I don't know why I did it, but at that moment, rage surged through me, feeling like someone had put my head in a blender. I barely remember how I acted. It was only when I heard Theo's voice that I could come to my senses.
Biting my lip, I hesitated for a moment, then looked back and forth between the Empress and the Count.
It was clear that the Empress had orchestrated it and the Count had carried it out, but unlike the Count, who looked like he was about to faint, the Empress remained calm.
Even in the original story, she only meddled with rifts and demonic beasts in the later part. It must have been twisted because of my existence, which meant that if the Empress was driven into a corner, there was no telling what she might do.
But it wasn't something to worry about right now, so I added a final warning.
"If Theo had been hurt, no one would have been safe. Remember that."
It was a roundabout way of putting it, but it was obvious who the target was. The Empress bit her lip and suppressed her shame.
I was disgusted by the whole thing, so I pulled my hood down low and approached Theo. He gently stroked my back as if to soothe me, but I was already in a foul mood, so I hid behind Theo to avoid people's gazes.
Still, I didn't want to be far away, so I held onto his sleeve tightly. Theo looked at the sleeve I was holding and smiled like a sigh.
A little later, the Imperial Knights and mages, sensing the demonic energy, stormed into the exhibition hall.
They immediately burned the demonic beast's corpse on the spot, listened to the nobles present for an explanation of the situation, and then took the Count into custody.
It was clear that the Count was the culprit, but the others had to remain at the scene for further statements.
In the meantime, the commotion caused by the sudden appearance of the demonic beasts subsided, and the people who had regained their composure began to praise Ricardo's achievements as if they had rehearsed it.
"His Highness the First Prince's achievements are truly dazzling! It was definitely a high-grade spirit, wasn't it?"
"Spiritists who handle high-grade spirits are rare! And those who manifest for so long are few and far between."
"Of course, all of this was possible because of Her Majesty the Empress's excellent teachings and support!"
The Empress remained calm even though her right-hand man, the Count, had been taken away. She must have been confident that his sins would not extend to her. Seriously, how annoying!
"That... the person next to His Highness the Second Prince... could it be the Divine Beast?"
In the midst of all this, a man cautiously asked Theo. He was stuttering, clearly terrified, so it seemed that my outburst earlier had been quite frightening. Anyway, I still didn't want to deal with humans, so I hid myself deeper behind Theo.
"Could it be that eagle he tamed...?"
"No way..."
The people were still doubtful even after seeing it with their own eyes, which was frustrating, so after a moment of thought, I transformed into an eagle and flew into Theodor's arms.
"Gasp, those silver feathers..."
"That eagle is really a Divine Beast..."
Theo familiarly held me in his arms. I was trying to show them directly to prove it because I didn't want to talk, but as soon as the attention was focused on me, I felt a surge of annoyance again, so I buried my head in the gap between Theo's arms. I just don't want to see it...
"The, the Divine Beast seems to cherish His Highness the Second Prince very much!"
"Indeed! Haha, the achievements of both Highnesses are so dazzling that it seems the Empire will be blessed!"
I want to go home...
ê•¥
It was only after everyone had given a brief statement that we were able to return to the Imperial Palace.
The commander of the Knights, after hearing that I was a Divine Beast, seemed to be wondering for a long time whether he should take a statement from me as well.
They even discussed among themselves whether I, as a Divine Beast, would give an objective account of the situation, or whether I would exaggerate the negative aspects because I hated humans.
Whatever the outcome of the discussion, I didn't even look at them, burying my face in Theo's chest, so they soon left. It was a good thing I was an eagle...
As soon as we returned, we were greeted by Orca, who looked much paler than he had in the morning.
"Orca, are you okay?"
"I was a little surprised... Yes, I'm fine. This situation isn't bad for us. This incident was a self-inflicted blow for that woman."
He certainly looked pale, but the twitch in his lips suggested that he wasn't unhappy.
"But why did the Empress do such a thing? Isn't it a loss for her too?"
Of course, the experienced Empress wouldn't fail at simply cutting off the tail, but it still seemed like a very dangerous method. Theo replied nonchalantly.
"She must have thought your identity was that of a black magician. She might have thought that the eagle was also tamed with the help of a black magician."
"Yes, so she released the demonic beast to confirm Lord Shuian's identity in advance. If you were really a black magician, she could have made it public and dealt with His Highness at once, and if not, she thought she could inflict mental damage by having her beloved lover killed by the demonic beast."
