“We’ve never seen such a thing in our Grand Duchy of Berna—”
“One action is faster than a thousand words. I’ll show you directly.”
The distinguished guests who gathered at Caenian’s call opened their mouths. Those who had heard the rumors quietly watched with keen eyes. Their expressions showed they were dying of curiosity.
— Quack. (I feel a bit uncomfortable being made into a spectacle.)
Bestia felt embarrassed. Aside from understanding speech, she was worried about how much she should respond. Sweat formed on her duck feet. Rika’s glare was also uncomfortable.
She’s not really thinking of me as a rival, is she?
I’m a duck. A duck.
The duck beastman, unaware that her identity had been discovered, sighed. She found it fascinating that even someone with both ability and beauty could have an inferiority complex.
“Now, Betty. How many fingers am I holding up?”
— Quack? (Fingers?)
Caenian raised his right hand as he spoke. People looked back and forth between the hand and the duck.
The duck understands that?
The duck counts numbers?
A duck? Really?
Murmurs. Faces were clouded with questions. Words they dared not speak aloud formed into lumps. Caenian swept the surroundings with sharp eyes. The noise abruptly ceased.
The spacious Diamond Hall was filled with tension. Bestia slowly raised her right duck foot.
Tap! Tap!
“Ohhh!”
“My goodness… a duck, a duck walking to the number 4!”
“Your Majesty! Is this real?”
“It’s, it’s something I’ve never seen before! Your Majesty!”
“To think such an amazing duck exists in the Delta Empire! Astonishing! Your Majesty!”
The gazes toward Bestia changed in an instant. It happened when she stood on one of the numbers written on the board. Doubt transformed into awe. The attitude of “Why is the emperor doing this?” completely disappeared. Now, only envy filled people’s faces.
“This is the kind of duck our Betty is. This is why I can’t help but cherish her.”
“Oh. Your Majesty the Emperor, seeing this now, I understand completely.”
“Of course. I suddenly find myself wanting a duck like this too.”
“Me too. Where did you find such a duck, Your Majesty?”
“Hmph. This duck is one of a kind in the world, so even if you knew where I found her, you couldn’t get one.”
Caenian shrugged his shoulders and glanced at Rika, who then turned her face away with a bitter expression.
Unbelievable!
To Rika, it seemed like he was simply toying with her.
Why can’t you be honest?
Is there some reason you can’t proudly announce that this duck beastman is your woman?
Her insides twisted at what she perceived as a scam orchestrated by him and the duck beastman. She detested how he packaged a beastman as just a duck.
“Your Majesty, would you allow us the opportunity to ask Betty questions as well?”
“We’d like to see more of the miraculous Betty, Your Majesty.”
“Betty was truly the highlight of this year’s New Year’s banquet!”
— Quack? (What do they want to ask?)
But regardless of Rika’s displeasure, people were busy flattering Caenian. After referring to her simply as “duck” until now, they immediately changed their form of address. They called Bestia with honorifics.
“Finally, you begin to recognize Betty’s true value.”
“What an extraordinary duck, no… Miss Betty!”
“Your Majesty, I dare ask if Betty might be a duck breed that’s only born in the Delta Empire.”
Caenian wore a satisfied expression at their sudden change in attitude. His hand caressed Bestia with affection. Although he didn’t know what breed his companion duck was, his pride swelled at the surrounding reactions.
What mattered wasn’t the breed but that she was Betty. Only Betty could be this special.
“Not all ducks in the Delta Empire are like our Betty. But… I should establish administrative procedures to count the number of ducks in the empire.”
“What? Do you mean to suggest we would smuggle ducks out of the Delta Empire? That’s unfair, Your Majesty.”
“Don’t exaggerate my meaning. I’m simply curious about the number of ducks in the empire.”
“That doesn’t seem to be it at all… Do you realize your gaze toward me has changed?”
“Second Prince of the Grand Duchy of Berna. What’s wrong with my gaze?”
“Suspicious like a flounder’s……”
“What did you say?”
“Ah, nothing, Your Majesty!”
The Second Prince of the Grand Duchy of Berna hastily waved his hands. Though it was clearly a flounder-eyed look, he couldn’t continue. He feared his head would fly off immediately. The surrounding reactions were the same. Someone poked his side, warning him to watch his words.
“Flounder?”
“No, no! Your Majesty! I meant the flounder dish over there is delicious… why did I think of that now……”
“Who do you take for a fool? Second Prince of the Grand Duchy of Berna, you won’t get a chance to ask Betty questions.”
