TFHID 08
Chapter 8
“Lord Serge?!”
Her husband, who had skipped dinner claiming he was ill, had suddenly appeared.
“No… why are you here…?”
Apparently, Rayleigh wasn’t the only one caught off guard. Even Walter muttered in surprise.
“Woof! Woof!”
The fox cub barked again.
Looking more closely, she noticed a handkerchief lying at his feet.
It seemed he’d carried it all the way here in his mouth, then dropped it and barked to announce his presence.
“Oh… You’re that puppy I met earlier.”
Relieved, Rayleigh naturally resumed her act.
“Are you feeling better? Did you come to return my handkerchief?”
“Woof! Woof!”
Beastfolk healed quickly, so his injured leg was probably already fine.
She didn’t know why he’d gone out of his way to bring the handkerchief back, but she crouched down to pick it up.
“Hm?”
The moment she lifted the handkerchief, something rolled out of it.
“This is…”
It was a rough sphere about the size of two finger joints.
A glowing mineral streaked with red and gold—
A Core Ruby.
“W-What? Why is this…?”
“It seems he’s giving it to you as a gift,” Walter explained with a wry smile. “He’s a clever child.”
A Core Ruby of that size was worth roughly six months’ living expenses for a middle-class household.
It was far too valuable as repayment for simply wrapping his injured leg.
“But… Core Rubies don’t just roll around on the street. Didn’t he bring this from somewhere in the house? I don’t think I should just accept it…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. As the head of the family, I give you permission.”
“…Thank you.”
As Rayleigh hesitantly thanked her father-in-law—
“Woof!”
The fox barked in protest.
He seemed to be complaining that he was the one who had given the gift, so why was she only thanking Walter?
Realizing her mistake, she quickly smiled at the little fox.
“Oh, right. Thank you. I’ll treasure it.”
“Woof, woof.”
She could always exchange it for money later to fund her escape…
But she wasn’t heartless enough to sell the very first gift her husband had ever given her.
Filled with gratitude, she gently stroked the fox cub’s head.
She immediately realized she’d instinctively treated him like a real puppy.
Oops…
Unexpectedly, though, the fox obediently leaned into her hand and let out a soft, rumbling purr.
Unlike his painfully shy human self, he seemed surprisingly affectionate in animal form.
Watching such an adorable creature, it was hard to believe this was the same person who, in the original story, would eventually lose his sanity and massacre countless people.
To keep up appearances, she turned to Walter.
“Is this puppy one that your family keeps?”
“Well… not exactly.”
Walter smiled.
“We don’t officially raise him. We simply don’t stop him from wandering in and out of the estate, rather like a stray cat.”
“I see.”
That explanation made sense.
If they claimed to be raising him officially, it would be difficult to explain why he appeared and disappeared so unpredictably.
“What’s his name?”
“Since he isn’t officially ours, we’ve never given him one.”
Walter chuckled.
“If you’d like… why don’t you give him one?”
Rayleigh looked down at the fox rubbing his head against her hand.
Assuming she had absolutely no idea he was actually a human…
“…Blackie?”
“…”
“…”
Her father-in-law and her husband fell silent at exactly the same time.
“Nice to meet you, Blackie.”
“…”
Apparently, he didn’t like the name.
He didn’t even bark in response.
Admittedly, it lacked the dignity one might expect of the heir to a ducal house.
But in this scenario, he’s supposed to be a dog!
If she gave him a human-like name, she might accidentally confuse it with her actual husband’s name later.
It was much safer to choose something obviously animal-like.
Having been christened Blackie, the fox cub turned away from her with an offended huff.
“Oh? Are you leaving?”
“Woof.”
“See you again, Blackie.”
“Whiiine…”
Letting out one long, dissatisfied cry, Blackie scampered away.
Even while sulking, his fluffy tail wagged slightly as he ran, making him irresistibly adorable.
“He’s usually rather particular,” Walter laughed. “It seems he’s taken quite a liking to you.”
“I-I don’t know… His leg seemed hurt earlier, so I just helped him a little…”
“Well, whenever you see him, try to be friendly with him.”
