Chapter 92

“Why would I bring him along just to frighten the poor kid?”

“......”

The light faded from Knox’s eyes, which had been gleaming wildly with anticipation.

“Tch. Understood.”

“What do you mean, ‘tch’? Later, once we bring that boy into the castle, you’ll be responsible for managing—”

“Excuse me?”

Knox stared at him in surprise.

What am I saying?

Flustered, Calypse furrowed his brow.

“Just leave for now.”

Nothing had even been decided yet, and he was already imagining living with the boy Aisha had brought home.

What next? Am I going to raise that Guide boy and start seriously trying to live alongside monsters?

Calypse covered his face with one hand and let out a hollow laugh.

Was it because he had grown attached to Kyle? Or had he simply become accustomed to his daughter’s audacity?

Or perhaps it was because he had seen the monster clinging to Guide like a burr.

The boundary between good and evil—something he had accepted as an absolute truth since birth—was gradually blurring, and the convictions he had always believed were right had begun to crumble.

He did not know where it had started, but one thing was certain.

He had changed ever since Aisha came into his life.

And he liked the person he was now far more than the man he had been while wearing a mask.

***

Several days later.

Rumors about the extraordinary boy who trained monsters spread rapidly throughout the ducal estate.

From Mai to the servants, and from the escort knights to the rest of the order.

The knights guarding the ice barrier, in particular, discussed “monster training” whenever they met, which was only natural.

Training a monster was... well.

Using concepts from my former life, it was like saying someone could train a dinosaur or an alien—some completely unknown creature.

Ah. In fantasy terms, it was probably like training an incredibly powerful white dragon.

And the person who had brought such a gifted individual here was none other than me.

I may not be able to use a power, but surely I’ve contributed something to the Kreutz family now, right?

Guide had been diligently training Bibi in the quarters assigned to him.

Whenever curiosity got the better of me and I visited his room...

“I-I realized something this time. Bibi is extremely active, so I think being trapped indoors for several days causes it a lot of stress. I should probably let it out for a walk at least once a day!”

His eyes sparkled as he showed me the training journal he had written.

The hands holding the journal were covered in scratches left by Bibi, yet Guide looked far happier than he had when we first met.

As expected of this world’s finest animal trainer. Keep growing just like that.

The people of the Kreutz family who watched Guide were also responding positively.

“I wondered what sort of bizarre situation this was, but I think it may be worth observing him for a while.”

“More importantly, what happens if that boy really does learn to handle monsters like dogs? Will he eventually ride around on a giant monster as though it were a horse?”

The Kreutz knights hated monsters more than anyone, yet in truth, they had also longed for coexistence with them more than anyone.

Monster subjugation was not a war with a predetermined victor.

Even if they succeeded in the regularly conducted campaigns, the only benefit people gained was the continued preservation of their safety. There must have been some among them who had grown weary of that endless struggle. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

But how exactly does he take Bibi for walks...?

That was more or less my only question.

Anyway. Today was not the day to worry about that.

“One slice of cake. No, an entire cake. Please.”

Plop.

Lying on my bed, I raised one audacious little foot and made my request of Mai.

Today was a day when I deserved praise for bringing Guide here.

I’ll eat cake and have tea with Mai too!

Up until that moment, I had been feeling extremely pleased with myself. But then—

“Lady Aisha. I believe you need to come to the office for a moment.”

Knox knocked urgently on my bedroom door.

His expression had gone rigid.

***

Several days before Knox summoned Aisha.

A message arrived at the Kreutz estate.

It was a letter from the royal family, stamped with a golden seal.

“According to His Majesty King Argen’s message, the people of the kingdom are still trembling in fear because of the recent surprise monster attack. Only the gods know whose fault that was, but...”

Halfway through, Knox sighed as though he had a fairly good idea himself.

“In any case, His Majesty King Argen wishes to calm the people’s fears and demonstrate the kingdom’s strength. He has requested that every member of the Kreutz family gather in the central region and hold swordsmanship matches against the royal knights. More precisely—”

“He wants us to perform tricks in front of the crowd.”

Calypse cut Knox off with a grimace.

He had been suspiciously quiet ever since then...

Calypse had thought it for a long time, but King Argen enjoyed far more good fortune than his abilities deserved.

His royal consort was an extraordinary mage, while the Kreutz family guarded the ice barrier in place of the royal family.

And therein lay the problem.

Calypse had no such ambitions whatsoever, but the people of the north occasionally began calling for northern independence.

Naturally, King Argen could not help but regard Calypse with suspicion.

On the surface, this message proposed demonstrating the kingdom’s strength to settle the unrest.

“In truth, he intends to find fault with Aisha.”

Although she had been revealed as Calypse’s biological daughter, Aisha still could not use the power of ice.

King Argen had not witnessed her using it either, so he likely wanted to see for himself and confirm the truth.

“Yes. That appears to be the case.”

Knox nodded as well.

It was painfully obvious.

Since no official announcement had yet been made, Argen must suspect that Aisha possessed no power.

And he clearly believed he could use that fact to tarnish the Kreutz family’s reputation.

“Tell him only Lucas and I will attend. Aisha is five years old, so there will be no suitable opponent for her. Even that old fool would not make her spar with an adult.”

“Understood.”

Calypse had no intention of involving Aisha in King Argen’s childish game of jealousy.

But several days later—

“Your Grace. They claim to have found a knight of Lady Aisha’s age who can face her.”

“What?”

Calypse received another unexpected message.

“They also wrote that they have prepared an opponent of the same age with a special ability, in consideration of Lady Aisha’s skill, and invited her to display her abilities to her heart’s content.”

As the message grew increasingly absurd, Calypse covered his eyes with one hand and let out a hollow laugh.

“The king is determined to force this.”

“Indeed. I thought His Majesty would have become frightened after former Duke Pose’s execution.”

Knox groaned before continuing.

“He has even scheduled it for two weeks from now. This is an undisguised attempt to bring the Kreutz family to heel.”

Knox was right.

Appointments between nobles were usually arranged at least a month in advance. For formal occasions such as banquets, etiquette required invitations to be sent three months ahead of time.

Yet he had scheduled a public swordsmanship match, one that everyone would witness, for only two weeks later?

“...He means to turn us into obedient dogs.”

Calypse’s expression turned icy in an instant.

Until now, Calypse had never given serious thought to whether Aisha possessed a power.

Even without one, she was already his biological daughter.

Calypse and Lucas alone were more than capable of guarding the ice barrier and protecting the people from monsters.

And if Aisha had any duty to fulfill as a member of the Kreutz family, then bringing back Lucas, the rightful heir, had already fulfilled it.

But there was one fact Calypse had overlooked.

He was not merely a knight. He was a noble.

In other words, Calypse was utterly ignorant when it came to matters like this.

It had never occurred to him that proving whether Aisha possessed a power could be directly tied to protecting the family’s reputation.

“Tell him we refuse. Say the child is scheduled to be ill for the next two weeks...”

Calypse answered reflexively, then abruptly fell silent.

You did well, Aisha.

He suddenly remembered the moment Aisha had brought Guide home.

That had been when he acknowledged that she was no ordinary child.

How would Aisha respond?

“Your Grace?”

“Wait.”

When Knox called to him in confusion, Calypse dismissed him for a moment and sank into thought.

Had it been Aisha, she would at least have wanted him to ask whether she wished to attend the match.

For an ordinary five-year-old, that decision belonged to the parents. But Aisha was an intelligent child who had received extraordinary training from a very young age.

I still don’t like it.

Calypse closed his eyes and sighed.

“Bring Aisha here first.”

“Excuse me?”