Episode 35
I blinked in surprise.
“Why? Without the divine beast’s power…”
“It would be hard to suppress the evil dragon’s resentment. But Airi, can anyone guarantee this won’t happen again in the future?”
It was the spirit of the World Tree who sent the divine beast to the land tainted by the evil dragon’s grudge.
As long as the World Tree’s spirit blesses and protects this empire, divine beasts will continue to be born.
But what if the World Tree’s spirit disappears? What if it stops protecting the empire and leaves?
The Duke said that future could come as soon as tomorrow.
And that’s why—
“Turning Pennington into a land where people can live safely even without a divine beast—that’s my goal as Duke of Rudian.”
The moment I heard the Duke’s words, my heart thumped.
‘Wow… That’s amazing.’
Making Pennington a place safe to live even without a divine beast.
Given the long time they had been without one, the Duke likely had no choice but to set that goal.
But even now, after a divine beast has been born, he has no intention of changing that goal. That told me he wasn’t just thinking about the present—he was making decisions with the far future in mind. I couldn’t help but admire him.
“Airi, what are you thinking about? You look like someone who’s fallen for me.”
“I was just thinking how cool you are, Duke.”
He seemed taken aback by my honest answer, and after smiling with his eyes, he paused for a moment.
“…Really?”
“Yes. I’m really glad someone like you is Pennington’s lord.”
“…Ah, well.”
Looking a little flustered, the Duke gave me a soft, bashful smile—different from any he’d shown me before.
“It’s worth all the effort, hearing that from a citizen.”
“I think every citizen of Pennington would agree. You’ve done so much for everyone.”
There were too many things the Duke had done for Pennington’s people to count on just ten fingers.
He repaired and installed new public parks and facilities, addressed all the complaints raised by the citizens, and doubled the number of guards to improve public safety.
To lift the spirits of citizens troubled by the ever-present dark clouds, he planned festivals and cultural days, giving people moments to smile and forget their worries.
The play Rose Frost was also part of that effort.
“I’ll have to keep working harder then—to live up to the expectations of my citizens.”
“If there’s anything I can do to help, I’ll gladly help.”
“Really?”
“Of course!”
As I nodded enthusiastically, the Duke smiled with eyes that curved gently.
It was the kind of sweet smile that looked like sugar would rub off if you touched his cheek—just like always.
“It’s so nice having you by my side, Airi… I don’t know how I managed without you before.”
“Huh? What were you holding back?”
“The desire to brag and be praised by you? Something like that.”
Then, as if it wasn’t the main point, the Duke shifted the topic.
“Airi, do you dislike bugs?”
“What? Uh… If I had to say, I guess I don’t really like them.”
Upon hearing my words, the caterpillar crawling on the handkerchief suddenly froze, as if in shock, its head—presumably—turning toward me.
‘Wait… can it actually understand me?’
I felt a twinge of guilt, like I’d been caught bad-mouthing someone right in front of them.
I quickly tried to explain myself.
“No, I only dislike bugs because I used to work in a greenhouse, and pests often ruined the flowers. I like butterflies and bees that help pollinate.”
Upon hearing that, the caterpillar slumped down on the handkerchief.
Whether it felt relieved or disappointed, I couldn’t tell, so the Duke explained for me.
“That’s a relief. This one turns into a butterfly when it matures.”
“A butterfly?”
Now that he mentioned it, I remembered:
The divine beast of the North is a bear, the East’s is a turtle, and the West’s is a butterfly.
“Normally, it should’ve emerged from the egg already in butterfly form. But maybe because of a rough growth process… it seems to have hatched prematurely before it was fully developed.”
“Wait… could it be…”
I hesitated as I watched the little divine beast trying to crawl away from the handkerchief.
“Did it hatch early because I told you to break the egg…? Maybe it sensed danger?”
The timing did seem a little too perfect.
The Duke didn’t deny it, either.
“Maybe. Or maybe it sensed a limit to absorbing nutrients while in egg form, especially after it emerged from beneath the plum tree’s roots.”
“Ah…”
Plus, the link to the Second Princess had also been severed.
If it couldn’t get nutrients from the plum tree or the princess anymore, maybe it had no choice but to hatch to survive.
“As you can see, it’s very weak right now. If anyone tried to harm it, it wouldn’t survive.”
“Then what should we do?”
“We need to keep its identity as a divine beast a secret until it fully matures. So, I’d like you to raise it instead of me… Would that be okay?”
Ah, so that’s why he asked if I hated bugs.
I looked down at the caterpillar wiggling across the desk.
“It’s fine. I handled plenty of bugs working in the greenhouse—wait, I’m not saying I’m going to handle you, divine beast!”
It seemed my earlier “break the egg” remark had made a violent impression. The divine beast seemed wary of me.
‘Will I ever clear up this misunderstanding?’
Still trembling slightly, the little creature began climbing up the cookie basket again.
‘Wow… it’s faster than I expected?’
Eventually, it reached the handle of the basket, then stretched its body down and—rather than landing on a cookie—dropped into the Duke’s palm.
“It’s quite active. We should probably keep it confined for now.”
“Huh? Is it okay to confine a divine beast?”
“If we leave it loose, a maid might see it during cleaning and kill it out of fear.”
The divine beast curled up, shaking its little head in protest.
Feeling bad, I gently took it from the Duke’s hand and stroked its back.
“Okay. I’ll take full responsibility and raise it until it becomes a butterfly.”
“Then… will you give it a name?”
“Me?”
“You’re its savior, after all. If not for you, it would’ve stayed buried under the plum tree and withered away with it.”
As if it understood the Duke’s words, the divine beast lifted its head and repeatedly nodded at me from the palm of my hand.
It was adorable… and also a little heartbreaking. If it had matured properly, it wouldn’t be a caterpillar now—it would be a butterfly.
“Hmm… Then I’ll call it Plum.”
“Plum?”
“The spirit stone—no, the divine beast’s egg. When I first saw it, I thought it looked like a plum.”
I gently stroked the caterpillar’s head with my fingertip.
“From now on, I’ll call you Plum, little divine beast.”
Plum rubbed its head against my fingertip, as if it liked the name.
* * *
“…Lady-to-be of the Duke’s house, if it’s not too rude—can I ask you something?”
Alicia’s tense voice trembled slightly.
I didn’t even need to hear the question to know what it was.
I preemptively held out Plum, who was nibbling on some cabbage.
“Look, Alicia. Isn’t it cute?”
“Cute? What’s cute about that? Throw it out right now!”
Alicia yelled, and Plum shrank into a tight ball. I rubbed its back gently with my finger to comfort it.
“It’s okay. Alicia isn’t a scary person.”
The Duke had warned that it would seem strange to others if I spoke formally to a caterpillar, so I’d decided to use casual speech with Plum.
“She is a scary person! I’m very scary! If you don’t throw it out, I will!”
“You can’t do that, Alicia.”
“Why not?!”
Because it’s the new divine beast of the Rudian family…
But since the Duke and I had agreed to keep that a secret, I had no choice but to lie.
“Plum is… a gift from the Duke.”
Alicia’s face instantly twisted into a look of disgust toward the Duke.
‘A man who gives his fiancée a caterpillar as a gift…’
Yeah… that’s pretty terrible.
I could only stare blankly off into the distance.
