A handful of beast servants had raised his daughter for the Duke of Cornwall, who had gone insane after his wife’s death.
The foolish servants kidnapped his daughter, demanded ransom, and eventually killed her. He was perfectly sober after losing his wife and daughter, and he thought to himself.
‘I must kill all things with strange abilities.’
It didn’t matter that he was one of them. He was going to kill them all and kill himself anyway.
Afterward, he framed and destroyed the House of Vietry, a house full of wizards renowned for its magical prowess.
Next up was a castle in the north, where the beasts lived.
Knowing that the Crown Prince also despised the beasts for trying to sit atop them, I approached him.
So far, we’d been good partners.
‘I’ve been accused of cursing the Empress for now, but that’s not important.’
For now, I have no choice but to bow down and do his bidding.
At the moment, he’d swallow the bile in his gut and take care of Astel and that worthless wench first.
He chuckled, his eyes glinting, and grabbed the Crown Prince’s jaw.
“I’ll kill that thing, and if it’s from House Vietry, I’ll make sure there’s not even a corpse left, and then I’ll clear my name.”
A breeze blew across his cheeks.
“At once.”
There was no point in delaying if he was determined to kill Astel. With a mole on her tail, she was already within my grasp.
‘She’s probably in that dingy café by now.’
I hadn’t planned to snap her neck right away, but she’d been treating me like a rat, and I couldn’t help it.
All resolve to kill her was over. He turned to the Crown Prince and gave him a ludicrous salute.
“Perhaps sometime today, I can prove my loyalty.”
For now, I must kill that woman.
At the same time, the ducal mansion was silent.
Mimi, who had volunteered to act as Rune’s nanny while Astel was hard at work in the café, sat in the visiting hall with Rune.
“How fun!”
“You little one, play with this body to your heart’s content, just put it back where it belongs.”
“Mmm!”
Rune giggled as he ruffled Mimi’s fuzzy fur.
Leaving Rune alone, Mimi thought about what Astel had said last night.
— ‘You’re going to get your chance sooner or later.’
— ‘Me?’
— ‘Yes.’
— ‘Very well, I’ll show you what this body can do.’
Mimi smirked at the thought of performing on the big stage. He was bored to death.
Astel had handed him an apple-shaped artifact and told him to run to her café when this artifact turned red.
— ‘Mimi, I have one last thing to do… and it’s really important.’
Astel’s voice whispered, caressing Mimi’s fluffy ears.
Shuddering, Mimi muttered under his breath.
“Geez, he had me practicing that, she was a devil, that one.”
Rune, who had been stroking Mimi’s fur, shook his head.
“Mmm! Mommy!!”
Mimi tucked claws in and pawed at Rune’s shoulder.
“Phew. Cheer up.”
“Heehee.”
“…Why are all these little guys attracted to me? Am I so charming?”
“Umm! Bite it!”
‘I’ll just have to play with this one for a while and then fulfill Astel’s mission.’
Mimi’s yellow eyes shone keenly as he played hide-and-seek with Rune in the hallway before Astel’s visit.
In the distance, Mimi heard footsteps, and at the end of the hallway came the Duke of Anais.
Mimi smirked and slid down into a cat pose with his torso straight and buttocks firmly on the ground, yelling.
“Where are you going, little one!”
It would be unbecoming of a Divine Beast to turn down a fun prank when it was right in front of him.
Duke Anais stood like an escort in front of Astel’s doorway, glancing alternately at Mimi and Rune, and spoke sternly.
“Please step aside.”
Mimi hummed as the Duke watched them, stretched playfully.
“Astel’s not here, do you know what she’s up to?”
“I don’t know.”
Astel’s visit was met with a cold stare, and the Duke turned away.
Rune watched the confrontation between the cat who had so lovingly cared for him and the Duke, whom he believed to be his father, and shook his head.
For a moment, none of the three spoke, until Mimi whispered low enough for only the Duke to hear.
“I know, I have a feeling it’s something. Do you want me to tell you? Astel has the most terrifying plan right now.”
Mimi laughed mischievously.
“You don’t know what she’s up to, but what if she’s trying to kill you?”
At the teasing remark, he glanced at the closed door of the room without Astel, then smirked and declared bluntly.
“I’d probably die.”
Mimi’s mouth gaped open as the answer, which was meant to be a tease ended up being a joke.
The cat’s narrow, canine teeth were bared.
“Anyway, you… I lost, I lost!”
Mimi shook his head in disbelief.
The Duke of Anais, his face eerily cold, looked down at Mimi and asked.
“By the way, where is Astel now?”
“Huh?”
Mimi didn’t know whether to speak or not.
‘Did Astel tell me not to tell him? I don’t remember?’
“I see you’re hesitating, perhaps there’s something prickly.”
Duke Anais smiled, one corner of his mouth twitching upward. Mimi winced and puffed up his tail, then shivered slightly.
“There is no such thing as a prick!”
Mimi winced at the sight of the prickly figure. The Duke would have relaxed and waited for Mimi’s next words, if not for the fact that the coveted creature suddenly glared at the artifact next to him.
“Uh, well… while we’re at it.”
The Duke, who had maintained a noble demeanor the entire time, frowned slightly at Mimi’s crude behavior.
Mimi muttered grimly, “I think Astel has a new problem.”
Beasts have good senses.
This meant it knew whether Mimi was simply trying to deflect the situation. The Duke’s gaze shifted to the artifact that had turned red.
His intuition now told him that Mimi was telling the truth.
So… Astel could be in danger.
