Chapter 5. The Mosteros Duchy (2)

Around the time Rapellian was conversing with El in the bathroom, another car stopped in front of the massive mansion.

A woman exuding dignity and majesty throughout her entire body stepped out of the immaculately clean and tidy car.

With her luscious silver hair twisted up, she resembled a noble wolf on a snow field.

She called herself the acting head of the Mosteros family, but everyone in the ducal household acknowledged her as the true head of the Mosteros family.

“Welcome, Madam.”

“It’s been a while, Irina.”

“Sister!”

Briel, who looked so much like Rapellian that one might think they were twins, ran to her. His soft, straight silver hair swayed gently, and his ocean-blue eyes curved smoothly.

A snow-white wolf ran alongside him.

“Briel, Riello. Come here.”

Michaela’s cool eyes, identical to Rapellian’s, softened as they turned toward her family members.

Riello, who still couldn’t transform into human form at will, jumped up toward her.

Michaela easily caught Riello and tucked him against her left side.

Then she stroked Briel’s hair as he clung to her waist, his body completely crumpled.

“Briel, you’ve grown almost as tall as me now. Have you been well…… Hmm? Did we hire a new worker? I sense an unfamiliar human presence.”

“Brother brought a human child called El.”

“What are you saying?”

Michaela elegantly turned her gaze toward the butler.

Why was her simple head movement so frightening?

Irina felt cold sweat running down her back as she repeated exactly what Briel had said.

“That’s right. The Young Master brought a human child. Though skinny and gaunt, it was a pretty-looking boy.”

Irina affirmed this while recalling the childhood appearance of Rapellian and his twin.

Michaela, who had been puzzled by the strange presence emanating from the house, became serious as soon as Irina finished speaking.

‘Rapel brought a human child?’

Michaela, who had stiffened, asked Irina as if to confirm.

“You truly mean Rapel brought the child?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“How? For what reason?”

“There was a small accident. Young Master Riello……”

Irina carefully relayed the situation to her.

Riello tried to escape from Michaela’s arms by moving his body this way and that, but a young wolf beastman couldn’t overcome the strength of an adult beastman.

“It seems Rapel was quite angry.”

“That’s right. Riello reeks of Brother’s angry pheromones. I think he’s going to scold him severely.”

Sharp pheromones with a clear warning were heavily imprinted on Riello.

Michaela thought this was justified and gripped Riello more firmly as he tried to find a way to escape.

“Whiiine.”

Having failed to escape, Riello finally went limp.

Michaela signaled the butler to continue her report while thinking about how to punish her troublemaking brother.

Irina, who had briefly closed her mouth, quickly continued her report.

“So the Young Master affectionately carried the child upstairs.”

“What did you just say?”

“Carried the child upstairs……”

“No, no. Before that.”

“Affectionately carried the child…… Hup!”

Irina covered her mouth abruptly as she realized what she had unconsciously repeated.

She felt as if she had said something she shouldn’t have, even though she had said it.

“That just gave me chills.”

Rapellian had a particularly strong instinct to protect his pack, rarely showing interest in anyone outside his family, and keeping his warmth strictly limited to family members while maintaining firm boundaries with others.

Given this temperament, no matter if the person was a benefactor—or rather, precisely because they were a benefactor, one would expect him to maintain proper etiquette—but to affectionately carry them upstairs?

Very occasionally, following the previous generation’s wishes, he would bring in and teach talented individuals he liked, but this form was rare to the point of being unprecedented.

Michaela developed a strong interest in this human she had never seen.

“Was the child badly injured?”

“There were abrasions on the cheek, but we haven’t confirmed other injuries yet.”

“Of all places, the face. We can’t let it scar.”

“I’ve called for the family physician, Melson. I’ll tell him to ensure no scars remain.”

“I should go up and check myself. I need to see directly. Briel, hold your twin brother tightly.”

Michaela handed Riello to Briel and was about to give her coat and gloves to Irina.

Just then, Rapellian, who had leisurely left the bathroom without knowing what impact he had on El, came down the stairs.

“Sister.”

He spotted Michaela as he descended the central staircase.

“Ah, Rapel.”

“You’ve arrived. I apologize for not coming out to greet you.”

Rapellian quickly came down the stairs and stood before Michaela.

The face that had been relatively gentle and relaxed with El, though still maintaining an adult appearance, completely changed when standing before his sister.

His soft expression instantly became solemn and dignified.

Yet somehow, this made him seem more childlike.

“I’ve heard the story. You’ve brought an important guest.”

Click, click.

Michaela, having handed her clothes to the butler, took a few steps closer to him.

Michaela smiled sweetly, her eyes forming beautiful curves.

“That’s what happened. While you were away, Sister, I should have taken better care of the household……”

Michaela suddenly pulled Rapellian, who was reliable but so proper that he seemed stiff, close to her.

Rapellian allowed himself to be pulled into her embrace without any resistance.

Michaela stroked the large back of her brother, who had grown even more during their time apart.

“Have you been well? Have you grown taller? You seem to have lost some weight too.”

After patting his back, Michaela separated from him and carefully examined her brother’s face.

Then she stroked Rapellian’s cheek, which had lost even the little baby fat that had remained.

“I must have lost weight while growing taller. This should be my final growth spurt.”

“With your coming-of-age ceremony approaching. To think you’re already 120 years old—how can time fly so fast?”

