#75

“Have you ever heard of a fox bead?”

“…!”

At his sly smile and words, I couldn’t hide my shock.

The fox bead was a mystical object containing the spirit of fox beastmen. With potent energy, it allowed the bead’s possessor to drain others’ vitality or manipulate their minds.

“No way!”

And, just as I feared, Erhardin Rodin was absolute trash—a level of filth beyond redemption.

“The fox bead has the power to cloud one’s judgment. Rachel has already swallowed it.”

“She’s already taken it?”

I tilted my head, puzzled. If he’d already given her the fox bead, there was no reason to add more drugs to her drink.

Which meant… his target wasn’t Rachel. It was me.

Realizing his true intentions, I glared at Erhardin with anger.

“Just figured it out, huh?”

“…”

“Haha, that’s why children are so easy to fool,” he sneered, lifting the glass he’d spiked just moments before to his lips.

“…!”

I stared in disbelief. I hadn’t expected him to drink from the very glass he’d tampered with.

But my concern was unnecessary. He casually set the glass back down without any effects, and then he grinned wickedly.

“Surprised?”

“?”

“This is just juice. That powder was bait, a trick to lure you in. I figured you’d be suspicious of me.”

“You knew?”

So that’s why he’d been filling my ears with that sweet-talking nonsense—it was all part of his plan! Erhardin watched me closely, his gaze taunting.

“Turns out, there’s quite a demand for you. A lot of people were willing to pay a good price.”

My heart sank at his words. Just as I’d been waiting for him to move away from Rachel, he’d been waiting for me to separate from Zerakiel.

I’d let my guard down.

Being sheltered in the safety of Jabis, I’d forgotten just how precarious my position was.

In many ways, I was the Jabis family’s weakness. While I might have managed to stop Zakari’s rampage at the wedding, I was still just a young, untrained weasel.

There were plenty of families across the continent of Amataras that resented the Jabis family. I had appeared as an easy target, someone they could reach without daring to go after Zerakiel directly.

Even with Tabi here, she wasn’t a guardian meant for combat. Erhardin’s knowledge of her confirmed he was aware of her defensive limitations.

“So, you were after me all along…?”

“Of course. I’m not dumb enough to drug someone on their own family’s territory.”

With a smirk, he extended his hand toward me.

“Come along now.”

At that moment, pheromones began to waft from his fingertips. I felt my vision blurring, and my height seemed to shrink rapidly.

‘What is…?’

I thought maybe I was losing my human form when he grabbed me by the scruff and lifted me up to his face, grinning wickedly.

“You look good as a fox, too.”

‘This bastard!’

Only then did I realize that he’d used his pheromones to transform me into a fox. Fox beastmen’s pheromones were specialized in illusion and transformation.

His plan was likely to make it look as if he’d caught a fox in the hunt and then smuggle me out.

‘Does he really think I’ll just let myself be taken?’

I glared daggers at him, ignoring his smug expression.

“You look angry. Don’t worry; soon you’ll—ow!”

I raked my claws across his smirking face. Though he wasn’t nearly as resilient as Zerakiel, the strike felt satisfyingly solid.

‘Did you think I’d just roll over?’

I took advantage of his surprise and aimed a powerful swipe at his jaw, pouring all my anger into the blow.

Thwack!

“Aaaagh! My face!”

Erhardin screamed, clutching his face in pain, and dropped me. Watching him writhe and groan was a sight that filled me with satisfaction.

“Be-e-e!” I taunted, pressing a paw to the bottom of my eye mockingly. Seeing this, Erhardin tried to lunge at me, but I was quicker, darting away before he could get close.

‘I need to find Zerakiel! And I need to get Rachel to spit out that fox bead before it causes her any harm…!’

“Stop right there!” Erhardin yelled, his face contorted in rage as he chased after me. But he couldn’t catch up to me, as I’d perfected my escape skills thanks to Zakari’s personal lessons on the “art of retreat.”

“Damn it! How is a weasel this fast?” he cursed, giving up the chase.

Still, I didn’t slow down, knowing firsthand the consequences of dropping my guard. The memory of his illusion spell lingered, and I resolved to make him pay someday.

Once Erhardin was out of sight, I finally allowed myself to relax a bit. Sweat was pouring down my body, and my legs shook with residual fear, making it difficult to keep standing. Though I hadn’t shown it, the entire encounter had been terrifying.

As tears blurred my vision, I finally spotted Zerakiel in the distance.

“Zeraki!”

I cried, stumbling toward him. I’d never been happier to see him.

Zerakiel, who had been lounging half-asleep in his chair, bolted upright, his eyes widening at the sight of me.

* * *

Zerakiel had been waiting for Cersia, his patience beginning to wear thin.

‘She’s taking too long.’

It had been quite some time since she’d followed Erhardin, who’d gone off to fetch drinks. Meanwhile, Rachel had spotted some large prey and had eagerly dashed into the forest, clearly in high spirits.

When she’d been with Erhardin earlier, Rachel had been strangely subdued—a complete contrast to her usual energy. In reality, the fox bead’s influence had begun to wane as she moved farther from its owner, but Zerakiel had no way of knowing that.

To him, it simply seemed that his mother’s pent-up emotions had finally erupted.

‘I suppose she couldn’t just sit back after seeing that….’

He thought back to the massive yellow lion he’d seen prancing around in the open, tail flicking provocatively as if daring someone to catch it—a lion that was none other than his father, Zakari. As soon as Rachel had spotted him, her eyes had blazed with a fierce resolve.

‘Let’s hope she doesn’t actually kill him.’

Zerakiel felt a twinge of worry for Zakari. Given how long Rachel had held back, her patience was likely wearing thin, and she wasn’t known for showing mercy. Her blows could be brutal when she meant them.

Just then, Kiera approached him cautiously.

“Pardon me, but I thought I saw someone familiar earlier. Did you see them too, Lord Zerakiel?”

It seemed she’d been hesitating to ask this question for a while, and Zerakiel responded with a dismissive tone.

“Yes, you saw correctly.”

“So I wasn’t imagining it…” Kiera murmured, tucking her hair behind her ear to hide a nervous smile.

‘So it really was Lord Zakari…’

It seemed that the Jabis family simply couldn’t go a single day without stirring up some sort of spectacle. Kiera couldn’t fathom why anyone would dye their fur a ridiculous yellow and present themselves as prey, nor did she care to understand.

As she massaged her aching temples, Zerakiel remarked, “Mother’s been rather listless lately.”

It was the same question Cersia had asked, his concern for his mother evident. Kiera shrugged.

“Yes, her words have been fewer, and she hasn’t accepted any visitors aside from Sir Erhardin.”

“Really?”

“Yes. When she invited Lady Cersia and yourself, I thought perhaps she was feeling better….”

Kiera was equally perplexed by Rachel’s recent behavior. Although Rachel was no stranger to eccentricity, her recent demeanor was unusual even for her.

“There must have been some sort of incident between her and Lord Zakari at the wedding,” Kiera mused. “She’s been different since that day.”

“Hmm.”

Zerakiel rubbed his chin, his expression conflicted. He knew little about his mother’s personal matters, so he was at a loss for how to react.

The Rachel he’d reunited with was missing her usual energy. Though her sharp tongue remained, there was an unmistakable sense of something off about her.

Then it happened.

“Cersia?”

Zerakiel sensed the familiar bond and turned around, only to find himself staring at an unfamiliar sight.

The creature approaching him… was indeed Cersia, but in an entirely unexpected form.