49: Animal Curse

The search for the culprit was overwhelmingly short. Only one person asked for permission to bring their child to the castle.

It seemed like his wife was returning to her parents’ house, so there’s no one to look after his child so he brought the child to work every day. By the way, the child seemed to be 6 years old right now. A father who gave a 6-year-old a dagger…

It seemed like one of the White Knights applied for it. The White Knights were mainly responsible for guarding the royal capital, and because there’s a training period in the castle with a shift every month, he seemed to be commuting to the castle at this time.

By the way, it seemed like every one among the White Knights rode on a white horse as their feature. It’s said that the White Knights were the second most popular knights after the Black Knights.

This has no relationship, but the Blue Knights, headed by Aizel, whom he met in the courtyard before, had the mission of subduing demon beasts while the Red Knights, which Edallion originally belonged to, was the same. It seemed like the Red and Blue Knights switched places every year.

And the most popular Black Knights were said to be responsible as messengers, border guards, and transporting supplies. They seemed to have jobs even with no battle involved. It’s a fact that all boys dreamed of becoming one.

There’s also the Purple Knights, in which all members were women, but he didn’t know what they do.

Anyway, he also told Edallion that the criminal was found, and Gadillas told them to go about it carefully.

Kuuga wouldn’t have enough time to apply medicine on Ran if he humanized now so Edallion, who was excitedly applying medicine on Ran, kept an eye out when he heard that the criminal was found.

Kuuga drew back a little from Edallion, who looked like a hunter, unlike his carefree personality. It seemed like his love for animals was that deep.

“Can I go?”

“Kuuga nominated you.”

“Heh~, Kuuga-sama really understands me~.”

“Take Lewis as an eyewitness.”

Gadillas might have also felt the danger from Edallion, whose atmosphere changed from usual, and ordered Lewis to go with him so that someone would stop it if something happened.

Kuuga’s a bit scared, so he’d like for the original Edallion to come back as soon as possible.

Edallion, accompanied by Lewis, went out of the office while creating an atmosphere as if he’s going to battle.

Gadillas, who saw him off with anxious eyes, exhaled once then thought about the future. Seeing the situation, Kuuga was nervous.

Making Edallion confront the child who committed the crime, along with the parent, and telling him to do it in public. There were, of course, reasons for this.

One was just out of kindness and peace of mind.

It’s the child who did it, so the parents should take responsibility for it. Even if the child said something stupid, the parents should educate and discipline them.

Even if the parent was not convinced, he would pay attention to the eyes of others and would scold the child properly to show the others… this was to increase that possibility. It’s also the best way. They wouldn’t have to waste their good intentions.

In that case, he’ll inevitably be exposed, but this was also a slight punishment, and if he responded in good faith on the spot, he’d only be awkward for a while.

However, if the parents did not respond well――

“What the hell’s with that guy! I’m gonna be sick~!”

Edallion came back while making a racket. It might have been about 30 minutes, but it seemed like it ended earlier than he expected.

And just by looking at Edallion, who seemed angry, he didn’t have to ask. It looked like it ended badly.

Perhaps thinking the same thing, Gadillas deeply sighed.

“Edallion report.”

“Mou~! Really disgusting~! Listen to this~!”

“I know you don’t like it, so say it quickly, and I’ll listen.”

Edallion headed to the dining room. Of course, it’s because it’s time for lunch.

Meeting the child, Edallion immediately explained the situation and made a show of it. It was an outrage to hurt vulnerable animals with a dagger. In the first place, a weapon was pulled out inside the castle, and a 6-year-old was even the one who did so. Normally, he should have been properly reprimanded.

At first, the parent was careful and tried to ask more. However, the child, who couldn’t read the air, made a statement, blocking his words and asking Edallion if there was evidence.

The child said that was training. He was training to become a knight like his father. He even called the cat a demon beast.

It seemed like the parent made an awkward face to the child, who proudly said so and apologized for the time being. And then the “pulling out a weapon in the castle” issue followed.

The excuse was that the child needed the dagger for self-protection, and in the end, they made sure that it’s not someone’s cat, so it shouldn’t be a crime. They even rebutted when Edallion had nothing more to say and told him it had nothing to do with his duties.

Edallion should have a much higher position, but the parent’s courage was ridiculous.

And the moment he was told that, Edallion involuntarily put a hand on his sword―― Lewis, who had expected it, pushed it away instantly.

Edallion wanted to complain, but Lewis pulled him out and managed to come back to the dining room.

“Then what? Are we leaving this matter just like that?”

Gadillas nodded tiredly at Edallion, looking at Gadillas with unsatisfied eyes, saying they shouldn’t pull out like this.

“No, this is fine. Leave it as it is.”

“…! Are you serious!?”

“The other punishment was given already. Isn’t that right, Kuuga?”

Gadillas seemed to be aware of Kuuga’s aim early on.

Yes, that’s plan B. It’d only happen when the parents didn’t respond positively, even when others looked at them.

That’s why Kuuga confirmed what the humans thought about this case.

For humans, a cat was a pet animal and a weak cat hurt with a dagger, even a child who proudly talked about it and parents who didn’t scold it. Not everyone would move according to Kuuga’s aim, but it’d be uncomfortable to those with normal sensibilities.

They would have paid more attention to Edallion. If Kuuga explained the situation, Edallion would most likely overstate how outrageous it was. Moreover, as was the case with Lewis, many people loved Edallion. When they turned down Edallion, their evaluation from these people would decline.

