Chapter 47
Translator: penny
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Belverk's Secret
Mother's mania, which I had stolen from her, had completely vanished a full day ago.
“Kyaa, what a terrifying monster!”
“Oh my, for real?”
“Just like the rumors—brutal and scary!”
Yet for some reason, the aftermath was still dragging on.
“Young Master! Devour me~!”
“Rawr! Bite me~!”
“Step on me with that wicked expression~!”
In other words, the maids trailing behind me today, just like always, were giggling and calling out to me.
“You guys are too much!”
If I left them alone like this, they'd torment me for the entire month, so I stopped walking for a moment and raised my voice, glaring as fiercely as I could.
“Eek! The fearsome monster's roar!”
“So scary~!”
“Kyaa, everyone run~!”
But the maids burst into laughter, finding it hilarious, and scattered in an instant.
“Ugh...”
Just as I clenched my fists in frustration, Schwarz quietly approached my side.
“Young Master. Did you sleep well?”
“...”
“Haha, it's a bit disappointing now that you're back to being your meek self.”
For some reason, her breathing was unsteady, and there were dark circles under her eyes.
She'd been like this a lot lately. Was she overworking herself?
“What's wrong, Big Sister Schwarz?”
“You've been summoned to the office.”
“...The office?”
I tilted my head and asked, and Schwarz delivered some unexpected news.
“What could it be...?”
I went to the office often, of course, but a formal summons through Schwarz was rare.
It meant there was official business requiring my presence, not something private. What on earth?
“Eh, probably nothing big.”
“Right?”
“The atmosphere felt a little suspicious today, though...”
I asked Schwarz out of mild concern, but she seemed clueless about the reason too.
“Kairen has come to pay respects...”
Since mulling it over wouldn't help, I headed straight to the office and stepped inside with my usual greeting.
“...Huh?”
The atmosphere felt strangely different from usual as soon as I entered.
“You're here, Kairen.”
Mother, who usually lounged in casual clothes inside the office, was dressed in her uniform with a stern expression, welcoming me.
“Sit over there.”
Even Lilien sat perfectly poised in her assigned seat, abandoning her usual slouchy posture.
'This feels like an inquisition...'
Not only that, but most of the maids—including those who'd teased me earlier—along with the retainers who'd been scarce lately, were all seated in their places.
“...”
Even the Captain of the 1st Knight Order leaned against the wall, turning the office into a veritable hearing room.
“Today, I have one question for you.”
In that tense atmosphere, as I stiffened up, Mother finally addressed me.
“Kairen.”
“...Yes!”
I swallowed hard, straining to hear what she'd say, but her words left me blankly stunned.
“Have you been consorting with any imperial family members lately?”
“...Pardon?”
Consorting with imperial family? I had no idea why she'd ask that out of the blue, but only one person came to mind.
“I'm not scolding or reprimanding you. Speak freely.”
“Uh, well... What do you mean...?”
“...Hmm, so you truly have no idea?”
But I wasn't dating the youngest Imperial Princess or exchanging love letters, so I feigned ignorance, and Mother's eyes narrowed.
“Understood. Leave us for now.”
“Yes, ma'am!”
“Ah, one moment.”
Just as Mother seemed ready to dismiss me after such an anticlimactic question...
“Schwarz stays.”
Her eyes suddenly flashed red, halting me in my tracks with that single command.
“...?”
No, why Schwarz all of a sudden?
“...”
As Kairen, stealing nervous glances, finally trudged out of the office, a hush fell over the room.
“Schwarz. The security over the past week was flawless, correct?”
Astridje broke the silence, her crimson eyes fixed coldly ahead, prompting Schwarz—who bowed at once—to report.
“Yes, of course.”
“...”
“The escort knights guarded the door 24 hours a day, I managed all the locks myself, and the barriers were maintained without issue...”
But before she could finish, Astridje's voice echoed through the office.
“Last night, there was an intruder in Kairen's room.”
Schwarz fell silent, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
“Do you know anything about it?”
“...N-No, how could I?”
