Episode 12
“Princess Ivonne Freyde Bryseis will awaken within this month.”
Surprised by the unexpected words of the prophet, I looked at Hildebrandt. Even though he covered his mouth, I could tell he was smiling. His eyes were curved.
“How will her abilities manifest?”
Crossing his legs again, leaning back on the sofa, he seemed to be expecting the answer. Watching this, I began to break into a cold sweat.
So far, the prophets have never predicted my awakening so precisely. They only repeated like parrots that it would happen soon.
Moreover, what the prophets say is not very reliable. There have been several instances where their predictions went wrong. The future can change over trivial matters. That’s why, even if the prophecy turns out to be wrong, the prophets don’t face severe consequences. I’ll probably be the one to suffer from this.
“I don’t know. However, Your Highness will become the strongest sword of the empire in the near future.”
The title of the strongest sword was only allowed for the Emperor. As soon as those words were spoken, my body jolted as if I had been hit.
“Well, our Ivonne will finally become the imperial princess.”
“Hahaha… Father. You trust the prophets too much…”
When the Emperor met my eyes, my words naturally stopped. I closed my mouth, feeling it would be best not to make any unnecessary verbal mistakes. Besides, Hildebrandt was not likely to listen to anything contrary to his intentions.
“So, she’ll become the Imperial Sword. Great!”
“Ahaha… dad. The prophets…”
“Hope she has a healing ability.”
“Naturally, a natural ability.”
“Like the wind, perhaps…”
“I’d prefer fire.”
“Sure, fire is much better.”
I tried to cater to the Emperor’s mood as much as possible while he was in a good mood. It wasn’t easy. Even my former boss at the company, who was a director, wasn’t this difficult. Moreover, the director never targeted my life.
“Now that everything is settled, I have to go back to the council.”
“Please go, dad.”
“I’ll go with you. I’ll see you off.”
“Oh, really?”
“Of course.”
I smiled brightly, trying to match his kindness. Hildebrandt wasn’t someone who didn’t pick up on things. He was just someone who didn’t need to pick up on things, acting however he pleased.
“By the way, Ivonne, if you don’t like the new toy, I can give you something else. Francis picked up a wolf cub not too long ago.”
“R-really?”
His suggestion wasn’t particularly pleasant. Because that wolf cub would grow up to become a very large wolf and die at the hands of Yurián. At the time Yurián escaped and came back to kill the Emperor.
“I’m fine, thank you.”
“Really?”
I tried to refuse, but Hildebrandt’s expression was unsettling.
“So, I’ve already sent you to my palace.”
“Really? Wow, I’m so happy!”
Despite the excitement of being sent to my palace, a sense of unease crept in. It didn’t have to be Yurián; Hildebrandt might use the awakening as an excuse to try to kill me. I had already lost quite a few puppies because of Hildebrandt. One of the reasons he avoided using hypnosis was because he didn’t want to deal with those puppies.
Even with a shock, awakening was possible. If the shock was severe, it could expedite awakening even before the adult birthday. Hildebrandt, the Emperor, began using shock therapy on me from my 21st birthday. During that year, I lost five puppies.
“Don’t touch this one.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
He gifted me five puppies in a similar manner. I knew it was a lie, but I had to play along.
* * *
Returning to my room, there was indeed a wolf cub. Its fur was pure white, and its eyes were sky blue, reminding me of Hildebrandt.
Now… should I scold it?
“Come here.”
“Grrrr…!”
Of course, I couldn’t do that. Despite being a cub, its teeth looked sharp and powerful, like piranha teeth. And it was bigger than the average cub.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem frightening, maybe because it was wearing a leash. Come to think of it, I couldn’t recall how the original Hildebrandt tamed this cub. I wasn’t sure if it wasn’t mentioned or if I just skimmed over it.
In any case, the Emperor raised it diligently, and it leaped forward, seemingly loyal, blocking an attack before dying.
“What did you name it?”
“It’s called Hill.”
“Okay.”
“And His Majesty instructed that you should never let it bite.”
“…I see.”
When Evony gestured to the maid behind her, the leash was handed to me. Strangely, it seemed quite docile, except for the growling earlier.
“If possible, let it roam freely, as per His Majesty’s command.”
“Alright, let’s do that.”
As soon as the words were over, the leash of the white furball was untied. I crouched a little, wary of it rushing at me, but it surprisingly didn’t.
