Chapter 3. The Beginning of Everything (3)

The girl hung her head low like someone who had committed a crime and picked at her fingertips.

The tips of her ears and the nape of her neck seemed to have turned slightly red.

Seeing her dejected and lifeless appearance, Rapellian felt he shouldn’t have asked, even though it had been just a procedural question.

“I’m sorry.”

‘He’s sorry?’

At the unexpected apology, the girl’s deeply bowed head lifted.

Her eyes wavered as she looked at him.

This felt different from all the people she had encountered before, too genuine to be merely pretending to be kind.

However, since a faint doubt remained about whether this was true goodwill, she carefully began to speak.

“Why, why are y-you saying that……”

“Such questions should be asked more carefully.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I’m truly sorry if I hurt your feelings.”

Had anyone in the world ever considered her feelings?

The faint doubt seemed about to shatter completely.

The girl felt as if an exception had been created among the many experiences that had made her feel miserable.

As her accumulated experiences and reasonable doubts gradually crumbled, she thought this person might be different.

He felt so different from everyone she had encountered before.

The concerned touch, the gentle gaze, the soft voice, the thoughtful consideration.

All of it wasn’t fake—not for the sake of others’ eyes, not a momentary deception—but sincere. True.

The girl’s large, candy-like eyes shone clearly.

“I see.”

Her gaze, which had been looking at him, dropped down to stare at her feet.

Her cheeks and the corners of her eyes turned a rosy red.

This was somewhat different from the redness that had colored her ears and nape earlier.

He was also the first person to be considerate of her in this way.

For some unknown reason, the girl felt her heart swelling.

She felt inexplicably shy.

“That’s right.”

“Thank you for caring about my feelings.”

The girl pushed away the unfamiliar flutter in her heart and bowed her head with gentle eyes.

In Rapellian’s life, people who expressed gratitude with such pure intentions and without ulterior motives were extremely rare.

Even if she weren’t the benefactor who saved his brother, even if she weren’t the being who made him feel an incredible sense of liberation, he wanted to take someone with such clear energy home and raise them as a member of his family.

Like his predecessors, he had always brought talented individuals to be raised as people of the family, and now he was determined to take this small human with him.

“Then won’t you come with me? I’d like you to come to our house for treatment and to talk about how you saved my brother.”

Rapellian urged with all sincerity.

He was somewhat confident that a positive answer would come.

The girl let out a low sigh at the unexpected proposal, then closed her mouth.

She thought it might be fine to follow someone who could understand the feelings of an insignificant being like herself.

However, seeing her reflection in the shop window glass, the girl couldn’t bring herself to give an affirmative answer.

‘I shouldn’t go with him.’

“No. I’m really fine. Just go.”

The girl immediately rejected his offer and stepped back slightly.

“Huh?”

Everyone tried to use even the most trivial matters as an opportunity to become entangled with Mosteros, and everyone desired such an invitation from him.

Having lived such a life all his life, Rapellian was extremely perplexed by her rejection, which he hadn’t anticipated. He almost felt like he was dreaming.

Taking advantage of his momentary daze, the girl quickly bowed her head, thinking she shouldn’t ruin the rare kindness she had received from another person.

“Then please go safely. I’ll be on my way now.”

The girl turned away from him very readily.

She was leaving so cleanly, without any regret, that it erased even the slight doubt Rapellian might have harbored.

‘Is she really leaving like this?’

Far from doubt, he was utterly bewildered.

Who on earth would save none other than a Mosteros and then try to leave without any lingering attachment?

For the first time while dealing with a person, Rapellian felt anxious.

‘This is rather……’

To achieve his goal, it seemed he needed to make a good impression on her.

He let out a small laugh at this situation he had never encountered before.

But he didn’t feel bad. He was even happy to have met such a being.

He quickly caught the benefactor who was trying to leave without making any demands of him.

“W-wait. Just a moment. You may look fine now, but you never know how you might hurt tomorrow. Such injuries shouldn’t be taken lightly.”

