Chapter 142 - Looking as if he was going to eat him alive

Ivan finally came down the road and sat next to the bed quietly.

Izek also sat down after scratching his messy silver hair and kicking off the blanket.

Then, with a deeply furrowed face, he looked around the room and said, “What is up with these weedlings? No wonder I felt like I was suffocating.”

“Grow some sense of aesthetics. And gratitude too. Didn’t everyone have to leave because you acted like a sick person? Ah, if you miss your wife, go see her yourself!”

“That quack warned me that it’s dangerous to be close. My divinity is too strong!”

“When did you start paying attention to other people’s warnings? And you seem to like acting strong. You’re always acting out and being reckless, so of course it’s dangerous! Impatience has its limits, you know. Are you a child?!”

He should have growled back at him, but for some reason, Izek just kept his mouth shut and turned his head away.

Looking at Izek who appeared like grass that had withered away, Ivan’s heart once again weakened.

He couldn’t help but think that the vile b*stard was doing it on purpose.

“Well, you do have an unexpectedly thorough and cautious side when it comes to her… Damn, that dragon heart bracelet or whatever it is…”

The cause of him acting this way was Rudbeckia’s violent pain that started as soon as she returned to the north.

The root of the decisive problem was with the queen.

As in, the former queen.

“What exactly happened?”

“It was absorbed. When it clashed with the heretic ritual, it got absorbed into her body.”

“Right, that’s how our little lizard knew exactly where the princess was, remember? You did give a proper gift, didn’t you? Your ancestors who made that bracelet were quite visionary, it seems. Even that crap can be medicine… Ahem.”

Ivan, who had been talking cheerfully, quickly regained his composure and cleared his throat.

That wasn’t all there was to it.

As if opening a sealed door, as soon as she returned to the Omerta Castle in the north, where the most powerful magic and divinity coexisted, Rudbeckia began to emit a tremendous amount of magic and felt sick.

The Omera physician claimed with a very serious expression that the dragon heart had been absorbed into her own heart. Fortunately, there was a way to heal her, but in order to do so…

“But isn’t it about time we went to pick her up? The deadline has passed, and by now those little lackeys who think they’re so cute must have worked hard to prepare everything, whether it’s magic or divine intervention. You shouldn’t be sitting around like this, you should get up and prepare to take care of her. You couldn’t even treat her properly during your honeymoon, and it was an arranged marriage. This time, instead of a wedding, there should be a grand crowning ceremony as well, don’t you think?”

Izek became silent again.

In the silence, Ivan began to feel a little uneasy.

No way, could it be?

“Hey… why are you like that?”

“….”

“You’re not really saying you can’t do it because you’re lazy, are you?”

“….”

“Hey, Izek! Why aren’t you answering?!”

“….”

“Izek van Omerta! You worthless b*stard! Can’t you answer me right now?! If the Lord of Britannia, recognized by the Longinus Knights, the northern region’s top paladin along with me, claims that he can’t become King just because it’s too bothersome, I’ll fold you in half right here!”

The former queen who committed heresy to send Rudbeckia away and killed Enzo, her life was spared.

In exchange, King Feanol retired, and young Arien continued to live in the palace thanks to the Omerta family’s arrangement.

Internally, the current situation in Britannia was somewhat chaotic.

And yet, it had been a long time since it was this way.

Those who allied themselves with Omerta and the secret alliance against Borgia during Rudbeckia’s rescue may not have known the whole truth, but they were in a situation where they (arbitrarily guessing) fear that they could use the paladins, including the Frost Dragon, as a military force in the north.

There were only two demands that Britannia shamelessly made from there: strict confidentiality and no interference from the saints.

And so, the next pope was determined to be Cardinal Lacroix who had helped them out.

He sent a lot of gratitude gifts later on.

In such a desirable situation, if a man who had tamed the dragon claimed that he cannot become the king just because he is lazy, does that make sense?

Ivan’s eyes, gripping his friend’s shoulders fiercely, burned with anger.