“Ah! Y-Your Majesty!”
Everyone made strange expressions at Caenian’s half-joking remark. Their faces didn’t look genuinely amused. They didn’t know when his good mood might suddenly change.
Ruvan III, who became oppressive and brutal in his later years. And his son, Caenian Ruvan.
Everyone knew about the 16-year anti-beastman policy in the Delta Empire. Even Bestia watched Caenian’s mood at this moment.
“It’s suddenly quiet. I was going to give you the opportunity to ask Betty questions as you wished, but was that just empty talk?”
“Ah! N-No! Your Majesty!”
“How could that be? I was the first to speak!”
“Oh my! I was second! Your Majesty! I requested the next opportunity to ask Miss Betty a question. Really!”
— Quack. (Everyone’s trying so hard.)
So this is the power of an emperor.
Bestia looked around with a pitying expression. She found it fascinating how people trembled before the highest authority. It was a moment when the man who seemed foolish and doting only to her appeared in a new light.
“Very well. I’ll give you the opportunity. But Betty will determine the number.”
“Ah! L-Miss Betty, please!”
“Just ten, please accept only ten questions, Miss Betty!”
“How can it be just ten people when there are so many of us here? Miss Betty! Can’t we make it thirty?”
At the last man’s words, Caenian narrowed his eyes like a flounder. The man closed his mouth under that gaze, sharp as a well-honed blade.
“Betty, you decide. How many questions will you accept?”
— Quack. (I don’t want even one.)
In the serious atmosphere, Bestia contemplated. The pressure made her not want to do anything.
10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds…….
“Betty? You need to move now.”
— Quack! (Where are you touching! Pervert!)
Slightly impatient, Caenian tapped Bestia’s bottom. Bestia flapped her wings in anger.
— Quack. Quack. (Fine. Since the emperor’s face is at stake, I’ll do it.)
The duck stands above the emperor. Bestia decided to be generous. She was Caenian’s unofficial power behind the throne, after all. If the emperor lost face, it would come back to her.
Tap! Tap!
“Oh! Ohh!”
“Th-Three people!”
“Your Majesty! How do we determine which three among us?”
“How about ranking us by the value of the banquet gifts we brought, Your Majesty?”
“Let’s not be so petty as to rank people by material things.”
With over a hundred people gathered but only three spots available, each person recommended a method advantageous to themselves. Caenian, who had been listening quietly, spoke.
“We’ll decide fairly by drawing lots.”
At Caenian’s declaration, servants quickly prepared the drawing. About 20 minutes later, three people were selected.
“One question each. Ask Betty with a reverent heart.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Having waited so long, expectations were high. Hot interest poured toward the snow-white duck on the golden board.
— Quack, quack…… (Easy questions, easy questions……)
Bestia trembled. At least until she received the first question.
“Miss Betty. Recently, a horse I cherish won’t eat its food. As one animal to another, what do you think might be the problem?”
“This is absolutely a personal matter unrelated to our grand duchy. Miss Betty, I’m about to have my wedding. Which dress should I wear? I have decision paralysis.”
What? Why are you asking me that?
Bestia was bewildered but walked calmly across the board.
「The food seems to taste bad.」
「The most expensive dress will suit you best.」
She conveyed meaning by mixing consonants and vowels with her duck feet. Applause erupted after each answer. Caenian’s shoulders rose higher and higher.
“The last, third questioner, step forward.”
After the first two people received satisfactory answers and returned to their seats, a servant called the last person.
“It’s my turn. Rika Harael of the Kingdom of Runda.”
Rika stepped forward. A meaningful smile played on her previously frozen face. A few minutes earlier, she had received a note with a number, and coincidentally, her number was drawn. It was an opportunity.
Whether to expose Caenian’s unusual s*xual preferences or reveal the duck beastman’s identity.
An opportunity for revenge against Caenian, who hadn’t even glanced at her!
“Princess Harael. Do you have something you wish to ask Betty?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
You ignored Betty before, but now you have more questions?
Caenian wore a disinterested expression. He nodded as if saying, go ahead and try. Rika opened her mouth while looking directly at Bestia.
“I want to become the emperor’s mate. Would I be able to win His Majesty’s heart if I took the form of an animal like you, Miss Betty? If a beastman can pretend to be an animal, it seems a human could pretend to be a beastman too. What do you think, Miss Betty?”
- ianthe
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