I nodded.
After all, I had come to this mansion to heal that child and marry him.
“What worries me a little…”
According to rumors, he was frail, sensitive, irritable, and had a violent temperament.
Would he try to eat me?
I needed to request protection in exchange for safely treating him, so it would be a problem if he actually tried to eat me.
Kendrick Eckhart seemed to read my thoughts and gently reassured me not to worry.
“You’re a good kid. He’ll be a good friend to you.”
“Tweet!”
If Kendrick said he was kind, then it should be fine, right?
Maybe all the rumors about Arsen being irritable were just nonsense.
I exhaled in relief and let my chest relax.
Just then, I heard Kendrick muttering softly.
“…Wait, maybe he’s not that kind? Still, he should be a good friend at least…”
Huh?
As soon as I encountered the staff of the Wolf Mansion, I immediately regretted following Kendrick.
It was already the thirtieth time I’d regretted it.
“I shouldn’t have come.”
Really, really, I shouldn’t have come.
I saw the maids whispering among themselves as they looked at me.
I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it was obvious they were murmuring about me.
All the maids wore the same expression as they whispered to one another.
“Of course, they don’t like me.”
The Wolf Clan and the New Clan had never gotten along well.
So this kind of reaction was probably to be expected.
“No, don’t get discouraged!”
I did anticipate this reaction!
I fluffed up my feathers as much as possible, making my body round like a ball.
Instinctively, I gripped Kendrick’s collar with my tiny feet.
I held onto his collar tightly, making sure I wouldn’t roll off.
Kendrick noticed my tension and turned his head to look at the haughty maids who had spoken carelessly.
With a sigh, he said,
“Try to understand.”
Kendrick held out a finger toward my chest.
I hesitated for a moment, then rested my little foot on his finger.
When I lifted the other foot as well, he raised me high to meet his gaze.
“It’s the first time a member of the New Clan has come to the Wolf Mansion. Seeing it in person must be different from just hearing about it.”
“…Tweet.”
When Kendrick glanced toward them, the maids who had been staring slack-jawed quickly lowered their heads.
“They’re probably not saying anything bad.”
After speaking, he gently pushed open the massive door.
Inside was a neat study.
It wasn’t much different from my father’s study back in Laniero. Yet, strangely, Kendrick’s study didn’t feel as businesslike.
Scattered snacks and small wolf dolls softened the atmosphere.
“Are those Arsen’s dolls?”
I glanced at a pink plush wolf.
It looked soft and seemed to be a very high-quality doll.
“Play here for a while.”
Kendrick carefully placed me on the sofa.
My feet sank into the soft cushions, making me feel good.
I puffed up my feathers even more to show how pleased I was.
He placed a wolf doll beside me as if it were my friend.
Then he went to sit at the wooden desk and began sorting through papers.
Hmm…
Was he asleep?
I slowly opened my eyes.
Then I jumped back in shock.
A wolf was sitting right in front of my beak.
“Tweet, tweet!”
Eek! What is this!?
I flapped my wings and scrambled away from the wolf.
My tiny chest heaved up and down sharply.
But the wolf didn’t move.
I narrowed my eyes and examined it closely.
It had stitch marks in several places.
“Phew, it’s the doll from earlier.”
It was the wolf doll Kendrick had placed beside me to play with.
Feeling a little embarrassed, I poked it with my foot.
The doll didn’t move.
I stepped cautiously closer, and my claws caught on something.
“What’s this?”
Looking down, I saw a small white handkerchief lying there.
“Did he cover me with this?”
It seemed to have been laid over me as a makeshift blanket.
I fumbled and folded it neatly.
A little crooked, but…
“Did he leave already?”
He must have gone out while I was asleep. The study was empty.
As I got up, I noticed a note written in neat handwriting.
[I’ll be back soon.]
It seemed Kendrick Eckhart had left it for when I woke up.
Next to the note, there was a pile of small desserts.
I managed to pick up a macaron and pecked at it eagerly with my sharp beak.
Then—
“Tweet! Tweet-tweet!! Tweet!!”
I made eye contact with yellow eyes staring at me from beyond the window and dropped the macaron.
