Chapter 8

Kyle hurriedly pulled his hand away, then stared at it as he clenched and unclenched his fist.

A fierce blue light burst from his open palm.

But something unfamiliar was mixed into it. Looking more closely, he realized it wasn’t just blue light. Between the streaks of blue, there was…

…Red light.

Kyle clapped a hand over his mouth.

His ability was changing in a strange way.

Could that little brat be the cause?

At the same time, in the capital…

The members of House Rheinfeld were enjoying an elegant tea party.

The Countess of Rheinfeld held her precious daughter, Melissa, in her arms as she looked at a servant.

“You said that child safely made it into the Monster Mansion, correct?”

“Yes, my lady.”

“Send a tracking party after her. She must be killed. The task won’t be complete until the sacrifice who went to Monster Island is dead, and it must happen within the three days that the spell remains active.”

Count Rheinfeld, who had been listening, nodded in agreement.

That’s what the sorceress said. The spiritual covenant with the Monster Prince will only be completely broken if the sacrifice offered as his bride in Melissa’s place dies.

He couldn’t send his precious daughter to a prince who might die at any moment.

Melissa had a suitable marriage prospect waiting for her.

Someone like the Grand Ducal House of Vayprun, for instance, which was considered the most prestigious noble family in the empire.

Melissa must not be sacrificed to a prenatal engagement with some monster prince who had fallen so far out of the Emperor’s favor that he was no longer even treated as a member of the imperial family.

Once that child known as ‘Melissa’ dies, she won’t be able to use the name Melissa anymore.

But breaking the cursed prenatal engagement was more important.

After all, the prince was destined to die when his power went berserk.

After that, I can make Melissa my adopted daughter. Then everything will be perfect.

Count Rheinfeld answered briefly and dryly.

“The sooner the sacrifice dies, the better. Feel free to move up the schedule.”

The Countess smiled, her eyes narrowing.

“As soon as possible.”

That night, on Monster Island…

Ariena was eating a hard, chewy military toast that tasted even worse than the food she had eaten at House Rheinfeld.

At the dining table, Ariena had tried to persuade Kyle that if she couldn’t become his fiancée or his family, she wanted to become his maid instead.

Kyle’s response, however, had been icy.

“Didn’t you hear me? If my power goes berserk, you could die.”

“Go berserk!”

“You don’t even know what that means, do you?”

“Stars go pop-pop in the sky!”

“That’s fireworks.”

Her first attempt had failed.

“What do you want?”

“I want to pat Kyle’s fluffy fur! And then I’ll defeat all the monsters and make a wish!”

“What are you talking about? You? Defeat monsters?”

“Yeees!”

“Get out.”

Her second attempt had failed spectacularly.

As he watched the little brat babble nonsense and shamelessly hover around him, Kyle was at his wits’ end.

What is this? Are all little kids this energetic?

No matter how many times he told her to go home, she showed no signs of giving up. Kyle felt as though she were draining every last bit of energy from him.

“Why won’t you let me stay…? I can do anything you tell me to do!”

Kyle let out a deep sigh, as if the ground beneath him had collapsed. Then, with an utterly fed-up expression, he muttered,

“You really do seem like an idiot… But fine. Whether you want to be a maid or whatever, the point is that you want to become my subordinate, right?”

So Kyle decided to change his approach.

“No, I wanna be friends with you. And a maid and a subordinate are different…”

“Fine, aspiring subordinate. I’ll give you one mission.”

“Mi…ssion?”

“…Mis-sion. Something you have to do.”

“Gasp! Yes!”

Ariena straightened her shoulders with determination.

Kyle lowered his voice and whispered,

“I’ll test your abilities to see whether you’re capable of staying on Monster Island. As soon as you finish your bread, patrol the mansion.”

He had absolutely no expectation that a child who looked so timid could conduct a proper patrol.

The sun had already set, and the mansion was growing dark. She would surely wander around for a while, get frightened, and run home.

Ariena stuffed a large handful of bread into her mouth and shouted with all her might,

“I’m all done eating!”

Then she pressed both hands firmly against her sides.

“I said you should patrol!”

“Yes!”

She sounded enthusiastic enough, but her hands and feet remained firmly in place.

