FFHTI | Chapter 001

Chapter 001

[Prologue]

“……Wife. Please, do not abandon me.”

Between strands of disheveled black hair, beautiful golden eyes dripped with dew-like tears.

His nose, as perfect as a statue’s, and his white cheeks were soaked with moisture, adding to his pitiful appearance. However, the hand gripping his wife’s arm was filled with strength. He looked as though he would never let go.

Rayleigh fell into a state of panic as her husband began to cry.

“Look, Serge. I have no intention of abandoning you.”

“You created a fake identity behind my father’s and my backs. You’ve even been amassing wealth under that name….”

“H-How did you know that?!”

“The person you were trading with informed me.”

She suppressed the urge to smack her own forehead. She had put so much effort into security; she never imagined she’d be backstabbed like this!

Vowing to track down the culprit who leaked her tracks, Rayleigh answered Serge in a coaxing tone.

“As you know, my maiden family had issues. Because of that, I was reluctant to leave assets in my own name…… so I used a borrowed name for the transactions.”

“…….”

“It’s absolutely not because I wanted to leave you and run away!”

Of course, it was true that she had initially made up her mind to flee. Because….

“Even though my father and I are fox beast-kin?”

“…….”

“And it wasn’t because you were scared of us and trying to escape?”

That was it.

This world was the setting of a novel Rayleigh had read in her previous life…….

Beast-kin were objects of fear and an ostracized race, known as half-demon hybrids. They were the very definition of ‘heretics’ as described by the Temple.

The Elestein Ducal family, which harbored the secret of its direct line being fox beast-kin, was destined to have that fact discovered and be annihilated in the future, just like in the original story.

‘Right, at first, I didn’t want to get caught up in that and die with them.’

However, after spending time together, she had grown attached to her husband and father-in-law. Now, she had no intention of abandoning them; instead, she was agonizing over how to avoid the tragedy of the original work and emerge victorious.

‘I didn’t expect my husband’s identity to be revealed this quickly, though….’

The Elestein Ducal family had a tradition of bringing daughters-in-law into the family at a young age. However, to strictly maintain the family secret, they hid the fact that they were fox beast-kin from the young bride.

After observing her for a long time, if they judged her to be trustworthy, they would officially register her and reveal the secret once she became an adult.

But Serge, her husband, had his identity as a fox beast-kin discovered by Rayleigh before she had even reached adulthood.

‘I slept with Serge while he was in his fox form last night, and then we ran into each other like this in the morning after he polymorphed back into a human, so I couldn’t even pretend not to know.’

Rayleigh, having read the original novel, naturally knew the identities of her husband and father-in-law but had been feigning ignorance. A daughter-in-law who already knew a major family secret would look suspicious no matter how you sliced it. Thus, she had planned to follow the flow of “discovering” the truth after becoming an adult, according to family regulations.

She was flustered that the plan had been shattered by an unexpected event, but her conclusion remained the same.

“I have no intention of leaving the Elestein Ducal family.”

“…….”

“Even if you and Father are fox beast-kin.”

Still clutching her wrist, Serge suddenly narrowed the distance between himself and Rayleigh. His face was so close their breaths could almost touch.

“Wife.”

“Yes, Serge.”

“Actually, you’ve known for a long time that we were fox beast-kin, haven’t you?”

“……!”

“And that’s why you’ve been preparing to run away for so long…… and now you’re thinking it’s a disaster because you’ve been caught?”

“N-No……”

“You’re trying to put me at ease with those sweet words now, only to run away the moment you see an opening.”

Rayleigh’s mouth hung open at the sudden turn of events. Not only did he know she was gathering escape funds, but he also realized she knew their secret identity!

As she stood there with a blank mind, lost for words, Serge murmured sadly to his wife.

“But it doesn’t matter what your true feelings are.”

“S-Serge……”

“Because you will never be able to leave this Dukedom forever…….”

Serge’s pupils split into thin vertical slits. It was the mark shown when exercising the power of a fox beast-kin.

Before Rayleigh could even process her husband’s first display of a chilling atmosphere, she felt the strength drain from her entire body.

‘……Pheromones?’

As her consciousness gradually blurred, all sorts of confusion and questions swirled in her head.

‘My husband isn’t the type of person to do this…….’

As if chasing the traces of her doubt, Rayleigh reminisced.

The first day she entered the Elestein Ducal house as a young daughter-in-law.

Back when both Serge and she were still children.

* * *

[Chapter 1]

“Little Mistress, are you alright? You look a bit dazed….”

At the voice of the maid worrying about her with an unfamiliar title, Rayleigh managed to reply.

“I’m…… fine.”

“Do you perhaps have a headache?”

“No……. I just didn’t sleep well last night. You don’t need to worry.”

She wasn’t sick, but there was a reason Rayleigh was staring blankly in a daze.

