Duke of the Beast and the Vicarious Bride - Chapter 79

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

“Ordinarily, a battle formation places shield-bearers in the front line for defence, with the second rank wielding swords and spears against the enemy. The third rank and beyond handle rear support and flank attacks. But since the beast was deployed, the formation itself has become unnecessary. The creature draws all the monsters’ attention, and its penetrating power is such that it mows them down like autumn leaves in an instant. With its bare hands, at that. Ever since the Commander-in-Chief incorporated that beast into our forces, both manpower requirements and casualties have markedly decreased. He is truly remarkable. There is also a new defensive system he devised—.”

The soldier’s tedious lecture continued for some time. The women had long since scattered, leaving Fiona as his sole audience.

From his account alone, it seemed Caligo’s accomplishments were far more impressive. Why, then, did Jayden claim all the credit? She could not fathom it.

The soldier appeared intensely proud of his unit. Yet from his ceaseless prattling, whether due to his low rank or his youth, he seemed somewhat lacking in discretion.

‘Which makes him useful to me, I suppose.’

The soldier before her, oblivious that the woman he addressed was both the revered Commander-in-Chief’s half-sister and the beast’s bride, became the target of Fiona’s small bait.

“How is it you know so much? You must be a promising soldier indeed.”

The downy-haired youth, barely weaned, coloured to the tips of his ears.

“I had not heard there was a young lady in the kitchens. If it is not too forward, might I ask who you are?”

Even as he unconsciously maintained respectful speech, his eyes flickered over Fiona’s face.

She had cast the line with little expectation—if he bit, good; if not, no matter. But the young man rose to the bait with astonishing ease.

Small wonder. In this place, young women were scarcer than shadows, and at his age, when even a glimpse of a skirt could stir the blood, Fiona made for tempting prey.

“Me? I am a butcher, hired directly by the Commander-in-Chief you so admire.”

“A butcher? You slaughter livestock?”

The youth’s boyish face crumpled. The reaction was so familiar that Fiona felt no surprise.

No matter how eager a man might be, learning Fiona’s occupation made him recoil. They deemed it unlucky, this business of spilling the profane blood of animals.

The soldier before her frowned, as though unsettled, then raked his gaze over her once more, as though reassessing.

His expression, evenly divided between revulsion and lust, was one Fiona had witnessed often in her twenty-three years.

Long inured to such looks, she weathered his scrutiny without a flicker and posed the question that truly interested her.

“But tell me, is that beast not something anyone can see? You speak of it as such a special weapon—I should like a look at it sometime.”

It was a sly notion that had occurred to her when the soldier first spoke of the beast.

If even a low-ranking soldier like this one knew of Caligo and had seen him, then his existence was no great secret.

Moreover, piecing together the various scraps of information the soldier had let slip, there appeared no particular restriction on his appearing in daylight.

Which meant that Jayden, the five thousand troops he had brought, and this young soldier before her had all laid eyes upon Caligo—while she alone, who could claim to be closest to him, remained ignorant of his form.

“How lovely it would be if someone were to grant me a glimpse. What other spectacle is there to be had in this tedious place?”

“……If a distant view suffices, I might perhaps arrange a single look.”

Whether overcome by lust at last, the soldier, now flushed to the nape, puffed himself up with bravado.

“I-in return for showing you the beast, if you would consent to meet me sometimes….”

“Oh, honestly. Must everything be spelled out?”

She curved her lips in an ambiguous smile, and the soldier, utterly entranced, readily divulged when and where she should come.

The day after tomorrow, at the camp entrance. During the transport of provisions from the kitchen, she would follow the soldier inside, steal a glance at Caligo, and slip away.

Fiona was delighted by this unexpected bounty. Why had it never occurred to her to attempt something so simple?