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Chapter 16
“……”
That was something Bella, whose only goal had been to secure a divine beast, had never expected at all.
“…What’s wrong with it?”
The informant answered her uncertain question.
“It’s hungry. It hasn’t eaten properly.”
“You should’ve fed it something.”
At her scolding tone, Ophanael interjected.
[That’s not their fault.]
“Even the servants and we ourselves tried everything we could to feed it, but…”
The informant took something from the window ledge near the bed — a glass bottle shaped like a beast’s teat. Inside the transparent bottle was a half-filled yellowish liquid.
Just as Bella’s gaze was caught by the strange object—
“Grrrrr…”
The little wolf bristled, its baby fur standing on end as it bared its tiny snout.
It didn’t even have claws yet, but it spread its toes wide, looking ready to attack.
Seeing that, the informant explained as if to show her.
“It’s been like this the whole time. The madam has been holding it constantly, too.”
Funny enough, despite all the growling, the wolf pup’s golden eyes were locked on the bottle filled with milk — hunger winning out over hostility.
“I could feed it if I wanted to.”
At her remark, the informant brought the milk bottle closer to the pup for her to see.
But the baby wolf bared its toothless gums and violently rejected the informant’s hand.
“Oh, really.”
With a sigh, Bella motioned for the informant to hand over the bottle.
Now… how was she supposed to feed this thing?
She hesitated only a moment.
Suddenly—
Thudthudthud!
The moment the wolf saw the bottle in Bella’s hand, it charged straight at her.
Slurp, slurp, slurp-slurp-slurp!
The way it drank, eyes rolling back as it gulped down milk, made Bella click her tongue.
“You’d eat from anyone, wouldn’t you?”
But she didn’t scold it any further.
After all, everything was proceeding according to plan — and that pleased her.
The method might have been awkward, but she’d confirmed that she could still use her divine power (at least a little).
And most importantly, she had secured the divine beast.
At this rate, she could proceed with her mission without much trouble.
Bella smiled in relief.
Just then—
Knock, knock, knock.
“Madam, it’s the head maid. May I come in for a moment?”
Until now, only lowly servants had entered this room. The head maid herself had never once come personally.
A flicker of suspicion passed through Bella’s eyes.
She gave permission to enter, and an elderly woman walked in with perfect posture, dressed in a crisp, well-fitted gown.
Anyone could tell she was of Edwin Fillmore’s bloodline. The elegant old woman greeted her with grace.
She was Edwin’s grandmother — known as the head maid, or Countess Fillmore.
Strictly speaking, calling her “Countess Fillmore” wasn’t accurate.
But since no one in the castle wanted to call her the “widow of Count Fillmore,” she was, at least within these walls, the Countess.
“I’m pleased to see you in good health. I’ll have a light meal prepared for you.”
Just in time — the wolf pup, having drained two bottles of milk, was already dozing off, which meant Bella could eat in peace.
She carefully pulled the bottle from the pup’s mouth; its lips, still round, made tiny sucking motions even after.
Even when she laid it down beside her thigh, the baby wolf didn’t wake.
Smiling contentedly at the sight of the peacefully sleeping creature, Bella rose from the bed—
“Then, Madam, we’ll be taking the wolf.”
“?”
Bella froze halfway through slipping on her slippers.
The Countess glanced to her side, and a maid quickly stepped forward to kneel and properly place the slippers on Bella’s feet.
Even as the soft warmth wrapped her feet, Bella’s eyes stayed fixed on the Countess.
She asked, puzzled.
“Take it? Why?”
“Because it’s a wolf, of course.”
Bella’s brow twitched, and the Countess calmly elaborated.
“It would’ve been proper to separate you from it much sooner, but since you insisted on keeping the wolf in your arms, we hesitated. We didn’t wish to risk injuring you while moving it. We’ll take it now.”
But that explanation didn’t convince Bella in the slightest.
Her reply was sharp and firm.
“No.”
“Madam.”
The Countess’s tone hardened, but Bella didn’t even blink.
So what?
If she was just going to lose her divine beast like this, then what was the point of all that pain — of nearly dying with a hole through her stomach?
Even with everything proceeding perfectly, success was uncertain. She couldn’t let some meaningless order ruin everything.
Bella brushed past the Countess, fully intending to ignore whatever she said.
But the Countess played her trump card — a reason Bella couldn’t ignore.
“It’s His Excellency’s order.”
Bella’s silver hair trembled as she froze mid-step.
Their eyes met in the air.
The Countess repeated, driving the wedge in deeper.
“His Excellency ordered us to bring him the wolf, Madam.”
The blue light in the Countess’s eyes gleamed cold and sharp.
“Keep a dog instead.”
Sitting at a desk nearly as massive as Theodore’s bed, Calterion glanced at Bella and spoke bluntly.
The wolf could not stay.
The moment she’d heard from the Countess that Calterion himself had ordered it, Bella had rushed straight to the Duke.
Even setting aside her reason that the divine beast couldn’t be taken from her, she was the one who had saved that wolf pup.
The decision to keep it or not was hers alone.
It was absurd — beyond absurd.
She’d accounted for the possibility of failing to save the wolf, but never the possibility of saving it only to have Calypse take it from her.
“Grandfather, it’s mine.”
Her clear, assertive voice shook the air of the silent office.
The attendants, who had been quietly keeping their heads down, cautiously looked up.
Even Calterion’s pen, which had been moving busily over documents, came to a halt.
When his gaze, once lowered to paperwork, turned to her, the attendant quickly stepped forward to take the pen from his hand.
The office fell so quiet it was almost oppressive. The only sound was the faint click of the pen being set back into its holder.
All the sharp tension in the room now centered on the woman in the pale green muslin dress.
“Who said that wolf belongs to you?”
The Duke’s cold question broke the silence.
Bella answered immediately, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“I saved it.”
“So you think because you saved it, it’s yours? No. Everything here belongs to its rightful master — me.”
“But—!”
“Enough.”
His voice cut her off, merciless and sharp as a guillotine.
“There will be no compromise on this matter. It may look like a puppy now, but it’s still a wolf. If you raise it carelessly and lose control when it grows, it will be put down before your very eyes. Is that what you want?”
“That won’t happen.”
“……”
Calterion looked at her as though her words weren’t even worth replying to.
He seemed almost suffocated by the absurdity of having to explain such a thing.
At that moment, an image flashed across Bella’s mind — the last thing she’d seen before losing consciousness.
The mother wolf, bleeding and staggering toward her.
And behind it — the Duke’s figure.
Bella looked straight at him and said,
“The mother wolf entrusted it to me.”
“……”
“Before she died, she gave me her pup.”
But her words were cut short.
“Enough.”
“As I said — there will be no compromise.”
“Why not?!”
Even the Countess Fillmore and Edwin Fillmore, who had both been quietly focused on their work, snapped their heads up.
Had she just shouted at His Excellency — and protested?
The thought hung heavy in the still air.
