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Chapter 17
Ripe, red, luscious cherries?
Of course, they’re good. I could eat them three times a day without complaint.
But that doesn’t mean you use it as a name, does it?
“Chuuut, chuut!”
Then what about you—should I call you Steak? Or maybe Boeuf Bourguignon Kreuz?
I was rolling my eyes and stabbing at the air when it happened.
“Cherry.”
Bourguignon—no, König—responded flatly.
He merely murmured the name in his low voice.
His gaze seemed to dare me: Go ahead, object if you can.
If only I could.
“Chuuu…”
On second thought… maybe it’s not so bad, haha.
Now that I think about it, I can’t really use my real name, Muriel, while being hunted by the Imperial family.
But there was still an objection—
“What? Surely you don’t mean the obvious, that the thief’s round reddish eyes with a hint of pink look just like ripe cherries, do you?”
It was Gerard.
Still clinging to his beloved “Chuu,” he launched into a passionate protest.
More than once I’d wondered how he had survived this long at Black Dragon Castle without losing his head.
This was exactly one of those moments.
Hey, Mr. Screw Loose. Pull yourself together.
Tap, tap, tap-tap-tap.
I smacked the table hard with my tail, but Gerard must have misunderstood.
“You see? Even Lady Cherry herself clearly dislikes it.”
No, that’s not what I meant!
I quickly checked König’s expression.
His face had gone beyond stiff—it was icy cold, and I could almost feel a killing aura filling the office.
Gerard finally caught on when König’s mouth twisted into a mocking smile.
“…Ha.”
“―On second thought, there really is no name more fitting for our thief than ‘Cherry.’ Born to be a cherry beastkin…”
Gerard belatedly tried to cover himself with excuses, but it was too late.
“Head.”
“Yes, sir.”
And so, after a long and tedious debate, I ended up with a second name.
“From today, no more free meals. Lady Cherry will have to contribute with proper labor.”
Second day on the job.
Still half-asleep and dangling inside a pocket, I was greeted by Gerard’s unusually stern tone.
Apparently, in the office, he considered himself my superior or something…
Anyway, my role boiled down to two main tasks:
-
Rolling around like a walnut beside König while he reviewed documents.
-
Shredding the papers Gerard handed me into unrecognizable scraps.
“Lady Cherry, this one as well, if you please.”
Like this.
Rip, rip, rip!
I tore through the paper as easily as cracking a peanut shell, and Gerard looked on in awe.
“As expected of Lady Cherry! I suspected as much, but you’ve even mastered the Imperial language. Paying special attention so that key words and phrases can’t be reassembled… such brilliance!”
“Chuuut.”
That’s basic, really.
I smugly rubbed my nose, a little too pleased with myself.
Truth be told, shredding papers wasn’t even necessary.
All documents from the duke’s office were already incinerated to prevent leaks.
“A sort of double security, you see!”
That’s what Gerard always said with a grin whenever I questioned it, pushing me to keep working.
Clearly, he just wanted to exploit me as much as possible.
How did a marquis’s daughter end up like this?
Sometimes I was overwhelmed with shame—but there were benefits too.
By sitting quietly, I picked up all kinds of information about the Empire.
So this is the taste of power at the very top?!
Grinning wickedly, I tore through another letter with my front teeth.
There was a wealth of information, but the topic that caught my special interest was—
König Kreuz!
The master of Black Dragon Castle himself.
From small details, like him being twenty years old—prime marriage age—
To the fact that he was the target of fervent courtship from the Empire’s most prominent families.
“Chuuut—.”
I see. So König Kreuz is quite the popular man.
I murmured with mild amazement as I shredded yet another letter saying the same thing.
If you added in the ones Gerard intercepted, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say every family with an unmarried daughter was sending letters.
Well, of course. Wealth, honor… and on top of that…
I glanced at König with sleepy eyes.
Even his furrowed brow, marked with fine lines from paperwork, was handsome.
No wonder he was so sought after.
Crossing my arms, I nodded to myself and turned to the mountain of documents.