“……”

“And since I owe you a life, I should properly repay that debt. Please let me return the favor.”

The person holding her back looked strangely desperate.

The girl was left speechless by his repeated urging.

Having met so few people who showed her such kindness, she didn’t know how to respond.

Above all, she was afraid that if she became deeply involved with this person who was so rarely kind to her, his goodwill toward her might break.

Because she lived in a pickpocket den.

‘If he finds out I live in a pickpocket den, even this kind person will despise me……’

The girl bit her dry, chapped lips firmly with her teeth.

“Little one?”

“I’m really fine. It really doesn’t hurt. I may look like this, but I’m perfectly okay. So you can really just go.”

The girl shook her head repeatedly, rejecting his invitation again.

Though it did hurt, she could move, so it probably wasn’t a fracture, and these mere scrapes would heal quickly with time.

The girl just wanted to remain a good person in the eyes of this handsome and beautiful person.

But Rapellian couldn’t back down.

Setting everything else aside, he couldn’t abandon an injured person.

He was someone with a very strong sense of responsibility, and letting her go like this was something his conscience wouldn’t allow.

He opened his mouth again to “persuade”—something he would never do for those who approached him with the purpose of using him.

“I’m not sure if you’ve heard of Mosteros.”

“I’ve heard of it. The Mosteros Duchy. How could I not know, living in the North?”

“If you’ve heard of it, then you know. The Mosteros family always repays the favors they receive. As the eldest son of Mosteros, I must set an example for the family. Please don’t make me a scoundrel who breaks family tradition and ignores an injured person.”

“Sc-scoundrel? You’re not that kind of person at all to me. And there’s no favor to speak of.”

“To say there’s no favor after saving my brother’s life. You deserve to be treated as our family’s benefactor. And please give my brother a chance to properly thank you as well.”

The girl stared into his kind eyes that held no deceit.

His deep blue eyes seemed to draw her in, as if beckoning her.

Following him felt like it might unfold a different world she had never known.

His blue eyes kept telling her to trust him, that he would be different from those she had encountered so far.

Nevertheless, she couldn’t help but hesitate because the life she had experienced until now had not been easy. The shadow of the frightening boss kept following her, making her hesitate in her decision.

“I……”

“And apart from everything else, you need to take care of yourself.”

Rapellian looked at the bruise on her arm that seemed about to swell.

‘It must hurt……’

Even if she didn’t think in the calculating way others did, she should at least take care of her own pain.

He now wondered what had made this young human neglect even her own body.

“What? What did you just say……”

The girl followed his gaze and asked vaguely, trailing off.

The words she had just heard shook her weakened heart.

To her, who had always been told she was useless, his words resonated deeply.

“No one should be okay with being in pain. No one should go without treatment when they’re hurt. Please value yourself a little more.”

“Do I have such worth?”

“Of course. You have immeasurable value. Look even now. Your existence has saved another’s life. You are precious indeed.”

The girl couldn’t take her eyes off the straightforward blue eyes approaching her.

‘Precious and valuable worth……’

She had been abandoned even by her parents. Yet this complete stranger was telling her to value herself. To cherish herself.

‘I was told I’m a useless person, that’s why I was abandoned……’

The girl’s heart fluttered. The feeling was so strange that she even wanted to scratch her chest.

“You can’t avoid pain, but I’ll help you heal quickly. And shouldn’t you see what results your valuable existence has created? Take what you rightfully deserve. Will you come with me?”

Rapellian straightened from his lowered posture and extended his hand.

He wasn’t sure if she would take it, but he couldn’t read any rejection in those red eyes.

That’s why he had taken the chance.

The girl stared blankly at the white, seemingly soft hand extended before her. She had clearly said with her own mouth that he could just leave, but her heart and body wouldn’t move as she intended.

