Chapter 15

According to Rendel, I had spent a full week hovering between life and death, drifting through cycles of high fever and hypothermia. Aria had called for Benson when she saw me babbling in a feverish delirium, but Benson apparently refused, claiming he couldn’t treat me while I had reverted to my animal form.

They couldn’t exactly force me back into human form while my mana was boiling over and my instincts were clinging to my fox shape, so everyone was left pacing in frustration. After all, finding a shifter doctor in Faypren—a human residential area—was practically impossible.

Just when it seemed I was a goner, it was Hardium who saved me by returning to the mansion at the perfect moment. The Grand Duke, who had been in the Neutral Zone by the Emperor’s order, reportedly encountered a shifter doctor there by chance. Having harbored suspicions that my unusually delayed humanization meant I was a half-wit unable to use my abilities, he had brought her back to the mansion with him.

So, I survived thanks to a combination of Hardium’s distrust and a shifter doctor who was willing to come to Winchester.

“Is that shifter doctor still staying at Winchester?”

“No. Being a shifter herself, she said she had to return to Anif. She mentioned she only stopped by briefly on her way back.”

“…….”

“Still, she did her best. She squeezed her schedule to care for you, Miss, and only headed for Anif two days before you regained consciousness.”

‘If only I’d woken up a bit sooner, I could have thanked her.’

She had vanished as suddenly as she arrived, refusing the reward offered by Winchester and not even leaving her name. The only shred of information I had was that she was a “deer shifter.”

‘Hmm, I wonder if the Grand Duke knows more?’

It bothered me that the doctor who saved me was a deer shifter. Serian, the heroine of this world, was also a doctor and a deer shifter. I tilted my head at the possibility but quickly shook the thought away.

‘No way. The Grand Duke, who told me I was unreliable because I’m thirteen, wouldn’t bring a thirteen-year-old heroine just like me to look at my condition. That makes no sense.’

I brushed off the goosebumps on my arms and pushed the unsolvable mystery aside. Whatever the case, one thing was certain: my temper had almost landed me in an early grave.

‘I really need to learn to keep my cool.’

Truthfully, if I hadn’t drained so much of Esteban’s mana that day, I wouldn’t have spent a week at death’s door. It was the combination of already being unstable from taking Beth’s mana and then greedily snatching Esteban’s on top of it that caused the breakdown.

‘Of course, I got a bit stubborn in the middle and took way more than necessary… but I don’t regret it.’

At least through this ordeal, I learned what Esteban was really thinking.

“The idea that I will one day lose my mind and devour everyone around me isn’t a curse. It’s simply a fact.”

‘…So, I don’t regret it.’

Though, I should definitely refrain from overusing my powers in the future. Regardless, spending a week in a coma wasn’t all bad. I spread my small, slender fingers in front of my eyes and giggled.

‘It means I can finally humanize now!’

I hummed a tune as I headed toward Lady Aria’s room. My original plan was to find Hardium and thank him (whatever his motives were) for bringing the shifter doctor.

“The Head of House left early this morning on urgent business. I’m not sure when he’ll return… Ah, is there a message you’d like to leave?”

‘I thought heads of houses in novels just sat around doing nothing but dating, but he’s actually incredibly busy.’

So, my next plan was to visit Lady Aria. She had also put in so much effort to save me! I had just come from Rendel, who confirmed she was in the mansion. Since she must have heard I’d woken up by now, I figured it was only polite to visit her first.

I was just dusting off my clothes and raising my hand to knock when the firmly closed door burst open, and silver hair—looking like it was woven from moonlight—fluttered out.

“Ah, Lady Aria?”

Before I could even register the face of the person coming out, Aria pulled me into a fierce embrace. Her voice, thick with emotion, vibrated near my ear.

“I’m so glad… I’m so glad you woke up, Poblian.”

The arms holding me were trembling slightly. I was so startled I lost my words. Aria took a breath as if swallowing back a surge of emotion and pulled back to look at me.

“……Thank you for protecting Esteban.”

Unlike her trembling lips, her gaze was steady and locked onto mine. I met her eyes, gave a small smile, and replied calmly.

“I promised, didn’t I?”

“…….”

“That for five years, no matter what happens, I will protect Esteban.”