‘To think this world was inside the novel I read in my past life!’

This was the fact she realized after waking up from a long, long dream last night.

According to that novel, the Elestein Ducal family, where Rayleigh had just been married off yesterday, was scheduled to be destroyed in ten years.

‘Because the father-in-law and the husband are fox beast-kin….’

Beast-kin were known to have been wiped out after the Holy War of the past because they were half-demon hybrids. However, in reality, they had simply vanished by hiding their identities; survivors definitely existed. One of the families where those survivors had passed down their bloodline for generations was her in-laws, the Elestein Ducal family.

‘To think a Ducal family would be half-demon hybrids.’

The nations of the continent took the Ruhamta religion—a monotheistic faith—as their state religion, and according to the Temple’s doctrine, demons were naturally the primary enemy to be shunned. Therefore, if the secret were to be revealed, they would have no choice but to face total annihilation.

The more Rayleigh calmly organized the situation, the more bleak she felt.

‘If the family is destroyed, will I be okay as the daughter-in-law? My head will probably fly off along with theirs….’

And yet, she was just an ordinary human, not a beast-kin or anything. It was enough to make her jump in frustration, but reality was cruel.

There was only one way Rayleigh could survive. To get out of Elestein before the future of the family’s ruin arrived ten years later.

It was easy to say, but in practice, it was not simple at all.

‘This is driving me crazy, seriously….’

Running away and surviving alone? Impossible. What could a powerless, penniless young girl achieve by running away alone other than becoming a beggar?

Divorcing and returning to her maiden home? This was also something she had to avoid at all costs due to the issues surrounding Rayleigh herself.

While Rayleigh was lost in thoughts that could shake her life to its roots, the maid spoke to her kindly.

“I suppose you’re very worried since it’s your first time meeting the Duke today.”

“……Yeah.”

Seeing her gloomy expression, the maid seemed to have misunderstood, so Rayleigh gave a vague hum of affirmation.

Arriving at the Duke’s castle late last night, she had gone straight to rest. Because of that, she hadn’t been able to exchange greetings with the Duke or the Young Duke, who was to be her husband. It was only today that she was waiting in the drawing room to meet her father-in-law for the first time.

Even though she was “married,” there were no grand ceremonies or weddings. It was simply that she would be living in this castle from now on.

‘It’s because of this family’s unique marriage tradition.’

In the Elestein Ducal house, the child who will become the partner of the successor is brought into the family at a young age to be raised alongside the heir. Although they are treated as a daughter-in-law, in reality, they are a subject of upbringing within the family.

Officially entering the partner into the family register and holding a formal wedding only occurred after they became adults. It was a procedure to allow enough time to “verify” the partner before marriage.

‘They are an outsider who will share the significant secret of being beast-kin. I can understand why they’re being cautious.’

She thought about Walter Elestein, the Duke who was a fox beast-kin and the father-in-law she was about to meet. Unfortunately, the original novel did not describe the Elestein fox beast-kin family or its members in detail. However…….

“Well then, I’ll be waiting outside, so please call me if you need anything. The Duke is a good person, so don’t be too nervous.”

“I understand. Thank you.”

Right, reactions like this. There was a description in the original work lamenting that the Duke of Elestein was a good lord and that both father and son were kind people.

‘Kind people despite being half-demon hybrids……. Isn’t that an oxymoron?’

While she was thinking that.

“The Duke has arrived.”

“……!”

The aide’s voice rang out. It seemed the moment to face her father-in-law had quickly approached. Rayleigh hurried up from her seat and turned toward the door.

‘Wow…….’

A young man so handsome it made her reflexively hold her breath was walking from the other end of the corridor. He was the head of the Elestein Ducal family, Duke Walter Elestein.

His face, paired with lustrous black hair, shone ethereally, and his golden eyes somehow neutralized his sharp impression. One could say his appearance was the literal embodiment of the “Grand Duke of the North” image.

Rayleigh went through 101 ways to deal with a Grand Duke of the North in her head, bracing herself firmly.

Right then.

“Ah……!”

As soon as Walter reached the entrance and locked eyes with his daughter-in-law, he beamed brightly.

‘He’s even more handsome when he smiles….’

But there was no time to be entranced by his beauty. Suddenly, Walter began to run toward her.

‘Wh-What?!’

The moment Rayleigh was startled by her father-in-law’s sudden action.

Thud!

Walter, who had slammed his leg into a side table, fell flat on the floor in a grand fashion.

“…….”

“…….”

Amidst the awkward silence, he barely managed to lift his upper body. Perhaps because he had slammed his face directly, his bridge and forehead were bright red.

His hair, which the servants must have meticulously groomed, was disheveled, and his fine uniform was wrinkled. It was a waste of beauty that warranted an apology to the world.

‘A half-demon hybrid…… really?’

It was the moment her image of her father-in-law shattered into pieces.