By the time I'd gotten used to life with the spider around, I was spending my nights as usual, holed up in the study, rummaging through books.
I predicted that dawn would start creeping in soon, so I slipped out of the study as quietly as I could.
This lifestyle had bumped up most of my Skills.
Thanks to my Sleep Resistance leveling up, I could stay awake through the entire night if I pushed myself.
It probably wasn't great for my body's growth, but I could just make up for it by sleeping during the day.
Mother and the servants had been worried at first about how I was always napping, but eventually they just figured that was how I was and left me alone.
My Presence Detection picked up someone.
It was
Merazophis took a practice sword and headed out to the courtyard.
Ever since that incident, he'd been out there training almost every single morning like this.
Either he was frustrated about being helpless and getting cut down by the bandits, or he'd made up his mind to protect Mother properly next time.
Knowing Merazophis's personality, probably the latter.
In his world, Mother was absolute.
He'd do anything to safeguard her happiness.
That's the kind of painfully earnest guy he was.
Merazophis wasn't weak, either.
But he wasn't exactly strong, either.
Judging from the presence of the people staying at our place lately, among humans he was probably middle-of-the-road — not bad, not great.
As a butler, that was probably more than enough, but if the man himself wasn't satisfied, it wasn't my place to say anything about it.
Listening to the sound of his swings, I headed back to my room.
And then it happened.
That day, I didn't go to the study.
There'd been this creepy old man who'd been making eyes at Mother, and he was still awake past midnight.
Gross and annoying — I wished he'd just leave already, but creeps like that always ended up overstaying, which made my skin crawl.
If he opened his mouth, it was complaints.
Making things up left and right, driving Mother's servants up the wall.
Some of his grievances were so ridiculous they made you want to go "Excuse me?!"
One time, he'd smoked a cigarette one day, and the next day he flew into a rage going, "This room reeks of tobacco! Throw out whoever smoked in here right now!" — and I nearly blurted out "Then get out" on reflex.
One of his servants politely pointed out that it was actually him who'd been smoking, and he lost it, screaming that was impossible.
Poor guy — that servant disappeared the next day and never came back.
Though thinking about what happened later, maybe vanishing was actually the better outcome for him.
The old man died.
Just like that — completely without fanfare.
I'd been awake at the time, but I didn't notice a thing.
My Presence Detection showed no reaction whatsoever — all I registered was the sudden moment he collapsed.
The mansion erupted into chaos despite it being the dead of night.
It was actually a good thing I hadn't gone to the study.
If I had, I would've been found for sure.
The old man's cause of death was unknown.
Whispers spread that it was divine punishment for provoking the Holy Beast's wrath.
Apparently the old man had been poking at the spider, too.
Father gathered the old man's servants and questioned them about the situation.
My senses were sharper than most since I was a vampire, but even I couldn't hear the conversation in Father's office from my room.
Could this be the trigger for that spider to attack the town?
As that anxiety welled up inside me, the noisy night passed.
Contrary to my fears, three days went by with no movement from the spider.
I didn't know the details of how the old man's death would affect diplomatic relations.
But it seemed like the old man had been expected to cause trouble in this country.
Everyone was being vague about it, but from eavesdropping on the servants' conversations, I could piece that much together.
Pushing the prediction further, I had a hunch that a war might break out before long.
Father seemed to be acting on exactly that assumption.
While keeping watch for the spider's movements, military personnel started visiting the mansion regularly.
Nothing had been decided yet — but it might come to that.
Harboring that vague sense of unease, I dozed off during the daytime.
That was when a sudden explosion of sound and tremors in the earth jolted me awake.
In the confusion, wondering what was happening, Mother scooped me up in her arms.
Beside us, Merazophis stood on high alert, scanning our surroundings with a grim expression.
They were ready to evacuate at a moment's notice.
But in the meantime, the explosions and tremors subsided, and silence returned.
The servants began investigating the cause without letting their guard down.
Father barked orders, and everyone moved with crisp efficiency.
I watched it all unfold while being held in Mother's arms.
The report came quickly to the mansion: the spider's nest had been utterly destroyed, and the spider itself had gone missing.
What followed was a tidal wave of developments.
The Divine Word Church broadcast to the entire world that they had toppled the false Holy Beast that had taken root in the Salierra Kingdom.
Salierra Kingdom — that was the country where I'd been born.
The Holy Beast — that had to be the spider.
Salierra Kingdom lodged a fierce protest.
They demanded compensation for the unauthorized use of force within their borders, as well as the harm inflicted upon the Holy Beast the nation had been protecting.
The Church's response was that since they'd slain a Monster, Salierra should actually be the one paying a reward — an absurdly self-serving argument.
It was clear that the Divine Word Church was picking a fight.
And Salierra Kingdom was more than ready to answer.
Personally, I wished they wouldn't, but there was nothing a baby like me could do.
At the very least, I prayed for victory as I watched Father lead his legion out from the town.