16
Episode 16
“You’ve never even seen what kind of person my father is, have you?”
“Umm……”
“My father has quite the temper. When I was little, I played a prank on him and ended up studying abroad for ten years.”
……Gasp.
My eyes widened.
Come to think of it, when I was a puppy, I followed my sister when she was taking her heir lessons.
I saw him often back then.
‘I think he was a really scary man?’
* * *
“Repeat my words exactly.”
“Yes?”
“I am sorry for being trash.”
“I, I am sorry for being trash. Duke Ardos, I, I apologize!”
“You wasted an opportunity to eliminate a sea monster in one go?”
“I, I am sorry……. Please share your wisdom, Duke Ardos!”
“I need a ship made of awls. Make it and bring it to me within a month.”
Duke Ardos went to support the Grand Duchy of Rivera, which had been devastated by the sudden appearance of monsters.
His frosty words silenced countless soldiers.
This was right after Grand Duke Rivera had left to subjugate the monsters that had suddenly appeared on the northern border.
Duke Ardos was focusing on rear support, centering on the remaining soldiers.
However, there was not a single person whose actions pleased him.
“Y, Your Excellency. A month is i, impossible with our shipbuilding technology……”
“‘Impossible’ and ‘I don’t want to’ are all you young people ever say?”
His red eyes flashed with contempt, and the soldiers cowered.
“I, I apologize.”
His black hair was somewhat streaked with gray, as if touched by the passage of time, but he was clearly a handsome middle-aged man.
He was an undefeated general who had made his mark on the history of the empire, and the great Duke who led the prestigious Ardos family.
“You, you must know that I brought the only Magic Tower in the empire to the Ardos territory. Do you know what the Archmage said when I first asked him?”
“That is……”
“He said he would build the Magic Tower in our territory if I could float a ship in the air. Everyone said it was impossible. But I eventually found a way.”
“……”
“You can only accomplish something if you believe it is possible. What can you achieve if you are mired in defeatism from the start?”
“I, I apologize.”
He silenced their complaints and roared.
‘The morale of the soldiers in the midst of war is so pathetic. It is truly lamentable.’
What good is skill if that’s all you have?
Life is about momentum!
“To act like a defeated dog from the start, I don’t even want to talk to you anymore.”
He turned his piercing gaze away and left the barracks, just then.
“Greetings, Duke Ardos.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about the Tiger Spirit Creature that escaped from the detached palace and has been recaptured.”
“I see.”
The Tiger Spirit Creature.
It was a Spirit Creature that had been captured in the Grand Duchy of Rivera and sent to the mansion.
Nothing was currently known about its Special Ability. Duke Ardos had simply sensed the aura of a Spirit Creature from the Tiger and captured it.
Duke Ardos breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he heard that the Tiger had been captured.
Those who didn’t know would just think of it as one of the ‘ordinary Spirit Creatures’…….
Duke Ardos recognized it as soon as he saw the Tiger.
‘The Special Ability that Tiger is hiding is amazing.’
It possessed such powerful strength that it broke through the Barrier he had personally erected.
Before he knew it, the corners of his lips quirked up.
“Tell me, who captured the Tiger?”
“Do you remember Coco, whom the Council of Elders decided to adopt recently?”
“That, the Blessed Baby? The child whose Stigmata suddenly disappeared, and who was supposed to be removed from the family register?”
The Council of Elders rejoiced at the words ‘Blessed Baby,’ but easily criticized her when they heard that the Stigmata had disappeared.
However, whether she was a Blessed Baby or not was not so important to him.
What mattered most was ‘whether she was a human who made an effort.’
So, although he had entrusted the matter to the Council of Elders, he certainly remembered her since she had been registered under him.
“Yes. That……. The baby captured the Tiger Spirit Creature. So, Ruth is currently taking care of the Tiger Spirit Creature with her.”
“A mere five-year-old did such a thing?”
The aide quickly added to the momentarily surprised Duke Ardos.
“Yes. Within the family, there is also an opinion that she may truly be the <Blessed Baby>.”
But his surprise was only momentary, and he soon regained his composure.
“That remains to be seen.”
Although the report was unexpected, the child he had glanced at before leaving was nothing special.
She was small and frail, and didn’t even seem to look him in the eye properly.
