Little Pink Starfish

“Why do you stop me?”

At King Augustin’s question, Asher hesitated slightly before quickly responding.

“I haven’t… heard everything yet.”
“You already understand their motive, don’t you? A deluded, utterly foolish one. There is no need to hear more.”

King Augustin, looking irritated, glared at Asher before turning his gaze back to the platform. But Asher, undeterred, spoke again.

“But… but we still haven’t heard from the beast bandits. Why did they side with Marquis Clark… why did they kidnap me…?”
“They were deceived by Clark, no doubt. Beastmen, a people without a nation, blinded by gold and easily used.”
“Even so!! Without even giving them a chance to explain, silencing them all and killing this many people—is that really right?!”

Asher raised his voice, causing Geoffrey and Hugo, who were nearby, to look at him in shock. King Augustin, however, kept his gaze forward.

“…Besides… I should have the right to hear their reasons. Your Majesty, please.”
“…No matter the reason, the moment they conspired to take a royal life, their crime was set in stone.”

Asher knew that.
He understood well enough that conspiring to kill royalty was already an unforgivable crime.
But he simply couldn’t accept it.
This was wrong. He wanted to explain why, but he couldn’t find the words.

His expression twisted in frustration.

Something… I have to say something, or else… If I don’t… I have to argue back…

As he struggled to find words and was about to look down—

“…Your Majesty.”

A gentle voice. Queen Geoffrey placed her hand over King Augustin’s.

“Your Majesty, I agree with Prince Asher. Even if their lives must be taken… once they are dead, we will never know what they thought, what they wished to say.”
“…Even you are saying this?”
“The one who suffered the most in this incident is Prince Asher. Since he wishes to hear them out… surely, we can listen, even if just for a little while?”

At Queen Geoffrey’s soft smile, King Augustin fell silent. He closed his eyes briefly, then sighed and gave an order to the soldiers.

“Remove the muzzle from the beast bandits’ leader.”

Hearing those words, Asher’s head shot up.
King Augustin still looked forward, but Queen Geoffrey met Asher’s gaze and smiled.

“Thank you.”

Asher bowed to both of them before immediately moving forward.
His destination was the platform, where the leader of the beast bandits—Art—was being held.
Following quietly behind him was Theodore.

The sudden movement caused a stir among the crowd. Even King Augustin, who hadn’t expected Asher to head toward the platform, furrowed his brows slightly.
Samuel, who had been on the platform for Marquis Clark’s execution, called out worriedly.

“Asher, why…? You don’t need to come to a place like this.”
“…If my request has been granted, then it’s only natural that I hear them out myself.”
“But…”

At that moment, Marquis Clark let out a laugh and tried to say something to Asher. However, Samuel forcibly silenced him by pressing his head down.

“Urgh…!”
“…If we are untying the beastman’s muzzle, then gag this one instead.”

Following the command, soldiers immediately stuffed a cloth into Marquis Clark’s mouth to prevent him from speaking.

Ignoring the scene, Asher reached his destination.

Art, restrained with an exceptionally sturdy iron muzzle, slowly lifted his face. His gaze held unmistakable hostility toward Asher.

“Prince Asher, please step back a little.”

The soldier preparing to remove the muzzle cautioned him, but Asher did not move.
Seeing this, Theodore stepped forward, shielding Asher.

But Asher refused even that.

“Theodore, stand back…”
“Your Highness, but—”
“To have a conversation… a sword is unnecessary.”
“…The most dangerous weapon a beastman has is their fangs. They can tear out a human’s throat with ease.”

That was why all the captured beastmen had been muzzled.
Even without weapons, they could kill effortlessly.
Though Dias prohibited discrimination against beastmen, that didn’t mean their potential danger was underestimated.

Realizing Theodore would not move no matter what he said, Asher gave up and turned his attention back to Art.

“…If I remember correctly… your name is Art, right?”

He recalled hearing the name while he was held captive.

At the sound of it, Art’s eyes flickered slightly.

“I want to hear your story properly. Please, tell me, Art.”

Asher’s deep blue eyes met Art’s.
They were as clear as gemstones—so bright, so unclouded, so pure.

After a pause, Art slowly and silently nodded.

The nearby soldiers looked on in disbelief.

Carefully, the muzzle was removed.

Then, Art finally spoke.

“…I thought surrendering meant we wouldn’t be killed.”
“As promised, we did not kill you on the battlefield and brought you here alive. Do you find fault with that?”

Art’s low words were met with an immediate response from Samuel.
Hearing that, Art did not get angry. Instead, he gave a lifeless laugh and looked at Asher.

His eyes were dark and clouded with resignation.

Though uncertain, Asher asked again.

“…Tell me your reason.”

At Asher’s unwavering voice, Art hesitated, then began to speak.

He talked about the discrimination and prejudice beastmen faced.
About the cruel treatment they endured in countries outside of Dias.
And worst of all, about Murofsa—the nation where beastman slavery still existed—where things beyond belief happened to beastmen every single day.

Though everyone knew of the deep-rooted discrimination against beastmen in other nations, hearing it directly from one of them made it all the more horrifying.

“…They call us beast bandits… but we never wanted to be bandits. We had nowhere else to go… we just wanted to survive. Most of us here either escaped from Murofsa or were deceived by humans, losing our homes and jobs, left to starve… To us, Dias was… hope.”
“Hope…?”
“Not all discrimination is gone here yet… but this is a place where we beastmen can live with dignity.”
“…Then why didn’t you seek asylum in Dias instead of becoming bandits?”
“……Those who barely manage to escape other countries… get caught or die before making it here. And even Dias can’t accept an unlimited number of refugees, can it?”

Asher had no words.

The problem of discrimination against beastmen wasn’t unique to Dias.
The hatred toward beastmen had existed for centuries, spanning the entire world.
If all beastmen sought refuge in Dias, the world’s balance would crumble.
Worst case, it could even lead to war.

“…Then why commit such acts in a place you call hope…?”

Art fell silent.
He seemed conflicted. His eyes closed briefly.

Then, at last, he spoke.

“…Because of you.”

Asher didn’t understand. He only stared at Art.

“If you become king… even the little hope we have left will be gone.”

Art and his people could never live in Dias. But they were fine with that.
As long as Dias could gradually become a place where humans and beastmen coexisted, its influence might spread to other nations.
They had endured their fear and hatred of humans for that hope.

But then, everything changed.

It all started with a certain rumor about the third prince.

—The third prince despises beastmen.