No matter what Ferdel cried out to him or how he did so, Caitel turned around heartily. I felt terribly sorry for Ferdel since he looked like a deserted woman. The image of the clean-cut premier of the first meeting had long fallen to the ground. I looked at Ferdel with a sullen gaze different from my imaginary self.
We had to see the true face of people.
I was filled with shock and fear.
âIâve been swindled!â
Even in front of Caitel, the prime minister, who had been confident in his own opinions, was already out of sight. I heard heâs called the Iron Blood Reaper.
Whereâs the iron blood? I couldnât see it.
âIs that the end of the report?â
âYes. Oh, no, yes. Your Majesty.â
Ferdel answered and tilted his head for a moment.
âYes, your Majesty, yes, no. Oh, thatâs right.â
He seemed to be confused about whether to speak up or as usual.
Whatâs wrong?
Privately, they were friends, but publicly, they worked as the emperor and his prime minister.
Couldnât he speak up to the Lord?
I was thinking he had a concept about the order of rank in a weird way, Caitel picked up a toy lying on the floor.
Uh, my toy!
As I stretched out my hand with a smile, Caitel grinned. The look seemed as if he was considering if he wanted to give it to me or no, so I reached out for dear life. My father, who was full of sadists, threw toys only when his daughter desperately wanted them. You son of a bitch.
âPapa, give it to me! Give it to me! Hey! Give it to me, you son of a bitch!â
âJust relax. Thereâs only two of us here.â
âIsnât your daughter human? Itâs three.â
Ferdel lashed out to Caitel while watching me pluck a toy.
He got a nerve.
My feelings were not wrong. How Ferdel speaks made fatherâs face cold. Due to that sharp look, even I used to grin because I was scared, but I guessed the way a person treated his best friend was different.
Ferdel didnât care at all about that prickly look at him. My dad seemed to be pissed off by that smile.
What was the deal with their relationship?
Itâs as if theyâre choking at each other. What the hell were these guys doing?
âYouâre not going?â
âYes. I got no work.â
With a sly smile, Ferdel suddenly raised his hands. What another crazy thing was this? I stared at him with a toy in my mouth, and he gave a shout of joy.
âWow, itâs a break! Yay! Itâs a break!â
What? Was he such a frivolous guy?
I was a little embarrassed. No matter how much I fumbled into the memories I had encountered over the past 10 months, this wasnât the image I had of him. Heâs such a light and frivolous man!
No! This wasnât the image I had!
A power broker who was pleasant on the outside, but had about 10 dark snakes in his mind and treated everyone with a smile, but behind him, he made a cynical expression, and said, âHuh, this world is mine,â and could control even my father, who was notorious for being a tyrant!
Where the hell was that power broker!?
Hello, Mr. power broker? When I first met him, he seemed like a dark one who would someday betray my father and when that happened, I should save my dad. However, where did the evil spirit went and why was he still flying like a feather?
Damn, I felt like I had been lied to. This wasnât it!
âWhen youâre done with it, get out of here.â
Ferdel, who sat on the sofa, leaning back comfortably, was fresh. I had been watching people running away because Caitel broke their spirit down, but this Ferdel even ate cookies brought for Caitel.
Oh, but heâs so frivolous!
âNo. You definitely said at the birthday party. If I deal with those people instead of you, youâll give me the authority to come into this office whenever I want.â
âWhen did I?â
âHey!â
I guessed he got fooled by my father again. Ferdel stood up with a frown on his face.
Was he stupid? Anyway, if he really got fooled by my dad again, then heâll be deported from this office soon.
âI knew you would, scammer, so I took this!â
Ferdel took a small piece of paper out of his pocket. I couldnât see it because itâs too far away. Of course, I also couldnât read it.
In the middle of this, I sucked the toy so hard Caitel took it away from me.
âThatâs mine! Why are you taking it away from me, man?â
I wanted to bite something because my teeth were itchy all the time, but he took it.
I couldnât get enough with scratching it.
I felt miserable.
âSee! Contract! Look at this!â
Caitel, who had taken my toys and abandoned them, held me back in his arms.
Damn it, was I his toy.
I didnât understand why he kept hugging me, but Caitel, who stared at Ferdel with an uncanny look, was truly fierce.
âYeah, Iâll shut up, Dad. Papa, I love you the best in the world.â
âWhen the hell are you getting married?â
Uh, was he getting married?
I looked at Ferdel with his eyes wide open. At that moment, Ferdel smiled beautifully.
