The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Episode 203: Demon Kron - The Troublesome Child of Count Ospin's Family "You know, aren't you being too bothersome?" When something is too absurd, people can't even make a sound. Kuella Ospin was experiencing that fact firsthand at this very moment. Seeing Kuella with her lips moving silently while speechless, Lawrence scratched his head with an expression full of irritation. At that attitude of his, as if he had no idea what he had done wrong, as if Kuella was the one who had committed a wrongdoing, Kuella's mouth finally opened. "...B-bothersome? I was simply asking you to observe basic courtesy as my fiancé." "Courtesy? What did I do so wrong?" Was he really asking because he didn't know? Kuella was truly dumbfounded. It had been about a year since the engagement was established between Kuella Ospin, eldest daughter of Count Ospin's family, and Lawrence Silverheim, heir of Marquis Silverheim's family. While expecting romantic feelings in a political marriage between families might be childish behavior, precisely because it was such a business-like relationship, there were certain lines that must be observed. And Lawrence's behavior so far hadn't just lightly trampled those lines, but seemed to be tap-dancing on top of them. He was often late for appointments, and at worst, would unilaterally cancel them without even a decent reason. Not only would he abandon his fiancée Kuella at social gatherings or formal balls where it was natural for fiancés to escort their partners, playing around with other women instead, but he also continued promiscuous relationships in his daily life. The Imperial Academy they currently attended - a place some also called Eisern Academy - housed the young blood who would lead the Empire's next generation. With numerous noble heirs and daughters among its members, every action within the academy carried political influence, so it was all too obvious what the evaluation would be of a young lady being openly cheated on by her fiancé in such a place. When Kuella pointed this out, he had repeatedly made excuses saying "they're just friends" or "aren't you overreacting?", but now he seemed tired of even that and was openly asking what he had done so wrong. "If you really don't like it that much, we can just break off the engagement, right? Oh, this was your idea? Let's not forget that." Kuella stared at Lawrence with wide eyes, looking at him as if witnessing something impossible. To say it again, a noble engagement is a promise between families. It shouldn't be discussed so lightly, as if saying "let's quit if we don't like it." Even if Lawrence's family was a marquis house and Kuella's was a count house, it was the same. The family titles didn't determine absolute superiority between the two sides, and if Count Ospin's family officially made an issue of this, Marquis Silverheim's family would likewise be troubled. But Kuella couldn't speak about that. Because she knew all too well that her family would never stand on her side and fight against a marquis house. Kuella was the eldest daughter of Count Ospin's family. But if you asked whether she was receiving treatment befitting that title─ the answer was 'no'. Kuella's sickly birth mother had passed away several years ago, and Count Ospin, who had never gotten along well with his legitimate wife to begin with, brought his mistress and her daughter into the household as if he had been waiting for this. The new 'younger sister' was two years younger than Kuella. Kuella was shocked to learn that her father had been maintaining two households even while her mother was alive, but this was only the beginning. The stepmother who became the new mistress of Count Ospin's house treated Kuella, the daughter of the previous wife, like an eyesore, frequently subjecting her to verbal abuse and unfair treatment. Her half-sister Irene, far from showing respect for her elder sister, looked down on her as if she were a servant, and while Count Ospin didn't actively participate in the bullying, he openly condoned their behavior. With the family's 'masters' showing such behavior, there was no way the servants wouldn't be influenced. Under the subtle instigation of the mother-daughter pair, the servants gradually began treating Kuella carelessly, and even those servants who thought this was wrong could only help Kuella indirectly without stepping forward. The reason Kuella could maintain even the minimum living environment as a noble daughter wasn't due to the count's consideration or any minimal conscience the mother and daughter possessed. Because they needed her that way to use her in a political marriage. To the Ospin family members, Kuella's value was merely that of merchandise to be handed over to an appropriate family in exchange for a dowry. With the situation like this, break off the engagement? Regardless of who was actually at fault, the result would be that Kuella would have to unconditionally apologize saying she was wrong and cling to Lawrence. Even if Kuella insisted she didn't want to, the family would force her to bow her head. What mattered to them wasn't their daughter's grievances, but the success of the marriage and the benefits that would follow. "How about it? Are you going to break off the engagement or not? Hm?" Lawrence urged for an answer with a sneering face. In any case, he probably had no serious intention of dissolving the engagement relationship either. Knowing he was in the absolute position of power, he had only brought it up to break Kuella's spirit. In the end, Kuella had no choice but to bow her head. "...No." "Then don't be bothersome from now on. You have problems too to begin with. What kind of noble daughter goes around shabbily dressed in worn-out clothes without a single proper accessory? From a man's perspective, would that be appealing to have by your side? Isn't dressing well also part of a noble's cultivation? Neglecting your own role while only criticizing others is too much." After rambling unilaterally, Lawrence turned his back and walked away. Looking at Kuella left alone, she could feel the academy students each whispering among themselves. Kuella struggled to suppress the tears that welled up suddenly. *** Demons are dangerous. Contracts with demons are foolish acts. Demons are powerful, and they seduce people with sweet yet cunning words to extract enormous prices. Taking away lifespans is commonplace, and in severe cases, they steal souls and mortgage even the afterlife, so how could one say that contracts with demons are not dangerous? Therefore, those who would step forward themselves to attempt something like a 'demon contract ritual' were broadly divided