LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 11
Since that day, Zenox often visited Laria.
Although it was just brief conversations, it was a huge improvement compared to before.
Gradually, Zenox got closer to Laria, eventually discarding his indifferent attitude, and began to follow her around, trying all sorts of ways to win her over.
Soon, Laria, who was out of her thoughts, stared at her hand.
Instead of a paw with pink jelly, it was a normal human hand.
Ever since she escaped from the Krassium mansion, Laria couldn’t fully transform into a human.
At best, only her ears and tail would appear.
No one would believe if she claimed she was a fox in this appearance.
Of course, she had no intention of revealing it.
‘Engagement.‘
She couldn’t even imagine herself engaged to Zenox.
Even if it was a fake engagement.
Who would’ve known she’d end up entangled with Zenox after avoiding him for so long?
“Will it be alright…?”
Laria sighed.
Her engagement period with Zenox seemed like it would be the most tumultuous time in her life.
* * *
As soon as he finished work, Herdin walked down the corridor of his home.
He walked so aggressively; he was like a ship sailing through turbulent waters.
The servants stopped what they were doing and glued themselves to the walls to make way for him.
Finally stopping, Herdin forcefully swung open a door.
The Count leaning against the bed and the Countess seated on a chair looked up at him simultaneously.
“Come here.”
Despite the abrupt entrance, the Countess greeted him calmly.
Without responding, Herdin immediately asked:
“I heard the Duke of Krassium visited. What happened?”
“Sit down and we’ll talk.”
Upon the Countess’s words, Herdin clenched his mouth shut and approached.
He looked at Count Rohan, who was leaning on the bed, and furrowed his brows.
“Father… why do you look like this?”
“Do you think your father could stay calm after hearing the news?”
Herdin checked the Count’s pulse. His heart was beating so fast that it was audible without even touching.
He took out a medicine he had made himself from his bag.
“It’s a sedative.”
The Count nodded and downed the medicine as if he was drinking alcohol.
The Countess looked at her husband with a pitying gaze.
Though he was large and intimidating, unlike his appearance, he was quite fragile. He had almost fainted upon hearing Laria’s marriage news.
Now he was sobbing uncontrollably. Crying, the Count mumbled:
“Our baby… marrying a beast…”
The Countess spoke:
“So our little fox is marrying a beast?”
The Count nodded, wiping away his tears. It was hard to understand how she comprehended his sobbing, but she did.
Ignoring the sobbing Count, the Countess handed a letter to Herdin.
“Look at this first.”
He began reading the golden letter she handed him. Although it was filled with congratulatory words, the message was clear: Laria and Zenox were getting married.
Crumpling the letter in frustration, Herdin shouted:
“What nonsense is this?”
Despite his intimidating son’s outburst, the Count kept nodding.
The Countess, holding her husband’s hand, responded.
“Exactly what I’m saying.”
“Laria marrying Grand Duke Krassium is preposterous!”
“The Grand Duke mentioned that he would correct the marriage announcement.”
Relief slightly loosened Herdin’s clenched fist. However, the following words tensed him again.
“But instead, they’ll get engaged.”
“What the hell!!”
Herdin shouted, making the Count jump in fright.
The Countess scolded him calmly:
“Don’t raise your voice.”
“Do I look calm to you right now?”
A single raised eyebrow from the Countess silenced Herdin. The one being he was most afraid of in the world was his own mother.
Lost in thought for a moment, Herdin frowned.
“…Surely, the Grand Duke didn’t threaten her?”
Laria might have rejected the Grand Duke, but it was possible the Grand Duke had taken a liking to her.
Yes, it would be strange not to like Laria. Who would refuse someone as adorable and lovable as her?
Moreover, the Grand Duke of Krassium was crazy enough to force an engagement through threats. Herdin was familiar with the Grand Duke’s temperament.
The Countess touched her forehead as if she had a headache.
“I thought so too…”
Anxiety loomed. Could it be?
“Laria says she likes the Grand Duke. What can we do?”
Her energy suddenly drained.
Herdin looked at the Countess incredulously.
Pale-faced Herdin didn’t give up hope until the end.
“You didn’t tell the Grand Duke to say that, did you?”
“To me, he seemed sincere.”
Herdin’s expression quickly became serious.
If the perceptive Countess felt that way…
Laria seemed to genuinely like the Grand Duke.
The silent count reached out.
“?”
Seeing Herdin’s puzzled look, the Countess spoke up.
“Do you have another bottle of sedative?”
Herdin took out a sedative from his bag and handed it to the Count. The Count gulped it down like water and let out a long sigh.
“…Laria.”
The Countess explained what he wanted to say.
“Laria says the Grand Duke is kind, considerate, and they communicate well.”
Were there two people in the Empire with the name ‘Zenox Krassium’?
“Is there anyone who doesn’t know that Grand Duke Krassium is mad?”
Herdin gritted his teeth.
“He’s also a war fanatic. After the Grand Duke fights, there are too many bodies to bury.”
The recent years had been quiet, but describing the past Zenox as just a war fanatic was an understatement. Even the Crown Prince was wary of his violent and foul temperament.
Moreover, wasn’t he madly obsessed with his pet fox?
He was the worst kind of husband.
The only Count who hadn’t seen Zenox’s face was restless.
Herdin simply described it.
“You can tell he’s not sane just by looking at his eyes.”
“Oh my God…”
“Laria is definitely being deceived by the Grand Duke.”
The frustrated Count nodded.
“We must separate them immediately.”
But hearing Herdin’s strong insistence, the Countess murmured quietly.
“What if forcing them apart just breeds resentment…?”
The room became silent for a moment. A terrible imagination unfolded in the minds of the three silent beings.
Laria, looking coldly.
Laria, so angry she wouldn’t even speak.
“No way!”
Herdin shouted reflexively.
Being hated by Laria, it was unimaginable.
The Count and Countess had the same expression as Herdin.
The Countess, touching her throbbing forehead, muttered.
“Did we raise her too gently?”
The people of the Rohan family doted on their youngest, Laria.
Although a fox being, Laria couldn’t use magic, so they almost isolated her from the outside world. Perhaps that’s why she was quite naive.
When she was young, she even followed robbers. She said she would return the knife the robber accidentally dropped.
No matter how much she was warned, she might just shrug it off.
“They’ll just become more passionate if you tell them not to.”
The mere thought sent shivers down their spines.
The Count was shaking his legs nervously, and Herdin remained silent.
“Fortunately, we have an excellent potion maker in our house.”
The Countess and Herdin looked at the Count simultaneously.
The Count, startled, pointed at himself.
“Me…?”
From the Countess’s words, Herdin nodded as if understanding.
“You mean to use a potion to make the Grand Duke fall out of love, right?”
Unlike the Countess and Herdin, who couldn’t manifest as sorcerers, Count Rohan was once a renowned sorcerer.
And his specialty was potion-making.
“What kind of potion will we give?”
“A potion that makes one hate the person they love.”
A potion that turns a beloved person into an enemy.
If they fell in love at first sight and burned with passion, cooling off would also be instantaneous.
“We can’t give Laria a potion, even if it has no side effects.”
“Why state the obvious?”
The Countess smiled mischievously.
“The one drinking it will be the Grand Duke.”
There’s no need to force a breakup and earn Laria’s resentment; the potion-drunk Grand Duke will propose the breakup himself.
“Supporting Laria through her first heartbreak will be our duty.”
“Indeed… Mother, you’re an excellent strategist.”
Herdin looked at her with admiration.
The Countess, smiling faintly, clasped the Count’s shoulder.
“Honey, can you do it?”
The Count, with tear marks still on his face, nodded gravely.