IBTBD 10

Chapter 10

‘Wh-what is this?’

I looked around, but there was no one nearby.

No matter how I thought about it, this Black Dragon Castle had bad energy.

I was just about to decide I should leave as soon as possible when—

[Idiot. Here, the ceiling.]

The voice came again.

‘Ceiling?’

I stopped running on the wheel and snapped my head up. Something was glinting between the corners of the ceiling.

Hidden in the shadows, it flinched back in surprise, then slowly revealed itself.

On its bright yellow skin were speckled leopard-like spots—

‘A… lizard?’

[I am the great Leopard Gecko Elegant Gorgeous Sebastian.]

‘Uh, um….’

I quietly nodded in response.

As expected, this Black Dragon Castle was impossible to predict.

Instead of mice, a Leopard Gecko Elegant Whatever was hiding in the ceiling.

I was still blinking in the thin space between shock and absurdity when a loud growl echoed through the chamber once again.

It was hungry.

At the same time, a rather brilliant idea struck me.

The very method by which a mere little squirrel like me had so quickly and easily taken over Bear Mountain.

I put on the kindest smile in the world and held out a grape.

‘There’s plenty. Want to share?’

[Hmph, hmph, I won’t refuse.]

As the Leopard Gecko Whatever climbed down the wall, I stretched my hand between the bars and easily unlocked the latch.

‘To think this was enough to imprison me, Lady Muriel. How naïve these reptiles are.’

I scoffed toward the bedroom door where Kenih and Gerard had disappeared.

[A-amazing. How did you do that?]

From behind me came clapping sounds and an exclamation.

In the light, the lizard looked even smaller and more yellow than I’d thought.

Despite its dignified tone, it was clearly a very young one.

‘This much is nothing. Want me to show you again?’

[No need for that.]

I leaned against the cage, smug, only to be shot down at the speed of light.

‘Tch.’

[Well then, excuse me.]

With a bow, the Leopard Gecko Whatever—starting with lettuce—began devouring apples and grapes in a frenzy.

It must have gone hungry for quite some time.

‘S-slow down. Leopard Gecko El…’

[Call me Sebi, much easier.]

Mouth stuffed full of fruit, the gecko spoke.

‘Alright, Sebi. Drink some water too.’

[Sebi. And everyone here talks like this.]

Ah, I knew it.

This castle had problems in every direction.

Only after cleaning up all the fruits and vegetables from the three-tier tray did Sebi finish eating.

Patting its round belly, it promised to repay the kindness one day.

‘Such a naïve little lamb. No—naïve little lizard.’

But unfortunately for it, this was exactly the line I’d been waiting for.

A sly smile spread across my face.

Bang.

I shut the cage door loudly, then stepped forward, cornering Sebi bit by bit.

I put on a threatening face, like those bears who came to collect their debts.

‘That won’t do.’

[Wh-why? I don’t have anything right now…]

‘No, you do.’

I shook my head firmly.

In every group, every power, there’s always a hierarchy.

Bear Mountain had one, and so does this Black Dragon Castle.

The predators at the top can get food easily, but for prey at the bottom like Sebi, even scraps are hard to come by.

So they wander all day, searching for food.

Which means—seeing and hearing a lot in the process.

‘Information.’

I had always used information brought by the weak to give them what they most needed—sometimes food, sometimes medicine for their young.

That was how I built influence, and eventually stood at the peak of Bear Mountain.

Ha, truly a tearful tale.

But that’s not the point.

‘Bring me information.’

[…Information?]

Sebi tilted its head, still not understanding.

So I crouched down to its level and explained carefully.

‘Sebi, where do you usually stay?’

[Above the Duke’s bedroom ceiling. Sometimes I go to the kitchen, sometimes the dining room.]

So it usually lived right above this bedroom. Which meant—

‘Then you must have seen who came and went at dawn yesterday?’

A silence fell between us.

Its diamond-black eyes blinked slowly.

[Of course I did.]

‘Who was it?’

[Carrot-head.]

‘Carrot-head…?’

What’s that? No, who’s that?

[Wearing long, frilly clothes.]

Sebi wagged its tail, trying to describe the outfit.

That sounded like the maid uniforms of Black Dragon Castle.

Unfortunately, not a very helpful clue. About half the servants wore the same.

‘Sebi, that’s not enough.’

Disappointment quickly darkened my once-hopeful expression.

But Sebi was sharp for its age.

It read my mood instantly and added in a rush—

[I can show you the way.]

Perhaps it instinctively realized how much this would affect our relationship.

Or in other words, it could make up as much as it liked.

‘…Really? You know who it is?’

I narrowed my eyes and pressed again.

[Really. Carrot-head has come several times. I even saw her hiding some powder!]

‘Powder?’

I was certain it wasn’t anything good.

If it were medicine for her own use, that’d be ideal, but honestly the chance was slim.

Most likely, the final destination of that powder was Kenih.

‘Kenih Kreutz….’

That dragon might keep me caged and threaten to stuff me every other day, but I couldn’t just let him die.

Because Kenih was the last line of defense keeping me safe from the Imperial family.

Soon after, Sebi led me through the hole it had crawled out from, up into the castle’s ceiling.

Since it was a place no human hands could reach, pale dust had piled thickly along the wooden beams, like tangled cobwebs.

‘Poor Sebi, living in a place like this.’

I thought I’d bring it a snack later that evening when—

[What are you doing? Hurry and follow.]

Sebi urged me from ahead.

‘You’ll get your snack, don’t worry.’

We squeezed through a narrow passage barely big enough for my head and tiptoed across a precariously placed plank.

After a long walk, noises began to rise from beneath us.

[This is the kitchen.]

No wonder that sweet smell had been teasing my nose earlier.

Lunch today seemed to be veal steak braised in red wine.

Knowing a familiar taste was the most dangerous, I almost lost control to the crazy squirrel inside me.

What snapped me back to reality was Sebi.

[There, Carrot-head.]

Through a small gap, a maid with bright auburn hair came into view.

A middle-aged woman with a sharp, harsh face.

She was chopping parsley to sprinkle on soup, but her movements looked nervous.

Glancing around, she slipped a hand under her apron.

What she pulled out was a neatly folded paper packet.

‘Just as I thought….’

The worst possibility I had considered.

And what she would do next was clear as day.

She mixed the packet’s contents into Kenih’s soup.

After topping it with the last of the parsley, the woman let out a faint laugh.

“At last…”

So different from the bitter voice I’d heard the night before—this was joy, pure joy.

Even her smile was filled with rapture, and the sight made my stomach churn.

How could someone harm another and smile like a child at Christmas?

I couldn’t understand. Didn’t want to.

I clamped my paws over my mouth to stifle the rising nausea when—

“The Duke ordered that lunch be taken to his bedroom. He just left the office, so hurry and prepare.”

The kitchen door swung open, someone relaying the Duke’s command.

‘Bedroom? He just left the office?’

My heart leapt into my throat.

I’d explained our route simply, but in truth, our journey was anything but.

There were countless obstacles, and the distance from the kitchen to the bedroom was twice that from the office.

Which meant—I was about to become a stuffed squirrel!

“Chuuut—!”

Somebody save this squirrel!