“Hmm. In any case, a fitting punishment must be—”
“Punishment? You truly go too far! Honestly, did I utter a single lie?”
Unbelievable! My insides were practically turning to ash from anxiety, yet here this Duke was, looking down at me so calmly that my temper blew its lid. Human decency alone dictated that one shouldn't toy with someone's life like this. Not that you're even human to begin with!
“Put yourself in my shoes! If you were told your sibling was about to be hurled into a fire, could you swear you wouldn't react the same way?!”
“I wonder. To begin with, I have no siblings, so…”
“Indeed! You certainly look the type not to have any!”
“……”
I widened my eyes as hard as I could, fighting back tears. There was no telling how the beast's face beneath the mask twisted, but the old Count standing behind him discreetly averted his gaze, finding the scene too painful to watch.
My heart hammered frantically against my ribs, the frantic thumping echoing all the way to my ears.
“Hic.”
I tightened my embrace around Rose as she squirmed in my arms. When I buried my face in her tangled platinum-blonde hair, the familiar scent of a child washed over me. If that man caught even a whiff of this innocent warmth, he surely wouldn't dare say such vile things.
Uncontrollable sorrow and resentment surged through me like a tidal wave. As I glared up at him, overcome by raw emotion, Kiers's red lips twitched.
“It seems you hold quite a grudge against me.”
“Hic… I won't deny it. How could you do this to such an innocent child?”
“It seems the one putting the child in danger is you.”
“……”
“Unless you intend to suffocate her to death, you would do well to let go.”
Through the mask, the Grand Duke's gaze drifted down past my eyes. Just where was that man looking…? Startled, I realized what was happening and hastily loosened my arms.
“R-Rose! Are you all right?”
“Cough!”
Hacking and sputtering with her tiny body, Rose finally shivered as she caught her breath. Good heavens, what have I done! Desperate to check on her, I quickly pushed away the hair obscuring her face.
“Mm?”
She blinked up at me like a newborn kitten venturing into the world. Even the way she squinched one eye against the light was utterly adorable. It was our Rose, without a doubt!
“Sister… what's wrong? Why are you fighting?”
“Huh?”
“Are you fighting because of Rose? Because Rose snuck into the chest?”
She tilted her head, her worried voice whispering in my ear, before gingerly lifting her gaze. After being buried in my chest the whole time, she seemed to have only just grown curious about who he was.
“…Rose.”
Right—our Rose had never seen someone like this before! Truly, I couldn't let my guard down for even a second. With our lives already hanging by a thread, if she were frightened by his appearance and screamed, everything would be over.
“R-Rose. This bas—no, this gentleman is by no means a bea…”
“…Who is this mister?”
“…Huh?”
Thankfully she hadn't screamed, but this reaction caught me completely off guard. She had whispered it as softly as she could out of pure curiosity, but there was no way he hadn't heard. Even slumped on the floor, I could hear the Grand Duke draw a long breath.
“W-Well, you see.”
Sweetheart, can't you tell just by looking at him?
Truly, a child was still a child. Rose's inquisitive stare was overwhelming enough, but his silent expectation for my answer was just as suffocating. My shoulders felt so heavy I thought I would sink through the floorboards, and the words simply wouldn't come.
“…Say hello. He's your brother-in-law.”
Please don't do this to me.
Frantic, I gripped the girl's shoulders, and Rose belatedly hid her face in my arms out of bashfulness, only peeking her eyes out to peer at him.
“…H-His Grace, the Grand Duke. Sister told you about him before, remember?”
“Ah! I know! Rose knows!”
“……”
“But Sister, you said the Grand Duke was a bea—”
“Rose! Good girl, aren't you? My sweet baby! Peek-a-boo!”
That's enough! Stop right there! Forcing eye contact, I shook my head in frantic desperation, and Rose quickly clapped both hands over her mouth. She seemed to catch on at once, but in truth, even I couldn't begin to interpret her reactions.
…Children really do love beasts, don't they? I had expected her to burst into terrified tears or hide away trembling, but she merely seemed bashful. At any rate, Rose was handled for now, but the true battle for survival was only just beginning.
“…Y-Your Grace, this is my younger sister.”
After all, this man was still standing right here.
Gnawing anxiously on the inside of my cheek, I glanced up to meet a pair of blood-red eyes veiled in inscrutable emotion. Masked in black, there was no telling whether his look held fury or resignation, but one thing was certain.
…He isn't going to kill us right now. It was an instinctual realization felt before the apex predator of the food chain. Feeling relieved in the face of those crimson eyes only left me utterly confused. Unable to avert my gaze, my lips parted haltingly.
“I-I was going to tell you. Really, I was.”
“…And when, exactly, might that have been?”
“S-Sometime soon?”
Once you promised to give me the land, that is.
“Haah… If Your Grace had a younger sibling, you would understand how I feel. I couldn't just leave such a small child behind all alone.”
“I was under the impression you had other family members.”
“That's… not all families are the same.”
Can't you tell just by looking! Why must you keep prodding?!
