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Chapter : 02
The huge blue wolves stared at me with their bright yellow pupils, as if they were carefully assessing me.
Then, all at once, they rushed at me.
“Eek…!”
I fell backward and squeezed my eyes shut, but soon I burst into laughter at the wet feeling touching my face.
“It tickles!”
“Yip yip!”
The wolves that had been licking my face made happy sounds and bounced up and down in place.
Aww, my cuties.
I petted the creatures that were jumping around as if they were overjoyed to see me.
Maybe because of my inhuman level of holy power, animals had always liked this body.
Even wild beasts like these would follow me around like playful puppies, wagging their tails.
‘It’s just a feeling, but I think we can even kind of communicate.’
If I remember correctly, the original Asha also preferred animals over people.
Of course, she couldn’t leave the temple often because of that damn William watching her.
“Growl!”
At that moment, the largest wolf with thick fur stepped forward through the pack.
It seemed to be the leader—the alpha wolf.
“Hello.”
When I greeted it, the alpha pressed its forehead against mine.
The warm, soft fur felt nice, so I rubbed my forehead against it before pulling away.
“Hey, little one. Do you know the Bastion ducal family?”
I asked without much expectation.
The alpha wolf nodded.
I widened my eyes.
“Really? How do you know?”
“Whine…”
“Oh… you know because they’re super scary…”
I gently patted the suddenly dejected wolf’s backside.
It’s okay. That makes sense.
“You’re not weird for being a wolf. It’s just the Bastion ducal family!”
Descendants of the demon god! The northern monsters! The terrifying demon duke family!
As I listed their flashy nicknames one by one, the wolves nodded in agreement.
But their tails were tucked tightly between their legs.
Wow, they’re really that scary, huh. What do I do?
After checking their reactions, I clasped my hands together and pleaded.
“So, little one… I’m really, really sorry, but can you take me to that house?”
“GROOOOOWL!”
It sounded like a scream. Or maybe a curse.
Bastion Ducal Territory
The Bastion ducal townhouse was located at the very edge of the capital.
Normally, the more powerful a noble family was, the closer they lived to the imperial palace at the center of the capital, so this was unexpected.
It was one of the most powerful ducal families—one that even the imperial family could not ignore.
And yet…
‘It’s seriously in the middle of nowhere.’
Their mansion was literally backed by a mountain.
Riding on the alpha wolf’s back, I looked down at the dark mansion roof below and clicked my tongue.
I could easily guess the reputation of the Bastion family in the Amanta Empire just from this location.
‘That “I do whatever I want” attitude is exactly like them.’
Their personality had already been obvious even from the small amount of screen time in the original story.
They never cared about anyone’s opinion. Others just had to adjust to them.
Well, anyway, thanks to that, it was easy to sneak here with the wolves.
“Thanks for bringing me, guys. I think I can go alone from here.”
I jumped down from the alpha wolf’s back, but the wolves whined at me.
Some even grabbed the blanket I was wrapped in and tugged it.
It seemed like they wanted me to go back with them.
I gently stroked their heads.
“Thanks for worrying about me. But I really thought about this a lot.”
“Whine…”
“This is the only way. I have to survive first.”
Even now, the holy power inside my body was still growing.
And I would eventually die because of it.
‘People say strong holy power means you don’t get sick and live long… but I’m the exception.’
Everything in the world has limits.
Even if you hold holy water, if the container becomes as large as the sea, it will eventually break.
‘In other words, I’m so overpowered that I’m going to die!’
Unbelievable. Seriously.
Anyway, my solution was simple.
An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.
‘If I’m too overpowered, I’ll go to the most overpowered place.’
And this was exactly the most overpowered family in existence.
Just as I took a deep breath before boldly stepping forward—
“Grrrrr!”
Suddenly, the wolves raised their fur and bared their teeth.
It was a mix of fear and hostility.
“Wh-what’s wrong—”
“And now even children and beasts are showing up.”
A strange voice interrupted me.
The moment I heard it, my breath caught.
This presence.
I had never felt it before, but I was sure.
I had come looking for this.
‘So this is mana.’
And it was incredibly pure—so dense that my fingertips tingled and my skin prickled.