“Let’s get acquainted first. Everyone, step back.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Hill jumped onto the bed, curling up before I could say anything. So, I sat beside it, clenched my fist, and gently tapped its nose. As I did, it seemed to sniff and its face touched my hand before retreating.
“Is it okay if I pet you?”
With the silent consent, I involuntarily extended my hand and began stroking its head.
“I can smell Dad’s scent on you. Did you eat a lily?”
Up close, it was indeed quite large. If it stood, it might be almost my size. No, it seemed even bigger.
“Come here… Hill!”
When I called it, the weight of its body pressing down was considerable. Its forelegs were resting on my shoulders, and, with a bit of exaggeration, it felt heavy as if it would dislocate my shoulder.
“You’re quite affectionate.”
Scratching its chin felt ticklish, so I shifted to patting its back. It seemed like it was under some kind of hypnosis; otherwise, a wild animal like this wouldn’t obediently listen to me.
“Let’s get along well.”
Lifting my face after patting its head, I looked into its eyes. The blue eyes were truly beautiful. Hildebrandt acted crazy, but when he wasn’t, he was quite pleasant, and I found comfort in his bright, sky-blue eyes.
“Good boy.”
It was interesting that even wolves wag their tails. In its hypnotic state, it might even think it’s a dog. I had to ask what kind of hypnosis was used.
At that time, I didn’t know. I didn’t know what secrets this little guy held.
* * *
Yurián felt uncomfortable. Lately, the Princess who called for him hadn’t come, and the servants continued to bring him food alternatively. Seeing how they treated him, he was convinced that Princess Yvonne was a soft and fickle human.
“What are you doing? Eat quickly.”
The newly added shackles on his arms were uncomfortable. On top of that, while Princess Yvonne put the shackles on the front, the servants tied his arms to the back, making it difficult to move. Tied up like this, how could he eat?
The plate was right below him.
Thanks to Yurián undoing his neck shackles, everything was reset. The shackles couldn’t perform their role anymore. He confirmed that even if he tried hard, he couldn’t restrain them, and there was no fire. But if he rashly killed the servants and tried to escape, he would be caught again.
Although the guards guarding the door were mediocre, they were still Espers. Telepathy Espers at that. In case something happened, they could directly inform the authorized person of the situation.
If he attempted to escape recklessly, Emperor Hildebrandt would undoubtedly come to catch him. This time, he might cleanly kill him.
Facing an Esper of a lower grade in a poor physical condition, he would lose. Moreover, he hadn’t taken stabilizers for a long time, and the side effects were likely accumulating. In contrast, the Emperor was undoubtedly in top condition.
Driven by these thoughts, Yurián unknowingly gnashed his teeth.
“Eat quickly.”
The Servent, who had a grip on Yurián’s hair, forcefully pushed his face into the soup. Yurián sensed a strange scent, realizing that some substance was mixed into the soup.
“Hurry and eat, then go wash. The Princess will be here later.”
The maid ordering from behind was Evony. She appeared to act as if she held the highest position in this room. Yurián chuckled, recalling that what was inside was probably an excitant. The intention to feed him this seemed too obvious.
He licked the soup as if reluctantly accepting his fate.
The concentration of whatever was inside was staggering. After roughly drinking what was in the plate, he waited for Yvonne.
As time passed, Yurián was left alone. Although the effects of the drug had kicked in, it didn’t seem to affect him much, maybe because the neck restraint was not complete. It felt like everything, including the efficacy of the drug, was being impaired.
Left alone in the basement, Yurián undid the restraint wrapped around his hand. Then, holding the soup bowl nearby, he drank it all. The taste of the cold soup flowing down his throat was awful, but bearable.
He deliberately drank the soup. Using the excuse of the medicine in the soup, he could get closer to Yvonne. Since she was cold yet gentle to him, if he struggled due to the difficulty of the medicine, she might not act as resolutely as before.
Another boring time of waiting was needed. The basement was cold, but his body was gradually warming up as the drug took effect.
The sound of the door opening echoed from a distance. Judging by the faint sound of footsteps descending the stairs, it was undoubtedly the Princess he had been waiting for.
Before she completely descended, Yurián pulled back the restraint again, feeling the cold sweat, and collapsed forward as if he had fainted.
If he collapsed in pain, she might stroke his head or something. Somehow, thinking like that made the exhaustion a bit more bearable. He was already used to these minor pains, so it wasn’t too troublesome, just a bit irritating.
The door opened with a creaking sound, and a strong sweet scent filled his lungs, confirming her presence.
“Yurián?”
It was Yvonne. The one he had been waiting for so eagerly.