Kyle asked suspiciously,

“You don’t know what patrolling means, do you?”

“I know what Patrol is.”

Ariena clenched both fists tightly.

Then she pressed her lips together, too.

Kyle’s shadow fell ominously over her head.

“What is a patrol?”

“Patrol is my friend.”

“What is it?”

Faced with the greatest trial of her life, Ariena answered seriously.

“It’s a dog’s name.”

Back when she had been little Tunteuni, barely able to wiggle her hands and feet, she had often watched the forest keeper lead his dogs around through the window.

Every time, the forest keeper would call out to them, “Hey, Patrol! Let’s go!”

But how did Kyle know the name of the forest keeper’s dog?

Still, that wasn’t the important thing right now. She had to make Kyle like her somehow.

To do that, I have to get through this mission!

Ariena was terribly nervous, but she was also convinced that she had answered correctly. She proudly curled the corners of her mouth into a smile.

Then Kyle’s lips slowly began to rise, too.

“Pfft—hahahaha!”

He burst into bright, wholehearted laughter.

His round eyes, which usually seemed sharp and prickly, curved into crescents.

Ariena blinked at the sight of Kyle’s smiling face. She had never seen him smile before.

Is he laughing because of me?

She scratched the back of her head, looking a little dazed, when Kyle spoke.

“You really are just a little kid, aren’t you? You’re wrong. Completely wrong. Five thousand percent wrong!”

With a devastated expression, Ariena muttered,

“Then… do I really have to go outside now? Even though I made you all warm and toasty?”

Ariena drooped her head, looking dejected.

At that moment, Kyle made a dismissive hmph and muttered under his breath.

Well, having her around for just one day wouldn’t be so bad.

“You’ll have to leave eventually, but f-for now, I’ll give you one last chance, soldier! A patrol means walking around a designated area and keeping watch for dangerous monsters!”

Ariena didn’t understand a single word…

As she stared at him, blinking blankly, Kyle shouted,

“Then I’ll patrol the mansion with you! I’ll see your skills for myself.”

“Yes! I’d wike that!”

Ariena clenched both fists and nodded.

And so, the two of them diligently began patrolling the Monster Mansion.

Standing in front of the mansion’s main entrance, Kyle tilted his head.

The area where the ogre had rampaged was a terrible mess.

“Look at this! Why did the barrier break? How on earth did you even get into this mansion?!”

Ariena placed her hands firmly on her hips and answered solemnly,

“I don’t know either.”

“You’re suspicious. Really suspicious.”

“Suspicious? I am.”

“You’re impossible to talk to. This is seriously annoying.”

Kyle continued stealing glances at the doorway for a long time.

Surely this wasn’t an external intruder, was it? If it was…

Amid all the commotion, another day on Monster Island was drawing to a close.

Meanwhile, at the mansion on the outskirts of the capital that everyone considered ominous…

After an entire year, its doors finally opened.

Surrounding the gloomy mansion were knights from the Grand Ducal House of Vayprun.

They stood in formation with solemn expressions, seemingly deaf to the whispers of the onlookers.

“So the people who came here to recuperate were the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess?”

“My goodness! From the Grand Ducal House?”

Inside the mansion, a man stood before a mirror. For the first time in a very long while, the wall lamps had been lit.

He no longer intended to live as a gloomy man who had come here to recover.

It was about time he reclaimed the name of the Grand Duke of Vayprun.

Since the day darkness had entered his life a year ago, he had not cut his hair. Now it had grown long, so he cut it short. He also shaved his thick, unkempt beard.

Then he packed his belongings.

His luggage was sparse. There was no water or food.

All he packed was a pair of tiny shoes decorated with a palm-sized pink ribbon, a little girl’s dress, and a small gauze cloth for an infant.

Soon, he arrived at the darkest bedroom in the mansion.

He opened the door and looked at his wife’s dry, brittle face.

Gently embracing her frail body, which was like a bundle of dried firewood, he whispered,

“I’ll be back.”

The woman who had once been an elegant and lovely Grand Duchess had not a trace of vitality left in her.

She merely stared blankly into space.

He whispered to his wife, very briefly,

“I’ll save them. I’ll bring them back to life.”

Only then did the blank-faced woman turn to look at her husband.