“…I will.”
Looking at her chuckling father-in-law, Rayleigh sighed inwardly.
I absolutely can’t let them discover that I know their secret… but is it really okay for the heir to be this careless?
Now that she’d even named him, she had a feeling she’d be running into her fox-form husband quite often.
*
Late that night—
Walter stood on the moonlit terrace, gazing over the garden.
In the quiet darkness, a black silhouette emerged from the shadows.
Walter merely glanced toward it without the slightest surprise.
“What brings you here so late?”
“I figured it’d be better to get Father’s lecture over with tonight than be interrogated first thing tomorrow morning.”
The boy remained hidden in the darkness, little more than a silhouette.
Walter scoffed.
“So. It falls to a father to scold his son for carelessly revealing himself while transformed into a fox.”
“…”
“And I heard you did the same thing this afternoon. Quite an impressive performance for your very first day.”
“You’re one to talk,” Serge replied coldly.
“You were far too careless around her.”
“Careless?”
“There was no need to bring up Mother.”
“…”
Walter remained silent for a moment before answering.
“…It was simply a warning.”
“It sounded a lot more emotional than that.”
“…”
“You’re still unable to move on from Mother.”
“To be honest… it’s pathetic.”
“Enough.”
Walter’s pupils narrowed into vertical slits as an oppressive aura spread through the air.
The temperature itself seemed to drop.
Serge quietly fell silent.
Not because he feared his father—
He simply didn’t care enough to continue arguing.
“Enough pointless talk.”
Walter spoke first.
“Try not to disappear before breakfast tomorrow. Won’t our little daughter-in-law find it strange?”
“I won’t suddenly transform then.”
He paused.
“More importantly…”
“Yes?”
“Are you planning to stay for breakfast too?”
“Of course. We’ll eat together.”
“From a daughter-in-law’s perspective, wouldn’t it be exhausting to keep dealing with her father-in-law? Don’t overdo it.”
Walter blinked before letting out a quiet laugh.
“It seems there isn’t any need to drive that child away.”
“You’ve grown rather fond of her yourself.”
“There’s no need to drive her away.”
“But that doesn’t mean I like her.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
With a bored motion, Serge brushed back his bangs.
The thick fringe lifted, revealing sharp golden eyes.
“You know this already.”
“I hate humans.”
“They’re troublesome.”
“…”
“Considering how Mother turned out… there’s no reason for me to like them.”
His expression, full of quiet contempt for the world, looked exactly like Walter’s.
“As long as she doesn’t make me uncomfortable, that’s enough.”
“As for revealing myself earlier…”
“I simply don’t like owing people anything, so I repaid the debt.”
“…”
“And about breakfast… I only suggested it because I’d rather not spend a meal looking at your face.”
“Well…”
Walter sighed, seemingly giving up on arguing with his son.
“Perhaps our daughter-in-law will grow tired of you and run away first.”
“If that happens, keep your promise.”
“I don’t need a mate.”
“Then you keep your promise as well.”
“Don’t bully our daughter-in-law.”
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
Leaving only those words behind, Serge disappeared back into the darkness.
Walter let out a long sigh.
When they had decided to take in a temporary daughter-in-law according to family tradition, Serge had made one proposal.
He didn’t need a mate.
If the girl eventually decided she disliked the family and wished to leave, then that would be the end of it.
In truth…
That was one of the reasons Walter had chosen Rayleigh Bitence.
To put it bluntly—
The less she had to gain by returning to her birth family, the more likely she would be to endure even a husband as difficult as Serge and remain with House Elestain.
Walter understood why his son felt the way he did.
Even so, it pained him.
Serge’s mother had betrayed the family before dying.
Afterward, Walter himself had spent years mentally broken, unable to properly raise his own child.
It was only natural that Serge had grown to despise humans.
“I really have no choice…”
“I can only hate you, Rima.”
He quietly murmured the name as he covered his face with one hand—
As though trying to tear away the image of the woman who clung to his heart no matter how desperately he wished to forget her.
*
The next morning—
Rayleigh woke early.
Then she received a piece of completely unexpected news.
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