Chapter 32
In imperial etiquette, there is a rule that no one may even greet the emperor unless he speaks first.
It was rather funny to use the useful etiquette Lady Diana had taught me—the same lady who had once kidnapped me—like this.
“Your Radiant Majesty of the Empire, Belgedor the Magnificent, I humbly pay my respects. As instructed, this is a divine beast.”
“……?”
This time, the problem was on our side.
When I introduced him and told him to greet, Lord Juno lifted his head stiffly and looked at the emperor with a face that clearly said, “Why should I greet?”
Even the emperor, probably seeing this for the first time, blinked repeatedly, and I quickly nudged Juno and whispered:
“What are you doing, Lord Juno!”
“Why should a messenger of God follow human rules?”
Messenger of God? What is he talking about? Your body is just a marble totem.
Fortunately, the emperor was not rigid or overly authoritative.
“Oh, fascinating. You speak human language. And you look… quite blessed. Haha. Are divine beasts usually like this?”
“W-what?”
Lord Juno immediately bared his tiny, grain-like teeth, but the emperor just absentmindedly patted his head, saying, “Right. Right.”
Just then, someone opened the door to the waiting room.
Click.
A child peeked their head in from the door, delicate and adorable like a puppet.
“Father?”
“Oh, Georgina. How did you know I was here?”
“The guards used mana!”
The princess, who looked about my age, ran straight into the emperor’s arms and hugged him. She soon pouted and said:
“Does Aunt Diana not come today? Hng, she always brings presents when she comes… Doesn’t she have to come if I ask? Huh? Huh?”
“Haha. My daughter really knows how to step on landmines,” the emperor muttered.
“Eh? Landmines?”
“One of the useful devices in war. Hahaha.”
[Wow, is she really doing that unknowingly? It would be quite entertaining if a criminal came to a banquet.]
I wasn’t the only one silently agreeing with Juno.
Master Jeanne also had a cold expression, devoid of any smile.
“Anyway, Georgina. Let’s greet each other properly.”
“Eh? Who is that?”
Georgina asked me, so I tried to act politely as I had been taught.
“The small star of the empire, Her Highness the Princess…”
But as soon as the emperor set her down, the princess suddenly ran toward the divine beast.
“Aaah! So cute!”
Huh? She called this owl-cat cute?
With her peculiar sense of aesthetics, the princess grabbed Juno quickly and shouted:
“Georgina is so happy! Father! The best gift ever!”
Gift?
Everyone in the room froze at the innocent misunderstanding of the child, not even having a moment to clarify.
Fortunately, only Master Jeanne remained calm.
“Your Highness, it would be best to put him down. He is not a gift, but the divine beast of the Everhart family.”
“Eh? Not a gift? Belongs to the Everhart family?”
“Yes.”
Only then did Princess Georgina look at me carefully.
“Your Highness, this is Airi of the Everhart Gonzack family.”
“Guh, so you are Gonzack? Who’s the master then?”
At this, Juno, now coming to his senses, shouted:
“What do you mean! Master? Let go now, or I’ll use my claws!”
The princess’ eyes shone even brighter. Now that he spoke, she liked him even more.
The observing emperor wiped his face dry, looking utterly defeated.
The reason was obvious.
“Gonzack! This is mine!”
As the stubborn child finished speaking, the pink gums fully revealed on Juno’s face looked like they could shoot anger itself.
The princess was ready to cry.
Adults were at a loss.
Juno, fluffing up his fur and baring his grain-like teeth, was in a frenzy.
The already tense reception room atmosphere reached its absolute worst.
So I spoke:
“Ugh! Lord!”
[What?]
“Waaah…! Ugh? Really?”
The crying princess, startled, looked at me.
Yes. I’d give it to her.
It wasn’t difficult.
The adults, expecting me to fuss like a child, looked puzzled at my reaction.
Even Juno, who had been flustered, just went along, being dragged by the princess’ arm.
[Hey. Wait. You’re not going to abandon me… are you?]
Whether he thought so or not, Princess Georgina, tears brimming, smiled with utter satisfaction.
“Thank you~ Gonzack! Now you’re my baby~ Hehe.”
Then the emperor, having finally regained his senses, interjected.
“Ah, princess. What is this behavior? Put him down at once. You must return him.”
“No! He’s Georgina’s!”
At that moment, hurried footsteps echoed in the hallway.
