CH 50

The morning I woke up after a warm bath and a good night’s sleep, attended to by the maids who have been giving me embarrassing compliments on everything I did since the staff of the annex were changed. 

The day after I left the temple, absolutely nothing happened.

It was a strange thing. I could still remember the priests surrounding me and talking about me as a savior.

At this point, I wondered if I’d dreamt about falling into the temple, but there was clear evidence that it was happening in the room.

[Wow, what is this? The world is getting better!]

Thud, dull thud, tada tada tada. Kudang! 

I sat down at the table, trying to ignore Greed who wanted to touch and mess with everything and see if anything looked worthy of his name.

On the table were the morning papers from the various newspapers I’d asked Martha to bring.

They ranged from the papers of large, respectable newspapers to those of newspapers known for their gossipy content.

I quickly flicked through them, nervous as hell.

The story about me didn’t even have the “E” from Elodie in them.

I could tell who had blocked it without looking, and all I could think was admiration.

“That’s the Perdia family.”

Very good press control. I’m sure the Temple of Ishtar was not happy.

They were a bunch of lunatics who would do anything to get their way, so they were not going to easily give up on me, their supposed ‘savior’, easily, but Perdia had done it.

“I guess I’ll have to leave the country after all…….”

My dreams of buying a house in the neighborhood and living in comfort were long gone.

Even though there was no place on this continent that hasn’t been affected by Perdia and the Temple of Ishtar, it gave me a reason to get as far away as possible.

Naturally, I had one more thing to do.

Learning a foreign language.

‘Life certainly doesn’t get any easier.’

But after skimming through the pages of the newspaper, I felt much more at ease, for I had been nervous about being the center of a commotion.

‘I don’t know how long Perdia will be my shield, but for now, I don’t want to think about it.’

Instead of a single line about me, there was one that was common to several newspapers.

[The lovely Lady Dorothea Angellus in tears? What on earth happened at the meeting?]

These were the articles about the incident where Dorothea Angellus ran out crying at the Fountain of Ishtar.

The story about me was completely excluded.

But in some newspapers the story was there, and in others the space where it should have been was white and empty.

Was it the Duchess of Perdia trying to get the article published, or the Duke of Angellus deleting it?

A gripping showdown of the century was unfolding across the newspapers.

‘Go, Duchess!’

I cheered for her, hoping in my heart that the cocky Duke Angellus would fall to his knees before the Duchess of Perdia.

Then it happened.

Crack!

There was a sharp shattering sound, and I raised my head, only to come face to face with Greed’s golden eyes.

Greed had dropped the vase from the window, shattering it.

“Greed.”

When I called him by his name, he stammered out a lame excuse.

[My, I didn’t do it. It fell all by itself!]

Did the vase have feet so that it could fall by itself?

I wordlessly motioned for him to come over, and he walked over to the couch where he sprawled out.

He stepped on the water in the vase, making tiny fox paw prints with each step.

I pulled the sealing stone from my pocket.

“I don’t want anyone to see you, so could you please stay in the sealing stone for now?”

The sound of the vase shattering must have drawn the attention of the servants.

And if they suddenly saw a black fox they’d never seen before, they’d be suspicious.

But Greed stood firm on its four legs.

[Hate! Frustration!]

“You’re acting like you don’t do what I tell you to do, and if you keep it up-“

I put my hands on my hips and began to scold it in earnest, but then the door swung open. Martha stood there, puzzled.

“I knocked and you didn’t answer, so I came in…….What was that breaking sound?”

“Nothing. I accidentally broke a vase.”

“Hmpf. You aren’t hurt, are you?”

“Mmm.”

I hurriedly reached for Greed, but it was too late.

“Miss. What’s with the black fox?”

Oops, Martha’s eyes widened as she stared straight at Greed.

In the end, we had been caught.

“It’s, it’s-.”

I tried to brush it off, but Martha was faster.

She set the silver tray she was carrying roughly on the table and squatted down in front of Greed, studying it carefully.

“Oh, he’s so black and cute. He’s so pretty. Come here, little one. Woo-choo-choo…”

Greed was starting to show its teeth, perhaps angry at being treated like an insignificant fox.

As I watched, I gave him a clear warning.

‘Behave yourself. Unless you want to be trapped in a sealing stone forever.’

It was a warning to act like a pet, as previously agreed on.

Then Greed’s ears perked up.

It looked like it was going to bite Martha at any moment, but instead, its eyes were completely clear, and it let out a strange cry.

“Eh, meow……?”

“Is it a cat?”

“Kyang……?” 

“Kyang? Does a fox meow and kyang?”

“Kyaang?”

“And why is it crying with interrogative sentences like this?”

At Martha’s repeated questioning, Greed looked back at me with a glare. Worried that it might actually attack Martha, I quickly took it into my arms.

Despite my resolve, the soft, silky fur felt good in my hands. Normally, Greed would have fought back, but it was so calm in its fox guise.

“I picked it up.”

“Where?”

“Well, where was it…….”

I struggled to come up with a plausible location, but Martha didn’t seem to be curious about the fox’s origins in the first place.

The next question came quickly.

“What’s its name?”

Name, a name.

I hadn’t thought of that yet.

I was calling him Greed, but I couldn’t bring myself to call him that in public.

Calling a little fox Greed doesn’t really make anyone think of Greed, one of the seven deadly sins, but you never know.

“I haven’t named it yet.”