On the contrary, they wouldn’t want to get involved with such a family, so there should be few people who’d criticize them openly. And then, the parent and child would constantly feel other people’s eyes.

“Disgust, insult, contempt… such feelings were often visible. Even if you try to hide it, a sensitive person can easily tell… and an aware person would be sensitive to the eyes of others.”

While explaining, Gadillas looked at Lewis for a moment. He seemed to be aware of the other man’s feelings.

“Other people’s eyes could easily break a person’s mind. Sometimes, it’s more serious than being beaten.”

It’s something that Gadillas knew well. Even now, those kind of gazes continued to be directed at him.

Kuuga, who was wondering if this punishment was too insensitive, carefully observed Gadillas’ expression… he apparently didn’t seem to care much. He looked okay for someone who didn’t like it.

“Hn~… but what if he’s insensitive and didn’t care at all~?”

“At that time, spread it to the servants. According to Kuuga, there seemed to be someone feeding the cat.”

“Muu… I get it.”

Edallion seemed to want a clear cut result. Him puffing his cheeks mismatched with his adult appearance, but strangely, it’s a gesture that could be forgiven if it’s from Edallion.

However, Gadillas didn’t seem to think so and looked at Edallion with a disgusted expression.

“You… this is quite the nasty punishment. Are you aiming that he couldn’t stand the surrounding’s line of sight and reflect on it?”

“…yes?”

“Then how do you think they’ll apologize? You’re almost always in the office or the dining room where a knight couldn’t come in easily. It’s not like you go out at all, and it’d take days to see you. Even if they came here and apologize, their colleagues haven’t seen it. Or should they apologize to their colleagues? Also, what if their colleagues were neither scornful nor angry?”

“…huh, are you saying… they’re hopeless if they can’t see me?”

“They can’t dispel first impression. You have a particularly bad impression on them. It means that they missed the opportunity to avoid it.”

For Kuuga, he thought that the parents would take a lot of damage with this. However, the child will not reflect on this alone. He said it was supposed to be training, but Ran said he was having fun. He didn’t show a troubled face. Kuuga had to teach the child that it’s scary to make an animal angry.

[Gadi.]

Kuuga shook Gadillas’ feet to draw attention then expanded the dictionary. When he told him, “tell me the parent’s horse“, Gadillas, who seemed to have some idea of what he was going to do, muttered, “you have no mercy“.

“Edallion, Kuuga wants to know his horse.”

“Eh? The horse? Why do you… ah, do you want to talk to it?”

[That’s right.]

When he nodded after saying that and grasped the basket with Ran on it, Edallion’s face collapsed for a moment. He soon became filled with fighting spirit.

He proceeded to the stables with Edallion. In a corner of a different section from where Gadillas’ horse, whom he’d visited many times, was, he stopped in front of one of them.

Gadillas’ black horse was cool, but he thought that white horses also had a different charm. The horses bowed their heads as soon as they saw Kuuga.

[Do you know your Lord’s child?]

[Lord’s child, carry, morning.]

Hmm, after all, it seemed like the child came to the castle every morning with them.

The knights have dormitories on the premises, but those who have a home in the royal capital and had wives, returned home on the weekends. It would be a complicated process to apply for a child to stay in the dormitory, so he probably commuted from home on this white horse every day.

[The child hurt this cat.]

[…]

The horse showed a proud look. Kuuga had expected it. It was a resident of this world where the weak were meat, and the strong eat, so it’d think there’s nothing wrong with it.

But――

[This cat is the one I care about.]

The white horse’s ears moved. Kuuga saw there’s some effect, so he continued.

[Look at it this way, I’m angry.]

[…Beast King, Lord’s child, angry.]

Kuuga nodded to the white horse, who looked foolish at realizing that the child offended the Beast King.

Those who showed the attitude of honoring Kuuga as the king had no idea what the child did, but they deemed it a sin to provoke Kuuga.

[I want the child to reflect. Don’t kick him for doing the crime. I only want you to do one thing… don’t put the child on your back until the child shows remorse.]

[…]

He wondered if it’s too complex. The white horse nodded to show he understood after thinking a bit.

After that, he asked Edallion to tell the child the curse, “the animals are angry because you don’t care for them.”

In the beginning, the child didn’t take it seriously when he heard about it, but the white horse shook its body when the father tried to put him on its back to get home. It didn’t hate riding with the father, but it seemed to have stopped listening to what its master said.

Seeing that they couldn’t go home, they had to go through the troublesome procedure to stay in the dormitory, but they now have serious faces when they heard the story.

There seemed to be rumors in the castle about how a parent and child, who didn’t care for animals, were cursed by the animals. Incidentally, Kuuga was also scared when he heard it. What a boomerang.

The parent and child seemed embarrassed as they were looked down on by his colleagues with disdain. Even those who showed care for his child didn’t approach.

It’s a later story, but it seemed like the parent and child, who didn’t know who to apologize to, first bowed to the horse. After that, they managed to catch Edallion, who was on his way to the office and pleaded with him to break the curse. After bowing to Edallion, who immediately brought Kuuga, they bowed again. It took about 20 days for the two of them to return to their original lives.

The glances from their surroundings, which was initially cold, seemed to gradually fade, probably because of their apology. The rest depended on the person’s efforts.