Chapter 37
Translator: penny
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Night Walk (2)
“What the hell, sis? That's your type?”
“No way... even love has its limits...”
The soldiers stared at the second daughter with somewhat dazed looks in their eyes. They alternated their gazes between her and Kairen, then frowned and began muttering to themselves.
“Even so, he looks way too young.”
“...Is he even over ten? That kid?”
“Did we just stumble onto an unexpected crime?”
Before long, they drew their batons from their belts, flashed sinister grins, and started advancing again.
“Sis, looks like you'll have to come with us, willing or not.”
“Heh heh, should've just come along nicely.”
“...If we hadn't known you were criminals, we might've gone easy on you.”
The second daughter frowned at the sight. She looked down at Kairen and let out a sigh.
“Haa...”
The soldiers put on stern expressions and turned their eyes to Kairen as well. They twirled their batons threateningly and whispered softly.
“Kid, boyfriend or not, get lost already.”
“Yeah, we'll take this naughty lady off your hands...”
But for some reason, the soldiers trailed off mid-sentence. Suddenly, their eyes went wide as they began looking around frantically.
“Huh?”
The fierce little boy who had been at the entrance was gone.
“Sis, grab my hand tight!”
“...?”
“We're getting out of here together!”
The soldiers rubbed their eyes, wondering if they were still too drunk. Too late, they spotted Kairen grabbing the second daughter's hand, darting past them toward the exit.
They raised their voices.
“Hey, stop!”
“Ugh, wait... my stomach...”
But the soldiers who tried to give chase overlooked their drunken state. They soon clutched their stomachs and collapsed in place.
“Wait a moment.”
“Yes?”
“I don't feel well... cough.”
But the second daughter was in no better shape herself.
“Thanks for the help, but I'm fine now?”
“...”
“I can handle things from here...”
She had only run one block with Kairen, but her body was drenched in cold sweat. Her voice trembled slightly as she tried to pull away from him.
“...Hic?”
The next instant, her slight body floated up into the air.
“It's fine!”
“...”
“I'm stronger than I look!”
Kairen scooped up the disguised second daughter in a princess carry, his Crimson Eyes activated. He flashed a determined grin and dashed down the night street.
“By the way, sis, you're light as a feather.”
“...My?”
“Hold on tight or you might fly away. Hehe.”
A faint smile tugged at the corners of the second daughter's mouth as she lay cradled in Kairen's arms, looking somewhat surprised.
“Hehe...”
At the same time, a red aura seeped faintly from her half-closed eyes.
“Hah, hah...”
Kairen, carrying the second daughter disguised as a plain woman, finally slipped into a quiet alley after running for a while. He caught his breath with ragged gasps.
“Little knight. Aren't you pushing yourself too hard?”
“...N-no, I'm fine!”
Kairen jolted upright at her words as she set her down lightly.
“Anyway, this place looks safe now!”
“Yes, it does.”
“It was safe from the start, really...”
Kairen muttered softly, then bent at the waist to meet her eyes. He trailed off, his eyes widening as he stared at her.
“Little knight. Is there something on my face?”
“N-no, it's not that...”
“...Oh? Did you fall for me, perhaps?”
Even in her plain, inconspicuous disguise, the second daughter's appearance was strikingly beautiful as she looked down at him.
“D-don't tease me.”
“Hehe...”
Especially since she was giving him a deliberate eye smile—Kairen, weak to such things, couldn't help but look dazed.
“By the way, do you remember what you said earlier?”
“Yes?”
“Something about being your girlfriend? It was pretty cool.”
She examined him with even greater interest, then lifted the corners of her mouth. She slipped her fingers between his, which had been holding her hand until then.
“Th-that was... just to draw attention...”
“Oh? What do you mean by that?”
“...Ah?”
That was when Kairen, unknowingly interlacing fingers with her, desperately averted his gaze and muttered that.
“You're not the type who shakes a girl's heart and then plays it off like you weren't serious, are you?”
The second daughter suddenly leaned in close to Kairen, her voice turning somewhat chilly as she asked the question.
“Um, wait...”
“If the little knight is that kind of person, I'd be a bit disappointed...”
Even as Kairen's legs began to tremble, she stared at him with a chilling expression. Suddenly, she broke into an eye smile and softened her tone.
“...Hehe. Just kidding.”
She gently stroked his cheek, then stood up. She softly disentwined their fingers and turned away.
“Anyway, I want to repay you for saving me today...”
“Yes?”
“Could you follow me for a bit?”
She made a languid gesture beckoning him to follow.
“My house is nearby. Just a short walk.”
“Uh...”
“If you come with me, you can have all the candy and cookies you want. And warm soup too...”
But their suspicious duo never set off together.
- Shhh...
At that very moment, invisible shadows moved in unison from both sides of Kairen, forming a formation around her. The vibration echoed everywhere.
“...Tch.”
The second daughter glanced around quietly, then realized it was the signal right before her family guards moved. She sighed and spoke.
“...I wanted to treat you, but it looks like the situation won't allow it.”
“...?”
“Guess we'll have to part ways here.”
Kairen tilted his head at her words. He suddenly noticed the dawn breaking and spoke urgently.
“I-I need to get back to Mom and Big Sis soon too.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Then, bye-bye, nameless sis!”
With a bright smile, he waved to the woman whose name he still didn't know and quickly ran off toward the inn.
“...Interesting.”
That was when the second daughter muttered softly while watching his retreating figure.
“Found you!”
Suddenly, a breathless voice came from the back of the alley where Kairen had left.
“Criminal sis, you're here.”
“Ugh... running makes my stomach churn.”
