Chapter 97: You... Brute

Chapter 97 You... Beast

When you face a wild beast, your fear is its ultimate reason to spring forth and tear into you.

It was just like Cullen now; in front of this young girl, if he showed even a shred of cowardice or betrayed the thoughts and behaviors of a normal person, what awaited him would be a fate akin to her biological brother's.

She was a wild beast,

And this godforsaken study was like a cage, trapping him together with the beast.

Cullen swore,

After this, he would immediately study the Divine Servant arts of the Church of Order. No, since he could awaken a corpse before even being purified, why couldn't he attempt a higher tier of arts?

Those of Divine Revelation and Divine Herding, or even those of an Inquisitor!

Even if learning them ahead of time carried immense risk, it had to be better than this, right?

In truth, Cullen did not have much reason to complain about his own complacency, for he truly had only completed his purification yesterday, and this little beast had entered today.

His only bit of slackness was probably sitting contentedly at the desk this morning, eating a breakfast that wasn't even that delicious.

Aside from that,

From now on, a secretary's desk had to be added next to the study. Even if he was just sitting in the study clipping his fingernails, Alfred had to sit there and keep him company.

Judia walked up to the desk,

Before pressing the desk bell,

She smiled,

Then she turned her head to look at Cullen,

Cullen noticed it with his peripheral vision, but merely continued using his fingers to tug and adjust his clothes.

"Ding..."

Judia rang the bell.

Standing at the door was Bogue, Rank One in the family faith system.

Cullen felt that he would likely be no match for this mad princess of the royal family.

And when Bogue saw that there was another person in the study, he obviously froze for a moment. He had been standing at the study door the entire time; how could he not know someone had entered?

"Go get me a change of clothes. Princess Judia's saliva has soiled my clothes."

"No it didn't, it was clearly you who liked tasting my saliva."

After her coquettish retort,

Judia even flashed a cute smile at Bogue, who was standing there.

"Young Master, the Master wants to ask if you would like to attend the cemetery ceremony shortly."

"I'm not going."

"Very well, I will go fetch the clothes for you, Young Master."

Before long, Alfred walked in holding the clothes. Before entering, his expression was somewhat solemn, but after crossing the threshold, he restored his rigorous smile.

"Young Master, the clothes are here."

"Mmh, he is a manservant with quite an aura, too." Judia proactively walked over to Cullen's side and crouched down, her arms wrapping around the legs of the seated Cullen. "I'm even starting to wonder if there's some kind of story between you and your manservant?"

"Put the clothes on the desk and go on out."

Alfred placed the clothes on the desk and asked with a smile, "Young Master, do you not require your subordinate to wait on you while you change?"

"No need."

Cullen shook his head, while simultaneously reaching out to lightly pat Judia's small head:

"I want to experience the feeling of a princess helping me change."

"Very well, Young Master."

Alfred walked out of the study, stopped at the doorway, turned around, pulled the study door handles with both hands, and closed the door.

"Click."

The very instant the door closed, Alfred directly grabbed Bogue by his collar, lifting the youth's feet off the ground.

"What on earth are you guarding, you useless piece of trash!"

After his low-voiced curse,

Alfred threw Bogue straight to the floor.

Bogue scrambled up immediately and said, "I don't know, I was at the door the whole time. I don't know how this princess got in. I just thought it was a bit strange, which is why I made it a point to tell you, sir.

The Young Master should be fine, right? Didn't you just go in to check on him, sir?"

"Fine?" Alfred kicked Bogue yet again, sending him sprawling to the ground.

The "radio" fiend in Purr's words was only deferential and respectful toward great existences, but in reality, he was an aberrant demon capable of sitting on equal terms with an ordinary Inquisitor of the Church of Order to secure his own autonomous life circle!

"When I just went in, that girl deliberately pressed herself right against the Young Master, precisely because she feared I would suddenly make a move on her. This is holding the Young Master hostage, and you call this fine?"

Kicked to the floor, Bogue immediately clutched his chest and scrambled up once more, asking;

"Please tell me what I should do now?"

"What else can we do?" Alfred took a few steps back and stood leaning against the wall. "Wait for her to come out on her own."

