“Hmm. Are you going to admit this body now? I almost felt offended, ah! Don’t be too offended by my dropping honorifics, young man. I have a sister-like relation to Crown Prince Saferan. So please consider it as it’s okay.”
“Of course, of course!”
Cesare said while looking at Count Chen, who was nodding his head again and again.
“It’s a lie, so you have to filter it out yourself.”
“Madam Pompadour? Did you just read my mind?”
“No way. I think Miss Catherine would have said something similar if she had been by your side. The Crown Prince and that woman have nothing to do with each other.”
“She doesn’t have to lie—”
“It seems like she enjoys it, so I’ll leave it to her. She’ll be responsible for it anyway.”
Well. She didn’t know much, but Madame Pompadour wasn’t the one who couldn’t take responsibility. Just in case, it’s a very distant relationship—.
“Yeah, I came as a companion of the invited one. I told you that a friend who is very, very, very dear to me is the sister of the woman who will become the Countess. Is it possible to enter with a companion, right?”
“Of course! If it’s Anne’s sister… As far as I know, there is only Miss Maggie? Is your friend a relative of Anne?”
“Huh? What is Maggie again?”
Catherine, who had been watching her, opened the door of her carriage and tried to get out.
“Wait for a moment.”
But Cesare stood before her and escorted Catherine, stepping on the ground first.
“Thank you.”
Everyone’s eyes turned to the two of them. Catherine and Cesare slowly headed to the wedding hall above the garden. As the distance between the guests decreased, the murmur gradually increased.
“…Your Highness Grand Duke?”
“What? Your Highness Grand Duke?”
“G, get out of the way! What do you mean, His Highness the Grand Duke?”
“Oh, my. Your Highness Cesare is here.”
The guests had gathered like a swarm of bees as if watching a strange animal and were focused on Cesare’s every move. Count Chen, who had been standing idly, rushed to his feet.
“Y, Your Highness? Your Highness Grand Duke? No, if you had told me in advance, I would have picked you up—!”
But Count Chen’s running was soon interrupted by a man.
“You wicked devil!”
It was a thunderous shout, so everyone’s attention was focused on the man.
“Did you think I didn’t recognize you? You sneakily crawled into the crowd again!”
The man who suddenly stood in the way of Count Chen vomited evil to the point of showing a vein in his neck. Looking at his face, Catherine gave a bitter expression.
The man was one of the cardinals who had harassed Catherine the other day at Duke Christopher’s residence.
‘What else should I see here? I can’t hide my face because of the commotion.’
The cardinal continues to shout.
“It was my fault that I couldn’t catch you at Duke Christopher’s house. It was a good thing you attended Count Chen’s wedding. I’m going to finish it off today!”
It’s over. Does he think it’s okay to have a scuffle at someone else’s wedding? The cardinal seemed unwilling to settle the matter quietly. The guests who sensed an abnormality began to shudder.
“What is this, Lady? What’s going on? Why is that cardinal conspiring to see you as a devil? Shall I blow them away?”
“I can solve it with a single knife, but Lady. If only I could take off this filthy and heavy armor for now.”
Madame Pompadour and Damien hovered around Catherine, making a fuss.
“It’s all right. It’s not a big deal, so don’t step up.”
Catherine reassured them and asked Cesare.
“Cesare, tell me about your other demons that I can call besides Remor. If it is, a demon with very high self-esteem.”
“You’d be better off just calling me to clean it up.”
“No. As you said, get used to using demons instead of magic.”
She thought it would be quite helpful to apply it in such an urgent situation. Perhaps he didn’t like her answer, but Cesare spoke slowly with a rather sullen look.
“I can’t help it. Call the Queen.”
Queen?
“It’s a demon comparable to Remor, so it’ll be helpful. As you ask, it’s proud of itself, but it’s gentle and won’t cause any major problems.”
That’s right. Recalling the sensation of calling Remor on the Lilith, Catherine called out the devil’s true name.
“[Queen.]”
At the same time, intense pain rushed through the inside of the abdomen. It was similar to the pain she felt momentarily on the Lilith. Although it was brief, it was a shock that took her breath away.
‘Is this a sign of a shortened lifespan?’
As a large magic circle is engraved in the air, the faint sound of waves begins to be heard. There was a refreshing smell of the sea from somewhere.
What appeared through the magic circle was a sea turtle huge enough to cover the sky of the mansion.
“Kyaaak!”
“It’s a devil! Run!”
The guests panicked and hid inside the mansion. Cesare, who looked up at the sky, admired it rarely.
“This is definitely… it’s hard to describe in words that you have talent.”
Soon after, Queen, a large turtle slowly swimming in the air, bowed its head. Its eyes were fixed on Catherine and Cesare. Queen greeted Cesare politely and expressed its interest in Catherine.
「Hmm. Are you the Master’s friend? To call this Queen, you are a great human being. I admire your abilities.」
As Cesare said, Queen was much more gentle than Remor.
At that time, lightning struck Queen’s shell in the dry sky. Queen moved its legs gently and turned to the man who had demonstrated the magic without a moment of agitation.
