EP: 90
“The Murishis make a grating sound, so it’s not cute when they do it. But that’s not the case for the Captain. Every time she goes ‘kyuing-kyuing’ my heart hurts.”
“Her gaze is haughty and sharp, but she goes ‘Kyu-ing’ with that indifferent face? The unexpected cuteness coming from that stark contrast is overwhelming. My head turns white…!”
“Exactly. That’s it. That adorable charm when she goes ‘kyuing’ with that casual and annoyed look, it’s such a lovely sight…!”
Even though Muriel said she was done listening to her explanations, Sadie followed her and tried to persuade her on why she was cute. Muriel was not easily convinced, so Sadie’s expressions and words became increasingly explicit, but Muriel wasn’t hit as hard by them as before. It was because she didn’t resonate with Sadie’s words at all. She just thought Sadie, who had a good sense of humour, was perceptive enough to read Muriel’s discomfort and was trying to comfort her.
“It’s not just me!! Everyone finds the captain cute!”
Sadie was firm. It seemed like she was unwilling to let her words slip through one of Muriel’s ears through the others when she looked at her dull face.
“You can stop now, Sadie. I’m not hurt. Everyone just had a strange look on their face, so I felt weird too. I don’t really care what everyone thinks, so stop-“
“-Everyone couldn’t say anything because their heads went blank! And who knows what kind of retaliation we might get after telling the boss she’s cute… I mean, what kind of reaction, not retaliation. That’s why everyone kept secretly glancing and mumbling!”
Feeling frustrated, Sadie interrupted, asking, ‘I’m telling you, why can’t you believe it?’
“Then Kaiton…”
“Huh? What about Ur?”
“…Nothing.”
Muriel sighed heavily, running her fingers through her hair like she’d gone crazy for a moment at the thought that passed through her head. In fact, there was a reason why Muriel was trying so hard to deny Sadie’s words. Kaiton had shown a reaction not much different from Sadie’s. If Sadie had secretly stolen glances because she found herself cute… then what about Kaiton? What was that strange expression that was neither mocking nor unpleasant…
Just the thought that Kaiton might also think she’s cute made Muriel suddenly feet hot. Her hot breath kept trying to escape through her lips, so Muriel pretended to sigh, releasing some of the heat.
“Sadie. It’s Crawford, not Ur.”
Kaiton said as he emerged from the gate connected to the bridge.
Muriel was embarrassed when the unexpected person popped out. Thanks to Debbie’s persistent appeal for another chance, Debbie was put in charge of rebuilding the moat. Since Kaiton and August were being drilled with questions by Debbie about it and not actively involved in it, Muriel didn’t expect to see Kaiton in this place where the construction was going on.
“Kaiton…”
“Unless you plan on telling the guardian of the kingdom my identity.”
Following Kaiton’s gaze, Muriel noticed August demonstrating something to Debbie. There was some distance between them, but their voices were within reach.
“You don’t want to reveal my identity to Eklum yet, do you?”
“Yes… I’ll be more careful. C… Crawford.”
Muriel turned her gaze away, pronouncing Kaiton’s alias which had become awkward and unfamiliar.
“Well… Eklum seems to already know the name Kaiton.”
“Ah…!”
“It’s because you call my name so many times, Mure.”
Ah, at some point, she’d just…
When Muriel became embarrassed and glanced over at August’s face, Kaiton smirked and turned Muriel’s chin towards him.
“It’s okay. I think he thinks it’s like a childhood nickname. Kai, Kaiton. It’s easy to be mistaken because of the similarity.”
It was a relief, but.. She’d still been too careless.
Muriel’s face darkened. It was because the thought that August, the person supposed to defend the kingdom, would soon learn the true identity of his enemy weighed heavily on her.
Kaiton gazed at Muriel gently and swept away her hair with rough hands. With a few gestures, he neatly tidied up Muriel’s tangled hair. Muriel, who didn’t answer Kaiton’s question properly last time, awkwardly averted her gaze, while Kaiton was light and natural, as if he cared only about cleaning up the mess in front of him.
“So what were you talking about? You were so focused that you didn’t even realize August and I were here.”
“Ah…”
Sadie was faster than the blink of an eye.
“Kaiton! Don’t you agree?! It’s so cute when the Captain talks to Murishi… Kwiing-kwiing!”
“Not cute at all.”
Kaiton replied instantly in a rather sharp voice. Muriel’s mood suddenly plummeted, and she tightly closed her eyes. Then she felt choked up for no reason.
Dammit, who… who wants to be cute anyway! I know I can look fierce, so…!
Muriel felt frustrated and bit her lip to hold back the urge to shoot back.
“Why…? I thought Kaiton would find the Captain the cutest…”
“You shouldn’t find it cute, Sadie.”
