The Harvester -
457. “Insane bastard.”
Late at night, inside the castle, Queen Filiana was sitting at her window, gazing outside with a hollow gaze. She was a dazzlingly beautiful and voluptuous woman, with amber locks and blue eyes; which she herself couldn’t even be proud of as it symbolized the superficial reason for her current status.
She sighed and reached for her glass of wine when a cold sensation froze her body. She had been taught little in the ways of magic, but she possessed a great flair for it.
“…who is it?” She asked out loud, a bead of sweat forming on the side of her face. She looked over to the corner of her private chamber and instantly regretted it. She couldn’t tell what it was. It was a beast, certainly, but one that blended with the shadows.
An opaque creature with multiple tails staring at her with its purple eyes.
“I cannot fathom your interest in me…” She swallowed her fear. “There is no advantage in aiming for my life; I am worthless to this country.”
“How cynical,” an amused voice replied and she shut her mouth. “Let us help each other,” it said and she frowned. “I’ll help you get this country under control and the only thing I ask from you is cooperation.”
“…I have no authority.”
“Yes, yes, I’ve heard it the first time,” the beast snickered and she narrowed her eyes. “But that is not something for you to worry about. All you need to do is follow my instructions.”
“Why should I?”
“Wouldn’t you like to save your dear daughter and the lives of innocent citizens?”
“Do I seem so saintly to you?” She huffed sarcastically. “I shall take it as a compliment.”
“Come on now, don’t lie to me,” it retorted. “Your soul doesn’t look that wicked to me.”
Those words caused Filiana to lose nearly all the composure she had built up. “W-what are—”
“Your saving grace,” the beast interjected, a grin audible in its voice. “Now… make your choice.”
Filiana realized then and there that her next words needed to be her answer. She didn’t dare to think of what would happen to her if she decided to oppose this monster. She looked out of her window one more time and at the city filled with men, women, and children…
“…what do you want me to do?”
“Wise of you,” it said and she felt it move from one side of the room to another. “First of all, you will endorse Arvis as the next King.”
“What…?” She barely held herself back from whipping her head directly toward the creature. It was far too unexpected. “Do you… work for that boy?”
“That’s quite impertinent, don’t you think?”
“…!” The cold rebuke briefly stole her breath. She inhaled sharply. “M-My apologies… but… I have no way to do such a thing… How am I supposed to endorse—”
“Adoption.”
That simple word caused her mind to go blank.
“An interesting loophole I’ve found in your lawbook. The Queen has no political pull whatsoever, but her status is real, nonetheless. Funnily enough… you can still adopt children. If your husband had still been alive, a mutual agreement would have been required, but now that he’s dead…”
“I can do it myself…” She whispered in shock.
“Indeed. As far as I know, Arvis is effectively an orphan and within the applicable age range, as long as he accepts. Hilarious… isn’t it? Adopting the bastard son of your husband.”
She didn’t say anything.
“Regardless, he will receive a legitimate standing and won’t have to ‘get rid’ of his sister anymore as long as she willingly steps down and supports him.”
Filiana’s eyes widened. “What… do you mean? Get rid…?”
“That’s too late for you to worry about; I don’t need to explain everything to you. I haven’t even told you the most important part yet.”
“Huh?”
The beast smirked. “How about it, Filiana? Interested in ruling this country for yourself?”
* * *
As planned, the next twenty-four hours were a tumultuous whirlwind for Elvador. The startling announcement that Queen Filiana would be adopting Arvis and that the latter had accepted the offer, all in the span of a day, spread like wildfire to the masses.
“Mom, what is this all about?”
Inside a carriage one day later, the princess scowled at her mother. She was the spitting image of the latter, having inherited most of her looks except the black hair from her father. Next to her sat a handsome man in a butler outfit, closing his eyes and making himself scarce.
Filiana sighed on the opposite seat. “It is complicated…”
“That’s not an explanation!” Fia retorted. “You know Arvis is up to no good! Every time we meet, all he does is glare at me. He also tried many times to break my engagement with Sihel! Now that you’ve helped him, it is all but guaranteed that he will be King and he will wreck the connections I’ve been trying to build with the Beast Kingdom!”
“Aah…” Massaging her temples, the Queen sighed again. “I am aware, Fia. But…”
“But what?” Fia asked with a frown.
“…a third party recently contacted me,” Filiana eventually admitted with a stiff expression. “They are the one who… suggested I do this.”
“Suggested?” The princess repeated with a doubtful tone. “Not compelled?”
“…”
“Is that why this guy is here?” Fia followed up, casting a wary eye toward a fourth person sitting in the carriage, next to her mother; an awfully intimidating man with long hair and azure eyes, sitting back with a sword nestled beneath his crossed arms.
