In that instant, everyone's gaze focused squarely on Kanon Kanase.
Lucas and Polifonia both wore expressions that were equal parts anticipation and gravity.
La Folia watched quietly.
Kaiser did the same—he clearly had no intention of interfering in this family's discussion.
And under the attention of everyone present, the usually timid Kanon Kanase showed an unexpected firmness and resolve.
"Yes. I have no intention of going to the Kingdom of Aldegyr."
There wasn't the slightest trace of hesitation in her reply.
"Why?" Lucas couldn't hold back, blurting out, "If you come back to Aldegyr with us, you'll be a royal princess—far better than staying in some remote demon district in the Far East!"
Lucas had no particular fondness for Itogami Island.
Aldegyr had long stood on the front lines against the Warlord's Dominion, locked in centuries of war with the demons. The relationship between the two sides was like water and fire—one could even say they were mortal enemies.
Though the Sanctuary Treaty had greatly eased tensions and the two nations no longer fought to the death as they once had, countless citizens of Aldegyr had still lost their lives to the demons. Many still bore deep-seated hatred.
Lucas wasn't one to despise every demon outright—after all, nearly twenty percent of Aldegyr's population were immigrants from the Warlord's Dominion, and another ten percent were half-bloods—but as someone who'd fought on the front lines for years, his hands stained with demon blood, his feelings toward them were far from friendly.
For him, a demon special zone like Itogami Island was certainly not somewhere his family should want to remain.
But Kanon Kanase felt differently.
"I grew up here. I've never wanted to live a royal life." She spoke with a touch of apology. "I may be shy and have few friends, but there are still people and places here I'm attached to."
"So… please allow me to refuse your kindness."
"I'm truly sorry."
She bowed her head to Lucas and Polifonia, prompting the two to exchange glances.
"You really won't reconsider?" Polifonia still tried to persuade her. "Your adoptive father—and uncle—has already been convicted by the Administration Bureau for the crime of forbidden human experimentation. It's unlikely he'll ever be released."
"If you insist on staying here, then once we leave, you'll have no one."
"And when that happens… what will you do?"
It was a question she couldn't ignore.
The convent where she'd been raised no longer existed, and her adoptive father-uncle was gone. If Kanon Kanase stayed behind, who would she rely on?
Live alone?
A fourteen-year-old girl, without an adult to look after her—who could feel at ease with that?
Even if the Aldegyr royal family arranged for her to live comfortably, wouldn't it still be lonely? Isolated? Was that really fine?
"I…"
She wanted to say she'd be fine on her own, but the words caught in her throat.
Clearly, even she had no real confidence in her ability to get by alone on Itogami Island. She wasn't incapable—just unsure.
Could she really manage on her own? The thought left her uneasy.
And then—she couldn't help but turn her head toward Kaiser.
That glance drew everyone else's eyes to him as well.
"?"
A question mark practically appeared over Kaiser's head.
…Why is everyone looking at me?
"Kid," Lucas growled, his expression darkening, "don't tell me you're the one who talked Kanon into this?"
His hand was already reaching for the war axe at his side.
"What would I even have talked her into?" Kaiser frowned. "This has nothing to do with me."
"You—!" Lucas started, but was cut off.
"Father, perhaps you should stop talking for now," La Folia interrupted smoothly. "I can assure you, Kanon's decision wasn't influenced by anyone. The fact that she looked at Kaiser just now simply shows her trust in him."
Lucas clearly didn't like that explanation, but within this family, his say didn't seem to carry much weight.
"I understand what you mean, Kanon," Polifonia said gently, as though she could see straight through the girl's heart. "Are you truly decided?"
"Mhm." Kanon's cheeks flushed pink, and with a shy nod she murmured, "I want to live with him… with Senpai."
Kaiser finally understood.
She was really planning to move in with him—permanently.
Not just temporarily, but to settle down by his side after the Aldegyr delegation left.
That was… basically a request to live together.
