DGDITMIAE 19

Chapter 19

“…A beastkin?”

So that meant he wasn’t a fox, but a human?

Terestia was utterly disappointed.

She had wanted something small and cute, not something large and handsome.

First of all, there was already that annoyingly disobedient brat Argo.

And besides, it didn’t help with the demon rumors at all!

Terestia pouted her lips.

The man looked at her face for a moment, then cautiously brought up something he seemed to want to point out.

“And my belly doesn’t stick out that much…”

“I touched it myself, and it was definitely chubby. Do not deny it.”

“……”

At Terestia’s firm words, the fox beastkin, dumbfounded, threw off the blanket he was covered with.

He didn’t care about anything else, but he really didn’t want to be misunderstood as being fat!

His stomach, visible through his thin shirt, was damp with sweat and showed not an ounce of flab—just toned, muscular abs.

But the moment Terestia saw that, her face scrunched up in disgust.

If anything, she looked like she was in despair.

“No… Coco’s belly was round and warm and fluffy…”

At that face, the fox beastkin wasn’t sure whether he should thank her for saving him first, or point out her rudeness.

No, more than that—wasn’t the woman before him also human?

The man, who had lived a sorrowful life of discrimination and persecution as a beastkin, began to grow wary of Terestia even while in pain.

She saved him, and that was that.

But she only saved him because he was in the form of a fox, right?

Seeing her expression of disappointment the moment she learned he was a beastkin, he gripped the blanket tightly, wondering if he was about to be kicked out even in his injured state.

Sensing that he looked ready to flee at any moment despite his injuries, Terestia clicked her tongue.

Terestia, who firmly believed herself to be a merciful demon, lightly overpowered the man and tucked the blanket all the way up to his chin while muttering.

“Since I went to the trouble of saving you, just stay put. But what a shame. Coco was so cute…”

“I told you, my name isn’t Coco…”

After struggling for a moment, the man eventually couldn’t overcome Terestia’s strength and weakly retorted to her muttering.

At the same time, someone knocked on the door.

Terestia, who had turned her head thinking it was the doctor, widened her eyes at the appearance of Mrs. Kiraldu.

“…Your Highness?”

“What, ma’am. You weren’t asleep?”

“I hadn’t retired for the night yet. Suddenly, Mr. Argo knocked on my door, and when I went out, he told me to come to the sickroom on the first floor. Hm? Who is that man?”

“……”

Argo, that bastard, had definitely known that Coco wasn’t a fox but a fox beastkin.

Terestia gritted her teeth inwardly.

He knew everything, yet said nothing to me, and suddenly brought Mrs. Kiraldu here?

In any case, since she was the guilty one, Terestia kept her mouth tightly shut at Mrs. Kiraldu’s appearance and ushered her inside.

If she said even one wrong thing, she might notice that she had been running around the mountain in the dead of night and start scolding her.

As Mrs. Kiraldu came in making soft cooing sounds, the man stared blankly at her.

Even though he knew it was rude to stare so intently at a lady.

“…A pigeon beastkin?”

“Hm? Now that I look, he’s a fox beastkin.”

“I picked him up. His name is Coco.”

“My name isn’t Coco…”

Shuddering as if the cute pet name was dreadful to him, the man coughed.

Mrs. Kiraldu tilted her head at the man who was hacking away.

“Oh my, then what is your name?”

“…Zeo Oshuan.”

Fortunately, despite being feverish and short of breath, Zeo seemed to have enough sense about him.

But with wounds scattered all over and looking filthy, his condition seemed serious.

“Your Highness, surely you didn’t beat this poor fox beastkin, did you?”

“Beat him! Ma’am, I’m the one who was deceived here.”

“Your Highness does love to exaggerate.”

Terestia retorted in a serious voice.

Mrs. Kiraldu dismissed Terestia’s words as mere exaggeration and observed Zeo for a moment.

No matter how human-like beastkins appeared, they always retained some trace of their animal form somewhere.

