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Chapter 56
Drury’s handkerchief carried an almost suffocatingly sweet scent.
‘Disgusting.’
Just inhaling that artificial fragrance made his stomach twist.
A shiver ran down his spine as cold sweat poured from his back.
Kashian clenched his lips tightly. The sharp pain helped him keep his mind focused.
It wasn’t merely a strong scent. It seemed to awaken some kind of madness gnawing at his heart.
A sudden lapse in caution could leave his body vulnerable—not to him, but to something else—and an irrational fear gripped him.
He wanted to burn the handkerchief immediately, yet he shoved it deep inside his armor.
There was something he needed to confirm.
Given the violent rejection his body displayed, this handkerchief, whether he liked it or not, was a piece of evidence he had to keep.
“Now, Duke, let’s toast together. But first… shall we move that disgusting corpse out of the way?”
“Your Highness, I apologize for the troubling news on such a happy occasion, but this matter requires your immediate attention.”
“…It seems you’ve forgotten my words about telling me in private. Do you have no regard for my dignity?”
Vasili’s voice sharpened, but Kashian didn’t step back. He slowly scanned the hall.
From the major nobles of the west to the servants attending them, there was barely room to step in the banquet hall, inflated in size to welcome the first prince.
“This concerns the safety of the western region. With all the key figures gathered here, I cannot afford to miss this opportunity.”
There could be no better conditions for the rumor to spread.
“If that’s your stance… then before discussing the west’s safety, I should point out another important matter.”
Vasili pointed to Romie, trembling behind Damia.
“It seems this maid stole my fiancée’s ring. The royal heirloom I personally bestowed, no less.”
“…The royal heirloom?”
Damia frantically shook her head, desperately trying to plead Romie’s innocence.
Yet with Vasili’s one sentence, the atmosphere in the hall shifted instantly.
The eyes that had been alert for monsters now openly scanned the viscount’s daughter implicated in theft.
‘So that’s why the mood was so tense.’
Kashian let out a short sigh and moved Damia behind his back.
“You were interrogating my fiancée because of that?”
“Exactly. Let’s resolve this matter first, then move outside to discuss that corpse properly.”
Vasili clicked his tongue softly.
“Surely, if the Duke of the Dragon Slayer’s descendants are here, nothing serious could have happened in the west?”
“…….”
“Besides, verifying whether that thing is truly a monster will take time. On my fiancée’s coming-of-age day, we cannot wrestle with that abomination all night.”
Vasili shrugged as if making a very rational suggestion.
“Let the investigation proceed formally later. We must avoid misunderstandings, such as claiming a dead wild animal as a monster to inflate our accomplishments. Isn’t that right, Duke?”
He framed it as concern that the Sarkis family might exaggerate their achievements through false reports.
Kashian let out a quiet, bitter laugh. The hall instantly froze at the grim smile that didn’t fit the situation.
“Well, I never said it was a corpse.”
“…What?”
“It won’t take long to verify. Let’s deal with this first.”
Kashian strode toward the sack he had left untouched.
“Step back, Damia.”
He didn’t want her to see this horrific sight, but there was no choice.
As he reached into the sack, his fingers touched a coarse leather collar.
The monster, fur bristling, growled softly, yet Kashian grabbed the leash without hesitation.
“Ghk! Grrk!”
With a strange breath and a long, dark tongue, a wolf-shaped monster emerged, pulled by his hand.
“…A wolf?”
“Alive, not a corpse?”
The banquet hall erupted into screams and murmurs.
Kashian held the leash, forcing the creature to lift its head.
Its rolled-back eyes were red—a clear sign it was a monster.
“If you wish to know whether it’s truly a monster or just a maddened beast, perhaps someone would like to test it?”
He slowly scanned the crowd as if inviting a volunteer. No one dared step forward, each holding their breath.
Kashian grabbed the monster by the scruff, lifting it up.
As its muzzle neared his chest, the dying creature’s pupils sparked with strange vitality.
“Kyaaaah!”
The seemingly exhausted monster suddenly bared its teeth and raged, ready to bite Kashian’s neck.
“Kyaah!”
“Duke!”
Screams erupted around the hall. Amid the chaos, only one voice reached Kashian clearly.
Reflexively, he turned his head to see Damia.
Her expression was urgent, as if she might rush toward him at any moment.
Once again, his heart thumped violently.
‘No. Focus.’
“Grrr!”
Kashian slammed the resisting monster to the ground and pressed its neck down as if crushing it with the heel of his boot.
It thrashed and howled, but it was useless.
‘Strength has returned suddenly.’
He pressed against his chest. The scent from the handkerchief in his armor had clearly provoked the creature.
“If this were a disturbance I could suppress in the west, I would handle it as usual. But if the monster transformation is contagious, the entire empire is at risk.”
“…Contagious?”
Vasili’s smooth cheek stiffened.
“The monsters near the Harden border are unlike anything before. Animals bitten by them don’t rot; instead, their eyes turn red, and they grow violent.”
“You mean the animals actually turned into monsters?”
“Yes. Like a spreading plague.”
Even Vasili, usually composed, could not reply for a while.
The nobles stopped whispering, covering their mouths in shock, and the servants standing by the walls widened their eyes in terror.
After the Great Dragon’s death, monsters rarely appeared, as the scattered magical energy subsided.
Those that appeared were merely animals accidentally poisoned by residual energy deep underground.
But contagious? It felt like the return of the catastrophe that once threatened the continent.
“If you wish to test it, I can prove it.”
Kashian’s aide, Alec, stepped forward with a dust-covered sack.
Inside, a few live animals twitched, ready to support Kashian if Vasili raised objections.
“…If this is such a grave matter, why didn’t you rush to report it to His Majesty?”
Vasili asked, his voice lowered.
“I heard the prince was in the west. Riding to the capital would take days. But there’s a faster way to reach him, isn’t there?”
“…The Dragonbone Gate, of course.”
During the empire’s founding, long-lost mages carved dragons’ bones into massive arches.
Inscribed with intricate golden runes, the Dragonbone Gate connected the capital to major points across the empire.
Of course, not just anyone could pass. The runes would burn alive anyone not of the royal bloodline.
It was a powerful means to swiftly traverse the empire and reinforce royal authority.
It was also useful for monitoring influential families and tightening their control.
“This matter is urgent. We cannot delay. I will report it to His Majesty immediately.”
Vasili roughly brushed back his golden hair. The twist of his lips betrayed undeniable irritation.
The Soro marquess reluctantly announced the end of the banquet.
“Is… this really the end?”
Drury, who had stood dazed until now, began to gasp for air.
“It’s my coming-of-age… a day meant only for me!”
She cried pathetically, but it was useless. Drury was led away half-forcibly by the marquess.
“It was meant to be your coming-of-age and the announcement of your engagement… what a shame.”
“But what can we do when a monster has appeared?”
People cast pitying glances, yet Drury’s eyes staring at Damia were anything but pitiful.
She looked like a predator, memorizing the position of her prey.
Silently, she moved her lips toward Damia.
Before Kashian could interpret them, the heavy banquet doors slammed shut.
