CHAPTER 16……………………………………
“Mmh.”
“Don’t worry. We’re not going far. Just a little outing.”
Beep.
After playing the beginning of the recording from the magic device, Lin turned its outer ring with a click-click sound.
She was going to prove, beyond a doubt, the most infuriating part that had been recorded afterward.
When the people heard the voice from the device, murmurs spread through the room as they looked back and forth between Yubara and Lin with shocked expressions.
“It was a kidnapping! Unbelievable—trying to pin her own crime on our sweet young lady, who’s only six years old!”
“The Captain’s right! We need to track down every accomplice who helped with this kidnapping—throw them all into the underground prison!”
The knights, faces hard with anger, shouted one after another.
Theodore stopped his hand just before it reached the hilt of his sword and clenched his fist tightly. If he hadn’t remembered the small niece in his arms, he would have already drawn his blade.
“This should be enough proof.”
Holding his niece tightly so she wouldn’t see anything harsh, Theodore spoke in a cold, controlled voice that carried a chilling murderous edge.
Yubara’s eyes wavered wildly under his cold, judging gaze, unable to find any words.
“I—I just… that is…”
“Ah! Here it is!”
Cutting off Yubara’s trembling excuses, Lin exclaimed loudly, having found the part she wanted.
“Listen to this!”
Click.
“…Because I’m not like that scheming acting family head. He’s just waiting for the day all the direct Pegasus bloodlines disappear, so he can completely steal the position of family head—ahhh! Ugh! Y-you wretched, deformed deer—!”
“Kyu-uuuuu—!”
As the voice insulting the acting family head played clearly from the device, all color drained from Yubara’s face.
‘What do I do? What should I—damn it! Of all things, that line got recorded?!’
If she’d known it was being recorded, she never would’ve said something so stupid out loud!
Yubara screamed internally, wishing she could tear her own hair out if only her hands weren’t tied. No matter how frantically she tried to think, she couldn’t find a way out of this.
Unlike Yubara, who was consumed only with saving herself, the knights’ expressions grew solemn as the child’s desperate sobs echoed from the device.
The thought that the little lady had screamed in terror during the kidnapping attempt made their hearts ache even more.
‘If we hadn’t caught them in time—if she’d really been kidnapped…?’
The very thought made them shudder.
Even now, at the attempt stage, Captain Theodore’s aura was already terrifying.
‘Eek! T-the Captain’s expression…!’
One knight risked a glance and almost gasped aloud. The deep furrow between the Captain’s brows was even worse than during the last monster subjugation incident. Instinctively, the knight straightened his posture.
This wasn’t mere anger—it was fury at its highest level. The Captain’s back rose and fell with harsh, restrained breaths, and his tense muscles rippled like a beast about to explode.
“How dare you.”
Theodore’s face hardened like that of a wrathful god as he ground out his words.
“To whom did you dare soil your filthy tongue?”
He had thought the insult was just some minor badmouthing directed at him—but hearing the actual words from the recording, he could no longer suppress the killing intent surging within him.
If it were about him, he could have let it go.
But about the child? His niece?
He was already overly sensitive about her fragile health—and now, someone had dared to insult her in front of him? It was like poking a hornet’s nest in front of a raging bear.
“N-no! Something’s wrong—ah! The device! The magic device must be malfunctioning! I never said that—it must’ve copied my voice—!”
“This magic device was made by my sister.”
“Ghk—uh—!”
Yubara’s tongue froze. She’d just implied that a sacred, untouchable relic crafted by the Archmage—Pegasus territory’s sub-lord herself—was defective.
Theodore’s fury burned hotter as he thought of how someone so shameless had likely whispered similar insults behind his back, calling his niece a “deformed deer.”
He couldn’t stand it any longer. Covering his niece’s ears gently with one hand, Theodore growled:
“You must have known there would be consequences when you dared speak to Lin like that.”
“I—I didn’t—!”
“Abandon any thought of dying peacefully.”
Cutting off her excuses with icy finality, Theodore ordered his adjutant:
“Take her below.”
“Yes, sir!”
“N-no! No! Please, spare me!”
Without hesitation, the adjutant dragged the bound Yubara away. Realizing what awaited her, the nanny struggled desperately, screaming for her life—but her resistance changed nothing.
“W-wait! I’ll tell everything! Who approached me, how they used me—mmph!”
At Theodore’s silent glance, the knight gagged her immediately, cutting off her final plea.
Watching in cold silence, Theodore finally gave his command, voice like a sentence passed down by a judge:
“Prepare the technicians.”
***
Inside the grand office once used by the Pegasus family’s head, the walls were engraved with a majestic image of Pegasus wings spread wide.
There sat Theodore—a towering bear beastman—behind the heavy desk.
He rested his thick forearms on the table, fingers interlaced, one thumb pressed against his forehead. His brows were deeply furrowed, and his gaze was fixed on the magical recorder before him.
Click.
Theodore replayed the recording Lin had given him as evidence. This time, the playback included even the beginning parts Lin had fast-forwarded through earlier.
“…We’re just going on a little outing, my lady. Are you listening? Hmph. Seems she’s fallen asleep.”
“……”
“Anyway, you should be grateful. This will be good for you too. Why did you have to start visiting the knights, of all things?”
“……Mmh.”
“Until now, no one’s bothered you because you’re just a harmless little beastkin mutant. Why would anyone keep an eye on a child who won’t live long, right?”
“……I’ll live a long time…….”
“What, talking in your sleep? Hah. Well, you can dream, I suppose. But everyone knows it. That the last direct Pegasus bloodline is just a dying mutant.”
“Don’t… call me that…”
“Oh? Don’t like it? Well, too bad. Anyway, the only reason people haven’t shown open hostility toward you is because of that frail constitution of yours.”
“……”
“It means no one has to dirty their hands. But once the knights get involved, it’s different. Do you know? Everything you do there is being reported somewhere.”
“……”
“From your so-called ‘training sessions’ to your favorite foods—every single thing you do is being watched. The acting head is keeping tabs on it all.”
“……Theo… wouldn’t……”
“You’re still too young to understand, but you need to learn early. The world is full of wolves in human skin.”
“Not… wolves… bears.”
“No, I don’t mean literally beastkin! Honestly, I’m saying this because I’m nice. You should beware of Acting Head Theodore. He’s the one most eager to take your place.”
“…Again,” Theodore muttered with a weary sigh, rubbing the deep line between his brows.
“I’ll have to replace the nanny. Again.”
He’d gone to such lengths to hire this capybara beastkin because of her reputedly high emotional affinity—supposedly good for children’s well-being.
The doctor had even said that exposure to her pheromones could help strengthen his niece’s weak body. Theodore had spared no expense to bring her in.
And yet, behind his back, she’d been filling the child’s head with such poisonous nonsense.
