Chapter 22

Translator/editor: ruby

The emperor scratched the tip of his chin. There was worry hidden in the small gesture.

Recently, the Shinsu had given him an unpleasant notice.

“We will be having a ceremony. Send your firstborn child as an observer.”

It was an order disguised as a suggestion, thrown at him out of the blue.

Firstborn child – that meant Belinda.

There was a time when he’d regularly gone to ceremonies as a means of providing communication between the royal family and the Shinsu clan. But that was before their relations drifted into the state they were in now. It was originally possible because they’d been close to each other.

But now? They were far from close friends. He only met the elders of the clan once a year for a silent meal. His stomach tightened.

“What’s worrying you, Your Majesty?”

The empress – could she read his mind? – whispered from her seat opposite him, drinking tea.

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“I don’t want to send a royal to be an observer for the beasts.”

“They might be beasts, but we can’t compete with their power. It’s best to do what they ask of you.”

“…….”

Instead of answering, the emperor scratched his chin again.

“It’s a relief they didn’t ask for one of our children to be sent to that forest.”

The emperor’s expression shifted.

“Belinda Ryn Athez is also my child.”

The look on the empress’s face hardened as if someone had splashed her with icy water.

She knew that he’d cared about the child in the past few years, unlike when he first brought her to the palace, but she wasn’t expecting him to cross this line, calling her his own.

Then…

“Your Majesty, Princess Belinda has arrived.”

The servant announced from behind the door. It seemed to be Belinda, whom he’d told to visit in the morning.

“Come in.”

The poised princess entered, elegantly curtsying. From her graceful steps, it was clear that the shabby, crude girl from years ago was nowhere in sight.

“May the great Emperor and Empress possess the infinite glory of the Empire. Have you called for me?”

The emperor got to the point without hesitation.

“The leopard Shinsu clan will be having a ceremony soon.”

“Is that so?”

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“And they have expressed a desire to have you as their observer.”

“Excuse me?”

Belinda looked up. The emperor, unhappy with the situation, sighed.

“It’s a dangerous place, but they’ve been set on you the whole time, so you’ll be fine.”

“I understand.”

“Will you go?”

“Yes.”

Belinda lowered her eyes again and replied submissively. She didn’t utter a single word of protest.

That just increased the emperor’s concern.

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Bringing her to the palace at all was a rather impulsive decision. He wouldn’t have hesitated to kick her out on a whim.

However, she lived in the guest palace quietly, never making her presence known. Even those times she had the emperor’s attention, she didn’t abuse it. Like a flower blooming in the corner of the flowerbed, quietly sticking to its place, she was quiet but confident, resolute and bold.

The empress broke the silence.

“What are you still doing here? Leave now.”

Having said all there was to say, the lowly princess was dismissed.

“May the Emperor and Empress always be filled with glory.”

After all the usual formalities, Belinda quietly left the room.

Looking after the skirt disappearing into the hallway, the emperor sighed again. He didn’t want to push his daughter into a dangerous situation, but he couldn’t refuse.

***

“An observer? What’s that?”

Belinda grabbed Aymon’s front paw and pressed it into the pad of green ink. The calm demeanor she’d shown to the emperor was nowhere to be seen – the mischievous sparkle in her eyes made her look like she was still just a child.

「It just means that you’ll sit next to me at the ceremony, help out a bit and nod sometimes.」

“How would I dare to do such a marvelous and important thing?”

「It’s not marvelous or important. Every other Shinsu has to do it too.」

Aymon answered with a blasé attitude.

Belinda firmly pushed the ink-covered paw onto the bottom of the silver letter paper. It left a cute footprint. There was still a small stack of letters to be stamped with Aymon’s paw.

However much she lived up to her “secretive princess” title, she had aristocratic friends now. Well, sort of. She was sending all of them letters.

“You should have told me about it earlier. I was so nervous when they called me in, and it came as a surprise that you suddenly asked me to go to the Shinsu forest.”

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「I did tell you about it. You were just too busy trying to tie a ribbon around my neck to listen.」

“Did you? Anyways, is there anything I need to prepare? It’s important. I don’t want to make any mistakes.”

「No. Trust me and just come. Leave the rest to me.」

Belinda laughed and stamped another letter.

