The moment I heard my father speak, I jerked my head up.
“So tomorrow, none of you are to leave your rooms. There’s nothing good to gain from running into him.”
My siblings nodded silently.
Even Shuville, who had been staring blankly, nodded quickly.
‘…Did the head of the Wolf Clan come to the mansion in my previous life too?’
My memories were hazy.
Ever since I returned, the events of my past life hadn’t been coming back clearly.
I vaguely remembered visiting the mansion once before sending the marriage proposal…
‘When in doubt, it’s best to ask.’
“…Why would the head of the Wolf Clan come into the territory of the new clan?”
I tilted my head, trying to look as innocent as possible while asking.
I didn’t want to upset my father’s mood.
Fortunately, he calmly set down his napkin and replied.
“He said he had something important to discuss.”
Even thinking about the Wolf Clan seemed to anger him; my father looked extremely displeased.
Lady Bellin, sensing his mood, swallowed nervously.
I lowered my head and thought to myself:
‘He still doesn’t know.’
That Kendrick Ekhart was coming to propose a political marriage to the new clan.
That meant my father hadn’t yet planned to send Shuville to kill Arsen.
And that also meant that an opportunity to change the future had fallen right into my lap.
I leaned back on the sofa and organized my thoughts.
Maybe it was the aftereffect of returning, or the fact that I was younger, but I had to clutch my head a few times to think straight.
First, my father didn’t know Kendrick Ekhart’s true intentions.
Even in my past life, after the marriage proposal arrived, it took a whole month for Shuville to reach the duke’s mansion.
My father spent that time worrying, eventually deciding to kill Arsen, and used the long month to prepare sending Shuville.
As a result, the family was ruined, and I died.
That couldn’t happen in this life.
‘I have to stop that at all costs.’
To do that, I needed to prevent Shuville from going to the Ekhart family…
Since the head of the Wolf Clan had proposed a political marriage, the new clan had no choice but to marry into the Wolf Clan.
Moreover,
‘…If I remember correctly, Father got a pretty good deal in exchange for the marriage.’
The Hampton River.
A small river between the new clan’s territory and the Wolf Clan’s land.
Though smaller than other rivers, its location made it valuable, and the Wolf Clan and the new clan had long fought over control.
So my father wouldn’t refuse this marriage.
The head of the Wolf Clan, too, needed the new clan to save his son.
They couldn’t cancel the political marriage.
…Then.
‘I’ll go.’
I would marry Arsen in place of Shuville and heal him.
I clenched my fists tightly.
That way, the Wolf Clan wouldn’t lose its leverage or invade Laniéro.
And,
‘If I go to the Wolf Clan’s territory, I’ll at least be protected until I come of age.’
Even if I ended up with cursed feathers after my molt, the Wolf Clan couldn’t cast me out.
They’d need me to heal Arsen.
I fiddled with my hair.
The soft, golden-brown strands slipped through my fingers.
‘Once the molt starts, I’ll be abandoned again.’
I’d be trapped in a room alone, just like in my past life.
This time, I refused to accept that.
I bit my lip and lifted my head.
‘I’ll marry in place of Shuville, heal the heir, and in return, request protection.’
I would secure a promise that no matter what, I wouldn’t be abandoned.
‘I’ve heard the Wolf Clan never forgets a debt of gratitude.’
They would protect me until I came of age.
Then I could divorce after adulthood and quietly live alone in some countryside village.
It was a perfect plan.
The problem was that Father would never let me go.
Not while I had this golden-brown hair.
Soft golden-brown hair was a symbol of the young Laniéro.
After my molt, maybe, but now, with hair that marked me as Laniéro…
Father would never hand me over to the Wolf Clan.
‘I have the strongest ability in the family.’
So I had to go secretly.
But switching places with Shuville in the carriage was absolutely impossible.
In my past life, Shuville left for Wolf territory under heavy guard.
‘Then my only chance is tomorrow.’
Tomorrow, the head of the Ekhart family would personally visit the Laniéro mansion.
If I said I would go with him, Kendrick Ekhart would take me without hesitation.
