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Episode 3
Walter briefly looked up at his aide with cold eyes, then lowered his gaze back to the documents as he replied.
“She’s small.”
“Yes. She looks younger than kids her age.”
“And far too thin.”
“…Do you think she was being abused by her family?”
“Most likely.”
“I apologize for missing that.”
“They must be good at keeping things quiet within the family. There could be more we’ve overlooked, so we need to investigate thoroughly.”
“Yes. I’ll tighten the information network.”
Walter narrowed his eyes.
Even though he had deliberately treated her in a friendly way, the image of the young daughter-in-law shrinking back and nervously watching his reactions stayed vivid in his mind.
Even the dress she had been wearing was too small, clinging tightly to her thin body.
If her parents truly cared for her, even if they couldn’t afford new clothes, they would have at least altered them to fit properly.
The fact that even that basic consideration was missing made it easy to guess how Rayleigh had been treated in her household.
“Make sure the child eats plenty of good food.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And order new clothes and accessories. Everything she needs. Her outfit today was painfully shabby.”
While taking notes, Yuan paused and stared at his master.
“…What?”
“Nothing. I was just thinking that Your Grace seems to have taken quite a liking to the young madam.”
“Nonsense.”
Walter clicked his tongue and dismissed the comment.
“I’m simply making sure she receives treatment appropriate for someone staying in the ducal residence.”
“We don’t even know yet whether that child is someone who can truly stay with us until the end. You know that too.”
“My apologies for speaking out of turn.”
“That’s enough.”
After discussing other matters for a while, Yuan carefully asked another question.
“What do you plan to do about the next ‘Rest Day’?”
“If we call it an illness, the child will worry. Say we’re going on an external inspection instead.”
“Understood. I’ll adjust the schedule.”
If beastfolk stayed in human form for too long, the imbalance in their magic caused them to lose control.
They could suffer from madness or suddenly transform into their animal form against their will.
To prevent this, they needed to remain in their animal form for at least a full day every two or three months to stabilize their magic. Among beastfolk, this was called a “Rest Day.”
In the Elestine household, only those bound by loyalty contracts knew this secret and helped protect it.
Some vassal families and servants were included. Yuan was one of them.
“If only the ‘Moon Witch’ from the legends would appear.”
“That really is nonsense. If she truly existed, do you think my ancestors would have suffered so much?”
The “Moon Witch” was a legendary figure passed down among demon hybrids.
She was said to stand opposite the “Sun Saint,” the beloved of the gods who descended into the world.
The Moon Witch was believed to be a transcendent being who could freely control immense magic and calm the violent power of demon hybrids.
Walter had once hoped the Moon Witch might appear.
A childish dream he had long since abandoned.
There wasn’t even reliable proof that such a figure had ever existed.
“If the legend were true, neither you nor the young duke would have to suffer.”
“Serge is still struggling to control his magic, but he’ll adjust eventually. If you have time for pointless chatter, go back and do your work.”
“Yes, sir. If you need anything further, please send a familiar.”
“Very well.”
After Yuan left the office, Walter slowly opened his desk drawer.
After a moment of hesitation, his hand pulled out an old locket pendant.
Inside the locket was a tiny empty space, barely large enough for two finger joints.
The only thing engraved inside was the name “Rima.”
Walter let out a bitter laugh, put the locket back, and slammed the drawer shut.
People were not to be trusted.
Promises to stay together forever were as meaningless as bubbles.
Whether his “daughter-in-law” would betray him was something only time would tell.
And the test for that was already prepared.
After meeting her father-in-law, it was now time to meet her husband.
Rayleigh followed behind a maid.
She was currently staying in a guest annex and had not yet moved into the same residence as Serge.
Even though they were married, both were still children, so sharing a room right away would be uncomfortable, or so the explanation went.
“…More likely because there’d be a high chance of their beastfolk identity being exposed.”
Rayleigh’s annex was on the west side, while Serge stayed in the east wing.
The distance alone made the intention obvious.
They were strangers who hadn’t even seen each other’s faces yet, so suddenly living together would have been awkward anyway. In that sense, Rayleigh was relieved.
“Come to think of it, there’s no duchess here, right?”
She remembered being warned very carefully about this. The duchess had passed away long ago.
Seeing that the duke hadn’t remarried and lived alone, his love for his late wife must have been deep.
“I shouldn’t bring her up and make someone who’s already soft-hearted feel sad.”
With that resolve, she eventually arrived at the east wing.
“Welcome. Young Master Serge has been waiting for you.”
“Ah, yes…!”
Rayleigh swallowed hard.
“What will my husband be like?”
If he took after his father’s looks, he would surely be a stunning black-haired boy.
The classic romance fantasy male lead type. Cold, sharp, and beautiful.
He might look at her and say, “Hmph. This is my wife?” while acting unpleasant, as if his face alone gave him the right.
Bracing herself, she stepped into the reception room.
But then—
There was no “person waiting” inside.
“Did he not arrive yet? But they said he was waiting…”
She quickly looked around, wondering if she had missed something.
Then she spotted something unexpected and froze.
Behind the sofa, glossy black fur was sticking out slightly.
“Huh?”
She walked closer to take a better look.
A small black furball was crouched there, trembling.
The one waiting for her wasn’t a black-haired pretty boy.
It was a black-furred baby fox.
Looking closer, she noticed part of some hastily stuffed clothing peeking out from under the sofa.
After a brief observation, Rayleigh was certain.
“This is my husband who suddenly turned into a fox.”
According to the original story, beastfolk struggled to control their magic when they were young.
Because of that, their magic could run wild and turn them into animals unintentionally.
It looked like Serge was one of those cases.
Strong emotions or stress often triggered it, so he was probably nervous about meeting his wife for the first time.
Once he turned into a fox, he must have panicked and shoved his clothes somewhere.
“…Wait. This is not the time to calmly analyze this.”
Even though he was young, if this transformation was caused by magic going out of control, there was a chance he had lost his rationality.
In the original story, beastfolk who lost themselves to demonic power went mad, committing destruction and slaughter until their identities were exposed.
Eventually, the saint and the main characters sealed the demonic power and brought peace to the world.
But that was more than ten years in the future.
Right now, Rayleigh was terrified.
Still, she couldn’t just run away. She had to pretend she didn’t know the Elestine family’s true nature.
“If he looks like he’s about to attack, I’ll run then.”
She calmed herself and thought logically.
Assuming she didn’t know his true identity, the appropriate reaction right now was…
“Oh? Is this a puppy they keep here?”
She normally wasn’t the type to talk to herself out loud, but she had no choice.
A baby fox’s snout wasn’t very long, so at a glance it really did look like a puppy. And instead of the usual brown people associated with foxes, its fur was pitch black, which made it even more confusing.
So seeing a random furball and thinking “Oh, a puppy” would be a normal reaction.
The moment she said it, the little fox perked up its ears and carefully lifted its head.
It seemed relieved after realizing she thought it was just a pet.
The fox’s eyes were a beautiful golden color.
She didn’t know yet if he’d be a handsome boy, but he was definitely a beautiful fox.
“Thank goodness. He doesn’t seem to be in a berserk state.”
Feeling relieved, Rayleigh continued her awkward act.
“Where could Sir Serge be? Did he leave in a hurry?”
“…!”
The moment the fox heard the name “Serge,” it visibly flinched.
Rayleigh screamed internally.
“I’m trying this hard to pretend I don’t know! You better act along with me!”
Are you trying to speedrun getting your fox beastfolk identity exposed or what?!
