Chapter 78

Adelai noticed when the commotion broke out that it was the perfect moment to take advantage of the Shinsu and start trouble.

She wanted to implement her plan at dinner and tell the emperor after manipulating a Shinsu to harm a human. 

Look, Your Majesty. Beasts aren’t trustable beings. 

Thankfully, however, it was the Shinsu that made the first move. Now all she had to do was welcome it with open arms.

Adelai ordered Joseph to attack, and he faithfully followed.

They had one goal: manipulate Shanti into killing the marquis, then attacking Aymon.

She wanted to achieve that. To manipulate the Shinsu and gain power. To let humans escape from their sweet illusion of  peace and face reality.

Shanti began to crumble under Joseph’s will. He revealed his sharp fangs and violently threw himself onto the marquis. He stuck out his strong claws. The marquis’s death seemed to be near. 

However, Shanti’s attack was just an attempt. As soon as Aymon noticed a change, he launched himself at them.

The two animals rolled on the floor, grass flying around them. Aymon bit through Shanti’s skin just enough to not fatally injure him.

“Shanti.”

Adelai noticed when the commotion broke out. That now is the right time to take advantage of Shinsu and start an incident.

I tried to implement it when I sat at the dinner. He tried to tell the emperor after manipulating the god and harming humans.

Look, Your Majesty. Beasts are not reliable beings.

Thankfully, however, Shin-soo moved first. Now all we have left is to welcome with open arms.

Adelai ordered Joseph to attack, and Joseph faithfully followed.

Their goal is one. Controlling Shanti to kill the marquis, and attacking Eamon next to him to hurt him.

So I wanted to achieve it. May I manipulate my god to gain my power. May humans escape from the sweet illusion of peace and face reality.

Shanti began to be manipulated by Joseph. He revealed his sharp fangs and rushed violently toward the marquis. The toenails sticking out are strong. Perhaps the marquis will die soon.

However, Shanti’s attack was only an attempt. This is because Emon, who noticed a hint, attacked Shanti like a shot.

The two animals rolled violently on the floor. The green grass flies like dust. Eamon, who bit Shanti’s thick skin to the extent that he would not be fatally injured, grumbled.

「Shanti.」

The simple call was an order in itself. 

The pranks were over. 

Aymon, who regarded his actions as simple mischief, warned him. It was a reasonable misunderstanding – after all, Shanti was always unpredictable.

Sweat dripped down Joseph’s forehead as he struggled to maintain control. Soon, Shanti had slipped out of his grip.

「Huh…..?」

Having regained consciousness, Shanti blinked. He didn’t understand what was going on. Yes, he’d been playfully threatening the marquis, but what was he doing under Aymon?

He could think about it later. He tapped Aymon’s front paw and dropped, surrendering. Aymon finally loosened up. 

He quickly stood aside, and before he knew it, Halla was hitting him. 

“You and your jokes! And here of all places! Are you trying to kill me?”

「Ow! That hurts! I’m sorry!」

From an outside perspective, she was a human woman hitting a beast whose tail barely trembled in response, but he had no room for excuses.

He was only trying to scare a human that had insulted them. He had absolutely no intention to kill. As reckless as he was, he wasn’t such an idiot that he couldn’t even tell where he was. Yet somehow, when he came to his senses, Aymon was overpowering him.

After apologizing for a while, Shanti shook off his thoughts.

I must’ve just got drunk on my instincts, right?

He might have been a Shinsu, but at his core, he was still just a beast. He must have let his instincts take over unintendedly.

Meanwhile, the emperor approached Aymon calmly. He lay on the floor to look at the pathetically trembling marquis, then gently asked Aymon’s permission. 

“Do you mind if I ask the marquis some questions?”

Aymon shook his head, relaxed. 

The emperor turned to the pale marquis. 

“Marquis Domine.”

“Y-yes, Your Majesty.”

Barely answering, the marquis pleaded for help with his gaze. He hurriedly stood up and bowed.

However, the emperor’s expression remained stony. 

“As the emperor, I must protect humans and embrace my people, including you.”

At his words, the marquis glanced up, deeply relieved to hear that the emperor had taken his side and not the Shinsus’.

“To protect my people, I would take responsibility for the Shinsu. Even if I have to bleed under their claws, I will fight to death for you.”

He continued to talk to the marquis, whose hopes were rising.

“However, his actions may have been justified. So tell me. Why were you pressed under his feet?”

