Chapter 17
Seeing Theo's face as he came into the room, I turned my head without thinking.
I'd left the mansion that morning as if fleeing, and had taken some time to sort out my feelings before coming back...
But the moment I saw Theo, those events from that morning began coming back to me one by one, as if all that time had been for nothing.
I want to die...
“Are you still angry about what happened back then?”
Just then, Theo spoke, seeming to watch my expression.
Huh? What is he talking about all of a sudden?
What happened back then...? Don't tell me, when I was in heat?
“...”
“...?”
I felt my cheeks grow hot in an instant.
This is driving me crazy... I'm adding to my cringe-worthy memories in real time,
and with them all rushing back at once, I can't even raise my head.
R-Right, I should act calm at times like this...
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“...I see.”
...
...
Say something, already!
Should I just speak first?
All right, I'll try to start a conversation as calmly as possible.
One, two...
“Um...”
“Well...”
Why are you only speaking now?!
“Please, go ahead...”
“Pfft.”
You're laughing?! I'm serious here.
This is all because you touched my chest today in the first place.
And in such a, such a perverted way...
“Why are you laughing?”
“...It's nothing.”
What good is acting serious now...
Just then, Theo suddenly held out his hand to me.
“Let's sit down first. We both have a lot to talk about.”
Honestly, I didn't have that much to say, but I reluctantly nodded and sat in the chair beside me.
But why was Theo standing like that?
“What are you doing over there?”
“Mm... that's right.”
Theo withdrew the hand he'd held out, looking disappointed.
Was he asking me to take his hand just now?! Why...?
“What a shame.”
“Pardon?”
“It's nothing.”
Then he sat in the chair across from me and looked at me.
Feeling a little embarrassed, I turned away to avoid his gaze.
Honestly, after being that close to him yesterday, you might wonder why I was embarrassed now.
But it's different from when I'm a fox. Somehow, it's more embarrassing.
“That's unexpected.”
“What do you mean?”
“A woman who liked me so much she pounced on me is acting like some innocent girl.”
“What?!”
Theo was smiling with a rather teasing expression.
I could tell right away he was trying to tease me,
but that only made me want to push back harder.
Like I'd like you. No way.
“I think you're a little full of yourself.”
“Really? That's strange. Then do you ask just any man to hold you like that?”
“That's completely different.”
Calm down, Edel. Theo's deliberately trying to get under my skin right now.
What he's curious about is who I am, anyway.
He's obviously trying to rattle me before asking.
That's right. Calm down.
Calm down...
“You can be honest now. You were so passionate when you pounced on me and did all that...”
“I didn't do that because I like you, Master! I just wanted your body!! That's... all...”
...
...
What did I just say?
“I-I see. I misunderstood. I apologize.”
“I-If you understand, that's fine...”
“You must be tired today, so let's talk again tomorrow.”
“...Yes.”
Theo left the room as if fleeing,
and at the same time, I collapsed face-first onto the table.
“Aaaaaah...”
What on earth am I saying!!!!
Saying I only want his body—what kind of perverted thing is that?
...
...
No, it's not wrong, is it?
Right. It's what my body wants.
I can't help it.
In the first place, I used to be an animal.
Besides, if you think about it, this is all Theo's fault.
He kept saying weird things, so I ended up saying weird things too.
Why does he keep saying weird things... He was just teasing me, right? Yeah. That must be it. But why...
After that, I mumbled to myself all day, asking myself the same questions over and over, but only made myself suffer.
...
...
...
The next morning,
I was once again guarding Theo at his side, just like before.
Still feeling a little awkward because of what happened yesterday.
But Theo, unlike me,
Glance
was working hard on his paperwork as usual.
If anything, he seemed even more cheerful than before.
Maybe now that his troublesome problems had been resolved, he felt a lot lighter?
Which was of course a good thing.
But why wasn't he interrogating me?
“Um, Master?”
“What is it?”
He turned his head, met my gaze, and answered in a gentle tone,
and I couldn't adjust to this changed version of Theo.
He'd usually be prickly with me. Why was he acting like this?
Had he really decided to tease me?
...For now,
“Why aren't you asking me anything?”
“Who knows? I wonder why...”
If you ask me that, what am I supposed to say?
“Aren't you curious about anything?”
“There are plenty of things I'm curious about. Like how you managed to make Daiham fall to me.”
“That...”
“And why those guys were throwing their weight around there for no reason. Did they just feel like bullying merchants? No. If they were that stupid, they would've been arrested long ago.”
