As soon as they sat down, the meal began.
Refreshing salads and fruits. Soups that warmed their stomachs.
Various crispy baked breads created a fragrant morning scent on the table decorated with fresh flowers.
As the soup went in, the churning stomach seemed to calm down little by little.
The meal was awkward, but not uncomfortable.
Sepia was the first to speak.
“I heard you came to see me because you had something to tell me.”
“It’s about Cruds’s second son. I thought you were waiting, so I came to see you last night...”
No one knew what the omitted words meant.
Silence fell between the two, who avoided eye contact.
The atmosphere that had been relaxed for a moment was about to become awkward again.
“I found a person with the same disease. The target was closer than I thought.”
“Is that true?”
Sepia looked up in surprise.
It had been less than a month since she had told him the story of Etensel.
Sepia had also been searching for various materials but had yet to find anything that could be of help.
It must have been a very rare disease, yet he had already found a case.
Soon, Roxanne took out a brooch from her bosom and held it out to her.
“Civet cat...?”
The brooch was made of porcelain and had a picture of a spotted cat drawn on it.
“Levro is Damil’s niece.”
Levro was Damil’s noblewoman who had been very kind to Sepia. She had become close to the proud civet cat after Sepia had established a special orphanage.
She was also the only noble who had welcomed the orphanage for sick or disabled children, and she was in charge of it herself.
“It must be a portrait from when he was very young.”
Levro’s nephew.
The actual body was also very cute.
‘But a portrait of the actual body wouldn’t be shown to just anyone.’
Roxanne shook his head as she carefully examined the brooch.
“The portrait shows the adult form. They say that her nephew also didn’t change even after becoming an adult.”
She had never heard of her nephew from Levro.
But he had the same disease as Etensel.
'The Cruds and the Damils have not been on good terms for generations.'
They were mostly bickering, perhaps because they were a fox and a cat.
To the point where they didn't share any information with each other.
Was Etensel the only one who had succeeded in changing?
However, it was a great help just to find someone with the same disease.
She was about to thank him.
"I heard that her nephew has succeeded in changing. Along with her nephew and others with the same disease."
People with the same disease?
Was there another beast with the same disease as Levro's nephew?
However, it was impossible to find so many people with a rare disease in such a short time.
"Actually, the first patient I found was not a relative of the Damils, but another beast. And that was by accident."
Recently, due to rumors of wild beasts appearing, the knights who were teaching the orphaned children began to volunteer to guard the place.
A week later, early in the evening, the beast was caught in the knight's net.
The knights gathered at the sharp scream and grabbed the beast caught in the net by its neck.
'A civet?'
Kyaaaak!
The small beast, which looked so cute, was so ferocious that it went wild even after being grabbed by its nape.
The knights clicked their tongues, saying that it was quite ferocious, but it was not the beast they had heard about.
It had a strong temper, but its size made it difficult to hunt many large animals.
The knight was about to release the civet.
'What's so noisy?'
'Commander-in-Chief, Roxanne.'
The knights saluted the legion commanders who suddenly appeared.
Roxanne stopped the knight from explaining that the civet was caught in the net and would be released soon.
'Wait a minute. Bring it here.'
The knight brought the beast with a bewildered face.
Strangely enough, the civet that had been struggling quickly became calm as soon as it was in Roxanne's hands.
Roxanne, who had been making eye contact with the civet for a while, jumped onto his horse.
The surprised Groer followed.
The place where Roxanne stopped talking was a special orphanage established by the Empress.
“There were mostly people who couldn’t turn into beastmen. Just like the civet.”
Of course, some orphans came in with disabilities or physical disabilities, but those who couldn’t turn into beastmen weren’t even registered at the orphanage.
“...Yes, that place is under the care of Lady Rebroga.”
The special orphanage was one of the places Sepia often visited.
However, she had been busy with various other issues since the time of the victory ceremony and after that, so she had not been able to visit.
‘It seemed like there were no problems the last time I visited.’
When Levro first asked to take charge of the special orphanage, she was just curious.
However, seeing her sincere attitude towards the children and her service, she decided to give her authority.
‘It’s hard to understand what it means to be indebted to someone, but...’
Levro often told Sepia that she would repay the favor someday.
Every time, she had asked her to take good care of the children.
Perhaps she had another intention.
Roxanne continued to tell Sepia not to worry as if he was worried about the worry on her face.
