her back at the Grey Cradle, I resolved to give her some proper repayment the next time I visited. After all, it was thanks to her that Blackie had taken this next step.
With that thought in mind, I was about to learn more about Blackie's evolution when—
—Poof!
"Ppiit...?!"
"Whoa."
In an instant, Blackie had reverted to her original liquid-slime form and settled back into my arms.
"Hey, give Blackie back."
"Ppiit-ppiit...!"
Blackie herself seemed startled by her body's sudden return to normal. She trembled all over, staring at me with those tiny bead-like eyes.
"...It seems using the ability comes with a recoil," I observed.
"Apparently so."
The good news was that after some time passed, she successfully returned to her little-girl mode.
"This is the problem, huh."
I looked down at Blackie's summon, which was still wriggling on my palm. Maintaining the child form was fine, but using her true abilities seemed to trigger this backlash.
"Your Highness, if you need it... shall I obtain a pass for the main palace library?"
"Do I need to go that far?"
"Yes."
"I'm still a member of the imperial family, aren't I?"
"When you were sent to the separate palace, most of the authority and privileges you once held were stripped away."
"Hah."
There was no greater loser than this. Not only did the original owner's memories carry that bitterness, but even in places he didn't know about, the stigma of defeat had been stamped on him from every angle.
"Then forget it. We'll figure it out ourselves for now. If we hit a wall, we'll find another way later."
"Understood."
"If we need to, we can always seek advice directly in the capital."
No matter how much they tried to restrict me, they couldn't block the inherent value of my name. Why? Because while the imperial family might treat me like trash, doing so anywhere else would be considered an act of treason.
"For the time being..."
It seemed best to continue developing my connection with the Grey Cradle and Ayla. While searching for a way to cure my curse, helping the children in danger would be the optimal outcome.
"Your Highness."
"Yeah."
When I turned at Ren's call, I saw the face of my secretary and bodyguard, still wearing that perpetually stoic expression.
"...Was helping the children in the slums because of your relationship with the healer there?"
"Well... killing two birds with one stone?"
Why was she acting like this? She felt different from her usual self. Especially those unique pupils. Whenever those long, vertically slit eyes turned toward me, it felt like they were dragging out the deepest parts of my inner self.
"Do you wish to return to the main palace, Your Highness?"
The main palace. 'Out of nowhere?'
The original Arjen would have missed his life there quite a bit. Even now, the remaining memories in this body reacted to the single name Ren had spoken, pounding heavily in my chest.
"No."
But I wasn't him. Having taken control of this body, I had zero intention of returning to that godforsaken place.
"...But why—"
"I'm only telling you this because it's you, Ren. I hate it here."
Soon, a massive bomb would explode across this empire. A bomb called the Political War. And right at the center of that storm was the imperial family—including this separate palace.
"Rather than living in this precarious place where my life could be snuffed out at any moment, it'd be better to throw away my name and live a completely different life."
"...But."
Of course the imperial family wouldn't let someone like me go so easily. That was exactly why I had to act more aggressively. I needed to finish my preparations before the power-hungry madmen of the imperial family were consumed by their own insanity. And before that 'crazy bitch' set foot in the palace.
"Well... if the time comes and you don't want to stay by my side, Ren, I can't force you. I'll respect your choice."
This much I was certain of. To other nobles, Ren was nothing but a filthy beastkin. But because I knew the original story, I understood the incredible potential engraved in her bloodline. So I would respect her until the very end. I hoped that when we met again someday, the way she looked at me would be filled with goodwill.
"...."
Ren was still staring at me. Yet her eyes trembled faintly, like ripples spreading across a quiet lake.
"Your Highness... you seem like a completely different person overnight."
"...Was I that bad before?"
"...."
No answer came. That silence was answer enough.
'I really don't have anything to say to that.'
Just skimming through the memories brought back scenes from when he'd hated the world. And that malice had been directed even at Ren, his only bodyguard.
Arjen von Eterna had originally been a fool bundled together with aristocratic vanity and an inferiority complex he could never fully overcome.
Therefore—
"It might sound ridiculous coming from me now, but... I won't ever insult your identity again, Ren."
I made that declaration right then and there. From now on, I would live chasing only the right words and the right life.
"I'm fine with it. That was the duty assigned to me."
"Want to punch me? This is a rare opportunity. A completely legal chance to hit a member of the imperial family."
Given Ren's personality, there was no way she'd agree, but I tossed out the joke anyway to lighten the mood.
"...You've definitely changed."
"I have to live earnestly. It's the only life I've got."
"The current You, Your Highness, feels like you possess a powerful will to live."
"Oh, is that a good impression?"
"It is a good impression."
"Ppiit!"
Blackie, who had been beside us, chimed in positively toward my resolve.
She should feel it. There had never been a moment when my desire to survive burned this fiercely. I would survive no matter what, overcome this damn assassination threat, and escape this damn imperial family.
"If I may be so bold, Your Highness—as long as you remain my lord, I will protect my position with my life."
"...."
Was Ren originally this loyal? The information about her in the original story had been so scarce that I nodded with a somewhat unsettled heart.
.. ... ....
Therefore, the true purpose behind assigning Ren—a beastkin—to the imperial palace was not protection in the literal sense. It was undoubtedly meant to deepen the inferiority and humiliation of the one she served.
"...."
"Zzz..."
A moonlit night. Ren, standing guard over her lord's safety from her position, turned her gaze toward the face of one man. The man sleeping soundly, unaware of the world, and the adorable summon beside him.
Until recently, Ren had faced that man's venomous hostility.
'How dare a filthy bloodline like you look at me with those eyes...!'
The voice in her memory belonged to none other than that man—Arjen von Eterna.
'I will respect your choice, Ren.'
Yet the same voice now carried warm memories that once again stirred ripples in her heart.
"...Who are you?"
Ren murmured to herself. In her mind, two different lords remained. The venomous, discarded loser of the imperial family, and the strange man who dirtied his own hands to protect the children.
Which one was his true self?
The endless confusion tormented Ren, but she soon shook it off with light meditation.
...What if.
What if every part of this process—including the vicious behavior he'd shown at the very beginning—had all been part of a plan? A scheme to be driven out to this separate palace so he could look only at his own picture—
'Since when?'
Just when had that man—Arjen von Eterna—begun carrying out his plan?
The night grew deeper, but Ren's worries continued without end.