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Join the Server“They were so obsessed with blood… Did they actually inject it? Did they really think that was even possible? Did they even check the blood type before the transfusion?”
‘One shouldn’t just transfuse blood carelessly,’ he thought. ‘Perhaps Heinzel and Roquel didn’t die because they couldn’t withstand the unique properties of Defensio blood. Instead, they might have perished from receiving a blood transfusion of the wrong type.’
Heinzel considered a more pragmatic cause of death.
“Why would they take such an extreme risk?”
Though he spoke with a lament, it wasn’t as if he couldn’t fathom their reasoning.
Children of the Defensio family, inheritors of divine beast blood, transform from human bodies into divine beast forms between the ages of five and ten. To put it nicely, they become divine beasts; in reality, they turn into mere wolf pups. This marks their First Awakening.
They uncontrollably and irregularly shift into the form of a divine wolf, with the duration of these transformations being entirely unpredictable. It could last an hour, a day, or even a full month in their lupine state.
This cycle of reverting to human form only to unpredictably transform back into a wolf repeats endlessly. While they gradually grow accustomed to their divine beast form, with the periods shortening and the timing becoming adjustable, until they undergo their coming-of-age ceremony at eighteen, they are divine beasts in name only.
They are little more than young beasts, highly vulnerable to danger. Upon reaching eighteen, they gain full control over their transformations between divine beast and human. From this point, even when not transformed, they possess physical abilities far exceeding those of ordinary humans.
This is known as the Second Awakening, or complete awakening.
However, from then until their death, they are compelled to maintain their divine beast form annually during the ‘Harvest Moon’ period, which lasts an entire month. During this time, they must remain within the ducal territory; venturing beyond it means enduring agonizing pain instead of returning to their human body.
This torment persists for the entire month the ‘Harvest Moon’ is visible.
‘Even now, reflecting on it, Noona truly inserted some peculiar settings,’ he mused. ‘She never abandoned that old-fashioned notion that the male lead must be wounded and then saved by the female lead. She even subjected the male lead candidates to suffering.’
Regardless, the crucial point was that anyone born with Defensio blood undergoes their First Awakening between the ages of five and ten.
The Duke would have surely informed the Duchess of this fact beforehand, to prevent any shock. Given that Roquel, Vant’s child, had no possibility of such a transformation occurring, the Duchess and Vant would have grown increasingly anxious as Roquel aged, nearing ten years old.
‘It must have been then that the two of them, taking a hint from the trait passed down only through Defensio blood, conceived the idea of obtaining Defensio blood and injecting it into Roquel,’ he theorized. ‘However, with no guarantee of the desired outcome, they would have secretly experimented on Heinzel first.’
Heinzel marveled at how perfectly his deduction fit every piece of the puzzle.
‘They say if you watch Korean dramas for over ten years, you develop the ability to infer the plot of even a new series,’ Heinzel mused, nodding his head. ‘It seems I’ve acquired that skill myself, having occasionally watched dramas beside my mother.’
So, he broadly understood the current situation. The real question now was what to do. One wrong move here, and Heinzel could well end up being beheaded by Lyden, alongside the Duchess, instead of the real Roquel.
Hainzel sighed, looking at the floor, then swallowed tears as he gazed at the ceiling, muttering to himself. Trying to evade him, the puppy stealthily backed away, about to tumble under the bed hind-first, when its scruff was suddenly seized, lifting it into the air.
Frozen stiff, the puppy curled into a ball from head to tail, its eyes meeting Heinzel’s.
*Whine! Yelp! Whimper!*
At its dramatic yelps, as if dying, Heinzel glared, uttering a sharp “Tsk!” The puppy whimpered, averting its gaze. Its small body dangled precariously in the air, held firmly in Heinzel’s grip.
“Hey, doggy.”
*Woof woof.*
Hainzel recalled the dog’s behavior: acting as if it understood human speech, and confidently navigating secret passages that would confuse even a person.
“I had a feeling you were suspicious. Is this little guy pretending to be a dog while spying on me?”
*Woof woof, growl, woof.*
‘The Duke’s only grandson who hasn’t reached eighteen.’
‘The one who would have made the anxious Duchess, seeing eight-year-old Roquel, realize the truth.’
‘The easiest target from whom to obtain Defensio blood.’
“You… you’re Ahin, aren’t you?”
The dog, which had been flailing its four paws in the air, suddenly froze. Tilting its head with a questioning “Woof?”, the dog, feigning ignorance, abruptly went limp and played dead.
****
“Young Master, please wake up.”
He struggled to lift his eyelids, which felt glued shut, at the hand shaking his body. Having slept for barely two hours, his body felt too exhausted to rise.
“I want to sleep in a bit today.”
Since there was nothing to do even if he woke up, Heinzel stubbornly insisted on sleeping until he was satisfied. Rosie, with a firm hand, confiscated his blanket.
