MSPD 10

Chapter 10

Roman, his face once again expressionless, returned from the surface pen and descended into the underground.

“Even when you’re sprawled out rotting, you still sire pups like clockwork. You ought to be grateful to me, shouldn’t you?”

The underground pen was far larger than the one above ground.

For over a decade, the male wolf had been used as a tool for forced breeding. No trace of light remained in his eyes.

When Roman came back up from below with a spear and a net in hand, the wolves began to howl.

“One day, a white Calypse wolf will be born. Your duty is to bring that white wolf to the Imperial Palace.”

It had been decades since he came to Calypse under the previous Emperor’s orders, hiding his true identity.

He had known the mission wouldn’t end quickly, but he hadn’t imagined it would drag on this long.

Every Calypse wolf without exception had been black. This time was no different.

“Another black one, I see.”

The mother wolf, panting heavily, tried to shield the newborn pup.

“Hah… useless things must die.”

Roman slowly picked up his spear.

[Bella, Bella, BELLAAAA.]

Climbing the slope, Bella felt her patience wearing thin at Opaniel’s whining voice.

She was exhausted, nearly to death.

Right now, she was on her way to the basin at the end of the incline.

“You don’t see the eyes of the ones behind you, do you? They’re looking at the back of your head with absolute disgust right now. That’s why! If you’d just followed my advice the past four days—asked their names, smiled a little—they wouldn’t be glaring at you like that!”

So what if they glared? What did it matter?

“Madam, forgive me, but why are you heading to the rear basin? It isn’t a place fit for you.”

“I just… always wanted to go there.”

“Speak kindly! Warmly! Be friendly!”

Bella swatted the air like shooing away a gnat.

Not this again.

Opaniel had been nagging nonstop for four days that this mission depended on relationships with humans.

Had she forgotten Theodore had tried to send her back to the palace?

And honestly, even back then, Opaniel’s advice had been more of a hindrance than a help.

“Go visit Kalterion, at least get on his good side, huh? Maybe share a meal! Call him ‘Grandfather~’!”

What did that have to do with completing her mission?

He kept prattling on about chess pieces, how relationships were what made the pieces move.

No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t understand.

And truthfully, she had no idea how to even begin doing such things.

She had lived her whole life without parents, without friends.

A kind voice? How was she supposed to manage that? And “leaving an impression”—what did that even mean? Just showing her face once and leaving?

It was absurd.

“I’ll do things my way. If kindness and friendliness are so important, give the mission to someone who’s good at that.”

She was doing her best in her own way.

For the last four days she had strained her eyes, peering endlessly into the future, to avoid being late.

That’s why now, dragging this wretchedly weak body, she was climbing this slope!

Then, from somewhere, the sound of wolves howling reached her.

“Awooooo—”

At the chorus of cries, birds resting in the trees took flight in a flurry.

“Madam, what you’ll see may not be pleasant. Please, consider turning back.”

Their voices had taken on a firmer edge, and only then did Bella glance back at the informants.

Would they believe her if she told them that the man feeding and raising wolves in that basin… was in fact an agent of the Emperor?

Would they believe her if she told them he would kill every wolf in there and even set the place ablaze?

“I’ll just take a look at the wolves and then return.”

In this body—weak, ill-suited, in the worst of conditions—if there was one advantage, it was her high status.

So, brushing aside the agents’ advice, she continued climbing toward the basin.

The stench of beasts grew stronger the further she went.

If divine beasts smelled this foul, was any of them even still healthy?

Divine beasts.

They were one of the “barriers” the Creator had placed in the human realm.

The universe born beneath the Creator’s hand was divided into layers.

Of them, the human realm was the one most touched by the Creator’s hand.

The bones and flesh of humans were so fragile they could not withstand even small amounts of light and heat, nor could they endure the smallest cold.

It was a world of pitiable beings.

And at the same time, a world filled with the Creator’s pure love.

“It’s a cradle, a cradle.”

The sun, at just the right distance, provided energy. The moon turned the seas. Great trees sustained human breath.

There was nothing humans thought of as coincidence that truly was.

Even angels called the human realm a cradle. Was it any wonder demons constantly coveted it?

But could the Creator truly not have known that demons sought to invade the human realm?

The Creator’s barrier to protect it from demons—

Heaven called that barrier the Creator’s gift: divine beasts.

“Awooo—”

Yet such beings were imprisoned here, unable to play their role as barriers. No wonder the chance of this world’s destruction was 99.9%.

And sometimes, among divine beasts, extraordinarily powerful ones were born.

They were usually covered in fur as white as snow.

In the future, the Emperor would obtain such a white wolf in Calypse through his planted agent.

And that wolf would become a useful tool for demons to conquer this world.

But this time…

I’ll take that wolf first.

“Die, die!”

Roman shrieked as he stabbed his spear wildly between the iron bars.

The mother wolf, forgetting even her labor pains, threw herself against the spear.

“You’ve got a death wish!”

It was a fight she could never win.

Roman tormented the mother with the spear’s tip, and then, right before her eyes, he pierced the newborn pup’s belly.

“Hahaha! Look at this! Dead!”

The crazed mother thrashed in despair—when suddenly…

“…Huh?”

It felt like he was dreaming.

From behind the mother’s body, another pup appeared before him.

Its pure white fur gleamed like snow against the night sky.

Roman saw nothing else—only that pup.

“Ah… ahh!”

After decades, a miracle! The salvation that would end this wretched mission!

“Out of the way! Move!”

Threatening the mother back, Roman managed to net the white pup. A crazed laugh burst from his lips.

“Ahaha! At last! Finally! Ahaha—argh!”

But perhaps in his haste, he didn’t notice the mother wolf lunging for him until it was too late.

He dodged quickly, but blood spilled freely from where her fangs had grazed him.

“Damn it! Shit!”

Enraged, Roman grabbed his spear again—

“Sir Roman!”

Damn it, who now?!

He had been too distracted to notice anyone’s approach.

“Ah, there you are.”

Hearing the voice from behind, Roman clenched his jaw and lowered his spear at once.

Calm down. This ends today anyway.

Holding the white pup carefully, Roman turned around.

The madness and bloodlust on his face instantly melted into a genial smile.

“Well, well, what a surprise! What brings Calypse’s informants to this humble place?”

Laughing heartily, he stepped toward them—

But then, someone appeared from behind the agents.

Through the backlight, into the shadows, came a figure whose gaze fell squarely on the pup in Roman’s arms.

Suddenly, he realized—the wolves had gone strangely silent. Even their harsh breathing had vanished.

It was an impossible thought, but it brushed across his mind.

The eerie stillness felt… not of this world.

And then—

In a world where everything had frozen still, only Princess Belladis moved.

Her pink eyes glowed as she stepped lightly forward, without a moment’s hesitation…

“This one comes with me.”

With those words, she gently took the white wolf from Roman’s arms.