Resignation and sorrow surged up within me at once. If I had anyone I could entrust her to with peace of mind, would I have hidden and brought this tiny child along? Even if no affection or attachment remained, speaking ill of my own kin before the man who was to be my husband felt utterly miserable.
Then again, it wasn't as if he would understand even if I explained.
He was not the kind of man to show sympathy or understanding. As I clamped my lips shut and endured, his voice drifted down from above, carrying a slightly altered tone.
“As you mentioned, I have no siblings, so I cannot claim to fathom such sentiments.”
“……”
“Yet even if I did, I certainly wouldn't have shoved them into a place like that to begin with.”
His crimson gaze dropped quietly. A chill ran down my spine, and my grip on Rose tightened fiercely. It was not bloodlust, but his presence, growing distinctly heavier, cast a frigid pall over the room.
A sudden shiver ran through me before the fireplace that had felt stiflingly hot only moments ago.
“…Count, let us return.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
With those parting words that sounded neither like a greeting nor a dismissal, his heavy strides carried him away. The Count opened the door with practiced ease, and Kiers's coat fluttered as he stepped past.
What? Is he truly leaving just like that? Without killing us, or throwing us out?
Stunned, I couldn't tear my eyes away from his retreating figure. Sensing my gaze brimmed with hope and anticipation, he finally responded after a long pause, his voice cool and composed.
“As the present circumstances seem hardly suitable, I shall take my leave for now. As previously stated, the specific arrangements regarding the wedding will be delivered through the Count in due course.”
“Y-Yes, of course. Good night.”
“Furthermore, tomorrow morning seems appropriate for deciding the subsequent punishment for this matter.”
“…Pardon? There's more?”
As I froze over like brittle frost, the corner of his red lips subtly curled upward.
“As you so eloquently put it, I am a beast, after all.”
◇ ◆ ◇
His steps on the return to the study were far more leisurely than when he had set out. Though he looked straight ahead without glancing back as usual, his stride was devoid of the biting chill and sharp vigilance that typically accompanied him.
“…Your Grace, forgive me.”
“For what?”
“It was an oversight on my part… Having only received Jerome's report, I never anticipated such a turn of events.”
The moment they entered the study, the Count bowed deeply, asking forgiveness for his mistake first. An advisor ought to anticipate and resolve all matters concerning his lord beforehand. What was more, as the one who had brokered not merely advice but this very marriage, his sense of responsibility weighed even heavier.
“Wh-When I saw her during the day, I never imagined she would be such a person.”
“Such a person?”
Only upon reaching his desk did Kiers turn around, letting slip an unreadable smirk. Though the smile flickered across his face for only an instant, his red lips undoubtedly twitched.
“You mean one who calls a beast a bastard of a beast to his face?”
“Y-Your Grace! That was…!”
“Well, she wasn't wrong.”
His large left hand rose toward his face. With a soft click, the black mask shifted off his brow and cheek into his broad grip, revealing his faint, scoffing smile in clear detail.
“Though… it has been some time since anyone said it to my face.”
“Your Grace.”
The Count hurried over with a stand, taking the mask from his hands. Resting upon the black velvet, a faint blue mist lingered around the mask before slowly dispersing into the air.
Carefully setting it aside without making direct contact, the Count bowed his head apologetically.
“First, I shall dispatch men to Aden once more. We must properly investigate her family relations.”
“Do as you wish.”
“Still… how did you notice? One would expect faint breathing, but I sensed nothing whatsoever.”
“That is…”
“Indeed, such presence would naturally be obvious to Your Grace.”
The Count corrected himself, feeling his inquiry had been pointless. Who was His Grace? The conqueror who had ruthlessly brought both the Southern and Western continents under his heel. He was a man who could discern the breath and presence of approaching foes faster than a passing breeze.
“Even so, to think she was hidden inside that chest. Young as she is, her breathing must have been exceptionally faint.”
“There was none.”
“Pardon?”
“I said there was no sound of breathing.”
Strictly speaking, she had suppressed her breath so thoroughly it was virtually nonexistent. Even so, it was not enough to fool his senses, but what had alerted him first was entirely different.
“…A desperate urge to survive, one might call it.”
“Your Grace.”
“I've heard it before. Or rather, I should say I once released it myself.”
Brushing a hand through his hair, he swallowed a bitter smile. Only then did the Count grasp the meaning behind the Grand Duke's words, his expression turning solemn as he cautiously spoke up.
“Speaking of which, the youngest kitt—er, the young lady in the chest seemed quite small and entirely oblivious to the situation…”
At the Count's flustered concern, one of Kiers's brows arched upward. The moment Kiers's gaze turned toward him, the advisor instantly regained his composed demeanor, though his lips remained primed as if he had plenty more to say.
“We will find that out tomorrow.”
“However—”
“Enough.”
Kiers raised a single hand, cutting off any further words. With the master making his stance so clear, even the Count could press no further.
Leaving behind the Count, who quickly bowed his head in deference to his duty, Kiers stepped toward the window, deep in thought. Looking out past the glass into the pitch-black night, his eyes slowly narrowed.
“Still… I can hardly say I'm not looking forward to it.”
