An Adventurer Mom, Who Awakened [Housewife] Skill Through a Login Bonus, Is Making the Most of Her Adventurer Life With the Weekly Flyers She Gets! - Chapter 58

“Your Highness Serendip, I hope you are in good spirits.”

Minerva and her brother Gilbert bowed politely.

Around Serendip was a throng of women.

The young noblemen also wanted to join the circle surrounding him, but overwhelmed by the force of the young ladies, they hovered restlessly on the outer edge.

As for Serendip himself, he wore a troubled smile as he stood among the young ladies.

It was rumored that Minerva was engaged to Serendip.

For him to appear before her accompanied by a host of young ladies was a grossly discourteous act toward a prospective fiancée, but Serendip seemed to be silently insisting that it was not of his own will, and that he could not simply brush them aside.

Serendip was confident in his appearance.

He loved being pampered by women, but being cunning, he never let a hint of that show on his face.

The way he deliberately crafted such an atmosphere was one of the reasons disliked him.

And this scene itself was also a message from Serendip to remind Minerva of her position.

Even before marriage, she was subjected to such treatment, and yet she was expected to『be his bride』.

It was into that situation that Serendip had cornered Minerva.

“I heard your illness has improved.”

Serendip asked Minerva in the gentlest voice he could muster.

Remaining bowed deeply, Minerva answered with utmost courtesy.

“Yes, I was able to obtain a good medicine, and I have completely recovered.”

The surrounding young ladies did not bother to hide their jealous gazes, though many others looked upon the pair with warm smiles.

Serendip had courted Minerva even before her illness, and even now he had not removed her from his list of prospective fiancées.

This was told as a touching story, proof that he loved her.

But—

‘Damn it!’

To Serendip, the polite yet distant tone of Minerva was galling.

For in truth, it was Serendip himself who had devised the scheme to plunge her into a hideous disease that transformed her into something beastlike, only so that he could then『graciously』marry her.

Even after Minerva stopped appearing in public, Serendip continued to send letters of proposal to Rupert Garfa.

『It does not matter what form Minerva takes. I still wish to marry her.』

They were threatening letters, implicitly hinting that he knew she had become a werewolf.

In this kingdom, discrimination against beastkin ran deep.

If it became known that Minerva had turned into a werewolf, not only the House of Garfa, but the entire Trading Company itself would be in jeopardy.

Being devoted to her family, Minerva would think of others over her own happiness, and thus accept Serendip’s proposal.

The trap he had set a year ago should finally have borne fruit, yet to think she had actually recovered completely.

But beastkin transformation could not be cured so easily.

It could only be reversed with the highest-grade abnormal status removal potion.

Even for the wealthy House of Garfa, acquiring all the necessary ingredients would not have been an easy matter.

If that was the case, then Minerva’s transformation into a beastkin had not truly been cured.

She was deceiving them with the headband, but her face must still remain that of a wolf.

‘What is the meaning of this!? That something as ridiculous as beast-ear headbands could become a trend!’

Serendip cursed viciously in his heart.

Both he and his mother, the Queen, were human supremacists who refused to acknowledge demi-humans as people.

But Serendip could not possibly reveal that side of himself here.

With a gentle smile, Serendip spoke to Minerva.

“I have been terribly worried about you. Will you not lift your veil and show me your face?”

“……”

Before Minerva could respond, Gilbert stepped forward protectively in front of his sister.

“Your Highness, my sister is still recovering from her illness. The strong sunlight would be harmful to her body. I beg your pardon.”

Placing his hand over his chest,Serendip spoke with a trembling voice as though overcome with emotion.

“Aaa, but for a whole year I was not even permitted to visit her. I beg you to understand my impatient feelings.”

Taken on its own, it sounded like a passionate declaration.

“But—”

“Brother.”

As Gilbert was about to argue again, Minerva gently placed her hand on his arm, looked at Serendip through the veil, and spoke.

“I sincerely apologize for having caused Your Highness such worry.”

Saying this, Minerva quietly lifted her veil.

A murmur of『Oh—』rippled through the crowd.

What appeared was chestnut hair, green eyes, and perhaps due to her long illness, translucent white skin untouched by the sun.

After a year had passed, now sixteen, Minerva had grown through adversity into a beautiful, strong-willed young woman.

Fixing Serendip with a firm gaze, Minerva declared,

“As you can see, my illness has been completely cured.”

“So you truly have recovered completely.”

“How wonderful.”

The people spoke their words of relief to Minerva.

Serendip, though deeply shocked, glared at her with suspicion.

Among the beastkin, appearances varied greatly, ranging from those close to beasts to those hardly different from humans at all.

This was particularly true of werewolves who had become beastkin later in life. Some did not transform so drastically.

Minerva must have been one of them.

And for some reason, even those types always manifested beast ears.

Serendip spoke.

“Lady Minerva, will you not remove that headband?”

Minerva touched the fluffy wolf-ear headband resting on her head and asked in return.

The Garfa Trading Company’s beast-ear headbands were famous for looking so realistic they could be mistaken for the real thing.

“Why must I remove it? This has nothing to do with my illness. Moreover, it is not merely an accessory, but a token of friendship with our demi-human brethren.”

“I am ordering you to take it off!”

Serendip raised his voice.

Though the prince had carefully cultivated a reputation for gentleness, in truth he was quick-tempered and easily angered.

Those around him were a little startled by his behavior.

He had already forced a girl recovering from illness to remove her veil, and now he was attempting to make her take off the headband personally endorsed by the King.

If a mere noble had done such a thing, it would have caused a major scandal.

But since it was Serendip, a prince, no one present could oppose him.

As silence fell over the crowd—

“Then I shall remove it.”

Minerva quietly took off the headband.

“Can it come off…?”

Serendip muttered in astonishment.

Minerva held the wolf-ear headband in her hand and nodded.

“Yes, of course. Because I am human.”

“No… it cannot be…”

“Now, have you been satisfied, Your Highness?”

Her brother Gilbert spoke in a stern voice, then gently placed the veil back over Minerva and urged his sister.

“Let’s go, Minerva.”

“Yes, Brother.”

“My sister is still recovering from her illness. Before we trouble you further, we shall excuse ourselves from Your Highness’s presence. Please forgive us.”

At an official event, such disrespect toward a prince would never be permitted, but since Serendip had come in secret, their actions were barely acceptable.

The siblings of the Garfa family offered the strongest protest their status would allow, bowed, and withdrew.

Those left behind were perplexed.

Forcing Minerva to remove her veil, then even demanding she take off her headband — no matter how one tried to interpret it, it was a breach of etiquette.

Their exchanges of words had also been cold, making it doubtful whether the two were truly betrothed.

The onlookers exchanged subtle glances, suspecting that they were not lovers at all, and that in the end Serendip only wished to exploit the power of the Garfa Trading Company.

“I feel unwell. Move aside.”

With an irritable air, Serendip brushed past the women around him, then leaned in to issue a hushed command to his close aide.

“Go, recall Sirius! Make that girl a werewolf once more.”