“You must get up. …It seems the youngest Young Master has passed away.”
Hainzel, who had rolled halfway onto his stomach, burying his face in his pillow, felt an undeniable statement drop onto the back of his head.
‘Right, Roquel died.’
It wasn’t a trivial matter to forget after a brief nap. Reflecting on whether he had become such an insensitive person, Heinzel reluctantly pushed himself up to sit on the bed.
“…Roquel?”
“Yes. The atmosphere in the mansion is quite somber.”
“If he’s dead, he’s dead. What does ‘seems to have died’ mean?”
“Well… the attendants in charge of the youngest Young Master’s bedroom confirmed that he had passed away. But Madam dismissed the servants, insisting he wasn’t dead and would wake up soon.”
‘He won’t wake up. He’s simply dead.’
The Duchess, because Heinzel had survived death, clung to the hope that Roquel would also revive. Heinzel felt utterly suffocated by the misconception, born from her ignorance that the original Heinzel was dead and someone else had possessed his body.
“Then why didn’t you call a priest?”
“The head maid did ask, but Madam told them not to cause a fuss and to remain quiet. It seems they’re sending a carrier pigeon to Young Master Lyden and quietly preparing for the funeral.”
‘The Duchess will oppose it, though.’
The Duchess, firmly believing Roquel would revive, would never permit a funeral.
“Madam hasn’t come out of Young Master Roquel’s room since she went in. So, the butler and head maid seem to be preparing quietly. Madam appears to be in shock; what should we do?”
Even if asked, there was nothing Heinzel could do. They weren’t close enough for him to hold her hand and offer comfort in her shock. Though others didn’t know, she was the woman who had killed Heinzel, and moreover, had experimented on Heinzel before Roquel, all for Roquel’s sake.
Had she felt even a shred of motherly affection for Heinzel, she wouldn’t have done such a thing. Her actions clearly revealed her true feelings towards Heinzel.
“…Should I go?”
Hainzel knew there was nothing he could do by going, but he asked Rosie anyway, just in case.
“No. I think it would be best if you stayed quiet. She won’t open the door for you anyway.”
Feeling considerably lighter at the thought that he could simply stay put, Heinzel flopped back onto the bed.
“Young Master, even so, you should remain dressed, as we don’t know when she might call for you. It would be best to stay in your bedroom all day today.”
‘I’m not part of a one-minute standby squad. Why should I wait in my bedroom, anticipating when the Duchess might call?’ Heinzel grumbled, burying his face in his pillow as if to complain.
“I’m just going to lie here like this.”
“Young Master!”
“I have things to think about, and I’m not feeling well. If the Duchess calls, please tell her I’m in poor condition.”
“…Are you truly ill?”
Rosie asked cautiously, her gaze a mix of concern and suspicion. It was the seasoned wisdom of someone who had long endured Heinzel’s laziness.
“I’m not critically ill, but my body just isn’t feeling great. I have no energy.”
Though he wasn’t truly sick, he felt a weariness akin to illness, and the claim of having things to think about was also true, so he felt no pangs of conscience. Watching Heinzel boldly feign illness, Rosie sighed in apparent resignation.
“Very well, then please rest. If Madam happens to call, I will explain your situation. How would you like your breakfast? Shall I prepare a simple soup, or would you prefer to eat later when you wake?”
“I’ll call you when I’m hungry later.”
“Yes, then please rest.”
“Um… Rosie.”
Hainzel carefully called out to Rosie, who was about to leave the bedroom after pulling the drawn curtains closed again.
“Yes?”
“A little while ago…”
“Yes, please tell me.”
“When I collapsed and then woke up recently, you said I had gone to sleep perfectly fine the night before, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I saw to your bedtime, so I know. You were perfectly well, with no ailments, right up until you fell asleep.”
“So, was it also you who found me the next morning?”
“Yes, it was.”
“When you found me that morning, how was I? Was I running a fever and groaning? Or did I look perfectly normal, like I was just sleeping? Or did I seem… dead?”
“Ah…”
Rosie’s gaze softened with pity as she looked at Heinzel.
“Even if someone appears dead, checking their pulse can confirm whether they are alive or not. They said the youngest Young Master wasn’t breathing.”
It seemed she misunderstood, believing that because the Duchess couldn’t accept her son’s death, Heinzel was also denying Roquel’s death, drawing parallels to his own experience. Heinzel felt a surge of frustration at her misinterpretation.
“And Young Master, you looked perfectly peaceful, as if you were just sleeping. I could even see your chest rising and falling with each breath.”
Rosie advised him not to entertain such thoughts and to get some good rest before bowing and leaving the room. As the sound of the door closing echoed, Heinzel, engulfed in contemplation, rubbed his furrowed brow in the darkened room.
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