/
She had heard stories from her seniors about the strange people they met when they graduated from the Magic Academy and went out into the world. They said that if she didn’t stay alert, her nose would be cut off even with your eyes open*.
[ T/N: It’s an expression used to describe an atmosphere of a society which is very coldhearted and inhuman. ]
Avila, now twenty-two, tried to keep her eyes as clear as possible as she carefully considered whether if there were any pitfalls in the Duchess’s words.
‘…Aristocrats have a way of talking like clear water running through a green mountain* before draining your soul.’
[ T/N: 말은 청산유수다— an idiom which means ‘to be eloquent.’ ]
She wasn’t quick to dismiss her suspicions.
‘Is she trying to use them as test subjects and have them participate in abusing them, like creating a dog with eight arms…?’
…No, but was this still too much?
When Avila didn’t answer, the Duke, who had been sitting some distance away from her while observing the situation, spoke up.
“My wife likes you.”
He then attempted to negotiate with much more familiarity and grace than the Duchess.
“If you take care of the dogs, first, all expenses and manpower will be supported by us. Second, I’ll support your research regardless of the results. All required research personnel, facilities, and costs. It’s a small price to pay for what we’re asking you for, so you won’t be burdened. And third, the deadline is in three years.”
Avila’s mouth dropped open a little.
‘So, they are basically asking for a three-year nanny… with staffing and unlimited research support in return…?’
The Duke crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair with a haughty gesture, like a fisherman with a tantalizing lure, waiting patiently for a bite.
“It would be quite an unconventional proposition at this point.”
The Duchess, with her coy, haughty face, intervened with a twinkle in her eye.
“Let’s save the abused shapeshifters together!”
At the same time, she even made a small fist in the air for emphasis.
“Smash the bad guys.”
The Duchess, a shapeshifter abuser who talked about smashing people, didn’t seem as scary as Avila had thought. Rather, she found the twinkle in her eyes a little cute, like a child’s.
To someone unaware of the conversation, the Duchess would have appeared to be enjoying herself as if suggesting a new card game.
Just then, the Duke muttered, a little disgruntled.
“It’s enough just to throw all the dogs away.”
The Duchess, who was a notorious misanthrope of shapeshifters, glared at the Duke who had said that and whispered.
“Don’t talk like that. We need to prepare a place for them to live properly and teach them to socialize. You promised me.”
The appearance of two people was never what Avila had imagined.
‘Did I learn something wrong…?’
The Duchess spoke generously with a soft face.
“It’s a job that requires a sense of responsibility, so I don’t want to force you. Let’s think about it a little more while eating together. Coincidentally, the chef prepared a special dish with great skill today, and our chef’s special dishes are unquestionably the best.”
The next moment, as she led Avila to the dining room, out of nowhere, a young kitten suddenly trotted up to them.
“Rowaine! Rowaine!”
‘…Cat shapeshifter?’
The cat shapeshifter, who had the appearance of a small cat, fearlessly plunged her claws into the Duchess’s trousers and began to cling to them.
“Give me permission, give me permission!”
Avila swallowed dryly, afraid that the Duchess was going to kick the cat shapeshifter at any moment. However, the Duchess only spoke warmly but firmly, like parents disciplining their child.
“Sasha. You can’t be rude in front of our guests.”
“Aah! Let me…!”
“I told you we’d talk when you’re a little older.”
“Aaahhh! I hate you! I hate Rowaine!”
The Duchess let out a small sigh and looked back at Avila.
“I’m embarrassed. Even though I’m teaching her, she’s still spoiled. Please understand.”
“Ah… yes…”
“Goodness. What should I do with that personality?”
Avila thought. She wondered if she should’ve put an end to her friend who was making a fuss about the Duchess that she was notorious for being a shapeshifter hater.
‘…Isn’t that b*stard just jealous that I’m being sponsored?’
˚ ･: * ✧ * :･ ˚
‘Avila is the right candidate.’
On my way to the dining room, I checked Avila’s expression.
‘She must’ve heard something somewhere.’
I could hear the wariness in her voice, the way she looked at me, the way she said she was going to decline the sponsorship.
‘I was too complacent. I forgot that she could hear about Rowaine’s notoriety.’
The day I went to see Avila for the first time was when I was summoned to Count Larscel’s mansion, so I was a little overwhelmed. Because Dimitri, who had promised to go with me, couldn’t go, so I had to hurriedly rush to her.
