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IBP 170
“......A real divine beast?”
“Yes, I am the one protecting the real divine beast.”
The strange man smirked as he noticed the Imperial Concubine's trembling gaze.
“That’s why I burst out laughing. The fact that the Duke's house is putting forward a fake divine beast, and that there are fools who believe that dog is the real thing.”
Faced with this unexpected stroke of luck, the Imperial Concubine felt the need to compose herself.
‘Isn't everything going a bit too smoothly?’
She stared intently at the man who claimed to possess the ‘real divine beast’ before turning her head away.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you are the one who received the mark of the divine beast.”
The mark of the divine beast surely referred to the note.
However, the Imperial Concubine chose her words carefully.
“But I cannot simply believe your words.”
As the Imperial Concubine tried to distance herself, the man smirked.
“First, I wish to ask three questions.”
“O seeker of the divine beast's choice, ask your questions.”
“First. Why did the divine beast choose me of all people?”
“It is simple. The divine beast descends upon the one who desires it most. It seems the divine beast deemed your position suitable to entrust its body. And......”
“......And?”
“Well, that’s all.”
His voice carried a hint of gloom, as if he were depressed that the divine beast had not chosen him. The Imperial Concubine's eyebrows arched.
“Second. How can I be sure that the divine beast that appeared is a fake, and the one you possess is the real one?”
“There cannot be two divine beasts under one sky. The power of the divine beast that has descended upon me is immense. You can feel it too, can't you?”
He spoke as if he already knew she possessed a crystal ball capable of verifying the divine beast.
The Imperial Concubine moistened her parched lips and asked.
“Finally, the third.”
If the divine beast that man possessed was real.......
“Has the divine beast awakened?”
......Only an unawakened divine beast could be manipulated according to her whims.
The man, staring into her eyes as if searching for something, murmured quietly.
“To be precise, you could say it is about halfway awakened.”
It felt as if everything had been perfectly arranged for her.
‘But one must still test the stepping stones before crossing. I haven't even seen the divine beast in person yet, have I?’
She bit her lip, appearing more serious, yet unable to hide her excitement.
“I will need verification.”
“Is that so? Then use your intelligence network to verify whether the Duke's house's divine beast is real or fake. Ah, I cannot wait forever. Let us meet here, at the same time, in two days.”
“.......”
“Ah, wait a moment.”
The plain-looking man blinked, making an exaggerated gesture.
“......Still, I should at least take enough money to satisfy me, as the representative of the divine beast, right?”
It was a greedy request for someone who possessed a divine beast.
However, it would have been more suspicious if he had offered to give the divine beast without any cost.
She let out a short laugh and said, “Fine. If what you possess is the real divine beast, I will give you a satisfying sum of money.”
* * *
Two days later, the Imperial Concubine summoned the Count of the Court and pressed him for information.
“What is the movement of Duke Ardos's household?”
“Yes. As Your Highness mentioned, it is indeed suspicious. It is said that Chloe Ardos is going around collecting stone coffins. Specifically, stone coffins with divine power.”
“......If they had a divine beast, there would be no need to collect stone coffins with divine power.”
A faint smile played on the Imperial Concubine's lips.
‘Now I see what's happening.’
The arrogant people of the Ardos family were making a bold move to cast her out—now that her house arrest had been lifted—under the pretext of the ‘divine beast.’
It was clear they planned to create a fake divine beast and engage in behind-the-scenes maneuvering.
But.......
“The true divine beast shall appear to me.”
......They likely did not expect that she held the mark of the ‘real’ divine beast.
Observing the change in the Imperial Concubine's expression, the Count of the Court spoke cautiously.
“Regardless, I would like to stop now, Your Highness.”
Toward the Count, who wore an uncomfortable expression, she spoke coldly.
“Yes, you are no longer needed.”
......Once the divine beast was in her hands, that is.
After dismissing the Count, she gathered the money and necessary items.
When she rushed back to the rock at the appointed time.
She met the uncomfortable-looking man once again.
She could feel the crystal ball trembling the moment she met him, as if the divine beast were with him.
Her initial guard vanished, and Empress Hervezette whispered in a softer tone.
“Now, I shall trust you. And here is the money.”
The man, pretending to count the money in the pouch she handed him, shrugged his shoulders.
“You certainly are generous. I like it.”
“Then, show me the divine beast now.”
“Ah, shall I?”
The man searched inside his clothes with a dubious expression. Then, he pulled out a weasel, small enough to fit in the palm of a hand.
Its fur, as white as snow piled up in winter, felt almost divine.
The moment she saw it.......
The Imperial Concubine, as if possessed, approached and snatched the weasel into her arms.
“Ah, handle it carefully.”
The way it kept its eyes tightly shut made it look exactly like it was in an unawakened state, which only added to her satisfaction. Simultaneously, the crystal ball in her bosom went wild.
