CH 71

“My Lady, you should have dinner.” 

A hand gently shakes me awake, and I open my eyes. 

When I jumped up and blinked, I saw Cain, who was still sleeping, and Leona, who was awake and stretching herself.

The maids then woke up Cain and Arsene in the next room and brought them water.

“Is the temperature okay?”

“Ung…” 

I shut my mouth tightly in my sleep and nodded. The maid washed my face thoroughly.

After washing our faces, we held the maid’s hand and went down to the dining room. 

They prepared four high chairs. I looked around for a moment and asked, seeing that there were only four chairs.

“How about Kendrick?”

“The Lord said that he had eaten and would only eat a simple dessert.” 

Ethan answered, pulling out my chair and putting me on top.

Arsene, who was still dozing off, sat across from me, and Leona and Cain sat next to him. 

Akim brought the dishes on a tray himself.

It was a dish with cheese and ham piled on top of a large piece of bread. Akim cut it piece by piece and served it to our plates. 

‘Wow, it’s the first time I’ve seen something like this.’ 

I had heard the story from Gale. There is a must-eat bread during the festival. 

It was said that all of the beast people shared the bread and enjoyed the festival. But since my father didn’t like festivals, I only heard about them but never had a chance to try the bread.

With a fork, I put bread, cheese, and ham in my mouth. 

“It’s delicious!”

I said with my eyes twinkling.

Then, Ethan, who was listening quietly by the side, smiled and said. 

“This bread is eaten only during the festival, but if you want, Akim will make it even after the festival.”

“Really?”

I looked at Akim, who was cutting the bread.

But, unlike usual, Akim didn’t smile or say anything nice. Instead, he just cut the bread in silence. 

I asked again with a slightly raised eyebrow. 

“…Akim?”

“Yes? Yes. Ah, I’m sorry. Stop thinking about it for a while.”

Akim smiled awkwardly.

For some reason, his face seemed pale. I nodded, chewing bread.

“Ung, it’s all right.”

“But it is really delicious. Hey Cain! What kind of bread do you eat like that? Eat a lot.”

“You don’t even have the dignity to eat, Leona.”

“…Can’t we all get them out?”

The first was Leona, the second was Cain, and the last was Arsene.

Arsene wrinkled his brows as he watched the two friends fighting over the bread.

As if to make Arsene happy, I put some salad on his plate.

“Hey, Arsene. Between friends… you can’t do that. Eat this to feel better.”

“If this is the solution, it made me feel worse….” 

Arsene said in a drooping voice, swinging the salad with a fork.

“If you want more, I will give you more. Right, Akim?”

“….” 

“….Akim? You are strange today.”

Ethan raised his monocle. Akim, who was serving the next dish, raised his head.

“Yes?”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen you serve it by yourself…That’s weird. Is something wrong? Are you short of manpower?”

“Oh, no. I just wanted to give it to you myself….” 

Akim stuttered his excuses.

I stared at Akim, who behaved strangely, then put the bread in my mouth again and chewed it.

When Leona asked him to make more bread, Achim seemed a little uncomfortable.

But he quickly made more bread and brought it to me. Of course, I couldn’t eat it all because it was too much.

We finished eating and returned to the room.

Perhaps because it was during the festival, the mansion was extremely noisy.

“Everyone seems excited, doesn’t it?”

When I said that, Leona shrugged her shoulders.

“It’s a festival. So today, even the knights are allowed to have a glass of festival wine. Maybe that’s why they’re excited?”

Knights weren’t allowed to drink alcohol while on duty.

However, the festival period was an exception. Even during missions, they would distribute the festival liquor so that everyone could drink one glass at a time.

“So everyone was excited. It’s good that the mansion is lively, isn’t it?”

“Hmph, it’s just noisy.”

Arsene still looked as if he didn’t like the festival.

It was the opposite of the appearance that was initially inflated with expectations. 

“Ar–sene, you really wanted to come to the festival. But why are you so grumpy? Ung?”

“I wanted to come, but because of them—!”

Arsene glared at Leona, who was almost rolling on the bed.

“Why? What?”

Leona shrugged her shoulders as if she didn’t know anything.

Then, the maids knocked on the door smartly.

