Nighttime Commotion

Kuuga slept with Gadilas at night.

Apparently, Gadilas had taken a liking to using Kuuga as a pillow; he tossed aside his usual pillow, positioned Kuuga in its place, and rested his head upon Kuuga’s belly.

Kuuga didn’t mind. He rather liked the sense that he was protecting someone.

“That beastly smell is gone, but you still have a distinctive scent.”

‘So I still smell in the end…’

“It’s the scent of a living thing. It’s not a bad thing, so don’t get down about it.”

Gadilas roughed his head up as usual; Kuuga, slightly sulky, rubbed his own cheek along Gadilas’s.

‘Good night. Get some real rest, Gadi.’

Perhaps the meaning carried through somehow, for Gadilas let go of Kuuga and closed his eyes. If he was willing to sleep so close, perhaps Kuuga had earned a little trust after all.

It might have helped that the legend of the Divine Beast lowered the bar for trust, compared to with others.

They’d only met today, after all. Kuuga resolved to do his best to truly earn that trust going forward. With that in mind, he, too, closed his eyes and drifted toward sleep.

But when he next opened his eyes, it was not yet morning. Probably only about an hour had passed. Kuuga’s ears caught footsteps approaching their room, so he raised his head discreetly.

“…Divine Beast?”

Perhaps Gadilas hadn’t been fully asleep either; sensing Kuuga’s movement, he called out softly. Kuuga stared intently at the door, alert.

“What is it? Is something coming?”

There were guards stationed outside the room. The voice he heard speaking with them, judging by the footsteps, belonged to a woman—not Uros.

As he kept his eyes on the door, the knob was quietly turned and the door slowly opened. Didn’t people knock first? Was it really all right to enter uninvited like this? What were the guards doing?

“Who’s there?”

Seeing the woman slip into the room, Gadilas sat up and addressed her in a cold voice. She flinched, stopping in her tracks.

“Who told you you could enter?”

“Y-Your Majesty… I, um, tonight’s… duty…”

Kuuga’s eyes widened at what the woman said, fidgeting as she spoke. Was this a “night service”? Did things like that really exist here?

He’d imagined that sort of thing happened in the harem or somewhere similar, not with women sneaking into the king’s bedroom. Kuuga tilted his head in confusion.

But if Gadilas availed himself, he’d have to show vulnerability before this woman—and that could not be allowed. This woman was no good.

With a low growl, Kuuga caught Gadilas’s eye. Gadilas shot another glare at the woman as she tried again to approach, and she froze, now aware of Kuuga and eyeing him warily.

“H-how about… the Divine Beast, is he sleeping here, too…?”

“Are you trying to say I should dismiss the Divine Beast because he’s in your way? You must think awfully highly of yourself.”

“N-no, that’s… not what I meant…”

Each time the woman shifted, Kuuga caught a strange scent beneath her perfume. What was it?

“You were for the old king. You’ve been dismissed as of today. I have no need of you—leave.”

“No, please… no one told me… I-I can’t just leave like this…”

The woman’s tearful pleas did little to sway Gadilas. When she tried to approach again, the intensified scent allowed Kuuga to identify it—he sprang to his feet and leapt down from the bed.

‘Don’t come any closer!’

A deep bark echoed through the room, and the woman at last froze. Perhaps hearing Kuuga’s voice, the guard outside hurried in.

“Your Majesty! What has happened?”

“Why did you let her through? I never gave such permission.”

The guard’s face went pale as he rounded on the woman, glaring harshly. Kuuga couldn’t guess what she’d told him, but she’d clearly tricked him.

Once the guard had taken hold of her, Kuuga drew closer.

“Divine Beast?”

Gadilas seemed confused by Kuuga’s actions. Kuuga began to sniff at the woman’s waist; that was where the strange scent was strongest. It was the same ominous odor he’d noticed at dinner.

Kuuga snorted, glancing between the woman and the guard. After repeating this two or three times, the guard seemed to understand and untied the woman’s sash.

“Stop, don’t—!”

Her protests were fruitless. Something fell to the floor with a light clatter—a thin needle. The guard’s eyes bulged in alarm. Gadilas approached, picked up the needle, and examined it.

“…Poison again. Someone is very eager to see me dead.”

“M-my lord… I—I’m truly sorry…!”

“Take her to the cells. Leave the rest to Uros.”

“Yes, sir…”

White-faced with shame at his blunder, the guard restrained the still-struggling woman and led her out of the room. Gadilas tossed the needle onto the table with disinterest, then roughly ruffled Kuuga’s head again.

“You’re busy tonight.”

‘Don’t say it like that…’

Trailing after Gadilas as he returned to the bed looking already uninterested, Kuuga heaved a deep sigh. So much for Gadilas getting a peaceful, restful night.