Bogue asked, "Should I go find the Master, tell him, and ask him to invite Prince York over?"

"Do nothing, do not do anything superfluous." Alfred took a deep breath and reminded him, "When you lose control over a situation, doing nothing is the only way to guarantee the baseline of how bad things can get. Actions taken in a panic are highly likely to make things worse.

Since the desk bell was pressed earlier to let you in, it proves the situation is still within the Young Master's control. We... must believe in the Young Master."

"Yes, thank you for your guidance, Mr. Alfred." Bogue clutched his chest and bowed to Alfred.

Alfred glanced at him and said, "Set up a desk for me in the study later. From this day forward, I want to be by the Young Master's side at all times."

...

Cullen took off his soiled coat and handed it to Judia.

Judia took the coat, placed it on the desk, then picked up a fresh garment, walked over, held its cuffs open, and asked:

"I'm very curious."

"Curious about what?"

Cullen slid his hands into the cuffs, putting the clothes on, and then stood facing Judia, gesturing for her to help him fasten the buttons.

Judia reached out to help Cullen with his buttons, continuing:

"Curious whether you were performing in front of me just now, and everything you did before was an act."

"Yes, it was all an act," Cullen answered very honestly.

"Oh?" Judia continued fastening the buttons. "If it was an act, then your talent for performing is truly magnificent. You should go to the Royal Grand Theatre in York City to be a lead actor."

"To keep testing repeatedly even after a choice has already been made is a very boring thing to do," Cullen said.

"Mmh, what you say makes a lot of sense."

With the front buttons now fastened, Karen turned around, letting her tend to the back.

Having fully entrusted his back to her,

Karen continued:

"Once a choice has been made, one must walk the path to its end. In truth, whether the destination is right or wrong matters very little in most cases—that is merely for others to see. All that you can truly perceive is whether you like and enjoy the scenery along the way."

"I understand."

Judia released her grip. "This part is finished as well."

Karen turned back around and began to straighten his own cuffs.

"At first, I thought you were just cleaning this study, but then I realized you weren't. Later, I thought you were merely a core member of the Allen family, but now I've discovered you aren't that either.

You are the actual master of this Allen family study now. It is quite strange."

"Is that considered very strange?" Karen smiled faintly. "Then your threshold for feeling strange must be remarkably low."

Judia pinched the hem of her skirt and curtseyed to Karen:

"I am quite curious. If I were to walk out of this study alone right now, would what awaits me be an attack ordered by you? Is there such a possibility?"

"That possibility is exactly the same as the possibility of you wanting to consume me when you just climbed through the window."

"Then how could I ever walk out?"

"What do you think?" Karen finished adjusting his clothes completely. "You can ask yourself what it was that made you abandon the idea of devouring me."

"I can tell you a secret, a secret of the Gloria royalty directed against the Allen family."

"Speak."

"The Gloria royalty is preparing to move against the Allen family."

"Then why not now? Your Brother Henry would make an excellent pretext for framing them."

"Because the time is not yet ripe. My great-grandmother's health is growing worse and worse; she is dying."

"She could die at any moment. After all, she is at such an advanced age."

"But she has obtained a method to persist, a way to prolong her lifespan. Furthermore, once this method succeeds, it will bring a massive elevation to the level of the Gloria family."

"You could be a bit clearer."

Judia pointed her finger toward the portrait of Count Recar. "Count Recar once gave my Gloria ancestor half a nautical chart, as... payment for her services."

"Mm."

Karen did not find it strange. In the tales of pirates, there would never be a shortage of nautical charts, and such a chart could never be whole.

"Over a century ago, the Gloria family and the Allen family jointly assembled an expedition fleet, merging their respective halves of the chart. Guided by that chart, they set off to unearth a mysterious treasure.

During that expedition, the fleet suffered catastrophic losses. Only the Allen family's flagship returned, while the Gloria family was completely wiped out."

Karen's heart stirred slightly. So, was that finger of the God of Light brought back by the Allen family from that very treasure hunt?

"But the truth is, the Gloria family had an ancestor who participated in that adventure at the time. He did not die; he survived by drifting upon the sea and washed ashore on a deserted island.

