The Little Demon King is Too Bothered by Her Brave Dads - Chapter 89

“If stating facts is an insult, then perhaps it is an insult.”

“High Priest Cesar!!”

The Emperor raised his voice abruptly.

But Cesar was still just smiling gracefully.

He didn’t seem to have any intention of apologizing.

‘I must somehow get an apology!!’

The Emperor was inwardly anxious.

One wrong move and he might lose face in front of numerous nobles.

The problem, however, was that there was no way to force Cesar to apologize.

One of the three heroes who saved humanity, and the first representative most favored by the God of Light.

In some ways, he was a person with even more authority than the Emperor.

Unable to stand by any longer, Siegfried intervened in the conversation.

“Cesar, what kind of rudeness is this.”

“Well, you see……”

“Why aren’t you quickly apologizing to His Majesty the Emperor?”

Siegfried urged again, but Cesar didn’t budge.

Unable to bear it any longer, Siegfried whispered in a low voice.

“Think of Lakius.”

“……”

Only then did Cesar, albeit reluctantly, offer words of apology.

“I apologize. I crossed the line because of how much I care for His Highness the First Prince.”

“……”

After treating Lakius so harshly all this time, now he says what……?

Siegfried’s face became somewhat sour, forgetting he was in front of the Emperor.

Of course, he quickly composed his expression.

“However, Your Majesty, please promise one thing.”

“……What is it?”

“That you will thoroughly investigate the issue of magical tools spread throughout the empire by the Lintz Merchant Group.”

For a moment, the Emperor’s face subtly stiffened.

“I share the same thoughts as His Highness the First Prince. For the safety of the empire, this magical tool issue must be thoroughly rooted out.”

“Duke Orleans. That……”

“Not only our House of Orleans, but the Magic Tower and the Grand Temple will also fully cooperate with the investigation.”

For a moment, Kirios and Cesar glared, but Siegfried easily ignored them.

Meanwhile, deep wrinkles formed between the Emperor’s brows upon hearing those words.

‘Those words……’

Although Siegfried’s attitude was consistently polite.

In the end, doesn’t it mean that they can’t fully trust the imperial family, so they’ll conduct a joint investigation with the House of Orleans, the Magic Tower, and the Grand Temple?

What was more frustrating was that the Emperor had neither the justification nor the power to refuse those words.

“……I will do so.”

The Emperor finally answered, gritting his teeth.

Then Siegfried bowed respectfully towards the Emperor.

“Thank you for Your Majesty’s grace. Then we shall take our leave now.”

“Very well.”

Led by Siegfried, not only Cesar and Kirios but also the old Grand Duke Orleans left the grand conference hall.

The nobles left behind looked at each other bewilderedly, then hesitantly rose to their feet, constantly checking the expressions of the Emperor and Marquis Philomel.

……It probably wouldn’t be this uncomfortable even if they were sitting on a bed of thorns.

***

As soon as they exited the grand conference hall, Kirios immediately cornered Lakius.

“Hey, Lakius.”

Kirios glared at him with wide eyes.

“What on earth were you thinking when you said you’d govern the direct territory?”

“Uh… well.”

Lakius sheepishly moved his lips.

Seeing him struggle to continue, Kirios’ eyebrows rose higher and higher.

“You brat, don’t tell me you did this without thinking just because you were angry?”

“N-no, it’s not like that.”

“What do you mean it’s not! This kid, really!”

Smack!!

Kirios struck Lakius’ back hard.

“Ouch, why are you hitting me?! You know your hand is really strong, Master!”

Lakius whined while rubbing his back.

But Kirios just snorted.

“You think I don’t know you reinforced your back with mana?”

“Tch, couldn’t you just pretend not to notice?”

Lakius pouted.

Facing his disciple, Kirios questioned him again.

“So what’s this brilliant idea of yours?”

Lakius then cautiously glanced at Kirios.

“Well… you won’t laugh after hearing it, right?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“……”

But Kirios was more resolute than expected……

Lakius unknowingly made a disgruntled expression.

“It’s exactly as I said. Since none of the royal family cares about the Carolingians, I wanted to at least take care of them myself.”