Filiana didn’t have anything to say about that either. She glanced at the man, remembering how he had suddenly appeared before her yesterday. The only thing she knew was that his name was Bhumi and he had been sent by that ‘beast’ to relay a message.
“Where are we even going?” Fia ultimately grumbled. She could have continued and complained some more, but at the end of the day, she trusted her mother. There was nobody in this kingdom who knew Filiana’s true nature better than her; the Queen was an incredibly smart woman who had been suppressed by her environment all her life.
In comparison, Fia had the advantage of being tied to the Beast Kingdom thanks to her fiancé, making her a sensible issue for the nobles and officials of her own country. This gave her enough wiggle room to act out.
“We are heading toward the Verre Auction House,” Filiana answered calmly, eyeing Bhumi from the corner of her vision. “I was told I’d be meeting my ‘helper’ face to face there.”
“All right…? But why did you invite me?”
“…they told me to bring you with me.”
Fia furrowed her eyebrows. “This is not like you, mom…”
“I…”
At that moment, the two men inside the carriage shifted and swiftly looked in the same direction, past the enclose of the carriage.
“Darius?” Fia turned toward her butler and bodyguard with an inquisitive tone.
But before he could answer her, Bhumi moved first. He let go of his sword and pointed a finger at something the girls couldn’t see. He whispered a chant, of which Filiana could only make out the word ‘severance’.
On cue, a colorless aura shot out from his fingertip, silently piercing through the carriage. With a huff, Bhumi retracted his hand and went back to sitting quietly.
Darius raised an eyebrow, but otherwise answered his mistress, “It is nothing, miss. There was a rat that demanded attention,” he said and tapped on the moving cabin’s wall, briefly manifesting a magic rune. “I have notified our escort guards to dispose of it.”
Fia pursed her lips, clicking her tongue. “Those damn bastards…” She muttered but didn’t fail to give one more look at Bhumi. She didn’t know about that guy, but her butler was more than just excellent; he was one of the strongest spellblades in the country, whom she was lucky to have as a servant.
‘To sense a threat just as fast as he did and deal with it so easily…’ She remarked inwardly. ‘And he is supposed to have a master? Then, did mom go along because she had no choice?’
“I saw an opportunity,” Filiana raised her voice, interrupting her daughter’s thoughts.
Fia’s eyes widened slightly.
“And something told me I should take it.”
“…I understand. I’ll trust your judgment.”
* * *
Upon arriving at the auction house, they were welcomed and guided to the utmost VIP rooms as one would expect for royalty. As the event was about to start, Fia looked down at the crow from the window of their private room.
“I’ve heard a new type of monster had been captured by Verre and sent here to be sold,” she said with narrowed eyes and turned toward Bhumi leaning against the wall. “Does that have anything to do with your master’s intentions?”
The azure-eyed man’s lips curled in amusement. “Who knows.”
“Hmph.”
Filiana sat silently and waited for the auction to begin. After a few minutes, the first baubles were showcased. It was nothing special; collectibles and luxurious accessories at best.
Then, there was a lineup of magic equipment crafted by some of the best artisans; old grimoires and records; rare minerals; and eventually slaves began to be brought in.
Though, it was important to note that Elvador did not allow unsanctioned slavery. The practice had been established as unlawful long ago and presently, it lived on differently; in a manner that was generally deemed acceptable by citizens.
Criminals, such as dark mages, and monsters branded with subduing spells. The latter was quite a common sight on this continent. Some were sentient, others not. On a technical aspect, the law drafted years ago stated sapient monsters should be given a chance to coexist.
This technicality… was now ignored more often than not, which is what gave them enough guts to dare chain the final ‘item’ of this auction.
“We are reaching the end, dear customers!” The female presenter smiled widely. “It is time for us to unveil the last item of the day. It is exactly as the rumors have told you! It has no name, but its clear-cut lupine appearance is evident. That is why, witness, the Lupus!”
Everyone focused on the path leading backstage with curiosity. And as the sound of chains was heard, the presenter continued.
“It has not shown any feral conduct and, despite its shackles, never tried to resist. The brand has already been injected into its body, so it is ready for a new owner at any moment. We expect that it will be exceptionally obedient.”
Meanwhile, in the VIP stands, Fia grimaced. “As always… the way they speak never fails to make me sick,” she gagged. “And something as docile as they make it sound? They must have attacked it unprovoked…”
The princess mused and looked back. “Mom, should we… buy…?” She blinked, stopping herself in confusion as two things caught her gaze.