“W-what is that!?”
Wolves with glowing yellow eyes were glaring at me just outside the window.
I shivered and hid inside the handkerchief. From outside, I could hear murmuring.
Then the murmuring stopped.
“Are they gone now?”
Cautiously, I peeked outside…
“Tweet!! Tweet-tweet!!”
The glowing yellow eyes were right in front of me again.
Startled, I jumped off the sofa.
I flew quickly and bolted out of the study.
“I have to get away!”
My instincts screamed at me to escape.
I dashed across the hallway.
Some of the staff appeared to be chasing me.
“Huff!”
Were they trying to eat me!?
I accelerated and flew out through a window.
The vast Eckhart garden stretched out before me.
I looked back as I flew.
The wolves were still chasing me.
Then—
“Ouch!”
“Tweet!”
I collided with a boy and fell to the ground.
The world spun around me.
Was I going to die like this?
At that very moment—
Bang!
White smoke rose in fluffy clouds beneath my feet.
My beast form disappeared.
“Why now of all times…!”
The problem was, my transformation had ended on the boy’s lap.
I had unintentionally crushed him.
Before transforming, the light pink dress Adele had dressed me in covered the boy’s face.
“Are… you okay?”
I asked, fumbling, and the boy lifted his head.
The moment our eyes met,
I knew instinctively.
Arsen Eckhart.
He was the sole heir of the Eckhart family—and the boy my father had indirectly caused to die in my previous life.
I couldn’t possibly not recognize him.
“Just by looking at his hair, he’s a spitting image of Kendrick Eckhart.”
Ash-gray hair symbolizing the Gray Wolf family, and deep, ocean-blue eyes.
He looked every bit the heir of the Gray Wolf family.
I reached out my hand, and the boy reluctantly grabbed it and stood up.
“…W-what?”
He looked thoroughly flustered.
His wide eyes and parted lips revealed just how shocked he was.
Of course, I’d be startled too.
Who wouldn’t be, if an unknown girl suddenly appeared out of nowhere?
Then I noticed his palms were scraped.
It seemed he had fallen while trying to steady himself with his hands after colliding with me.
“Uh, uh, sorry! Wait a moment!”
I grabbed Arsen’s hand firmly.
He tried to pull away, but I held on tightly.
Then I used my ability.
His hands, which had been scraped raw, were instantly healed as if washed clean.
Arsen’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Y-you… what are you?”
“Well, you see…”
How should I explain this?
While I was wondering,
“Oh, young lady!”
From a distance, the old butler came rushing, flustered.
His usually neat appearance was disheveled.
He glanced first at me, then at the crouching Arsen, and with a pale face, helped Arsen stand.
“Young master! Didn’t I tell you not to be out here!?”
“Hmph, I just came out for a bit of fun.”
“And… are you the young lady?”
Ethan cautiously asked me. I nodded.
“Good heavens, your beast form has finally ended!”
I absentmindedly played with my dark brown hair.
“Yes, thank you.”
The days when my beast form wouldn’t revert flashed through my mind.
“I’m glad it’s over.”
I had thought it might never end—it was terrifying!
The butler carried Arsen in one arm while firmly holding my tiny hand with the other, returning to the mansion.
Of course, the mansion was in disarray.
“If you needed to clean, you should have woken the young lady and explained the situation! Why make such a mess?”
A middle-aged woman, probably the head maid, scolded the other maids.
From the conversation, it seemed the maids who had startled me earlier had been cleaning the study and watching over me until I woke. They had come in to explain the situation once I got up.
“You should have said so from the start.”
Given I had instinctively tried to escape after locking eyes with a wolf, it was natural I ran.
Maybe it was lucky I ran far enough to avoid further accidents.
“Please freshen up, young lady. I’ll inform the master and return. I’ll bring the young master with me as well.”
The butler said this, gently pushing me into the arms of a maid.
He held Arsen’s hand and disappeared gracefully.
Though Arsen pouted, wanting to play in the garden a little longer, he followed Ethan obediently.
The maid smiled gently and hugged me.
Wrapping her arms around my neck, I felt her warmth.
Somehow, it felt strangely unfamiliar.
