Chapter 4

“I guess I’ll just sit down and wait. If he doesn’t come, I’ll ask one of the maids later.”

What she really meant was that she had no intention of calling a maid right away, so he should hurry up and sort things out while he had the chance.

Still in his fox form, Serge perked up his ears and looked at Rayleigh. Then, glancing at her as though gauging her reaction, he slowly began walking toward the door.

Thinking the situation had been resolved well enough, Rayleigh watched him go.

Then she suddenly noticed something strange.

Hm?

The fox’s movements were unnatural.

His left hind leg was limping.

It looked as though he had sprained it.

Perhaps he had stumbled and injured himself when he was forced to transform.

Rayleigh immediately stood up and hurried over to the little fox. If there had been any danger that he had gone berserk and might attack her, that would have been another matter. But if not, she couldn’t simply ignore someone who was hurt.

Serge flinched warily.

To reassure him, she spoke gently.

“I’m not trying to hurt you. Hey… you injured your leg, didn’t you?”

“……”

Rayleigh took a handkerchief out of the pouch she was carrying.

“If you keep putting weight on a sprained leg, it’ll only get worse. You could end up with a recurring injury.”

She didn’t have a splint, so she couldn’t immobilize it properly.

Still, wrapping the injured area tightly with a handkerchief would at least ease some of the strain.

The little fox silently looked up at Rayleigh.

He didn’t resist.

Carefully, she wrapped the handkerchief around his left hind leg and tied it firmly.

Having spent much of her life tending to her own injuries, her hands moved with practiced ease.

“There. All done.”

Serge stared at his leg for a moment before trying to walk again.

He was still limping slightly, but thanks to the tightly wrapped handkerchief, his gait looked noticeably steadier.

The little fox trotted toward the entrance.

Just before leaving, he suddenly looked back.

“…Arf.”

Then he hurriedly scampered out of the reception room.

Was that… his way of saying thank you?

Smiling softly, Rayleigh watched his swaying tail until it disappeared from sight.

Only after she was completely alone did she finally let out a long sigh of relief.

“Haah…”

For someone whose goal was to pretend she knew nothing about the family’s secret before eventually escaping, what had just happened had been an enormous crisis.

If they found out I already know their secret… there’s no way I’d get away unharmed.

No matter how clumsy Walter appeared, he was still the head of one of the greatest noble houses in the empire.

In the worst-case scenario, he might silence her permanently.

Even if he spared her life, she could easily end up imprisoned inside the estate so she could never reveal the family’s secret.

If that happened, she’d be trapped there until the House of Elestain was destroyed right along with them.

She absolutely refused to accept that future.

As long as Serge’s mana remained this unstable, she would probably run into the little black fox again sooner or later.

Still… he didn’t seem as dangerous as I expected.

In the original novel, the emphasis had been on beastfolk who had completely lost their reason and become violent.

But now that she thought about it carefully, that had only happened because the demonic power inside them had grown much stronger over time.

By the point where the original story began, monsters were rampaging more and more frequently, and the beastfolk—being descendants of demons—were also affected.

At present, however, the monster outbreaks had not yet become that severe.

The father and son of House Elestain should still be safe.

After all, if things had already reached that point, the family’s secret would have been exposed and they would have been exterminated long before the events of the original novel.

So what’s important right now is making absolutely sure they never realize I already know what they are.

From now on, she would simply have to continue acting as the clueless daughter-in-law and wife, despite how unnatural it felt.

Just as she finished organizing her thoughts, Yuan, the Duke’s aide, hurried into the room.

“My deepest apologies, Young Madam! There was a misunderstanding. Young Master Serge was in the library, not the reception room.”

“It’s all right. If he’s busy, I don’t mind greeting him later.”

“Not at all. Please wait just a moment. I’ll bring the Young Master here as soon as he’s ready.”

Seeing the normally calm and composed Yuan wearing such a flustered expression made Rayleigh feel a little sorry for him.

He really has a hard time dealing with his troublesome masters…

About ten minutes later—

“The Young Master has arrived.”

At last, it seemed she would finally meet her husband in his human form.

Perhaps because she had already met him as a fox, she wasn’t nearly as nervous as before.

Rayleigh stood up politely to greet Serge.

The reception room door opened.

The first person to appear was Yuan.

Her husband, who should have been right behind him, was nowhere to be seen.

