Chapter 48
Translator: penny
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Belverk's Secret (2)
"Eeeeeek..."
Stunned by the shocking truth I'd realized so abruptly, I stood there with my mouth agape, letting out a groan. That's when the worried voices of the maid sisters began to reach me.
"Young Master fainted standing up!"
"Young Master~!"
"Sob sob, he won't hate us now, right?"
The maid sisters, pretending to cry while mumbling like that, were wagging their tails furiously.
From the looks of it, they weren't conspiring to tease me...
"Yes, yes, that's the reaction..."
"It reminds me of how the previous family head freaked out as a kid. Hohohl..."
"...Oh dear, can we finally slouch a bit around Young Master now?"
No, seeing the retainers' faces revert to their youthful selves with those pleased expressions left no room for doubt.
Honestly, I still couldn't quite believe it, but it was undeniably true that the Belverk Ducal House were descendants of the Demon King.
"Th-then..."
Once my thoughts reached that point, after breaking out in a cold sweat and glancing at Mother for a moment, I posed a quiet question.
"Mother, are you actually the Demon King?"
"Pfft! ...Ahem."
At the same time, Lilien burst into laughter before slyly shutting her mouth and looking away.
"...You could say that."
"Gasp."
"More precisely, the 49th Demon King."
Mother glared at Lilien for a moment before sighing and answering me in a calm voice.
"Of course, a true Demon King must fully awaken the Crimson Eyes, so calling me the 49th Duchess of Belverk would be more accurate..."
"...Whoa."
"Ahem, what was that weird exclamation?"
Having blurted out a modern expression in my shock, I watched Mother cough awkwardly with a flushed face, tilting my head quietly.
"Anyway, don't change how you address me. Just call me like you always have."
'...Is she embarrassed right now?'
From the situation, it seemed Mother didn't particularly enjoy being called the Demon King.
Well, where else would you find such a pretty Demon King? And if someone called me that, I'd feel a bit shy too.
"Then, the maid sisters are..."
"Actually, we're all demons, not humans."
As I turned my head and asked the maid sisters whose tails were swishing, Schwarz, standing beside me, smiled with her eyes and added an explanation.
"Hierarchical Demon Rank 3, Schlaf!"
"Hierarchical Demon Rank 4, Kreutz!"
"Hierarchical Demon Rank 5, Flame!"
At the same time, the senior maid sisters who'd always followed me around raised their hands with bright expressions, reintroducing themselves.
"As I said earlier, I'm Rank 2. Rank 1 is my older sister, the head maid of Belverk."
"......"
"By the way, being demons doesn't mean we're old. Nowadays, demons live lives similar to humans before reincarnating."
So, all this time, the sisters who'd trailed after me—even the ones I'd recently drunk blood from—were demons?
No wonder each one was skilled in dark magic or could move through my shadow like familiars despite being human.
"Compared to the old days, we've got it much easier now."
"It's all thanks to the Belverk Ducal House!"
"Right. To demons in the demon realm, Belverk is a dream job."
Hearing more, it seemed Belverk was a very cozy haven for the maid sisters—or rather, the demon sisters.
"High pay, great prospects. A stable structure where you don't have to hustle for contracts."
"Plus, with the Demon King and heirs right there, it's emotionally reassuring..."
"...Anyway, it's a billion times better than dealing with those shady contractors."
In short, we'd provided a high-paying, promising stable job to a freelance demon clan that otherwise had to hustle on foot to make ends meet?
No wonder the Belverk maids' loyalty pierced the heavens.
"You know, ever since Young Master arrived, the already fierce competition for Belverk jobs has skyrocketed."
"Poor newbie demons~! Haha."
"That's why I tell them to build up their specs early."
Did I just hear something weird? No, must be my imagination. It has to be.
"Then, the retainers too...?"
As I turned my head with that thought, wondering if the retainers were similar, I broached the topic.
