An hour ago, Duchess Isabella found something strange.
Today, Vixen felt much more energetic than usual. It was strange, and she felt glad.
Duchess Isabella sat on the chair.
âVixen, youâre brave.â
âYes.â
Shortly after the whipping was over, Vixen sat on with his knees.
âFinally, did you eat to your heartâs content?â
Duchess Isabella looked at her palm. Blood had formed. It was stinging and bitter, but it was tolerable.
Vixen finally seemed a little more mature.
Isabella laughed with satisfaction. âVixen, you are the child that should act like a lion.â
âIn the distant future, you have to eat me. That way, you can be reborn as the true ruler of Verratoux.â
âI have to be more severe than I am now.â
âOkay. Can I get up then?â
âSure.â
As Vixen rose from his seat, Duchess Isabella smiled benevolently and said.
âYou can wear clothes.â
âClothes?â
âYes, thatâs it for todayâs discipline.â
Vixen thought for a moment. âHmm.â
âWhatâs wrong?â
âItâs nothing.â
Vixen looked at the clock on the wall.
The clock is a product of magic tricks. It is a precision clock that does not allow an error of even one-tenth of a second.
He didnât care about the fact that it was a work of a sorcerer, who is called the masterpiece of the present era. Vixen only observed the movement of the second hand.
âMother should go to bed now.â
Itâs already one a.m.
He started getting punished at ten p.m., so she had been whipping him for about three hours.
Duchess Isabella felt strange again. Vixen has never done this before.
âVixen is right and wanted to be with me.â
Vixen loved his strange mother, Duchess Isabella, even if he gets hit by a whip.
He still wants to be together with her even more, but she supposed things changed.
Duchess Isabella noticed something.
âAre you waiting for someone?â
âYes.â
Vixen laughed. Duchess Isabellaâs eyebrows wrinkled. This was because she saw Vixenâs expression turning bright.
âWhoâs my son waiting for? I donât think itâs your brother or sister.â
She didnât think he would be. Then, there is only one person left.
The youngest daughter, who is particularly interested in Vixen these days. It looks like it is Viola, the adopted daughter that the duke brought from the slums.
âViola?â
Duchess Isabella smiled faintly.
âYouâre waiting for your youngest sister, arenât you?â
âWell.â
Vixen thought for a moment. âCan I be honest with my mother? Nothing would happen if I donât, but it felt strange if I did.â
Although thinking about it, there is no reason to lie at all. Vixen, who had been agonizing for a while, replied.
âThatâs right. Itâs Viola.â
âWhy?â
âItâs fun to play with her.â
Isabella roughly listened to what Xenon saw and posted.
âThere is also instinctive desire and ambition for the absolute.â
âShe has the madness that Verratoux must have.â
âWe also have reason to control that madness.â
Along with her manaâs quality, he also said that her talent for killing is beyond imagination.
âIâm sure sheâs a great kid.â
The Duke admitted it and brought her here, so she must be a brilliant kid.
âThereâs a rumor that sheâs a great kid. So, what should we do with her, my son?â
âI have to kill her.â
âThatâs right.â
Duchess Isabella approached Vixen. She hugged Vixen, who was covered with wounds, and swept away Vixenâs golden hair.
âWhat are we going to do to our competitors?â
Vixen smiled brightly. âIâm going to tear them down!â
âThatâs right.â
Vixen is in the arms of Duchess Isabella. He looked up.
âMother.â
âYes?â
âItâs nice to hug you.â
Hehehe. The Smiling Vixen lost his balance.
âStill, you shouldnât let your guard down, son.â Duchess Isabella took two steps away from Vixen.
Vixen fell flat to the ground. His pupils drooped down.
âIf I were your competitor, youâd be dead. The scariest enemy is the one you gave your heart to. You canât give your heart to anyone.â
Duchess Isabella reached out her hand.
The butler of Vixen, who was waiting behind Vixen, held out a white cloth. Duchess Isabella wiped her nails with the white cloth. The white fabric was dyed black from poison.
âItâs discipline.â
Duchess Isabella looked down at the fallen Vixen.
âDonât let your guard down. Always hold a poison in your heart.â
ââŠYes, mother. Iâm sorry.â
âMy heart aches so much whenever you do something wrong.â
Vixen then lost his consciousness. Duchess Isabella roughly rubbed her eyes with a poisoned cloth. Her eyes reddened, and tears of blood began to flow down.
Her eyes were very sore.
This was a punishment for herself.
Punishment for failing to raise Vixen to be strong enough.
