Camilla cupped Luna’s face in both hands as Luna licked her fingers.
‘Arsian said Luna would be the last, that after her there would never be another divine beast in House Sepra...’
Was that really possible? She trusted Arsian, but on this point alone, she was skeptical.
Not long ago, the Duke of Esclara, who had since left this place, had voiced a similar concern.
‘That boy will make the same choice the previous Dukes of Sepra made. That’s the duty of someone born into a family that leads a divine beast.’
‘But Arsian...’
‘Ideals and reality are different. Even if, by some chance, he tries to hold to his convictions to the very end, others won’t stand by and watch.’
‘Others?’
‘How many do you think there are who covet the position of head of the family?’
After witnessing Arsian secretly visiting her room, the Duke of Esclara had nagged her whenever he had the chance, saying it would be better for her to keep some distance from Arsian.
After hearing the hidden history of House Sepra through Jayner, he had done it even more.
‘A house like that still has teeth. Some fool from the collateral line could start entertaining ridiculous ideas. If that happens, both the Duke and that boy will be in danger. They’d spend their whole lives with a blade at their throats.’
‘They’re both strong.’
‘For someone saying that, you don’t look very reassured, my daughter.’
Camilla only bit at her lip in silence.
The Duke of Esclara, who had been watching her with an unreadable emotion in his eyes, moistened his throat with tea and spoke again.
‘There is nothing absolute in human affairs, and the current House Sepra is no different from an explosive that could go off at any time. So you should draw an appropriate line with that boy and-’
‘Arsian said you were a good man who only worries about me, Duke.’
‘What?’
‘But all I hear is you badmouthing Arsian.’
‘...I don’t think I was badmouthing him.’
“Isn’t there some better way, Luna?”
[......?]
“Well, if there were, you probably would’ve told me first.”
Looking at Luna’s puzzled eyes asking what she meant, Camilla let out a hollow laugh.
Was there really no way to continue the line of the divine beast without resorting to such an inhuman method?
“It’s not like we can make the Duke live forever either.”
The divine beasts of the three houses shared their lifespan with the head of the family. If the Duke of Sepra did not die, then Luna would not disappear either.
“What am I supposed to do?”
Seeing Camilla crouch down blankly on the ground, lost in thought, Luna moved closer and pressed herself right against her.
As if she wanted to share even the slightest warmth.
“Ah!”
At that moment, Camilla let out a small cry and jumped to her feet. Startled, Luna straightened at once as well.
“I have that!”
A bright smile slowly spread across Camilla’s face as she remembered the item she had completely forgotten about.
“Luna.”
[......?]
“Maybe you... might never have to cease to exist now.”
Not understanding what she meant, Luna tilted her head, and Camilla stroked her head gently, even letting out a small laugh.
*****
“Jeti, you little brat!”
[Why are you here?]
“W-what?”
[I don’t want to see you for a while, so get lost.]
“Y-you little-!”
[You were the one who told me to leave! Hmph!]
“Ugh...”
The Duke of Jayvillan, who had come to House Sorpel, let out a small groan at the sight of the divine beast Jeti sharply turning his head away, refusing even to meet his eyes.
‘Once that bastard sulks, he doesn’t get over it easily.’
His chest felt tight at the thought of how he was supposed to coax him back home.
Surely he wasn’t going to make him bow his head and apologize again like last time?
‘No.’
With that filthy temper of his, that damned bird was more than capable of making him do exactly that again!
“Jeti.”
[Hm?]
While the Duke of Jayvillan was agonizing inwardly, Camilla, who had been quietly steeping tea off to the side, spoke.
Whoosh!
Jeti, who had been circling around the Duke of Jayvillan as if mocking him, flew over in an instant and settled on Camilla’s shoulder.
She glanced at the Duke of Jayvillan, who was red-faced and fuming, and gently reprimanded Jeti.
“It’s already been a week.”
[A week? It’s only been that long?]
“Go back now. The Duke came here himself like this, didn’t he?”
[I told you, I ran away from home. I’m not going back-!]
“......”
