Chapter 12

Aria realized the reason why Benson, who had spoken as if everything was Poblian’s fault until leaving the room, had waited until they were alone to hint at the truth.

Esteban might seem prickly, but he was a tender-hearted and affectionate child. What would have happened if a child, who was always on edge for fear of losing control and hurting others, found out that Poblian was suffering like that because of him? The mana circuits, which are directly connected to one’s spirit, react most sensitively to negative emotions. Thus, knowing the truth might have actually triggered a rampage.

Aria felt dizzy just imagining the situation and offered her gratitude to Benson.

“……I will take your words to heart.”

After Benson left with a gentle smile, Aria cautiously opened the firmly closed bedroom door. Through the gap in the door, she saw her young son, his gaze never wavering from the face of the sleeping Poblian.

***

The fox shifter, who had swallowed the pill Ellen brought two days ago, seemed to have not yet regained consciousness. If that weren’t the case, there would have been no reason to block everyone from entering or leaving the Grand Duke’s estate.

“What on earth is going on?”

“Exactly. This hasn’t happened very often, has it?”

“Not often? It hasn’t happened once since I started working here!”

The young maids, unaware of the situation, huddles together and whispered among themselves. Beth ground her teeth as she watched the situation; despite Ellen screaming as if he were about to die, not a single corpse had turned up.

‘Who exactly is supposed to be dead? That stupid human! He should have handled it properly. How dare he skip town after tangling things up like this?’

When the plan went awry because the fox ate the pill he had prepared, Ellen’s face had turned ghostly pale, and he fled immediately without a moment’s hesitation. Thinking of Ellen’s face made Beth’s blood boil all over again. Although she was only carrying out the mission with Ellen by the Grand Duke’s orders, she couldn’t help but think she would have been better off doing it alone.

“Miss Beth!”

Beth flinched, startled out of her thoughts by the voice calling her. A maid, who had been whispering with the others until a moment ago, was looking at her.

“……What is it?”

“Has Her Ladyship mentioned anything to you, Miss Beth?”

The young maids’ eyes sparkled with curiosity. Beth forced a smile and replied.

“I’m afraid I haven’t heard anything either.”

At Beth’s answer, the maids turned pale and whispered, wondering if the Young Master had perhaps rampaged.

‘I wish he had, rather.’

Beth wiped her face, hiding her unspeakable thoughts. At that moment, a young manservant named Van, who was sitting among the maids, timidly raised his hand.

“I… I don’t think the Young Master rampaged.”

“What do you mean suddenly…? Van, did you see something that day?”

The maids immediately focused their attention on Van. Beth also stared at him with a tense face. If that boy had seen Ellen or herself, she would have to kill him before things escalated. Unaware of Beth’s inner thoughts, the maids sat closer to Van and asked again.

“What did you see?”

“That day, I saw the Young Master coming out of the greenhouse, holding something very carefully in his arms.”

“The Young Master did?”

Van, who still had his baby fat, nodded heavily. Seeing the maids’ eyes urging him to continue, Van replied cautiously.

“I couldn’t see who it was. I only saw something like wheat-colored hair swaying outside the folds of the clothes he was using to carry them.”

“Wheat-colored hair? Is there anyone in the Grand Duke’s mansion with wheat-colored hair?”

The maids gathered around began to murmur, wondering who could have hair that color. At that moment, Lani carefully raised her hand and spoke.

“Could it be tail fur instead of hair?”

“What?”

“The pet fox that came from Anif this time has wheat-colored fur.”

Lani, who had been strictly warned that Poblian being a shifter was a secret, rolled her eyes as she answered. The maids nodded in agreement with Lani, but Van tilted his head and shouted.

“N-no! When I saw him, the Young Master looked like he cherished the person he was holding very, very much!”

“Oh, Van. You must not know, but the Young Master dotes on that pet fox quite a bit.”

“Pardon?”

“I even saw him showing the fox around the mansion once. Even though it can’t understand a word he says.”

“That’s right. Now that I think about it, he took it along to every lesson with Sir Ellen, didn’t he?”

The maids burst into laughter at Van’s confused expression. Seeing this, Beth’s eyes narrowed.

‘Esteban cherishes that fox? From what I saw, he didn’t seem to like it very much.’

“N-no! He looked so desperate, like he was holding someone who was about to die.”

“Well, maybe that fox was in danger of dying.”

The maids seemed to have concluded that the wheat-colored “hair” Van saw was the tail fur of Esteban’s fox.

“Oh my, then was Sir Benson’s visit to the mansion also to check on the pet fox’s condition?”

“Sir Benson came to the mansion?”

“Yes, I heard it from Sir Philip.”

“Sir Philip? You mean the knight who supposedly picked a flower for you?”

The maid’s cheeks turned red as she nodded shyly, drawing exclamations from those sitting around her. Van, seeing that the maids had completely lost interest in his story, shouted in frustration.

“Wait a minute! Then why are we being kept locked in here?”

“I’ve thought about it, and as long as there’s no danger of the Young Master rampaging, doesn’t it not matter?”

