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IBP 16
“You’ve never seen what my father is like, have you?”
“Um....”
“My father has a terrifying temper. When I was young, I played a little prank on him and ended up being sent abroad to study for ten years.”
...Gasp.
My eyes widened.
Now that I thought about it, back when I was a puppy, I had followed my sister to her successor lessons.
I had seen him often back then.
‘I think he was a really scary mister?’
* * *
“Repeat my words exactly.”
“Pardon?”
“I am sorry for being trash.”
“I-I am sorry for being trash, Your Grace. I... I humbly apologize!”
“You blew the chance to eliminate the marine magic beasts in one fell swoop?”
“I-I am sorry... Please share your wisdom with me, Duke Ardos!”
“I need a ship made of awls. Build one and bring it to me within a month.”
Duke Ardos had gone to provide support to the Grand Duchy of Rivera, which had been devastated by the sudden appearance of magic beasts.
At his frost-like words, numerous soldiers held their breath.
Immediately after Grand Duke Rivera had left his post to subjugate the magic beasts that had suddenly appeared on the northern border, Duke Ardos was accelerating rear support, centering around the remaining soldiers.
However, not a single person was acting to his satisfaction.
“Y-Your Grace. With our shipbuilding technology, a month is im-impossible....”
“‘Absolutely impossible,’ ‘I don’t want to.’ Is that the perspective of you young people?”
As contempt flickered in his red eyes, the soldiers cowed.
“I-I humbly apologize.”
Though his black hair had grown somewhat grey with the passage of time, he still possessed the impression of a handsome middle-aged man.
He was an undefeated general who had left a mark on the empire's history and the great Duke leading the prestigious House of Ardos.
“You are aware that I attracted the empire's only magic tower to the Ardos estate, aren't you? Do you know what the tower master said when he first received my request?”
“That is....”
“He said that if I could make a ship float in mid-air, he would build the magic tower in our territory. Everyone said it couldn't be done. But in the end, I found a way.”
“.......”
“Everything can be achieved if you believe it is possible. What will become of you if you fall into defeatism from the very start?”
“I-I humbly apologize.”
He roared, silencing those who complained.
‘The morale of soldiers in the middle of a war is utterly pathetic. It is truly lamentable.’
What was the point of having great skill?
Life is all about momentum!
“Acting like a defeated dog from the start, I no longer wish to speak with you.”
Just as he withdrew his piercing gaze and stepped out of the tent.
“I greet Duke Ardos.”
“What is it?”
“It is none other than the news that the tiger spirit beast, which had escaped the annex, has been recaptured.”
“I see.”
The tiger spirit beast.
It was a spirit beast captured in the Grand Duchy of Rivera and sent to the mansion.
Nothing was currently known about its supernatural ability. Duke Ardos had simply captured it after sensing the aura of a spirit beast from the tiger.
Upon hearing that the tiger had been captured, Duke Ardos breathed a sigh of relief.
Those who didn't know might think it was just one of many ‘ordinary spirit beasts’...
But Duke Ardos had recognized it the moment he saw the tiger.
‘The supernatural ability that tiger is hiding is incredible.’
Because it possessed a power strong enough to break through the barrier he had personally cast.
Before he knew it, the corner of his mouth curled up crookedly.
“Then, tell me who caught the tiger.”
“Do you remember Lady Coco, whom the Council decided to adopt recently?”
“That... blessed child? The child who was said to disappear from the family lineage because her holy stigma suddenly vanished?”
The Council had cheered at the mention of a blessed child, only to easily condemn her when they heard the holy stigma had disappeared.
However, whether she was a blessed child or not was not that important to him.
What mattered most was ‘whether she was a human who put in effort.’
Thus, although he had left the matter to the Council, she had been registered under his household, so he certainly remembered her.
“Yes. That is... the baby captured the tiger spirit beast. Therefore, Lady Ruth is currently in charge of the tiger spirit beast and is caring for it.”
“A mere five-year-old did such a thing?”
As Duke Ardos looked surprised for a moment, his aide quickly added.
“Yes. Within the family, there is an opinion that she might truly be a <blessed child>.”
But his surprise was short-lived, and he soon regained his composure.
“That remains to be seen.”
The report was unexpected, but the child he had glanced at before leaving was nothing special.
She was frail and tiny, and he didn't think she could even look him in the eye.