For nearly a century, accompanied by the expansion of the colonial movement, a prospecting team belonging to the mining department finally arrived on that island twenty years ago. There, they discovered the remains of that ancestor inside a mountain cave.

Beside the remains lay a box, and inside the box was a black seed."

"This story of yours is getting a bit too long," Karen reminded her. "Perhaps in the future, I can teach you a method on how to narrate a story without making the audience feel bored."

Yet what Karen thought in his heart was that if the Allen family had brought back the finger of a god from the joint expedition back then, then the seed that the Gloria ancestor had protected even unto death was certainly nothing ordinary either.

"In the grand theater, there are actors who specialize in holding exclusive storytelling sessions. They perform almost every day, speaking of nothing but nonsense, yet plenty of people buy tickets to go in and listen to them every day."

"Very well, if there is an opportunity next time, I shall go to the grand theater to listen. But as for you right now..."

"Great-Grandmother intends to pay a visit to the Allen family before she dies. This is an honor reserved for vassals. Wherever the Queen visits, it is a blessing, even a collective honor for everyone in a small town or an entire city."

"And then?"

"Great-Grandmother will die at the Allen estate. That seed will sprout inside her body, and then, on that night, everyone up and down the Allen Manor will perish. But Great-Grandmother will attain rebirth. Nominally, of course, she will definitely have died within the Allen Manor, and her remains should be left there as well.

Perhaps outsiders are not aware, but the Gloria family only dares to protect itself and dares not truly take the initiative to attack the outside world. This is because the Church maintains an extremely strict surveillance over the Wayne royalty. The royal family can play within their own territory, but if they wish to expose any ambition, they will inevitably suffer suppression from the Church.

Fortunately, if this method is used, it can bypass the Church's suspicion of the royal family. Outsiders will not think it was the Gloria family that annihilated the Allen family."

"Be more specific."

"The specifics are something even I do not know," Judia explained. "The one who has to swallow that seed is Great-Grandmother, not me."

"Why choose the Allen family?"

"This should be the result of the family's research. This seed was once stained with blood, the blood of the Allen family ancestors from a century ago."

"What?"

Judia shrugged her shoulders and said, "Is it so difficult to understand? It probably involves the joint expedition fleet assembled by both sides. When it came to the distribution of benefits, they fought fiercely, and a bloody clash ensued.

Since the Allen family's flagship returned, it means the Gloria family's ancestors failed in that clash.

Therefore, that ancestor who took the seed, leaped into the sea, drifted to the deserted island, and finally died there, should have carried the final hope of all the Gloria clansmen on that expedition fleet.

But that seed must have been stained with the blood of the Allen family members. It might have been stained during the mutual slaughter, or perhaps someone dripped blood onto it beforehand in order to claim it as their own sooner.

In short, the results of nearly twenty years of research by the family indicate that when this seed sprouts, the nourishment it requires should be the people of the Allen family.

In fact, this research was already nearly complete ten years ago. The specific methods of use and the taboos of use were already very clear back then."

"So, why drag it out until now?"

"Because Great-Grandmother is afraid of death. Holding the highest status, she chose various methods to delay and obstruct the arrival of this plan.

Now, it is because she feels she is truly about to die, which has firmed her hope of gaining rebirth through this seed.

Great-Grandmother is the patriarch of the Gloria family and the common sovereign of the Kingdom of Wayne, its dependencies, and colonies. When she does not wish to die, no one can urge her.

Not only that, but in recent years, the Raphael family's encroachment upon the Allen family has grown increasingly severe. Out of concern that the Allen family might completely fall into ruin, the Gloria family even went out of its way to help suppress the Raphael family.

Because the Allen Manor is the place of awakening that Great-Grandmother selected long ago...

As for the near future, let me see—Brother's remains will certainly not be found."

Judia patted her own stomach.

"But the funeral, according to tradition, will definitely be held at the Allen Manor. At that time, Great-Grandmother, as the Queen, should personally come to offer her condolences for her great-grandson.

If she chooses to stay at the Allen Manor that night,

it will mean she has made all preparations—well, mostly psychological ones. Because the consequences of swallowing that seed, even after many years of calculations and analysis by the family elders, are still uncertain since there is only one seed after all, and there is no way to perform experiments."