"...Ahem, we're actually from the vampire clan."
"Of course, not the Demon King's bloodline—just lower vampires."
"But with regular blood intake, we can live quite a long time."
The retainers replied with pleased smiles, and strangely, they looked much healthier than usual.
Well, if they'd been acting aged out of consideration for me all this time, they'd feel refreshed now.
"Then, the knights are..."
Wait, if the maids and retainers are all non-humans... does that mean the Belverk Knights are too?
"Don't misunderstand. All Belverk knights are ordinary humans."
Noticing my gaze, the Knight Captain sister approached quietly and answered my unspoken question in a low voice.
"H-ha, of course. There were commoner girls and noble ladies among them..."
"However, there is an exception."
"...Yes?"
Realizing the people I'd been casually teasing were normal humans, I inwardly sighed in relief.
"The four Knight Captains in Belverk are all from the demon race. Descendants of the original legion commanders who were demonized by the power of the first Demon King."
"Eek."
"I was once called a legion commander too... but now I'm just a Knight Captain."
Hearing the Knight Captain's explanation, I could only gape up at her.
"Knight Captain sister, you're a demon?"
"......"
"No way!"
Looking again, she did have horns on her head. But that could be faked with simple disguise magic...
"Ta-da."
"Hiiiiiik!"
"Knew you'd be startled."
I narrowed my eyes skeptically, only to freak out and scream as the Knight Captain suddenly yanked off her head with both hands and plopped it on my lap.
"Do you know of dullahans?"
"...Hiiik."
"Looks like you need more courage training."
Fortunately, before I could leap up in shock, the headless Knight Captain grabbed my shoulders, preventing her head from rolling across the floor. Still, it was a near heart-stopping moment.
"Th-the rumor you're from the Eastern Continent..."
"...Having lived a long time, I've picked up many skills."
I'd let my guard down because of rumors from the knights, but who knew she was really a demon.
No wonder her face went cold every time I teased her about being an old maid. Better not use that word anymore.
"Kairen, remember this. Only a very few in the Empire know this fact."
As I glanced at the Knight Captain's half-lidded eyes staring up from my lap, Mother suddenly warned me.
"Excluding us Belverks, only the heads and direct imperial family of the Four Guardian Houses know this secret."
"Ah..."
"So, even if unlikely, don't go blabbing carelessly."
Obviously, it was an enormous secret. I'd have to watch my words from now on.
"This secret is precisely why we maintain our supra-legal privileges."
"......"
"Publicly, Belverk is under the imperial family, but in reality, the Shinehart Empire is divided equally between the imperial family and the Belverk Ducal House."
No wonder, despite Belverk's great power, they could openly point weapons at the Emperor or talk rebellion.
With this backstory, it made sense.
"Right, Young Master. The Belverk Ducal House was originally remodeled from the Demon King's castle used by the first Demon King."
"Belverk territory, the Empire's largest, was once a demon nation."
"We're called a ducal house, but due to the founding pact oath, we're actually equals to the Shinehart imperial family."
Well, the Demon King didn't lose to a hero; the Empire was founded on a mutual alliance. Equal standing made sense.
If anything, Belverk had made significant concessions to the imperial family, so their supra-legal privileges were only fair.
Whoa, did I just think something very Belverk-like?
"Anything else you're curious about?"
As I smirked with that silly thought, Mother, who had been tilting her head quietly, asked me that.
"Are there any elder vampires in the Belverk family?"
I had exactly one thing on my mind and opened my sparkling eyes to Mother.
'In romance fantasy ducal houses, there's the cliche of a powerful, conservative elder council.'
Especially in a vampire family, there might still be elders lurking in the back rooms.
If so, they could restrict my actions later, so I asked to prepare countermeasures...
"...Ha, haha."
"Cough, cough..."
"Young Master, that's..."
Suddenly, the retainers all looked horrified, alternating glances between Mother and me while clearing their throats.