‘Why is my memory so hazy?’
Regardless, seeing as his memory was this vague, she couldn't possibly be an extraordinary child.
‘Someone might have helped her, or she might have just been lucky.’
“Then, leave it for now. I will check properly upon my return and reward her accordingly.”
He didn't hold high expectations.
The expectations he placed on young people always returned as disappointment.
With an uncomfortable expression, Duke Ardos scanned the entire camp.
“I should return to the mansion once this battle is concluded. Before I go back, I must have a private audience with Grand Duke Rivera.”
“P-Pardon?”
“I have something to say to the Grand Duke privately. You said he is subjugating magic beasts at the northern border? Let us go there!”
Despite not having slept for 72 hours, he moved vigorously with a body full of energy.
* * *
One day later.
Lady Rhea Almond, a close associate of Theresia, hosted a small social party.
“Did you hear? Lady Theresia met with Lady Chloe this time.”
“I heard. I heard she was coldly turned away again.”
Several young ladies sighed deeply, as if feeling pity.
“I heard Lady Chloe is on the verge of a berserk state, yet she refuses Lady Theresia's treatment. It is truly worrying.”
Looking at Theresia, who wore a kind smile, Lady Rhea let out a long sigh.
“It is truly a pity. Lady Theresia has even become a candidate for the Saintess. Yet she only rejects such kindness from Lady Theresia.”
“Ah! Then, the reason Lady Lucrezia went to the temple was....”
Lady Rhea covered her mouth and laughed softly.
Thanks to the ‘villainess’ Chloe, who remained shut away in her room, people regarded Theresia as a ‘Saintess.’
‘As I thought, shaping public opinion is so easy.’
Lady Rhea wore a proud expression.
It was just as they were praising Theresia, the Saintess candidate.
A noblewoman whose husband was the captain of the royal guard of the Ardos family whispered softly.
“By the way, have you heard the rumor? About the tiger spirit beast at the Duke Ardos estate.”
Theresia's expression became uncomfortable, but the woman continued.
Last night, a massive rumor had swept through the entire Duke Ardos mansion.
The news that Coco, the young child who had been a blessed child but was on the verge of being returned, had captured the black tiger spirit creature.
And even the news that Duke Ardos was returning in haste!
“I wonder what that blessed child is like?”
“I'm curious for some reason.”
“Could it be a mistake that the mark vanished?”
“I don't know. Capturing a spirit beast is impressive, but whether it was a mistake....”
This social party had been held to create a public opinion that condemned Chloe, who was foolishly shut in her room while rejecting Theresia's kindness.
However, the focus shifted to ‘who was the child that discovered the tiger spirit beast.’
Whether the complexion of Theresia, who had lost her spotlight, darkened or not.
One lady murmured in a low voice.
“But that tiger spirit beast... I don't know if it was worth saving.”
“What do you mean....”
“I heard its condition is bad? That it might die soon?”
* * *
On my way to see the tiger!
Surprisingly, I heard shocking news from Dot.
“Baby, actually, the tiger spirit beast's condition isn't just bad.”
“Gasp, why?”
“Do you see that beneath its paws, Baby? That black soot is called the ‘black lion.’ When the ‘black lion’ appears, the spirit beast will soon die.”
“The... black lion...?”
I was shocked by the unexpected news.
‘A bad lion appearing on a tiger.’
That can't be...
I have to find the friend the tiger wants now.
It can't die in the meantime...
I looked at the tiger with a worried expression.
“Then, can I try talking to the tiger?”
“Yes. Since they say you have the supernatural ability called animal affinity, please try to commune with it. Before the tiger dies....”
Dot looked at me with eyes full of sadness.
I immediately headed to where the tiger was staying.
On a rug larger and fluffier than the big tiger itself.
“Tiger! I'm here!”
[Wat gun yo] (What is it)
“Yeah, yeah! I heard you're sick.”
“.......”
The tiger's expression became gloomy.
Looking at the dark soot forming near the tiger's paws, I thought.
‘Is that the black lion?’
I recall seeing that black shading on the tiger in the newspapers of the future.
“Is there any way to fix this?”
Humans didn't know about this, but animals instinctively knew when their bodies were sick.
And they also knew the way to heal themselves.
After all, folk remedies are famous among animals.
[It ser yo] (There is)
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