“Ahh, I’m so tired... Unfortunately, this is the best I can do,” he complained.
With that, my bindings were undone, the halo disappeared, and I fell onto the ground.
I can’t believe this! I did say I wanted to redo things, but I never thought Lord Reineke would make House Renard adopt me as his contractor!
I felt all the blood drain from my face. I looked around and considered making a mad run for it. But there was only one door in the temple.
Should I jump out of the window?
I tried to stand up, but my knees gave out and I stumbled. Perhaps because of the binding, my limbs felt weak.
“Lady Lune!” Liam rushed over to me and steadied me in his arms.
“Bro—” Out of habit, I almost called him my brother, before quickly correcting myself. “Young lord, you’ll get dirty!”
I tried to push myself out of his arms, but he gently held on to me.
“You are not dirty, Lady Lune,” he responded calmly, burrowing his face in the space between my fox ears. This would’ve never happened in my past life.
He seems deadpan and nonchalant, but he’s definitely sniffing me, isn’t he? Ah, right...the members of House Renard do like fluffy things. Liam is no different.
Though the son of House Renard was always expressionless, even his cheeks grew a little red when he spotted a horse or a dog.
“Please stop smelling me,” I quietly protested, my face flushing with embarrassment.
“My apologies, Lady Lune,” Liam said, letting go of me. For some reason, he was blushing a little.
Huh? I didn’t know Liam could make that face.
I was surprised by the shift in his usually stoic expression, even if it was subtle. But without his support, I slowly sank down to the floor.
“Lady Lune?” Liam peered down at me.
“M-My legs are weak, and I can’t stand up...”
“Then I will carry you,” he declared without hesitation.
“N-No, I’m fine! Leave me here and I’ll get there myself eventually. I’m heavy, so...”
Come on, just leave already! I want to run away from here!
“I doubt that. But if you’re concerned, I’ll have the servant carry you instead.”
The servant stepped forth with a smile on his face and picked me up.
I’ve been caught...
My face fell. Meanwhile, Lord Reineke looked satisfied that everything was going according to his plan.
“Get ahold of yourself, Lune,” the fox scolded, glaring at me. “I won’t be able to speak to other humans for some time. Until we can raise everyone’s faith, you will be my voice.”
Liam picked up the fallen basket and placed the offerings on the altar.
“Thank you, Great Lord Reineke. You will both be greeted warmly by our marquisate,” he said, smiling ever so slightly.
The servant and I both gaped at this rare display of emotion. But Liam’s expression quickly shifted back to neutral.
“All right, then. Let’s go back,” he said nonchalantly.
His words stirred my emotions. Ever since I’d been married to the crown prince, I had always wanted to return to House Renard’s estate. I had never wanted to become the crown princess in the first place. The palace was inhabited by evil spirits, and it was far from peaceful. I’d missed my days in the Renard domain. Worse yet, even though I had married the prince for the sake of my domain, that had led to its destruction instead.
I won’t make the same mistake this time.
I’m not going to become the crown princess! And I’ll make sure everyone finds happiness!!!
With renewed resolve, I gazed at Lord Reineke. When our eyes met, I smiled.
“Let us go to our new future,” he said in a voice only I could hear, and cooed in his fox form.
Soon after, we arrived at the Renard estate. As a girl blessed by the Great Lord Reineke, I was treated as a guest of honor. The maids gave me a warm bath, dressed me in a young noblewoman’s long gown, and styled my silver locks into a glistening bob. In no time, I—a poor orphan—was beautifully reborn.
I was currently in the mansion’s parlor, waiting to meet the marquis and marquise. Lord Reineke had been given a fluffy pillow and was happily relaxing on top of it. I glanced at my own reflection in the glass window and tried to move my fox ears.
Aww...
They were my own ears, but I still couldn’t help but find them cute. As soon as I thought that, my ears perked up and my tail stood at attention, as though they were linked to my emotions. I tried to move my tail to test things out, but it mostly moved on its own, much more freely than normal for a dog or fox. It was almost as if it had a spirit of its own.
I twisted around to look at my bottom. The long dress was lifted awkwardly around that area because of my tail.
That really takes away most of its charm... And it’s so hard to move my tail!
In line with my dissatisfied thoughts, the tail drooped down dejectedly. Fascinating how full of emotion it was.
Liam entered the parlor while I was surveying my new body.
“Is everything all right?” he asked, glancing down at my behind. He must’ve noticed the odd shape of my dress.
How embarrassing!
I reflexively put my hands on my butt to hide it.
“Sorry...” Liam muttered, looking aside with a blank expression.
I hastily replied, “No, it’s okay! I guess the skirt looks weird all bunched up like that.”
“Is it uncomfortable?”
“Well...yes,” I admitted. “It feels a bit cramped because of my tail.”
“Then we’ll arrange to make you a skirt that can let your tail out.”
His unexpected idea made me happy. I raised my head to look at him.
“Is there anything else you’d like to mention?” he asked.
I paused to think.
It might be impudent of me to ask for anything...
Liam noticed that I was hesitant to respond. “You can be honest. I’m sure you must feel uncomfortable in this strange new place.”
His earnest words convinced me to make my request.
“Well, I’m not used to these beautiful long dresses. Would it be possible for me to have something shorter, like the ones the town girls wear?”
“Is that all? No problem. We’ll call for the tailor later,” Liam said, readily agreeing. He then sat down on a chair and patted his lap. “Come sit over here, Lady Lune.”
I tilted my head in confusion. “Over where?”
One of the maids suddenly picked me up and placed me on Liam’s lap.
“Huh?!” I squeaked in surprise. The maids all giggled at me. “Young lord!”
“What is it?”
“Why am I in your lap?!”
“You’re too small to reach the table otherwise.” Liam spoke as if the answer should’ve been obvious, but somehow I felt like he was doting on me.
“I guess so, but...”
This was all so different from my previous life that I couldn’t hide how bewildered I was. Back then, it had felt like there was a wall between me and my taciturn, expressionless brother. I was convinced that he hated me. But in this life, he was treating me with exceptional kindness. He seemed particularly fond of my fox ears, and he was currently petting them with complete nonchalance.
That’s right, he likes fluffy things... I thought, enjoying the sensation.
When I glanced at the confectionery arranged on the table, my belly cried out. Before coming to the marquisate, I would often go hungry. Embarrassed, I hung my head down, flushing red all the way to my ears.
“Help yourself, Lady Lune,” Liam encouraged me.
“I couldn’t... The marquis hasn’t even arrived yet.”
I was hungry, but I forced myself to look away from the sweets and endure it. I didn’t want the family’s first impression of me to be that I was ill-mannered. But now that I thought back on it, in my previous life, even though I had voraciously devoured the food they gave me, nobody blamed me for it. I hadn’t realized it at the time, but the people of House Renard were generous. Now that I’d received education as the crown princess, I knew how to appreciate that.
Liam chuckled quietly as he watched me pointedly ignore the confectionary. That rare smile of his made my heart tighten for a moment. He picked up one of the cookies and brought it over to my mouth.
“Pardon me, Lady Lune, but please say ‘aaah.’”
His soft voice combined with the sweet scent of the cookie made me almost open my mouth, but I quickly shook my head.
“If you won’t eat, I can’t eat either,” Liam said with a troubled look on his face, pressing the cookie against my lips.
Isn’t this a bit too much?! I thought, but once it was clear that he wouldn’t give up, I opened my mouth.