Aria looked surprised for a moment, then a soft smile touched her lips. She clasped both of my hands tightly.

“If there is anything you want to ask of me, anything at all, just say the word.”

“…….”

“I will grant whatever request you have, Poblian.”

I had only helped because I felt bad for Esteban, but it felt like I’d accidentally gained a very powerful backer in this mansion.

“Thank you, Lady Aria!”

As I thanked her, my gaze drifted past her into the room, where I saw a familiar face trembling like a leaf.

‘That person is…’

Noticing my gaze, Aria looked at the man with cold eyes and explained.

“While investigating what Ellen and Beth were up to, I summoned him for a moment as well.”

“……Was he involved with them?”

“No. He was more of a victim who was used.”

“…….”

“But I suppose being used is also a fault in its own right.”

Cooker.

As the chef of the Grand Duchy and an anti-shifter, he wasn’t someone I had particularly fond memories of. However, he was also the person Beth and Ellen had prioritized removing first. That meant, if something like this were to happen again, Cooker could be the very first line of defense to protect Esteban. Of course, I’d have to see if he was actually trustworthy.

‘But if Cooker holds a grudge because he was fired, wouldn’t it all be for nothing?’

“U-um, Miss……”

At that moment, the trembling Cooker fell flat on his face, prostrating himself before me.

“I was so wrong back then. I thought you, who came to help Winchester, were a scammer after the Bluebells.”

“A scammer?”

“Well… because a fox that wasn’t even a person appeared before my eyes.”

My conscience twinged a bit at his words. In reality, what Winchester had wanted was Ariel, not me, who was clumsy at humanizing.

*‘I mean, it’s true I came here aiming for a loophole in the contract… if you look at it that way, is this a scam?’

Mistaking my awkward expression, Cooker began to stammer, doing his best to explain his situation.

“O-of course, I know now that you aren’t a scammer! Actually, when I was a child, I was scammed by a fox…! No, I’m not saying you should understand me just because I went through that, but…!”

‘Scammed by a fox…?’

Looking at Cooker pouring out his heart while bowing his head, a strange sense of guilt began to creep in. Honestly, there was a saying in Anif that if you’re a shifter who’s never been scammed by a fox, you probably just moved to Anif today.

‘Ugh… a fennec fox is still a fox, but why do I have to feel guilty for the scams those guys pull?’

“S-so, what I’m saying is, I’m truly sorry, Miss! Not all shifters are the same… but I kept overlapping the fox I saw as a child with you…!”

I let out a shallow sigh as Cooker bowed his head again in apology. I figured this was another case of the deep conflict between humans and shifters mentioned in <Watch Out for That Rampage!>. Ultimately, the current disaster born of misunderstanding and prejudice was the price of living in a world where people only know how to hate and oppose what they don’t understand.

“I thought I might have to leave without ever apologizing, so I’m glad to see you like this. That day… I am truly sorry for that day.”

I couldn’t trust everything Cooker said, but he seemed sincere. I watched him suspiciously at first, thinking it might be an act, but I decided to believe he was truly repentant.

‘He’s already been fired and is away from Winchester; there’s no reason for him to apologize to me unless he means it.’

With that thought, a scene from the novel came to mind.

“To be honest, it’s hard to even guess who did it. Most of the servants in the Winchester Grand Duchy have been here for over five years! Who would dare try to murder the family!”

That was why Esteban couldn’t find the culprit in the original story. After he woke up from his rampage, all that was left was a devastated estate with fewer than ten survivors. Some had no bodies left, so people naturally assumed they had been caught in the rampage and vaporized.

‘But having gone through this, I see it now. Some were killed by the rampage, but some might have pretended to be dead and fled.’

I looked at Cooker, who was wiping his tears, and thought: ‘Doesn’t Cooker at least have a solid loyalty to Winchester? Even if his suspicion was rooted in prejudice and personal grudges.’

“Lady Aria.”

I spoke softly to Aria, who had been looking down at Cooker with a stern face.

“You said earlier that you would grant me any wish. Can I make it now?”

“Of course.”

I shouted with a bright, innocent voice to Aria, who was waiting for my answer with a curious expression.

“Could you please re-hire Cooker as the chef?”

“…….”

“I’d really like him to keep being the chef.”