“What? Isn’t that just something you made up to sound good?”

“……Just what kind of person do you think I am, Master Kirios?”

After narrowing his eyes and glaring at Kirios for a moment.

Lakius continued in a serious voice.

“Anyway, I’m serious. At least I lived comfortably as a member of the Decartes royal family.”

“And?”

“This time…… I want to help the Carolingian people somehow.”

“Hmm.”

At those words, Kirios stopped scolding and closed his mouth for a moment.

Lakius smiled faintly.

“And I didn’t want to be a disciple that would shame my masters.”

“What? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You masters are heroes who saved humanity, aren’t you?”

Red, transparent eyes looked up at the three heroes intently.

The emotions contained in that clear gaze were pure respect and affection.

“Having received teachings from such people, I thought it would be too shameful to ignore the people of the country that shared half of my blood.”

Kirios then stared at Lakius as if it was unexpected.

“Since when did you start talking like that?”

“Well, I suppose it’s my fault for being serious in front of you, Master Kirios?”

Lakius’ face became almost enlightened, but he steadfastly continued.

“Anyway, thank you for taking my side at this grand council. I know that you masters try to refrain from political actions as much as possible, so I caused you trouble.”

“……”

Kirios’ eyes narrowed.

‘Huh?’

Lakius flinched.

It seemed like something in his words had struck a nerve with Kirios, but he couldn’t figure out exactly where.

Cautiously observing, Lakius carefully continued.

“I’ll be careful not to let this happen again……”

“No, the more I hear. Why are you talking like that?”

Kirios suddenly became serious.

“Isn’t it natural for masters to try to protect their disciple?”

“……Pardon?”

“It’s Marquis Philomel who’s strange for trying to trample on a youth like you in the first place! Moreover, His Majesty, no. Ahem, hmm!”

Right, this kid is the Emperor’s son, isn’t he?

Kirios, who was about to naturally complain about the Emperor, hurriedly cleared his throat and swallowed his words.

Then Lakius said seriously.

“If it’s about His Majesty the Emperor, you can speak freely about anything.”

“……Can I really?”

“Of course. I was told that it’s normal to curse the king behind his back anyway.”

Lakius nodded and muttered cynically.

“Besides, Father isn’t really a suitable person as a monarch of a country……”

“……”

“……”

“……”

The three heroes glanced at each other glumly.

‘Hey, is it okay to leave him like this?’

‘It might be a bit late, but should we also teach him about character education?’

‘Character education? To someone who’s about to go down to Carlo right away?’

While the three heroes were having such a conversation through eye contact.

“And…… when I return from Carlo.”

Lakius muttered, his cheeks turning slightly red.

“I want to become someone more suitable for Titi.”

At the same time, Lakius stiffened his shoulders.

It was because the three heroes were looking at Lakius with truly fierce gazes.

……For a moment, it felt like the surrounding temperature had dropped sharply.

‘Was it my imagination?’

But Lakius’ ordeal wasn’t over yet.

“What do you mean by that?”

Suddenly, a chilling voice was heard.

Lakius turned around and his face became bewildered for a moment.

“Ta, Tati?”

Tatiana was glaring at Lakius with a terrifying look, her hands on her hips.

“Wh-what brings you here, Tati?”

“I came to the palace to wait for my dads, and to see your face after a long time.”

Tatiana answered without batting an eye and sharply asked back.

“So, why Carlo all of a sudden? Why are you going to Carlo?”

“Tati, that’s……”

“Carlo is a border region with the demon realm, isn’t it? And you’re only fifteen years old. Yet you’re saying you’ll go to such a dangerous place?”

“……”

Tatiana inquired again.

Lakius’ eyes wavered briefly.

But.

“Yes.”

There was no hesitation in that answer.

Suddenly, Tatiana’s face contorted.

“You idiot, fool! Stubborn mule!”

“Tati, I……”

“Fine, do whatever you want!”

And then she turned around and ran away wildly.

The three heroes exchanged glances with Lakius, asking for understanding, and then hurriedly followed after her.