“Oh gosh, how can you not have named this little cutie yet!”

Martha, who had been pouting at the absurdity of it all, suggested a name in a thoughtful tone.

“How about ‘Dawn’?”

“Grrrr…….”

Greed bared his teeth and glared at Martha. He seemed genuinely displeased.

“That’s weird. I think Dawn is cute. Or do you like Crow?”

“Krrrrr…….”

Caught between Martha’s continued opinions and Greed’s growling, I quickly changed the subject.

“I’d better come up with a name, but Martha, what’s that correspondence on the tray?”

“Oh. It’s a letter addressed to you.”

Regaining her composure, Martha picked up the tray and held it out to me. I frowned when I saw the imperial seal on it.

“A personal letter?”

It was a letter with a seal on it.

The contents of the letter were simple: he wished to see me in about a week’s time.

No exact date was given, presumably because of the emperor’s poor health.

A sudden request for an audience.

There had to be two main reasons for this.

Firstly, the incident the day before, when a ‘savior’ had broken through the temple walls.

The second, the breakup of the engagement with the First Prince, Adenmir.

Or perhaps both.

***

All the way out of the mansion, Greed cursed Martha.

[Terrible naming sense].

“Yeah, yeah.”

[I suggest you change her name to Brownie, then. Brunette, brown, fits.]

I wondered why he was so upset that she’d chosen to call him Dawn.

It was a small consolation that Greed was contained within a sealing stone, so I didn’t have to see its grumbling tantrums.

I appeased Greed in a soulless way.

“Ugh, take it easy.”

[I am strictly Greed; I need no other name].

“I can’t call you Greed in front of everyone.”

[Whatever.]

“Oh well. Come on, let’s just come up with a name for a pet.”

[I don’t like it. I’m offended!]

Greed, who had been chattering away, suddenly became quiet.

Then, in a very small voice, he said quietly.

[…… but there’s a name I’ve always liked].

“What?”

The answer that came next was terrible.

[Black Flame Dragon].

“…….”

What kind of life did you lead while sealed, Greed? If you like the name, I have no reason to stop you, but the thought of calling you ‘Black Flame Dragon’ in front of others is awful….

It must be stopped. Not for Greed, but for me.

“You’re not a dragon, you’re a fox.”

[What are you talking about? I’m not a fox, I’m Greed. This appearance is just Irkala’s preference, and dragons are cool].

“But you’re kind of black…….”

[I’m not black ……, but rather a black flame dragon].

It seemed to really like the name, and after some consideration, I offered a compromise.

“Okay. How about ‘Black’ for short?”

It didn’t reduce anything, though it meant something else entirely, but it was a suggestion for the greedy mind that likes to reduce.

The number of characters was reduced.

I wasn’t sure it was going to accept the offer, but it did. Greed coughed and accepted as if it couldn’t win.

[Cough, tolerable. Permission granted].

In conclusion, Greed’s public name had come to mean the same thing as Martha’s Dawn. Though he didn’t seem to realize it.

As I talked to Greed, I arrived at the carriage and found Raeyan already there.

Unlike yesterday, when he had appeared to be in a state of distress, today’s Raeyan was his usual self.

I deliberately greeted him cheerfully, even though I couldn’t bring myself to look at his face.

“Good morning, Raeyan. We can talk more about what’s happened when we reach headquarters.”

“Yes, I understand.”

As the family’s heir, I couldn’t rule out the possibility that Jansi had installed some sort of eavesdropping device.

We entered the headquarters and sat down across from each other.

Before I could catch my breath, Raeyan asked.

“Where did you suddenly disappear to?”

“Well, as soon as I touched the sealing stone, I was transported to the temple of the past where Greed was sealed.”

I briefly explained what happened next. I explained that I was not able to give out my location right away because I happened to find myself in the Temple of Ishtar during the meeting.

“I understand…… I was concerned when there was not a single trace of Elodie anywhere.”

“That’s what happened, but it’s still a good result overall.”

I pulled out the sealing stone and showed it to him, then grinned at Raeyan.

“It has fulfilled its purpose.”

With those words, Greed, summoned from the sealing stone, plopped down onto the table.

He looked up at Raeyan with deep, dark eyes.

[Hello. Greed].

“…….”

Raeyan fell silent, probably for the same reason I did.

[What?]

“It doesn’t seem normal.”

I completely understood the thought. As an expert of Greed, I provided good wisdom.

“This is how he is. Don’t worry about the tone.”

[Right. I am normal].

Greed interrupted to voice his opinion, but Raeyan replied without looking at me.

“It doesn’t matter what it says, as long as you can use its abilities.”

” Mmm. Raeyan’s right.”

[I’m here. I don’t want you to ignore me].

I stared at Raeyan, who pretended he hadn’t heard the attention-seeking Greed.

“So, what is Greed’s ability?”

I had obtained this sealing stone to use the power of Greed, one of the seven deadly sins.

Raeyan was right, the deal with Greed was done. It was time to use its power without a price.

Staring at the sealing stone in my hand, Raeyan’s lips parted.

“The ability of Greed is the eye for riches, the eye for value.”

“……!”

Oh, my God. That’s the one.

“The goose that lays the golden egg!”

What a jackpot!

Greed, hearing the idiom I’d thrown out in my excitement, jumped up and down and exclaimed.

[You! What goose?! I’m a fox!]

Hey, you said you weren’t a fox!