Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Good Person
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Theodor stared at Lara's nape with his darkly sunken red eyes.
It was white, fragile—a pale nape.
His opponent approached without even thinking of fleeing. If he pulled her close right now and sank his teeth into that exposed white neck, she would meet her end without so much as a chance to scream.
"What will you do if I decide to eat you?"
Where on earth did her conviction come from?
Just because Theodor had saved her?
He couldn't comprehend her unconditional trust on that basis alone.
She gazed silently at Theodor for a moment before speaking.
"But Lord Theo... you won't do that, will you?"
Lara was certain.
"Lord Theo won't harm me."
The belief that Theodor would absolutely never harm her.
"......"
Speechless, Theodor slowly lowered his hand. The silver strands of Lara's hair tangled in his fingertips drifted softly downward.
A living human, with warm blood flowing and a heart pulsing. The ceaseless rhythm of her heartbeat reached his ears.
The faint sound of her breathing, her silver hair, those heterochromatic eyes, her snow-white skin.
In truth, Lara wouldn't even make a mouthful for Theodor. To him, the human woman before his eyes was a creature that fragile.
Yet every one of his hypersensitive senses was fixed on her alone.
"......Haa."
Theodor suddenly became acutely aware of how ridiculous he was being. He slowly swept a hand over his face.
What on earth was he...
'Doing?'
The child showed no fear of his words, no matter how unusual that was. Other times, she'd shrink at the slightest thing, yet his threat of devouring her elicited not a trace of terror.
If her fleeing at his question last night—about why she'd waited up without sleeping—seemed more frightened, he'd almost believe it.
"Yeah."
Having lowered his hand, Theodor simply accepted her words.
"I won't harm you."
Theodor could not harm Lara.
Since when?
Perhaps it dated back to that snowy night, the first time he'd encountered her in her pitiful state.
It bound him like an unbreakable law.
He absolutely could not harm this human child. No matter what happened.
And he had to refrain.
"Lord Theo is a good person."
Theodor froze in place.
He turned his head to look at her.
The face saying those words wore the softest smile he'd ever seen on her.
After handing her over to Marsha, Theodor sat alone in his study, lost in thought.
'Lord Theo is a good person.'
A good person?
"Ha."
The absurdity drew a hollow laugh from him. She was under a massive delusion.
The reason Theodor couldn't harm Lara wasn't because he was a good person.
No—in fact, he wasn't even fully human. Lara remained blissfully ignorant of that.
But was Theodor truly a 'good person'?
'Please take me with you.'
The image of her pleading with him merged with the one from moments ago, calling him good.
Lara's appearance, voice, expressions, gestures—all remained vividly etched in his mind, as fresh as if they'd just happened.
Theodor Diarc was an arrogant man. In most cases, humans held no relevance to him. Beastkin, humans, and half-beastkin were as different as sky from earth, or earth from sea.
So why had he brought Lara here?
Because she was the 'Bride of the Wolf'?
Because, as his grandfather's dying wish dictated, he needed the 'Bride of the Wolf' to become whole?
"......Damn."
The information on the 'Bride of the Wolf' in his grandfather's will had been a disjointed mess. He'd assumed the once-great head of the Diarc Family had lost his mind in his final days.
Yet Theodor had ultimately obtained the 'Bride of the Wolf' as wished.
Why did that leave him so uneasy?
'Lord Theo is a good person.'
'Lord Theo won't harm me.'
'But Lord Theo... you won't do that, will you?'
Her words had stopped him dead in that moment.
Not figuratively—literally.
Moonlight drew nearer with each passing day, and suppressing his impulses grew harder.
If she hadn't spoken then, Theodor might truly have bitten into her nape.
To feel such an impulse when he couldn't even touch others—it made no sense.
What if he had sunk his teeth into that white nape?
Closing his eyes conjured an unpleasant vision that flooded his mind.
She recoils in fear, backing away. He becomes the monster he'd sworn never to be. The beast, tasting blood, rampages without restraint.
A sharp crack echoes in his head as something shatters. And then...
'Theo...!'
The fragments of the past dug deeper, tormenting him until he forced his eyes open.
Calm down. Think rationally.
......At the very least, nothing in this mansion could stop him if he transformed.
If this unprecedented impulse dragging him along stemmed from the 'Bride of the Wolf's' existence, then the pride of the lofty, arrogant Wolfkin truly rang hollow.
In any case, Theodor wasn't himself right now. He hadn't been able to tear his gaze from Lara's defenseless nape even for an instant.
His red eyes grew ever more beastly as Moonlight approached. His instincts followed suit.
Theodor could not harm Lara.
He had to hold back.
Those words served as a mantra, binding him in place.
'Master Theodor, it seems Miss Lara is uncomfortable with our service.'
He recalled the words from Chief Physician Breina, who had come to him shortly after Lara's arrival.
'Report.'
'She... insists on doing everything herself. I believe she's afraid of being hated, given her upbringing...'
Breina trailed off. Theodor furrowed his brow.
'That's enough.'
'Yes, of course. In fact, Miss Lara grows quite anxious when you're not around.'
'Anxious?'
'She hides it well, but she seems to rely on you more than we thought. Marsha mentioned it too.'
'......'
'She needs emotional recovery first and foremost. I'll do my utmost as you've ordered. But for that, you must assist in her treatment as well.'
Breina's approach to her patients was always deadly serious.
She fulfilled her duties no matter who the patient was, which was why she ranked among the finest physicians in the entire Repayrun Empire.
In the end, her point was that Theodor needed to participate actively in Lara's treatment.
'Have me attend to a human personally?'
'Not exactly, but showing your face more often might help open her heart, even a little. If she comes to trust you first, she'll gradually open up to us as well.'
Theodor finally grasped what Breina had meant.
Lara trusted him. Since when?
She was only just beginning to put on a bit of weight. The dizzy spells that struck while walking had all but vanished. The bruises visible on her exposed limbs lingered, but thanks to Breina's persistent treatment, even the scars were fading bit by bit.
Saying her eyes were beautiful wasn't flattery—it was simple fact.
She had a habit of covering one eye with her long silver hair, but whenever she looked up at him, those revealed heterochromatic irises gleamed like rare gems.
It was the first time he'd ever thought anyone's eyes were beautiful.
To Theodor, every other being except himself served only as a constant reminder of the curse laid upon him.
'Noisy, disgusting—my head's splitting. It hurts, hurts, hurts.'
Curled into a ball on his bed, wracked by feverish agony, nothing brought Theodor salvation. No one could pull him from that pain. Not even his own mother.
'If I die like this. No... if I transform.'
'What then?'
'I...'
He had been afraid. The terror of transformation had haunted him his entire life, and it still did, even now as head of the Diarc Family.
Now, the 'Bride of the Wolf' was by his side. With her presence, he was freed from that searing pain.
She alone could quell the agony nothing else could touch.
"......"
Theodor drew the curtains over the window.
His senses, on the brink of overflowing, always teetered on a knife's edge of peril.