Letters arrived from all over the continent, but one in particular caught my eye—
Sealed with a roaring wolf.
The Wolf family—one of the rare noble houses in the capital closely allied with the Kreuz dukedom.
Their emblem appeared often enough that it seemed they kept in regular contact.
The contents must be…
Probably about the Imperial family and the capital’s nobility.
Sure enough, Gerard’s face hardened as he read the letter.
It was promptly delivered to König, and his eyebrows rose sharply.
Why? What could it possibly say?
Sneaking a side glance, I caught the word “rumors.”
“They say the capital is in an uproar over the incident in Baron’s viscounty.”
Gerard summarized once he had read it through.
Rumors always grew with exaggeration, but in this case, it had spread alarmingly.
“A string of noble murders, now joined by commoners from the estate being killed as well… the tales are spiraling out of control.”
Gerard swallowed hard.
The rumors were spreading uncontrollably, from the capital across the Empire.
“The Imperial family will surely intervene soon.”
König rubbed his brow, as though already weary of the matter.
The Kreuz dukedom pressured newspapers that printed unverified stories, and even secretly recalled weekly papers containing suspect sketches.
All of it possible thanks to the family’s power and wealth.
Even so, some nobles continued to whisper suspicions about König.
“It seems your name is being mentioned in hushed voices across the capital.”
Gerard spoke with a deliberately dark expression.
A tall man with hair black as night and golden eyes that seemed to burn.
The sketch, while inferior to the real thing, captured König’s features all too well.
Naturally, the Imperial family would put him at the top of their suspect list.
If only it ended there…
“I have a bad feeling about this.”
Gerard gave voice to my thoughts.
After all, if the Imperial family wished, they could easily frame König as the culprit.
Every shred of circumstance already pointed in his direction.
For the Emperor and the capital’s nobles, who regarded the Kreuz family as a thorn in their side, this was the perfect chance.
“They’ll begin applying pressure soon, in one way or another.”
“Yes, we’re fully prepared to respond.”
Gerard nodded heavily.
For the first time since I came to Black Dragon Castle, they looked like a true duke and aide.
If investigators come poking around here, that’ll be trouble for me too…
I propped my chin on my paw and worried alongside them.
Then voices murmured outside, followed by a knock.
It was the castle’s head butler.
His face looked unusually pale as he stepped through the door.
“What is it?”
“Your Grace… th-they’ve come. A guest, from the Imperial Palace.”
The sudden, early arrival of this guest threw Black Dragon Castle into commotion again.
“Lady Cherry, you’ll have to stay alone in your chambers for a while.”
Gerard said as he escorted me.
Whoever this visitor was, they were clearly no ordinary person.
Even König, his face twisted with displeasure, went out personally to meet them.
Well, more like went out ready to kill them…
“Lady Cherry, the castle may get a bit noisy. Please, stay quiet and behave. Promise? Please?”
This time, unlike before, he didn’t lock me in a cage, but he asked for my cooperation over and over.
“Chuuut.”
Alright, alright.
I waved my paw lazily in response—but my gaze was already fixed on one spot.
Sevi’s secret passage.
“Then I’ll leave you here.”
And the moment Gerard closed the door behind him—
“Chuut.”
I called for Sevi with our private signal.
Since Sevi had risen as a hero of Black Dragon Castle, I’d been supplied with daily high-quality snacks.
Which meant… my bond with Sevi had grown that much closer.
It only took a few seconds before I heard scurrying above.
Two glowing yellow eyes appeared in the shadowed corner of the ceiling.
[Snack time, is it?]
Sevi, I’ll give you snacks later.
[There’s no such thing as later.]
As I’ve said, Sevi learned quickly.
Want “never” instead?
[…Fine. But you owe me double later.]
And he was quick on the uptake too.
Thanks to Sevi’s knowledge of every hidden corner of Black Dragon Castle, finding the audience chamber was easy.
The only problem—
“How dare you barge into my castle unannounced. Have you finally decided you want to die?”
—was the ominous atmosphere radiating from inside the chamber.