“It feels like you’re taking me there to get married. Hey! Why’d you move all of sudden? The print got smudged.”

Aymon immediately sprang up when he heard her words. Belinda patted him on the back a few times, like she was trying to calm him down, then went back to stamping. The cute beast next to her seemed to be very shaken up by the word “marriage”.

“Why are you so surprised? I’ll give your elders six geese, two cows, and four bags of flour. You just come and we’ll get married. I’ll take care of everything,” she joked, “because that’s how people get married, you know.”

「…….」

“Don’t you know you’re not a human?”

Aymon didn’t answer. She looked up.

“I was just joking because everyone’s so obsessed with marriage. Why are you so stiff?”

「No reason…」

He finally replied.

“Lucy’s taking a marriage preparation class, too. Even though she doesn’t have any candidates for marriage yet.”

「Lucy? Our Lucy!?」

Aymon jumped again. Lucy wasn’t around that day because of a family event.

Aren’t you being too dramatic?

Belinda was about to ask him out loud but decided not to.

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She had a bad feeling about this. Aymon’s attitude towards Lucy had become a little strange lately.

“Yeah, Lucy…. Anyways.”

Aymon glared at the floor with a serious expression. His ears pricked up as if he was lost in thought. He glanced at the ring on Belinda’s finger and yanked his foot out of her grasp.

「Are you and Lucy the right age for marriage?」

“Yeah.”

「Already!?」

“Yeah, already.”

For a moment, it looked like the black leopard’s face turned white. He began to mutter with a blank stare. It was hard to tell if he was talking to himself or Belinda.

「If you’re old enough to get married….. Then after the ceremony….」

“What? I can’t hear you.”

He quickly came to his senses.

「Why would you get married so early?」

“What do you mean, early? I’m an adult.”

「I mean, we don’t mate that early.」

“Huh? Why?”

He started muttering to himself again.

「Our purpose is to see children…. Well, when the season comes…. Of course, it’s possible before that, but….. Would Breedee be okay….」

Aymon recited, as serious as ever.

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Belinda tried to get closer so she could hear, but eventually gave up and went back to fiddling with a letter.

Maybe it’s because of his age. I guess animals have turbulent emotional phases too.

***

It was late at night – the time for humans to sleep and beasts to be awake.

Aymon’s ceremony was being held in the Shinsu forest, shrouded in darkness under the full moon. It almost felt like the forest was breathing.

Belinda was sitting in front of a brazier, trying to take in the moment.

The animals moved around without a single sound, except for the occasional purr from around the brazier. Belinda tightened up whenever she felt something pass by.

I’m not afraid. I’m not afraid.

It was strange and scary, but she didn’t want to ruin this precious day for Aymon.

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Two grown leopards stood opposite to the three little ones, sat in a row. The red flames of the fire reflected in their eyes. The rest of the leopards, circling around the brazier, approached them one by one.

They would only be recognized once they received the blood of the chief. Then they could become adults.

Since Aymon’s mother died, the position of the chief had been empty. All of the baby leopards who completed the ceremony were about to select a new chief as they turned into adults.

Aisha, who was fulfilling the role of the chief, stared at Belinda.

“You’re the royal that’s Aymon’s observer.”

Instinctively, they could tell that she was scared. But she was looking at Aymon calmly. After all, that was the duty of an observer. The forest had eyes everywhere – the birds sitting on branches, the snakes slithering by. That’s the role of an observer. To remember the protagonist of the ceremony and see them become a new member of the clan on behalf of all the creatures watching on.

By all means, Belinda was doing her job.

Aisha’s eyes fell on her trembling fingertips. They got up from their seat. The rest of the leopards circling around stopped. They all turned their eyes to the large leopard descending from the platform.

Is that the elder Aymon was talking about? If he smears his blood on him, the ceremony will be complete.

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She gulped, thinking of the explanation Aymon had given her.

The mysterious elder walked up to Aymon and the other two baby leopards. He bit his paw with his sharp fangs and rubbed the blood on Aymon’s forehead.

「Welcome to the clan.」

The beasts surrounding them cried out and bowed down to the roar of the ruler that shook the ground. Belinda closed her eyes out of instinctive fear. A cold sweat ran down her forehead.

At that moment, she realized fully that Aymon, who had always laid next to her, was a feared and great animal.