Chapter 9

I nodded while munching on an apple as Lani spoke. Familiar with my routine, she chatted while tidying the bedding I had used.

“Ah, are you planning to attend Young Master Esteban’s lesson again today?”

‘Hmm, what should I do?’

Ever since the first day I forced my way into his session after arriving at Winchester, I had stubbornly crashed their lessons every single time Sir Ellen visited. Ellen, who had no idea I was a shapeshifter, was simply impressed, remarking that foxes must be surprisingly loyal animals seeing as I refused to leave my master’s side.

‘It’s not loyalty! I’m just trying to become a human, a human!’

It wasn’t as if I had never humanized before, but perhaps because my current instincts were tangled with memories of my past life, catching the “knack” of it was proving to be incredibly difficult.

‘How on earth do you speed up the flow of mana?’

The simplest way would be to stimulate the mana circuits by agitating one’s emotions…

‘Does that mean I have to stay angry until the mana flow accelerates?’

“Kyuu.”

A sigh escaped my lips from sheer frustration. Despite my rush to get here before Esteban’s rampage, I was gripped by an ominous premonition that I might fail to protect him simply because I couldn’t turn back into a human.

“My Lady, do you feel unwell?”

I nodded to Lani’s worried question to reassure her, then gave my body a vigorous shake. Honestly, the absolute worst-case scenario I could imagine was coming all the way to Winchester only to stand by helplessly when the rampage finally hit.

I let out a heavy sigh of dejection but soon shook my head to steel my resolve.

‘No. So far, there are no suspicious characters around Esteban, and his mana is stable. That means I still have a little time left.’

Ultimately, the best way to resolve this situation was for me to succeed in humanizing as soon as possible. And to do that…

‘The lesson. I have to go to the lesson!’

***

“Visualize moving the mana to every corner of your body. All the way to your fingertips and the tips of your toes.”

‘Okay, move mana to every corner. Got it.’

“As you send the mana outward, you will feel the flow slow down, if only slightly.”

‘Wait, then I shouldn’t send it to the corners…’

“Once you become accustomed to this method, you will eventually be able to freely control your fingertips, toes, and even the very edges of your senses.”

‘…Wait a minute. If I can control the very edges of my senses, isn’t that essential for humanization? Does that mean I also need to move mana to every extremity?’

“Well done. We’ll stop here.”

‘Huh? Already?’

Once again, the lesson ended before I could grasp any profound realization. I opened my eyes blankly and looked at Ellen. He handed a towel to Esteban, praising his hard work.

“You seem to be getting the hang of it, which is a great relief.”

“…….”

“It must be exhausting, but you are doing truly well. Once you get used to it, it won’t be as draining as it is now, so please hang in there a bit longer.”

Despite Ellen’s encouragement, Esteban remained silent, burying his face in the towel as if exhausted. Ellen added kindly:

“It’s only natural for this to be difficult and painful. If it were easy, most of the direct Winchester line wouldn’t have suffered from rampages.”

‘Exactly. It’s supposed to be hard. It’s definitely not because I’m incompetent!’

I flopped onto the floor while listening to them. Honestly, the lack of visible progress was making my future look bleak.

‘I really thought that after listening to Ellen’s lessons a few times, I’d be able to humanize easily.’

I had even planned to brag to Esteban and tell him never to ignore me again once I turned back.

‘Who knew I’d be this talentless?’

My first humanization had been exceptionally late, and it had been a series of hardships ever since. I felt a late wave of self-loathing at the fact that I still couldn’t do what even the irresponsible and immature Ariel could do with ease.

‘Could I be the problem?’

I was beginning to wonder if it would have been better to just reform Ariel and send her instead, when Ellen suddenly asked Esteban as if something had just occurred to him.

“By the way, there’s a rumor going around that His Grace the Grand Duke has invited a ‘distinguished guest’ to prevent the rampage. Is that true?”

Listening idly, I felt a pang of guilt and immediately straightened up from my slumped position. Honestly, no matter how much I tried to act otherwise, that “distinguished guest” was me.

I was considering slipping out of the garden unnoticed when I heard Esteban’s voice.

“A distinguished guest? That’s a bit of an exaggeration.”

“Haha, well, if they can stop a rampage, they certainly qualify as—wait. What is that reaction? Are you saying the rumor is actually true?”

Ellen asked back, bewildered by Esteban’s dismissive tone. After a moment of thought, Ellen asked in a trembling voice:

“A-Are they perhaps already staying at the Grand Duchy?”

Feeling increasingly guilty, I peeked at Esteban. He looked at the suspicious Ellen and gave him a bright, refreshing smile.

“Of course not. There is no such talented guest currently at the Grand Duchy.”

“Pardon? Ah… there isn’t?”

“If such a person existed in the first place, I wouldn’t be working this hard to slow down my mana flow, would I?”

‘How can he make my conscience prickle this much?’

I rolled my eyes, having nowhere else to look. Ellen, failing to notice my expression, continued.

“Ah, well, that makes sense.”

‘Excuse me, could you not agree so readily? It makes the incompetent fennec fox listening to this conversation very sad.’

“Rumors are just rumors, after all.”

“Haha, quite right.”

“And frankly, I have my doubts as to whether this ‘guest’ actually possesses such an ability.”

I felt a sharp sting in my conscience as Esteban spoke, clearly intending for me to hear.

‘Hey, this is really unfair. I have the ability! I really do!’

But as long as I couldn’t humanize, I was nothing more than a clingy pet fox who wouldn’t leave its master to Ellen, so I couldn’t exactly join the conversation. As I narrowed my eyes and glared at Esteban, he caught my gaze and added with a smirk: “Well, it doesn’t matter if they have no talent. If all else fails, I can always just turn them into a scarf.”

“Pardon? A scarf?”

‘Seriously, his solution to everything is making a scarf out of me!’

“As long as they’re useful in some way, it shouldn’t matter, right?”

“…….”

Just you wait.

I’m going to humanize if only out of pure spite.

***

So, what was my plan?

What else? If my own strength wasn’t enough, I’d have to use a cheat code. It wasn’t because I was struggling with the lessons or physically exhausted.

‘This is all out of concern for Esteban. Honestly, if Esteban is in danger of a rampage and I’m just a beast, isn’t that the worst thing for both him and the Winchester family?’

The image of the Fennec family being wiped out because of it flickered through my mind, but I pushed it aside.

‘…Well, anyway, the ends justify the means, right?’

Feeling a bit guilty, I cleared my throat—or rather, made a fox-like sound—and looked at the Bluebells blooming in profusion before me. If not for my excellent fennec fox hearing, I probably would have been caught by the servants before I could even get close to my plan of activating my mana with Bluebells.

‘I didn’t get caught, so it’s fine.’

Deciding to pay for the “stolen” Bluebells after I humanized, I stepped into the flower bed.

‘Hmm, they say a six-year-old ginseng is better than a one-year-old one. Is it the same for Bluebells?’

Just as I was about to head deeper into the garden to pick the most potent-looking flower, I heard the sound of someone approaching.

There was still an hour left before Esteban’s lesson, I thought, as I instinctively ducked low.

When the person finally appeared in the garden, I tilted my head in confusion.

‘Wait, why is that person here…?’