into two types. One type was those who had wishes they wanted to fulfill even if they had to pay any price. The other type was those who had no serious intention of summoning demons from the start and were just acting on pranks or impulsive motives. In Kuella's case, her feelings were somewhere between the two. It was true that living in the world was difficult and painful enough that she wanted to borrow even a demon's power. But at the same time, she didn't believe she could seriously summon a demon through such a contract. To begin with, demons themselves were so rarely seen in reality that their very existence was treated as half-illusory, but even if demons really existed, would summoning methods that circulated like urban legends on the streets actually work? If Kuella had seriously attempted demon summoning, she would have tried to purchase a proper grimoire first, spending a fortune. Setting aside the problem of where she would get that kind of money when she didn't even have spare dresses, let alone accessories, and had to carefully rotate the few she had. "To begin with, if they want to receive an expensive dowry, shouldn't they at least make me look valuable to others? But those people...!!" "If they want to put me out as expensive merchandise, they should invest accordingly! When it's obvious I'm being mistreated within the family, who would buy that at a high price!! Even from a merchant's perspective, not just family affection, it's completely wrong!! Are they so stupid they don't even know that!?" "Even from a political marriage perspective, it's problematic!! What are they trying to achieve by sending someone filled with resentment toward her birth family as an intermediary connecting two houses!! Oh, it doesn't matter because she won't be treated as a proper wife there either? How very wise of them!" "Waaaah. Mother, why did you leave me alone? I'm having such a hard time...!! I can't live like this anymore...!! Waaaah!" From the middle onwards, it had changed into something unrecognizable as either a demon summoning ritual or just lamenting her circumstances, but in fact it was the latter. When she first attempted the ritual, Kuella had been quite tense and conducted the ceremony solemnly, but after repeating the ritual several times and realizing there was no such thing as demon summoning, it had long since changed into a venue for complaints like now. The ritual itself had initially been conducted with strict formality - holding a blade in her mouth, dripping blood onto a plate, drawing barriers with salt on the floor, and even abandoning her noble pride to bargain for a used mirror - but now it was all done halfheartedly without such things. At this rate, even if a demon were summoned, they would probably return due to the lack of sincerity, but it didn't matter. She was just continuing the ritual to feel, if nothing else, that 'someone somewhere is listening' rather than pouring out complaints to thin air that no one would hear. Therefore. 「─Do you desire power, human.」 When such a voice suddenly rang out from around her, the first thing that came to Kuella's mind wasn't 'a demon has been summoned' but 'I'm doomed.' To express it more bluntly, with vulgarity unbefitting a noble daughter, it could be substituted with 'I'm fucked.' Unlike other family members who stayed in the main residence, Kuella lived separately in an annex built in a corner of the estate, and the only advantage of this building with poor facilities, poor heating, and less than ideal sanitary conditions was precisely that. Being separated from others. So she wouldn't get caught no matter what crazy things she did alone in her room at night. That's why she had been freely pouring out all sorts of complaints in her room, but what if someone else had heard this? As she froze completely without even thinking to wipe the tear stains around her eyes, the voice came again to her ears. 「Why do you not answer? Did you not make a wish?」 "Wh-who are you? Where are you speaking from?" 「The mirror. And the question of who I am is rather amusing. Are you not the one who summoned a demon?」 Kuella reflexively looked at the mirror, then unconsciously swallowed her breath. There was darkness. The room was illuminated by bright moonlight streaming through the window. In the mirror that should have been reflecting Kuella's image, only ominous darkness was showing. Kuella froze at that strange situation and soon pondered again what the other party had said. Demon. Summoned. Who? I did. Kuella Ospin. "Hic." Her legs gave out, and Kuella collapsed onto the spot with a thud. However he interpreted that sight, the demon spoke. 「Fear not.」 It was a line that someone who was truly not frightening would have no need to say. 「I have not come to harm you, but to grant your wish.」 「Do you desire the power to fight against your unjust reality? Do you wish to punish the stepmother and stepsister who torment you, the father who condones it, and your selfish and debauched fiancé?」 「Then make a contract with me, human. Child of Ospin, Kuella.」 「My name is Kron. I am the flow that even a monarch on the throne cannot escape, the vastness that makes even a mighty warrior kneel.」 The voice of the demon who called himself Kron was solemn yet at the same time contained a subtle gentleness. Kuella, who had wondered why demon contractors she had heard about in rumors or seen in novels would make such foolish contracts, completely resolved that question at this very moment. It wasn't about being deceived without knowing the danger. There was an intense charm hidden within the demon's invitation that made one fall into it even while knowing the danger. Ah, so this is how I perish. With a vague realization, Kuella nodded her head. And darkness engulfed her. 'Mother, I'm sorry.' A single tear rolled down from Kuella's eye. *** "Hmm, excuse me. Maid. The soup seems to have gone cold - is it just my imagination?" "Ah... we ran out of firewood." "How fascinating. It's breakfast time, yet there's no firewood to heat the soup for the family's eldest daughter." "Sigh. Miss. Even if you complain like that, there's nothing we can do. If you really can't eat it, just leave─" Smack! The maid's body, with a clear maple leaf pattern imprinted on her face, flew up into the air for a moment before being hurled to the floor. While all the servants were frozen in shock, the eldest daughter of the Ospin family, Kuella Ospin. No, the demon Kron smiled slyly and said. "It seems the servant education hasn't been done properly." 'Kyaaaaaaaaaah!!' Right beside Kron. Kuella, who had been watching the scene in a spirit-like form, let out a scream. Tears came out for a different reason than yesterday.