“It's certain. I can feel the immense power of the divine beast.”
“Well, then I suppose our business here is concluded.”
However.
However.......
“There is still business left.”
“......What is it?”
She spoke with a feigned kindness toward the man holding the money pouch.
“There is a proverb that says when everything goes too smoothly, one must be suspicious.”
“......What are you suspicious of?”
“I think I need one last method to verify whether this divine beast is real or fake.”
“What do you mean by......”
It was then, as the man looked at her with a bewildered face for the first time, that the Imperial Concubine pulled a potion mixed with witch's blood from her pocket.
Splash!
The man, suddenly looking like a drenched rat, shouted in disbelief.
“What is the meaning of this?!”
“Let us make a promise. A promise that shall never be broken.”
The Imperial Concubine whispered, lowering her voice gloomily.
“If this divine beast is a lie, you shall suffer nightmares until the day you die. Even if you beg the divine beast after breaking my word, it cannot be cured. You will be unable to tell anyone the pain you endure. You will simply rot from the inside.”
What she had splashed was a potion of sinister curse.
‘Curses’ were one of the Imperial Concubine's many supernatural abilities.
And even now, it functioned quite effectively.
A dark shadow briefly flickered and vanished from the body of the man who had been hit by the transparent potion.
After the potion dried quickly in the sunlight, a thread of a solemn vow wound around their fingertips and then disappeared.
However, the man looked as if he didn't care, despite being cursed.
“It's a bit annoying, but...... it doesn't matter. As long as it's not a lie, there's no problem, right?”
If that man had lied to her, pain would visit him every time he slept, every time he blinked.
‘Unless they have experience with extreme abuse, they wouldn't be able to endure those nightmares.’
But the man looked fine.
She smiled softly, stroking the white fur of the weasel.
Knowing he wouldn't lie with nightmares as collateral made her heart feel more at peace.
‘Soon, when the day to identify the divine beast arrives, I shall ascend as the Emperor's mother.’
Everything was perfect.
* * *
“Wow! Caligo! Caligo, you're a real genius!”
The man with brown hair and brown eyes transformed into a fifteen-year-old boy with blonde hair and blue eyes the moment he returned to the Duke Ardos estate.
Indeed, the suspicious man who had faced Empress Hervezette was none other than Caligo.
Upon arriving in Coco's room and seeing Coco smiling brightly, Caligo wore a satisfied smile.
“The Imperial Concubine has no clue that all of this was our plan.”
This operation was a joint effort between Caligo and Coco.
Coco had sent a note to the Imperial Concubine to lure her near the house Chloe had built.
Caligo had used Coco's power to transform into a completely different person with brown hair and brown eyes.
And as for the identity of the weasel spirit beast.......
“......It was just an ordinary water bottle, but she believed it was a weasel spirit beast.”
“Heehee, because Coco is super strong!”
“Yeah, that's right.”
“Our plan is reaaaally perfect. Now all that's left is to crush the Imperial Concubine!”
It was the innocent and lovely Coco, who was smart but still didn't quite understand human malice.
Watching Coco giggle, Caligo tried his best to ignore the throbbing pain in his chest.
‘I'm actually glad to suffer.’
He knew the relationship between Chloe and Coco better than anyone. Therefore, he knew very well that opportunities to sacrifice himself for Coco were rare.
A few nightmares every night.
It would be far better than the reality he once faced every day.
“Caligo!”
“Coco, shall we play with the ball?”
He forced the corners of his mouth up into a smile.
But, Coco.
Because I experience nightmares that ravage my mind every morning, I keep thinking.
About what the hallucinations you faced alone must have been like.
About how brave you were, bearing all that pain.
So, Coco.
When I think about how strongly and steadfastly you endured all that pain.......
“Huh, Caligo. I love playing with the ball! Caligo, your eyes are really, really red!”
“Eh? No, they're not.”
......Even though his own pain meant nothing to him, strangely, thinking about Coco's pain seemed to have made his eyes redden.
Caligo blinked.
Damn that Empress Hervezette. A ‘curse of nightmares’.......
‘It's not like it goes away just by not sleeping.’
If he closed his eyes for even a moment, nightmare-like visions appeared. In the blackened field of vision, flashes of his childhood abuse flickered by. The occasional trashy noise in his ears was a bonus.
‘......Ah, how annoying.’
But even so, it was fine. When he opened his eyes and saw Coco's bright smile, it all melted away.
“I'm just happy as long as I'm with Coco.”
At those words, Coco beamed with a wide smile, revealing teeth like tiny grains of rice.
And so, Caligo was truly okay.
Bouncing the ball Coco brought on the floor, he said:
“Right? I must have seen wrong because I wanted to play with the ball so much. Now then, ready, set—go!”
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