After having Felix wait in the hallway for a while, Monica asked Ray for a favor.
"Lord Abyss Shaman, I want you to curse me."
Monica's words made Ray widen his eyes in surprise for a moment, after which he clapped his hands together with a look of understanding.
"If strong human emotions and affection can be said as curses as well, then when you say ‘curse me,' I can take that to mean the same thing as ‘love me,' am I right?"
"N-No… I don't mean it like that…"
Monica fidgeted as she kneaded her fingers, telling Ray the particulars of the curse she wanted him to cast.
Despite witchcraft being treated as quasi-prohibited, the kingdom had given its consent to allow the Albright family for using it. As long as it was only a weak curse that meets certain criteria, and they had the consent of the subjected party, they were allowed to use them. However, to actually met someone who asks him to put a curse on herself, was almost none.
Ray seemed to wonder why she asked such a thing, but when Monica repeated "please," he eventually give in and nodded happily.
"Okay. Since it's a favor from a junior who adores me, I'll do it for you… but before we begin, I want to make certain. Do you fall in love with me?"
"I r-respect you…"
"Respect… respect, it also can be an adoration… aah… it feels great having someone respects me!"
Muttering with a delighted look on his face, Ray placed his pale fingers on Monica's neck. He then trailed his fingers along her skin as if to inscribe a letter, and chanted a short incantation.
A bright pink light, much like his eyes, flooded from his fingertips, carving a spell formula on Monica's neck. The back of Monica's throat itched painfully as the stinging feel crept like a sizzle.
"Okay. Now you're under the curse of ‘Ugly Voice'… its effect would last for an hour."
"…ThAnK YOu VeRy MuCh."
Her voice sounded so hoarse when she thanked him, almost like a frog forcing itself to speak human words through its vocal cords. After a few vocal exercises, Monica quickly pulled on a hooded robe that she had draped over the back of her chair.
When Ray looked at Monica putting her hood over her eyes, he didn't say anything in particular. After all, Monica always put a downcast look with her hood draped over her face when she attended the Seven Sages' summit, and he was used to it.
"LoRd AbYss ShAmAn, I hAvE sOmEthIng I nEEd to discUss wiTh HIs HIgHhness in pRivAte, If you wOuLd eXcUse uS…"
Though in a roundabout way, the message she wanted to convey was she wished him to leave this room, but it made Ray wrinkle the bridge of his nose.
"Ah, I knew it… I guess all women love princes… sure enough, he's the most handsome guy among the three royal brothers, with blond hair and blue eyes… naturally, people would love him…"
"I-It's nOt lIkE thAt… I ActUally hAd sOmEthIng imPorTant to dIScusS wIth hIm…"
"Enough with this charade, just get this guy out of here already."
Nero said spitefully, grabbing Ray who was grumbling bitterly by the neck before opening the door.
He then shoved Felix, who was standing on the other side of the door, out of the way with a "polite" excuse and threw Ray out into the hallway. His behavior showed no respect for either Felix or Ray.
"Okay, now we have clean all the mess. You can come in, prince."
"…then, if you would excuse me."
Felix was bewildered when looking at Ray thrown out of the room, but he still stepped into the room.
Once he went inside, Nero quickly closed and locked the door. After which, Monica bowed to Felix and said, "ThaNk yOu foR taKing tHe TiMe to vIsiT uS, Your Highness."
Felix appeared startled by her croaky, ugly voice.
"The reAson I kePT my MOUth ShuT UNTil noW was BeCause my vOIcE sOunds unPLeAsAnt To LiStEN To. HoWEVer, I tHink ouR disCuSsIon ShOUld nOt bE rEcorDED iN WritiNg, aNd thAt's thE rEasOn bEhiNd tHIs COnveRsaTion. I HoPE yoU CaN FoRGIvE me foR mAKinG YOU UnComfOrTABLE WitH tHis UglY voIcE."
Monica slowly minced her words, telling herself not to stutter over and over.
Felix seemed hardly able to hide his surprise, but he did not frown uncomfortably. His usually calm face was laced with just a hint of pain, and he looked at Monica's left hand.
"How are you feeling, Lady Everett? Does your left hand… still hurt?"
"… aS LOng As I DON'T moVe It, IT WOn't BE A ProbLem."
"You don't have to force yourself to get up, Lady Everett. If it's too hard for you, please lie down on the bed…"
As if to interrupt Felix, Monica shook her head.