“…Huh?”
…What?
Muriel’s eyes slowly opened at Kaiton’s strange words.
“W-What… What’s up? Why do you say it with such a scary face? It’s terrifying…!”
Because Sadie crept behind Muriel, Muriel had to face Kaiton’s gaze head-on. At the end of their eye contact, she saw the flicker of a wild animal asserting its territory. Without any chance to react, her heart leapt, its sound pounding heavily in her ears.
“I don’t like sharing.”
***
A morning that was brighter than usual.
Muriel opened her eyes with a slightly disheveled face. It was because Kaiton had been disturbing Muriel’s sleep these last few days. His words just wouldn’t leave Muriel’s mind.
‘I don’t like sharing.’
‘Do you not want to love me?’
‘Do you remember me?’
The words that sounded like only he was allowed to find Muriel adorable rang in her ears. From the day he’d said them, as if he was warning Sadie. As she thought about it, memories of Kaiton interrogating Muriel surfaced one after another, and followed by the pitiful sight of him asking if she remembered him.
A person detrimental to her mental health.
Muriel forced her groggy body to get up.
She stretched out, only to eventually slump back onto the bed.
Ah, I don’t want to go out.
She no longer had any excuse to avoid Kaiton. With Debbie’s obsession and clinginess to the project, the monster moat had already been completed. It was a super-luxurious moat made from the purest form of the rare mineral, Tapahite, which the kingdom meticulously managed from extraction to processing and distribution.
The moat flashed blindingly. Tapahite was nicknamed the gem that held all the colors of the world, and it truly emitted a brilliant iridescent light depending on the angle and the light. With Tapahite encircling the estate, the castle, enveloped in radiant light, appeared somewhat sacred. It seemed as if the divine blessing had descended upon the castle where the Demon King, monsters, and black wizards resided… It was so brilliant that one couldn’t help but smile when looking at it.
“So pretty.”
Muriel murmured at the shimmering light of Tapahite rippling on the ceiling as she lay in bed. It was another reason that kept her awake at night.
She thought that the sacred color of the moat would help to renew the image, but it had the opposite effect. It made the moat look like a luxurious breeding ground to raise monsters..? It was almost as if the prison bars were wrapped in magnificent jewels, making it resemble a room decorated by a wealthy person with a perverted hobby rather than a prison.
Thanks to this, the Ghost Estate was caught up in strange rumours.
‘The lord of the Ghost Estate is a follower of the Demon King, Ur. He’s making demons to pledge loyalty to the Demon King. The evidence is the demons that steal people’s pacio, the lord of the estate is using the monsters they’re raising to create demons.’
It was an absurd rumor. Of course… Since Muriel was becoming the lord of this place, there was no doubt the lord was indeed a follower of the Demon King. However, it was incomprehensible to interpret the moat, who was created to expel demons, in the opposite way. It was the moment she confirmed the height of the wall of strong prejudice.
She thought it was a rumor not worth paying attention to, but August confirmed that the situation was quite serious due to the spread of the rumor. Because all the demons were driven out of this place, they spread to nearby territories and caused significant damage. It seemed natural for the neighboring lords, who were suddenly troubled by the increased number of demons, to point their fingers at the Ghost Estate as the cause.
Still, controlling monsters to create more demons…. That couldn’t be possible… However, despite Muriel’s sense of absurdity at the matter, the atmosphere in the estate changed little by little.
“If it’s Ur, it might be possible… Since the Demon King is skilled at taking away pacio.. and he’s good at handling magic, too.”
“We’ve been so busy with the construction of the moat lately that we haven’t had time to study Ur’s fragment… Ur might have done something behind our backs in the meantime, right?”
“It’s true that the number of demons keeps increasing… If demons keep appearing where the Demon King is… Isn’t the reason obvious?”
The Black wizards, who were opening up to Kaiton, quickly turned their backs on him. While not entirely, they started to gather amongst themselves, whispering and subtly avoiding Kaiton.
The bond that had been built up little by little shattered into pieces. Thanks to this, despite the successful completion of the monster moat, the atmosphere of the castle became gloomy, and tension and suspicion spread through the stagnant air.
“Sigh….”
It was something she could no longer overlook.
As Muriel lifted her tired body, Fen, tightly wrapped around her body, creaked and made a regretful sound while looking at Muriel. Fen had become childish ever since Muriel started mingling with the Murishis. If you could call him wrapping around Muriel tightly enough to break her bones every night childish, that is.
-Crrrrrr…
Muriel closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the cool and soft touch of the fur on her hands, then opened them again. Her mind became slightly clearer. By looking into those clear eyes, her courage also rose a bit.
“Let’s go to Kaiton. I can’t keep avoiding him forever.”
Muriel Storm on her way to defend her husband !!
