“Young Madam, are you all right? You seem to be spacing out…”

Hearing the maid address her by an unfamiliar title and ask with concern, Rayleigh managed to answer.

“I’m… fine.”

“Do you have a headache, perhaps?”

“No… I just didn’t sleep well last night. You don’t need to worry.”

She wasn’t sick, but there was a reason she was sitting there in stunned silence.

This world is the one from the novel I read in my previous life!

It was something she had realized after waking from an incredibly long dream the night before.

According to that novel, the House of Elestain—the ducal family she had married into just yesterday—was destined to be wiped out ten years from now.

Because my father-in-law and husband are fox beastfolk…

The beastfolk were known to be descendants of demons. After the Holy War long ago, everyone believed they had been completely exterminated.

In truth, however, they had merely gone into hiding, concealing their identities. There were still survivors.

One of the families that had preserved that bloodline through the generations was none other than her husband’s family, the House of Elestain.

Who would’ve thought a ducal house would be descended from demons?

The nations of the continent all recognized the Church of Ruhamta as their state religion, and according to the Temple’s doctrine, demons were naturally the greatest enemy that had to be eradicated.

If the family’s secret were ever exposed, their destruction would be inevitable.

The more calmly Rayleigh organized the situation in her head, the more hopeless it seemed.

If the whole family is exterminated, do you think I’ll be spared just because I’m the daughter-in-law? My head will probably roll right alongside theirs…

The irony was that she herself wasn’t a beastfolk at all.

She was nothing more than an ordinary human.

It was enough to make her feel utterly wronged, but reality was cruel.

There was only one way for Rayleigh to survive.

She had to leave the House of Elestain before the family’s downfall arrived ten years from now.

It sounded simple enough.

Actually doing it was anything but.

This is driving me crazy…

Run away and survive on her own?

Impossible. A little girl with neither money nor skills would only end up as a beggar.

Break off the engagement and return to her birth family?

That was also something she absolutely had to avoid because of the circumstances surrounding her own family.

As Rayleigh sank deeper into thoughts that threatened to overturn her entire life, the maid spoke to her kindly.

“You must be nervous since you’ll be meeting His Grace the Duke for the first time today.”

“…Mm.”

Seeing her gloomy expression, the maid had apparently misunderstood, so Rayleigh simply gave a vague sound of agreement.

She had arrived at the ducal castle late the previous night and gone straight to her room to rest.

Because of that, she hadn’t had the chance to greet either the Duke or the young duke who would become her husband.

Today, she was waiting in the reception room to meet her father-in-law for the first time.

Although she had technically married into the family, there had been no wedding ceremony or grand celebration.

She had merely come to live in the castle from now on.

That’s because of this family’s unusual marriage custom.

In the House of Elestain, the child destined to become the heir’s spouse was brought into the family while still young and raised together with the heir.

She was treated as a daughter-in-law, but in reality, she was more like a child being raised within the household.

Only after reaching adulthood would she officially be entered into the family register and hold a formal wedding.

It was a process designed to thoroughly test the future spouse before marriage.

They’re allowing an outsider to share the family’s greatest secret—that they’re beastfolk. It makes sense they’d be cautious.

She recalled Walter Elestain, the Duke of Elestain—her fox beastman father-in-law, whom she would soon be meeting.

Unfortunately, the original novel hadn’t described the House of Elestain or its members in much detail.

Still…

“Then I’ll wait outside. Please call if you need anything. His Grace is a very kind person, so there’s no need to be too nervous.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Right.

That was exactly the kind of reaction she remembered.

The novel had mentioned, with regret, that the Duke of Elestain had been an excellent lord, and that both father and son were genuinely kind people.

Kind people… even though they’re descended from demons? Isn’t that a contradiction?

Just as that thought crossed her mind—

“His Grace the Duke has arrived.”

“…!”

The steward’s voice echoed through the room.

It seemed the moment of meeting her father-in-law had come sooner than expected.

Rayleigh quickly stood up and turned toward the doorway.

Wow…

A breathtakingly handsome young man was walking down the corridor toward her.

He was none other than Walter Elestain, the head of the House of Elestain.

His glossy black hair perfectly complemented his striking features, while his golden eyes softened what might otherwise have been an intimidating expression.

He looked exactly like the archetypal “Grand Duke of the North” one would imagine.

As Rayleigh mentally ran through every possible way to deal with a northern grand duke, she steeled herself.

At that very moment—

“Ah…!”

The instant Walter’s eyes met those of his daughter-in-law near the entrance, he broke into a brilliant smile.

He’s even more handsome when he smiles…

But she didn’t have time to admire his looks.

Without warning, Walter suddenly started running toward her.

H-Huh?!

The moment Rayleigh froze in confusion at her father-in-law’s unexpected behavior—

Crash!

Walter slammed his leg into a side table and spectacularly fell flat on his face.

“…”

“…”

An awkward silence filled the room.

After a long moment, Walter finally pushed himself up onto his elbows.

He must have hit the floor face-first; the bridge of his nose and his forehead were bright red.

His carefully groomed black hair had become a complete mess, and his elegant formal uniform was hopelessly wrinkled.

It was such a tragic waste of a face that it felt like an offense against beauty itself.

He’s… really descended from demons…?

In that instant, every image she had built up of her father-in-law came crashing down.