Three days had passed since the incident in the Mist Forest.
"Hey, you fucking bastard. Are you kidding me right now?"
"...H-Hiiik."
"Say that again. What did you just say?"
In the family head's office, where silence usually reigned coldly, Lilien's voice, laced with murderous intent, echoed for some reason.
"Y-Young Master Kairen is currently not in any problematic physical condition."
"..."
"If I had to pick one thing... he's just very exhausted..."
The person she had by the collar was none other than the empire's top physician, known as the best doctor.
"Then why hasn't a perfectly fine person woken up for over three days!"
He had even served as the previous emperor's personal physician. After retiring, he had been living leisurely until this sudden misfortune left him at a loss.
"That's... I don't know either."
"What are you, a quack?"
Of course, he was no quack. In the past, he had been called a divine healer who could save anyone as long as they still had breath, no matter their condition.
"Or did someone pay you off?"
"N-No way."
"Well, we'll find out once we pull your nails out one by one. Or just wake that kid up right now."
Facing this unprecedented treatment, his face paled as he looked at Duke Astridje, who had summoned him, with trembling eyes.
"Lilien."
At that moment, Astridje spoke to Lilien with a cold expression.
"People are more sensitive to fingernails than toenails."
"Huh?"
"Fingernails are thinner than toenails, and the nerve distribution is denser, making them more sensitive to external stimuli."
However, at the simple medical knowledge from her mouth, the doctor's face grew even paler.
"Aha..."
The maids and retainers standing behind Lilien, who nodded and began approaching, showed no intention of stopping this madness.
"...No wonder screams are louder when pulling fingernails than toenails."
Even for the Monster Ducal House, he hadn't expected this level. The doctor, stepping back with a regretful expression, finally hit the wall and raised his voice desperately.
"P-Please spare me!"
However, the maids and some retainers gathered in the office were all Astridje's closest aides.
Naturally, they knew well that no one could stop the monsters of Belverk once their eyes rolled back in rage.
"This is why we should have brought an active doctor."
"...Haha, that's our failing."
"Looks like we need to reopen the basement."
But separately from that, they were also angry at the doctor's incompetence—he had strutted in, shrugging his shoulders and boasting about being called for such a trivial matter.
And rightly so, for it was an emergency: Belverk's smallest and cutest monster had yet to wake after three days.
The maids were on edge without their beloved monster, and the family head's retainers were hypersensitive now that Astridje's sole restraint had been unleashed.
"Hiiiik!"
Just as the doctor's scream, thrilled at the thought of a quick check-up on a noble young master followed by a massive fee, was about to echo through the mansion—
"...Stop it."
A tiny voice suddenly came from the top-grade children's bed right next to Astridje's desk.
"I just woke up."
At those words, everyone instantly fell silent and fixed their gazes on Kairen, who was murmuring with small eyes from the children's bed.
"No bad deeds allowed."
To all of them, Kairen made an X with his hands.
"Or I won't be your friend."
The moment he whispered that with a frown, the two maids restraining the doctor's arms slyly stepped back.
"..."
And the same went for Lilien, who had approached right in front of the doctor with a murderous glare.
"...Hm."
Of course, Astridje—who had been pretending to read a book at her desk, ready to boast medical knowledge anytime—did the same.
"...Huh?"
The doctor's mouth gaped open at the sight: the ferocious hounds barking wildly had turned into gentle large dogs at their young master's appearance, looking glum as they wagged their tails.
"Kairen, how's your body feeling?"
"...Still too weak."
"No underlying illnesses, right?"
"Not really..."
But now ignoring the doctor entirely, Astridje and Lilien began speaking to Kairen.
"Then, it must be because of the Crimson Eyes after all..."
"...Well, I struggled quite a bit when I first awakened too. Not to that extent, though."
"But even accounting for that, it's a bit strange. I've never seen someone like this even after complete mana depletion."
As the mother and daughter exchanged opinions, looking at Kairen with worried eyes—
"Mom, Big Sis."
Kairen suddenly blinked and murmured sleepily.
"I'm sleepy again... gonna sleep a bit more..."
Finishing that, Kairen rolled onto his side and began breathing softly again.
"From today, procure recovery potions and elixirs from every continent. Base it on levels that can save even the dying."
"...What about the budget?"
"Unlimited. Since when did Belverk worry about money?"
Astridje, gazing down with a faint smile and stroking Kairen's forehead, issued the order to the newly appointed treasurer.
"U-Understood."
Of course, Belverk's vast wealth, rumored to be enough to buy the entire continent, never ran dry.
However, to the new treasurer facing several times the usual paperwork due to his predecessor's corruption, it was like a bolt from the blue.
"And..."
But as if it weren't her concern, Astridje turned her gaze back to Kairen and murmured lowly.