"...Young Master, originally, Belverk's internal forces consisted of four groups."
Schwarz explained with a stiff smile.
"Maid demons, legion commanders and black knights, vampire retainers. And..."
"...the Belverk Elder Council."
Mother cut in coldly, lost in thought, and the office atmosphere chilled instantly.
"But! Ten years ago, all the Belverk elders left on a trip?"
"Y-yes. Duchess Astridje sent them off personally."
"They're having such a happy trip, they might never return? Haha..."
In the tense air, as the maid sisters explained dramatically, I quietly glanced at Mother and muttered inwardly.
'Shouldn't have asked.'
Apparently, Belverk's elders had all gone on a permanent vacation somewhere like America ten years ago.
"...Let's leave that story there."
"Yes! I'm not interested anymore!"
I'd been eyeing how to defuse the mood when Mother changed the subject, so I nodded eagerly and listened.
"Anyway, now I should explain why I revealed this secret to you."
But Mother's expression remained cold.
"As you know, the Shinehart imperial family are descendants of the first Hero."
"...Yes."
"And Kairen, you and I are naturally descendants of the first Demon King."
Listening intently, when she continued, I awkwardly cleared my throat and avoided Lilien's gaze, noting the sisters' absence.
"...Thus, fraternizing with the imperial family is not permitted."
But that lasted only a moment. When Mother stated it firmly, I widened my eyes and turned back.
"Wh-why?"
Even if it was Mother, that was problematic.
After all, the Empire's nameless youngest Imperial Princess was the heroine of this romance fantasy child-rearing world!
"The reason is simple."
But if Mother dismissed it so firmly, there must be a reason.
Maybe an unbreakable curse or oath from the first Demon King or Hero?
That would complicate things terribly. What to do...
"Belverk's pride doesn't allow it."
"Huh?"
"As the current family head, I absolutely cannot tolerate it."
Oh. So it was a pride issue?
"Right, we can't let the Hero's bloodline—who'd be a beggar without us—into Belverk..."
"Young Master! Even we demons hunted the first Hero like crazy! He's still the villain in demon realm fairy tales."
"...Indeed, the previous legion commanders had quite the headache with him."
From everyone's reactions, this 'pride' issue wasn't just a joke.
"Understand, Kairen?"
"......"
"If any imperial approaches you pretending to be friendly, tell me immediately."
This might make getting involved with the youngest princess harder than I thought.
"I respect your privacy and won't monitor your room, so promise me."
"Yes..."
"Good boy."
With nothing I could do right now, better to obey Mother for the time being.
'...Peep isn't imperial; it's just a pet bird, so it'll be fine.'
Of course, only on the surface.
With quick-witted Peep, secret contact should be no problem, right?
"Huh?"
However, not even a day after sorting my thoughts, a chance to put Mother's words into practice arrived.
[You are invited to the Imperial Tea Party, Kairen Nox Belverk.]
Woken from sleep by a noisy sound, I received a letter shoved through the window crack, smiling secretly thinking it was from the youngest princess.
[A gathering of promising youths, including the heirs of the Four Guardian Houses and Belverk's second daughter. Attend without fail.]
But the content seemed off, so I kept reading down, only to be greeted by an unnecessarily ornate seal and a name I didn't want to see.
[Imperial Crown Prince, Alberion Lumen Shinehart]
Rubbing my eyes and looking again, it wasn't even Peep who'd shoved the letter through the window.
"Piiik."
A golden eagle that annoyingly resembled the Crown Prince's unlikeable face was glaring at me from outside, strutting arrogantly as I read the letter.
"Ugly eagle. Scram."
"Piiiik!!!"
"Ugh. Won't leave?"
The Shinehart imperial family must have a trait where owners and pets resemble each other.
Like the golden cat on my empty bed, sprawled in a delinquent pose, somehow resembling His Majesty the Emperor...
"Huh?"
Wait, when did this stray cat sneak into my room?