A mont later.
“......It seems many people are well aware of how lovable the young lady is.”
Daniel struggled to maintain his composure, sugarcoating the situation he had just experienced.
Already making such assumptions?
Over eting just four people?
As Elodie sneered inwardly, the boy got straight to the point.
“What was it you wanted to say to ?”
He must have wanted to get to the main topic before getting further entangled with those fools.
But that wasn’t going to happen.
Elodie lowered her head and hesitated.
“Oh, um. Actually......”
“......”
“Well, you see......”
“......”
And then, keeping her head down, she trailed off, as if testing his patience.
Until the bustling harvest mouse beastfolk around them began murmuring and gathering.
“......We should move elsewhere.”
Only after they relocated did Elodie finally sigh and open her mouth.
“It’s nothing big, really. I just wanted to see you more often, like before, so we could play together.”
She spoke like soone deliberately concealing her true intentions.
Daniel smiled faintly.
“If that’s the case, sowhere more secluded would be better.”
“......”
“Oh, I didn’t an anything strange......!”
Flustered, Daniel’s face turned red as he hurriedly waved his hands.
“You said ‘like before,’ so I thought you might want to be alone together.......”
His voice grew smaller as he mumbled on.
“......Actually, I want that too.”
Knowing full well it was all an act, Elodie had to admit—it was impressive.
She herself had relied on others’ help or hidden her expressions to barely manage deception.
‘Thinking about it, he always had potential, even as a child.’
If anything, his acting had improved over ti, not worsened.
“I know a good place.”
“Okay, let’s go there.”
Carefully, he cast out his bait, and without hesitation, Elodie bit down on it.
Who was actually caught, though? That remained to be seen.
***
Five Years Ago.
Daniel never imagined he would see Gracia Ratson alive again.
So, when he did, she looked like a vengeful ghost who had returned to settle old scores.
How had she beco human again?
How had she survived?
That’s «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» impossible.
The condition for breaking the curse was not sothing as ridiculous as a kiss of true love.
A kiss of true love?
There was no way the world would allow such a simple condition to exist.
And what did it even an for love to be “true”? How could that possibly be asured?
That so-called requirent had rely been a taunt from him, ant to mock the High Priest and his wife.
A cruel joke played on the Ratson family, nothing more than a twisted form of false hope.
Yet, against all logic, it seed the absurd condition had actually worked.
Two years later, Duke Valkyrisen personally returned Gracia Ratson to her parents.
Much sooner than expected.
"I w-want to live together with Sera in the human world. Please allow it."
Of course, no one could have foreseen such an ending.
Foolish child.
What could anyone expect from a five-year-old?
Watching her throw away her own opportunity so recklessly made him scoff.
But, in a way, he was relieved.
The curse being broken must have been nothing more than a coincidence.
Even if she carried Ratson blood, there was no way such a thing could have been possible.
No, what is the Ratson family even worth?
Even the High Priest himself was reduced to living as a powerless beast.
The very people ruling over the beastfolk were oblivious to the fact that the true culprit behind their suffering was still alive and well, hiding among them.
And Gracia Ratson...
She was nothing but a fool.
She had no idea her parents had been cursed. No idea that her family was dood to collapse.
And yet, there she was, following after so human girl she had t by chance, blindly devoted to her.
Maybe she had only co because she had been intrigued by the idea of being the High Priest’s bloodline. But then, after seeing how small and insignificant her family’s lands were, she had lost interest and decided to leave.
The Holy Kingdom had closed its borders, so to a child’s eyes, Valkyrisen would have seed much grander, more majestic.
A child like her would have no impact on his plans.
Daniel had been certain of that.
"Perhaps I can help break the Ratson family’s curse."
He never thought a day would co when those words would hold any aning.
It was said that the human girl Gracia Ratson had brought back—Seraphina Bluewood—had the ability to nullify even unknown forces.
