Chapter: 07
7. Hello! My Future Father-in-Law (7)
Exactly one hour later, Irenâs worries became reality.
The eastern wing, where the guest rooms for distinguished visitors were gathered.
Beyond the corridor lined with white walls and wooden floors, the faint sound of waves drifted in.
A single dark figure crept stealthily into a corner of the quiet hallway.
Just then, the moon, which had been hidden behind the clouds, timidly peeked out. Moonlight streamed through the windows and settled over the corridor.
Beneath that light, the dark figure slowly came into view.
Soft, fluffy baby fur in a pale beige color.
A plump little body with short, chubby limbs, and a blunt tail drooping limply toward the floor.
With her tiny ears and round, doll-like eyes, she was unmistakably a baby otter who could melt anyoneâs heart at a glance.
Sertisha.
Sertisha carefully wandered through the eastern wingâs corridor, clutching a five-colored scallop about the size of an adultâs palm tightly in both hands.
Since dawn had only just begun to break, there was hardly anyone around in the eastern wingâs hallway.
Amid the silence, a low vibration began to hum from inside the five-colored scallop Sertisha was holding.
Then, a familiar voice emerged.
âThereâs nobody here, so why are you hiding? This is cramped. Just take me out already.â
Iren, who had been dragged out against his will, grumbled unhappily.
Perhaps because the surroundings were so quiet, Irenâs voice sounded even louder than usual. Startled, Sertisha hurriedly hugged the scallop against her chest.
âFweeeeeeng!! Hweeng! Hweeng! (Be quiet!! Theyâll catch us!)â
âCanât you just say that in words?â
âFweeeeeeng!! (I am saying it in words!!)
âHow am I supposed to understand you when youâre speaking otter language?!â
âFweeng! Hweeng! (We have to go get our mister!!)â
Sertisha, still in her otter form, could do little more than squeak and squeal.
At that very moment, a low, unfamiliar voice came from behind her.
âWhy is there a baby otter in a place like this?â
âHweeng?!â
â!?â
The largest and finest guest room in the eastern wing was the Coralstone Room.
Its walls were decorated in soft hues inspired by coral, and a wide, open arched balcony offered a refreshing view of the outside.
The room was dim, but the sound of waves drifting in from beyond the balcony was as soothing as a lullaby.
Sitting all alone on a luxurious coral-colored sofa, the baby otter rolled her tiny, bean-sized pink eyes around as she cautiously watched the man sitting opposite her.
Her impromptu infiltration mission had succeeded, but the man pushing a cup of warm honey milk toward Sertisha had a distinctly chilly expression on his face.
âWhy donât you change out of your beast form now? Youâre certainly cute like that, but I donât understand otter language very well.â
âHweeng!â
Sertisha tightly covered her eyes with her fluffy little hands and tensed her entire body.
Then, with a pop!, her fluffy fur disappeared, and in its place appeared a little girl wearing adorable starfish pajamas.
Fortunately, this time she was wearing an artifact designed for young beastmen, so she didnât end up naked as she had earlier that day.
Sertisha shook her head vigorously, then looked up at the manâno, Grand Duke Hicarosâand smiled awkwardly.
âHel-loooâŠ?â
âHello.â
His expression clearly showed that he found the situation absurd, but he seemed willing to return at least a greeting.
Seeing his expression, Sertisha instinctively hunched her shoulders and spent a long moment wondering what she should say next.
Should she ask him to become her guardian in exchange for finding his son?
But Grand Duke Hicaros was human, not a beastman.
There was no doubt that the elders of the family would strongly object, declaring him unsuitable.
So simply making him her guardian wouldnât work.
Oh! Come to think of it, she seemed to remember seeing a similar clause in the childrenâs beastman law book that Delphina had once forced her to readâŠ
Ugh, what was it again?
It definitely saidâŠ
âSo. Would you care to explain why our little baby otter was wandering around the eastern wingâs corridor at this ungodly hour?â
Sertisha had been so absorbed in trying to recall the law that she had completely forgotten about Grand Duke Hicaros sitting right in front of her. Only then did she open her eyes wide and jolt in surprise.
Grand Duke Hicaros watched her silently.
She seemed to be working her little brain so hard that steam might start rising from the top of her head at any moment. It was rather cute.
He found himself growing curious about what she could possibly be thinking so seriously about.
However, something else caught his attention even more.
The five-colored scallop she was holding looked a little too heavy for the tiny hands of a six-year-old child.
It seemed to be the very same scallop he had picked up and given her yesterday afternoonâŠ
And yet, for some reason, it now gave off a strange, unfamiliar aura.
The child he had seen in the corridor had clearly been talking to the scallop.
It hadnât been a monologue. Anyone could tell that she had been having an actual conversation with someone.
Although Sertisha had been speaking otter language, the voice coming from the scallop had been different. That was why Hicaros had been able to hear it faintly, too.
Everyone knew that scallops couldnât talk.
And yet, that scallop had definitely spoken.
