Chapter 4: 4

Even if you say it a million times, you won’t be able to describe its majesty without seeing it even once. 

Alan turned into a black panther. 

First of all, though people said it was a leopard, it was different from normal animals. 

His enormous body, his black fur that shimmered in the dim light, and his fangs curled like freshly forged bowstrings.

Seeing the godlike figure, a certain certainty naturally permeated like water.

Savageness and grace can coexist. 

The black leopard ripped the monster to pieces.

Claws that flashed like lightning, and the flesh of an evil spirit that scattered.

The darkness was killing the darkness.

“Princess! Are you hurt?”

Even though Nike ran up to me and hugged me by the shoulder, I couldn’t take my eyes off the black leopard.

When I did not respond, Nike turned to the duke and proudly said,

“Ah, this must be the first time the princess has seen it. That is the power of the beast seal possessed by Duke von Bauner. It is called the embodiment of the beast god.”

The remaining evil spirits were sorted out in an instant. The black leopard curled up and slowly returned to its human form.

Alan’s naked body, peeking out from the darkness, was very bulky compared to when he was wearing a uniform.

He took the cloak from the lying corpse and walked towards me.

“Shoot.” 

Alan threw a thin glass plate at Nike, not paying any attention to the blood dripping from his shoulder.

“Isn’t this a signal shot… Has the shield magician arrived? Thank God.” 

“Don’t talk, shoot. I subjugated all the evil spirits in this area. Now the barrier magic will work.”

“Yes!”

Nike climbed up on top the pile of crumbling stones and chanted a spell.

Flash!

The glass plate cracked, and a mass of intense green light rose like a meteor.

A round light hovered in the sky for a while and then disappeared. 

Whoosh. 

A warm wind, not suitable for winter, brushed the tip of my chin.

And the world turned upside down.

The clear gray sky returned. It was a rather cloudy late winter afternoon.

I was bewildered as if in a dream.

It felt like half a day had passed because too many things had happened, but the sun was still hanging in the middle of the sky.

However, looking at the rubble on the ground, the overturned carriage, and Alan covered in black blood, it was clearly reality.

Unlike the cheering Nike, I couldn’t relax.

It was because Alan muttered as he approached one step at a time.

“298, 299.”

He wiped his blood-stained hands on his cloak and tapped my cheek with the back of his hand.

The eyes, which had been terrifying all this while, slowly curved.

“300.”

What I felt at that moment was…

“Dad is back, Lily.”

It was a fear that was even worse than what I felt from the evil spirit.

***

“Nike, don’t procrastinate. Lily is waiting.”

“Yes, yes!”

Nike hurriedly tied Alan’s bootstrap and stepped back to check the overall fit.

Just watching from the side gave people admiration.

Alan’s spare uniform was much simpler than what he had first worn, but his elegant yet wild-looking body saved the attire.

Unlike the proud aide, Alan left the tent without looking in the mirror.

He was nervous, anyone could tell by looking at the stridulous footsteps.

It was only shown in matters related to his youngest daughter.

As he passed the servants who were servicing the carriage, he saw the youngest daughter who had been found after 10 years.

The little girl, who was believed to be seven or eight years old, was talking quietly to a passing servant.

“Then the three gods created the beast?”

“No, to be precise, three gods created creatures that resembled themselves. The human god, Ram, made humans, the beast god, Zaccadius, made beasts, and the plant god, Flora, made spirits*. To determine who is the supreme god.” (** 화인 means “brand” or something like “they originate from the World Tree”. But based on later chapters, this term was used again to describe the people who have this power. As such, we’re going with “spirit”.)

The story the servant told Lilly was the genesis story that everyone knew.

But Lilly tilted her head as if unfamiliar with the story of the gods.

“Did the three of them fight for the place of the best god? They seem to have a bad relationship.”

“Haha, yes. Probably because they are siblings. I also have an older sister, and we can’t get along at all.”

The servant answered Lilly’s endless barrage of questions quite docilely. It was not a pure favor because it was his job to be the child’s companion.

“Then we, the people of Bauner, are the work of the beast god?”

“Yes, but among the beast family, the Bauner family is particularly special.”

“Why?”

“The lifespan of beasts varies greatly depending on the specific species, but is usually similar to or slightly shorter than that of humans. But descendants of the House Bauner live two or three times longer than humans.”

Then, Lily’s eyes widened as if puzzled.

“Really? Why?”

“It is thanks to an arranged marriage with the imperial family, who are spirits of the World Tree. The princess may not have come to realize because you are still young, but it is truly an honor. Because only the House Bauner were allowed to marry the royal family.”

“I see… so how old is my father?”

“The Duke? I don’t know exactly, but I know that he is probably over 100 years old.”

Lily widened her eyes and folded her tiny fingers while counting.

The servant smiled and whispered softly. 

“It is not unreasonable to be surprised! If you look at the Duke’s face, he looks like he’s in his mid-30s no matter how hard you think about it.”

