I cried inwardly, clasping Lissandro’s 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. It’s dangerous!”
Xavier, flustered, hugged me tightly.
For a moment, my hand, which lost its place, caught Lissandro’s back. Now that I’ve caught him, I shook his head.
Lissandro patted my hand.
“However, without that much restraint, we won’t be able to keep him, Your Majesty.”
“Ith cwuel. Lithandwo ith de devil!” (It’s cruel. Lissandro is the devil!)
“I didn’t even do it, so why…”
Lissandro was upset, but I wasn’t listening to him.
‘Nobody should provoke Devlin’s Devil.’
I clearly remembered the sight of the boy sending a man flying without touching him. If I hadn’t stopped him, then the knight who was about to touch him would’ve 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 isn’t right!’
I understood that he was put in jail and that he’s the cause of all the damage to the Ermano border. I didn’t even wish to serve him to the fullest. But the stand-in-Emperor tied him to the limbs.
‘Is he mad? I’m 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 Devlin’s Devil’s eyes, without any expression, caught mine. I couldn’t guess what he was thinking.
I apologized first. I hope you will be relieved of your anger.
But they boy’s reaction was calmer than I was expecting.
“It’s okay. I haven’t even been tortured.”
“You thouldn’t be totued. You’ de geuth I bwought.” (You shouldn’t be tortured. You’re the guest I brought.)
I got embarrassed after speaking. Treating someone who’s tied up like a customer.
“Sigh.”
I was greatly relieved that Devlin’s Devil didn’t seem very angry at the unkind treatment.
It’s 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 you’re going to exile?)
“I didn’t want to go back to Devlin.”
“How cwome?”
“Because I didn’t want to be swayed by other people’s will anymore.”
Did that mean that he had only lived on the will of others until now? I couldn’t figure out what his gaze at me meant, but he didn’t seem to be lying.
‘Of course I don’t 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?)
“That’s 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 Devlin’s Devil a carrot.
‘Um. I’m not going to touch a crazy guy.’
If he’s irritated, you won’t know when an accident could occur.
Xavier and Lissandro both spoke with tired faces.
“It’s amazing.”
“I see.”
Xavier took a step back with an uneasy look. He looked scared.
But I didn’t care and asked a question again, “I hav anoder quethion. Why Ehmano?” (I have another question. Why Ermano?)
I didn’t know that much, but there were many other countries he could’ve gone to.
Ermano was the most powerful country; however, we were hostile towards Devlin. I was sure he didn’t expect to be hospitable.
“Veron hates Ermano’s stand-in-Emperor, Esteban.”
“Aha.”
I quickly understood.
‘If Devlin’s Devil were to switch sides to Ermano, the one who would hate it the most would be Veron Arthur Devlica.’
I didn’t know why Devlin’s 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 don’t take me, that is.”
While saying so, the boy’s face was devastating. I was sure he’s a killer who had killed so many people, so why did I feel sorry?
‘Let’s get it together. Don’t fall for beauty.’
There were too many mischievous looking children.
Oscar, Enrique, and Devlin’s Devil.
Of course, the stand-in-Emperor and Lissandro’s appearance were also great, but-.
‘No, no. Focus, focus.’
After waking up, I looked at Devlin’s 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 don’t want to see bodies around me anymore.”
“…”
“I don’t want to go back there again.”
The question was light, but the answer was heavy.
‘He’s making him go crazy on purpose?’
How could that be possible? No, I can communicate with animals, but there’s no way I can make them run amok.
I could feel his sincerity, but I couldn’t fully trust his words. It’s difficult if all his actions were to infiltrate Ermano.
My plan was like this: pretend to gloss over it completely, but don’t let my guard down.
“Hm. I gwet it for now.”
“Do you believe me?”
“Ung.”
Of course it’s a lie.
It would be better to release some of the restrictions to prove that I believed him.
I tugged on Xavier’s hem.
“Xabie.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I think it’ll huwt to be tied up lwike dat. Can’ you rewease them?” (I think it’ll hurt to be tied up like that. Can’t 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 didn’t bite the bait.
“Lithandwo…”
“You cannot. As I always say, he’s a dangerous person. So you cannot just let him go. That’s why he’s 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 couldn’t let it pass over like this. It didn’t matter if the handcuffs and shackles weren’t released until the end. Actually, this was a kind of show.
‘I have to show him that I think about him this much.’