[Kkiing…]
It's just a cat, no matter how you look at it.
It was adorable how he curled up even more as he squirmed and made little squeaks.
The Divine Beast felt her gaze on him and slowly opened his eyes.
[Kkyuu!]
The Divine Beast, who made a little noise as if he was glad that Camilla had opened her eyes, stood up from his seat and walked over to her, his face softening.
Swing!
"Miss!"
At that moment, the door opened and Dorman stepped into the room. He held a basin and a towel in his hands.
"You're awake! Just one moment!"
He ran out the door before Camilla could say anything.
And then, after a moment.
"Camilla!"
The Duke of Sorpel was the first to come running. Presumably, he had given instructions to contact him as soon as she awoke.
Striding over to Camilla, the first thing he did was place his hand on her forehead.
Soon a small sigh of relief escaped his lips.
"Thank goodness your fever is down."
The Duke of Sorpel stared at her wordlessly for a moment as he pulled his hand back and tucked Camilla back into the quilt.
There were so many questions he wanted to ask. There was a lot to be said. There were things he wanted to say.
But after a few days of seeing her lying there, sick and emaciated, he couldn't say a word.
"Get some rest."
He patted Camilla's shoulder a few times and stood up.
"Father."
Camilla called out to him in a hurry.
"This child…"
It's a bit of a stretch to call it a child.
Her gaze fell to the baby tiger still snuggled up next to her.
The Duke of Sorpel smirked at the sight.
"He wouldn't let go of you."
"Pardon?"
"I took him out and he kept crying, and before I knew it, he was back here."
The Duke of Sorpel holds the tiger cub in his arms.
[Kkiiiing…!]
"Like this."
The Divine Beast squirmed and cried out to Camilla.
As she stared at him in disbelief, the Duke of Sorpel dropped the Divine Beast on her bed.
Slyly… as if the tiger had been waiting, it had come over and sat down next to Camilla's face.
"Miss, please take some medicine…"
In the meantime, Dorman approached and handed her the medicine.
[Keuaang!]
"Argh!"
As Dorman reached for Camilla, the white tiger, which had been lying still, let out a sharp yelp and raised its fur.
"I… I didn't mean to touch it, oh no!"
Startled, Dorman quickly backed away, but the tiger cub, the Divine Beast, stood alert with his fur standing on end.
The Duke of Sorpel laughed again and embraced the newcomer.
[Kkiing…]
"At least it knows I'm the Duke, and it didn't reject me."
Others couldn't even reach out to the Divine Beast. He acted like a gentle kitten, but when others approached him, he became ferocious.
"T-Take your medicine."
As the Duke of Sorpel cradled the newborn, Dorman quickly offered Camilla the medicine as he looked at the tiger cub.
Camilla looked at the figure wistfully for a moment. Still he was once a godlike being who managed souls…
"Get some more sleep."
As Dorman stepped back, the Duke of Sorpel set the Divine Beast back down beside Camilla.
He glanced briefly at the Divine Beast with Camilla and gave her a faint smile before leaving the room.
"Hmmm."
Camilla stared at the tiger cub, who had finally settled down.
'I don't like animals.'
Especially not babies or children. You have to take care of every single one of them.
She didn't know if it's because she's never been taken care of, but when she sees something young and weak, she doesn't know how to deal with them.
[Kkyuu?]
He blinked up at Camilla, who was about to close her eyes. Then he licked her cheek again.
…Nevermind.
'Let's sleep.'
Was the medicine laced with sleeping pills? The surge of energy eventually lulled Camilla into a deep sleep.
* * *
"You! Why were you jumping in there!?"
"But… I saw it in my dream…"
"Camilla!"
She got yelled at. For the first time in a while.
Duke Sorpel shouted at her as she told him that she had jumped into the Spirit Lake to find the egg of the Divine Beast.
Even Ludville, who rarely showed emotion, furrowed his brow and gave her a reproachful look.
Ravi pressed his lips together, as if he had a lot to say but didn't.
"I'm sorry, but don't worry, no one saw it."
"What?"
"I've made sure no one was around so there won't be any dishonor."
"What are you talking about!? That's not the problem here!?"
"That's not important."
"Hey! Are you an idiot!? Why are you saying that right now!?"
Um, wasn't she getting scolded for not acting like a proper Lady of Sorpel?
The three men let out a short sigh at the same time as they watched Camilla, who was not understanding what was going on.
"Don't do anything dangerous like that in the future."
"It wasn't exactly dangerous—"
"Camilla!"
Camilla flinched as the three of them called her name at the same time.
Wow, when have they ever been so in sync—!
"Yes, I understand…"
At the sight of three pairs of eyes staring at her, Camilla finally bowed her head.
[Kkyuu!]