Wow... she's really vicious... Even as I gritted my teeth at her wickedness, my doubts remained.
"But there was no need to escalate things so much. She could have just requested a hearing without taking the risk of releasing a demonic beast, and she could have confirmed it automatically."
"If the result was that you weren't a black magician, they would spread rumors that we were trying to cover up the First Prince's lack of ability by spreading ridiculous rumors and tarnishing the Second Prince's reputation. That would be the most humiliating thing for that woman. And it's not like she has any great purpose. If there's a similar method, she'll just use a more vicious one, even if it's a little complicated. Shaking people's minds is her specialty. Isn't taking away what's precious and destroying them the easiest way to defeat an opponent?"
In other words, the Empress was a born hunter. If she could, she would kill them instantly, but if that wasn't possible, she would target their weakest points, neutralize them, and then cut off their breath.
The moment I thought that she seemed like someone who completely ruled out the possibility of missing her target, something suddenly came to mind.
In the original story, the Empress used rifts and demonic beasts, but it was only at a similar level to today's events, and in the end, Theo burned everything down, resulting in destruction.
But what if, unlike the original story, Theo didn't burn the world down and continued the competition for the Crown Prince position?
'Then, how far could she go if she targeted the Emperor's crown?'
I shook off the sudden anxiety and explained to the two of them what I had seen earlier.
"I saw Ricardo at the exhibition hall earlier, and he seemed to be surrounded and protected by divine power."
"A saintess?"
"Yeah. He keeps summoning high-grade spirits, but his divine power is supporting him steadily, so it seems like he'll be able to make a contract with the Spirit King soon."
"The Spirit King..."
High-grade spirits are nothing compared to Theo's power, but the Spirit King is a different story. But in the original story, Ifrit was uncooperative with Ricardo, and with that dirty temper, he probably...
"Lord Shuian, is it inevitable that the First Prince will make a contract with the Spirit King?"
I was lost in thought, but Orca's question snapped me back to my senses. Orca seemed to think that I could see the future to some extent because of what had happened before. Well, strictly speaking, it wasn't entirely wrong...
"Probably. Unless there's a major change."
"Then we should also consider how we should respond after he makes a contract with the Spirit King."
"But Ifrit will be uncooperative."
"Why is that?"
"As Orca knows, Ricardo isn't fit to make a contract with the Spirit King in the first place. There's no way Ifrit wouldn't know that he made a contract through illegal means. If he loses the battle for control, he won't be able to control the spiritist he contracted with, no matter how much he contracted with him."
"I see."
Orca nodded, his eyes shining. Spiritists are rare, and there are no spiritists who contract with spirits through illegal means like Ricardo, so it was information that most people wouldn't know.
"But what if the spirit has a friendly and gentle personality? He might follow him willingly."
"Well, it depends on the personality, but Ifrit has a terrible temper..."
"Excuse me? Terrible?"
It was the first time such a harsh word had come out of my mouth, so Theo's eyes widened. No, I didn't mean to say it like that.
"Do you know Ifrit well?"
"No."
It was an explanation that didn't sound like it came from someone who didn't know him at all, but the two seemed to be trying to gloss over it because I didn't seem willing to answer.
It wasn't an important story in the first place. But was Ifrit's personality mentioned in the original story?
I think there was something about the spirits' personalities being like children or innocent... No, well, I must have remembered it because it was there.
"Anyway, thank you for the explanation. I'll keep it in mind."
"Okay."
"You've both had a hard day today, so should I prepare a special meal?"
"Gasp, what kind of meal?"
"Do you have anything you want in particular?"
"Lots of steak. And salmon ice cream?"
"Yes, I'll prepare that."
It was supposed to be a special meal for both of us, but I asked Theo, watching Orca leave without even asking him what he wanted to eat.
"Theo, is there anything you want to eat?"
"Not really. Unless it's given by Shuian, it doesn't seem like there's much difference."
Ah, Theo didn't like eating itself because of the Empress. Seriously, I don't like everything about her!!
Theo, as if he knew exactly why I was angry, added soothingly with a small smile.
"I think I could eat anything deliciously if Shuian fed it to me."
"If I feed you?"
Oh, geez. What are you talking about feeding you! How embarrassing. But I secretly wanted to try it, so I looked away and nodded slightly. I heard laughter behind me, but I pretended not to notice.
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