Chapter 4. The Mosteros Duchy (1)

“Whiiine.”

Riello tried to squirm away with his front paws, but it was useless against the strict Rapellian.

Rapellian placed Riello on his thigh and slowly stroked his head.

Though not a rough touch, Riello felt anything but comfortable.

With each movement of his hand, the pressure from the pheromones flowing from Rapellian was considerable.

Meanwhile, completely unaware of this situation, the girl watched them timidly after somewhat calming her pounding heart.

‘Even beastmen, said to be far superior to humans, live just the same.’

The girl’s lips twitched, forgetting her own circumstances.

She squeezed her eyes shut then opened them again, afraid she might laugh out loud.

Rapellian, disregarding his intimidated brother, urged the driver.

The car, which had been traveling along a path between tall, stretching trees, increased its speed.

“Ah.”

The heart that was about to calm down raced again at the increased speed.

Surprised by the small moan that escaped without her knowing, the girl covered her mouth with her hand while glancing nervously at Rapellian.

However, despite the girl’s efforts, the sound had already touched his sensitive hearing.

Rapellian looked down to the side.

His clear blue eyes met her red ones.

The girl flinched at the eye contact and bowed her head deeply.

“This must feel strange to you. I’m sorry, but please bear with it a little longer. We’ll arrive soon.”

Though the walls he built were high, once Rapellian decided to let someone into his enclosure, he did his best for them.

Rapellian gently wrapped her small hand with its reddened fingertips.

The warm temperature gradually permeated her tiny frame.

The girl thought, so this is what feeling reassured is like, and wiggled her captured hand.

“Come to think of it, we haven’t introduced ourselves. My name is Rapellian Lupus Mosteros. What should I call you?”

Rapellian asked in the most affectionate tone possible, wondering what would be best to ease the tension of the stiffened person beside him, realizing he still didn’t know her name.

But the girl hesitated and couldn’t answer readily.

“Um……”

The girl’s face became as serious as a philosopher deep in contemplation.

As a result, only the vibration of the car remained between them.

The girl forgot the tension created by various events as she pondered what to answer. And soon, she finally opened her mouth.

“Number 13?”

“What?”

As soon as the answer came out, Rapellian’s expression turned grim.

Even Riello, who had been lying limply in his arms, raised his head sharply and stared at the girl.

He even growled low in his throat.

“Huh?”

“……”

Left without even words to ask back, Rapellian became even more menacing.

The girl felt intimidated, sensing she had made a big mistake.

“Ah, y-you can call me anything. Anything is fine.”

Fearing she might get hit, the girl awkwardly raised the corners of her mouth, emphasizing her harmlessness.

Reading her intention, Rapellian let out a small sigh.

And he fell into deep thought.

He raised his hand, thinking about what would be the most appropriate way to repay his benefactor.

At that moment, the doubt that had momentarily faded in the girl revived.

‘Ah. So this person is going to hit me too.’

The girl hunched her shoulders and squeezed her eyes shut, as she had learned to do.

But the pain never came.

Rapellian carefully stroked the round back of her head.

At the gentle touch rather than pain, the girl slowly opened her eyes and looked at him.

She felt embarrassed and sorry for doubting him.

“El. For now, I’ll call you El.”

He named her with the first thing that came to mind.

Since Rapellian’s own name and those of his siblings were all derived from angels, the only word that unconsciously came to mind was this one meaning angel.

“El. Wow. That’s pretty.”

The feeling of being sorry for doubting him instantly changed to joy.

The girl, now called by a proper name, clasped her hands together and brought them under her chin in delight.

To be so happy over a casually given name.

Rapellian’s thoughts deepened.

He had thought he was doing his best as the ruler of the North, but he realized that was a mistaken belief.

“Perhaps God made us meet so that I would recognize my own and our inadequacies.”

His father had always said:

Be generous to the people of your territory.

Listen to them and embrace them with a broad heart.

If they cannot be the backing for those who have nothing, their lives will be too harsh.

Rapellian felt a bitterness in his mouth, feeling he hadn’t properly followed his predecessor’s will.

“Pardon?”

“I’m glad to have met you.”

Rapellian smiled gently at the questioning girl, hiding his bitter expression.

At his warm and gentle voice, the girl thought for a moment:

‘Maybe it’s a lie that I’m not dead yet? This must be heaven.’

The kindness that seeped into her ears made the girl think innocently and sadly.

⁕⁕⁕

A black car stopped in front of the massive mansion.

Befitting the residence of the leader who ruled the northern part of the Empire, its grandeur was impressive.

As if to elevate their dignity, the magnificent gate was smoothly opened by two servants.

The car, which had briefly stopped, gently proceeded into the mansion.

After crossing the road in the garden, the car stopped in front of the mansion’s porch.

The chief butler, Irina Armen, who came running out in a somewhat disorderly manner, pretended to be calm as she opened the car door.

“Young Master, I have to report…… Young Master Riello!!”

Irina experienced a mix of emotions upon discovering Riello in Rapellian’s arms.

‘Ah. Thank you, God.’

She felt like kneeling down and clasping her hands to offer a prayer of thanks to God right then and there.

She would likely have to take responsibility for this incident, but above all, she was relieved that the youngest young master had been found safe.

“Irina.”

“Yes.”

“We’ll discuss responsibility for this matter later.”

Rapellian handed Riello to Irina with a firm instruction.

He knew that since the child had deliberately snuck out, they too had been powerless to stop it.

So he had no intention of severely reprimanding them.

However, since Riello needed to learn what consequences his wrong choices could bring, this wasn’t something that could be simply glossed over.

“Yes, Young Master.”