One was her mother being strangely stiff. The second was… Darius, whose body was trembling with an expression she never imagined seeing on his face. His pupils were dilated and sweat was soaking his skin. He wasn’t just scared; he was horrified.
He was frozen on the spot. “What… kind of…!?”
“Wha—” Before Fia could ask, a loud footfall echoed inside the auction house. For some reason, everybody attending felt the need to close their mouth, sitting as quietly as possible.
Fia whipped her head around and saw the claw that had landed on the stage. She hiccupped and the rest of the creature’s body became visible as it took another step. It was way bigger than she had expected, taller than most humans by more than two times.
Its stature and musculature were already daunting enough, but something about its midnight fur sprinkled with a purple sheen made her even more cowed. Its eyes were also too profound and calm for them to be anything less than wise.
And most importantly, those six tails on his back gave her a strong sense of incongruity. It was as if their very existence represented something she shouldn’t be able to lay her eyes upon.
Fia snapped out of her trance when the wolf-like monster stopped walking, the chains reaching a halt on the floor around him. At the same time, everyone took a deep breath, feeling like they had forgotten to breathe.
But to the princess, it only got worse. The wolf’s eyes flickered directly toward her and she stepped back in surprise.
“W-well, l-ladies and gentlemen…!” The presenter stuttered through her speech. She stood close to the ‘Lupus’ whilst fighting the urge to run, despite the countless special shackles binding it. As for the staff members that had led it here, they were quivering nervously.
“Miss…!” Darius stepped up to his princess. “We need to leave!” He whispered. “For your safety, I cannot allow you to stay here!”
“But… isn’t it chained?”
“It is absurd to think for even a second that this thing can be bound!” Her butler responded with urgency in his tone, and he wasn’t alone. Down below, several of the more qualified bodyguards seemed to be urging their charges as well.
“A-all right, let’s—”
“Stay,” Filiana’s voice cut in calmly.
“Huh?” Fia was startled. “Mother?”
The Queen sat with a resolute face. “I said… stay.”
On cue, the presenter was about to announce the start of the auction, “Then, let the bids—”
“Quiet,” the wolf opened his mouth and the woman almost fainted, her face paling to a degree it seemed anything but healthy. The two staff members stumbled away from the monster and fell on their butt.
“Hm… I guess it was somewhat fun to be auctioned,” the creature spoke up, popping his neck as if nothing was wrong. “I wanted to see your stupid faces as you screamed numbers, but it seems like I forgot to tone down my Intent. Shameful for a Nephilim, I’ll admit.”
The crowd had a hard time registering his words, their minds mostly focused on waiting for the moment that their bodies would start listening to them again. At this moment, the hundred or so attendees desperately wanted to flee, but had all been ensnared by their survival instinct.
Seeing this, Rakna finally grabbed his cuffs and crushed them with his grip. The sound made the crowd jolt. “Also, I’m a werewolf, not some monster. Lupus, my ass. Wolfwalker would have been better for once,” he huffed and tossed the shackles away.
He raised an eyebrow at the presenter next to him.
“Calm down, woman,” he snorted. “With how loud your heartbeat is, you’re going to have a heart attack before anything even tries to kill you,” he deadpanned and stepped down from the stage, leaving her as she collapsed on her knees.
Everyone immediately began to scramble away from him, forming a path to walk through.
“Wow, how mannerly,” Rakna said with a grin, and after a moment, his claws found a footing not on the floor, but thin air. Violet energy sparked under his feet as he climbed up. Not long after, he stopped in front of a VIP room.
He leaned down and peeked inside.
Fia was immediately shielded by Darius while Bhumi shook his head at the theatrics.
Rakna stared into Filiana’s eyes. “Well, well, what a lovely lady... I found my buyer,” he joked and her eyes twitched. He looked back at the crowd and grinned. “How about it? Does anyone wish to bid higher?”
Nobody even looked at him. They could only retort inwardly, ‘Bid higher than what?!’
“Aw, you’re all so considerate, I’m going to shed a tear,” the werewolf chuckled and extended his hand toward Filiana. “Spare a coin, my Queen?”
She squinted her eyes at him and deftly pulled out a gold coin from between her fingers as if she had performed a magic trick. She then tossed it toward him.
Rakna grinned and flicked his finger. Before it even reached him, the coin disappeared and fell right in front of the female presenter who was still in a daze.
“Payment received,” he stated. “Well then, you’re now the proud owner of a six-tailed werewolf, I hope this auction was to your liking.”
And, as the realization set in for everyone, the first one to recuperate enough to speak was none other than Fia, who could only blurt out the most prominent thought in her mind.
“…insane bastard.”
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