I slowly turned toward the direction of that demonic energy.
“I didn’t expect my front yard to be this popular.”
A voice that felt like it came from the depths of the ocean, not a cave.
Black hair and black eyes. An atmosphere as cold and sharp as a northern wind.
And the level of casually calling a mountain his “front yard”…
‘Wait… don’t tell me?’
Even as I flinched, I looked him up and down.
This man… was he the Duke of Bastion?
‘But… wasn’t he supposed to be insanely handsome?! Author!!’
Negligence. Criminal negligence. Why didn’t the novel describe this face properly?
There are two types of handsome men in this world.
Warm, spring-like men who melt everything.
And cold, winter-like men who freeze everything.
Both are correct answers, but personally, I preferred the latter.
Why am I suddenly talking about this?
Because my taste had just been perfectly hit without warning.
‘This is insane. With that face, why is he not even a main character or a supporting character?’
In the original story, the Bastion ducal family was basically an extra presence.
They appeared rarely, but when they did, they were important enough to drop major hints.
Still, it was hard to call it an actual appearance.
And what I knew about them was tragic enough.
‘And I know that tragedy. I can prevent it.’
Yes. This could be a mutually beneficial relationship.
I took a deep breath and clasped my hands above my stomach.
“Hello!”
My polite belly-button bow made the duke and the wolves go quiet.
Standing straight in the middle of that silence, I spoke clearly.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Asha.”
“…I see. A suspicious little girl.”
So you’re not even planning to use my name.
The Duke of Bastion looked me over with a displeased expression.
To him, I was just a strange, tiny intruder who had entered his yard with wolves.
“Do you even know where you came?”
“Mana buffet.”
“What?”
Oops. That slipped out.
I quickly shook my head.
“No, I mean… the Bastion ducal estate.”
“So you came here knowing what it is.”
“Yes.”
“Does that mean your business here is… assassination? Using wolves?”
“Eh? That’s a huge leap.”
I waved my hands, laughing awkwardly, thinking he was joking.
But the duke looked at me like he wasn’t sure what to think.
Oh. That wasn’t a joke.
I quickly erased my smile and became serious.
“Cough… I’m sorry for coming in uninvited. But I really have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
What should I even start with? The future events?
No, that’s too absurd.
But if I drag it out, he might think, ‘She used the wolves as a distraction and planned to kill me.’
Think carefully.
Something impactful, something that grabs his attention immediately…
That’s it!
My eyes lit up. I pointed at him like a bow and shouted:
“Please give me your son!”
“……”
“Ow.”
I felt like I had just been hit by eye-contact alone.
That hurts. I think my ribs might have cracked just now.
After what felt like a long beating, the Duke finally spoke while crossing his arms.
“Little girl, how old are you?”
“I… I’m nine.”
Almost said twenty-two out of habit. Careful.
“Nine? The same age as Franz?”
He tilted his head and examined me carefully.
His black gaze moved downward, as if measuring my body.
He must have noticed my bare feet.
Before I knew it, he crouched down to my eye level.
Even that simple movement looked strangely elegant.
“Let’s see your face.”
“W-why…?”
I pulled the blanket over my head nervously.
“If you’re going to become my daughter-in-law, I should at least see your face.”
That… made sense.
I slowly lowered the blanket I had wrapped myself in.
And for the first time, I faced the Duke of Bastion without any cover.
He was even more handsome up close.
And even more terrifying.
‘I finally understand why people say you’d wet yourself if you were weak-willed.’
It wasn’t just mana. He had an overwhelming aura.
“Which temple did you run away from?”
“Ho-how did you—”
Before I could finish, he tapped his chest.
“Holy power is leaking out of you. No—pouring out. You must’ve been taken by a temple the moment you were born.”
Ah.
Just like I could feel his mana, he could feel my holy power too.
It made sense—opposite energies would be easy to detect.
More importantly, he already figured out I ran away from the temple.
Trouble.
I was planning to reveal my holy power anyway, but not that part.
What now? Was he going to send me back?
He had every reason to. Taking me in would cause trouble with the temple.
Just as I was about to quickly explain myself—
“Do temples nowadays even starve children?”