"If the nourishment for that seed must be the blood of the Allen family, doesn't the Gloria family also possess..." Karen looked at Judia.

Judia pointed to the portrait of Count Recar and said:

"In fact, my direct lineage does not come from Queen Gloria III. Gloria III never bore any offspring for Count Recar. In truth, when Queen Gloria III was with Count Recar, she had already lost her fertility. Although history records that she gave birth to several more children after that, those were merely other children from the family placed under her name."

"Oh? Then you..."

"But Gloria III's daughter, Princess Lucen, did bear a child for Count Recar."

The mother, as Count Recar's mistress, failed to bear a child; yet her daughter gave birth to one?

However, placing oneself in that era, what kind of conventional worldly morality could a rampaging, unscrupulous pirate leader possibly possess?

Perhaps attachment and centripetal draw to the family were all he had left to retain; for most of his life, he had been a scoundrel, doing exactly what scoundrels do.

"That lineage actually failed to produce any good results, yielding only two of the first tier. But as you know, the Glorias are always together, all mixed up—a bit from here, a bit from there.

Especially the close royalty, who are often unsure if their parents are truly their parents. Take me, for instance: Prince York is my grandfather, but at the same time, he is also my father, hehe."

Karen swallowed hard.

With a family so intermingled, they would either breed idiots or psychopaths.

Clearly, Judea belonged to the latter category. Fortunately, due to reasons from his past life, he possessed ample experience in dealing with them.

"I should carry a tiny trace of Count Recar’s bloodline, and then, by a stroke of luck, I actually succeeded in awakening. Hehehe, do you know what tier I am now in the Allen family faith system?"

"Tier two?"

"No, tier three."

Karen suddenly felt that old Anderson could well take his three sons and leap from a rooftop. The core family had managed only tier three at best by now, yet an outsider child, at such a young age, was already tier three!

"Now that I’ve told you this, when I walk out of this study, will you order your men to attack me? That manservant of yours is very formidable; I might not be a match for him."

Karen shook his head.

Compared to the fact that the entire Allen Manor was to be used as a sacrificial offering, this young girl was not that severe a threat.

Most importantly,

From the girl's narrative, Karen discerned a... different sort of feeling, for when she recounted the affairs of the Allen and Gloria families, her stance... did not align with the Glorias at all.

Judea spun around a few times on the spot, her skirt fluttering;

She truly resembled a young girl of her age now, her face radiant with a free and unfettered smile.

Having finished her dance,

She drew a letter from her bosom,

And handed it to Karen.

Karen reached out and accepted the letter.

"What is recorded in the letter is precisely what I have just told you."

Karen said in surprise, "So, you climbed the wall into this study just to leave this warning letter for the head of the Allen family?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Why?"

"Why?" Judea asked with a smile. "What tier are you in the family faith system?"

Karen shook his head, noting a point at the same time: could Judea not tell that he was a divine servant?

Perhaps because his purification process had been very peculiar, he was naturally able to conceal the aura of a divine servant?

As for why Pur, Alfred, and old Anderson had not discovered his ability to "hide," was it because they knew clearly he had completed purification, and thus naturally overlooked it?

Judea spoke: "So, you do not understand this feeling. When you awaken the bloodline of the progenitor, and as your tier in the family faith system rises, you will feel a natural affinity for the progenitor, for your bloodline."

Judea pointed a finger at the Progenitor Allen above the desk:

"I can clearly sense that he is my true beginning."

Promptly,

Judea turned to face the portrait of Count Recar:

"The Gloria family is not my home, and Prince York shares no emotional bond with me. In my perception, my father—is him!

Do you know why I ate Henry? Henry was actually a useless fool, so he knew nothing of the family secrets. I am different; I enjoy the treatment of a Gloria family genius, so I know far more than Henry did.

I have seen Sister Eunice several times. She used to accompany her mother, Lady Jenny, into the palace to have afternoon tea with Great-Grandmother.

I so loved looking at her, being close to her, because she could give me the feeling of family.

It is just that the destitute Allen family, wanting to marry her off for a good price, never tested her bloodline.

But I firmly believe that since she can give me this feeling, it means she must be like me, possessing a very thick aura of the progenitor's bloodline.

