Episode 49
I wondered if there was a reason why the children of Lagrange grew up wickedly, but I couldn’t say that as my answer, so I made another excuse and looked for a way to escape.
‘Baal!’
In this situation, I had no choice but to get help from the demon.
I could feel Baal, whom I left at Dahlia Palace, wriggling under the shadow of the sofa. I crept my body towards it, and glanced at Liatris.
The only aura I could smell in the room so far belonged only to her and her baby.
‘I have to run before more people come.’
“Don’t think that you can get away with it just because I’m alone. The children who went hunting must be back by now.”
Unlike me and Dietrich, the children of Liatris did not grow up as a black sheep, so I heard they’ve been getting along with the elders and attending social gatherings.
‘That’s why the palace was empty,’
I frowned as I recalled Alphonse’s grumpy face, who would be coming back soon.
“If I tell you, will you let me gow?”
“Hmm.”
Liatris mulled over my question for a while, and shook her head slowly. It didn’t seem like she had any intentions of letting me go so easily.
“I can’t let you go until you explain what you were doi—“
Suddenly, the door opened, cutting off her words.
“Yuric.”
The person who appeared without a warning was Yuric. His head was covered with dust and his clothes were all worn out.
It was obvious that he was beaten up, but Liatris looked back at him with a face that wasn’t curious about where or why her son was beaten.
“You’re still so vulgar, opening the door without even knocking.”
I shivered at her critical tone and looked back at Yuric. The boy, who was breathing heavily as if he had been running at a fast speed, barely answered.
“Anis--No, I saw Dietrich Langrange’s younger sister from the window.”
Liatris’ eyes turned to slits as she found Yuric’s answer to be unpleasant. He glanced at me with a resolute face as if Liatris’ gaze which looked at him as if he was a bug was something he’s already used to.
‘I. Will. Save. You.’
He mouthed the words and gave a signal while Liatris was not looking. Because I couldn’t clearly show that I understood him so I clenched my fist instead.
“That’s weird.”
“...Yes?”
“Your blue eyes aren’t that disgusting to look at now.”
Did that mean you thought it was disgusting on a regular basis? One of my small eyebrows wriggled up at Liatris’s words.
Yuric didn’t even show any reaction as if he already knew of that fact. He calmly replied, facing his mother, who regarded him with disgust everyday.
“That’s a relief.”
Soon he cut in between Liatris and I, hesitating to speak.
“....Dietrich’s younger sister must have come to see me. Isn’t that right?”
“Yeah.”
In this situation, there was no choice but to respond to Yuric. With my answer, Liatris tilted her head to the side.
“Why is a child from Dahlia looking for you who is not even a candidate for succession?”
“Alphonse ordered me to do something. You can ask him.”
“Why don’t you just say it?”
“From the moment I gave up my right to succession, I became Alphonse’s servant. No matter what mother says, I can’t freely divulge my brother's orders.”
“If what you’re saying turns out to be false, you’ll pay a big price.”
When Liatris threatened softly, Yuric nodded with unwavering eyes.
After she looked between me and Yuric, she took the child in her arms and left the room.
As soon as Liatris disappeared, Baal crawled out like a snake. He looked down at me with reproach.
“Please do not disappear alone.”
“I had something to do.”
I shook my hand to completely remove the fragments of the mobile piece, and then I approached Yuric who stood tall in his place. He mumbled to himself with a dubious tone, scratching the corner of his mouth.
“What’s going on?”
“Huh?”
“She’s not the kind of person to be fooled by such excuses. She even said my eyes weren’t disgusting.”
I was the one who was more surprised that Liatris usually said that to her own son without hesitation, but it seems Yuric was more surprised that she didn’t say such a thing today.
“Different than ushual?”
“Yeah. Normally, she didn’t even like making eye contact with me. But she looked into my eyes earlier.”
I grunted at Yuric’s words. If Liatris’s behavior suddenly changed then the statues I broked must have been cursed.
“What do we do when your lies are fhound out?”
“Well, it was partially true. So it’s okay.”
“It’sh not wokie! (It’s not okay!)”
I screamed at Yuric who didn’t know how to save himself. He shook his head at my reaction.
“It’s true that it’s a lie, so what can we do about it? Let’s get out before mother asks Alphonse. Don’t come for a while.”
“....there could be a way.”
“What do you mean?”
“A way for Alphonsh and the other kidsh not to bully Yuric anymore.”
