Chapter 37…………………………..
“That’s a pretty clever idea.”
“Hehe. Right? I’m glad everyone likes it.”
“Were you the one who came up with putting cotton candy on mocktails? That’s brilliant. To think a six-year-old would have such talent—anyone would call you a genius.”
“No, no, it’s not that amazing. I just saw it somewhere.”
Kaidan, who had seemed cold at first glance, smiled warmly and showered her with praise. Embarrassed by the excessive compliment, Rin twisted her body and waved her hands.
His red eyes, crescent-shaped from smiling, quietly observed her reaction.
“Where did you see it?”
“Um… in a world I saw in a dream?”
From her experience explaining it to others, Rin found that calling it “a world from a dream” made more sense to people than saying “Earth.”
But unlike most adults—who would simply smile and move on—Kaidan reacted differently.
His red eyes flashed as if he had just caught an important clue.
“That—”
“Rin.”
At that moment, Theodore strode over to them and stopped in front of the two.
He had been watching his niece ever since she entered, but she had gone straight to the mocktail table and started talking. He had waited until she finished before coming to greet her.
“Uncle Theo!”
“My little foal. You look absolutely lovely today.”
Just as canine beastfolk affectionately called cute children “puppies,” the Pegasus family called theirs “foals.”
Not in the exasperated “that wild brat!” tone other beastfolk used, but as a warm term of endearment.
She was just a tiny foal yesterday…
Still remembering Rin as a newborn, Theodore looked at his niece with emotional eyes.
It felt strange not escorting her into the party himself for the first time. But seeing his adorably dressed niece confidently walk through the banquet doors on her own filled him with moving pride.
“Uncle, look!”
Rin spun around in place, proudly showing off the party dress she’d struggled to choose after many outfit changes.
She then stopped with a practiced curtsey, demonstrating the greeting she had diligently learned, earning Theodore’s applause.
“My Rin, you’re wonderful. You’ve mastered your manners perfectly.”
“Hehe.”
“Think you can do well at your Awakening Ceremony too?”
“Of course!”
The Awakening Ceremony was the most important event of a power-manifestation party.
Since it celebrated a child’s first emergence of ability, they would demonstrate their awakened power before all the guests.
Checking if his niece seemed nervous, Theodore received Rin’s confident reply.
“Just wait and see.”
“Alright. I’m looking forward to it.”
Reaching out to pat her head, he stopped himself upon remembering her carefully styled hair.
Instead, he gave her a warm, genuine smile, encouraging her to enjoy the party where she was the star.
Then he walked away to greet the many guests approaching him.
“Uncle Theo’s gone.”
“Are you sad?”
“Nope. I’m a kid who can be on her own now, you know.”
Rin straightened her shoulders, reminding Kaidan that today was her Awakening Party.
In beastfolk society, manifesting one’s ability meant something very important—
It meant being recognized not as a baby, but as a proper child.
As Rin inwardly savored the meaning of the day, Kaidan asked:
“I see. Then… will you be okay alone for a bit?”
“Of course.”
“I need to go somewhere for a moment.”
Seeing how he seemed reluctant to leave her alone, Rin spoke first.
“I told you before, right? If there’s someone you want to find, I’ll help you.”
“That…! No, let’s talk about that later.”
“Helping you includes things like this too. Go on!”
Kaidan looked down at her as she pushed him forward, then let out a small laugh.
“I’ll be back. If some weirdo approaches you, call your uncle over there—or any knight by the wall.”
“Don’t worry about me. Just make sure you see the person you want to meet.”
“…Well, considering the party is in your family’s estate, only a complete fool would dare bother you.”
Chuckling, he turned around.
His tone had softened compared to before, no longer stiff and guarded. Rin blinked in surprise, then beamed as she watched her benefactor walk away.
I think he’s opening up to me!
Resisting the urge to leap with excitement, Rin walked—lightly and happily—toward another part of the hall.
**
Kaidan hurried toward the person he had glimpsed earlier.
He scanned the crowd for the distinctive white hair he had spotted.
“Kaikai, if you ever get separated from your mom and dad someday…
Find Ales. Go to him.”
Ales Tigris.
A name long discarded.
He now went by Ali, the wealthy head of a rising merchant guild—rich enough to buy a noble title.
“He’ll definitely help you. Ales and I were the closest of friends.”
His mother had said this with a mischievous grin, as if recalling happy memories.
“Ales Tigris? The incompetent failure kicked out of his own family. Well, it was his own inadequacy—but would someone like that ever admit it? No, like all pathetic men, he blames the family instead of himself. They say he trembles in disgust at hearing the Tigris name. He avoids anyone who carries it. Naturally, he’d despise you too.”
“….”
“What? Afraid you’ll turn out like that half-wit? Haha! It’s natural to worry, but don’t fret too much, my nephew. Your generous uncle wouldn’t throw out a lacking child like you.”
Two completely opposite accounts of the same person.
Now Kaidan finally knew which truth to believe.
There.
He spotted the white hair slipping out through a curtain onto a terrace and quickened his pace.
“I’m sorry. If I had realized your situation sooner—
No, I should have realized.
I don’t have the right to face your mother anymore.”
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed his head, and Kaidan stopped, clutching his temple.
These memories sometimes brought headaches—as if urging him on.
Exhaling long to ease the pain, he moved again.
Given his still-childlike stature, he had to be quick or risk losing sight.
Shhhk.
Reaching the terrace, he closed the door behind him and drew the curtains so no one outside could see.
“What the—this terrace is already— Kaidan Tigris?”
The person turned around with a bored expression, which instantly hardened upon recognizing him.
Eyebrows shot up, eyes widening in obvious distaste—a reaction that would make most children burst into tears.
But Kaidan wasn’t like most children. He calmly spoke.
“Guildmaster Ali, I’d like to propose a deal.”
She would accept.
Just like she had “before.”
**
Rin skipped toward the children’s lounge near the banquet hall.
Separate from the adult lounge, the children’s lounge was a necessary facility at any noble party involving kids.
Young beastfolk often found it exhausting to stay in human form for long, so a designated space was provided where they could rest in beast form.
Unlike the adults’ space—where remaining in human form was mandatory—the children’s lounge was a large room filled with furniture of various sizes, accommodating any type of young beastfolk comfortably.