“Hmm... I see.”
Astridje studied Schwarz's pallor intently before resting her chin in her hand and murmuring quietly.
“She doesn't seem to be lying, at least.”
With that, she pulled something from her bosom and placed it on the desk before her.
“Found in Kairen's bed last night.”
“...!”
“Something that absolutely should not exist in Belverk.”
Inside the glass vial she set down was a single, glowing strand of long hair.
“Long blonde hair...!”
“What? Which bitch?”
“...But does Belverk even have any blondes?”
The maids' faces turned grave at the sight, and they began murmuring at once.
“Should we round up all the servants and pluck a hair from each right now?”
“...”
“Ah, is that why you called us? Yeah, good idea. Who dared infiltrate the heir's room and hide their identity with dye...?”
Lilien muttered murderously and rose from her seat, heading toward the maids.
“No need.”
“Huh?”
“The culprit isn't among us.”
Astridje halted her with a raised hand and began explaining with a icy expression.
“This isn't mere blonde—it's golden hair.”
“...!”
“And there's only one family in the Empire capable of possessing ‘golden’ hair.”
As Astridje continued, the office temperature plummeted.
“...Last night, an imperial infiltrated Kairen's room.”
At those words, everyone present unleashed waves of black aura, their eyes gleaming with killing intent.
“So stop kowtowing, Schwarz. If it was an imperial's ‘unique ability,’ I can understand how our security was breached.”
Only then did Schwarz—head bowed to the floor until now—rise, drenched in sweat.
“...Of course, there won't be a second time.”
“Y-Yes, I'll keep that in mind.”
As Schwarz returned to her place, Astridje sighed and spoke again.
“In any case, we cannot overlook this incident.”
“...Right, how dare they force themselves on Kairen.”
“No, it wasn't forced. My barrier won't allow entry without Kairen's permission.”
Initially, everyone had been ready to tear apart whichever imperial it was, but as Astridje and Lilien spoke, the situation grew increasingly peculiar.
“Which means...”
“...Kairen and this mystery imperial may be closer than we thought.”
The office fell silent once more.
“...Young Master belongs to us.”
“Which vixen dared go after Young Master...”
“Ha, haha. Hahaha...”
As grinding teeth, chilling mutters from the maids, and Schwarz's eerily amused laughter filled the room...
“But isn't that pretty dangerous...?”
Lilien, biting her nails with a shiver, suddenly realized something and turned to Astridje.
“It seems the time has come.”
Astridje nodded solemnly at the question and spoke gravely.
“The time to reveal Belverk's secret to Kairen has arrived.”
Everyone's eyes widened in unison, then filled with worry as they began voicing concerns.
“R-Really?”
“D-Duke...”
“I-I knew this day would come someday...”
From the maids who'd been viciously badmouthing the anonymous imperial moments ago, to the unflappable retainers.
“...Hmm.”
Even the Captain of the 1st Knight Order, who'd stood silently against the wall, cracked open one eye with mild interest.
“It's the ritual we've always done when a Belverk child turns ten.”
Despite the flood of concern, Astridje rose with resolute determination.
“However...”
She trailed off momentarily, as if pondering.
“...This time, we're just advancing it slightly.”
Her eyes gleamed softly as she signaled the maids at the entrance to fetch Kairen.
“G-Good to see you again, Mother...”
Worried about Schwarz being left behind, I'd paced outside the office, only to be abruptly summoned back and enter in bewilderment.
“Kairen, come sit beside me.”
“...Yes.”
“Do you know why I've gathered everyone today?”
I scurried to her side at her gesture and sat, sensing a hint of tension in all the eyes on me, tilting my head.
“Because it's time to tell you the one secret the heir of Belverk must know.”
Mother paused kindly mid-sentence, gazing down at me with faintly tense eyes.
“Young Master... Don't be too shocked, okay?”
“Yeah, even after learning the secret, you have to keep playing with us!”
“It's fine. Young Master's tough!”
Suddenly, suspiciously cheering words poured my way.
