Chapter 32 - I Will Take Care of Aidwen!

32. I Will Take Care of Aidwen!

No!

I cried inwardly, clasping Lissandros arm in a hurry, shaking it.

L-Lithandwo. Why ith he twied up like dat. It hurts! (Lissandro. Why is he tied up like that. It hurts!)

Um, uh. Your Majesty. Its dangerous!

Xavier, flustered, hugged me tightly.

For a moment, my hand, which lost its place, caught Lissandros back. Now that Ive caught him, I shook his head.

Lissandro patted my hand.

However, without that much restraint, we wont be able to keep him, Your Majesty.

Ith cwuel. Lithandwo ith de devil! (Its cruel. Lissandro is the devil!)

I didnt even do it, so why

Lissandro was upset, but I wasnt listening to him.

Nobody should provoke Devlins Devil.

I clearly remembered the sight of the boy sending a man flying without touching him. If I hadnt stopped him, then the knight who was about to touch him wouldve died.

That man was a dangerous creature. However, since he decided to join Ermano, it was better to give him a carrot than a stick.

I was the one to get him into joining Ermano, but-.

This isnt right!

I understood that he was put in jail and that hes the cause of all the damage to the Ermano border. I didnt even wish to serve him to the fullest. But the stand-in-Emperor tied him to the limbs.

Is he mad? Im sure he is

What if he changes his mind and attacks Ermano?

I shivered and plucked up my courage, turning back to the cage.

And as if they were waiting, my eyes met with red eyes.

The Devlins Devils eyes, without any expression, caught mine. I couldnt guess what he was thinking.

Uh thowwy you twied up. Debwins Devil. (Uh sorry youre tied up. Devlins Devil.)

I apologized first. I hope you will be relieved of your anger.

But they boys reaction was calmer than I was expecting.

Its okay. I havent even been tortured.

You thouldnt be totued. You de geuth I bwought. (You shouldnt be tortured. Youre the guest I brought.)

I got embarrassed after speaking. Treating someone whos tied up like a customer.

Sigh.

I was greatly relieved that Devlins Devil didnt seem very angry at the unkind treatment.

Its said he would lose his reason and would kill enemies and allies, but the boy was so calm that I doubted whether the rumor was true.

I was convinced that a conversation would be possible.

I hav a quethion. (I have a question.)

Ask.

Why did you thay you gwoing to exthile? (Why did you say youre going to exile?)

I didnt want to go back to Devlin.

How cwome?

Because I didnt want to be swayed by other peoples will anymore.

Did that mean that he had only lived on the will of others until now? I couldnt figure out what his gaze at me meant, but he didnt seem to be lying.

Of course I dont completely believe him.

Who awe those people? (Who are those people?)

Veron Arthur Devlica.

I was flustered when I heard the name of the Emperor of the enemy Empire.

Empewor?

Yes.

Then did you puposey dwag your fowces to kill dem to get rebenge on the Empewor? (Then did you purposely drag your forces to kill them to get revenge on the Emperor?)

Thats right.

Huu

Look at this guy.

I was overwhelmed with the colossal idea. Usually, you would only think of asylum and not pretend to strike an enemy country to annihilate your own troops.

I was right in my judgement that I should find a way to give Devlins Devil a carrot.

Um. Im not going to touch a crazy guy.

If hes irritated, you wont know when an accident could occur.

Xavier and Lissandro both spoke with tired faces.

Its amazing.

I see.

Xavier took a step back with an uneasy look. He looked scared.

But I didnt care and asked a question again, I hav anoder quethion. Why Ehmano? (I have another question. Why Ermano?)

I didnt know that much, but there were many other countries he couldve gone to.

Ermano was the most powerful country; however, we were hostile towards Devlin. I was sure he didnt expect to be hospitable.

Veron hates Ermanos stand-in-Emperor, Esteban.

Aha.

I quickly understood.

If Devlins Devil were to switch sides to Ermano, the one who would hate it the most would be Veron Arthur Devlica.

I didnt know why Devlins Emperor hated the stand-in-Emperor so much, but I was able to understand why he chose Ermano.

After killing my own soldiers, I have no place to go back to now. If you dont take me, that is.

While saying so, the boys face was devastating. I was sure hes a killer who had killed so many people, so why did I feel sorry?

Lets get it together. Dont fall for beauty.

There were too many mischievous looking children.

Oscar, Enrique, and Devlins Devil.

Of course, the stand-in-Emperor and Lissandros appearance were also great, but-.

No, no. Focus, focus.

After waking up, I looked at Devlins Devil. One of the biggest questions was remaining.

Why awe you gething rebenge? (Why are you getting revenge?)

Veron Arthur Devlica pushed me into the border deliberately to drive me into a rampage. When I wake up, I dont want to see bodies around me anymore.

I dont want to go back there again.

The question was light, but the answer was heavy.

Hes making him go crazy on purpose?

How could that be possible? No, I can communicate with animals, but theres no way I can make them run amok.

I could feel his sincerity, but I couldnt fully trust his words. Its difficult if all his actions were to infiltrate Ermano.

My plan was like this: pretend to gloss over it completely, but dont let my guard down.

Hm. I gwet it for now.

Do you believe me?

Ung.

Of course its a lie.

It would be better to release some of the restrictions to prove that I believed him.

I tugged on Xaviers hem.

Xabie.

Yes, Your Majesty.

I think itll huwt to be tied up lwike dat. Can you rewease them? (I think itll hurt to be tied up like that. Cant you release them?)

At my words, Lissandro replied instead of Xavier.

You cannot.

His determined will was seen from his sternly nailed expression. In the end, he didnt bite the bait.