The drunken soldiers from earlier had finally wormed their way into the alley where the second daughter was.
“Why make things complicated when you could just come quietly...”
“...Huh, where's that kid from before?”
They suddenly realized Kairen, who had fled with her, was gone and looked around distractedly.
“As for me...”
And that was the single worst mistake among the foolish things those soldiers did that day.
“...I hate oblivious idiots more than anything in the world.”
“What?”
“Yeah, fuckers like you.”
For the first time, the second daughter's always elegant, laughter-filled demeanor turned utterly vicious.
- Gooo...
An indescribable, chilling killing intent began emanating from the hallway stretching behind her.
“Huh?”
“Why is my body suddenly...”
The moment the soldiers sensed the killing intent and their bodies stiffened.
- Crunch...
Before they could even react, a black maw burst from behind the second daughter and swallowed their heads.
- Crunch, crunch...
Their bodies convulsed briefly in that state, then slumped limply amid the sound of something being chewed.
“You should've at least shown proper fear.”
- Squish, squish...
“...Pathetic small fry. Not even worth the nutrition. Tch.”
She looked down at them pitifully, wiped the blood that had splattered on her face with an annoyed hand, and muttered coldly.
“Miss.”
“...You're late.”
“My apologies.”
She flashed a cold eye smile at her personal maid, who had appeared silently by her side.
“By the way, that little boy from earlier... don't tell me...”
“Sigh. It's a shame our first meeting with such a cute little brother turned out like this.”
The alley, soaked in the blood of two grown men, no longer bore any trace of the plain-looking woman.
“...No, perhaps it's better to call it fateful?”
All that remained was Belverk's second monster—a girl around seventeen, academy student council president who had no business being there—having ingested nutrition too meager to even count as a snack.
“Did you learn anything?”
“Unfortunately, the time was too short, so not much.”
She muttered sullenly, covering her mouth with a fan as if troubled.
“...Body size and weight below average. Basic fitness calculated from grip strength, skin condition, and gait also minimal—not quite on my level, but bottom tier. Chronic anxiety disorder and multiple traumas inferred from gaze processing and habits.”
“...”
“And he's hiding at least one more ability beyond the reported 'healing' from intel. That's about all worth noting.”
But what spilled from her lips was hardly the kind of useless information that warranted a sullen expression.
“...If I had to add one more thing, maybe that the rumors are true—he's awfully cute.”
The personal maid, who had been watching blankly from the side, ignored what might have been a joke or sincerity from her mistress and posed one question.
“Anything else aside, having two or more abilities...”
“...It's strange, right? No signs of anxiety or obsessive tendencies, yet he keeps glancing at thin air, and his eyes move busily like he's reading something.”
Instead of answering, the second daughter began muttering something peculiar.
“And was that meeting just now really a coincidence?”
“Pardon?”
“Sneaking out of the inn at dawn must mean he had some 'purpose.' Yet he doesn't know who I am? Hehe...”
The personal maid, listening quietly to her mistress's words that—as usual—transcended normal human reasoning, finally lit up at something she could grasp.
“...If we leave him be like this, Kairen could become a fatal threat.”
“Then...”
“Calculations are done. Shall we begin?”
Her mistress always spoke in riddles, but there were times she phrased things simply enough for even her to understand.
“...A perfect plan, just like always.”
Like now, when she needed her maid's power.
“I obey your command.”
And every time, the second daughter's personal maid entrusted her fate to her mistress without a shred of doubt.
“My one and only master, Lady Uriel.”
Belverk's second monster, Uriel Nox Belverk's calculations had never once missed the mark.
The fun outing came to an end, and a few days later.
“Young Master, we have a problem.”
“...Huh?”
I had slept in later than usual that day. Rubbing my sleepy eyes as I summoned Schwarz, I could only widen my eyes at the sudden bad news.
“This morning, the Imperial Family issued an emergency summons for the heads of the Four Great Ducal Houses.”
“A-and?”
“Due to the longstanding pact between the Imperial Family and Belverk, we are obligated to respond without delay.”
What? Four Great Ducal Houses? Emergency summons? Pact? My head wasn't working right after just waking up—what was all this?
“...The problem is that the current head, Duchess Astridje, is absent.”
“What? Why is Mother...”
“I cannot disclose the reason. Even I, as your personal maid, must keep that silent.”
The influx of information hit my still-groggy mind, leaving me confused. Only Schwarz's grave expression snapped me awake, and I sat up straight in bed.
“For reference, Lady Lilien is absent as well. She left around 2 a.m. yesterday for her regular donation visit to an orphanage in the Empire's southern region.”
“Uh...”
“Lady Uriel, the second daughter whose whereabouts are unknown, is completely out of contact. And Lady Astridje's eldest daughter on the northern front can't come in the first place.”
From what I could piece together, the situation was turning quite serious.
Some pact or whatever required us to answer the Emperor's emergency summons right now, but there wasn't a single person in Belverk who could respond?
“Th-then what do we do?”
“It's simple, Young Master.”
I mirrored her serious expression as I asked. Unlike her usual impish demeanor, Schwarz knelt gracefully today and quietly straightened my collar.
“At present, with the head and all heirs absent from Belverk, the highest-ranking figure is you, Young Master.”
For some reason, a wave of unease washed over me as I listened, and I began to tremble slightly.
“Thus, the acting Head Maid, the Captain of the 1st Knight Order, and the Council of Elders reached a unanimous decision just five minutes ago...”
Before long, that unease exploded into a massive shock, crashing over me like a mountain of waves.
“From this moment, you are to act as Belverk's temporary head.”
Me? Acting as head of Belverk from now on?
“Me?”
I'm not even ten yet?