“Exactly. Her Ladyship said our wages would be paid as normal, so in a way, this is a vacation for us!”

Beth looked disdainfully at the maids who were laughing and saying they enjoyed the short break, and then she fell into thought.

‘So that’s why they’re keeping us confined like this? Because they think Esteban will rampage if that fox brat dies?’

It was merely a guess, but it was worth testing. Since it would be troublesome for her and Ellen if the fox survived anyway, there was nothing to lose by killing it secretly.

‘However, I’ll have to deal with it when I can get out of here at any moment.’

Aria had locked the doors, viewing this incident as an inside job. But it was impossible to keep the mansion doors closed forever. The people Aria had confined were not just the servants of the Grand Duchy.

‘She can’t keep the merchants who came to deliver groceries or those who visited for other business locked up forever. The doors will likely open soon. Perhaps as early as tomorrow.’

Once the doors opened, escaping the mansion wouldn’t be difficult. She had to aim for the timing of the reopening. At that moment, the door burst open along with the sound of hurried footsteps echoing down the hallway.

“Everyone! The Butler just came by and told us. The doors will be open starting tomorrow!”

“Really? What was the reason for closing them?”

Beth left the quarters through the back door, leaving the chattering servants behind. Whistling to call a carrier pigeon, she tied a note to its leg and let it fly before stepping into the thicket. Digging into the ground beneath a large tree, Beth pulled out a dagger she had hidden there and tucked it into her clothes.

When Beth returned to the quarters as if nothing had happened, her face looked more unburdened than ever.

***

「When the mansion doors open tomorrow, kill the fox and settle the situation.」

Ellen crumpled Beth’s note and wiped his face with his hands. He felt as if he were walking right into a tiger’s den, but there was only one reason he returned to the Winchester mansion.

‘Beth is right. If that fox is left alive, it will lead to future trouble. I have to kill it here and now.’

Especially if that fox really did have the ability to stop a Winchester’s rampage, it absolutely could not be allowed to live. Ellen toyed with the pill in his pocket and looked up. Just then, the carriage he was riding in stopped in front of the Grand Duke’s mansion.

Stepping out of the carriage with firm resolve, Ellen scanned the faces of the guards at the main gate and frowned.

‘Where did he go?’

The guard who had helped him sneak out of the Winchester estate last time was not there. Ellen, who had managed to escape the mansion safely thanks to the man’s help, felt a bitter taste in his mouth at his absence.

‘He was someone I put quite a bit of effort into. Was his post changed because of this incident?’

He knew that the guards’ assignments changed frequently, but the fact that it happened at this specific timing gave him an ill omen.

“You are Sir Ellen, correct? I heard you were coming for the Young Master’s lesson.”

The man who looked older of the two gave a friendly greeting and opened the main gate. Ellen gave an awkward smile to the man who beckoned him in and began to walk.

‘No need to be nervous. They don’t know anything. If they knew there was a problem, they would have seized me the moment I arrived at the mansion.’

“You’ve arrived, Sir Ellen.”

“Ah, Mr. Butler.”

Rendel, who had approached his side before he knew it, lightly asked after his well-being.

“Please follow me. I will guide you.”

“Yes.”

Ellen walked behind Rendel, his eyes darting around. He had planned to withdraw without hesitation and plan for another day if anything seemed off, but the Grand Duke’s mansion was the same as always. After a moment of thought, Ellen asked as if it were of no consequence.

“Um, Mr. Butler. Did something happen to the Young Master by any chance?”

“Pardon?”

Ellen lowered his voice as much as possible and spoke to Rendel, who asked back with a look of incomprehension.

“Wasn’t the lesson suddenly canceled three days ago? I was very worried that something might have happened to the Young Master’s safety.”

Ellen watched Rendel’s expression with a sharp gaze, but the kind-looking old man simply laughed good-naturedly and replied.

“Oh dear, you were worried. It wasn’t such a big deal. It wasn’t the Young Master, but the pet fox he keeps that got sick, perhaps from eating something wrong.”

Ellen, despite having been on edge the whole time, pretended to be even more surprised as he asked back.

“By pet fox, do you mean that fox that always came along during the lessons?”

“Yes, that’s right. The Young Master was very distressed by the news that its mana flow was tangled and it might die. Her Ladyship ordered the cancellation of the lesson, fearing he might lose control.”

“Oh my, so that was the situation.”

Ellen nodded, pretending to be somber, but the corners of his mouth twitched upwards almost imperceptibly. He had struggled to suppress his anxiety before coming to the mansion because he couldn’t grasp the exact situation from Beth’s short note…

‘I never imagined the Winchester brat would be distressed just because a fox cub was sick. If I just get rid of the fox, everything will fall into place.’

Having finished his calculations, Ellen spoke cautiously to Rendel, who looked quite serious

“If it’s because of the mana flow, would it be alright if I took a look?”

“Pardon? You, Sir Ellen?”

Ellen gave a bright smile to Rendel, who had widened his eyes in surprise.

“When it comes to the flow of mana, wouldn’t I be better than a physician?”