Jeti, who had been violently shaking his head as if to taunt the Duke of Jayvillan, suddenly flinched. Camilla’s eyes, which had been speaking to him quite gently up until that moment, had gone cold.
“Do you know what I hate the most?”
[W-what is it... ?]
“Someone with no brains who never listens and only causes trouble for other people. I never deal with people like that twice.”
[.......]
“Our Jeti isn’t the kind of one I hate, is he?”
[...I was going to go back today anyway. Really! I’m not the kind who goes around causing trouble for people!]
“Right. I figured.”
Looking at Camilla smiling as though she had never turned cold on him at all, Jeti let out a silent sigh of relief.
Flap!
Beating his wings wide, Jeti shot up into the air and landed in an instant on the Duke of Jayvillan’s shoulder.
[Let’s go home.]
“Ugh...”
Was he supposed to be pleased about this, or resentful?
The Duke of Jayvillan let out a pained groan as a fresh headache came over him.
It was good that Jeti had stopped sulking, but the fact that it had happened because of one line from Camilla that hadn’t even sounded like much of a threat left him dumbfounded.
“Camilla.”
“Yes.”
The Duke of Sorpel, who had been watching the whole thing from the side as if there were nothing remarkable about it, called to Camilla.
“Why did you ask this one to come?”
His gaze turned to the Duke of Sepra, who was quietly drinking tea. Luna, lying at his feet, looked remarkably comfortable.
“I have a proposal.”
“For me?”
The Duke of Sepra, who had been watching the Duke of Jayvillan and Jeti start bickering again over who was superior, showed interest at her words.
Hadn’t she called him here just to take Luna back?
“This.”
Everyone in the room turned to look in one direction.
Camilla had taken something from her clothes and set it down on the table.
“What is this, Camilla?”
“It looks like an unripe grape?”
“It looks like a seed too.”
The shape made it look like something that had come from a plant, but the color was unusual.
It shimmered with a faint golden light, as if plated in gold. Anyone could tell it was no ordinary fruit.
“I heard that if you eat this, you never cease to exist.”
“What?”
All three dukes looked utterly baffled. What was she suddenly talking about?
“You don’t cease to exist?”
“What does that mean?”
“I heard that if a being other than a human eats this, it will never cease to exist.”
What Camilla had set down was the fruit of the death flower.
When Havel gave it to her, she had honestly thought, Is he messing with me right now? Who could have guessed she would end up using it like this?
‘It finally bore fruit not long ago.’
To be honest, she had paid it no attention at all.
He had said it was an extremely precious flower that grew only in the divine garden, but since humans could not eat it and she had had no particular use for it, she had literally left it sitting in a corner of the room.
‘Still, it grew just fine.’
She had been told it would grow well on its own without any special watering or nutrients.
That the aura of the rare beings constantly lingering around her would be more than enough for it.
Just as Havel had said, the plant had eventually bloomed in full and then borne fruit.
Small golden fruit, like little grapes.
“What in the world is it that it keeps something from ceasing to exist?”
“Where did you get something like this?”
“Humans can’t eat it?”
The three dukes were instantly interested. Even the Duke of Sepra, indifferent to almost everything, could not hide the surprise in his eyes.
Camilla was more surprised by their reaction.
They all believed her? Something this absurd?
If someone had said something like this to her face, she would have politely recommended a doctor.
‘They did this before too.’
Come to think of it, even when she had told them the Emperor was the leader of the Eva Church, those three had not doubted her for even a second.
Camilla smiled faintly and continued.
And at the words that followed, the three dukes could not say anything at all.
“I want Luna to eat this.”
The solution to the tangled situation of House Sepra was, unexpectedly, very simple.
“As long as Luna doesn’t cease to exist, that solves it.”
If that alone could be done, then there would be no need to take an egg from the body of a dead head of the family, and no need to pass on brutal pain and suffering to the heir in order to awaken the divine beast.
‘Havel, I’ll never be mean to you again.’
The fruit of the death flower.
She had wondered whether she would ever have any use for it, but who would have thought it would end up being useful like this?