“...”
“You were behind that too, weren't you?”
I couldn't bring myself to answer Theo's question.
Because I had nothing to say.
Everything he said was absolutely right.
I'd gone about it recklessly, thinking I could put him under hypnosis if things came to it.
“Besides, even if they're a famous criminal group, there's no way they could've had that much Raylight ore. They might've acquired it by chance, but I'm choosing to believe that chance was you.”
“...”
“Well, I'm not certain about that.”
So he knows everything, except who I am.
“But why aren't you saying anything?”
“I thought that before I saw you yesterday morning... but now, I don't really care anymore.”
“What?”
Then Theo turned his gaze back to the documents,
“I mean, I don't care anymore.”
he said casually, as if tossing the words at me,
and I couldn't say anything, feeling the consideration hidden in his indifference.
It sounded as though he was saying I didn't have to tell him if I didn't want to, and that I should just act as usual.
That's what it sounded like.
But even if you'd asked me who I really was, I wouldn't have been able to tell you anything.
Yesterday, I learned that you didn't hate me when I was a fox,
but I still don't have the courage to tell you now.
But someday...
“Come to think of it, I have to go to Verdia this week.”
“Huh? Why all of a sudden?”
“I have to attend Ellis Verdia's birthday party.”
Ellis? Theo's fiancée?
“But why does that matter?”
“I'd like you to come with me.”
“What?!”
“When I met Ellis before, I told her you were my lover. That's why.”
Oh, right. I'd forgotten about that.
Things had been so hectic from my perspective that I'd completely forgotten what happened then.
...I'd also tried to forget it on purpose.
“For your information, Ellis and I have broken off our engagement. I'm going to the party because she asked me one last time, but I don't want to give her any false hope.”
“What? You're broken up?!”
“You didn't know? I guess you haven't been in Rebellin lately.”
Of course not. I'd been in the forest, not a human village.
But still, they'd broken off their engagement...
Judging by the timing, it seemed he'd dealt with the money problem with Verdia and then ended the engagement right away.
Did he hate being engaged that much?
Then Theo put down the documents he'd been reading, stood, and walked toward me.
“So this time, I'd like you to come with me and pretend to be my lover.”
As he said that, Theo held out his hand to me.
At the same time, I felt something strange.
I was happy, but at the same time, I felt a sense of aversion...
It was a strange feeling.
But I didn't really have a reason to refuse.
We'd already held hands and walked around town pretending to be lovers.
Let's just think of this as an extension of that.
But...
“If that's what you wish, Master, I'll do it.”
I shook Theo's hand and deliberately added those words.
I wanted to make it clear that I was doing it because he wanted me to, not because I wanted to.
To Theo, and to myself.
But Theo didn't seem to mind.
“Thank you.”
He genuinely looked pleased and gave our joined hands a light shake.
“Don't mention it.”
I gave him a faint smile too.
* *
“Ellis, did you really say Theo was coming alone?”
“Yes, Father.”
After returning to Verdia territory, the first thing Ellis did was tell her father what had happened.
After hearing her story, Kerenes fell into thought.
If what Ellis said was true, Rebellin wouldn't launch an attack against them.
The spies he'd sent along with his daughter had brought back similar information, so it was highly credible.
‘Then there's no need to rush for now.’
Of course, Verdia would win if they fought a territorial war,
but Verdia wouldn't come out of it unscathed.
In that case, it would be better to take Rebellin by other means in the long run.
“But why did you invite Theo?”
“Because it's the last time. I wanted to spend my birthday party with him one last time.”
Ellis's gaze didn't waver. Anyone who didn't know her might have believed her, thinking she was telling the truth.
“Tell me the truth.”
“...I am.”
Kerenes couldn't believe his daughter.
Theo had chosen another woman, after all, and he'd even heard she might be a commoner.
So his daughter must be burning up inside right now, and saying she would give up after seeing him once was clearly a lie.
“Don't worry.”
But Ellis's expression was eerily calm.
Like the moment before a typhoon struck, she looked as composed as possible,
“What do you think I'll do? He's someone I love, after all. I simply want to spend our last time together sincerely.”
She spoke with such conviction that Kerenes had no choice but to nod.
“...All right, if that's truly what you want.”
“Thank you, Father.”
Ellis said with a bright smile, looking like the good daughter she usually was, but
that very sight left Kerenes feeling inexplicably uneasy.