Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: The Foolish Zebra's Assault
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Clichéd lines, threats that weren't scary at all, the sheer stupidity of charging in without even assessing the situation.
Watching the Horse Family's zebra barrel in so recklessly was so absurd that a hollow laugh escaped my lips.
The zebra, unable to foresee even his own future, charged at me again. This time, he wasn't coming bare-handed. The moment I spotted the dagger in his grip, I swiftly used the statue as a shield to dodge.
"Zebras are causing trouble these days."
At that moment, Billy drew the sword from his waist in a flash and knocked the dagger from the zebra's hand. The blade flew off with one strike, spinning through the air before clattering limply to the ground.
"Maybe I'll serve up some zebra meat on tomorrow's table."
Watching Billy bare his fangs threateningly under the moonlight of the full moon even sent a chill through me.
The zebra Beastkin who had tried to attack me glared at me with bloodshot eyes and bellowed in fury.
"It's your fault our family was ruined! You deserve to die, you wicked bitch!"
"No, why is it my fault?"
I was so flabbergasted that no retort came to mind. Who were the ones who locked magic slaves in the mansion's basement and exploited them? It was the Horse Family's Family Head and his retainers.
I had merely reported it. Without me, they would have kept fattening their bellies and expanding their influence with those magic slaves right up until Ed came of age.
Yet the zebra Beastkin, right to the end, saw only himself as the victim, his eyes rolling back halfway in a final spasm of rage.
Bam!
To block the zebra lunging at me, Billy swiftly stepped in front and swung his sword mercilessly. Caught in that sharp arc, the statue shattered in half, its upper portion crashing down noisily below.
The loud crash drew the attention of the surrounding Beastkin toward us.
"You all are being played by that wicked bitch! Do you know how filthy her reputation is?!"
"Shut up."
"That wicked bitch...! Mmph! Mmmph!!"
The zebra, bound by Billy and trying to shout more, had his lips sealed shut with a single word from Billy.
I watched in fascination as he sealed the opponent's mouth without even touching it—a spell at work. Meanwhile, the wolf Beastkin who had been observing from afar began gathering nearby one by one.
The fireworks were the grand finale of the Lunaze Festival, but even after they ended, customers kept streaming into the restaurant for a nightcap.
The wolf Beastkin, who would normally have headed to a tavern, watched Billy and the subdued zebra with keen interest.
I pulled Ed, who had been clinging tightly to my side to protect me, behind me and said,
"Ed, don't look at bad things. Cover your eyes."
Billy subduing the zebra was pretty cool, but I didn't want Ed seeing the zebra in such an ugly light. It was just my wish for him to always see only good, beautiful things.
Ed obediently hid behind me, peeking out to watch Billy and the zebra.
The favorability bar above his head had risen by 5% and was sparkling brightly. He seemed deeply touched that I had tried to protect him.
I clamped my mouth shut, unable to show my delight in such a situation, and cheered inwardly.
One of the wolf Beastkin eyeing us suspiciously suddenly clapped as if struck by a thought. He pointed at me with his index finger and shouted,
"That's why they keep calling her wicked—she's the Morton Family's troublemaker, isn't she?"
"Oh, it's really her. But why is that wicked girl here?"
"No way, is that wicked Morton Family sheep the one who entered the Rub mansion?"
At the wolf Beastkin's words, the gathered onlookers whispered while staring at me. In an instant, I became the center of attention as the villainess. And of all places, in the Wolf Territory.
To think my identity would be exposed in the wolves' den like this. I'd been staying at the Rub mansion without hearing the 'wicked' part of villainess for so long. Hearing it again after ages felt strangely nostalgic.
'I didn't even consider the wolves turning hostile.'
Recalling my days at the Morton mansion when I occasionally visited the village, a sudden fear gripped me. Enduring enmity and hatred for crimes I didn't commit hit harder than expected. Especially since the opponents were wolves, not sheep.
But contrary to my fears, the watching wolves looked puzzled, glancing between me and the zebra as they chimed in.
"But the Young Master is looking after her, so she can't be wicked."
"I've been watching, and that zebra attacked first but kept screaming she's wicked. Isn't that off?"
