"That old woman clearly said she helped deliver a beast baby?”
“She’s a senile old woman, her mind's already lost to alcohol and drugs. Even her claim of having worked as a midwife might be a lie.”
"That’s fine. For now, just having this lead is enough."
Of all times, it had to be then — and it was a child born as a beast.
Even if others might have dismissed it as nonsense, for Zerpheus, this wasn’t something he could simply ignore.
Zerpheus held his chin and crossed his legs.
He would have liked to watch the situation unfold at a leisurely pace, but things weren’t going well.
The old High Priest, sensing an opportunity, was eager to manipulate the oracle's prophecies to devour the imperial court, while the hunting dog he had raised turned to bite its master’s heels.
“If Natalie had stayed, it would’ve been a bit more bearable. What a shame.”
Zerpenus’s mouth twisted, and the smile he had been wearing became distorted.
Now that the High Priest had Cabelenus in his hands, he wouldn’t let Natalie go so easily.
If Zerpheus wanted to complete the deal left unfinished eight years ago, he would need to offer something even more enticing than Cabelenus.
"Priestess Natalie is—"
"Enough about her. It’s unfortunate, but I can always get her back later."
"But..."
“The child’s value has grown too high to trade for her. So for now, focus more on the child than her."
Even as Zerpheus said this, his fingers absently brushed the bracelet hidden beneath his left sleeve.
His love for Natalie was genuine.
No woman had ever been as special as her.
But that specialness had its limits.
He loved the woman named Natalie, but he could not publicly embrace ‘Lady Natalie,’ the daughter of a marquess, disgraced and branded as a traitor.
He could have freed her anytime after she became a priestess, but unwilling to pay an excessive price, he kept negotiating terms with the High Priest, merely stalling for time.
He knew she had suffered during that time, but he did not regret it.
Power was built on a series of choices, and he could not afford to expose any weakness to his enemies.
One day, he intended to grant Natalie a position worthy of her, but that day was not now.
"You said she’s already met with Cabelenus?"
"Yes. Priestess Natalie made the first move…"
"My dear younger brother is such a tricky one to deal with. Quite the nuisance. Perhaps I should send in the troops?"
Zerpheus’s eyes curved like a crescent moon.
Being a small village, it could easily be reduced to rubble in no time.
"If we deploy soldiers, the Temple will surely notice."
“Even so, we have no choice. Once it enters Schwarhan, it’ll be much harder to catch.”
"Then..."
"If only we had located it a little sooner. My younger brother was just too quick on his feet.”
If he had managed to seize the child before Cabelenus, things would have been much simpler.
But the upper hand was already taken.
Unfortunately, a direct confrontation with Cabelenus was now unavoidable.
"How many troops would we need to face Cabelenus?"
"Honestly, it’s difficult to say. His Highness the Grand Duke is quite exceptional."
Pelsion gave a bitter smile.
Having lived for so long as Zerpheus’s shadow, he had seen plenty of Cabelenus.
The Wolf of Schwarhan was a monster beyond the fearsome rumours that followed him.
“Even someone like Cabelenus must have his limits.”
"The damage will be considerable."
"I’d like to say otherwise, but you’re probably right. My dear brother makes a formidable ally — but as an enemy, he’s a real headache."
For someone supposedly troubled, Zerpheus’s expression remained bright and cheerful.
But Pelsion, from long experience, knew all too well — when Zerpheus wore that look, his plans were bound to be all the more ruthless.
"Alternatively, what if we send her? She seems capable of keeping the damage to a minimum."
"If it’s her..."
"She’s carried quite the grudge ever since the incident eight years ago. This might be a good chance for her to let off some steam. And while we’re at it, a perfect opportunity to test the shackle."
"The shackle?"
“It’d be troublesome if the shackle slipped off as easily as they did with Cabelenus. We must address what my father missed and forge shackles that can never be broken. This is the perfect chance to confirm whether the shackle bound to her is functioning as intended.”
Zerpheus smiled faintly as he recalled the woman who howled like a beast as her beautiful face was reduced to ruin.
