ushernet Chapter 3
Chapter 3
The Count of Bluewood had his head buried in a silver washbasin when it happened.
A blinding light suddenly engulfed the entire estate.
The windows rattled violently, as if caught in the eye of a storm.
"W-what in the world...?"
Still furiously scrubbing at his nose and hands, as if trying to erase the filth left by that wretched rat, the Count turned pale.
Without even drying himself, he rushed to the window.
The light was so intense that he could barely open his eyes, but when he finally squinted through the glare—
"Hurk—!"
A strangled scream tore from his throat.
The pride of the Bluewood estate—its elegant and meticulously maintained garden—
Was utterly destroyed.
No, it was still being destroyed, in real time.
A massive black magic circle had carved itself into the lush green lawn, swallowing up flower beds, toppling statues, and shattering the grand fountain into rubble.
It took him a moment to recognize what he was seeing.
A catastrophic side effect of improvised teleportation magic.
Are they insane?
Teleportation magic decimates the surrounding area where it is cast.
That’s why coordinates are always set in an empty, designated space—a safety precaution to prevent destruction.
Yet someone had brazenly inscribed a teleportation circle directly onto his land.
This was not just rudeness.
This was nothing short of a declaration of war.
But despite the outrage, the Count didn’t explode in anger.
No—he forgot to breathe altogether.
Because teleportation circles weren’t just random colors.
By royal decree, each noble house had a designated magic circle color, tied to their lineage.
And this one—
A pitch-black summoning circle.
It could only belong to—
"No, no, this can’t be—"
The light began to fade, revealing two figures standing within the magic circle.
One was a giant of a man, nearly two meters tall, dressed in a sharp, perfectly tailored suit.
His silver-white hair was slicked back, revealing piercing, blade-like golden eyes and a deep scar running across his mouth.
Even without seeing his face, the overwhelming aura of authority he carried was unmistakable.
"Duke Valkyrisen...!"
And beside him—
A boy, a young teenager, bearing the exact same sharp, golden gaze.
The Duke’s grandson.
The Count felt his blood freeze in his veins.
Why?
Why was he here?
What did he want?
Why had he appeared like a natural disaster descending upon his estate?
The Count, caught between panic and disbelief, stumbled backward—
Only to meet a pair of piercing, predatory golden eyes staring directly at him.
A gaze that regarded him like an insignificant nuisance.
And then—
A voice, deep and calm, directly carved itself into his mind.
"I'll give you ten minutes."
The Count's shoulders jerked involuntarily at the unspoken words.
***
The Count was given a ten-minute grace period.
But now, only five minutes remained.
The beastfolk world, even more so than the human one, followed the law of the strong.
A lowly mouse beastfolk shouldn’t even qualify as noble blood.
“I—I have never heard of such a case...”
“Oh, so if you haven’t heard of it, it must not exist? Speak! Say something! Anything!”
The Count’s temper exploded again.
Time was slipping away.
“T-Then, at the very least... it means this beastfolk is important enough for Duke Valkyrisen to take personal action.”
“Damn it all!”
The Count stomped his foot with a furious bang, pacing wildly.
I didn’t kill them.
The damn thing attacked me first!
This is unjust. Completely unjust!
It had disguised itself as a rat and infiltrated his home.
If it was pretending to be a rat, it should have expected to be killed like one!
But explaining that to the Duke wouldn’t matter.
All he would see was that Count Bluewood had murdered the beastfolk he was looking for.
“That rat... where is it now?”
“Lady Cinderella—no, Lady Seraphina took it with her.”
The Count exhaled sharply.
“Good. Go check if it’s still alive.”
“Shall I take it to a physician?”
At those words, the Count suddenly went still.
Then he slowly turned, his eyes dark and unreadable.
“...Are you insane?”
“...Pardon?”
“If it’s still alive, it’ll tell the Duke exactly what happened.”
“You mean...”
“We need to make sure it never speaks.”
If it was dead, who could say how it died?
Perhaps it had eaten poison. Perhaps it had been trampled in the kitchen.
There would be no one to refute his words.
Better to silence it forever than risk it talking.
That was the only way to ensure Bluewood’s survival.
“Kill the rat. And lock up Sera—make sure she doesn’t escape.”
Of course, he had no intention of letting her speak freely either.
Even Duke Valkyrisen couldn’t interfere with a dead witness.
***
Suddenly, the mouse transformed into a human.
“E-Elodie? Is that you, Elodie?”
Sera stared in shock at the small child nestled in her arms, no older than five.
“...It’s really you. Your fur—no, your hair—it’s the same color.”
Ash-tinted golden fur—no, hair—
Thick, doll-like lashes framing round, wide eyes.
Eyes so deep and dark that if they could hold something, one might wish to give them everything.
Chubby, plump cheeks tinged with a rosy hue, twitching slightly with every breath.
And, most importantly—
Poking through the strands of golden hair, a pair of tiny, delicate ears stood upright.
In that moment, Sera realized exactly what Elodie was.
“You’re... a beastfolk!”
A beastfolk?
Elodie abruptly stopped crying, her large black eyes blinking in surprise.