“Princess! There you are! We don’t have time to play hide-and-seek, you know.”
“Mother!”
“Yes. Quickly, prepare for the banquet… oh my, what happened to your face? What are these tear marks, Your Majesty?”
She, a beautiful woman with the same auburn hair as the princess, was the empress and daughter of Marquis Pascal.
“Oh, the empress has arrived. Try to calm the princess. She’s fussing for a divine beast.”
Only then did she realize that what the daughter had in her arms wasn’t a doll.
“Excuse me? Divine beast? That ball of fur? So this is Everhart’s….”
“It’s not just a ball of fur! Georgina, my child!”
“Child… anyway. Did you make my daughter cry by touching the divine beast, young lady?”
Why?
I was stunned because I didn’t expect arrows to be shot at me.
[Wow, interesting. Seeing the tedious holiday scene again here.]
I didn’t know what Juno was talking about, but I felt a bit slighted.
‘Hmph. She’s coddling her daughter because she’s her own. I have a dad too.’
For some reason, I especially missed the duke today.
Unexpectedly, Georgina blocked her mother and shouted:
“No! Mother! I said give me Georgina, and he’s giving him!”
“…What? The divine beast?”
She couldn’t believe it. Understandably—no one would hand over a family’s divine beast so freely.
But taking advantage of the child’s slip, the empress smiled faintly in interest:
“Oh? Really? He talks too, and if kept nearby like a parrot, he might be amusing.”
The emperor, finding her sarcasm funny, laughed heartily.
“Hahaha! Empress, joking aside. Georgina, let him go at once.”
“No! He’s Georgina’s! Father!”
Master Jeanne also approached, smiling, and whispered:
“Airi, you need not endure. Haha.”
Enduring? You mean Master Jeanne?
Seeing the bulging veins on her fist, I shook my head firmly:
“I never endured anything!”
I really never did.
Even if Juno, exhausted from speaking, was being dragged by Georgina, I had nothing to endure.
A few words were all it took.
“Oh, okay… really? No, it’ll be fine.”
As expected, the empress walking with her daughter turned back.
“Young lady, what did you mean by ‘it’ll be fine’ just now?”
“Ah, Your Majesty, Empress… um…”
I hesitated, and she mocked: “So scared because you thought she’d really take him?”
“Young lady, next time, refrain from words or actions you cannot take responsibility for. Let go of the princess now.”
“No, no! You don’t understand. Just now, the empress said the divine beast talks…”
When I faltered, she asked with anxious eyes:
“What do you mean?”
“The divine beast fed on the child’s vitality… that’s why I fainted.”
Finally realizing something, the empress’ face twisted in anger.
Surely Marquis Pascal had informed her I had fainted.
Her expression changed, and she immediately reached out to take the divine beast from her daughter.
“Princess! Let him go at once! Now!”
“No! My cute baby! Waaah!”
Princess Georgina flopped onto the floor, spinning like a whirlwind, but a mother’s eyes see nothing.
She shouted fiercely:
“Your Majesty! How could you hand such a monster to my daughter without caution!”
“Waaah!”
“Huh? I didn’t know! I didn’t hand him to her, so why blame me?”
“Waaah!”
“What will you do if the princess collapses?”
“Unnecessary fuss. Nothing of the sort happened.”
“Waaah! Georgina’s!”
“Be quiet! What did you do right?”
The sudden quarrel between husband and wife, along with the child’s crying, turned the room into a complete mess.
The empress roughly took her daughter and left the reception room.
“We won’t attend this banquet!”
“Do as you wish!”
Between their loud voices, Juno, left on the floor, glared at me and approached.
[Hey, I expected you to save me somehow, but I didn’t ask to be treated like a pest.]
I shrugged.
No conflict with the princess, no family feud over a stolen divine beast. Could anything be better?
Feigning indifference, Juno clicked his tongue.
At that moment, a small, tickling laugh reached my ears.
“?”
Was it my imagination?
I stared at the open door of the reception room, then turned to the emperor’s clearing throat.
“Ahem, such an embarrassing scene. I was waiting for the young lady to introduce someone, yet such a commotion occurred.”
“Eh? Introduction?”
“Oh, here at last.”
I turned my head and saw someone entering from the door I had noticed earlier.
A young boy, about ten years old, the imperial crown prince of the empire.