She was emotional and foolish, making her unreliable to keep close, but her abilities were still somewhat useful.
It was also thanks to her that the death in the incident eight years ago could be perfectly fabricated.
"Ah, try to keep the child alive as much as possible, but if it looks like you’ll lose it, just kill it."
"Don’t you want the child?"
"It'd be ideal to get my hands on it, but if not, then of course it must be killed."
Anything that could pose a threat must be eliminated from the start.
Zerpheus smirked.
"Is the child really that valuable?"
"No."
"Then, why..."
"It’s still just a possibility, so it’s too early to say it’s valuable. We don’t know if the child truly has the power to control the monsters, and if we’re unlucky, it might not."
Zerpheus leisurely licked his lips as if savouring delicious food.
For now, it was mere speculation; nothing was certain.
Still, it was an enticing possibility.
"If this possibility becomes reality, everything will shift. The covert power struggle between the imperial family and the temple will finally reach its conclusion."
“Is the power to control monsters really that impressive? It’s not like there aren’t skilled people capable of handling monsters. The army can be made up of those experts rather than uncontrollable monsters, right?”
“That may be, but brute force alone isn’t true power.”
The High Priest maintained power by disguising disasters as the will of God — creating and ending them himself — while deceiving and controlling the people.
The temple had managed to hold on until then because it had always shaped situations to suit its own interests whenever needed.
There was no phrase more effective at tempting people than ‘the will of God.’
"Then, Your Majesty…"
“There’s no reason I can’t use that method too.”
Zerpheus’s eyes gleamed.
The Temple of Prime had long proclaimed that monsters were sinners forsaken by God.
There was no better entity suited to oppose the temple.
“Not just anything, but the messenger of God, crushed by the monsters they themselves have scorned. Who would trust such a weak saviour?”
“It’s not the power of the monsters you need, but their reputation.”
“The monsters’ accumulated notoriety can’t be bought with any amount of money. Nothing controls people more easily than fear.”
A deep smile spread across Zerpheus’s lips.
His heart already pounded at the thought of getting the child in his hands.
“Once we have the child, the will of God will be ours. At last, we won’t be half-measures sharing power awkwardly, but the true rulers of the world.”
Just as his father wished.
Zerpheus slowly touched his reflection in the glass window, then covered his eyes with his hand.
By now, he should have gotten used to it, but the eyes that weren’t golden still irritated him.
・・・・・
"Huu…"
Michael stopped running and slumped down on the spot.
It was too boring to quietly obey Cabelenus’s words.
Training alone was no fun at all.
‘I hid so well while following, but he’s as sharp as a ghost and noticed right away…’
Michael rested his chin in both hands and stared at the path where Cabelenus had disappeared.
Having already been caught several times trying to secretly follow Cabelenus, Michael couldn’t even dare to tail him this time and was feeling miserable.
“If you got attacked by the wild boar, I was going to help you…”
Without understanding Michael’s true intentions, Cabelenus only threatened that if Michael kept following him, he would never train him again.
The more he thought about it, the more infuriating it was, and his lips naturally puckered.
“It’s such a huge relief you’re not my dad. Really — such a relief!”
Michael raised both hands high, then let out a deep sigh.
Though grumbling that he’d never help, he found it hard to take his eyes off the direction Cabelenus had left in.
Rustle—.
It was then.
At the sound of the bushes nearby, Michael reflexively jumped up and looked around.
"Mis... huh?"
He thought it was Cabelenus, but it wasn’t.
Michael’s eyes widened like a startled rabbit at the unexpected guests.
“What are all you uncles doing here?”
Michael’s gaze quickly swept over the people surrounding him.
They were all familiar villagers, but the wooden clubs in their hands were not familiar.
"Where's that man?"
"That man?"
“I’ve noticed you’ve been hanging out with him a lot lately. Don’t you know where he went?”
“Why are you looking for him?”
"That’s none of your business."
Seeing the grim expression on the village chief, Louis, Michael frowned.