"We'll handle the treatment for those involved in this incident after Kairen wakes up."
At that, a hiccup came from Lilien, but just then, someone approached Astridje.
"...Um, excuse me."
"What?"
"I found this during the examination earlier... I thought you should know..."
After being ignored repeatedly, the doctor hesitantly approached Kairen while glancing at the others.
- Swish...
He gently lifted the sleeping Kairen's clothes to reveal his back.
"...!"
Everyone in the room held their breath once more.
"This is..."
"...My god."
"Heavens, what horror..."
On Kairen's exposed back were horrific, persistent scars and bruises incomparable to the wounds from the Forest Lord.
And the ducal house members, experienced in such matters, immediately realized these traces were beyond what a child under ten could endure.
"As you can see, this body doesn't look like that of a child under ten at all."
"..."
"Honestly, at first, I was going to... overlook it. But it seems everyone here cherishes this young master."
In the suddenly somber atmosphere, the doctor cautiously continued while watching reactions.
"...Is there perhaps a rough-handed servant or something?"
After a long silence, Duke Astridje finally spoke.
"You may leave."
"...Y-Yes!"
The moment she said that, the doctor bolted out of the office. Lilien then spoke to Astridje in a fierce voice.
"It's those Opstein bastards, right?"
"..."
"I heard it all. That punk said to Schwarz it was his weakness and we absolutely couldn't let it get out."
Instantly, Astridje's eyes turned red.
"...Anything else you heard?"
"Not sure, but he was going around saying he didn't want to be hated again."
Lilien's sunken voice pierced her ears.
"Wonder what they did to make him fear being hated so much."
The moment she finished, Astridje slowly rose and spoke in a chilling voice.
"Everything seen and heard here today is top secret."
"..."
"...You understand, right?"
The maids bowed silently with expressionless faces.
It was the usual ingrained response to a gag order, but the difference was the cold fury settling on their impassivity.
Thanks to that, the atmosphere suggested the tragic past of the Monster Ducal House's small, cute young master would soon become the maids' gossip within a day.
"And the retainers."
Deliberately ignoring the mood, Astridje turned to the retainers and issued a command.
"Bring plans to crush Opstein by the next meeting."
The retainers bowed quietly, chuckling leisurely.
"Haha, those Opstein fools must have lost their minds."
"...Reminds me of the days serving the Lady when I was young."
"Aigoo, my knees ache at this age. Hope I can keep up."
They acted like neighborhood elders in front of Kairen, but once they were the meritorious retainers who led the previous successor bloodbath to victory.
Though treated as backroom old men now, each was still a heavyweight who could pressure the empire's underworld.
'...Everyone's still scary.'
And in that chilling atmosphere, Kairen—overwhelmed, pretending to sleep to escape, but ending up hearing and feeling it all—trembled.
'But... where did Peep go...'
Truly getting sleepy, he straightened his drowsy posture and suddenly thought of Peep from the Mist Forest.
'Wanted to get closer...'
But unaware of Peep's fate, Kairen drifted back to sleep.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Hidden Quest Cleared!] > The heroine recognizes you. > The heroine remembers you.
Thus, he missed the system message floating before his eyes seconds later.
"...Chirp."
Peep, perched quietly on a tree branch by the office window watching Kairen, also went unseen as it flew into the rainy sky with a return scroll in its beak.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Several hours later.
"Mm...?"
A maid dozing off in a shabby room on a chair jolted awake at a sudden presence and jumped to her feet.
"Oh my goodness!"
Before her stood a blonde girl, so frail and emaciated it was hard to believe she had just turned ten, expressionless.
"..."
Completely naked, her body was soaked in blood and rain.
"I-Imperial Princess."
Despite her state, the girl exuded a mystical aura beyond her age. She silently donned the outer garment the frantic maid draped over her.
"What in the world happened? And all this blood..."
"..."
"When you're not even fully recovered... Huh?"
Examining her closely, the maid tilted her head.
Though covered in blood, her body bore not a single wound.
Even her near-depleted vitality had somewhat recovered.
"...Understood."
But as the girl sat on the bed and put a finger to her lips, the maid sat beside her without further questions.
"Did you transform again?"
"..."
"What if the princes and princesses notice? They're already gunning for you..."
Unable to contain her curiosity, the maid began rambling alone.
"And that curse, when will it..."
"...Does Belverk have a youngest son?"
But she stopped at the girl's voice from beside her, eyes widening.
"Huh...?"
It had been nearly a year since the girl she served had spoken.
"Investigate."
"A-As you command."
No time to rejoice; the maid bowed and hurried out.
"..."
Left alone, silence fell again.
- Rustle...
In the quiet, the girl lifted the rain-soaked scroll she held, bathed in moonlight from the window, and murmured lowly.
"...Kairen."
Her eyes gleamed golden.