Chapter 22

“……So, you’re starting as friends, then.”

“Pardon?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Aria, who had just uttered those cryptic words, rose from her seat with a beaming smile. Before I could ask what she meant, a sharp knock echoed through the room.

“Madam, it’s Rendel.”

“Come in.”

Rendel stepped into the room with practiced, effortless grace, and behind him, a familiar face appeared.

“Lani?”

“Miss!”

Lani’s face lit up, and she moved as if to rush toward me, but she flinched and froze in place under Rendel’s sharp gaze.

Having subdued Lani with a single look, Rendel bowed to Aria and spoke.

“I am here to report that Lani’s innocence has been proven as of today. She is cleared to return to service, so I am inquiring as to where she should be assigned.”

As Rendel spoke, I could feel Lani’s eyes burning with a strange sort of determination as she looked at me.

‘Wh—what is it?’

Aria quietly observed Lani and me for a moment before giving a small nod.

When I tilted my head in confusion, Aria turned to me with a faint smile and spoke softly.

“Could you give us a moment of privacy, Poblian?”

***

The door closed behind her with a soft thud.

Lani swallowed hard, thinking of Poblian, who had offered a small nod of greeting before leaving the room first.

‘It’s okay. My innocence has been proven.’

Despite her efforts to soothe herself, an inexplicable tension made her throat go dry.

Lani kept her head bowed low, waiting for the conversation to begin, until Aria spoke in a calm voice.

“The process was longer and more complicated than it was for the others. I imagine it was difficult for you. If you felt hurt by that, I apologize.”

“O-oh, no, not at all! I didn’t feel that way!”

“…….”

“In fact, I thought it was only right that things were handled that way.”

Lani’s voice trembled slightly, as if she were reliving a memory.

Aria watched her, her own hands tightening into fists, before she spoke again.

“I heard from Rendel. You said you wanted to stay by Poblian’s side?”

“Pardon? Oh, yes!”

Despite the immediate response and Lani’s seemingly genuine demeanor, Aria couldn’t quite clear the suspicion from her expression.

As long as Poblian remained the one to suppress Esteban’s rampages, she would likely face similar dangers in the future.

Naturally, the maid serving her would be at high risk as well.

‘Knowing that, why does she still want to be Poblian’s maid?’

Aria looked at the stiff, nervous Lani and spoke once more.

“There will likely be many dangerous situations ahead. Are you saying you want to be Poblian’s maid even while knowing that?”

“Yes. I still want to serve the Young Miss, Madam.”

“What is your reason?”

Lani bit her lip, appearing to choose her words carefully, before she slowly continued.

“Because Miss Poblian saved my life.”

“…….”

“The day she regained consciousness after three days… the dagger Beth was holding was already covered in blood. If the Miss hadn’t stopped Beth, I would have died that day.”

“…….”

“So, I believe it’s only right that the life the Miss saved be used for her sake.”

At first, Lani had simply felt pity for the small, young beastman—roughly the same age as her younger brother—who lived here away from her family.

Deep down, she also harbored a sense of sympathy for a beastman who was treated worse than a slave.

‘I won’t be like those people.’

She hadn’t realized it then, but Lani now understood that even those thoughts were rooted in a shallow sense of superiority she felt toward Poblian.

However, when she caught Beth holding a dagger to harm Poblian and looked into Beth’s murderous eyes, Lani truly believed she was going to die.

If it weren’t for that small, young beastman—the one she had pitied, the one she had felt superior to.

Upon realizing this, Lani felt truly ashamed and pathetic.

Lani, who had been hanging her head, looked up at Aria with eyes full of resolve.

“So, I believe it’s my turn to protect the Miss this time.”

Meeting Lani’s direct, unwavering gaze, Aria couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

When Poblian first arrived, Aria had thought of her as nothing more than an immature fennec fox who couldn’t even manage a proper human transformation.

“Poblian has already changed three people.”

“Pardon?”

“Though one of them is being quite stubborn about it.”

Aria spoke to Lani, whose eyes were darting around in confusion.

“Please take good care of Poblian, Lani.”

“T-thank you! I will work my hardest!”

At Aria’s nod of dismissal, Lani bowed deeply once more and dashed out of the room.

Watching her go, Aria murmured to herself as if in a trance.

“I never believed the saying that it is the sun, not the wind, that makes a traveler take off their coat… but seeing such a change before my eyes, I have no choice but to believe it.”

“…….”

“I have a feeling that once the promised five years have passed, Poblian will have changed everyone in Winchester.”

Aria smiled brightly, and Rendel followed suit with a faint smile of his own.

Looking out toward the sunlit window, Aria spotted Poblian running toward the training grounds where Esteban was, and spoke in a low voice.

“Prepare a carrier pigeon, Rendel.”

***

“I was thinking about Anif.”

“……Do you miss them?”

“Huh?”

“Your family.”

“It would be a lie to say I don’t miss them at all, but I’m okay.”

As the memory of yesterday’s conversation suddenly resurfaced, Esteban felt an inexplicable surge of annoyance, his mana churning wildly within him.

Reining in his volatile mana, Esteban threw his wooden sword aside as if everything had become a nuisance. He let out a soft sigh and collapsed onto the dirt ground, closing his eyes.

As the gentle breeze tickled his forehead, his racing heart began to steady, if only a little.

“Is Esteban really okay with sending Poblian back to Anif?”

Was he okay…?

To be honest, he didn’t want to send her away.

The contract was settled, and since he was the only one who had heard that Poblian missed her family, he figured he could just pretend he didn’t know.

As long as he remained silent, neither Poblian nor the Fennec couple would have any recourse.

It didn’t matter how much the Fennecs cherished Poblian.

To the Fennecs, the Bluebell was a vital item linked to the very survival of their house; they wouldn’t risk turning their backs on the entire clan to break the contract with Winchester.

‘So, as long as I keep quiet, Poblian has no choice but to stay in Winchester for the five-year contract period.’

Despite thinking this, he felt no sense of relief.

As he pondered further, Esteban realized that he was beginning to feel that the five years granted to him were far too short.

Even though, until recently, that span of time had felt like an eternity in hell.

Frowning at the incomprehensible shift in his emotions, Esteban realized it was because of Poblian.

‘This feeling is because of Poblian?’

The moment he realized it, his face crumpled.

Thinking of her bright, smiling face and the way the tiny fennec fox closed the distance between them without a moment’s hesitation made his heart thud and his stomach churn.

Faced with a strange sensation he had never felt before in his life, Esteban bolted upright.

Confused, he tried to shake off thoughts of Poblian, but then it hit him.

Just thinking about Poblian Fennec meant he was being swayed by her.

‘This isn’t good.’

It didn’t matter whether Poblian could suppress his rampages or not.

What mattered was that his emotions were being toyed with, regardless of Poblian Fennec’s intentions.

Esteban had been taught that as long as mana was tied to emotion, he must never succumb to greed or obsession.

Therefore, he could not allow anything to seize control of his heart.

Even if it were the only fennec fox in the world who could stop his rampages.

He gritted his teeth, his jaw tightening and his knuckles turning white as he clenched his fists.

‘I have to send her back. To Anif.’

But contrary to his resolve, his chest felt heavy, as if a stone had been placed upon it. Overwhelmed by the suffocating feeling, Esteban ran a hand through his hair.