Ah,

She is my sister, my beautiful sister, so gentle and moving.

Henry actually dreamed of marrying her, of defiling my sister; he was dreaming of eating dung!

Moreover,

I discovered that perhaps because of me, the family seemed to have the idea to facilitate this marriage, letting Sister Eunice marry in and then arranging that grand affair, to preserve one more lineage belonging to the Allen family.

So, I found an opportunity to kill my brother, who was foolish enough to crave swan meat, and incidentally stuffed horse dung into his mouth to tell him what he truly deserved to eat.

But what you said earlier was really fantastic, Great-Grandmother’s undergarments, hahaha, now that is a true classic!"

"You killed Henry simply because he wanted to marry Eunice?" Karen asked.

"Yes, exactly. Although I have only exchanged a few simple greetings with my sister, whoever dares to defile my beautiful, holy sister, whatever foul man dares to marry her, I will kill that man!"

"..." Karen.

"Well, the matter is spoken. The filthy, foolish Glorias presume to use my Allen family as a sacrifice; how could I sit by and watch? I certainly had to come and give a reminder first.

This is the Allen Manor of the Allen family, and it is also my manor, my home, even if I have not truly lived here for a single day.

Well,

I must leave this study now, and return to the side of Prince York, who is both my grandfather and my papa."

As Judea walked toward the study door,

Karen called out to stop her:

"But..."

Judea paused, turning her head to look at Karen, and asked, "But what?"

"But I am certain that just now, you truly wanted to eat me. My surname is Allen, and I am sitting in this study. If you consider this place home..."

"Those who fail to awaken the progenitor's bloodline are all outsiders in my eyes. Others, even if bearing the surname Allen, are merely strangers to me. I might even feel that his bearing this surname makes me very uncomfortable."

"Very well, I understand."

"No, you do not understand," Judea smiled. "I even suspect now whether you are a beguiling aberrant demon, yet I cannot detect the aura of an aberrant demon from you. But earlier, you truly caused me to lose myself. You, as a person, are truly interesting—no, exceedingly interesting."

"Is that so..."

Judea extended a finger and tapped her own forehead, saying:

"Even now, I have not emerged from your beguilement;

Because I have begun to look forward—look forward to the day you might truly take me to see my father, allowing me to personally recount my loneliness and grievances to Father. I also want so much to act like a normal little girl, acting spoiled before Father.

You were right; whether the end of the road is right or wrong no longer matters. For even if everything you said to me was a lie, my heart right now is already filled with longing.

Tell me, will I truly have such a day?"

"You will."

"Then I shall look forward to it."

"But you still haven't told me, why do you want to eat me? You couldn't possibly want to devour every ordinary person named Allen."

"Because you are simply too breathtakingly beautiful. In the palace, there are many handsome men, and many handsome creatures that aren't quite men, but I have truly never seen anyone more handsome than you."

"……" Karen.

"I believe many women would take a liking to you and fall in love with you based on your looks alone."

"Actually, they haven't."

"Well, I have. I like you, I like your handsomeness. There are many ways to like a person, and for me, liking someone means wanting to eat them up. That way, you can be with me forever, right?"

"That is not a very good habit," Karen said.

"But it is absolutely the simplest, most straightforward habit, and one completely devoid of any subsequent emotional complications. I have long been sick to death of those love-dovey plays they constantly perform in the grand theater."

"Very well."

"In truth, I still harbor a bit of regret in my heart. Whether I eat you or not doesn't actually affect my leaving that letter on the desk. In fact, twisting your head off and having your mouth hold the envelope while placing it on the desk—"

"—would catch the head of the family's attention even more, wouldn't it?"

"Life is beautiful because of its regrets."

Hearing this, Judy nodded and asked, "Then, may I leave?"

"You may. Additionally, thank you for the warning."

"I am merely doing work for my own family; I don't need an outsider like you thanking me."

Judy opened the study door, her gaze locking for a brief moment with Alfred's as he stood outside, before she smiled and took her departure.

Alfred did not stop her, choosing instead to step into the study immediately.

He saw his young master standing before the portrait of Count Recar,

raising a single middle finger to the painting:

"You... absolute beast."

———

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