ETHTKE chapter 41

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“Wow, is that even allowed?”

A cheerful and pleasant voice flowed mischievously from a smiling face.

“He must have thought no one would find out…”

No way!

No matter how fiercely the storm raged, it’s such an open space!

Of course, if it were anyone else, they wouldn’t know.

“As I said, it’s fun.”

The man, leaning sloppily on a plush chair, stared intently at the screen shown by the magic sphere, ruffling his hair carelessly and relaxing further into his seat.

He had replayed this scene countless times already.

Yet, no matter how many times he watched it, he never got tired of it.

Watching this rare scene alone!

It was almost frustrating enough that he wanted to jump into the magic sphere out of sheer regret.

Maybe then his frustration would be eased?

Several strands of orange hair were pulled out as his hand roughly brushed through. The man clicked his tongue, carelessly shaking the hair off.

Through the magic sphere, the image of the Crown Prince, Hail Dirzio, picking up the shattered head of the statue was vividly clear.

And beside him, a wizard of unknown identity, Cheong Dowoon, looked at him with a blank stare.

“Hey, you demonic bird.”

-How dare a mere human… My name is ‘Kamok!’

The black bird, called a demonic creature, flared up at Reggie, who only nodded nonchalantly and grinned playfully.

“Sure, crow. What do you think of our prince?”

-My name isn’t crow, it’s Kamok…

“Yeah, crow.”

The brief silence that fell after the abruptly cut-off words was quickly broken by an animated voice exclaiming, “Isn’t it really amazing?”

In response, Kamok furrowed his dark eyes and glared at Reggie.

He swallowed back a muttered “Here he goes again” and turned his attention to the magic orb.

-…The Great Demon is watching.

“Of course, he would. How admirable it must be for the crown prince to secretly destroy the statue, a symbol of the Empire.”

-No, not that one.

At Kamok’s reply, the smile that had been plastered across Reggie’s face vanished in an instant.

When Reggie looked back, the joy from moments ago was completely gone from his gaze.

“You don’t mean our cute newcomer, do you?”

There was no explicit subject in Reggie’s question, but it was clear enough for Kamok to grasp.

Huh…?

If Reggie is talking about the newcomer, it could only be Cheong Dowoon.

But does Cheong Dowoon even qualify as ‘cute’…?

Kamok briefly pictured Dowoon and flapped his wings in bewilderment.

Usually, the term “cute” refers to something small and endearing, something lovable.

Even Kamok, who normally didn’t care much about humans, remembered Cheong Dowoon’s considerable build.

After all, Dowoon had broad shoulders like the ocean, and his height was long and tall, like stretched cheese.

He had the kind of sturdy physique that would make anyone turn their head as he passed by.

-He’s not exactly cute…

“What are you talking about? He’s adorably cute! So, who is he interested in?”

Reggie’s unexpectedly fierce, resolute, and yet puzzling response left Kamok stunned.

-Ahem, nothing is decided yet. He’s just feeling some interest.

“You better stop there. I don’t want to give Dowoon up, no matter who it is.”

The chilling words prompted Kamok to glance around and swallow dryly.

He coughed a few times intentionally, trying to regain his composure.

-There’s no need to be so cautious. It’s just a fleeting interest in something new.

“Did I ever tell you? You can’t trust demon bastards. They twist their words however they want.”

Reggie’s voice returned to its former cheerfulness.

The hardness in his eyes, which had been so cold, melted away as if it had never been there.

Kamok let out a quiet sigh, careful not to let Reggie hear.

There wasn’t a single thing he liked about this guy from start to finish. A true devil in every sense.

Of course, Kamok himself was a beast, but Reggie was worse—much worse.

Yet Reggie was the only one in Pendium who could understand and communicate in the language of the beasts.

So it wasn’t wise to upset him.

Sure, the second prince, Piel, also understood the language, but that wasn’t because Piel was clever.

He was merely borrowing the power of a beast who could understand language.

In simple terms, he had summoned a beast interpreter. As long as the conditions were met, it wasn’t a difficult feat.

However, since it wasn’t his power, there were naturally flaws. For this reason, it was difficult to have deep conversations with Piel.

At best, he could issue commands and receive results—simple exchanges of information.

“Crow, tell your master to wait a moment. I have high expectations for our newcomer.”

-I don’t see what’s so cute about someone who’s just big.

“You don’t understand. Bigger ones are always cuter.”

Reggie’s lips curled up into a smile as he finished speaking.

Cheong Dowoon still didn’t know. There were more eyes watching him than he realized.

Just as Reggie was staring intently at the image shown by the magic orb, the sound of a door opening was heard.

Reggie swiftly deactivated the magic orb, as if nothing had happened.

“Reggie, you may leave now.”

The moment the voice reached him, Reggie stood up swiftly, as if he had been waiting for it. His chair wobbled with the sudden movement.

Yesterday, from early morning when the storm raged, Piel had summoned Reggie, telling him to stay in his office without giving a reason.

As a result, Reggie had been stuck in Piel’s office all day.

Despite this, Reggie did not ask for the reason, and Piel did not explain either.

There was no need to explain to someone who already knew.

“Your Highness, I have been waiting. I’m relieved to see you’re safe.”

Reggie walked to the door and bowed respectfully to the person in front of him, but Piel’s eyes were filled with mild contempt.

“Such pointless formalities.”

“You like these things, don’t you?”

Despite Piel’s cold response, Reggie circled around him with a bright smile and then abruptly stopped.

“Your Highness, I collaborated this time out of interest, but there won’t be a next time. I’ve found something more fun.”

Reggie giggled and left the second prince’s office without waiting for Piel’s reply.

Seeing this, Piel’s lips slowly parted in disbelief.

“I should just kill that guy first.”

-Caw caw caw!

Kamok’s voice echoed in strong agreement.

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“Ugh.”

Suddenly, I opened my eyes. I couldn’t remember clearly, but it had been a very ominous dream.

A shadowy figure was reaching out with sharp hands, chasing me with terrifying intent to snatch my soul.

“…Is my soul still intact?”

I quickly reached out and felt my chest, sensing the faint thumping of my heart.

It was hard to tell if that meant my soul was still safely attached…

“Cheong Dowoon, are you awake?”

A sudden voice made me turn my head sharply, and I found myself locking eyes with Anna, who was just entering the room with a teapot.

For some reason, Anna’s green hair seemed to shine even brighter today.

Even though this was clearly Baek Yigang’s bedroom, Anna was naturally coming to find me here instead of my own room.

“Oh, yes.”

“Oh my, did you have a bad dream? Why are you sweating so much… Hold on a moment.”

Anna quickly approached, looking at me with a startled expression, and began wiping my sweat with a handkerchief.

“After you finish your tea, could you please come to your room? It’s getting late to start preparing for the Founding Festival. With all the attention on you, Cheong Dowoon, we have to do our best!”

“Uh… sure.”

Watching Anna clench her fist with a determined look, I nodded without thinking.

Anna smiled sweetly and promptly handed me a teacup.

“His Highness has already been preparing since dawn. He will be very busy today, as it is a long-awaited day.”

“Uh, I guess so.”

Without me asking, Anna filled me in on Baek Yigang’s latest updates.

Then she placed the teapot on the side table and left the room, saying she would be waiting.

“Finally, the Founding Festival begins.”

Turning my head, I saw the morning sunlight shimmering brightly outside the window.

Today, I would finally meet the main protagonist of The Catastrophe of Initia, the third prince.

And finally…

“I must seize… no, borrow that guy’s divinity!”

It was time to begin my long-awaited, ambitious plan.

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