‘It will be difficult to bring Avila over to my side if she has heard of my notoriety.’
In the original story, Avila was a righteous person.
The reason why she left the imperial palace, which was called a dream job among wizards, was because she was shocked to see the Emperor’s hounds subjected to rigorous training, such as abuse.
Since then, Avila has been ostensibly researching the powers of the dog shapeshifters, but in reality, she had been working on ways to neutralize them and break their shackles. It was because the shackles in the form of curse magic carved into Cadis’s heart wouldn’t break until he died, forever enslaving him to his master.
When it came to dogs, the research that could enslave them was incredibly well-developed.
So she was doing the opposite, trying to uncover the weaknesses of the dog shapeshifters in reverse, as having a fatal weakness to the dog shapeshifters would make them even less popular on the slave market.
That was the big picture Avila was painting.
…So, wouldn’t my notoriety be too fatal for her?
‘How do I convince Avila…’
It was when I was pondering about it…
“Looks like Coco has already arrived.”
Dimitri whispered, looking out the window. Even though I followed his gaze to the front door, I couldn’t see anything. Still, his head snapped up as if he’d seen something, and he glared down the hall before stopping behind me.
At the same time, I could hear Coco’s voice from somewhere.
“Rowaaaaaiinnee!”
“Coco!”
Coco, who suddenly appeared in the middle of the hallway without knowing which hole he entered, came running as swiftly as the wind. It looked as if a long, rich wheat-colored duster was running around.
I opened my arms wide, happy to see him, whom I hadn’t seen in a few days. Coco dug through the gap between me and Dimitri and almost… came into my arms though he was caught in the air by Dimitri and tumbled to the ground.
“Where.”
Dimitri looked down at him and smirked.
Coco, who had poised himself in the air with catlike agility and landed safely, wagged his tail disapprovingly.
“That’s rude!”
“Did you find him?”
With a sigh, Coco dropped the bag he was carrying on his back.
It was the bag Dimitri had given him, but it was made to fit a cat’s body well since it was very small. He then proudly took out a ledger from the bag, which had been twisted into a shape of a square book instead of the original bag shape, as if the book had been forced into it.
As soon as he handed Dimitri the ledger, Coco straightened his back and stood up before stretching both front paws to me.
“Hug me, angel!”
I glanced at Dimitri and quickly scooped him into my arms as Coco purred cutely in my arms.
“Coco’s here! I did a good job, right? Aren’t you proud?”
“Are you hurt anywhere? Nothing happened, right?”
“I had such a hard time finding him hiding like a rat! Coco’s legs are so sore, I’m hungry, and I’m scared.”
“Oh, were you scared?”
“Mm, mmm!”
Meanwhile, Dimitri was looking at the two of us as if we were pathetic.
“That’s some serious infantile regression. Don’t imitate him, Rowaine, there might be something wrong with his brain.”
“No! It’s not a problem!”
“Wouldn’t it be possible to find out by opening the head?”
As Coco screamed and jumped up and down, dodging him, who reached for his head, Dimitri chased after him menacingly.
I smiled awkwardly at Avila, who stood there with her mouth agape, and blurted out whatever came to mind.
“Um… that’s Coco, and Sasha earlier, he’s a cat shapeshifter I’m protecting. He’s… very friendly with my husband.”
And then I hastily added, just in case.
“That’s not bullying. They’re just playing… catch.”
[ T/N: LOL imagine Rowaine saying all that and this was what was happening in the background σ(*´∀｀*) ]
“Here, playing catch. Haha.”
However, it was as if Avila’s gaping mouth didn’t know how to close. Now, people were going to misunderstand that we were a couple who were abusing people in pairs…
‘It’s ruined… I’m screwed.’
˚ ･: * ✧ * :･ ˚
Nonetheless, contrary to Rowaine’s speculation, Avila couldn’t keep his mouth shut in surprise.
‘…Is the Duke friendly because he’s a shapeshifter? Is this a shapeshifters’ utopia?’
The image of the Duchess hugging the cat shapeshifters with eyes dripping with honey. And the Duke, who laughed benevolently and played catch with the cat shapeshifter…
‘Good people… they’re good people…’
Avila’s theory was that there was no such thing as bad people who were good to the weak.
‘I’m not going to let anyone who cursed at the Duchess go.’