TFCHTT 03

Chapter 3

Walter stared coldly at his aide for a brief moment before lowering his gaze back to the documents on his desk.

“She’s small.”

“Yes. She looks younger than other children her age.”

“And far too thin.”

“…Do you think she was being abused by her family?”

“Most likely.”

“My apologies for overlooking something so important.”

“They must have done a thorough job keeping it hidden. There may be other things we’ve missed as well. We’ll need to investigate more carefully.”

“Understood. I’ll have our intelligence network focus on it immediately.”

Walter narrowed his eyes.

Even though he had deliberately treated her warmly, he couldn’t forget the sight of his young daughter-in-law shrinking back nervously, constantly watching his expression.

Even the dress she had been wearing had been too small, clinging tightly to her already frail frame.

If her family had truly cared for their daughter, then even if they couldn’t afford new clothes, they would at least have altered the old ones to fit her properly.

The fact that they hadn’t shown even that basic level of consideration spoke volumes about how Rayleigh had been treated at home.

“Make sure she has plenty of good food.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“And order new clothes, jewelry—everything she needs. Her appearance was too shabby to bear looking at.”

“…”

As Yuan jotted down the Duke’s instructions, he stared at his master for a moment.

“…What?”

“Nothing. I was simply thinking that Your Grace seems to have taken quite a liking to Young Madam.”

“Nonsense.”

Walter clicked his tongue, dismissing the remark outright.

“As long as she’s living in House Elestain, she deserves to be treated accordingly.”

“…”

“Besides, we still don’t know whether she’s truly someone who can remain with us until the end. Surely you understand that.”

“My apologies for speaking out of turn.”

“Forget it.”

After discussing several more matters, Yuan cautiously asked,

“What are your plans for the next Day of Rest?”

“If we call it an illness, the child will only worry. We’ll simply tell her we’re leaving on an inspection tour.”

“Understood. I’ll arrange the schedule.”

If beastfolk remained in human form for too long, the imbalance in their mana would eventually cause them to lose control.

Some fell into madness.

Others transformed into animals without warning, regardless of their own will.

To prevent that from happening, they needed to spend at least a full day in animal form every two or three months, allowing their mana to stabilize.

Among beastfolk, this was known as the Day of Rest.

Within House Elestain, only those who had sworn contracts of absolute loyalty were entrusted with this secret.

Several vassal families and household servants belonged to that group.

Yuan was one of them.

“It would be wonderful if the Witch of the Moon really existed, as the legends say.”

“Now that is nonsense,” Walter replied dryly. “If she truly existed, my ancestors wouldn’t have suffered for generations.”

The Witch of the Moon was a legendary figure spoken of only among demon hybrids.

She was said to stand opposite the Saint of the Sun—the beloved child of God who descended upon the world.

The Witch of the Moon was the beloved child of the demons.

A transcendent being capable of controlling immense magical power at will.

According to legend, she alone possessed the ability to calm the berserk mana of demon hybrids.

When Walter had been a child, he too had dreamed that perhaps one day the Witch of the Moon would appear.

It had been nothing more than a childish fantasy.

No one even knew whether the old stories were true.

“If the legend were real, neither Your Grace nor Young Master Serge would have to suffer.”

“Serge still causes trouble because he hasn’t learned to control his mana yet. But he’ll adapt eventually. If you have time for idle chatter, you should get back to work.”

“Understood. If you require anything further, please send a familiar.”

“Very well.”

After Yuan left the office, Walter slowly opened one of the desk drawers.

His hesitant hand withdrew an old locket pendant.

When he opened it, the tiny compartment inside—barely large enough for two fingertips—was completely empty.

Only one thing remained.

The name Lima, delicately engraved inside.

Walter let out a bitter laugh.

He quietly placed the pendant back into the drawer and shut it with more force than necessary.

In the end…

Other people could never truly be trusted.

Promises to stay together forever were as fleeting and meaningless as bubbles.

Whether his new daughter-in-law would betray them or not…

Only time would tell.

After all…

The test prepared for her had yet to begin.

Having met her father-in-law, it was now time to meet her future husband.

Following behind a maid, Rayleigh walked through the castle.

She was currently staying in the guest wing.

She hadn’t yet begun living together with Serge.

Although they were technically husband and wife, both were still children, so she had been told that sharing a room immediately would only make things uncomfortable for them.

Though the real reason is probably because it’d be much easier for me to discover they’re beastfolk.

Rayleigh’s guest quarters were located in the west wing.

Serge lived in the east wing.

The considerable distance between them made the family’s intentions perfectly clear.

Still, that arrangement suited Rayleigh just fine.

Her “husband” was a complete stranger she’d never even met.

Living together from the very beginning would have been awkward.

Come to think of it… There isn’t a Duchess in House Elestain, is there?

She remembered reading that Walter’s wife had died many years ago.

She’d even been warned to be careful not to bring up the subject.

Since he had never remarried, perhaps he had truly loved his wife that deeply.

I’d better not accidentally make that soft-hearted man sad by mentioning her.

Lost in thought, Rayleigh eventually arrived at the east wing.

“Welcome. Young Master Serge has been waiting for you.”

“Ah… thank you.”

Rayleigh swallowed nervously.

I wonder what my husband is like.

If he had inherited his father’s appearance, then he was surely an unbelievably handsome boy with black hair.

The classic male lead of a fantasy romance.

Cold.

Sharp.

Unapproachably beautiful.

Maybe the moment he sees me he’ll sneer, ‘Hmph. So this is supposed to be my wife?’

Bracing herself, she stepped into the drawing room.

And then—

“…?”

There wasn’t anyone inside.

Did he not arrive yet? But they said he was waiting…

Rayleigh quickly looked around.

Then she noticed something unexpected.

Behind the sofa, a patch of glossy black fur peeked into view.

“Hm?”

Curious, she walked closer.

A tiny ball of black fur was curled up behind the sofa, trembling slightly.

The one waiting for her wasn’t a handsome black-haired boy.

It was a little black fox.

“…”

Looking more carefully, she noticed part of a child’s clothing sticking out from beneath the sofa, as though someone had hastily shoved it out of sight.

After only a moment of observation, Rayleigh became certain.

That’s my husband… He transformed into a fox all of a sudden!

According to the novel, young beastfolk had poor control over their mana.

As a result, they would occasionally lose control and involuntarily transform into animals.

Apparently, Serge had fallen victim to exactly that problem.

The novel also mentioned that emotional excitement or stress often triggered those transformations.

Perhaps meeting his future wife for the first time had made him so nervous that he’d transformed by accident.

Then, panicking after turning into a fox, he’d hurriedly shoved his clothes under the sofa.

…Wait. This isn’t the time to calmly analyze the situation!

Although Serge was still young, if his transformation had been caused by a mana rampage…

There was a chance he had already lost his reason.

In the original story, beastfolk who succumbed to the growing power of their demonic blood eventually went mad, leaving trails of destruction and slaughter until their identities were exposed.

Much later, the heroine—including the Saint—and her companions would seal away the demonic power and finally bring peace to the world.

But that wouldn’t happen for another ten years.

Right now…

Rayleigh was terrified.

Even so, she couldn’t simply run away.

She absolutely had to pretend she knew nothing about House Elestain’s true nature.

I-If he looks like he’s about to attack me… then I’ll run.

Suppressing her fear, Rayleigh forced herself to think calmly.

Assuming she knew nothing…

The most natural reaction would be…

“Oh my… Is this a puppy the family keeps?”

Normally she would never mutter something like that to herself.