Lithandwo

You cannot. As I always say, hes a dangerous person. So you cannot just let him go. Thats why hes shackled and handcuffed.

Some of the functions of the spirit mine were to cut off mana and neutralize it. Perhaps the power was cut off by that ability.

But I couldnt let it pass over like this. It didnt matter if the handcuffs and shackles werent released until the end. Actually, this was a kind of show.

I have to show him that I think about him this much.

I spoke confidently.

Open it.

I cannot, Your Majesty. Its too dangerous.

Open it. Ith an owder! (Open it. Its an order!)

Of course, Lissandro didnt listen to my orders.

This should be enough, right?

It was time to pretend to give up.

But the voice of Devlins Devil was heard.

Its okay.

Thud.

huh?

The handcuffs, which were made of mana stones and had the function to block mana in the body almost completely, snapped from the boys gestures.

Thud.

The shackles on his feet were broken helplessly and rolled on the floor. Except for the boy, we looked at the wreckage.

Just what the hell is he?

Why would he stay tied up like that when he could cut them off that easily. Why on earth?

It must be insulting to have your limbs bound, so is there a reason to put up with it?

To our astonished eyes, Devlins Devil spoke, Are you at ease now?

U-ung

He spoke as if hes able to stay tied up but cut them to ease my heart

Your Majesty. We need to go back now.

Alweady? (Already?)

His Majesty-.

A-ah gwot it. (I-I got it.)

If he comes here, Ill just get even more tired. I put my arm around Xaviers neck and waved at Devlins Devil.

Ahll gwo now. Deblins Devil. (Ill go now. Devlins Devil.)

I was about to turn around, but I heard a low voice.

Aiden.

Huh?

You can call me Aiden.

I met his red eyes again. I couldnt keep the gaze, as if the heat from his calm red eyes were contagious.

I looked at the boy as if I was possessed. After getting to my senses, I nodded.

Okway, Aidwen. (Okay, Aiden.)

stupid pronunciation!

***

Back in the bedroom, I sat quietly waiting for everyone to leave. Soon enough, the nanny who was the last to leave, left.

Good.

I was cautious of my behavior, as Lissandro, who was outside, might feel suspicious.

I crept along the window and slowly tilted the door a little.

Little mice. Come here.

The mice soon appeared when I whispered in a small voice.

When they were about to be eaten by owls, I got quite close to the squeaky guys since I gave the owls an earful.

Cwome hewe. (Come here.)

[Hellow, squeak.]

Bwig mouse. (Big mouse.)

The biggest mice answered curtly.

Gwo to the jail-. (Go to the jail-.)

[Dont like the jail.]

My request was flatly rejected even before I finished speaking. I looked around at the mice in fluster.

Everyone seemed to want to leave since they were all turning around.

You said youd do anything I asked whenever.

Theres not one mouse you can trust in this world.

In the end, I had to take out my ace.

Ahll give cheethe. (Ill give cheese.)

[I like jail, squeak.]

Theyre guys who dont know anything but cheese.

I breathed a deep sigh of opportunism. Yes, I understand because I like delicious food, too.

I decided to put aside their ridiculous feelings and asked for my request immediately.

Gwo to de jail and keep an eye on de kid whoth twapped ath de bottwom. (Go to the jail and keep an eye on the kid whos trapped at the bottom.)

[Male? Squeak.]

Uung, mwale, thwats right (Yeah, male, thats right)

[What surveillance?]

Whath ith hwe twalking abouth? Who ith he mweeting? Thwings lwike that. (What is he talking about? Who is he meeting? Things like that.)

[Give me a big cheese, squeak.]

O-okway. (O-okay.)

As if they were leaving the cheese in my hands, the demanding mice suddenly disappeared.

My bwead wath stowen (My bread was stolen)

I looked sadly out the window. I just wanted the mice to do what I asked for.

Devlins Devil. The reason why I asked them to keep an eye on the boy named Aiden was because you never know.

I didnt trust Aiden completely, so I needed insurance.

Just in case he contacted Devlin, we would be prepared.

Ahm wowwied (Im worried)

About what, Mabel?

From a familiar voice from behind, I opened my eyes wide and shouted.

Squeak!

squeak?

Hub. I covered my mouth with my hands.

Hearing squeak so much made me answer squeak! in surprise.

The stand-in-Emperor was looking down at me with worried eyes. I faltered back.

He didnt see the whole thing, did he?

It would be very bad if it were discovered that I can communicate with animals. I had been trying so hard not to get caught!

I didnt know what to say, so I was just looking at the stand-in-Emperor as he spoke first.

I heard you went to the underground prison.

Ung.

Fortunately, nothing happened, but it was dangerous, Mabel. If Devlins Devil were to go wild, you could get caught in it.

Usually, he would go Mabel! Are you hurt anywhere?! so I didnt know how to respond when he didnt make a fuss and spoke softly instead.

Promise me you wont go down to the prison again, Mabel.

The stand-in-Emperor looked at me with a grim face. I shuddered, but I didnt nod.

Ah cant. (I cant)

I couldnt listen to the stand-in-Emperor. His eyes shook heavily at my refusal.

How come?

Ah pwomised. With Aidwen. (I promised. With Aiden.)

Aidwen?

Aidwen ith my gwuest. (Aiden is my guest.)

The one who answered okay to his exile to Ermano was not the stand-in-Emperor, but me.

Thwo, ahm gwoing to twake care of Aidwen! (So, Im going to take care of Aiden!)

Somehow, the stand-in-Emperors eyes were bigger. I think he also stumbled a bit, did I see wrong?

I tilted my head.

?

Why do you look so shocked?