Chapter 3
Creak.
Shayla opened the bedroom door and stepped into the hallway, then tiptoed and hid behind the door.
How much time passed like that?
“Five… six… seven…”
When she counted to eight, a white head poked through the open door crack.
Callion looked down the empty duke’s castle hallway, as if confirming whether Shayla had really left.
Then, as if intending to chase her, he extended his white front paw.
Should I go or not? His small paw wavered in the air, as though thinking.
Shayla couldn’t bear it anymore and lunged at Callion.
“Got you, you rascal!”
“Ah!”
But she missed.
The moment Callion sensed her, he bolted back into the bedroom at lightning speed.
“Stop right there!”
Shayla got up late after falling to the floor and chased Callion quickly.
“Where would I go? From now on, this is my home!”
Shayla was determined to maintain this marriage no matter what.
But for that, she had to build a good relationship with this husband…!
But he had already hidden in the gap between the wardrobes.
“You were going to chase me!”
Shayla strained to reach Callion with her short arms, but it was impossible.
“Come out of there now!”
“No! Go away!”
He turned his head toward the wall, as if afraid to meet her eyes.
All that showed was his tightly curled tail and furry rear.
“What did you do to curl your tail like that?”
She desperately wanted to grab that tempting rear. She thought of fetching an iron hook, but…
“Wait.”
She felt exhausted after causing chaos while wearing a long wedding dress.
“If you wake up tomorrow and I’m not here, know that I really went back to the capital. Hah!”
After this threat, Shayla returned to bed.
Of course, she had no intention of leaving the north.
“He’ll come. I feel it.”
“I can easily handle a guy like this.”
Callion, this cute boy, would one day become lord of the north, and then she would be queen of this castle.
“For sure. This is a profitable deal.”
And so, Shayla fell into a deep sleep in a strange place, elated with the sweet dream of becoming the real power in the duke’s castle.
“Young Duchess, have you woken?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll come in for a moment.”
In the morning, only maids moved about the bedroom, and Callion was nowhere to be seen.
“His little scent is still here.”
The maids endlessly called Shayla “Young Duchess.”
That meant Duke Graywolf had acknowledged Callion as his successor and announced it to the world.
As the duke’s only legitimate son, it was no surprise, but usually any trace of variants was erased from families.
Like Shayla’s twin sister, Layla, for example.
“Honored to meet you for the first time, Young Duchess. I am Sandra, head maid of the duke’s castle.”
“Pleased to meet you, Sandra.”
As head maid, it was best to use polite language. Though Shayla was the daughter of a newly rich family, she had lived nine years as a count’s daughter.
After greeting skillfully, Shayla looked at the maids in servant uniforms and asked:
“Don’t I have a personal maid?”
“Well, it seems…”
Seven years ago, the duchess died, and since then there had been no noble lady in the duke’s castle.
“There is no permanent maid here.”
“I see. I didn’t bring a maid from the Count’s family, so perhaps this is better.”
“What? You didn’t bring even one maid?”
Shayla smiled playfully and changed the subject.
“Find me a young girl around my age who can be my maid in the inner castle. With this opportunity, I can learn northern culture and hear the concerns of the fief’s residents, isn’t that better?”
“Ah…”
Faced with this bold speech from a little girl not even reaching her waist, Sandra looked stunned.
“I look forward to our cooperation, Sandra.”
When Shayla smiled, Sandra closed her mouth.
It seemed Sandra managed this castle’s affairs, since there was no personal maid.
“This place seems in complete chaos.”
From a young age, Shayla received strict etiquette education.
Her father suffered from an inferiority complex due to his origins and was always anxious that others would learn his daughter was born a variant.
“And Callion?”
“What?”
The maids helping Shayla prepare were surprised and asked in astonishment:
“Young Master Duke?”
“Well, we’ve never seen him…”
“I see. Does the duke usually wake early?”
“Yes, on days he’s in the castle.”
Shayla had seen Duke Graywolf only once during the wedding, his face expressionless, so she couldn’t deduce anything.
Shayla began asking about the duke.
“The duke often goes out for external inspections, so he’s frequently absent. Lately, he’s more focused on managing the knight order.”
“Demos attacks on villages have become more frequent.”
“Since the lady’s death, he rarely stays home…”
An older maid elbowed a younger one to silence her.
Needing more information, Shayla smiled and responded to the young maid:
“Northern wolves consider loyalty the highest value, don’t they? It suits Graywolf.”
“True! The duke is truly a great man.”
Admiration appeared in the maid’s eyes.
Graywolf wasn’t loyal only to his wife and family but maintained loyalty to his fief’s people.
That’s why the duke’s family, among the high nobility, didn’t place its center in the capital but remained guardian of these borders.
Some called this foolishness, but Shayla liked this respected family.
“I won’t have to return to the capital ever again.”
With this, she could avoid seeing her father for life. This alone made Shayla’s marriage successful.
* * *
It is said that the Hamelock mountain range in the empire’s far north is the coldest and loneliest place on the continent.
Christopher Graywolf, the duke, was a man who inherited the spirit of those harsh mountains.
“As if he wouldn’t bleed even if pricked with a needle…”
His black hair absorbed light completely, his hand holding the teacup was bony, and his gaze sharp as a knife.
The long scar crossing his face seemed a badge of honor representing the duke’s life.
“Good morning, Your Grace the Duke.”
Shayla was by nature a clever rabbit who knew how to bow before the strong.