‘My worth, what I rightfully deserve……’

These words, heard for the first time in her life, were enough to shake the girl’s heart and made her forget even the boss who had been frightfully occupying her thoughts.

As if enchanted, the girl timidly grasped his straight, extended fingers.

Rapellian looked at the hand holding his with a very gentle expression.

In that moment, he felt a tightness in his chest, as if he had won a tremendous competition or obtained a great treasure.

A faint smile lingered on his lips, which usually remained expressionless and subdued.

⁕⁕⁕

Only after riding in the car with Rapellian for quite some time did the girl realize she had done something tremendous.

‘How could I take that hand? Why did I get in here with my lowly status?’

The girl had only seen this metal contraption from afar, never imagining the day would come when she would ride in one herself.

Even after climbing in of her own accord, she wondered what this was all about.

And the biggest problem in this inexplicable situation was this:

‘I might get scolded a bit by the boss, but…… damn. I must smell.’

The girl wanted to sniff various parts of her body.

But unable to do such a thing, she suppressed the rising urge and picked at her fingertips with her split nails.

‘I only saved a puppy that was about to be hit by a car…… Why wasn’t it just a puppy?’

And of all things, it turned out to be the young master of the Mosteros Duchy.

A direct descendant of that wolf beastman family, said to stand at the pinnacle of the Empire’s four great families.

The more she thought about it, the more the girl felt that a lowly being like herself shouldn’t be in the same space as him.

On the other hand, she wanted to hide in a mouse hole because of her dirty appearance, which reminded her of the heaven-and-earth difference between him and herself.

‘Should I jump out?’

The girl rolled her eyes nervously.

She swallowed dryly at the scenery passing by rapidly.

‘Would I d-die? I would, right?’

The girl immediately abandoned such dangerous thoughts.

Besides, she didn’t know how to open the door.

Trying not to be noticed by Rapellian, the girl carefully turned her eyes back while keeping her head as stiffly fixed as possible toward the window.

Then she examined the splendid man so different from herself.

Perfection must be a word coined to describe this person.

From his smooth, sharp jawline to his elegantly straight nose bridge, not a single flaw could be found.

The girl wanted to see more of this fantastic being, but fearing she would be caught if she looked longer, she quickly lowered her eyes.

“Whine.”

At that moment, the young wolf beastman, Riello, cradled in the girl’s arms, made a moaning sound.

Riello, who had insisted on being held by the girl, rubbed his head against her hand as if seeking attention, showing affection.

“So soft.”

The girl smiled broadly, momentarily setting aside her tension at the soft fur tickling her hand.

Then Riello raised himself, placing his two front paws on the girl’s shoulder, and opened his mouth wide.

“Ah.”

“Riello, no biting.”

Riello, who was about to show a very wolf-like sign of affection, was stopped by Rapellian.

A slender, well-formed hand instantly took Riello away.

Bewildered by what was happening, the girl looked at the dangling wolf being carried away and met his eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

At his beautiful eyes curving gently as he apologized, the girl inhaled sharply and lowered her gaze.

‘Bad for my heart.’

The girl clasped her hands tightly together, trying to calm her pounding heart.

While the girl struggled alone, Rapellian stroked Riello’s fur.

The soft fur swayed this way and that under his hand.

Riello then burrowed into his arms, acting spoiled.

“Acting cute won’t help. Neither will being affectionate.”

“Whine.”

“I’ve told you repeatedly that you’re in a period where your body and strength are not in balance, causing your human transformation to break unexpectedly.”

“Woof.”

“I warned you that when your human transformation suddenly breaks, you can’t move your body for a while, which can be dangerous, so whenever you go somewhere, you must take an attendant with you.”

“……”

Riello, who had been whining, drooped his eyes dejectedly and hid his face with his front paws.

Rapellian lifted his brother with both hands.

This revealed the eyes he had been hiding, making him face his brother.

“Yet you left the house secretly? Observe the consequences of your thoughtless and careless actions. Every action comes with responsibility and consequences.”