Chapter 71

Chapter 71

There was so much madness in my eyes that Dimitri paused for a moment. Oh, my. It seemed that I got too excited.

Thinking that, I softened my gaze a little but still asked firmly.

“As the Duchess, I suppose that kind of punishment would be possible, right?”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“You have that much authority. Slave traders are commoners, and deceiving the Emperor is a serious crime.”

Long live the power…!

“If you leave it in the hands of the Emperor, they will be hanged outside the gates anyway. I can lend them the gates of Blois if you wish.”

…Unng?

“No, I’m too timid and weak to do that. Wouldn’t it be better if we quietly killed them?”

“….”

Dimitri’s brow narrowed slightly. He seemed to be pondering my standards of timidity and weakness.

[ T/N: LOL SAME THOUGH (´ ∀) ]

“Anyway, it seems like we can punish them as much as I want. I’ll get Coco’s opinion on that when he gets back, and as for the shapeshifters the slave traders have, can I take ownership of them?”

“That should be possible, too.”

Dimitri frowned before he added.

“Dogs are not allowed in my house. Never.”

I smiled and reassured him.

“I know someone who can take care of the dogs.”

Avila Teruel, formerly the youngest titled imperial mage and now the owner of a small shapeshifter supply store, fingered the letter bearing the seal of House Blois.

‘…What the hell are they up to?’

When the Duchess of Blois came to visit the other day, Avila thought she was just lucky to have a wealthy patron.

The coy Duchess, who had promised to sponsor her research, saying that she liked the perfume that disturbed the dog’s sense of smell, which was the result of her research, seemed quite vigilant and reserved.

At first, Avila thought she was just another one of those pampered women who came to her looking for gossip like everyone else since she became an imperial mage, her dream job at a young age, but soon gave up that title, so she was a fairly famous eccentric wizard.

However, she realized that the woman who had chosen to sponsor her, Rowaine Larscel, was even more infamous for being eccentric than she was.

‘She’s notorious for abusing a number of shapeshifters with that face.’

She wasn’t talking about a beautiful appearance.

The Duchess was, of course, as beautiful as rumored though that wasn’t why Avila was attracted to her. The woman she saw had a determined look in her eyes that didn’t make her seem fierce, but there was kindness in her expression.

The woman whom she met for the first time was strangely aggressive while showing a peculiar defensive attitude. Far from being rude, she could feel consideration in her words, so Avila just thought that she was a good person.

But it turned out that she was the infamous Rowaine Larscel.

‘As expected, people shouldn’t be judged by their appearance.’

Avila’s eyes narrowed.

It was a creepy discovery she made when she bragged to a friend about being sponsored by the Duchess of Blois.

‘…She would gather the nobles, drug the shapeshifter slaves before playing with him, and torture them for fun.’

It was horrifying to hear and made her body tremble.

Why on earth would someone whose hobby was abusing shapeshifters sponsor someone whose main focus was researching shapeshifters’ abilities?

‘I don’t know why, but this has a bad taste. Is she looking for a new way to play? What did she think of my research?’

That wasn’t the only thing she didn’t understand.

‘I heard that the Duke of Blois is a cat shapeshifter.’

If she was the Duchess and agreed to marry the Duke because she coveted his wealth and power, wouldn’t that mean he didn’t care if his wife was a woman who took pleasure in abusing his own people?

‘Aristocrats…’

…A suspicious duchess and an unknown duke.

Avila felt uncomfortable.

‘I don’t want to associate with her.’

With no income, she was desperate for sponsors. So when the Duchess offered to sponsor her, Avila regretted that she had accepted the offer without knowing anything. Because of that, she was going to visit the Duchess once about that matter. Though yesterday, out of the blue, a letter arrived from the Duchess, asking her to come to Blois as soon as possible.

‘I don’t know what she’s calling it for, but it’s good. I have to say I won’t accept the sponsorship.’

Avila stood in front of the Blois mansion, her posture resolute and stiff. It was said to be a historic family, and it was an old house that looked as old as the family’s history itself—very ornate and magnificent.

