A Helping Hand
The wolf that had been trying to attack the squirrel backed off in confusion, watching the situation unfold as the seemingly normal human suddenly began radiating heat and thrashing about. When a wolf with crow wings sprouted from its back appeared in his place, the beast quickly fled. *Wise move.*
"Squeak!! Squeak!!!"
Compared to that wolf, this little creature was clearly lacking in the brain department, or perhaps its danger-sensing radar was completely broken. The tiny thing was scurrying up and down my leg repeatedly, looking highly excited. Despite being the culprit behind this entire mess, it climbed onto my body, inspected my flapping wings from various angles, and kept squeaking. *Yeah, yeah. I'm amazed too.*
"Awooo."
Instead of a human voice, a pitiful wolf howl echoed. This ability was like an onion—the more I peeled it, the weirder it got. Not only could I transform into animals, but I could also mix and match them as I pleased? The scope of this power was far broader than I had anticipated, to the point of making me anxious. *Is there some kind of handicap? Like, does using it too much shorten my lifespan or something?* There was no way to know since such invisible penalties couldn't be seen. There was no mention in the book about Manis usage shortening one's lifespan, so I just had to wait and see.
I looked down at my bizarre form once more. No matter how many times I checked, I was indeed a wolf with black wings. If alchemists saw me like this, they would probably try to dissect me on the spot. I recalled a scene in the novel where they poured money and effort into synthesizing animals to create chimeras. Well, even if they weren't alchemists, anyone who spotted a winged wolf would likely try to shoot it down immediately. Although it was highly unlikely for anyone to wander in at this hour, one could never be too careful. Above all, I didn't want to remain in this form any longer, so I immediately shifted back into a human. Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any special conditions for returning to my original state.
Deciding to call it a day and head back, I quickly stood up.
"Ugh."
But contrary to my intentions, I had to sink back down, clutching my throbbing, buzzing head. I was quite taken aback; I had stayed transformed as an animal for a long time before without experiencing any side effects like this. *Does combining forms consume more stamina?* My thoughts slowed to a crawl, to the point where I could actively feel my brain failing to function properly, and my body felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton. *What a mess.*
Pressing the back of my hand against my dizzy forehead, I lay down and stared up at the sky, half-hidden by the high, lush branches. As beautiful as this forest was, it was bound to be crawling with predators far larger than wolves. Lounging around like this in the mid-tier beast zone was a one-way ticket to becoming some wild animal's dinner. Yet, my body refused to move. *Damn it, I can't die in such an absurd, pathetic way.* My last remaining survival instinct kicked in, forcing me to drag my heavy limbs and crawl into a hollow, rotting cavity at the base of a nearby massive tree.
The squirrel scurried after me, huddled close to my curled-up body, and began patting my cheek with its tiny paws, making light *tap-tap* sounds. Well, it was obvious that without someone to protect it here, it would end up dead too. *Tap, tap.* It was hitting me surprisingly hard. It seemed to be trying to keep me awake, but those pebble-like paws did little more than sting a bit.
"If we get out of here alive... I'm seriously going to... get you..."
As I finally let go of the tension I had been forcing throughout my body, a profound sense of comfort washed over me, and my senses gradually grew dull. Ran Abaran closed his eyes.
The squirrel patted his motionless cheek a few more times. Confirming that he wouldn't even twitch, it let out a deep sigh. No matter how one looked at it, this was not the behavior of a simple squirrel; it was deeply bizarre.
"Hey, did you really pass out?"
But when a mysterious voice—hovering somewhere between a boy's and a girl's—escaped the squirrel's mouth, the bizarre crossed over into the uncanny.
"Good grief. What a fragile fellow."
The squirrel sighed once more and turned away from the hollow. As its tiny body emerged from the opening, it transformed into a human figure with long, flowing hair.
Two wolves, which had been growling outside the hollow, slowly approached the figure who had just been a squirrel, as if they had been waiting. It was the wolf whose paw had been bitten earlier, accompanied by what appeared to be its mate.
"Grrr."
The mysterious figure smiled brightly at the two beasts, who still seemed thoroughly annoyed. Though the figure's clear face softened into a gentle expression, the two wolves did not let down their guard, puffing up their fur to look larger.
"Calm down. I said I was sorry about earlier, didn't I? Besides, you stepped on my tail once too. Let's just call it even."
"Grrr, bark!"
"How petty. It's been so long since we last met, and you're going to be this narrow-minded? I was just saying hello."
The long-haired stranger's eyes sparkled as they looked at the two wolves, who were still glaring with dissatisfied expressions. Although the wolves still found the stranger annoying, they squared their shoulders as if they couldn't argue further. The one who had been provoking them until moments ago extended a hand in gratitude. In response, the two wolves looked toward the tree where Ran Abaran lay and began to whimper.
As the two wolves whimpered, the mysterious figure let out a hearty laugh.
"Yes, he is indeed the human we've been waiting for. You saw it with your own eyes, so you must know."
The stranger's smiling face turned toward the wolf with the bitten paw. The two wolves rubbed their faces together and let out low rumbles. Smiling warmly at the pair, the figure spoke.
"So, spread the word to the others in our territory. Tell them all to come and pay their respects. At the rate he's going, a year won't be enough for him to get things done."
A tense look washed over the wolves' faces. They instinctively sensed that, despite the playful expression on the stranger's face, this was absolutely no joke. The two slowly backed away and raised their heads high toward the sky.