Especially before someone like Duke Graywolf, who dominated the space with overwhelming presence, she was ready to prostrate completely.
“I haven’t seen such a terrifying aura since King Salador.”
The day she saw the king’s procession from afar, she couldn’t sleep from awe.
“All because of the family symbol…”
What about the rabbit? The rabbit!
How could a hare, mouse, or bird have dignity or charisma?
But the top predatory animal symbols were monopolized by ancient noble families. Only side branches low on the food chain remained.
For a family like Lexi, with short and humble history, there was no choice.
Why do people resemble their family symbols? It wasn’t enough to be born a transformed beast, but even personality…
At that moment, Shayla sat in the farthest seat from the duke with a fearful expression.
“Shayla, isn’t it?”
A low, harsh voice came like a cold northern wind.
Shayla quickly raised her head.
Duke Graywolf moved the hand holding the knife.
“Come closer.”
“Yes.”
Shayla swallowed and stood from her seat.
His blue eyes watched her every movement sharply. From his expression, it was impossible to tell if he was cutting a person or butter.
Shayla, extremely tense, sat in a diagonal seat opposite the duke, and a plate of green salad was placed before her.
“What is this sweet-bitter grassy smell…?”
Dandelions!
She had mentally prepared never to see them again in the north—how did dandelions reach here?
The man who placed the salad plate looked at Shayla’s wide, astonished eyes and said:
“We prepared it specially for the young lady from the beautiful rabbit family.”
He was a young man wearing glasses. He extended his hand in polite greeting.
“I was late in introducing myself, Young Duchess. I am Antonio Birdo, head butler.”
“Head butler.”
A bright smile appeared on Shayla’s face.
In the north, with its harsh mountains, the fief’s people didn’t rely on farming as their main work. They raised goats and sheep, and their food depended more on meat than plants.
Yet dandelions reached this castle’s table. This meant…
“Thank you for the kind hospitality…”
She nodded to Antonio with her eyes and bowed her head to the duke.
Duke Graywolf glanced at Shayla while spreading butter, then lowered his eyes indifferently.
“My son.”
“Yes?”
“Have you met him?”
Shayla nodded quickly to the sudden question.
“Can I say your son is very cute? No, perhaps not.”
With the head butler present, Shayla didn’t dare speak recklessly.
She didn’t yet know how many in this family knew Callion’s secret. While choosing her words carefully, the duke said:
“I heard you were born a variant too.”
His direct words struck her chest hard.
It was a secret known only to a few in the capital.
Shayla felt her lips dry before the duke’s intelligence power. It was as if dandelions were stuck in her throat.
The duke looked at her and added indifferently:
“But now you are a natural lady.”
“Natural lady…”
Her frozen heart melted quickly at these words.
Somehow, his cold voice sounded strangely warm.
Duke Graywolf spread butter generously on brown rye bread and piled plenty of salted meat.
He didn’t speak to Shayla again until finishing his hearty breakfast.
“He’s so silent…”
Shayla finished her food unsure if the dandelions went into her mouth or nose.
Before the duke left the breakfast room, he finally opened his mouth:
“My words.”
“…”
“Did you understand their meaning?”
What? Which words? He said only a few, how could she understand anything?
But Shayla understood.
Why the duke arranged this marriage, and how she, from a humble family, came here.
“Yes.”
What she must do to maintain this marriage.
“I will help Callion with all my effort to become human quickly.”
The duke gave no verbal response. He just looked at her intently, then left the breakfast room.
“Ha…”
Shayla felt her strength drained. Fortunately, there was no atmosphere suggesting expulsion.
“To understand the duke’s words from the first meeting!”
Antonio clapped like a seal, expressing admiration.
“Truly amazing, Young Duchess!”
“Is he always this silent?”
“Well, he usually communicates only with the knights.”
In a hierarchical society like the knight order, the duke was in the position of giving orders only.
“Only necessary words, and briefly.”
In fast-paced battle conditions, orders must be effective.
“Today he spoke a lot compared to usual.”
“Really?”
Her future life seemed clear before her eyes.
“It seems Antonio will be the person I talk to most.”
“That would be an honor, Young Duchess. Shall I call you Little Lady from now on?”
“No, it’s fine……”
“Alright.”
Shayla quickly looked around. The servants who helped with breakfast had moved away.
“I have a question. Is Callion’s condition a secret known only to the duke and Antonio?”
“Not necessarily.”
A vague answer.
Until Shayla became human, she was allowed to meet only her nanny. The small storeroom was the only world her father permitted her.
Shayla assumed Duke Graywolf probably did something similar.
“He may have acknowledged his son, but felt ashamed and didn’t allow him out into the world.”
Throughout the majestic duke’s castle, portraits of fiercely snarling wolf faces were displayed.
The “wolf” symbol was a clear reason for elevating Graywolf’s status in the empire.
While proud of this symbol, it seemed the birth of their son in a real wolf body made them rush to hide him—a bitter truth.
“I hope that boy becomes human someday.”
“Does the duke allow Callion to go out?”
“Of course.”
“To what extent? Inside the castle, or the first floor…?”
“He set no restrictions on a specific place.”
Then why had the maids never seen Callion?
A question mark appeared on Shayla’s face, so Antonio spoke cautiously:
“The thing is, our young master… doesn’t like leaving his bedroom much.”
“Ah…?”
Shayla hadn’t considered this possibility before.