‘This place looks more like a castle than a mansion…’

Swallowing dry saliva, she glanced at the butler who came out to the front door.

“The Duchess had called for me.”

“Are you Avila Teruell? Welcome. She’s been waiting for you.”

After showing the letter to the butler, he escorted her into the drawing room.

Avila walked along nervously, stumbling over a threshold, and almost buried her nose in the butler’s back as she walked too fast.

Just as she was about to sit down and try to put down the bag she was carrying on the sofa in the drawing room, the bag suddenly opened and the contents spilled out. As she hastily floundered the items into her bag, before she knew it, the Duke of Blois suddenly appeared in front of her.

She had heard of the Duke of Blois as being violent and unruly, and running rampant on the battlefield like a grim reaper. That was why she imagined a man with a formidable impression and horns on his head with a rough body.

However, the Duke of Blois, who faced her in person, was completely different from what she had imagined.

The first thing Avila noticed about him was his tall, slender body and sleek, handsome appearance like a theater actor. In addition, he had an aristocratic demeanor that was both elegant and intimidating.

Having seen many nobles in the imperial palace, Avila thought that they were no different from the commoners, except that they wore jewelry… yet the Duke of Blois was different from other nobles.

‘He looks like someone from another world… His movements keep catching my eye.’

As she gazed at the Duke idly, Avila suddenly met his gaze as he crossed his arms and looked down at her.

‘Cat.’

Long, vertically slit eyes were staring at her.

His eyes, full of strength and confidence, somehow had an aggressive glow. The moment the Duke’s pupils opened and closed once, Avila instinctively felt fear and lowered her eyes. At the same time, the Duchess slipped between the Duke and her.

“Is there anything on my husband’s face? You’ve been staring at him so closely.”

‘…Oh my.’

It seemed that she had made a mistake. It was the first time she had seen an aristocratic shapeshifter, so she must have stared at him too much because she was curious.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t even realize…”

Avila swallowed dryly.

She had heard from a friend that the Duchess of Blois had a very violent temper. Not only did she do all kinds of evil to the shapeshifters, but she also used her hand against the people below her. Because of that, Avila was nervous that the Duchess would catch on to her rude behavior.

However, the Duchess didn’t even criticize her and just invited her to sit down with a soft voice.

“Have a seat. I want to talk to you about something.”

‘Phew…’

Avila, who sweated alone, signed inwardly.

Even after that, she still kept her guard down. The couple was very quiet and graceful in their movements, with both of them barely making a sound. Meanwhile, every time she made a move, the couple would glance at her swiftly.

Really, it was a bed of nails.

[ T/N: (figurative) The state in which one has to deal with a very uncomfortable person or situation. ]

‘They are very vigilant and sensitive. Besides, it’s difficult…’

It was true that the Duke was a cat shapeshifter, but even the Duchess had very similar behavior to the Duke. When she first saw her, she thought she was just a little shy, but when she was with the Duke, the resemblance became more prominent.

“Well, there’s something I’d like to tell the Duchess first before I hear your story.”

Avila spoke with difficulty to the duchess, who had a stern impression.

“I’m grateful for your last offer of sponsorship, but after careful consideration, I’m sorry that I won’t be able to accept it.”

“Why?”

‘…Why? Because I don’t want to be sponsored by people like you.’

Despite what she meant, Avila chose her words as best as she could.

“That’s because my capabilities aren’t enough to achieve results that would satisfy the Duchess…”

However, the Duchess didn’t seem to be listening to her. She interrupted Avila and immediately brought up a surprising story.

“If sponsorship is burdensome for you, that’s fine, but would you mind taking care of the dog shapeshifters who have nowhere to go?”

“…Yes?”

“I know Avila has a special place in your heart for dog shapeshifters. We’re planning to soon destroy the bad slave traders and rescue the captive slaves, and we need your help.”

“What?”

“I’ll support you in everything. Would you mind helping the dog shapeshifters until they are socialized and able to live independently?”

Avila blinked in confusion.

‘…Is this a trap?’

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