“You bastard, devils! To ruin the sacred wedding! Grand Duke Cesare. How far are you going to fall?”
In the wizarding country of the Iterana Empire, it is impossible to dismiss devils that are not monsters as filthy beings.
Queen groaned and spat at the busy cardinal.
「I thought I smelled a sewer somewhere. Then there were dogs from the Vatican.」
Catherine followed Cesare’s way and asked Queen to do it.
“Queen, take that cardinal away.”
「How far should it be?」
“I think it’s about a day’s ride. I want you to clean it up, come back to me, and report it.”
「You won’t kill him? You’re so kind. Well, an unarmed cardinal is only a bite away from me.」
As Lemor did, Queen opened its mouth wide and flew to the cardinal.
“T, this punk, I’m in the same—!”
The cardinal’s body disappeared in an instant into Queen’s mouth. The hard back shell slammed against the mansion, making a loud roar.
Part of the mansion’s walls and windows collapsed with that force. Part of the bridge sweeps through the gardens, messing around with prepared tables and food.
So Queen leisurely waved its tail and disappeared into the distant sky. Queen was a demon who liked how it did damage everywhere.
“It’s very good. It’s not a waste of compliments.”
Cesare praised Catherine with a satisfied smile.
He was sitting in the only decent chair in the garden. For a moment, Catherine wondered if it would be a human thing to be happy to be praised by the devil for this.
“If the wizards had seen this now, they would have lined up behind you to take you to each other’s towers.”
Is that so? But as long as her lifespan is limited, she won’t become a wizard.
Not long after, a woman ran out of the mansion. She was a beautiful woman in a fluttering flower embroidered wedding dress and hairpins adorned with fresh flowers.
The woman was Anne, the main character of the wedding.
“W, what the hell is this—?”
After that, the wedding guests slowly came out into the garden. They were shocked by the unexpected disaster.
“Catherine Unnie?”
Anne slowly approached Catherine. She remained the same when Catherine left Orléans. She means that just by looking at her, she makes her fists rise for no reason.
“What do you think, Anne? A cardinal has messed up your wedding like a pigsty. It’s very unfortunate.”
Anne’s shoulders trembled. As her eyes get wet, the corners of her eyes widen. Catherine was very well aware of Anne’s condition. Experience suggests that Anne’s disease will begin.
“Hiks—Unnie! No matter how bad we were in our childhood, uh, how could you ruin your sister’s one-time wedding like this?”
This kid’s method doesn’t change.
What she did in front of her stepmother and her ex-fiance was exactly the same as what she was doing now. Unlike before, when Catherine was too lazy to deal with her for the sake of the family’s peace, she no longer had to now.
She answered, staring at the Count Pig running away, startled by Anne’s cry.
“It’s a one-time wedding? Count Chen, who is listening, must be heartbroken. Isn’t this the Count’s third marriage? No, was it the 4th time? 5th?”
“I, it’s not enough for ruining the wedding; you’re trying to insult Count Chen too? Hiks—. How can you be such a bad person!”
“Is it an insult that it’s not his first wedding?”
Anne glanced at the running Count, wiping away her tears.
“I’m asking you if it’s an insult, Dongsaeng.” (t/n: It means younger sister/brother.)
There seems to be nothing to say. At times like this, she used to cry more loudly and blame her more.
“…Hiiks! It’s all my fault, Unnie. Please don’t bother me anymore! I won’t see Unnie anymore. I’ll live like dead in Chen!”
Like now.
At this point, it was a situation where they had to be moved by the appearance of her sister who was still frightening.
“What are you doing to my wife!”
It was then that Count Chen knelt down and hugged Anne, who was falling and becoming angry.
“Get out of my mansion right now! As long as I’m alive, you won’t be able to harass my wife in front of me—!”
Ugh. Count Chen, who found Cesare behind Catherine, took a quick breath.
“Hiiks, Count.”
Anne shed tears and fell into Count Chen’s arms. Count Chen watched Cesare’s eyes and hurriedly raised Anne.
“I, it’s okay, wife. L, let’s stand up first.”
“No. It must be all my fault! I’d rather ask my sister’s forgiveness. Don’t stop me!”
“Well, I, I don’t think that’s a bad idea.”
Anne hardened her face as she wiped away her tears. When Count Chen didn’t stop her, she looked perplexed.
‘If it weren’t for Cesare, the situation would have been similar to when I left Orléans.’
As expected, my devil is the best.
The guests, who were far away from the commotion, began to draw closer with interest one by one. Probably around this time tomorrow, all kinds of sounds will come and go, including those that are present and those that are not.
Cesare, who was watching the two of them, said dignifiedly.
“A play like this doesn’t even sell in theaters, Catherine. Just in case you don’t know.”
When she turned her head, Cesare had his eyes fixed on a book she didn’t know where he had brought it. Can he read that? He was really a man who only went his own way wherever he went.
“…You must have met a new man, Unnie?”
Anne stared at Catherine with red eyes. When she said asking for forgiveness, it must have meant that she was only asking in her heart.
“Yes, he is handsome, isn’t he?”
Catherine didn’t deny it and boasted of Cesare’s national peace beauty.