On top of that, it now radiated a strange energy that he hadnât sensed at all during the day.
There was definitely something inside that scallop.
But what could it be?
Even so, he couldnât exactly snatch the scallop away from the child by force.
As Hicaros briefly pondered what he should do about it, he suddenly felt a persistent gaze fixed on him and raised his head.
The owner of that gaze was none other than the adorable intruder who had barged into the eastern wing.
Her sparkling pink eyes were filled with an intense desire.
As he met that almost obsessive gaze, Hicaros secretly swallowed a sigh.
What on earth did she want so badly?
His curiosity shattered into pieces at Sertishaâs next words.
âPlease become my father-in-law!!â
Whooooshâ
A salty breeze drifted in through the open balcony.
Was it just her imagination, or did the breeze that should have felt refreshing suddenly seem icy cold?
An oddly chilly silence settled over the Coralstone Room.
Grand Duke Hicaros hesitated for a moment, wondering if he had misheard her, before finally parting his tightly closed lips.
âUm⊠What kind of father did you say?â
âOh, come on! My father-in-law! You donât know what a father-in-law is?â
Watching Sertisha tilt her head from side to side as though she couldnât believe he didnât know something so obvious, Hicaros answered almost reflexively.
âNo⊠Itâs not that I donât know what it means.â
âThen please become Tishaâs father-in-law!â
Sertisha paused for a moment and recalled the childrenâs law book that her only friend, Delphina, had once forced her to read.
There were two ways to appoint a guardian for a young beastman.
The first was to appoint an elder or retainer of oneâs own family. The second was to appoint the parent of oneâs betrothed.
Under the first method, only an elder or retainer of the family could become the guardian. That meant someone from another family was ineligible, let alone Grand Duke Hicaros, who was human.
Even if the law hadnât explicitly stated it, the family elders and retainers would undoubtedly rise up in protest.
Therefore, there was absolutely no way Sertisha could appoint Grand Duke Hicaros as her guardian through the first method.
That left her with only one option.
She had to become engaged to Grand Duke Hicarosâs son.
Unlike humans, among whom political marriages were commonplace, beastmen had a law stipulating that engagements could only be formed with the consent of the individuals involved.
This law existed to prevent beastmen from being forced into engagements left and right for the sake of their familiesâ interests.
No matter how young Sertisha was, her family couldnât force her into an engagement simply to satisfy their own ambitions.
Therefore, the only option available to Sertisha was to appoint the parent of her betrothed as her guardian.
She would find Grand Duke Hicarosâs son and quickly arrange an engagement with him.
Then, once Sertisha reached adulthood, she could say goodbye to her betrothed and formally take charge of her family.
It was a perfect plan.
Unlike before, Sertisha narrowed her eyes sharply and looked straight at Grand Duke Hicaros, who was watching her as if trying to figure out what she was really up to.
Then she shouted with all her might.
âIâll find your son for you in exchange!â
Sertisha had clearly seen it.
The moment her determination to find the Grand Dukeâs biological son stirred the Ripples of Light, several glimpses of the future had faintly appeared before her.
Among them, two things had been unmistakably clear.
That child would eventually become the head of a Guardian family, just like the Ritea family.
And that he would attend Hersen Academy.
Perhaps because Crendia enhanced the power of the Guardians, she had been able to glimpse part of the future this time using only a tiny amount of blood.
The price was a slight dizziness, but that was something she could easily endure.
The fact that a child who had inherited Hicarosâs blood would one day rise to the position of a clan head was enough to narrow down the list of candidates she needed to search for considerably.
Only the Five Guardian Families had leaders who could be called clan heads.
Just as the Ritea family led the semi-aquatic beastmen, the other Guardian Families each governed the beastmen under their respective authority. The heads of these Guardian Families, who commanded multiple beastman races, were called clan heads rather than family heads.
In other words, Hicarosâs son was most likely a child from one of the other four Guardian Families, excluding the Ritea family.
Moreover, in the future she had seen, the boy had been wearing the uniform of Hersen Academy.
He was supposedly around the same age as her, so she could simply look for him at the academy she would soon be attending.
With a confident expression, Sertisha looked straight up at Hicaros.
Then she spoke.
âYour son is at Hersen Academy!â
Sertisha tried her very best to make her case.
She told him everything she knew: that Grand Duke Hicarosâs son was a beastman rather than a human, and that he would soon be entering Hersen Academy, a school exclusively for beastmen.
She had provided information and even promised to find his son.
So naturally, she believed the Grand Duke would agree to become her father-in-law.
HoweverâŠ
THUDâ
Sertisha was left all alone in front of the firmly closed door.
ââŠâŠI got kicked out.â
Her pink eyes trembled.
Why?
She had given him information and promised to find his son!
Sertisha pounded on the door with her fists, which were as small as scallops, and shouted.
âMister, thatâs a scam!!â
She fumed, complaining that he had snatched up all her precious information and then treated her like this. But the door never opened.
âJust you wait! Tisha is going to become your daughter-in-law!!â
