Chapter 89
<Chapter 92>
“Why bring him along? You’ll only scare the child.”
“…….”
The light that had flickered with anticipation in Knox’s eyes instantly died out.
“Tch. Understood.”
“What’s with the ‘tch’? Later, once that boy is settled in the castle, you’ll be the one in charge of managing him—”
“Pardon?”
Startled, Knox asked back.
‘Ah. What am I saying?’
Calips furrowed his brow, looking flustered.
“Just leave for now.”
Nothing had even been decided yet, and here he was already thinking about living with the brat Aisha had brought home.
‘I mean, really. Am I actually planning to raise that Guide boy and start living alongside monsters in earnest?’
Covering his face with one hand, Calips let out a hollow laugh.
Was it because he’d grown fond of Kyle? Or had he simply become accustomed to his daughter’s audacity?
Or perhaps it was because of that monster he’d seen clinging to the boy like glue.
The boundary between good and evil, which he had perceived as a universal truth since birth, was gradually blurring, and the convictions he had once believed in were beginning to crumble.
He didn’t know exactly where the starting point was, but one thing was certain.
He had changed since Aisha arrived.
And he liked himself much better now than back when he was wearing a mask.
* * *
A few days later.
Rumors about the extraordinary boy who trained monsters spread rapidly through the Duke’s Castle.
From May to the servants, and from the escort knights to the rest of the chivalry.
In particular, the knights guarding the Ice Wall talked about ‘monster training’ every time they met—which was only natural.
Training a monster was… well.
In terms of my past life, it was similar to the idea of training unknown beings like dinosaurs or aliens.
Actually, in a fantasy setting, it would be like training a massively powerful white dragon.
And I was the one who brought in the talent capable of such a feat.
‘I might not be able to use the Ice Ability, but I’ve contributed to the Crost family in my own way, haven’t I?’
Since then, Guide was said to be training the Ferry diligently in the quarters he’d been assigned.
Occasionally, when I visited out of curiosity:
“I-I realized something this time. Bibi has so much energy that if she’s stuck in a room for days, she gets really stressed. I think I need to let her out for a walk at least once a day!”
With sparkling eyes, he showed me the training log he’d written. Although his hands were covered in scratches from the Ferry, Guide looked much happier than when I first met him.
As expected of this world’s star trainer. Keep growing just like that.
The people of the Crost Duchy, who had been watching Guide, also began to show positive reactions.
“I thought it was the strangest thing at first, but I think it might be worth keeping an eye on.”
“By the way, what happens if that kid really manages to handle monsters like dogs? Will he be riding giant monsters like horses later on?”
The knights of Crost loathed monsters more than anyone, but in truth, they had desired coexistence more than anyone else.
Subjugating monsters wasn’t a war with a clear end. Even if a periodic subjugation was successful, the only gain for the people was the maintenance of safety, and there were surely those who were exhausted by this endless cycle of combat.
‘Still, how exactly do you take a Ferry for a walk…?’
That was about the only question I had left.
Anyway, today wasn’t the day to worry about that.
“One slice of cake. No, make it a whole cake. Please.”
Chomp.
Lying on my bed with my toes wiggling audaciously, I made my request to May.
Today was a day I deserved a reward for bringing Guide here.
‘I’ll eat cake and have teatime with May!’
Up until that moment, I was feeling quite triumphant. However.
“My Lady. I believe you need to come to the office for a moment.”
Knox knocked on my door with an air of urgency.
His expression was stiff and grim.
* * *
A few days before Knox called for Aisha.
A message had arrived at the Duke’s Castle.
It was a letter from the royal family, stamped with a golden seal.
“According to the message from His Majesty King Arzen, the citizens of the kingdom are still trembling in fear due to the recent monster raid. Only God knows whose fault it truly was, but…”
Mid-sentence, Knox sighed as if he already knew the answer.
“Anyway. To quell the people’s fears and demonstrate the kingdom’s strength, His Majesty has requested that the entire Crost family gather at the Center to hold a swordsmanship duel with the royal knights. To be precise,”
“He wants us to put on a show for the public.”
Calips cut Knox off, his face twisting in a grimace.
‘I thought he’d be quiet for a while after that incident….’
He had thought this for a long time, but King Arzen was blessed with luck far beyond his actual abilities. His Queen Consort was a formidable mage, and the Crost family guarded the Ice Wall directly on behalf of the royals.
That was exactly where the problem arose. Although Calips had no such intention, the people of the North occasionally brought up the idea of Northern independence. Naturally, King Arzen felt compelled to keep Calips in check.
On the surface, this message was about quelling unrest by showing the kingdom’s power, but—
“In reality, he’s trying to use Aisha as leverage.”
Though she had been revealed as his biological child, Aisha still couldn’t use the Ice Ability. Since King Arzen hadn’t seen it for himself, he likely wanted to confirm it with his own eyes.
“Yes. It seems so.”
Knox nodded in agreement. It was obvious. Seeing as there had been no official announcement yet, the King likely suspected that Aisha lacked the ability. He surely thought he could use that point to undermine the prestige of the Crost family.
“Tell him only Lucas and I will attend. Aisha is five, so she has no opponent to duel with. Surely that old man wouldn’t make her duel an adult.”
“Understood.”
Naturally, Calips had no intention of involving Aisha in King Arzen’s petty games of jealousy. However, a few days later—
“Your Grace. They say there is a knight of a similar age to face Lady Aisha.”
“What?”
Calips received another unexpected message.
“Furthermore, he replied that he has prepared a peer with special abilities in consideration of Lady Aisha’s skills, and asks that she demonstrate her powers to her heart’s content.”
As the contents of the message became increasingly absurd, Calips covered his eyes and let out a dry laugh.
“The King is determined.”
“Indeed. I thought His Majesty would have been cowed after the execution of the former Duke of Pose.”
Knox groaned before continuing.
“He even set the date for two weeks from now. This is a blatant attempt to bring the Crost family to heel.”
Knox was right. Normally, appointments between nobles were made at least a month in advance. For official events like banquets, it was polite to send invitations three months ahead. Yet, he set an official public duel for two weeks from now?
“…He wants to turn us into obedient dogs.”
Calips’s face instantly turned cold. In truth, Calips hadn’t thought deeply about whether Aisha possessed the Ice Ability or not until now. Even without it, she was already his biological daughter. With just himself and Lucas, they had more than enough power to guard the Ice Wall and protect the people from monsters.
If Aisha had a duty as a member of the Crost family, she had already fulfilled it just by bringing back the proper heir, Lucas. But if there was one thing he had overlooked, it was that Calips was not just a knight; he was a nobleman.
In other words, Calips was quite ignorant of such matters. He had never imagined that proving the existence of the ability would be directly linked to protecting the family’s reputation.
“Tell him we decline. Say the child is scheduled to be sick for two weeks…”
As he answered subconsciously, Calips paused.
‘Well done, Aisha.’
He suddenly remembered when Aisha had brought Guide home. That was the moment he had acknowledged that Aisha was no ordinary child.
How would Aisha react?
“Your Grace?”
“Give me a moment.”
When Knox called to him in confusion, Calips dismissed him briefly and fell into thought. If it were Aisha, she would at least want to be asked about her attendance at the duel. For an ordinary five-year-old, that authority belonged to the parent, but Aisha was a clever child who had grown up receiving extraordinary training from a young age.
‘I don’t like it, but…’
Calips closed his eyes and sighed.
“Bring Aisha here for now.”
“Pardon?”