However, the Marquis, who saw hope in Etensel, dissuaded them.
Before the marriage of the Marquis and the Lady, there was a lot of opposition from both families.
In particular, the elders of the Cruds family were strongly opposed.
The Marchioness pressed them and felt sorry for the Marquis who had married her.
That was why she wanted to pass down Cruds to the youngest, who was a fox.
His mother loved his brother and himself equally, but the scales had been tilted from the beginning.
'Sorry, Mom. But my brother would be a million times more suited to the title of Marquis than I am.'
Jasper, who had risen to the position of Captain of the Guard on his own, would be a much better head of the family than he, who had spent his whole life playing around as a fox.
Etensel watched Jasper's back as he walked away and said to himself,
'As an apology, my brother will take all the Marquis's titles.'
Now he could understand his brother, who had been hurt by his mother's attitude without realizing it.
Etensel humbly decided to yield the title to his brother.
Of course, he had not been particularly greedy for the title from the beginning.
'I will have something else.'
The Empress's sole government position.
That was Etensel's final goal.
The Empress's current government was the Duke.
His first goal was to gain the Empress's attention and become her second government.
Then he would come up with a plan to push the Duke out again.
It was quite an ambitious plan.
However, since he was born a man, it would be right to dream big.
So he had to start off well.
Etensel decided to become a pitiful animal in front of her, so much so that she wanted to embrace his lies.
'Of course, it would be best if I was not caught.'
He wanted to avoid being hated by her even for a moment.
If the Empress glared at him with cold eyes, it would really hurt.
Etensel stopped walking and looked down at the floor.
Then, Jasper, who felt something strange, turned around and shouted at his brother who was far away.
“Why aren’t you here? Are you having strange thoughts again...?”
“Oh, that damn suspicion. Let’s go, let’s go!”
Etensel grumbled and followed his brother.
At the time when the brothers got on the carriage, Sepia, who was left alone in the reception room, was absorbed in her thoughts. Watching her, Betty carefully put down the tea and asked,
“Are you going to spend this afternoon here?”
Sepia shook her head.
“No. I’ll go to the charity department as scheduled.”
As Sepia was assigned to a new department, she had to set up a new office in the building she had designated as the head of the charity department, not as the Empress.
“Then I’ll contact the coachman. Are you going right now?”
“Yes. I’ll leave right away.”
Sepia nodded at the maid’s words and stood up. She briefly glanced at the place where Etensel had been staying.
‘I guess there’s nothing I can do about the inconvenience.’
Even if it was in the form of a beast, it was difficult to treat it like before because it seemed to have the same form as a human.
When would the aversion get better?
Could it really be cured?
A series of worries were constantly repeating themselves, tormenting Sepia.
Sepia got off in the carriage in front of the building that had been designated as the charity department.
'This is the charity department...'
An official department under the name of the imperial family.
How much effort had been put into making the organization an official department?
Thinking that it had finally borne fruit made her heart swell with pride.
'Although I couldn't convince Demios...'
It was bitter to recall that fact, but it felt a little better when she thought about the fact that she could look after many imperial citizens.
There were many familiar faces in the department.
Those who had been Sepia's hands and feet since the charity organization had become members of the department.
"Hello, Empress."
"Are you coming to work now? I've been waiting."
The employees who had been regular employees had now become civil servants working for the empire.
She was glad that she had given them a proper job.
“Yes. If there is any problem, let me know at any time.”
Sepia greeted each person and headed to her office.
However, unlike the Empress’s office, the charity department’s office was not only hers.
“This is it.”
Betty opened the door to the office.
Roxanne, who was inside, got up from his seat and greeted Sepia.
“Welcome.”
From now on, the office of the charity department will be shared with Roxanne, the vice president.
Sepia stood there and stared at Roxanne as if she was entranced.
He was shining with sparkling dust, bathed in the afternoon sunlight. As she looked at Roxanne, she felt as if all the worries that had been bothering her were disappearing.
Strangely enough.
“Yes. There is one.”
The only person she didn’t feel any resistance to was standing in front of her. Did he know that Roxanne was a comfort at this moment?
I had to take a few deep breaths to keep from showing my feelings.
“Good afternoon. I see you arrived earlier than the appointed time.”
“Of course, I should have arrived before the president and waited for her.”
Roxanne answered in a playful voice as he watched Sepia find her seat. Sepia smiled faintly at the attitude of her subordinate who thought it was right to arrive before his superior.
“That’s a great attitude for a vice president.”
“I’ll be an example to the other employees.”
“Really, I can’t stand your eloquence.”
Sepia finally burst into laughter as she watched Roxanne salute. After exchanging light jokes, her mood improved significantly compared to before.
“I’m glad you laughed.”
Sepia realized that he was a little relieved when he said that. That he was intentionally trying to lighten her mood. Roxanne got up from her seat and handed Sepia some tea. She stared at the steaming tea until it cooled down before speaking.
“Did you notice?”
“You seemed to be very troubled. What happened before you came?”
Sepia closed her mouth for a moment, feeling that her true feelings had been read.
“Nothing special. However...”
It was just her own problem. The chronic illness that had not been resolved for a long time was still tormenting her today. Only Demios and Madam Remody knew about Sepia’s condition. Some people might have noticed it, but they probably didn’t know the exact reason why she avoided males.
“...Actually.”
Sepia hesitated. Would it get better if she spoke? Or would he think she was strange?
Ambiguous feelings coexisted within her. Even as Sepia was wasting time, the calm man waited for her without urging her. She gained courage from Roxanne’s gaze.
“Actually... I have an aversion to others.”
Especially to the other sex. She confessed her sudden aversion and what had happened between her and Etensel. She was still anxious even after confessing. However, just like before, he saw Sepia as she was.
“I see. He must have suffered a lot alone.”
It was clearly a serious illness. His calm voice and sincere consolation had the power to ease her troubled mind.
‘...I feel strangely relieved.’
In front of him, Sepia could always be herself, not the Empress.
“The fox Sepia spoke of was actually the vassal of the Cruds family.”
“Yes. He claims that I can cure his illness.”
“...Hmm.”
Roxanne, who was standing next to her, rubbed his chin and pondered. It was an absurd incident that could be dismissed as a lie, but she was secretly grateful that he took it seriously.
“I’ll look into it myself. It’s a rare disease, but it’s not like there aren’t any cases at all. I’ve heard of it myself. About a beast that doesn’t grow.”
There were a few people who had heard of such a disease. However, only a very small number of people had actually encountered it.
“Please.”
Although she couldn’t resist Etensel’s earnestness, she gave him permission, but it was still burdensome. Roxanne seemed to know her intentions and asked,
“You must be reluctant to be with him.”
“That’s true. Now that I know he's not a real fox, it’s a little...”
She had been nervous the whole time because Etensel might suddenly change at any moment. However, she couldn’t ignore the young beast asking for her help. In two weeks, the Kruds brothers would come looking for her again.
Sepia reached for the cup, feeling slightly suffocated. Perhaps because confessing her feelings had relieved her tension, she ended up pushing the teacup away.
“Ah...”
The tossed teacup spilled tea noisily.
Enough to soak Roxanne’s shirt and the center of his pants.
“I’m sorry. I’ll ask the maid to give you a change of clothes.”
Fortunately, the cup didn’t break, so no further trouble occurred, but the soaked area was quite large.
When Sepia was about to head to the door in a panic, Roxanne grabbed her hand and stopped her.
“Why...”
Sepia’s pupils shook.
He asked at a distance close enough that her scent could be felt.
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