“Come in~.”

When permission was given, Betty and Chloe and the unfamiliar maids entered and bowed.

“I will help you change into your pajamas.”

Arsene, Cain, and Leona each left the room, following the other maids.

Betty asked softly.

“Would you like to change here? Wouldn’t it be better to go to the dressing room?”

“I want to change here. I’m tired….” 

I shook my head and said, Betty grinning.

She quickly changed me into my pajamas and left the room to rest.

And soon after, the children who had gone to change into pajamas returned one by one. 

Leona was wearing my pajamas, but the size was a little small, so my ankle-length pajamas fluttered near Leona’s shin. 

Cain wore Arsene’s pajamas, on the contrary, they were too big and loose.

The maids looked at my room and said as if they were in trouble.

“Do you really want to sleep here? Cain and Arsene should go to Arsene’s room.”

Arsene and Cain expressed their intention not to go, but the servants stopped the 7-year-old children’s rebellion and took Arsene and Cain out.

I stayed with Leona and lay down on the bed.

“Wow, I’m so tired…I guess it’s because I’ve been walking around all day today. Aren’t you tired?”

“Ung? Ung, I’m fine. I can go around all day tomorrow, too.”

Leona laughed. A dimple appeared at the corner of her mouth every time she laughed.

I looked at the lovely orange-haired girl smiling innocently for a long time and then laughed together. 

“Tomorrow…not tomorrow. Arsene went overboard today. He look very tired, so he’ll be in the mansion tomorrow.” 

“What? You’re staying at the mansion? But…”

“Kendrick-nim said there was a lake behind the mansion. Let’s go swimming together. Do you know how to fish?”

“Fish hunting? Of course! I can catch even seven a day!”

Leona glistened at the story of the lake behind the mansion.

We promised to go to the lake tomorrow and closed our eyes.

It wasn’t long before I fell asleep.

* * *

Time when everyone is asleep.

I suddenly opened my eyes.

It was dark inside the room, but somehow there was a commotion outside.

“…What happened?”

Is there something going on outside?

Looking around, Leona was sleeping soundly.

I crept out on tiptoe, careful not to wake Leona.

Kiiik—.

The door opens slowly.

“….?”

I blinked my sleepy eyes and looked out into the dark hallway.

‘…What is that?’

A huge wolf roamed the hallway.

I closed the door slowly so the wolf wouldn’t notice, then leaned back against the door to clear my mind.

What did I see?

Is what I saw really a wolf?

Why in the Yeckhart Mansion… wolves are roaming around? No, since it’s a wolf mansion, it’s natural for wolves to wander around….

My thoughts were mixed up and I couldn’t organize them well. I sat down with my messy hair wrapped around me.

Then I came to my senses and carefully opened the door again.

‘Cause I might have seen it wrong….’

Then.

“….!!!!”

The hallway was not visible through the crack in the slightly open door, but a yellow one was visible.

Yellow one—.

I soon realized that it was the wolf’s pupils and took a step back, gasping.

Grrrrrr.

A wolf growled. I quickly closed the door again and locked it.

Bang! 

‘What…What the hell is this?’

It certainly didn’t look like it was joking with me.

If there’s one good thing to me is—.

Thanks to Betty’s steady transformation and giving me her arms, this time I didn’t panic or faint as before.

There was the sound of a wolf kicking the door with its paw. I quickly jumped onto the bed and woke Leona up.

“Leona. Leon, wake up, wake up!”

Leona slowly closed, opened her eyes, and said in a drowsy voice.

“Ung…Why? It’s already morning…?”

Bang! 

Once again there was the sound of a wolf kicking at the door.

Leona widened her eyes in surprise.

I closed Leona’s mouth with both of her hands.

“Shh, you can’t talk…! First of all, you have to wake up.” 

Leona saw my serious expression and nodded her head. And slowly got up from her seat.

I opened the window once.

‘I might be able to escape by myself, but…’

Then what about Leon?

I just need to transform into my bird form to escape, but Leona won’t be able to escape.

Then that mysterious wolf outside might break down the door and attack Leona.

At that time, Arsene in the next room flashed through my mind.

‘Arsene and Cain are in danger!’