She stared blankly at Vixen, who had lost his consciousness.
âThis mother is a person who has the duty and responsibility to raise you strong.â
If she wants to raise her son to be stronger, she needs to do more every day.
She thought it was a motherâs great love.
***
âSince I am from a poor family and he is from heaven, youâre noble enough to say, âDonât hang out with my noble sonâ.â
Xenon almost burst into laughter without realizing it.
âAs expected, of my Princess.â
He didnât expect her to respond like that.
Xenon couldnât believe that Viola would say such rude things to the face of Duchess Isabella, who was frowning.
Duchess Isabella laughed out loud. âDid I sound like that?â
âYes.â
âIâm glad you thought of me like that, though it wasnât accurate.â
Duchess Isabella continued casually.
âI didnât mean to look good to you. I meant to give you a white flower.â
White chrysanthemum flowers.
It was the flower that Tundra placed in front of his fatherâs grave.
A white flower that means death. In other words, it was a warning of death.
âDid you understand? I donât think I could fall asleep with flowers in a place where lowly people live.â
âIâm not vulgar. Iâm just a poor person.â
âIsnât that what it is?â
âItâs different. You can be poor but precious. Same as you can be rich, but also vulgar.â
âAnyway, itâs good. Do poor people fall asleep with flowers?â
âPoor people also pay tribute to death.â
Just like Tundra did.
âYouâre extraordinary for your nature.â
âI understand your thoughts in reminding yourself to the dead people. The Duchess must have thought that a flower is only for luxury reasons.â
ââŠâ
âWe may be poor, but at least we donât do that to our children.â
Arin is a little angry.
She wanted to have a family. Everyone else has a mom and dad. She wanted it, too.
It was tough and lonely because there are not many people who do not have that. Family meant a lot to her. It was more valuable than precious jewels, which she could not have even if she wanted to.
Isabella laughed out loud.
âThe way a mother loves her son, I donât think itâs a right for others to argue.â
âIs he just an object?â
Viola approached Vixen, who was too small to handle the bitter wounds.
âWe have become siblings, Mother.â
âI hope you donât cross the line, my daughter.â
âI think you crossed the line.â
Viola squatted down. Before she knew it, Vixen came to his senses.
Her voice could be vaguely heard.
âIn winter, every child under ten deserves protection. If my mother, one of the winter hostesses, breaks the absolute law, I donât know what the lower ones would think.â
âDisciplining him is fine.â
âWeâll see if itâs really okay.â
Viola glanced back. âXenon. Magic Registration Tool. You have it, right?â
âYes, I have it, Princess.â
âShoot it.â
At that moment, Duchess Isabellaâs body moved. She went past Viola and grabbed Xenonâs neck.
Viola screamed internally at that moment. âW-why is she so fast?â
It was like she melted her shadow and moved. Although I knew it through text, it was terrible to see it with both eyes. The real power of this family was Duchess Isabella.
Gulp.
I swallowed my saliva.
This is crazy. If I do something wrong, I think Xenonâs throat will get really damaged.
Isabellaâs fingernails dug into Xenonâs neck. âStop right there, butler Xenon.â
A few drops of blood flowed from Xenonâs neck.
But Xenon only smiled.
âIâm sorry, but⊠I only take orders from the princess.â
He took out a magic camera tool with his right hand, which looked similar to a modern camera.
Viola smiled leisurely.
âYou know very well this is wrong. But still, you are so desperate to stop me.â
Xenon asked. âShall we take a picture? ThoughâŠI think my neck is going to be pierced. Itâs bleeding right now.â
âNo, thanks. I canât lose my butler.â
âThank you for your consideration.â
Xenon put the filming tool in the corner.
When Duchess Isabella released Xenonâs neck, he took out the cloth from his front pocket and wiped his neck. He wiped off his sweaty forehead naturally.
âPhew, I almost died.â
Isabella said. âOur youngest daughter has a cute side. At the welcome dinner, you will be worth seeing.â
Viola held the end of the skirt and lowered her back.
âThank you for your early welcome, Mother.â
Actually, I didnât even think about filming in the first place.
It was just a decoy.
There was something else I was aiming for.
âHowever, what should I do? Vixen knew it was wrong.â
Vixenâs body was wriggling.
In other words, he has come to his senses. Even if he canât raise his body, he must have heard everything.
âRight, brother?â
I heard a groan.
I guess I touched where it hurts.
âDonât move. Iâll put some ointment on you.â
As if he understood my words, Vixenâs body shook.