TFHID 00

Prologue

“…My lady. Please don’t abandon me.”

Between his disheveled black hair, beautiful golden eyes overflowed with tears.

His sculpted nose and pale cheeks were damp, making him look all the more pitiful.

Yet the hand clutching his wife’s arm was firm. It was a grip that refused to let go.

Seeing her husband suddenly burst into tears, Rayleigh panicked.

“Um, Serge. I have no intention of abandoning you.”

“You secretly created a false identity behind Father’s and my backs. You’ve even been transferring your assets under that name…”

“H-How did you find out?!”

“The person you do business with told me.”

Rayleigh resisted the urge to smack herself on the forehead.

I put so much effort into keeping that secret… and this is how I get betrayed?!

Vowing to find the culprit who had leaked her activities, she gently tried to reassure Serge.

“As you know, my birth family had… certain problems, right? Because of that, I didn’t want to leave property under my own name, so I simply used a proxy identity for financial transactions.”

“…”

“It absolutely wasn’t because I was planning to abandon you and run away!”

Well…

It was true that, at first, she had intended to run away.

Because—

“Even though Father and I are fox beastfolk?”

“…”

“You weren’t trying to escape because you were afraid of us?”

That was right.

This world was the setting of a novel Rayleigh had read in her previous life.

And beastfolk…

They were descendants of demons, feared and shunned by society. According to the Temple, they were heretics.

The Duke of Elestain’s family secretly carried the bloodline of fox beastfolk.

In the original story, that secret would eventually be exposed, and the entire family would be exterminated.

That’s right… At first, I just didn’t want to get caught up in that tragedy and die alongside them.

But after spending so much time with her husband and father-in-law, she had grown genuinely attached to them.

Now, she had absolutely no intention of abandoning them.

Instead, she spent her days wondering how to avoid the original novel’s tragic ending and lead them to victory.

I just never expected Serge’s identity to be exposed this soon…

The House of Elestain had an old tradition.

They brought their future daughters-in-law into the family while they were still children.

However, to protect the family’s secret, they never revealed to the young bride that they were fox beastfolk.

Only after observing her for many years and deciding she was trustworthy would they officially register her into the family upon reaching adulthood—and only then reveal the truth.

But before Rayleigh had even come of age, she accidentally discovered that her husband, Serge, was a fox beastman.

Last night I slept beside Serge while he was in his fox form… then I woke up this morning to find him transformed back into a human right in front of me. There’s no way I could pretend I hadn’t seen it.

Having read the original novel, Rayleigh had known the identities of both her husband and father-in-law all along.

She had simply pretended not to know.

After all, what would be more suspicious than a daughter-in-law who somehow already knew the family’s greatest secret?

So she’d planned to follow the original course of events and only “learn” the truth after reaching adulthood.

That plan had been shattered by an unexpected accident.

Still, her answer remained the same.

“I have no intention of leaving the House of Elestain.”

“…”

“Even if you and Father are fox beastfolk.”

Still holding her wrist, Serge suddenly stepped closer.

Their faces were so near their breaths almost mingled.

“My lady.”

“Yes, Serge.”

“You’ve actually known for a long time that we’re fox beastfolk, haven’t you?”

“…!”

“That’s why you’ve been secretly preparing to run away all this time… and now that you’ve been found out, you think you’ve been cornered, don’t you?”

“N-No…”

“You’ll soothe me with those sweet words now… then wait for an opportunity to escape.”

The sudden accusation left Rayleigh speechless.

It was bad enough that he had discovered she’d been gathering money to fund an escape…

Now he had figured out that she’d known his true identity all along.

Her mind went completely blank.

Looking at his silent wife, Serge murmured sadly.

“But it doesn’t matter what you truly feel.”

“S-Serge…”

“Because you’ll never be able to leave this ducal house…”

Serge’s pupils narrowed into thin vertical slits.

It was the unmistakable sign that he was using the supernatural power of the fox beastfolk.

Before Rayleigh could even react to the terrifying aura her husband had never shown before, all the strength drained from her body.

…Pheromones?

As her consciousness gradually faded, countless questions raced through her mind.

My husband isn’t the kind of person who would do something like this…

As though chasing the answer, Rayleigh’s thoughts drifted back…

To the very first day she entered the House of Elestain as its child bride.

Back then…

Both Serge and Rayleigh had still been little children.