Chapter 4
āI guess I’ll just sit and wait. I’ll ask one of the maids later.ā
It was her way of saying, I’m not calling a maid right now, so you’d better sort things out before then.
Still in his fox form, Serge pricked up his ears and watched Rayleigh. Then, after glancing around as if cautiously reading her mood, he began padding toward the door.
Rayleigh watched him, thinking the situation had ended well enough.
Then something suddenly felt off.
Huh?
The fox’s movements were unnatural.
His left hind leg was limping badly. It looked as though he had sprained it.
Perhaps he’d stumbled and injured himself during the forced transformation.
Rayleigh immediately jumped to her feet and hurried over to the little fox. If he had gone berserk, approaching him would have been dangerousābut if he hadn’t, she couldn’t simply ignore someone who was injured.
Serge flinched warily.
To reassure him, she spoke in a gentle voice.
“I’m not trying to hurt you. Um… your leg is injured, isn’t it?”
“…”
Rayleigh took a handkerchief from the small pouch she carried.
“You shouldn’t keep walking on a sprained ankle. It could become a recurring injury.”
She didn’t have a splint, so she couldn’t immobilize it properly, but wrapping the injured area tightly with the handkerchief would at least reduce the strain.
The little fox merely looked up at her without resisting.
Carefully, Rayleigh wrapped the handkerchief around his left hind leg and secured it firmly.
Having spent a lifetime treating her own injuries, her hands moved with practiced ease.
“There. All done.”
Serge stared silently at his bandaged leg for a moment before taking a few cautious steps.
He was still limping slightly, but the tightly wrapped handkerchief seemed to help. His gait looked noticeably steadier.
The little fox picked up his pace and trotted toward the doorway.
Just before leaving, he looked back over his shoulder.
“…Ruff.”
Then he scampered out of the drawing room.
Was that… his way of saying thank you?
Smiling to herself, Rayleigh watched until his swaying black tail disappeared from sight.
Only after she was completely alone did she finally let out a long sigh.
“Phew…”
Only then did the tension finally leave her body.
For someone whose entire goal was to live in House Elestain while pretending she knew nothing of the family’s secret before quietly escaping someday…
That had been an incredibly close call.
If they ever find out I know their secret… there’s no way I’ll get out of this safely.
No matter how approachable Walter seemed, he was still the head of one of the empire’s greatest noble houses.
In the worst-case scenario…
They would silence her permanently.
Even if they spared her life, they could simply imprison her inside the estate forever, making sure she never left.
If that happened, she’d be dragged down along with House Elestain when the family was eventually destroyed.
No thanks. I’ll pass on that future.
As long as Serge’s mana remained this unstable, she was bound to run into the little black fox again sooner or later.
Still… he wasn’t nearly as dangerous as I expected.
The original novel emphasized beastfolk after they had lost their sanity and become savage monsters.
But thinking back carefully…
That was only after their demonic blood had grown much stronger.
By the time the original story began, monsters throughout the world were rampaging more and more frequently.
The novel explained that demon hybrids like the beastfolk were also affected by that growing demonic influence.
At the present point in time, however, monster outbreaks hadn’t yet become that severe.
Which meant Walter and Serge were probably still safe.
Besides…
If things had already reached the point where they couldn’t control themselves, House Elestain’s secret would have been exposed and the family destroyed long before the original timeline.
So the important thing right now is making absolutely sure they never realize I know what they are.
From now on, she’d simply have to continue acting like an oblivious wife and daughter-in-law, no matter how exhausting it became.
Just as she’d finished organizing her thoughts, hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor.
Walter’s aide, Yuan, appeared, looking flustered.
“My deepest apologies, Young Madam! There has been a misunderstanding. Young Master Serge was waiting in the study, not the drawing room.”
“It’s all right. If he’s busy, we can always greet each other another time.”
“No, not at all. If you’ll wait just a moment, I’ll escort the Young Master here as soon as everything is ready.”
Seeing the usually calm and composed Yuan wearing such an openly embarrassed expression made Rayleigh feel a little sorry for him.
Having such a troublesome master must be exhausting…
About ten minutes later…
“Young Master Serge has arrived.”
It seemed she would finally meet her husband properly in his human form.
Perhaps because she’d already met him as a fox, she wasn’t nearly as nervous as before.
Rayleigh stood politely to greet him.
The drawing room door opened.
Yuan entered first.
But Sergeāthe husband she was supposed to be meetingāwas nowhere to be seen.