"No! I don't approve! Absolutely not!"
Lucas exploded, leaping to his feet in outrage.
"Dear."
"Father."
Both Polifonia and La Folia voiced their disapproval at his outburst, but this time he ignored them.
"My daughter already refuses to marry anyone else, and now you want my wife's sister too?!" Lucas roared. "What the hell have you been feeding them?!"
"I don't approve! Absolutely not!"
"How could I just let some punk take my family?!"
With a bellow, Lucas seized his war axe.
"If you insist on taking both La Folia and Kanon, then you'll have to defeat me first!"
He seemed deadly serious—immediately activating the axe's magic circuits. Runes along its head began to glow, gathering vast amounts of mana, shaping it into a forged holy sword.
A brilliant light bloomed along the weapon, Lucas's presence swelling in power. The sacred aura, enough to make even high-ranking demons tremble, only earned an unimpressed look from Kaiser.
"Your Majesty, can you not get so worked up all the time?" Kaiser sighed, as though dealing with a particularly troublesome child. "You're not my match—why keep drawing your weapon?"
"What did you say?!" Lucas grew even more agitated. "Don't think beating me once means you've got me figured out! If I get serious, someone like you—"
Before he could finish, his daughter interrupted him yet again.
"Keep running your mouth and you won't just be disgracing yourself, Father—you'll be disgracing the entire Aldegyr royal family." La Folia didn't spare him any face. "Let's be honest—Kaiser easily defeated Dimitrie Vattler. Where exactly are you getting the confidence to claim you could beat him?"
In the Warlord's Dominion, the territory bordering Aldegyr belonged to Vattler's Duchy of Ardeal.
In other words, the enemy Aldegyr had clashed with for centuries was Vattler himself.
They knew better than anyone how terrifyingly strong he was.
If Kaiser could defeat him with ease, then there was no way Lucas could treat him as an opponent he could simply crush.
"Grk…" Lucas swallowed hard, though he still muttered defiantly, "I've long decided to take that battle-addicted show-off's head. He's nothing special just because you beat him."
That level of stubbornness made him sound less like a king and more like a sulking old man.
"How about this, then?" La Folia's eyes gleamed as she suddenly smiled. "If you lose to Kaiser again in a duel, you won't interfere with our marriage anymore."
"If you're defeated, whether it's me or Kanon, we'll both be free to marry Kaiser. What do you say?"
She punctuated that by wrapping her arms around Kaiser's, pressing him deep into a soft embrace.
"Kanon, would that be acceptable to you?"
La Folia looked to her, and Kanon's face went bright red.
"Um… I'm not worthy… please take care of me, Senpai."
The girl bowed to Kaiser at the most inopportune moment, speaking as if this were already decided.
"Wait—I—"
Kaiser was blindsided by the sudden turn of events, trying to speak—only to be silenced by La Folia pressing against him even harder.
"I believe in you. You won't lose to Father—not against someone of his level. Right?"
The silver-haired princess smiled sweetly, her warm breath brushing against him, her lush figure making sure to keep him pinned. Kaiser sucked in a sharp breath.
This woman really was vicious—trying to use her body to make him submit.
"You… you… you…!"
Lucas trembled with rage at the sight before him, so angry he could barely speak.
"Oh dear," Polifonia sighed, smiling wryly as though at her wits' end. "It seems our daughter truly has her own ideas now."
She knew exactly why La Folia was doing this.
In the Aldegyr Senate, there were already plenty plotting to marry La Folia off to some royal or noble, domestic or foreign, to stabilize the kingdom's political landscape.
No one knew her daughter better than she did—and she knew La Folia would never submit to such an arrangement. Of course she would take measures to resist.
And if she declared her chosen husband to be the Beast King who could easily defeat Dimitrie Vattler, the Senate would have little choice but to back down.
The question was—was this merely a convenient ruse? Or did she truly intend to take the Beast King as her husband?
Polifonia decided she'd have to observe this matter very carefully.
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