“Indeed.”

Michaela smiled with a somewhat melancholic air.

Beastmen from high noble families lived a full 500 years.

Even for non-high nobles, the average lifespan of beastmen was around 300 years.

From a human perspective, this would be an unfathomable amount of time, but to Michaela, the time spent together seemed to pass helplessly quickly.

Michaela fell into contemplation, wondering when the small children had grown so much.

In the Aserion Empire, the ratio of beastmen to humans was 7 to 3, with a much higher proportion of beastmen, but the number of high noble beastmen from predatory species was small, and each family had very precious offspring, naturally leading to strong cohesion.

The Mosteros Duchy, in particular, had tight bonds between blood relatives.

Compared to other families, the Mosteros Duchy had a solid line of succession, but their characteristics remained unchanged.

Especially in this generation, after the previous generation passed away and the widowed Michaela returned to the family to lead the household, their relationships grew even closer.

“Well, you may have lost some weight, but you look healthy, so that’s fine.”

“Yes, I’m well with no ailments.”

“Then let’s end the greetings here. You brought the human who saved Riello?”

Michaela asked as she headed toward the central staircase.

While doing so, she didn’t forget to subtly observe Rapellian’s demeanor.

She couldn’t help but be concerned about a being that this child treated affectionately.

“Yes. To properly examine the wounds, the child needs to be washed, but seems afraid of me. I was going to send someone else up.”

Rapellian spoke calmly about El as he followed beside her.

“You were about to wash the child? You, personally?”

At his answer, Michaela became even more interested in this unfamiliar being.

She felt like running up the stairs right away.

“The child doesn’t seem to realize it, but having fallen hard, it would be difficult to wash. I thought I would be better than a complete stranger, so I tried to help, but it seems that was the wrong choice.”

“How could I leave someone who saved a child of my family in the hands of employees? I’ll go see. I should be better than you with your mountain-sized build.”

Though Michaela was also tall at 178cm, she was smaller than Rapellian in both height and build, so her words weren’t wrong.

Rapellian saw the logic in this and was about to nod, but stopped and slowly opened his mouth.

“Still, he’s a fairly grown boy of about 150cm tall, so I’m not sure if it’s appropriate for you to go, Sister.”

Rapellian spread his palm and brought his hand to about chest level.

Briel, who was following up the stairs carrying Riello, asked after seeing the position of Rapellian’s hand.

“How old might he be?”

“Since he’s a human child…… about twelve or thirteen years old. At that age, he would certainly be uncomfortable with me washing him. Still, I’m curious, so I’ll just say hello and come out.”

Michaela, who had responded to Briel, stepped onto the stairs leading to Rapellian’s room.

“Then please do so.”

“Rapel, what do you plan to do with the child?”

“I owe a life debt. There should be a corresponding reward.”

“Since there was a similar incident before, I think setting it at that level would be appropriate.”

Michaela looked at her brother, recalling a time long ago when Rapellian had gotten lost after following his father to a hunting ground.

But he gave no response, lost in his own thoughts.

“Rapel?”

Michaela, who had stopped climbing the stairs, called out to Rapellian with a solemn expression.

Rapellian, who had been thinking about El, snapped out of his contemplation at her call.

“Ah. I apologize, Sister. Each situation is different, so I should provide a reward suitable for the child. It’s not finalized, but I do have something in mind.”

“Is that so?”

Rapellian, who had reached the top of the stairs while she paused, extended his hand to escort Michaela.

“I’ll tell you once my thoughts are organized.”

“You always come up with good answers, so I’ll look forward to it.”

Michaela smiled sweetly as she took her brother’s hand and climbed the remaining stairs.

After leading all the men of the household to Rapellian’s bedroom, Michaela issued an order of expulsion.

“You all wait in the reception room.”

“Yes, we’ll wait in the reception room.”

After dismissing the men of the household, Michaela entered Rapellian’s bedroom with only Irina and knocked on the bathroom door.

“C-come in.”

At the tiny voice that seemed to be shrinking away, Michaela chuckled and opened the door.

And the moment she saw the child there, she couldn’t help but laugh.

‘They said it was a boy, but no……”

Michaela roughly rubbed her mouth to suppress her laughter, then paused.

Through her mind flashed the contents written in the family heirloom passed down from the founder through generations.

‘Black hair, ruby-red eyes. A clear energy that refreshes the surroundings.’

Michaela unconsciously clenched her fist tightly.

She desperately suppressed the urge to run to the study right away.

She gritted her teeth to control the tickling sensation in her chest and the corners of her mouth that kept trying to rise.

“Hello, little one. My name is Michaela.”

Michaela waved her hand gently as she entered.

When she took a couple of steps into the bathroom, Rapellian’s pheromones hit her nose strongly. With a bit of exaggeration, one might say the child was not human but a beastman.

‘Even if we received a favor, to this extent?’

Since El was human and couldn’t be affected by or smell pheromones, she probably didn’t know her current state, but she was heavily marked with the kind of pheromones that beastman parents leave on their children for protection.

It was the same as what Rapellian had left on Briel and Riello while Michaela was away from home.

‘Rapel, who never brings outsiders into his enclosure, is paying such attention—setting everything else aside, we must not lose this child.’

Michaela organized her thoughts and approached El with a bright, radiant smile, her lips curling upward.