Duke of the Beast and the Vicarious Bride - Chapter 49

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※ This work contains depictions of coercive relationships, explicit language, and other graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.

The maid Marie, assigned exclusively to Fiona, trembled visibly.

If even Jayden—merely a human, though her master—inspired such fear, how was that girl Fiona not terrified of that inhuman beast?

It seemed she had now grown quite fond of coupling with it; when she descended to the cellar each night, her face bore not a trace of gloom.

Before bringing Fiona north, he had never anticipated such a turn of events.

* * *

Jayden Troyes had discovered the beast five years ago, during a reconnaissance mission to assess northern conditions prior to the subjugation.

The old castle in the north, said to have stood there since long before the Empire’s founding. Its very existence had been doubted until the Emperor unearthed records in ancient texts—a castle built by old magic, within which the beast lay quietly sleeping.

Having confirmed the existence of the beast and the hidden underground chamber, which seemed deliberately concealed, Jayden reported the finding to the imperial household. The Emperor immediately dispatched an investigation team.

The beast dragged from the underground chamber was dull and vacant, like a bear forcibly awakened from hibernation. No, in truth, though it opened its eyes, breathed, and moved its body, it was closer to an inanimate object, performing no actions of its own will.

The investigation proceeded in utmost secrecy. The Emperor maintained complete silence even toward the then Commander-in-Chief regarding both the investigation’s contents and the beast’s true nature.

Whether driven by curiosity or political ambition, the Commander-in-Chief who sought to uncover the truth was eliminated without a trace.

Promoted for his discovery of the beast, Jayden resolved to follow his predecessor’s example and remain curious about nothing. After that resolution, he gained the Emperor’s trust at an unprecedented speed.

Though he did not know the beast’s true nature, he could not help but know the controversies surrounding it. The magical scholars and archaeologists belonging to the imperial household divided into factions and debated endlessly, almost daily.

Arguments raged sharply between those insisting the beast should be brought immediately to the capital for study and those claiming it was too dangerous to transport. After prolonged deliberation, the Emperor decided to keep the beast in the north.

At the same time, the beast was granted the title of Grand Duke. This was done under the pretext of strengthening control over the Kraphelsus Mountains and surrounding regions, accompanied by claims that the beast might be a descendant of the “Grand Duke of Aquileia” recorded in historical texts.

Simultaneously, Jayden was assigned the task of training the beast. For whatever reason, having lost not only intelligence but even the capacity for communication, this creature needed to be awakened.

With the assistance of imperial scholars, Jayden attempted every conceivable method to revive the witless beast’s sense of self.

The scholars spoke to it daily, played music, read books aloud. Jayden thought this quite foolish, but they persisted. They ceaselessly attempted communication, provided stimulation, striving to elicit even the smallest reaction.

Yet no attempt proved effective with the beast. As time passed without results, the scholars’ “treatments” grew increasingly bold and extreme.

Their reasoning was that since the beast was a living creature, if it felt its life threatened, survival instinct might provoke some response.

This proved somewhat correct. The beast, which had shown no reaction even to experiments bordering on torture, transformed completely when finally brought before a horde of monsters rampaging through the north.

Watching the beast slaughter monsters like a fish returned to water, the scholars grew excited. The Emperor as well. But the change ended there. Except when killing monsters, the beast remained as disconnected from the outside world as when first discovered—an inanimate object.

‘We must find the name of the old Grand Duke of Aquileia. We must discover its true name. Absolutely.’

Having tasted hope only to face despair, the Emperor became fixated on the beast’s name. For some reason, he insisted they must find traces of the old Grand Duke rather than bestowing a new name.

Yet even after ransacking the castle’s library and combing through every manner of document, that name could not be found. As if someone had deliberately erased it and it alone.