After all, he was proposing a political marriage to the very clan he despised—he was in a hurry.
The only problem…
‘Father told us not to leave our rooms, so Lady Bellin will be watching.’
On top of that, the maids would make sure the children didn’t leave their rooms.
But.
If I didn’t act tomorrow, there’d be no chance at all.
I had to follow Kendrick Ekhart, no matter what.
“No way.”
Adelle said firmly.
She planted her hands on her hips and blocked the doorway.
I stomped my feet and looked up at her.
“Adelle!”
“Lady Bellin is walking around outside. If you go out now, you’ll definitely get scolded badly again.”
She was resolute.
Even saying I’d just visit the garden briefly wasn’t allowed.
‘I planned to pretend to go to the garden and secretly meet Kendrick.’
Kendrick Ekhart was set to visit at three o’clock.
In thirty minutes, it would be over, and he would leave Laniéro.
I could see Kendrick Ekhart’s carriage outside.
And it was already 3:20.
I had been arguing with Adelle since 2:30 about leaving the room.
But Adelle was adamant.
“No, Miss. Absolutely not.”
She clearly intended to keep me from going out.
Then it was Plan B.
I quickly clutched my stomach and lowered my eyebrows.
It was growling—it had to, since I hadn’t eaten breakfast or lunch properly.
Lady Bellin hadn’t given us food on time, claiming she needed to “manage” us.
And Adelle was weak when it came to my hunger.
She believed that children must eat well, so whenever I was hungry, she always brought cookies, small cakes, or bread.
I clutched my empty stomach and looked at Adelle.
I put on the most pitiful, sorrowful expression I could muster and said:
“Adelle, I’m just so hungry. I’ll just go out for a bit, okay?”
“…But you just said you wanted to go to the garden.”
“…But now I’m suddenly hungry.”
I changed my story hastily, and Adelle looked at me suspiciously.
A brief silence followed.
Then she sighed and held my shoulders tightly.
“Then I’ll bring some cookies. But you absolutely, absolutely cannot go out, okay? Don’t open the door since Lady Bellin is outside.”
“Mm, okay.”
“I’ll be back soon, so don’t go out!”
“Got it.”
Adelle sighed and left the room.
Through the door crack, I saw her explaining to Lady Bellin.
She shot a sharp glance at the slit where I was peeking.
‘Yikes!’
Hopefully she didn’t notice me.
Luckily, Lady Bellin only nodded.
Adelle’s footsteps faded away.
I dashed to the bed and shoved my hand under it.
And,
‘Found it!’
I pulled out a small note I had prepared last night after asking Adelle for paper and a pen.
‘It would be ideal if I could meet him without transforming.’
It was in case I had to leave the mansion in beast form.
If I met the head of the Wolf Clan as a bird, I wouldn’t be able to communicate.
In beast form, only clan members could communicate.
So I had prepared a note just in case.
I unfolded it.
[My name is Linzi Laniéro. Please take me to the Ekhart family.]
Since I might have to fly with it in my mouth, I had only written what was absolutely necessary.
Good, that was well-written.
I checked the note again, folded it carefully, and placed it on the windowsill.
Slide.
I quickly opened the window, letting the warm air rush in.
‘I have to hurry before Adelle comes back.’
I pressed my lips together and jumped twice in place. White smoke began to rise from the floor.
‘Please, please!’
I immersed myself in the smoke.
Small wings sprouted from my back, and I felt my perspective rise.
‘Yes!’
I had successfully transformed into my beast form!
It was half a gamble.
Usually, you could only awaken beast transformation after age ten.
I barely awakened mine at ten in my past life.
But having practiced before, I transformed naturally as if I had always known how.
I looked at my wings and tail. Still clean golden-brown, probably because I hadn’t molted yet.
“Squawk!”
I flapped my wings energetically. Moving them was hard with my seven-year-old body.
But as long as I could get out of here!
I quickly climbed onto the windowsill.
I could hear voices outside, probably Adelle returning.
Then, I saw Kendrick Ekhart crossing the garden.
‘No!’
