DKOM Episode 34

Episode 34

“Dad!”

Yvonne ran clumsily towards Hildebrandt, holding the soaked dress with both hands, and hugged him. He didn’t mind the wetness transferring to him. Even though it could be uncomfortable with the dampness of the clothes.

Suddenly regaining his senses, Hildebrandt pushed her away.

“You’re wet.”

“Oh, yes. I was so happy to see you, Dad, that I momentarily forgot.”

“Don’t forget. Getting wet is uncomfortable.”

“I’m sorry.”

Seeing Yvonne say that with a cheerful smile, Hildebrandt felt even worse.

“Why are you so wet? It’s not even raining yet.”

“The gift you gave me decided to misbehave today. I had to discipline it.”

As she spoke brightly, Hildebrandt glanced at Francis. Then Francis hesitated for a moment before nodding his head. He wanted to be a faithful servant who fulfilled his lord’s wishes.

If Princess Yvonne fell apart, so would the Emperor. That’s why he knew Yvonne was treating Yurian differently but chose not to report it.

If he did, the Emperor would be furious and might kill Yurian in anger. Then, Princess Yvonne, who hadn’t been able to live properly for months due to the shock of even one dog’s death, would fall apart.

Even if Marquis Rohan manipulated the Princess’s memories again, the Emperor wouldn’t be able to carry on as he is now.

Francis didn’t want to make any calculations thinking about his lord. But he had to bow his head in shame, as the past when he thought he could was embarrassing.

“There’s a nice scent coming from Dad again.”

“Yeah.”

“Can I hold your hand?”

Ignoring the wolf brought by the Emperor, she smiled beautifully at Hildebrandt and looked into his eyes.

“Think about it.”

“Yes!”

Seeing Yvonne not completely rejecting him, he looked pleased.

“Dad, did you pull out your magic again?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I touch it?”

“Yeah.”

When Hildebrandt spoke reluctantly, Yvonne wiped his eyes with her hand. His eyes turned red due to the magic extraction, with one side blue and the other side a red odd eye.

“Dad, you have a lot of eyelashes.”

“Yeah.”

“Your eyes are so beautiful. They’re much better than any jewels I have.”

As she spoke sincerely, Hildebrandt began to feel better. So he gently brushed away the silver hair clinging to Yvonne’s cheek and tucked it behind her ear.

“That mutt looks disgusting from playing around with you.”

“Yeah.”

“How was he today?”

“He tried not to open his eyes. Maybe he’s scared of me.”

“Is that so?”

Hildebrandt regretted that Yurian didn’t commit suicide in front of Yvonne as he thought. However, he felt quite satisfied imagining Yurian trembling and avoiding his daughter.

“I’ll play with him often in the future.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s scared of me. That way, he won’t try to overthrow me, right?”

Yvonne deliberately said so. If she tried to educate Yurian sincerely, the capricious Emperor would throw a tantrum.

He was like someone who ordered you to build a sandcastle and then stomped on it as soon as you finished it. The Hildebrandt that Yvonne thought of was such a person.

“Do you like that?”

“I like everything Dad gives me.”

Hildebrandt was annoyed by her showing interest in Yurian. So he glared at her.

“Dad.”

Yvonne held the hand she grabbed even tighter and said.

“Our Yvonne talks about mutts even when she’s with Dad.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you like that mutt so much?”

“No. Shall I dispose of it?”

Hildebrandt knew she was lying. She had killed only five dogs in front of her. Each time, Yvonne, who had been emotionally shaken, couldn’t possibly kill Yurian.

Hildebrandt really hated Yvonne. It was disgusting to see her look at him with affectionate eyes without knowing anything. And he hated himself for becoming weaker whenever she looked at him like that.

And he especially hated the past self that he resembled.

However, he quite liked the behaviors she showed recently.

“Never mind. Play with it a little longer.”

“Yes.”

Then he flicked his fingers and released the ability he had placed on Yurian. For a moment, magic returned to him, and both his eyes turned blue again. Then one side turned red again. Because of his eyes, Yvonne knew that he had released someone’s ability.

“But why was that scary for him?”

Yvonne looked at Hildebrandt as if curious.

“I put him under hypnosis.”

“What kind of hypnosis?”

“Suicide in front of you.”

“I see.”