“The children all looked healthy, so don’t worry too much. The lady didn’t seem to have done anything particularly harmful. Rather, he seemed to follow her very closely. He looked at me as if I were a villain who suddenly barged in.”
When Sepia heard that one of the children had pointed a toy sword at Roxanne, she burst into laughter.
“How did you know that he had the same disease as Young Master Etensel?”
The unchangeable beasts were no different from beasts until they opened their mouths.
But how did Roxanne know that boy was a beast?
“There are many characteristics of the divine beast bloodline, but one of them is their excellent sense of smell. He smelled exactly like Young Master Kruds when he was a fox. It was an ambiguous smell that was neither animal nor beast.”
It was something that Sepia and the other beasts could not detect.
Roxanne told her about what had happened at the orphanage.
“I had a conversation with the leader there.”
The meerkat beast, Dikanto, spoke about beasts that could not change.
Those who were abandoned because they could not change had no choice but to live as beasts.
One day, a noblewoman appeared and recognized Dikanto, who persuaded him and took him to the orphanage.
There were beasts with the same disease. With the hopeful words, “You can change.”
Refreshing salads and fruits. Soups that warmed their stomachs.
Various crispy baked breads created a fragrant morning scent on the table decorated with fresh flowers.
As the soup went in, the churning stomach seemed to calm down little by little.
The meal was awkward, but not uncomfortable.
Sepia was the first to speak.
“I heard you came to see me because you had something to tell me.”
“It’s about Cruds’s second son. I thought you were waiting, so I came to see you last night...”
No one knew what the omitted words meant.
Silence fell between the two, who avoided eye contact.
The atmosphere that had been relaxed for a moment was about to become awkward again.
“I found a person with the same disease. The target was closer than I thought.”
“Is that true?”
Sepia looked up in surprise.
It had been less than a month since she had told him the story of Etensel.
Sepia had also been searching for various materials but had yet to find anything that could be of help.
It must have been a very rare disease, yet he had already found a case.
Soon, Roxanne took out a brooch from her bosom and held it out to her.
“Civet cat...?”
The brooch was made of porcelain and had a picture of a spotted cat drawn on it.
“Levro is Damil’s niece.”
Levro was Damil’s noblewoman who had been very kind to Sepia. She had become close to the proud civet cat after Sepia had established a special orphanage.
She was also the only noble who had welcomed the orphanage for sick or disabled children, and she was in charge of it herself.
“It must be a portrait from when he was very young.”
Levro’s nephew.
The actual body was also very cute.
‘But a portrait of the actual body wouldn’t be shown to just anyone.’
Roxanne shook his head as she carefully examined the brooch.
“The portrait shows the adult form. They say that her nephew also didn’t change even after becoming an adult.”
She had never heard of her nephew from Levro.
But he had the same disease as Etensel.
'The Cruds and the Damils have not been on good terms for generations.'
They were mostly bickering, perhaps because they were a fox and a cat.
To the point where they didn't share any information with each other.
Was Etensel the only one who had succeeded in changing?
However, it was a great help just to find someone with the same disease.
She was about to thank him.
"I heard that her nephew has succeeded in changing. Along with her nephew and others with the same disease."
People with the same disease?
Was there another beast with the same disease as Levro's nephew?
However, it was impossible to find so many people with a rare disease in such a short time.
"Actually, the first patient I found was not a relative of the Damils, but another beast. And that was by accident."
Recently, due to rumors of wild beasts appearing, the knights who were teaching the orphaned children began to volunteer to guard the place.
A week later, early in the evening, the beast was caught in the knight's net.
The knights gathered at the sharp scream and grabbed the beast caught in the net by its neck.
'A civet?'
Kyaaaak!
The small beast, which looked so cute, was so ferocious that it went wild even after being grabbed by its nape.
The knights clicked their tongues, saying that it was quite ferocious, but it was not the beast they had heard about.
It had a strong temper, but its size made it difficult to hunt many large animals.
The knight was about to release the civet.
'What's so noisy?'
'Commander-in-Chief, Roxanne.'
The knights saluted the legion commanders who suddenly appeared.
Roxanne stopped the knight from explaining that the civet was caught in the net and would be released soon.
'Wait a minute. Bring it here.'
The knight brought the beast with a bewildered face.