One wolf Beastkin who claimed to have seen it all circled a finger beside his head, treating the zebra like he wasn't right in the mind.
"Nah, how could she be wicked? She looks so innocent."
"Doesn't seem the type to bully anyone."
Some even whispered that based on my looks alone, I didn't seem villainous at all.
'Do I look that innocent?'
I briefly pictured my face, then turned at the sound of cheers erupting nearby. Billy, who had been holding the zebra moments ago, now stood alone, dusting off his hands.
The zebra had been whisked away somewhere, and empty-handed, he headed straight for me and Ed, intending to lead us back to the carriage.
Then murmurs rose from the crowd of onlookers, spreading rapidly. Curious about the commotion, I followed their gazes and froze on the spot.
'Why is the magic circle there...?'
The magic circle crafted by the Magic Tower's founding lord, which should have been safely hidden inside the statue, was now revealed. The blue glow emanating from it even looked mystical at a glance.
"What's that?"
"A magic circle?"
"Was there something like that there?"
The onlookers who had been watching us approached the magic circle with curious expressions. Billy seemed unaware it had been hidden inside the statue.
He blocked the Beastkin trying to get closer.
"Don't approach any further. This magic circle is something we need to investigate."
The onlookers hesitated at his firm tone and stepped back. It was the first time I'd seen Billy like that—truly the charisma of the Rub Family Head.
Billy erected a barrier around the magic circle to keep anyone away, then sent a messenger bird to the Magic Tower.
It was that strange messenger bird I'd received back at the Morton mansion before entering the wolves' den.
With Billy's swift handling, the incident wrapped up for now, and we boarded the carriage back to the Rub mansion.
"What happened to that zebra earlier?"
I recalled how the murmuring Beastkin had erupted in cheers upon spotting the magic circle and asked.
Unlike me, who blurted it out before even sitting, Billy leisurely settled into his seat and crossed his legs.
"Locked him in the mansion's underground prison. I'll interrogate him personally."
"There's an underground prison there too?"
I startled and asked, then suddenly episodes from the novel I'd read countless times before possessing flashed through my mind.
'Ah, right—noble mansions need an underground prison or two.'
I immediately nodded at Billy's words and said,
"Can I go see too?"
I was dying to know what on earth possessed him to attack me from such a place. I wasn't particularly afraid of carnivore Beastkin, but since zebras were fellow herbivores, I could ask lightly.
"No. Nothing good to see there."
But Billy firmly refused my request. He glanced out the window with a complicated expression, then met my eyes directly and said,
"I'll handle the zebra. Lady Morton, you should rest well."
"Yesss..."
His stern face left me no choice but to obey meekly.
In the opulent garden of the grand mansion belonging to the Robni Family, rulers of the Kangaroo Territory.
Only the snip-snip of shears cutting something echoed through the chill wind. In the eerily silent garden, Mark, who had been pruning the trees, spotted someone approaching and slowly descended the ladder.
"So, how did it go?"
Mark asked his aide about the task he'd assigned earlier. The aide bowed deeply and reported in a flat voice.
"It proceeded successfully. The wolves will now believe the Horse Family remnants are targeting Lami Morton."
"Was the bastard caught?"
"Yes. We ensured he breathed his last the moment he tried to spill secrets."
Mark nodded in satisfaction and gestured for the aide to leave. The aide backed away quietly.
Mark stared at the fallen branches beneath the tree he'd been personally trimming. He bent down, picked up the thinnest one, and smirked slyly.
It was Mark who had lured the Horse Family remnants into attacking Lami.
'What kind of family is the Robni Family?'
His grand scheme had been unfolding in secret for a very long time. He had always been exceptionally ambitious since childhood.
Though carnivores were a hurdle he couldn't surpass, in the herbivore territories, he wanted the Robni Family to reign supreme and unchallenged.
To him, the Horse Family—with power rivaling the Robnis—was a thorn in his side. Ideally, he wished the Zebra Territory would lose all strength and sink to the level of the Sheep Territory.
Brainwashing the Horse Family retainer to attack Lami was all for that purpose. He tossed the broken twig from his hands to the ground and dusted them off.
Then, humming a tune, he envisioned his brilliant future shining like the sun.