Yvonne looked directly into Hildebrandt’s eyes without changing her expression. He couldn’t help but stroke her face when he saw her violet eyes looking at him. Realizing that he had touched her, he quickly withdrew his hand. Then, frowning, he stepped back from her.

“I released it just now.”

“Why?”

“He became pathetic.”

“Is that so?”

“No, it’s you.”

Realizing that he had touched her while stroking her, he quickly removed his hand. Then, with a frown, he stepped back from her.

“Play with that.”

“Dad?”

Hildebrandt gestured to the wolf when he saw that she was trying to follow him. The wolf then got up and approached her.

“Dad, where are you? Ah!”

Then he made the wolf charge at Yvonne. Due to its weight, Yvonne fell to the ground and the wolf licked her face, lifting its paw to pat her.

“Dad, I’ll go to work.”

“Dad.”

“Yeah.”

“Could you stay with me a little longer?”

“No, I can’t.”

With that, he said so and left without looking back. Meanwhile, Hildebrandt, who was left behind, wagged his tail and coquettishly licked Yvonne’s face, asking for her attention.

* * *

Marquis Rohan was busy working to keep his promise to Yvonne. He outwardly worked as a courtier to avoid suspicion from the Emperor, while behind the scenes, he had to prepare to escape with Yvonne.

The prophets said that Yvonne would soon awaken. But Marquis didn’t think she would awaken as an esper. Rather, he thought she might awaken as a guide.

Guides were exceedingly rare throughout the realm. Guides appeared to be weak and ordinary in terms of magic, but they could stabilize the abilities of espers.

However, there used to be more guides in the past, but they all died from a rare disease that only affected guides, leaving only a handful remaining.

Espers were inherited through bloodlines. If there were many espers among one’s ancestors, there was a high chance that their descendants would also be espers. Guides were the same way. If there were many guides among one’s ancestors, there was a high chance of manifesting as a guide.

However, due to the disease wiping out the guides, it had become nearly impossible to find guides through bloodlines. Thus, naturally occurring mutants with guide abilities had to be found.

The only hopeful sign was that the surviving guides from the disease emitted a distinctive scent.

Since this fact was not well known, very few people were aware of it.

Marquis was convinced that the captivating scent emanating from Yvonne was that of a guide. The desire of espers to monopolize guides manifested in the form of scent, and the stronger the magic, the stronger the desire. So it was remarkable restraint on their part not to forcibly bond her as a companion.

Marquis somehow hoped that she could smell the magic emanating from him. That would only be possible after she became a companion.

Before espers bonded guides as companions, they could still smell their scent, but it was the opposite for guides. It was only after making a pact with their companion esper that they could smell the scent of the bonded esper.

“Steward.”

“Did the letter from Apentina arrive?”

“It just arrived.”

Marquis took the paper handed to him by his aide and immediately unfolded it.

“Dear Marquis Rohan,

I will accept the deal.

I hope to see you in the capital of Apentina, Carcas, soon.

– Nivalia Apentina”

Seeing the seal and words stamped on the letter from the King of Apentina, Marquis felt relieved. He had requested asylum in Apentina, and the King was someone who needed espers.

Apentina was a smaller kingdom compared to Bricesys, but it was not a small country. And Marquis Rohan’s abilities were something he could use even while hiding behind his second identity.

His abilities were not like Yurian or Hildebrandt’s, who could go to war and shine brightly, but they were more lethal and useful.

Memory manipulation.

It was an ability that could be exploited helplessly until one woke up on their own. So it was inevitable that the King of Apentina would be tempted.

“What about the stabilizers?”

“We’ve already secured enough reserves.”

“And the status?”

“Mine, yours, and the new status procedures for Princess Yvonne are underway. We’ll be ready within a week, so don’t worry.”

Marquis believed in his aide, who may have had insignificant abilities but remained loyal to him because his aide’s noble family had been exterminated by Hildebrandt.

“I’ll make sure you two are recognized as a married couple.”

At the mention of being a couple, Marquis Rohan couldn’t help but shyly smile, thinking of Yvonne.

“Alright.”

T/N: Is it just me or is the convo between Hildebrandt and Yvonne is pathetic. I can’t stand it every time their scene comes. Btw, she calls him daddy. But I changed it into dad. I can’t stand daddy kink, sorry. But if you guys would like, I can change it.