‘Why is my memory so hazy?’
Anyway, seeing how hazy his memory was, she could never be a great child.
‘Someone must have helped her, or she was just lucky.’
“Then, leave it for now. I will go back and check properly and reward her accordingly.”
He didn’t have high expectations.
The expectations he had placed on young people had always returned as disappointment.
Duke Ardos scanned the entire barracks with an uncomfortable expression.
“Once this battle is over, I must return to the mansion. Before I return, I must have a private meeting with Grand Duke Rivera.”
“Y, Yes?”
“I have something to say to the Grand Duke separately. He is subjugating monsters on the northern border, is he not? Let’s go there!”
He moved vigorously with an energetic body, even though he had not slept for 72 hours.
* * *
A day later.
Leia Amond, the young lady of the viscount family and Theresia’s close aide, held a small social gathering.
“Did you hear? Theresia met Chloe this time.”
“I heard. I heard she was turned away again this time.”
Several young ladies sighed deeply, as if feeling sorry for her.
“Chloe is in danger of going berserk, but she refuses Theresia’s treatment. It’s really worrying.”
Leia sighed deeply as she looked at Theresia, who had a kind smile on her face.
“It’s really unfortunate. Theresia is even a candidate for Saintess. But she only rejects Theresia’s consideration.”
“Ah! So Lucrezia went to the temple because of that……”
Leia covered her mouth and laughed.
Thanks to the ‘villainess’ Chloe, who was locked up in her room, people regarded Theresia as a ‘Saintess.’
‘It’s easy to shape public opinion.’
Leia had a proud expression on her face.
It was right then, as they were praising Theresia, who had become a Saintess candidate.
A noblewoman who had the commander of the Ardos family’s knights as her husband whispered quietly.
“By the way, did you hear that rumor? About the Tiger Spirit Creature in the Ardos family.”
Theresia’s expression became uncomfortable, but she continued to speak.
Last night, a huge rumor swept through the entire Ardos mansion.
It was the news that Coco, a young child who was a Blessed Baby but was in danger of being abandoned, had captured the Black Tiger Spirit Beast.
And the news that Duke Ardos was returning urgently because of that!
“I wonder what kind of person that Blessed Baby is?”
“I’m curious for some reason.”
“Could it be that the traces that were erased were a mistake?”
“Well. Saving a Spirit Creature is amazing, but I don’t know if it’s a mistake……”
It was a social gathering held to create public opinion criticizing Chloe, who had refused Theresia’s consideration and was just locked up in her room.
But the focus was on ‘who was the child who found the Tiger Spirit Creature.’
Whether Theresia, who had lost her place as the main character, had a dark complexion or not.
One of the ladies lowered her voice and muttered.
“But that Tiger Spirit Creature……. I don’t know if it’s worth saving.”
“What……”
“I heard his condition is not good? I heard he might die soon?”
* * *
On the way to see Tiger!
Surprisingly, I heard a shocking story from Dot.
“Baby, the truth is, it’s not just that Tiger Spirit Beast’s condition is bad.”
“Gasp, why?”
“Do you see that under your feet, Baby? That black soot is called the Black Lion. When that ‘Black Lion’ appears, the Spirit Creature will die soon.”
“B, Black Lion……?”
I was shocked by the unexpected news.
‘A bad lion appeared on Tiger.’
This can’t be…….
Now, I have to find the friend that Tiger wants.
He can’t die in the meantime…….
I looked at Tiger with a worried expression.
“Then, can I talk to Tiger?”
“Yes. I heard that Baby has the Special Ability of animal affinity. Please have a Communion with him. Before Tiger dies……”
Dot looked at me with sad eyes.
I went straight to where Tiger was staying.
On a rug that was bigger and fluffier than the large Tiger.
“Tiger! I’m here!”
[You came]
“Yeah, yeah! I heard you’re sick.”
“……”
Tiger’s expression became gloomy.
I thought as I looked at the dark soot drawn near Tiger’s paw.
‘Is that the Black Lion?’
I saw that dark shadow on Tiger in the future newspaper too.
“Is there no way to fix this?”
Humans don’t know this, but animals instinctively know when their bodies are sick.
And they also knew how to heal themselves.
Folk remedies are famous among animals.
[There is]