Chapter 3: The Monster of The Berhi Castle (3)

　　Hafen Gardt Dresden, second prince of the Dresden Empire, the emperor’s son furthest from the line of succession, had come to the Berhi Castle. With only two knights in his retinue, he was here to complete the impossible task his father had assigned him. His party was not the only thing that was meager; his face, chapped and battered by the winter wind, was frozen solid.

　　BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG!

　　Behind him, one of his few loyal knights, Mikhail, asked fretfully, “Your Highness, what will you do if a real monster emerges?”

　　“Then His Majesty will get his wish,” Hafen retorted cynically, raising his hand to knock again.

　　Just then, the heavy gate creaked open. Astina stood there, one eyebrow arched high. Her eyes narrowed, wary of the rude visitor. “What do you want?”

　　“Are you the infamous monster of Berhi?” he shot back.

　　He had been told to expect a hideous beast covered in fur, not this elegant beauty, but Hafen, jaded to the core, asked bluntly anyway. Whether she was a monster or not was immaterial, as he had long since abandoned any hope for this life.

　　His reckless provocation ignited Astina’s fury. Before her stood a man with an arrogant face and a sword at his hip, flanked by two more armed men. The purpose of anyone who came demanding to see a monster was brutally obvious. They were here to kill her sister.

　　A gale seemed to erupt from beneath her feet, whipping her hair. In an instant, her brilliant golden eyes were swallowed by darkness. A tide of black energy erupted from Astina’s slender frame, a tangible aura of menace that forced Hafen and his knights to instinctively step back, their hands flying to their swords.

　　The sight of the drawn blades made Astina melancholy. She had forgotten, in the recent quiet, what it was like. Since the terrible night their parents died, the world had been their enemy.

　　A young Brillin had been dragged about with a rope around her neck like an animal, cut by swords, burned by fire, yet she had always risked her life to protect Astina. Three years ago, after slaughtering a so-called monster subjugation team from a neighboring territory and stacking their bodies in a grim tower before the castle, Astina had made a vow.

　　Never again would she let fear make her hesitate while her sister was in pain. The world of the seventeen-year-old girl had shattered that day. All that remained was Brillin.

　　“I’ll kill you,” she snarled, her voice a low promise of death.

　　Seeing the unholy black energy pouring from her, an energy that should not belong to a human, Hafen’s face twisted into a look that was somewhere between a grimace and a grin. So, the rumors were true. He tightened his grip on his sword and muttered, “Fine. I came here to die anyway.”

　　He raised his sword and charged. As the black energy coalesced at Astina’s fingertips, Brillin threw herself between them, arms spread wide to shield her sister.

　　“Ruff! Grrr!”

　　Astina faltered, the spell dissipating from her control. Hafen skidded to a halt, his eyes fixed on Brillin’s massive, furred back.

　　“A monster?” he breathed.

　　The word made Astina’s face contort with rage. “Move, Brillin. I’m going to kill that bastard.”

　　“Grrr! Grraah!”

　　“How can I calm down now? We have to get rid of them before they bring their whole army!”

　　“Grrr.”

　　Astina tried to push Brillin aside, but her sister was an immovable wall. Scooping up the struggling, fuming Astina, Brillin tucked her under one arm and scratched the back of her head with her free hand as she turned to face Hafen.

　　“Grrr,” she rumbled, a sound that clearly meant, Excuse me, but who are you?

　　Of course, Hafen could not understand. He stared, dumbfounded, at Astina dangling in the air, still thrashing and seething with black energy. He tore his gaze away from her and addressed the awkwardly growling Brillin. “So, which one of you is the monster?”

　　“Grrr. Grraah.”

　　“Are you still talking?” Astina shrieked. “It’s me! I’m the monster! Now let me go, Sister!”

　　“Grrr, Ruff.”

　　“Why are you yelling at me? He’s the one who called you a monster!”

　　Astina was growing more agitated. She was normally a calm, kind girl, but once her temper flared, it became uncontrollable. Brillin had to calm her down before she surrendered her sanity to the vile magic.

　　If someone else got hurt, Astina would only wake to her senses later and weep alone in secret.

　　Giving up on any conversation with Hafen, Brillin turned and carried her sister back inside the castle.

　　In the empty space they left behind, Hafen spotted Theo, who was standing awkwardly, watching Astina’s retreating back with the expression of a man who had lost everything. So that’s it, Theo thought. That’s how Brillin has maintained her sanity despite Varius’s curse. The sisters shared it.