The marquis’s face returned to gloom.

He rolled his eyes and recalled the details of the incident. It was simple – he called the Shinsu frivolous, and the angry beast attacked him.

He didn’t know how the Shinsu saw it, but that wasn’t important. What was important were the measures that could be taken against him. 

Now, the emperor was giving him a warning. If his actions weren’t justified, a terrifying responsibility would fall onto his shoulders. Afraid of it, the marquis couldn’t say a word.

There was a hard silence. Everyone swallowed the tension. How would this end now?

Ironically, Shanti was the first to break the silence. 

Glancing at Halla, he peeled the marquis’s ripped clothes off his claws and tossed them aside. The marquis crumpled under the table.

「I’m fine now, so can we ignore this human and continue the party?」

Shanti murmured awkwardly, ignoring the marquis on the ground. Changing back into a human, he passed the marquis and walked toward the fondue pot. 

He dipped a piece of bread in as everyone watched silently as he ate the cheesy bread with a shameless, natural expression. 

“I messed with a human for no reason, so Aymon and Halla put me in my place. I’ll just eat this…” 

He said in a resentful, yet disturbed voice.

The humans glanced at each other.

The emperor approached Marquis Domine as he crawled up from the ground. A cold voice sounded over his head. 

“I’ll ask you how this happened, and the marquis can go home to rest.”

It sounded like he was being considerate, but the marquis was clearly being kicked out.

The count knew it was a warning to stay away from high society. The crime of making fun of someone so great so easily was too severe. 

He wasn’t even the only one to make fun of the Shinsu. How come it was only him that was picked out? It was unfair, but that was an impossible claim to make here. 

After the marquis trudged off, the emperor bowed to Aymon and glanced up at him – it was a good day, so he hoped he could let this slide.

Aymon stretched out and soon slipped away to another place. It was a good message to transmit. Honestly, if he was going to do something, he wouldn’t even have waited as long as Shanti did to jump. This was good enough.

The situation had been dealt with. The emperor winked at the servant behind him. As soon as he noticed the order, he gestured to the band, and music began to fill the silent space.

He was slowly getting calmer. Walking through the crowds and making conversation again, the emperor clenched his fist.

He must think I’m an idiot. 

A violent anger at the marquis rose in him.

All his preparations were almost ruined by the marquis. Their relationship with the Shinsu was already shaky enough as is.

The marquis would be punished severely.

Meanwhile, the emperor wasn’t the only one who was passionately angry. Adelai stared at Count Otoman with a stony face.

What the hell is going on? Why isn’t the marquis dead?

Despite her eyes shooting daggers at him, the count had no excuse. 

“Princess, people are watching.”

“What is going on?”

Instead of answering, the count turned on Joseph. 

“Joseph! Why’d you suddenly lose control in the middle of it all?” 

According to their plan, Shanti should have killed the marquis.

Receiving the pair’s frosty gazes, Joseph tried to make excuses.

“I had no problem controlling that brown leopard. But as soon as the black beast moved in, things got much harder…” 

His earlier confident attitude was fading away. Count Otoman tried to comfort Adelai. 

“He must have run out of force because it happened so suddenly. Please don’t be so angry, Princess.”

After thinking for a while, he continued. 

“And that black leopard hundreds of years ago…” 

He quickly cut the sentence off, noticing it wasn’t the place to say such a thing. Adelai, understanding his message, turned around and left.

As she walked on the grass, she recalled it.

500 years ago, when the descendant of Barahan appeared, it was a black leopard. Could all this be a coincidence? 

She walked on, slowing down.

Adelai, staring into space while lost in thought, shook her head.

She was going to win this time. That’s how it would go. 

If the ball was wrecked, the secret operation could continue. Adelai’s eyes were filled with malice. 

Adjusting her mask, Belinda approached Aymon. 

The soft atmosphere around them made it all feel like a dream. 

Shanti was still lurking around the fondue, and the emperor was dancing with the empress. The nobles had also gathered to dance and chat.

The party continued peacefully.

“Aymon, what happened to Shanti?”

Belinda sked, rubbing his nose. Aymon swung his tail and turned into his human form.

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“Someone called him a frivolous beast.”

Aymon looked down at the mask Belinda handed him and threw it aside. He proceeded to take Belinda’s mask off and threw it away, too. 

“I want to see your face, not this.”

The two masks rolled away on the floor with a thump.