Unlike his usual hearty smile, Louis looked unusually angry for some reason.
“Mister said he went to catch the wild boar.”
"The wild boar?"
“The wild boar tore up the fields.”
“That’s ridiculous. What can he possibly do alone?”
“...”
“So, which way did that man go?”
It wasn’t a mistake.
His cold tone was dripping with hostility.
Michael paused briefly, then pointed to the left.
It was the exact opposite direction from where Cabelenus had gone.
“You mean he went that way?”
“He left a while ago, so if you want to catch him, you’ll have to hurry.”
“Alright. Got it.”
Louis gave a curt reply and hurried off.
Behind him, a crowd of young men known for their strength in the village followed closely.
Michael watched the village chief and his group as they walked away, and once they were completely out of sight, he immediately turned around and ran off.
'Mister’s in danger.'
Although Cabelenus was strong, there was no way he could handle so many people.
He had to warn Cabelenus of the danger as soon as possible.
"I think he went this way..."
Although he took off running, the long stretch of forest all looked the same, so he didn’t know which way to go.
Michael stomped his feet in frustration, then noticed a recently broken tree branch above his head, and his eyes widened.
Several branches were bent at a height that was a bit too tall for Michael but perfect for Cabelenus.
Cabelenus had marked the way.
Michael smiled brightly and quickened his pace.
Since Cabelenus hadn’t been gone long, if he hurried to catch up, he could still reach him.
After running for who knew how long, he saw a dark figure far ahead.
Michael smiled brightly and stepped forward with all his might.
"Mis—"
"You lied, Michael."
“...”
At the voice ringing above his head, Michael’s body froze in place.
He cautiously raised his head.
The child’s ash-coloured eyes trembled uneasily.
“Does your mum know that you’re a liar, too?”
“...”
"If you carry on like this, your mum will be in a difficult position."
"My mum did nothing wrong."
"We’ll see about that. In the end, it’s your mum’s fault that man got tangled up in this."
A grip tightened on the back of his collar.
Michael frowned and tugged at the shirt choking him.
"Let me go!"
“This chap, what an attitude. Don’t worry. We've grown fond of you, so why would we do you any harm?"
Louis smiled slyly and nodded to the young man behind him.
The young man, as if waiting for the signal, hoisted Michael onto his shoulder.
“What will you do, Chief?”
“That man, he’s clearly not someone to take lightly, so we should keep him with us just in case. There’s no way he’d pretend not to see his own kid, right?”
“Mister isn’t my—”
“Quiet down, will you? If that man notices us first, we’ll be in trouble. We need to deal with him while he’s off guard.”
"Urg! Uh!"
Michael struggled with all his might, but it was useless.
He kicked helplessly as the handkerchief stuffed in his mouth muffled him.
It was then.
Thunk–!
“Ahhh!”
With a dull thud, Mill, the tallest in the group, grabbed his leg and collapsed instantly.
“What the—ugh!”
Gale, who had been leading the commotion, grabbed his shoulder and screamed.
“Where is he?! Out of nowhere—”
“There! Over there! No, the other side—ugh!”
Michael could only blink his eyes in confusion.
Bloodstained stones were scattered across the floor.
"...Mister?"
Just as the young men were flustered and confused, with a heavy thud, John, the biggest guy in the village, collapsed straight to the ground.
Before anyone noticed, there was a man on John’s back, holding down the nape of his neck.
“I don’t understand what you’re trying to do in front of a child.”
"Y-you...!"
“What are you all doing?! Hurry and catch him!”
Cabelenus clicked his tongue disapprovingly, and without anyone taking the lead, everyone urgently swung their clubs at him.
Swish!
Cabelenus lifted the fallen John with one hand and hurled him straight at the charging crowd.
Taking advantage of the youths struggling beneath John’s weight, Cabelenus grabbed the remaining two and threw them right on top as well.
“Are you hurt?”
Cabelenus sighed and looked at Michael.
Michael, barely able to breathe, only blinked his eyes.
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