　　As Theo sighed heavily, Hafen sheathed his sword. “And who are you?”

　　Only then did Theo turn his attention to the prince and his knights. His gaze swept over Hafen from head to toe, landing on the imperial crest on his coat.

　　“Oh,” he said, the exclamation utterly devoid of surprise or deference.

　　Hafen was having a truly bewildering day. He was not treated with much respect even in the imperial palace, but he had never in his life encountered someone who would just say “Oh” to a member of the royal family. He took a closer look and saw the man was wearing the robes of the Magic Tower.

　　Tsk.

　　Hafen ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Mages. A group he wanted to deal with even less than monsters.

　　There they stood: a mage with silver-gold hair and pale blue-green eyes, dressed in a robe as white as snow, facing a prince with dark blond hair and eyes as blue as the sea. A frigid winter wind swept across the desolate castle grounds, and both men shivered, hunching their shoulders.

　　Theo glanced at the prince’s lost-looking party, then turned and slipped back inside the castle, closing the door firmly behind him to block the wind. Hafen and his two knights were left standing dumbly before the gate.

　　Mikhail, ever the loyal servant, tried to console his snubbed master. “Your Highness, perhaps we should go inside and assess the situation.”

　　Hafen dragged a hand through his hair again, then planted his fists on his hips and let out a sigh that seemed to come from the depths of the earth. He had no idea what was happening, but escaping the cold was the first priority. He had never imagined this kind of reception when he had left the palace on his father’s fool’s errand. With another heavy sigh, he pushed open the gate to Berhi Castle.

* * *

　　The castle was silent. It would have been strange to find servants in a monster’s home, but the vast halls were so devoid of life they felt unnervingly desolate. Mikhail scouted the entrance hall and spotted a doorway from which warmth and light emanated.

　　“Your Highness, I believe that is the reception room.”

　　With little choice but to move from the entryway, Hafen walked toward the room. Inside, sofas and furniture had been pushed against the walls. A thick carpet covered the floor, and a fire blazed in the hearth. Theo was sitting there alone, soaking in the heat.

　　Hafen, Mikhail, and Dorius found no proper seats and settled on the floor near the fireplace. As the feeling returned to their frozen limbs, some of the tension began to melt away.

　　Hafen cleared his throat. “Do you live here?” he asked Theo casually.

　　“No. I also arrived today.”

　　“Where did those… creatures from earlier go?”

　　“Those are the young ladies of the Berhi family,” Theo stated plainly.

　　“What?” Hafen stared at him, shocked, but Theo continued his explanation without a change in expression.

　　“The taller one is the eldest daughter, Brillin Berhi, likely the Countess of this castle. The smaller one is the second daughter, Lady Astina Berhi.”

　　At Theo’s unbiased description, Hafen recalled the two… beings he had just met. One was, by any measure, a beast. The other was tainted by a darkness that had no place in the world. And they were the direct heirs of the Berhi line.

　　Hafen stroked his chin, lost in thought. The emperor’s order had been to kill the monster and reclaim the territory. The official reason was to grant the politically weak second prince the backing of the powerful southern house. The real reason was to send him to his death.

　　But if they were not monsters, but countesses… another path to gaining the power of the Berhi family began to form in his mind. He pictured his father’s vile, sneering face as he had sent him on this suicide mission. If he played his cards right, he might just get to see that face crumble.

　　It was a long shot, but he had to try. He had already come here prepared to be torn apart by a monster; marrying one seemed a small price to pay for survival. A slow, calculating smile spread across Hafen’s lips as he gazed into the fire.

　　While the prince was counting his chickens, Theo was devising a plan of his own. He had come here alone, following his master’s final, secret instructions: to release Varius’s seal and absorb the magic left behind. But the seal was already broken. What now? Returning to the Magic Tower would mean having his master’s keepsake confiscated before being cast out—if he was lucky enough to escape with his life. His only option was to stay here, observe the sisters, and see if it was possible to reclaim the power of Varius they now shared.

　　Just as Theo, following Hafen’s lead, resigned himself to becoming an uninvited guest at Berhi Castle, the same sound rumbled from both their stomachs.

　　Growl.

　　Growl.

　　The prince and the mage clutched their bellies, faces flushing. They shot a look at each other before simultaneously whipping their heads in opposite directions. And so they sat, nursing their hungry stomachs before the fire, waiting for the masters of the castle to return.