"No NEed. ThEre're mOre presSIng mAtters we nEed To taLk aBouT."
With that, Monica offered him a chair, and Felix, with a smooth pace, offered the chair in front of him to her instead.
"Please have a seat."
Even his manner to escort women come off naturally in these situations.
After Monica sat awkwardly on her chair, Felix sat down across from her. While Nero stood behind Monica, arms folded while looking menacingly at Felix.
After looking at Nero with a wry smile, Felix opened his mouth.
"There are many things I would like to talk to you, Lady Everett… but may I start by asking you about him?"
She had expected him to ask about him. So, while Monica was choosing her words to answer him, Nero snorted proudly.
"You want to know about me? Fine, I'll tell you. My favorite food is chicken and cheese. And my favorite novelist is Dustin Gunter."
"…I'm not referring to your personal preferences, but the circumstances of you becoming Lady Everett's familiar. I want to know how did you have this kind of relationship with her… If we're looking back, I can say you were the one who led the wyverns to attack Kerbeck County."
At Felix's words, Nero's brow wrinkled deeply and his lip parted, ‘Huh?' letting out a small, mocking sound.
"When have I ever attacked a human before? Are you serious? …wait, what's the term for this kind of thing? Oh, yes, false accusation. That was a false accusation! Let me tell you, I don't have any connection with those wyverns."
"…so it just misunderstanding?"
Nero snorted fumingly at the confused Felix and nodded.
"I was originally living in the mountains of the Empire's domain. But when things got too noisy with all the development things, I decided to roam around looking for a new place to live… umm, what was it called? The Wogan Mountains? Anyway, when I was living there, all those young wyverns begin to worship me and treat me like their boss."
Wyverns are particularly unintelligent creatures and belong to the dragon race in the lower species. Even though they were the same species as a dragon, the difference in their intelligence was akin to that between a man and a dog.
Basically, wyverns can follow simple commands from higher species but have difficulty in making precise communication.
"Apparently, some young wyverns got carried away and attacked humans and their livestock, while the truth I didn't give them any such order."
"…then how did you and Lady Everett end up in a master-servant relationship?"
Monica pondered over Felix's question.
I-I wonder if I should tell him about this as well…
Contrary to Monica's troubled expression, Nero answered in an easy-going manner.
"It just happened when I ate some random wild bird, its bone stuck in my throat."
"Uh-huh."
"It hurt so bad, and then this guy pulled it out for me."
"…that's it?"
"That's it."
Indeed, it was actually all just that, nothing more.
＊ ＊ ＊
After Monica defeated all the twenty wyverns, she proceeded deeper through the forest into the mountains. There, she saw a single Black Dragon laying down while growling in displeasure.
All Monica had to do was cast offensive magic to attack its forehead and her mission to subjugate the Black Dragon would be completed… or so she was supposed to. But, when she heard its growling, she recognized that it had used the same language that spirits used.
Because she had taken the spirit language course at Minerva, she could comprehend some of its words. It said:
——It hurts.
When she heard such words, Monica couldn't help but ask the dragon a question.
"…by any chance… are you in trouble?"
For the anti-social Monica, talking to a dragon, even if it was a legendary Black Dragon, was much more comfortable than talking to a human. (She herself might not aware of this, but Louis considers this strangeness as abnormal).
——Something, is stuck in my throat, it hurts.
"…throat? I see… if you don't mind… could you open your mouth…"
Still lying down, the dragon followed Monica's words and opened its big mouth.
Each of its fangs was sharp like a spear, and its red tongue was so long that it could easily entangle Monica'd body easily.
But Monica paid no attention to the Black Dragon's tongue, only remembering that it was not toxic, so she climbed up its jaw and entered its mouth.
Only an insane person would think of entering the black dragon's mouth on her own conscious.
According to Louis Miller, only an ‘oddball' like Monica would find being inside the dragon's mouth was far less frightening than being surrounded by people.
Crawling on all fours, Monica was proceeding forward on the dragon's tongue. There, she saw a white sharp thing stuck in the back of its throat. It was probably an animal bone.
"…I will try to pull this out… please endure it for a while…"
Grabbing it with both of her hands, she pulled it with all of her strength. As a result, the Black Dragon's throat was growling, making Monica fall on her butt after losing her balance.
"Hinyaaaaaaa!?"
Afterward, the Black Dragon spit out Monica covered in saliva from its mouth, leaving her plopped down on the ground with her eyes swirling. The Black Dragon looked up to the sky, and in the next moment, its body was covered with black mist.
