Little Pink Starfish

“…Hah.”

With a twisted grin, Marquis Clark laughed. “Hah… Everything keeps happening unexpectedly… Where did it all go wrong?”

“…You… You were the one leaking information to the beast bandits?”

“It’s best to leave dirty work to those barbaric beastmen…”

“But why…? How did you even know things only the royal family should have access to…?”

Narrowing his eyes in amusement, Marquis Clark spread his arms dramatically.

“…Suppressing my emotions for years and gaining trust was an excruciating pain… No one even suspected what I was scheming behind the scenes… Oh?”

Covering his mouth with his hand, Marquis Clark abruptly stopped speaking.

“Are you awake, Lord Asher?”

The moment he heard those words, Theodore turned around. Asher was trying to sit up, staring at Marquis Clark. Moving even slightly must have been painful with his injuries, so Theodore quickly supported him.

“Lord Clark… Wh-Why are you here…?”

“…Why, how, when did it happen…? Hmm… Ah, yes. Was it after you fell from your horse?”

Walking leisurely in front of the cell, muttering as if talking to himself, Marquis Clark suddenly clapped his hands as if struck by inspiration.

“As expected, not consuming Landalim for a whole week was the cause… I had strictly ordered that you must drink it once every two days… How troublesome… I never expected its effects to wear off while you were unconscious.”

“…Landalim…?”

At that moment, Ashel remembered.

──Landalim.

It was a tea that the previous Asher had favored. He had drunk it almost daily, a habit set in stone. The tea leaves were rare and could only be obtained in Marquis Clark’s territory. However, to the current Asher, its overwhelming sweetness made it unbearable. During his study sessions with Marquis Clark, it had been served a few times, but he had refused to drink it.

“On the surface, I made it seem like a rare tea, obtainable only by royalty… But that, too, seems to have backfired.”

“…What do you mean?”

Marquis Clark finally halted his steps, turning his gaze toward Asher.

“…Upon investigation, it appears you haven’t once requested to have Landalim brewed since waking up.”

“…And? What of it?”

With a loud clang, Marquis Clark kicked the iron bars, the sound echoing through the underground prison. Startled, Asher flinched, and Theodore protectively positioned himself between them, glaring at the marquis.

“It’s a huge problem!! I spent years making you my perfect puppet by having you drink it since childhood!!”

“W-What are you saying…?”

“Landalim is a special tea I created myself—it has hypnotic properties, Lord Asher.”

“…Wh-What do you mean?!”

Theodore’s voice was low and threatening, making Marquis Clark click his tongue before kicking the bars once more.

“I’m not talking to you!”

“…Hypnotic properties…?”

Asher’s face paled as he stared at Marquis Clark in disbelief. Seeing the fear in Ashel’s eyes, Marquis Clark smiled and nodded.

“Why do you look so shocked? …Shall I explain it simply? Since childhood, I’ve made you drink Landalim… Then, while you were in a hypnotic state, I provided you with a ‘special education.’”

…He couldn’t understand what was being said. The man before him—what was he talking about?

“…By making you drink it countless times in your youth, it was easy for me, your tutor, to shape you as I pleased.”

This man—this monstrous presence before him—was he really the Marquis Clark he had known?

“That’s… a lie… There’s no way…”

“…You were such a kind and gentle child, Lord Asher… And now that Landalim’s effects have faded, it seems that part of you has remained unchanged.”

He couldn’t comprehend it. Asher’s body trembled, and unconsciously, he clung to Theodore’s hand.

“And so, as I instilled my thoughts and fears into you*, you transformed at an astonishing rate into my ideal prince—no, my puppet.”

_{*[T/N: This villain is a rare-type; self-aware.]}

Suddenly, Marquis Clark lowered his gaze, shaking his shoulders in laughter.