“...Heh, it's been ages since this ritual.”
“The eldest and second daughters grew up elsewhere, so we missed their turns...”
“And Lilien's reaction was so lackluster. A bit disappointing.”
As the maids' worried cheers ended, the retainers murmured with veiled anticipation.
“Rookie, don't faint from shock, got it?”
Lilien added, poking my side with a creepy grin.
“Um...”
But I probably couldn't live up to their expectations.
“Actually, I've already kinda figured it out.”
Thanks to the past few days' events, I'd long realized Belverk's secret.
“...What?”
At my cautious words, Mother and everyone focused on me in shock.
“H-Honestly, it was too obvious.”
“...”
“You'd have to be an idiot not to notice...”
As I mumbled timidly, scanning them, Mother and Lilien approached with wide eyes.
“...Impossible.”
“Th-Then say it!”
No helping it. Sorry for dashing expectations, but I had to show my observation skills weren't those of a typical ten-year-old.
“So, Belverk's secret is...”
Taking a deep breath, I stood, crossed my arms confidently, and declared loudly.
“The bloodlust in the family head, the heirs' glowing red eyes, and the servants using black magic—it's easy to deduce!”
Glancing around once more, I revealed Belverk's secret I'd pieced together recently.
“Truth is, Belverk are vampires!”
Spreading my arms dramatically...
“Rawr!”
...No, not that. Damn, that week's mania ingrained weird habits.
“W-Well, my fangs were unusually sharp, after all.”
“...”
“Anyway, I'm the youngest son of a vampire house!”
Blushing and clearing my throat, I crossed my arms again and finished confidently.
“Pfft.”
Then Lilien, who'd stared blankly, suddenly snickered.
“Ah, so cute...”
“...Want to see it again.”
“How every word is just... Haah.”
The maid sisters were squinting and giggling too.
“Ahem...”
“Cough.”
“A-Ahem.”
The retainers desperately stifling laughs. Even the 1st Knight Captain, head turned to the wall, shoulders shaking...
“...Half right. For better or worse.”
Perplexed by the reactions, Mother smiled down at me and murmured.
“Wh-What do you mean half right?”
“You got the clan's identity right, but that's not the key point.”
“Th-Then what's important...?”
Isn't nailing the identity everything? What's more?
“Do you remember the Belverk history Schwarz taught you?”
“Of course.”
Befuddled, Mother cleared her throat, pulled me onto her lap, and asked.
“The Belverk Ducal House, a founding merit house that aided the first emperor from the empire's birth to defeat the Demon King...”
“...That's the part.”
As I recited what Schwarz taught me, Mother quietly cut in.
“That published founding history is half right, half wrong.”
A secret I never imagined slipped from Mother's lips.
“The tale of the Empire's first emperor and Belverk's first head joining forces to defeat the Demon King is a blatant lie.”
“...?”
“At the final moment of the founding war, due to some incident, the first hero and first Demon King ceased hostilities and joined hands.”
What? The history I knew was fake? And the hero and Demon King allied? Kinda intriguing.
“Under their agreement, the war ended, birthing the Great Empire—none other than the current Shinehart Empire.”
“Uh...”
“For reference, the current imperial family, Shinehart, derives from the first hero's name.”
Intrigued by this hidden history, I listened closely—then slowly gaped at her next words.
“But the name of the first Demon King, who shrouded the world in darkness, isn't recorded in history.”
That's when it clicked—Belverk's suspicious traits all made sense.
“...The first Demon King's name was Belverk.”
I turned slowly, and the office atmosphere had utterly transformed.
Maids with sprouted black tails winking and waving at me.
Retainers, now fully youthful, clearing their throats.
And the 1st Knight Captain, black horns sprouting from her head, exhaling cold black mist as she stared out the window.
“Hierarchy Demon Rank 2, Schwarz greets you again.”
“...Uh.”
“In short...”
Staring dazedly, Schwarz—with her own black tail—approached and whispered the truth.
“...We are the current Demon King's forces.”
...Is this for real?