Huh?
Yuan turned around with an awkward expression.
“Young Master.”
“…”
A boy slowly emerged from behind him.
His hesitant movements looked as though the word fidgeting had come to life.
Rayleigh blinked in surprise.
He looked nothing like the image she’d formed after seeing Walter.
His black hair matched his father’s, but the thick lenses of his glasses were so strong that they completely distorted his eyes, making it difficult to tell what he actually looked like.
Even so, she could still make out the golden irises behind the lensesāthe same striking color as Walter’s.
She had been told they were the same age.
Yet Serge was slightly smaller than she was.
Even accounting for the fact that boys often matured later than girls, he looked remarkably frail.
Perhaps the mana instability unique to beastfolk had affected his physical growth as well.
Well… appearances aren’t what’s important.
Character is.
Hoping her husband would at least have a decent personality, Rayleigh bowed politely.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Rayleigh. I’ll be living with House Elestain from now on.”
“H-Hello…”
The boy answered timidly, stumbling over his words.
“P-Please take care of me… I’m Serge.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well. I hope we get along, Sir Serge.”
“Y-Yes…”
“…”
“…”
The conversation came to a complete halt.
Surely there were plenty of ordinary topics they could talk about.
Was your journey difficult?
How do you like the estate?
Anything at all.
Unable to bear the awkward silence, Rayleigh continued for him.
“On my way to the east wing, I noticed the central garden. It’s absolutely beautiful! I’ve never seen such a well-kept flower garden before. I’m honored to be living somewhere so wonderful.”
“Thank you…”
“…”
“…”
Serge answered with his head lowered, barely above a whisper.
Even now, he clung tightly to the hem of Yuan’s clothing as though it were a lifeline.
His social skills were… catastrophically nonexistent.
Watching the painful silence continue, Yuan hurriedly stepped in.
“Young Madam must be exhausted after such a long journey. Since the three of you will be having dinner with His Grace later, perhaps we should conclude today’s greeting here?”
At those words, Serge slowly raised his head.
His eyebrows drooped apologetically.
“Are… are you tired? Then… we can… meet later…”
“Thank you for being so considerate. It seems you’ve been busy as well, Sir Serge. Please get some rest before dinner, and I’ll see you again when we join His Grace.”
“Y-Yes…”
“I look forward to getting along with you!”
Rayleigh offered one last polite bow before turning toward the door.
Then Serge suddenly called out to her.
“U-Um…!”
“Yes?”
The moment she looked back, he flinched.
But after gathering every ounce of courage he could muster, he slowly opened his mouth.
“The… garden…”
“Please… feel free… to look around… if you’d like…”
“…”
“I-If you’re… too tired… you don’t have to…”
It seemed he’d carefully thought over her earlier comment about the beautiful garden and was now finally responding to it.
His words were clumsy and unpolished.
But his sincerity came through clearly.
“Thank you. Then I’ll gladly accept your invitation and take a leisurely walk through the garden.”
“Y-Yes…”
Apparently that was the absolute limit of his courage.
Serge immediately lowered his head again.
Well… someone this shy could never invite me to walk around together or offer to show me the garden.
Only now did she finally understand why Walter had described his son as a difficult child.
Still…
The fact that Serge had worked so hard just to answer her made her heart soften.
At least being shy is much better than being rude.
Thinking that, Rayleigh quietly left the drawing room.
Behind the thick lenses of his glasses…
Golden eyes silently followed her until she disappeared from view.
***
Yuan accompanied Rayleigh outside, adding awkwardly,
“The Young Master is… rather shy around strangers.”
Calling it rather seemed like a tremendous understatement, but Rayleigh simply nodded instead of pointing that out.
“Everyone has a different personality. I’ll do my best to become friends with him.”
“Thank you. Please… become someone the Young Master can rely on.”
Perhaps because he knew House Elestain’s circumstances better than anyone, Yuan’s concern for Serge felt less like that of a subordinate and more like that of family.
“Will you be returning to your quarters immediately? Or, since the Young Master invited you, would you care to take a walk through the gardens?”
“Actually, that sounds nice. Since I’m already here, I’d love to look around.”
“Very good. If you need anything, simply ring the bell over there. A maid will come to escort you.”
Yuan spoke unusually quickly.
There was a trace of impatience in his voice.
“Do you have something urgent to take care of?”
“Ah… actually…”
His expression darkened ever so slightly.