Irina, who had served the Mosteros family for a long time, understood the young master’s intentions and carefully took Riello into her arms, bowing her head calmly.

After finishing his brief conversation with the butler, Rapellian extended his hand toward the child who was still hesitating in the car.

“El.”

Rapellian called her El without any hesitation.

However, the girl didn’t immediately recognize that it was her name.

“El?”

“Ah. Ah. Yes.”

The girl, who had been blinking blankly, finally realized he was calling her. And once she realized it, his calm calling felt incredibly sweet.

A thrilling sensation ran through her entire body.

“El, come down. I’ll help you.”

At the repeated call, the girl felt a strange tickling sensation as she slowly grasped the large hand that approached her.

“Young Master, this child is……”

Irina looked with puzzled eyes at the strange being getting out of the car.

“Riello’s benefactor.”

“Benefactor?”

How could this small human, barely 150cm tall, do anything to become a benefactor to a beastman?

Irina couldn’t understand immediately, but she didn’t inquire further.

She could find out from the driver standing next to the car.

“My sister?”

“We received word that she will arrive soon.”

“It’s fortunate we found that rascal before my sister arrives.”

“Yes. I thought my remaining lifespan was over.”

“Briel must be worried too.”

“Of course. I had a hard time stopping him from going out to search.”

“Give Riello to him. They’re twins, yet I don’t understand why they’re so different. Ah, also call the family physician.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Irina skillfully hid her curiosity about the child holding Rapellian’s hand as she received his orders.

Without adding more, Rapellian headed into the mansion with El.

The girl, now called El, quietly followed him.

Then she abruptly stopped when she saw the smoothly spread marble floor.

This caused her to stagger slightly backward.

‘How can I walk there?’

She couldn’t bring herself to step on this clean floor with her blackened feet.

Rapellian, somewhat understanding El’s inner thoughts, gripped her a little more firmly.

“You must be dizzy. You might have hit your head when you fell.”

“What?”

Rapellian provided an excuse to avoid embarrassing her and lifted El into his arms.

Before she could refuse, El found herself cradled in his broad embrace.

“Eeek!”

At her startled cry, Rapellian let a faint smile slip as he played a small prank.

“If you fall here, it will really hurt. You might crack your nose or head. Hold on tight so you don’t fall.”

He pretended to loosen his arms slightly to scare El, just as he would do with his siblings.

El, who had been stiffly frozen, unable to fully grasp him, hurriedly clutched his clothes.

Rapellian carried El up the central staircase and then up the right staircase.

He immediately entered the bathroom attached to his bedroom.

It seemed best to wash her clean to remove the dirt from her wounds.

“This arm seems to be swelling more. It won’t be easy for you to lift your arm. Come here. I’ll help you undress.”

Through the torn sleeve, a dark red bruise was visible, and the area seemed to be swelling more.

Rapellian, who had carefully examined El’s condition, reached out his hand.

But El, who had been obediently following his words until now, hesitated awkwardly.

‘Ah! He must think I’m a boy. W-what should I do?’

El pulled down her top firmly and shook her head repeatedly.

She needed to clear up the misunderstanding, but her embarrassment made it difficult to speak.

“There’s dirt on your wounds that needs to be cleaned. And we need to check for injuries in places you can’t see.”

Rapellian lowered himself and spoke quite affectionately as he gently took El’s hand. El jumped back in surprise. She looked like a kitten with its fur standing on end.

Rapellian smiled even more brightly, deliberately trying to appear kind as he coaxed her gently.

“I’ll make sure it doesn’t hurt. Come here. Hmm?”

He waved his hand invitingly.

At his gentle gesture, El unconsciously took a couple of steps closer to him.

But she quickly came to her senses and stopped moving any further.

She just clutched her clothes tightly and bit her lips hard.

“El.”

“A-a-alone……”

El stuttered, unable to complete her sentence.

Rapellian thought he was being quite kind, treating her like his siblings, but when the other’s tension rose sharply, he suddenly recalled his record of making several children of the family cry.

‘Do I look scary?’

Thinking about it, if even the family children cried, he might appear quite threatening to this small human.

Despite making several children cry before, he had never worried about this, but today Rapellian seriously considered his appearance for the first time.

Being a wolf beastman, he had taken it for granted that he looked sensitive and sharp, but now he felt oddly self-conscious.

He disheveled his hair, which he had neatly combed up to hide his cool eyes. He pulled down his bangs over his forehead and deliberately made his voice even gentler.

Rapellian decided to back off, as pressing further seemed impolite, and it didn’t seem like she disliked washing.

“Is that what you want?”

“Yes, yes!”

El, clutching her clothes as if someone might take them away, nodded her head so vigorously that her whole body shook.

At her intense reaction, Rapellian smiled unusually freely today and straightened his lowered posture.

“Alright then. While you wash, I’ll bring you clothes to change into.”

“Yes.”

El responded in a small voice.

Rapellian nodded, understanding even that tiny sound, and turned around.

As he went out, he added one more thing.

It was out of concern that El might be bewildered by the bathroom’s modern facilities.

“I’ll send someone to help you. That’s what I always do for guests in my home.”

“Guest……”

“A very precious guest among guests. Because you’re the benefactor who saved my brother’s life.”

“……”

“Wait a moment.”

Before closing the bathroom door, Rapellian gave her a sweet, beautiful smile and then closed the door.

“Ugh.”

At the sound of the outer door closing with a thud, El collapsed to the floor as if her legs had melted.

“Beautiful.”

A pure appreciation escaped before she could stop it.

The unfamiliar and bewildering situation was one thing, but the impact of his face was another matter entirely.

To smile at her so beautifully.

El sat in a daze with an enraptured expression in the unfamiliar bathroom.