CHAPTER 10
The person who appeared in the garden… was Ellen.
Normally, it wouldn’t be strange for him to be here since his lesson was scheduled in an hour.
But—
‘This is really strange.’
Ellen, who was usually calm and gentle, looked anxious.
He was even biting his nails.
Seeing him like that made everything about him seem suspicious.
He looked like he was waiting for someone.
As I tilted my head in confusion, I heard unfamiliar footsteps approaching.
Ellen flinched, then turned toward the sound.
When he saw who it was, he let out a quiet sigh.
“…You’re late, Beth.”
“Sorry. I couldn’t help it. My lady was choosing a replacement for Cooker after firing him. I thought I should confirm things just in case.”
“So he really got fired? Last time you said it wouldn’t be easy.”
“Got lucky. Honestly, I wasn’t sure it would work since he was suspicious despite being incompetent—but it turns out he was part of the anti-beastkin faction. I used that.”
…What?
I stared blankly at them, unable to understand.
Ellen frowned slightly.
“What do you mean, you used that?”
“I used that fox brat. Honestly, I thought getting him demoted would be enough, but it worked better than expected—”
“W-wait. Fox brat? You mean Esteban’s pet fox?”
Ellen’s face froze in shock.
Beth spoke casually.
“Yeah. That fox is the beastkin they brought to stop Esteban’s rampages.”
Ellen’s mouth fell open.
“Damn it! Why are you telling me this now?! If the plan goes wrong, we’re both dead!”
“Relax, Ellen. We don’t need to worry about that fox.”
“…What do you mean?”
“That fox can’t even transform. So it can’t use its ability. We just need to follow the plan.”
At her indifferent tone, Ellen clenched his fists, barely holding back his anger.
“What ability does it even have? How is it supposed to stop a rampage?”
“I don’t know exactly. I told you—it can’t be used anyway.”
‘W-wait… so Ellen and Beth are working together? And they’re the ones trying to make Esteban rampage?’
My head throbbed.
I knew from the original story that someone caused Esteban’s rampage—
But I never imagined it was his mana teacher and the head maid.
And even Cooker’s incident—
that had been Beth’s doing too.
I almost felt like fainting.
Thinking back, Cooker’s strange behavior suddenly made sense.
I had been played right into her hands.
Even Lady Aria showing up at that exact moment—
That wasn’t a coincidence either.
“So she used Cooker, who hated beastkin, to mess with me—and then brought Lady Aria to catch him in the act. All so she could remove him and proceed with poisoning Esteban.’
Everything I thought was luck—
was part of Beth’s plan.
And I had unknowingly helped her.
‘Ah, this is infuriating!’
I wanted to jump out and bite their heads off.
Of course, realistically, I’d just get kicked away—
So all I could do was hide among the bluebells and listen.
After calming down slightly, Ellen took out a pill from his pocket.
“I mixed Bluebell with Allium seeds. If Esteban eats this while his mana isn’t stabilized, his mana flow will accelerate—he’ll either rampage or die.”
“…”
“So no matter what, give it to him on a day the Duke is absent. That way, no one will be able to stop him.”
He held the pill out to Beth.
At that moment, a thought flashed through my mind.
‘If she takes that and puts it in his food… will I be able to check every single thing he eats?’
Before I knew it—
My body moved first.
“Ah!”
“What was that—?!”
“Catch it! It’s that beastkin fox!”
I snatched the pill from Ellen’s hand and ran.
Behind me, Beth shouted in fury.
I sprinted, clenching the pill tightly in my mouth.
“Damn it! Stop right there!”
‘Yeah, like I would!’
I hadn’t thought beyond this.
All I knew was—
I couldn’t get caught.
‘Where do I go…?’
Then I saw it—
the greenhouse garden Lady Aria often visited.
Ellen was getting closer—maybe using mana.
Without hesitation, I dashed inside.
My heart pounded violently.
Looking around, I quickly hid beneath a large leafy plant.
Just as I settled in—
Ellen entered.
“Where did it go?”
His eyes scanned the garden sharply.
Beth followed behind.
“D-did you find it?”
“No. But it came in here, so it’s trapped. Close the door.”
Beth hurriedly shut the greenhouse door.
‘Ah, why did I come in here?!’
I clawed at my head in panic.
Ellen was getting closer—
checking every plant.
My heart raced uncontrollably.
There was no way I could fight them in this body.
‘What do I do…?’
Then—
I tasted bitterness in my mouth.
The pill.
I froze.
‘Wait… I shouldn’t be tasting this, right…?’
“Found you.”
Startled—
I swallowed it.
I tried to spit it back out—
But it was already too late.
The mana inside me began to surge wildly.
I tried to suppress it—
But as Ellen reached for me, I instinctively bit his hand.
“Argh! You damn fox!”
The taste of blood filled my mouth as he threw me away.
“Yelp!”
My body slammed into a tree trunk.
The impact made the mana go completely out of control.
Ellen clutched his bleeding hand, glaring at me.
I tried to stand—
But the world spun.
My heart pounded violently.
The mana inside me raged uncontrollably.
For the first time—
I understood what Esteban had been enduring.
My legs trembled—
then gave out.
Seeing me collapse, Ellen panicked and ran to Beth.
“We have to leave! That fox swallowed the pill!”
“What?!”
“Its mana channels will twist!”
“W-what does that mean?!”
“It means it’ll die! If we stay and it’s found out we killed it, everything’s over!”
Their voices grew distant.
I tried to control the mana—
but it was impossible.
Pain shot through my body.
Breathing became harder.
‘…Die? Am I really going to die like this?’
After everything—
This was how it ends?
Because I swallowed the pill I stole?
It felt absurd.
My body felt like it was being stretched apart.
‘Damn it… you bastards…’
My consciousness faded.
Through my blurring vision—
I saw someone approaching.
“S-save me…”
A faint scent of mandarin lingered—
and everything went dark.