From the tips of its finger, toes, and hair, the mist was condensed as if taking the shape of a human being.
Eventually, the Black Dragon transformed into a black-haired man in an archaic robe with mystical golden eyes. He then looked at Monica and said, "Ah, feels much better! I've got a bone stuck in my throat after eating some bird meat. I was planning to burn it with my black flames, but it just happened stuck in a tricky spot. And as you can see, I can't burn it with my flames."
The dignity and mysterious atmosphere disappeared after the man spoke so fluently in human language. If you remove his old robes, he might just be a friendly neighbor dude you could find anywhere.
Monica would prefer to talk with a dragon, but even with all these thoughts. The fear of humans still made Monica frightened, especially men with large stature.
As Monica remained prone on the ground stiffly, the dragon in human form crouched down in front of Monica and made eye contact with her.
"What? Are you too frightened by my imposing figure?"
"A…..h…."
"Why did you more frightened when I am in human form? Doesn't I look handsome right now?"
"…ah… umm…"
The Black Dragon was scratching his head in trouble when looking at Monica sniffling almost in tears.
"Oh, I remember, a female human likes might like… this!"
His human form transformed again into mist before it compressed into a small form.
As the shape became clearer and the mist dispersed, a small cat appeared.
"Hey, human females like a cute cat, right? Look at this paw, it feels soft to touch. Meow, meow."
Now standing before her was a black cat poking his paw on her cheeks. The realization had made Monica relax a little.
Perhaps, he was not transforming completely into a cat, because when he's in a dragon form he can't speak human fluently, but now he can in a cat form. As for what was certain, it had a different vocal cord from a normal cat.
While these thoughts ran in her mind, the black cat wagged his tail and said to her, "now, have you calmed down?" to which she responded by nodding in relief.
"So, what are you human doing here? Are you lost?"
"Um… well…"
Monica, who had been prone on the ground, sluggishly raised her upper body to sit down, before fidgeting with her fingers.
"C-Could you please get out of this mountain… The people at the foothills v-very scared of you…"
"Now that you mention it. I remember many people had come up here from the foothills. So you were targetting my life, huh?"
"W-Well… you could say I was…"
The black cat gave an exasperated look when Monica honestly revealed her motive.
"You really are an idiot. And you know what, If I were in my original form, my black flames would had burn you long ago without leaving any bones to remain."
"I-I think… I will have defeated you… before it happens…"
With that said, Monica pointed her finger at a random tree and that tree turned into ice instantly.
That spectacle widened the black cat's golden eyes in surprise. Monica continued fidgeting her fingers and said, "Your flame takes a lot of time to cast… I could defeat you before you breathed your flame… I think."
"Why did you help me then?"
"Huh? Um… it was because you looked so painful…"
The black cat looked exasperated when hearing Monica's answer. For a cat, he sure can be so expressive.
"You really an oddball."
"..auuu…" *stab*
As sad as it is, she was often called "oddball" by her uncle. Especially when she was still with him, he always abused her while scolding that word daily.
As Monica cast her eyes downheartedly, the black cat dexterously stood on two legs and placed his foreleg on his chin, just like a human would do.
"You were not afraid of entering the mouth of the Black Dragon, but you are afraid of humans…you are a strange one, aren't you? I like interesting people. And you are such an interesting one."
"Uh-huh…"
"I decided. I'll let you keep me as your pet."
Monica was silent for a good few seconds, and after carefully assessing the black cat's statement, she let out an absentminded, "…what?"
To which, the black cat triumphantly responded, "You want me to leave this mountain, don't you?"
"Y-Yes."
"But after I've been driven out of my home by humans without any reason I got no place to go anymore. Don't you find how pitiful my life is?"
"I-I do."
"That's why, as the person who is responsible for driving me away from this place, I want you to take me as your pet."
As perplexed as she was, the words he uttered were like a person trying to coax her.
But considering how timid was her personality, expecting Monica to reject his request was a tall order.
So after he received uncomprehended answers like ‘ah… um…' repeatedly, the black cat jumped onto Monica's shoulder and tapped his soft paw on her cheek.
"I tell you, a dragon only submits to the stronger ones, and you are stronger than me. So you should be proud of yourself."
And Monica wondered while being tapped by his paw if the definition of ‘submissive' between a human and a dragon this time might be meant the otherwise.