Uh, uh⦠heâs so handsome.
âAhem, next month.â
So he would be married soon. Well, no, wait, more than thatâ¦
Somethingâs mixed up. I looked at Papa. Caitel looked down at me in my eyes. He smiled when our eyes met. Maybe because I had done a lot of cute things, I thought Caitel didnât love me but liked me enough.
I touched Caitelâs cheek. He hugged me a little higher, so he looked me in the eye.
Badly red eyes. No, now warm red eyes. The threat in his eyes was almost gone now. It might be my own delusion, but I wanted to believe it was.
My dad should have been married like Ferdel and then had me, but he couldnât. Why did it feel like every normal life was getting out of this guyâs reach?
âI canât wait to kidnap Silvia and live in my house. I want to have a baby, baby!!â
Ferdel, seeing me and Caitel, yelled and screamed. Caitelâs eyes turned towards him. That was rather fortunate.
I almost cried.
Ferdel walked in between us and smiled.
âYou envy me, right? Iâm a married man now! Iâm married, a married man!â
âYouâre the only one whoâs happy to be a married man, probably.â
I had already given up matching Ferdel with the image I had imagined. Heâs not the guy I knew. Heâs the new guy.
Damn it, my imaginary Chancellor surrounded by darkness! Itâs all because of the media. I had seen too many movies.
âHehe, Iâm getting married before you! Jealous? My wife is so pretty and lovely! You envy me more now?â
I think this was a serious show.
Caitel wasnât generous enough to listen to this boast for a long time. Yeah, soon he held a sword and threatened him in a dismal voice.
âDo you want to die?â
ââ¦â
Ferdelâs mouth closed like a clam.
However, Ferdel was not demoralized. He just flinched for a moment.
âPfft, you wonât even let me brag.â
Still, he listened to him this much. I guessed the two of them really were friends.
I realized, well, that Caitel who did not even listen to Dranste even for a little bit, was listening to Ferdel for quite a long time. Was it a cold city emperor who only cared about his friends?
âI canât tell Assisi and I canât tell Dranste. Youâre the only one who I can speak about it, and you canât even take that little pride, you bastard!â
At the moment, Caitelâs eyes flashed.
âShall I kill you? Just say it.â
â⦠I want to live, please.â
Caitel was still Caitel. I took my fatherâs collar in my hand, kicking my tongue a little.
Oh, itâs a little sad that I was used to these arms now.
âDad, why donât you give me over to Serira? Iâm so annoyed at you right now, I feel like Iâm dying.â
Caitel held me and sat at the opposite side of the sofa where Ferdel was sitting. He laid me in his lap. The big hand holding my shoulder was quite friendly.
âThe honeymoon is three days.â
âWhat? Itâs too short! You said youâd let me go at least a week, you crook!â
âNo, I canât because itâs too busy now.â
As soon as he said it, Ferdel sobbed with the cushion next to him.
âI told Silvia we could stay close together for at least a week. Youâre so bad! Hey, you bastard!â
âAre you the baby?â
The real baby was I, but the guy in front of us was more like a baby.
âIf you donât come back on time, Iâll have all your brothers put in for it. Be prepared.â
In a meek reply, Caitel handed me the cookie. I stared at my dad with a dirty look because of the cookie in my hands at the moment.
âDad, my teeth had not fully grown yet. I only had two front teeth. Whatâs your intention in handing this cookie to me? Do you want me to eat like a hamster? Do you want to die?â
âYou said Iâm the only one in my family worth using. Now youâre gonna use my brothers? Are you crazy?â
âI wonât have the efficiency, but instead, I can create the resentment your brothers have towards you.â
ââ¦that devil.â
As I had heard, unlike the House of Lord Agregiant, and unlike other aristocratic families, the house of Marquis Vietervo of Ferdel was a well-rounded family that led to a kind of close bond between families. The weakness of the House of Marquis Vietervo was family, so the family was what they cherished the most.
Holding the cushion tighter, he spoke with a grim look.
âYouâd be the best monster in the world. I admit it.â
He rose from his seat like a zombie. His form of walking to the sobriety door with cushions in his hands looked unrefined Whatâs wrong with him all of a sudden? I wasnât the only one to wonder.
âWhere are you going?â
Caitel usually did not care about others at all, but unusually, he asked Ferdel where he was going. However, to Ferdel, that sort of attention was unwelcomed.
âIâm going to work because I hate you. Why?â
âGood-bye.â
âDamn itâ¦â
I heard the breath of Ferdel swallowing his swear.