Hm?

Yuan turned around with an awkward expression.

“Young Master.”

“……”

A boy slowly emerged from behind Yuan, moving exactly as if the word hesitant had taken human form.

Rayleigh blinked in surprise.

He looked nothing like the image she had formed after seeing his father.

His black hair matched Walter’s, but a pair of extremely thick glasses distorted his eyes so much that it was difficult to judge what his face actually looked like.

Like Walter, however, the eyes visible through the lenses were unmistakably golden.

She knew they were the same age, yet he was actually a little smaller than she was.

Even considering that boys often grew more slowly than girls at that age, he was remarkably frail.

It seemed the beastfolk’s unstable mana had even affected his physical growth.

Well, appearances aren’t what matter.

What’s important is what kind of person he is.

Hoping her husband would at least have a decent personality, Rayleigh greeted him politely.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Rayleigh, and I’ll be living with the House of Elestain from now on.”

“H-Hello…”

The boy accepted her greeting in a timid, halting voice.

“P-Please… take care of me… My name… is Serge.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well. I hope we’ll get along, Lord Serge.”

“Yes…”

“……”

“……”

The conversation came to an abrupt halt.

Normally there would have been all sorts of ordinary topics to discuss—whether her journey had been tiring, or what she thought of the ducal estate.

Trying to break the awkward silence, Rayleigh continued the conversation herself.

“On my way here, I noticed the central garden was absolutely beautiful! I’ve never seen such a well-kept flower garden before. I’m honored to live somewhere so lovely.”

“Thank… you…”

“……”

“……”

Keeping his head lowered, Serge barely managed to answer.

He was still clutching Yuan’s sleeve as though it were a lifeline.

His social skills seemed almost nonexistent.

Watching the painful silence continue, Yuan hurriedly stepped in.

“The Young Madam must be quite tired after traveling such a long distance. Since the three of you will be having dinner with His Grace later, shall we end today’s greeting here?”

Hearing that, Serge slowly looked up, his brows drooping.

“Are… you tired…?”

“Then… we can… meet… later…”

“Thank you for being so considerate. It sounds like you’ve been busy as well, Lord Serge. Please get some rest until dinner. I’ll see you again then with His Grace.”

“Yes…”

“I look forward to getting along with you!”

After offering one last polite bow, Rayleigh turned to leave the reception room.

Just then—

“U-Um…!”

Serge called out to her.

“Yes?”

The moment she turned around, the boy visibly flinched.

Still, somehow managing to gather his courage, he slowly opened his mouth.

“The… garden… Please… enjoy looking around… if… you’d like…”

“……”

“If… you’re tired… you don’t… have to…”

Apparently, he had carefully thought over her earlier comment about the beautiful garden before finally replying to it.

His words were awkward and clumsy.

But his sincerity came through.

“Thank you. Then I’ll gladly take your advice and go have a look around.”

“Yes…”

That seemed to be the limit of the courage he could muster.

Serge lowered his head once again.

Well… someone this shy probably couldn’t ask if I’d like him to show me around the garden or invite me for a walk.

Only now did Rayleigh understand why Walter had described his son as “a difficult child.”

Still, the fact that Serge had gathered all his courage just to answer something she’d said warmed her heart.

Being shy is much better than being rude.

Thinking that, Rayleigh quietly left the reception room.

Behind her, a pair of golden eyes watched her intently from behind thick glasses.

*

Yuan accompanied Rayleigh out, speaking almost apologetically.

“The Young Master is… somewhat shy around strangers.”

Calling it somewhat seemed like quite an understatement, but Rayleigh simply nodded instead of pointing it out.

“Everyone has a different personality. I’ll do my best to become friends with him.”

“Yes. Please… become someone the Young Master can rely on.”

Perhaps because he knew everything about the family’s circumstances, Yuan didn’t seem like a mere subordinate.

He looked genuinely concerned for Serge, almost like a member of the family.

“Will you be returning to your room now? Or, since the Young Master suggested it, would you like to take a walk through the garden?”

“You’re right. Since I’m already here, looking around the garden sounds nice.”

“Very well. If you need anything, simply ring the bell over there. A maid will come to escort you.”

Yuan spoke quickly, and there was a faint sense of urgency in his voice.

“Do you have something urgent to attend to?”

“Ah, actually…”

His expression darkened slightly.