‘The curse must also be affecting the other children and their excessive bullying on Yuric.’
I placed my hand on Baal’s shoulders, who held me, and then ordered him nicely to follow Dietrich.
“Roshe Palace.”
“Pardon? We are not going home?”
Unlike when it was Dietrich’s orders, Baal asked back in a saucy manner, so I shook my rattle towards him.
Only then did he move while grumbling.
────── 〔✿〕──────
Lagrange Castle was made up of Nature, the main castle, Dahlia Palace, Liatris Palace and Rose Palace.
Rose palace, where Catherine, one of Derek’s wives stays, was not even shown in the background details of ‘The Rose Wars of Men’.
‘Tsk, it’s basically a palace of the extras.’
I fell flat on the lawn and took a deep breath.
Sniff, sniff.
Sniff, sniff, sniff.
I felt like a puppy, but this posture was the easiest way to find the aura, so it couldn’t be helped. Baal clicked his tongue as if he found me pathetic.
“If you want to take a walk, it would be better for you to go somewhere else.”
“It’sh not a walk!”
“His majesty will get angry once he finds out.”
“But I can’t just let Yuric get hurth.”
Unlike the very unpleasant scents clinging in the hidden sculptures at Liatris and Dahlia, the scents in the Rose Palace were openly scattered.
They kept changing their position as if they were moving on their own.
‘What is this?’
I was sniffing in place when I got fed up and irritatingly raised my body.
“I need to gow in there and check it out.”
“That would be difficult.”
In my curiosity — defying Baal’s warnings— I was able to find out the reason why after searching throughout the garden of Rose Palace.
‘The decorations must be attached to the human body!’
I squinted at the children of the Rose Palace who were huddled together. All three of them looked like they’re my age, but each one carried a dangerous weapon in their hands.
‘It looks like the scent of roses is spreading from them.'
As expected, on closer inspection, I could see a black fog rising from the children’s necklaces.
“I’m the big shot candidate at the Rose Palace!”
“No! It’s me!”
“I’m telling you it’s me! I’m going to give hell today!”
‘Their auras aren’t that murky yet.’
Unlike Alphonse, Dahlia’s children had not lost their own color.
‘How can I take that away?’
However, just because their auras weren’t dirty, didn’t mean the children would be gentle. I thought over it for a while, hiding myself among the bushes. In order not to repeat the same mistake earlier, I even gathered my feet together.
‘Perfect. Hm, hn.’
“Who are you?”
Crap.
I really did not seem to be talented in hiding.
“Me. Me?”
“Yes, you.”
The children in Rose Palace must have been younger than me — I heard they were born when I was two years old — but they began to ask me who I was with a clear pronunciation.
‘But of course because they have each other to converse with!’
Neither Marilyn nor Baal were talkative people —demon— so I was embarrassed by my poor pronunciation and pouted.
The children’s sparkling eyes shined more innocently up close than I expected so I ended up trying to clear my voice for a moment.
“I am…”
“Who are you?”
“I am!”
Standing in a dignified posture with both hands on my sides, I raised my head, following Dietrich. Like that, with the corners of my mouth raised up with a smirk, the children took a step back.
“A shadow demon!”
I wanted to be called a fairy of the roses, but no matter that they were children, a Lagrangre was still a Lagrange. They won’t believe in fairies even if they wake up from the dead.
“Uwahh!!!”
“Uwahh!!!”
If they didn’t believe me, I was planning on shoving them, stealing the necklace and running away, but fortunately, the children looked at me without losing their sparkling eyes.
They sparkled as if stars were strewn over their rosy cheeks red like rubies. I felt a little sorry to see the cheeks of the children burning with anticipation.
‘Acting like Dietrich seemed to be effective.’
“Do you have an owner?”
I cleared my throat at the children’s question and shook my index finger.
“I dun’t.”
“Then! Then make a contract with me!”
“No! Make it with me!”
“Ah, me too!”
When the three of them answered and raised their voices at once, my head hurt. I shook my head, pushing the children’s heads one by one.
“I don’t take any masters.”
“Why?”
“Why won’t you take one?”
“Why? What for?”
As if an echo was ringing, I laughed hopelessly amid repeated questions. It was a good strategy to have fooled the kids. But how do I get out of this?
“Because...I am a demon of solitude.”
“Solitude?”
“What is solitude?”
“Is it poison? Is there a poison we haven’t eaten yet?”
♥️
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