Even if there were limitations, it was an ability absurdly close to cheating.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
So that ans the curse wasn’t broken because of so ridiculous kiss, but because the person who kissed her had the power to dispel it?
Had Gracia Ratson known about that ability and decided to stay with the girl because of it?
Had she acted like an innocent child, infiltrated Valkyrisen, and quietly waited all these years for this mont?
How could such a thing be possible?
Should he report this to him imdiately?
No—he wouldn’t forgive him. He had already failed to complete his task properly.
Daniel fell into montary panic but quickly composed himself.
Calm down. If the Ratson heir truly rembered everything from the past, she wouldn’t have left alone.
He knew that child.
Or rather, he believed he did.
They had t every day as children, had countless conversations.
Gracia had always been clever.
But at five years old, she couldn’t possibly have been so once-in-a-century genius capable of seeing through everything and planning in secret.
She was just soone who acted on impulse—only, thanks to sheer talent and luck, things had always worked out in her favor.
After reaching that conclusion, Daniel had persistently tested Elodie the mont he returned as a human.
"So you really don’t rember...."
"I never expected you to. It’s alright. As long as I rember, that’s enough."
"Could it be that you rember ?"
"I suppose it’s strange that I’m still stuck in the past. I have no intention of forcing the young lady to recall childhood mories or feelings."
And with that, he was convinced.
She had no recollection of the past at all.
She looked at him like he was just a pebble on the roadside, but at least she wasn’t openly hostile.
Daniel recalled the orders he had been given.
"Your task remains the sa. Win Ratson’s young lady over and lure her to that place."
But it wasn’t as easy as expected.
That girl had no interest in him whatsoever.
It was only when he subtly ntioned that he had saved her life once that she had given him even the slightest bit of attention.
And even that had been interrupted by the Valkyrisen heir.
So, Daniel had discreetly approached the woman who had once served as Gracia’s nanny—who had previously worked as a maid for House Mouseton.
"Can’t you use hypnosis to make her fall in love with again, like last ti?"
"That kind of thing doesn’t happen overnight. The hypnosis back then only worked because it was reinforced every night for a long ti."
"If it takes that long, Lady Bluewood might notice...."
They were running out of ti.
There was no other choice.
Daniel had to resort to more extre thods.
"The mories of Gracia Ratson that couldn’t be erased were sealed separately throughout the Holy Kingdom. I need to unseal them."
"That’s too dangerous! You can’t choose specific mories to unseal!"
"That’s why you’ll be there to stop her from wandering too deep into the forest. Just guide her to the locations where my mories are stored. Make sure she falls under the hypnosis’ influence when she reaches them."
After giving those instructions, Daniel simply waited for the right mont.
And as soon as he was inford that she had fallen completely under hypnosis, he made his move.
He successfully lured the child to that place.
It’s done.
After parting ways with Gracia, Daniel returned to his quarters, feeling at ease.
Now, he just had to maintain contact with her.
That was the plan—until—
"Oops, my mistake."
A sharply honed blade whizzed past him, embedding itself in a nearby tree.
“......”
Daniel knew.
If he had moved even slightly at the mont the sword had been thrown, it would have pierced straight through his skull.
A chill ran down his spine as he slowly turned his head.
Not far away, Zenovia Valkyrisen approached with an easygoing smirk.
“Oh, my bad. Sotis my sword just slips from my hand during training, you know?”
“......”
“Huh, what’s with that look? I said it was a mistake, and I even apologized. You’re not gonna pick a fight with , are you?”
Damn it.
If he responded to that provocation, he’d already lost.
Zenovia’s expression made it clear—she was itching for an excuse to start trouble.
Daniel forced himself to suppress his irritation.
Gracia considers the Valkyrisen heirs like family.
If he got into a conflict with this reckless fool now, he would only end up making himself look bad.
Holding back was the correct answer.
“......Be more careful next ti.”
He had no idea that this incident would be nothing compared to what was about to co.
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