Eaten By The Tyrant I Raised

Lady Rida, the Countess, found herself in a rather precarious situation.

“I shall go as the representative of the Southern Continental Temple,” she declared with confidence.

Her words, spoken boldly to the temple administrator, were indeed commendable.
The administrator promptly relayed this information to the “Collaborator” of the Western Continent.
The mission at hand was to retrieve the owner of the divine beast.

Lady Rida’s gaze drifted towards Lorna, far away.
She had no idea how he had managed to make his way to the Western Continent and catch the Emperor’s attention.

“To escape like a rat…”

If Lady Rida had been a little smarter and more cunning, she would have known that the name of the slave she heard in Lorna’s room when she was young was NaBelle.
But she had no interest in the names of slaves or anything of the sort.

As a result, it wasn’t until she arrived in the Imperial Empire that she discovered NaBelle’s true identity.

“…?”

At first, she thought she must have seen it wrong.

The radiant golden hair and the pristine white gloves—resembling nothing short of the insignia of the impeccable Iver royal family.

The young Emperor, basking in the bright sunlight, appeared dazzling.
That alone should have sufficed, yet his face kept looking strangely familiar to her.

…!

And the moment she realized his true identity, Lady Rida forgot all about her dignity and let her mouth gape open.

“I, I…!”

Why was the slave here?

Those words didn’t even leave her lips.
It was because her eyes met with those of the black-haired knight standing beside the Emperor, guarding his side.

The knight, seemingly aware of Lady Rida’s intentions, observed her intently.

“It is said that the divine beast always prioritizes the commands of its owner,” Lady Rida attempted to calm her racing heart, recalling the words of the temple administrator.

The Collaborator from the Western Continent had provided Lady Rida with all the information she needed about the divine beast and its owner.
Though she didn’t know the true identity, he was well-informed about the divine beast.

“If the owner of the divine beast does not know how to harm humans, the divine beast itself cannot harm them.”

That’s why the divine beast had never killed anyone at the Count’s Manor.
Lady Rida scoffed at the Collaborator’s words.
The Collaborator wanted to kidnap the owner of the divine beast.

“Since he has yet to pass the Tower’s trial, his guard must be weak.”

Lady Rida had arrived with confidence, believing that to be the case.
However, things had inexplicably taken a turn for the worse.

He said the guard would be weak, yet her surroundings were already cloaked in utmost vigilance.
Despite having watched for several days, she hadn’t found an opportunity.

She couldn’t use poison, and using an item to nullify magical powers was even more difficult.

And so, the day of the Tower’s trial arrived amidst the confusion.

“…It’s unbelievable.”

Lady Rida desired to deny reality.

Emperor Iber and Nabel, who met her gaze, clearly sneered at her.

“How could it be?”

How is that slave still there?

Did he know the owner of the new recruit from the beginning and approached him?

Did Iber already know about the existence of the new recruit?

The ‘accomplice’ said that Iber hadn’t realized the existence of the new recruit yet, right?

Her mind became perplexed.

“—Well then, let’s begin the test at the tower.”

At that moment, the confident voice of Lorna resounded.

The Countess’s gaze inadvertently turned towards her on the podium.

Lorna did not avoid her gaze.

For some reason, it felt as if the Countess’s piercing gaze had turned colder.

***

[Thud]

The door to the tower creaked open.

“There will be no one in the tower, not even around it.
You just need to go up,” Nabel said.

Lorna pondered Nabel’s words.

“The very last floor will be the most terrifying, but…”

The tower’s test was to leap from the 9th floor.

From the top of the tower, where the summit was barely visible from the ground.

“-I’ll be watching from below.”

Nabel declared that he would not leave the front of the tower.
That gave Lorna strength.

Inside the tower, which was kept neatly arranged despite the constant flow of people outside, there was one thing that was regrettable: all the lights were completely extinguished.

But that changed as soon as she took a step.

[Pop!]

Light flooded the 1st floor of the tower as if to welcome the owner of the bracelet.

Lorna was slightly startled but then slowly exhaled.

“…Do I have to walk up?”

After reminiscing, Lorna soon faced a practical problem.

Leaping from the 9th floor aside, the tower was simply too tall.

[Zzziing!]

At that moment, Belle suddenly approached her.
With its tail wagging, the Belle grew larger and larger.

“…!”

Soon, the Belle had grown to a size that could be ridden on her back.
Belle even stooped as if to beckon her to get on.

“Then, I’ll entrust you with getting me to the 9th floor.”

Belle nodded.

Belle was always a friend who knew what she wanted.

Since the day they first met ten years ago.

Lorna smiled warmly.

[Whoosh!]

“!”

As soon as Belle confirmed that she had mounted, it began to move.

Perhaps due to Belle’s large size, the speed was fast.

This way, they would reach the 9th floor.

Belle didn’t run, but the ascending speed was more than sufficient.

Already, they were on the fourth floor.
Lorna looked outside.
Due to the tower of the sorcerer being taller than the other buildings, she could clearly see the view below.

Even the distant forest was visible.

“It was said to be a sea-like forest…”

She had only seen the sea in pictures.
They said it was a place with vast blue waters that stretched endlessly.
They said the surface gently swayed and reached all the way to the shore.

Such a forest unfolded right beneath her.

“Ah…”

As if Belle knew that she was admiring the scenery, she slowed her pace.
Thanks to that, Lorna could notice something peculiar at the edge of the forest.

It was as if someone had cut and pasted paper, making the boundary between the forest and the meadow distinct.

“…?”

Naturally, it couldn’t have turned out like this.
Even though she had spent most of her time inside the mansion, she could discern to that extent.

It was as if someone had divided the meadow.

Lorna tilted her head slightly and looked at Belle again.

“Let’s go.”

There would be an opportunity to examine the forest in more detail.
Or rather, she didn’t particularly want to examine it all now.

“I want to learn about the sea-like forest.”

It was because of what Nabel had said.

She wanted to see the forest where those leaves were undulating like seawater.

Hum!

Belle moved again.
Her steps grew faster.

It was when they passed the brightly lit fifth floor.

Thud.

A sound of machinery moving echoed from somewhere.

“…?”

Lorna turned her head to the side.

Belle, who was an invisible being without a shadow, still had a translucent form even though she was carrying Lorna.

And where Belle’s front paw grazed, there was something emitting a strange light.

“That is—”

Before she could react in any way.

In an instant, an ominous light swallowed her up.