No way, if necessary, he would grab Rudbeckia and cry to get this crazy b*stard’s rotten mind straight.

“I don’t know what to say….”

“What?”

“I don’t know what to say.”

What nonsense was this?

Ivan shot a look at Izek, as if he was going to eat him alive.

Izek slowly recited with a sullen gaze fixed on the ceiling, which was not at all fitting.

“As you said, we got married as a proxy marriage… I’ve never really proposed properly. But what should I say?”

“Huh? What are you talking about? What are you saying?”

“Should I ask her to become my queen?”

“What?”

“Ah, damn it. She originally married me as the Duchess, right? She probably thought she would become Duchess Omerta later, and I thought so too.”

“….”

“But now, suddenly, I have to be the king and I’m supposed to rule the country, so she will become the queen too. Isn’t that rude? I can’t even describe. Can you even call it chivalrous? I’ve made a lot of mistakes since we became newlyweds…”

“….”

“F*ck, I don’t know how to do it properly, but the problem is that there’s not a single person around me who I can ask for advice in this.”

Izek, who was scratching his head irritably, finally turned to Ivan.

Then he frowned.

“What are you doing?”

Ivan didn’t answer.

He couldn’t answer because his chin had fallen to the ground.

After a long time, he barely raised his chin and squeezed out the words.

“You sick b*stard….”

“What?”

Ivan wondered what kind of thoughts Izek was having while lying under the covers in bed like this. He couldn’t understand how his mind worked.

Ivan began to doubt whether such a person could be made into a King.

“You’re a really sick f*cker. If anyone sees you, they’ll think you’re planning a proposal or something.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking of. I’m just…”

“That’s why, you’re a son of a b*tch! Having happy worries of all kinds is fine but why are you stuck here thinking about that crap! You’re such a perverted b*stard! You’re inhuman! You’re even worse than the devil!”

* * *

“Ahhhhhh!”

I jumped up from my bed at the sharp scream that tore through the pleasant and refreshing morning air.

“Oh my goodness, what’s happening again?”

“Madam, Madam!”

There was Lucille, frozen white with shock, rushing towards me.

Her expression was one of absolute disbelief.

And on the other side, there was Popo, standing motionless with his mouth half open, looking absolutely terrifying!

“What on earth happened…”

“Popo, Popo!”

Before I could finish my sentence, Popo came flying towards me with intense force, shouting at the top of its lungs.

Lucille was now turning from white to blue and trembling with anger.

Andymion, who explained the situation on behalf of Lucille, appeared like he had just drunk himself silly in a local tavern.

“Well, I just had breakfast with the Omertas, and that thing stole the turkey dish and got caught.”

“But Popo…”

Popo loved human flesh, or so I thought, but now he only ate wild animals.

Looking at me, Popo shook its head pitifully, or rather, its body.

And finally, Lucille exploded.

“That monster child, where does it get off pulling stunts like that…! Madam, I saw it all! That despicable creature was prancing in front of the empty tray!”

Swoosh.

Lucille’s broomstick swung fiercely through the air.

The hidden knights who were standing awkwardly around the breakfast cart all tensed up at once.

“C-Calm down, Lucille. The situation is clear, but the Popori tribe is known for only eating wild meat, so maybe it’s someone else?”

“Who are you talking about? Ronja, is that you?! Is this girl crazy? How dare she serve food to the lady!”

“What?! What are you talking about?”

Of course, Ronja wasn’t that kind of person.

She wasn’t a skilled enough thief to steal like that in an instant.

While I was trying to calm down Lucille, Andromion scratched his head and made a fairly convincing argument.

“It seems like Griffin is suspicious.”

“Then…”

“But doesn’t Griffin dislike meat? Even if it’s not meat, isn’t it possible that it’s not to his liking…?”

Someone cautiously chimed in with their thoughts.

It wasn’t that important who said it.

Anyway, we all simultaneously thought of the remaining suspect in our heads, then turned our heads together to look beyond the valley of the Frost forest where the beautiful morning sun was rising.

Was that giant creature feasting on my turkey up there, having a happy morning meal…?