But Zeo was actually on the better side.

It was only fox ears and a tail that showed, after all.

Mrs. Kiraldu, who in every way was no different from a large pigeon, had it quite hard.

Moreover, beastkins generally reverted to their animal form when severely injured or weakened.

And that gave credence to the logic of humans who discriminated against beastkins.

_’When they lose their strength, they become animals—so they are not originally human, but beasts.’_

Those words drove countless beastkins down the path of persecution.

Some beastkins were sold as slaves to humans with collecting urges and power.

Even in the Empire, which strictly forbade slavery, beastkins were always a problem.

Because it was impossible to determine whether beastkins should be judged as human or beast.

It was always the beastkins who got hurt by that ambiguous attitude.

Mrs. Kiraldu, who had been observing Zeo, soon turned her gaze to Terestia, and with a much sharper look, scanned her up and down.

“But Your Highness, what is this state you’re in, covered in dirt in the middle of the night?”

“Huh? Th-this is… for flowers, no, for the fox…”

Why are the flames suddenly turning on me?

And I got caught anyway!

Even seeing Terestia’s aggrieved eyes, Mrs. Kiraldu remained cold.

“So, surely you weren’t planning to go to your bedroom looking like that, were you?”

“…Of course not. I was going to wash up and sleep. If I hadn’t just come to get the fox—I mean, that beastkin—this wouldn’t have happened, you know?”

Her small, shrinking voice was practically screaming that she was lying.

Though she tried hard to make excuses, Mrs. Kiraldu flashed her unfocused red eyes sternly and retorted sharply.

“Don’t make excuses! By ‘wash up,’ you mean just splashing water on your face and changing clothes, don’t you! If you truly intended to take a bath, you would have woken me up!”

“Ughhh… Ugh, Argo, you again…”

Unable to make any more excuses, Terestia clutched her head with both hands, squeezed her eyes shut, and ground her teeth.

Zeo watched their exchange and blinked blankly.

A beastkin so close to animal form was being treated with respect by the woman who had grabbed his collar.

What’s more, the beastkin was scolding the woman with an angry face, and the woman just kept making excuses before finally hanging her head.

It was astonishing to see her conversing so naturally without trying to hide herself in front of a human.

Besides, hadn’t that pigeon lady called the woman “Your Highness”?

She was clearly someone of high status.

“But then, truly…”

“Hm?”

Were you disappointed not because you discriminate against beastkins, but because I wasn’t a fox?

Zeo couldn’t bring himself to say the words and swallowed them.

His right foot was throbbing with pain at that moment, and also because he was afraid to ask.

He didn’t know what kind of answer he might get, and if it wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear, he might be disappointed.

Yes, let’s not forget.

Even if that woman and the pigeon beastkin seemed to get along quite well right now, he must not let his guard down.

It was always Zeo who got hurt and betrayed.

Even if they seemed like good humans, who knew how black their hearts were inside.

Especially nobles, even more so!

As wariness crept back into Zeo’s eyes, Terestia tilted her head.

But Mrs. Kiraldu understood Zeo’s feelings.

Seeing the many wounds even now, it was clear he had lived a hard life.

“I will surely… repay the one who saved me. So please stop teasing me and leave.”

At Zeo’s sharp words, Terestia folded her arms and looked down at him.

The fox who didn’t recognize his benefactor was arrogant, but more than that, the image of the pretty fox kept flickering in her mind.

She had agonized and even thought of the name “Coco”…

Where did the cute fox go, leaving only this large man standing here?

He may be a beastkin, but I’m the one who got fooled here.

This big one just won’t do.

Should I torment him until he gets small again?

Terestia, as if flaunting her demonic nature, was thinking thoughts that would shock Zeo if he knew.

And then Mrs. Kiraldu suddenly burst out loudly.

“I say, what rudeness is this toward the Grand Duke!”

“…Pardon?”

Zeo’s eyes went round at Mrs. Kiraldu’s words.

The Grand Duke?

…This woman?