“Uhm, then…” 

Lily smoothed her hair into a ponytail.

An innocent girl wouldn’t do that, but somehow she seemed to be hiding and testing her opponent.

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“Has there ever been ordinary people born in the House Bauner? For example, if I am not a beast…”

“Don’t worry. There has never been a tragedy like that.”

In response to the question of the princess who was understandably concerned, the servant denied it with a single statement and added useless words.

“Ah, but if you marry an ordinary person, your strength will be weakened. That’s why, the young masters of the beasts and the spirits families are careful about their seeds…” 

Thump! 

Alan’s footsteps continued until it reached the place they were standing. Only then did the servant discover the duke and hastily corrected his crooked posture.

“Ah, are you here?” 

In a calm tone, Alan followed the servant’s words.

“Marriage with caution.” 

“Yes?”

“That’s not a bad thing, Lily. Thanks to it, we have a long life.”

Alan held his daughter in one arm.

The girl, who until just a moment ago was chattering like a baby bird, hardened as soon as she was held in her father’s arms.

Nike was deeply saddened by the change.

‘Well, it would be weirder to be nice to him right away as soon as they meet.’

Lily was kidnapped a week after she was born.

Alan clearly remembered his newborn daughter, but to Lily, it was the first time she had ever seen Alan.

“Any other questions? Ask anything. It’s the father’s job to answer his daughter’s questions.”

Not just anyone who doesn’t even know you well.

Nike seemed to be able to hear what Alan left out.

Lily bit her little lips and asked with a groan.

“From what age can I be an animal like father?”

The girl with her dazzling eyes was like a dog looking around.

Nike let out a warm smile without realizing it.

‘Does she want to be like her father? After all, he did save us so coolly.’

She didn’t even ask Nike, but he was chattering diligently.

“There is no guarantee that you will be a beast! Thanks to the blood of the imperial family, it is very rare but a spirit could be born in the House Bauner….”

“Shut up, Nike. Lily is talking to me.”

Immediately, Nike closed his mouth. Alan glared at his aide as if he would become a black leopard at any moment, and said softly.

“Lily, you could be a spirit.” 

He had a knack for saying the same words several times shorter.

“Um, so… how old exactly do you know that?”

Lily seemed to be rather obsessed with the exact age for some reason.

“You don’t have to be in a hurry. You’ll know it vaguely when it’s your 14th birthday.”

Alan, who answered with kindness, whether he knew her feelings faintly or not, stroked his daughter’s cheek with his clean gloved hand.

“Since there are many problems when dealing with God’s power from a young age, the beast and spirit families seal their power as soon as their children are born. And awaken them again when they’re 14. It’s a nuisance, but we can’t help it.”

“….”

“Usually, people make their debut in the social world by holding a celebration with an awakening ceremony. When that day comes, I will open the best debutante for you.”

“Wo, wow….” 

Lily shuddered. It seemed like she was already looking forward to her 14th birthday.

That was then. 

“Duke, I’ve caught it!” 

Flop!

People who went to patrol the surroundings turned the groaning man down by the duke’s feet.

He was a servant who ran away on his own when the evil spirit first appeared.

Nike grunted as he touched his bandaged forehead.

“Really, you even wrote a written vow that you would unconditionally obey the Duke’s orders when we go out to the danger zone…”

The servant glared at Nike as if asking him to keep his mouth shut.

There was no sign of remorse even though he did not keep the contract, his dear colleague died and even the princess was in danger.

“I’m…  I’m sorry, Duke. I, I didn’t realize that… but I came back and tried to protect the princess! I swear!”

It was possible, perhaps, that because it was Nike that the servant could shamelessly stare at him. For now the servant knelt down in front of Alan and begged him like a crouching fly.

Alan put his daughter down quietly without answering.

His expressionless face, as cold as ice, cracked for an instant.

*** 

If someone asked which one am I, a beast or a spirit?

To know that, I didn’t even have to wait until Lily’s birthday, which will come in 4 years.

‘Of course neither of them.’

As an ant beggar, I had no special powers.

Thinking so, I looked away from the servant’s crushed face.

Even so, Alan’s words could not be avoided.

“You go back to the castle on foot.”

Even when he helped Nike to stop the bleeding, I only thought that Alan was kind to his servants in his own way. 

But that was purely my mistake. There was only one criteria for Alan’s favor, me. To be precise, it was his daughter Lilietta.

He took care of Nike because he protected me until the end.

He had no mercy on the servant who harmed his daughter.

“Tell my land the news on the way. Lily’s back.”

Alan came back next to me wearing leather gloves.

For some reason, he seemed to be expecting my reaction. 

I guess he thought I’d clap my hands and like it if he bumped his servant’s face into a tree until it was a mess.

‘I’m sorry, but I’m not as crazy as you are.’

Let’s run away. It was hard to do it immediately, but let’s run.

Until Lily’s 14th birthday.

Before the fact that I’m a fake was exposed to the public, I must get out of Alan’s grasp at all costs.

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