“Distrust towards King Augustin and your royal brothers!! An abnormal fear and hatred of beastmen!! Watching you twist and grow under my control was laughable!! And on top of that, you were a perfect test subject for Landalim! Hallucinations, auditory illusions, emotional instability—I observed a variety of effects!”

Asher’s body tensed at his words.

He recalled a dream—a distant, yet vivid dream.

A young Asher curled up, hugging his knees, crying in the darkness. Trembling in fear. Crying alone.

『Everyone hates me…』

『…I wanted to be close to Father and my brothers…』

『…Honestly, I don’t want to drive the beastmen away… But I’m scared… They try to eat me in my dreams…』

『No matter where I go, I hear voices yelling at me. Always scolding me… Noisy… So noisy!』

『…I don’t understand. I’m irritated. I don’t want to think about anything…』

『…No one listens to my voice…』

The words of his younger self echoed.

He had memories of his past self—memories of what he had done, the cruelty he had inflicted. Remembering them always made his chest ache, guilt suffocating him.

But… he had never been able to recall what he had been thinking back then.

──He thought it was because he was a different person now, unable to understand his past self.

──But that wasn’t it.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t remember.

Marquis Clark had erased his emotions. He had killed Asher’s thoughts.

“Uwaaaaaahhh!!”

Desperately, Asher lunged from the bed, reaching through the bars for Marquis Clark.

But of course, he couldn’t reach. His hand grasped nothing but empty air.

“I…!! I lived all these years thinking—!!”

“Thinking what? Those emotions you’re feeling now only exist because Landalim’s effects have faded. If you take it again, they will disappear. They are unnecessary for you—”

In an instant, something enveloped Asher.

At the same time, sharp claws extended toward Marquis Clark’s face—Theodore’s. They stopped just before piercing his skin.

“…So, it’s true. You’re a half-blood between beastmen and humans, Black Knight Theodore.”

Unfazed, Marquis Clark took a step back and turned his back on them, heading toward the cell’s exit.

“Wait! W-Why… Why are you doing this…?”

“…Because you are that woman’s beloved son.”

“…Mother…?”

“She took something precious from me… So I see no problem in taking something precious from her in return.”

“…Mother took something…? Wait!! Explain it properly!!”

Ashel’s voice rang out.

Marquis Clark slowly turned his face sideways, his sharp gaze piercing Ashel.

“The former Queen, Lady Fred, died because of Angela.”

A murderous hatred so overwhelming it was suffocating. Ashel gasped at the sheer malice radiating from Marquis Clark.

“I vowed to Lady Fred—I will shatter and kill you, Angela’s most precious treasure.”

With that final declaration, Marquis Clark began to leave. But just before stepping through the prison doors, he turned back, smirking.

“Why do you think I spoke so freely about all this?”

He grinned.

“Landalim doesn’t need to be consumed to take effect… A single prick of an injection, and you’ll forget everything. Ah… But Theodore—you are useless. You have no value to keep alive.”

With that, he stepped out, closing the door behind him.

“Let’s look forward to it… Soon, I’ll see the monster’s bright red blood spill.”

With a loud bang, the door shut, leaving silence.

Ashel crumpled to the ground. Theodore immediately caught him and carried him back to the bedding.

“Your Highness… Your back is bleeding…”

His bandages were soaked in red from moving too much.

“…Hah…”

The pain surged, but that wasn’t the issue.

…Lady Fred… Mother… caused her death…? Landalim is… like a drug in this world…? I was forced to drink that… all this time…?

Ashel was overwhelmed. There was too much to process, too much to accept.

──But above all else.

Theodore… If this continues, he’ll be killed… I don’t want that… No!!

Clinging desperately to Theodore’s chest, Ashel wept. Theodore said something, but in Ashel’s dazed mind, the words didn’t reach him.

Holding the crying Ashel close, Theodore gently stroked his head.

In the cold underground prison, his cries echoed for a long time.

---

Pinky says: Oh no! The villain! He’s monologuing! He looks like an idiot!