A handful of beast servants had raised his daughter for the Duke of Cornwall, who had gone insane after his wife’s death.
The foolish servants kidnapped his daughter, demanded ransom, and eventually killed her. He was perfectly sober after losing his wife and daughter, and he thought to himself.
‘I must kill all things with strange abilities.’
It didn’t matter that he was one of them. He was going to kill them all and kill himself anyway.
Afterward, he framed and destroyed the House of Vietry, a house full of wizards renowned for its magical prowess.
Next up was a castle in the north, where the beasts lived.
Knowing that the Crown Prince also despised the beasts for trying to sit atop them, I approached him.
So far, we’d been good partners.
‘I’ve been accused of cursing the Empress for now, but that’s not important.’
For now, I have no choice but to bow down and do his bidding.
At the moment, he’d swallow the bile in his gut and take care of Astel and that worthless wench first.
He chuckled, his eyes glinting, and grabbed the Crown Prince’s jaw.
“I’ll kill that thing, and if it’s from House Vietry, I’ll make sure there’s not even a corpse left, and then I’ll clear my name.”
A breeze blew across his cheeks.
“At once.”
There was no point in delaying if he was determined to kill Astel. With a mole on her tail, she was already within my grasp.
‘She’s probably in that dingy café by now.’
I hadn’t planned to snap her neck right away, but she’d been treating me like a rat, and I couldn’t help it.
All resolve to kill her was over. He turned to the Crown Prince and gave him a ludicrous salute.
“Perhaps sometime today, I can prove my loyalty.”
For now, I must kill that woman.
At the same time, the ducal mansion was silent.
Mimi, who had volunteered to act as Rune’s nanny while Astel was hard at work in the café, sat in the visiting hall with Rune.
“How fun!”
“You little one, play with this body to your heart’s content, just put it back where it belongs.”
“Mmm!”
Rune giggled as he ruffled Mimi’s fuzzy fur.
Leaving Rune alone, Mimi thought about what Astel had said last night.
— ‘You’re going to get your chance sooner or later.’
— ‘Me?’
— ‘Yes.’
— ‘Very well, I’ll show you what this body can do.’
Mimi smirked at the thought of performing on the big stage. He was bored to death.
Astel had handed him an apple-shaped artifact and told him to run to her café when this artifact turned red.
— ‘Mimi, I have one last thing to do… and it’s really important.’
Astel’s voice whispered, caressing Mimi’s fluffy ears.
Shuddering, Mimi muttered under his breath.
“Geez, he had me practicing that, she was a devil, that one.”
Rune, who had been stroking Mimi’s fur, shook his head.
“Mmm! Mommy!!”
Mimi tucked claws in and pawed at Rune’s shoulder.
“Phew. Cheer up.”
“Heehee.”
“…Why are all these little guys attracted to me? Am I so charming?”
“Umm! Bite it!”
‘I’ll just have to play with this one for a while and then fulfill Astel’s mission.’
Mimi’s yellow eyes shone keenly as he played hide-and-seek with Rune in the hallway before Astel’s visit.
In the distance, Mimi heard footsteps, and at the end of the hallway came the Duke of Anais.
Mimi smirked and slid down into a cat pose with his torso straight and buttocks firmly on the ground, yelling.
“Where are you going, little one!”
It would be unbecoming of a Divine Beast to turn down a fun prank when it was right in front of him.
Duke Anais stood like an escort in front of Astel’s doorway, glancing alternately at Mimi and Rune, and spoke sternly.
“Please step aside.”
Mimi hummed as the Duke watched them, stretched playfully.
“Astel’s not here, do you know what she’s up to?”
“I don’t know.”
Astel’s visit was met with a cold stare, and the Duke turned away.
Rune watched the confrontation between the cat who had so lovingly cared for him and the Duke, whom he believed to be his father, and shook his head.
For a moment, none of the three spoke, until Mimi whispered low enough for only the Duke to hear.
“I know, I have a feeling it’s something. Do you want me to tell you? Astel has the most terrifying plan right now.”
Mimi laughed mischievously.
“You don’t know what she’s up to, but what if she’s trying to kill you?”
At the teasing remark, he glanced at the closed door of the room without Astel, then smirked and declared bluntly.
“I’d probably die.”
Mimi’s mouth gaped open as the answer, which was meant to be a tease ended up being a joke.
The cat’s narrow, canine teeth were bared.
“Anyway, you… I lost, I lost!”
Mimi shook his head in disbelief.
The Duke of Anais, his face eerily cold, looked down at Mimi and asked.
“By the way, where is Astel now?”
“Huh?”
Mimi didn’t know whether to speak or not.
‘Did Astel tell me not to tell him? I don’t remember?’
“I see you’re hesitating, perhaps there’s something prickly.”
Duke Anais smiled, one corner of his mouth twitching upward. Mimi winced and puffed up his tail, then shivered slightly.
“There is no such thing as a prick!”
Mimi winced at the sight of the prickly figure. The Duke would have relaxed and waited for Mimi’s next words, if not for the fact that the coveted creature suddenly glared at the artifact next to him.
“Uh, well… while we’re at it.”
The Duke, who had maintained a noble demeanor the entire time, frowned slightly at Mimi’s crude behavior.
Mimi muttered grimly, “I think Astel has a new problem.”
Beasts have good senses.
This meant it knew whether Mimi was simply trying to deflect the situation. The Duke’s gaze shifted to the artifact that had turned red.
His intuition now told him that Mimi was telling the truth.
So… Astel could be in danger.