Strangely enough, the civet that had been struggling quickly became calm as soon as it was in Roxanne's hands.
Roxanne, who had been making eye contact with the civet for a while, jumped onto his horse.
The surprised Groer followed.
The place where Roxanne stopped talking was a special orphanage established by the Empress.
“There were mostly people who couldn’t turn into beastmen. Just like the civet.”
Of course, some orphans came in with disabilities or physical disabilities, but those who couldn’t turn into beastmen weren’t even registered at the orphanage.
“...Yes, that place is under the care of Lady Rebroga.”
The special orphanage was one of the places Sepia often visited.
However, she had been busy with various other issues since the time of the victory ceremony and after that, so she had not been able to visit.
‘It seemed like there were no problems the last time I visited.’
When Levro first asked to take charge of the special orphanage, she was just curious.
However, seeing her sincere attitude towards the children and her service, she decided to give her authority.
‘It’s hard to understand what it means to be indebted to someone, but...’
Levro often told Sepia that she would repay the favor someday.
Every time, she had asked her to take good care of the children.
Perhaps she had another intention.
Roxanne continued to tell Sepia not to worry as if he was worried about the worry on her face.
“The children all looked healthy, so don’t worry too much. The lady didn’t seem to have done anything particularly harmful. Rather, he seemed to follow her very closely. He looked at me as if I were a villain who suddenly barged in.”
When Sepia heard that one of the children had pointed a toy sword at Roxanne, she burst into laughter.
“How did you know that he had the same disease as Young Master Etensel?”
The unchangeable beasts were no different from beasts until they opened their mouths.
But how did Roxanne know that boy was a beast?
“There are many characteristics of the divine beast bloodline, but one of them is their excellent sense of smell. He smelled exactly like Young Master Kruds when he was a fox. It was an ambiguous smell that was neither animal nor beast.”
It was something that Sepia and the other beasts could not detect.
Roxanne told her about what had happened at the orphanage.
“I had a conversation with the leader there.”
The meerkat beast, Dikanto, spoke about beasts that could not change.
Those who were abandoned because they could not change had no choice but to live as beasts.
One day, a noblewoman appeared and recognized Dikanto, who persuaded him and took him to the orphanage.
There were beasts with the same disease. With the hopeful words, “You can change.”
The lady took in those who could not change and cared for them at a special orphanage.
“Most of those in the orphanage were small animals that could easily hide their bodies. And those who successfully changed after becoming adults left the place in order. The orphanage called it graduation. The first one to successfully graduate was Levro’s nephew.”
At those words, a child suddenly came to mind.
‘Come to think of it, there was a newborn civet cat that came into the orphanage.’
It had been several years ago. When it was rescued, it was so small and skinny that it was naturally thought to be a baby that could not change. However, the document stated that the civet cat died after not lasting a month.
‘But if it was actually an adult and left the orphanage after successfully changing...’
Since Madam Levro would have processed the documents, it would have been easy to falsify the records.
“The brooch was kept in the director’s office. I brought it instead as evidence. After all, Lady Damil must have tricked Sepia.”
“... I have to meet Levro.”
If the children’s health wasn’t a problem, it wouldn’t have been bad intentions. However, there must have been a reason why she had to keep it a secret from Sepia.
“The ones with the disease had one characteristic. They all had parents from different species. My guess is... I think that this problem occurs very rarely when different species mate.”
“It’s possible. Even the Kruds family mated with different species.”
Sepia nodded. And one more thing.
‘If they all change at an unspecified time after they become adults...’
If this hypothesis is true, the way they change probably requires two conditions.
“The timing of the change depends on how strong your will is after you become an adult.”
“...You knew that Kruds’s second son was lying.”
Sepia nodded at his words.
“I don’t have that ability in the first place. However, he belief that he changed because of me was true.”
The reason she had hung out with Etensel even after knowing his lies was because she needed clear evidence that would make him completely give up.
'If I hadn't done this, he would have thought that the changes he had made were because of me.'
Sepia thought back to when she had first encountered the changed Etensel. The kindness and respect he had for her. The excessive attention. And...
'The similar lack to mine.'
Sepia couldn't kick him out the moment he lied.
But she couldn't push Etensel away because she saw the loneliness in his eyes.
Sepia couldn't kick him out the moment he lied.
But she couldn't push Etensel away because she saw the loneliness in his eyes.
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