No Entry Except for the Master - Chapter 37

“We came all this way, and yet with that incident, we didn’t gain much.”

“Still, we did get some useful information.”

A short distance from the cage, the two continued their discussion. Teia shared the things he had uncovered with Cesar.

“First off, the man I was chasing earlier today really was the ringmaster. I can’t be certain whether he’s acquainted with the bookstore owner, but it does seem true that he was lingering near the bookstore where I lost him.”

Even though he had only mentioned a name, the man had gone out of his way to act suspiciously—vehemently denying any knowledge while nervously glancing around, even bringing up unrelated books to steer the conversation elsewhere.

Normally, someone who truly doesn’t know would ask who the person is and why the question is being asked. But this man simply insisted he didn’t know and tried to change the subject.

“And about the dead one. Not much of the body was left, but there were traces of ancient sorcery. People say creating chimeras is black magic, but since black mages have used sorcery to control unstable souls, there must be some link between chimeras and ancient sorcery as well.”

“Do you believe the deceased was a werebeast chimera, Your Highness?”

“If it was a fake, the ringmaster wouldn’t have been so disappointed. He would’ve had a backup. It doesn’t seem like the ringmaster made it himself, so perhaps someone connected to him—someone involved with both Lilith and the one who died today—is behind it all.”

“What shall we do?”

“We came quietly and in secret, so our options are limited for now. We’ll return to the Principality tomorrow. Continue observing the circus troupe as we did before. Add more people to keep a close eye on the ringmaster in particular.”

Their discussion about the next steps stretched on. Since the circus performance had taken place after midnight, they had only talked a little—but it was already dawn.

Wrapping up the conversation, Cesar suggested Teia get at least a little rest and moved to the room next door.

Teia washed up briefly and lay down on the bed. Morning was just a few hours away, but they still had time before they needed to leave the lodging.

His head was full of tangled thoughts, but after a day of running around and expending unfamiliar emotions, his body was exhausted. Teia slowly drifted into sleep.

Click. Clatter. Creeeeak.

He wasn’t sure how long he had slept. Despite his fatigue, his keen senses didn’t miss the unpleasant noise. Teia immediately opened his eyes, turned his body, and reached for the dagger he always kept nearby.

Beep. Beep-beep. Beep-beep.

Searching sharply for the source of the sound, Teia’s tension quickly eased. The culprit of the noise was none other than Lilith. He had covered the cage to help her sleep well, but now she was up and making a fuss to be let out. Teia lowered the dagger and approached the rattling cage on the table.

“…?”

His hand froze as he began removing the cage cover. He had assumed she was just uncomfortable and wanted out—but when he lifted the cover, he found a rabbit completely drenched in tears, clawing at the bars with a pale face.

Lilith was hyperventilating in a panic, unaware even of Teia’s presence, trembling and gasping, appearing to have a seizure.

Teia moved quickly. As soon as he opened the door, the rabbit tried to leap out, only to trip on the edge of the cage and flop onto the floor.

Her tears dripped onto the table. Crawling around in a daze, as if she’d lost her senses, Lilith finally caught Teia’s scent and buried her face into his hand.

Beep.

Gripping his fingers tightly with both paws, the rabbit began to cry loudly. She must’ve cried and been under stress all day. Teia let her hold his hand as much as she wanted and asked softly,

“What’s wrong?”

With her nose buried in Teia’s palm, trembling violently, the rabbit finally began to calm down after some time. Still clutching his fingers tightly, she cautiously placed her bottom in his palm.

Settled into the warm shelter of his large hand, the rabbit quietly sniffled, releasing the last of her sorrow.

Not transforming back into a human and refusing to leave his side, Teia carried Lilith back to bed. Lying on his side, he made a space under the blanket and set the rabbit down. Lilith quickly scurried back to his chest and rubbed her face against his sleepwear.

Too much had happened for Lilith in one day. Teia had gotten angry and nearly abandoned her, she had watched animals performing terrifying tricks for people’s amusement, and she had witnessed someone—possibly another werebeast chimera—being torn apart by wild beasts in a brutal fight.

Each of those events had been trauma and terror for her already fragile heart. No matter how hard she tried to think positively, the cries of the animals and the howls of predators haunted her every time she closed her eyes.

I’m scared. I don’t want to be alone. Please stay with me.

She kept whispering this inside as she pressed close to Teia. Watching her silently, Teia reached into the neatly folded pocket of his pants and pulled something out, placing it in front of her.

…?

Smaller than the rabbit, the box was made of fine fabric and shimmered faintly. When Teia opened the lid, the box’s mouth gaped wide like a crocodile. Startled, Lilith instinctively flinched and began to back away—until her eyes went wide at the sparkling object inside.

Waving her arms excitedly, the rabbit seemed to be babbling about something and quickly dove into the box, grabbing the shiny contents with both hands.

Cufflinks.

The same cufflinks she had desperately tried to win earlier, using every trick she had—and which had only served to anger Teia.

Why are these here?