The hatchling crawled up and perched on Camilla's shoulder, its face pressed against hers as if to comfort her.
"Why are you always licking me?"
The Divine Beast would lick her hands and face at every chance it got.
She's not even candy, so she doesn't know why it keeps licking her like she's delicious.
"That's because it grows by consuming energy."
"Energy?"
Camilla's question was answered by the Duke of Sorpel.
"The Divine Beast feeds on the pure energy of humans."
Camilla looked at the Divine Beast, who was still licking her face, with a newfound interest. So this behavior was consuming her energy?
"But the licking behavior itself seems to be just a characteristic of it."
The Duke of Sorpel smirked, as if he had guessed what Camilla was thinking.
"Usually, a Divine Beast grows just by being in the presence of a being that exudes the aura they desire; they don't have to lick them."
Camilla flicked a finger at the Divine Beast's nose. Stop licking.
[Kkiiing…]
She watched for a moment as the Divine Beast curled up in a ball, its forepaws covering its face, before turning her attention back to the Duke of Sorpel.
"Hey, is it okay for it to stay by my side?"
Camilla let out a small sigh.
The Divine Beast is the symbol of the Dukedom, and it would not look good for others to have such a being following her instead of the Duke of Sorpel. It could cause unnecessary strife.
Sensing what she was worried about, the Duke of Sorpel smiled faintly.
"It's not like you'll get a Divine Beast just because you're a duke."
"Pardon?"
He reached for the Divine Beast, who was perched on Camilla's shoulder.
[Kkyuu…]
Wincing, the Divine Beast reluctantly took the Duke of Sorpel's hand and climbed up.
"It's just that the chosen one was always a duke."
The Duke of Sorpel gently stroked the Divine Beast's head. His eyes were filled with affection as he looked at the Divine Beast.
"It's just that the heads of each family had a particularly strong aura that the Divine Beasts liked."
"Ah…"
"And you…"
Pausing for a moment, the Duke of Sorpel looked at the Divine Beast with amusement as it squirmed to get closer to Camilla again.
"Perhaps you were born with a welcoming aura that all the Divine Beasts liked."
"Me?"
"Even that bastard's Divine Beast showed interest in you."
He was referring to Jévillon Divine Beast, the red eagle Jetty.
"I think the last time he wanted to see you was because of the Red Eagle."
"Jetty?"
She thought she heard it from the butler, Rube, before she collapsed. The Duke of Jévillon wanted to see her.
"Why me?"
"I don't know. He didn't want to tell me."
The Duke of Sorpel sighed, as if he had a hunch.
"…"
Camilla gently hugged the Divine Beast, who had somehow found its way to her again. She had a lot on her mind.
'Can I keep this divine being by my side?'
The Duke of Sorpel quietly called out to Camilla, her complicated feelings evident.
"Camilla."
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
It was an appreciation of unknown meaning. Camilla looked up, her expression puzzled.
He, the Duke of Sorpel, was gently smiling. It was the most relaxed smile she had ever seen.
"You have solved a very long-standing problem."
Is that what he really thinks?
Her red eyes widened, and she looked down at the bundle of white fur snuggled in her arms.
Even while it was playing with her by biting her hand, grabbing them with both paws, and making clicking sounds, it made eye contact with her when he called out to her.
She was nervous that even as it was rolling around, she could see that it was following her more than those who carried the blood of the Sorpel family—
"I can't believe the Divine Beast has returned to our family."
A long sigh escapes his lips, as if he's remembering all the trouble he's been through, but then he looks at the Divine Beast with a smile.
She couldn't find any negative feelings toward Camilla as she looked for them.
"That's reason enough to be pleased."
"Father."
"Well done."
Camilla said nothing more as she looked at the Duke of Sorpel, who looked as if a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders.
'Is that a good thing?'
This was the ending she wanted. The reason why she laid the groundwork was to reach such a conclusion; to make him believe her words.
After all that hard work, she could sneakily tell the others where the Divine Beast's egg was, claiming to have seen it in a dream.
'Why did you go in there yourself? That's dangerous.'
Dorman asked, once she had recovered and learned all the facts.
He was right: there was no reason to jump in the lake herself.
It would have been easy to solve the matter by just taking the Duke of Sorpel with the pendant to the lake.
But she didn't.
'Why did I do it?'
'Pardon?'
'To live.'
'What…?'
'I'm trying to move away from an ending where I die every time.'
She wanted to find the Divine Beast and hand it to him with her own hands.
Camilla didn't care about people's praise or reputations; there was only one thing she cared about.
'I did it so I wouldn't die, you jerk! You know who's at fault here, right?'
'I'm sorry…'
Certainly, it made her realize that if she were to have a major incident, she wouldn't immediately be decapitated.