"Awooo—"
"Awooooo—"
Their howls echoed through the forest. It was both a guide and a warning, sent not only to other wolf packs but to all the beasts of the forest. *The one everyone has been waiting for has finally arrived, so fulfill your duties to our hope.*
"Ah, but not today. He's still fragile, so he's asleep right now."
The wolves shot the stranger a look that clearly said, *You should have mentioned that first!* But the figure merely grinned. Swallowing their annoyance, the wolves began to howl once more. This time, they poured a bit more emotion into it, adding a subtle message that any squirrel found in their territory was fair game for attack.
Accompanied by cheerful, ringing laughter, the wolves' howls rode the wind, echoing across the entire forest.
The Fides Duchy welcomed an unusually early morning as they received a guest who had arrived at the crack of dawn. The visitor was Yigo Crysa, the eldest son of Count Crysa.
The newer servants of the estate whispered among themselves, wondering what urgent matter had brought Tollin's family here, and hoping that the family visit might ease the suffocating, tense atmosphere of the duchy for the day. Pale did not bother to correct their absurd delusions, choosing instead to stare anxiously at the firmly shut drawing-room door.
Contrary to the servants' hopes, no warm brotherly reunion was taking place inside. Instead, a cold, sharp interrogation was underway.
"What did you just say?"
"Last night, Count Crysa was sentenced to house arrest by imperial decree. If his guilt is proven during the investigation, he will be transferred to the imperial prison."
*Did he really think that was what I was asking?* Tollin Crysa frowned at the blunt response, which only served to grate on his already frayed nerves. His eldest brother, the heir apparent to the earldom, merely stared back at him with a blank expression. His brother had always been a man of few words, speaking only when absolutely necessary, but Tollin had never found his taciturn nature as infuriating as he did today.
Having barely slept for the past two days, Tollin forced his sluggish mind to work. *For what possible reason?* There was no one more upright and incorruptible than Count Crysa. And since when did they bother to inform him of family matters in such detail...? *Ah.*
"Is it because of me?"
If not, there was no reason for his brother to seek out a sibling he hadn't even looked at in years, save for the late Duke of Fides's funeral. They were not the kind of people to explain the Crysa family's affairs to him without a motive.
"Who knows."
"Either the imperial family found the Fides Duchy's recent movements displeasing but had no leverage, so they targeted the vulnerable Crysa family instead..."
"Who knows about that either."
"You didn't come all this way because you genuinely don't know. Don't waste my time after showing up unannounced without so much as a letter. Didn't you come to see what kind of terms the imperial family would offer me?"
"Your tongue has grown sharp."
Tollin stared at his eldest brother, too exhausted to even muster a scoff. His brother couldn't possibly be ignorant of the rumors and political maneuvers circulating among the nobility. Why was he acting like this?
"Do you intend to help?"
Yigo's eyes remained completely hollow as he looked down at his youngest brother. Tollin hesitated. Ironically, the very first thought that crossed his mind upon hearing that question was: *If I help, what consequences will the Fides Duchy face?* His own biological father was in grave danger, yet here he was, worrying about the Fides family. How utterly meaningless blood ties were.
Tollin did not give a direct answer to the brother he had once feared so deeply. He merely arranged a guest room for him and suggested they wait and see how the situation unfolded.
Returning to his office, Tollin organized his thoughts while mechanically processing documents as the acting duke. To protect the duchy, he had begun securing a political foothold among the nobility, but he had yet to do anything that directly opposed the will of the imperial family. This was an unspoken agreement between the imperial family and the Fides Duchy. The imperial family neither aided the Fides family—which was reeling from attacks after Agoni Fides's transgression—nor did they completely crush them.
They feigned ignorance, as if punishing the duchy for the disgrace of opposing the crown, yet they also knew they had nothing to gain by completely destroying the imperial family's strongest sword. If the duchy continued to display its customary loyalty, the next duke would likely be able to slowly restore the family's former glory. In fact, a Fides patriarch desperate to regain favor might swear an even deeper, more absolute submission.
Having lost his blind, unconditional loyalty to the crown, Tollin found this reality incredibly bitter. Sometimes, he would look at the young duke and let out a wry smile. He was already bowing low enough to the imperial family just to protect the boy. He was constantly on edge, maintaining this delicate tightrope walk above all else.
*So, what exactly did we do to displease them?*
Just as Tollin and his brother had anticipated, a letter from the imperial palace arrived shortly after.
The Imperial Family highly commends the Fides Duchy's initiative to construct a shelter near the Temple. Should the duchy require any assistance in this noble endeavor, they are warmly encouraged to request it at any time.
Tollin placed the excessively ornate, gold-embellished letter onto the table and furrowed his brow. Though the words politely offered assistance, the letter made their desire to interfere with the shelter project blatantly obvious.
During the hunting festival, the First Prince had proposed clearing out the vagrants and criminals near the Temple to launch a new enterprise. Tollin believed the prince's true objective lay in the latter. Vagrants had been roaming the Capital for ages; why suddenly decide to sweep them away now? It made no sense unless they intended to construct something else in their place.
Yet, this situation made it seem as though... they were suddenly paying close attention to the very people they had once dismissed as mere insects.
Tollin had a sinking feeling that while accepting their offer might save the Crysa family, it would trigger a massive, unpredictable backlash for the Fides Duchy.