Chapter 35: 35

Episode 35: Be Careful of What You Wish For (VIII)

 

What had happened to Theodore in the meantime that made him come to the banquet hall and swore?

To find out, the story must go back in time.

The incident began on the morning of the hunting competition.

The Wulf family rode a carriage and headed to the place where the hunting competition was held.

Isabel, the madam of the Wulf family and Theodore’s mother, stared blankly at her son who had a dark expression.

“You look like you’re in a bad mood, Theo.”

Then his father, Ruben, also looked at his son’s face.

It certainly didn’t look very good.

“If you are not feeling well, I will participate in the hunting competition instead.”

“No. I just had an unsettling dream.”

Staring at Theodore who calmly shook his head, Isabel raised her eyebrows; something had occurred to her.

“Come to think of it, today is the day the new moon rises. Theo, you should come back to the mansion as soon as the hunting competition is over.”

“…….”

Theodore’s gaze was momentarily taken by the waning moon pattern beneath his mother’s collarbone, which was half covered by her shawl.

It was hidden under the clothes, but his father must have the same moon symbol too.

‘If I imprint myself on someone, a moon pattern will be engraved under my collarbone.’

Different patterns were engraved depending on the shape of the rising moon on the day of forced animalization, so his would definitely be a crescent.

Feeling his chest tight at the thought of imprinting, Theodore impulsively spit out the words.

“Mother. Why do we have so many restrictions compared to other demibeasts?”

Isabel threw him a questioning look, as if saying ‘Why are you suddenly asking this?’. Then Theodore explained a bit more.

“The phenomenon of being forcibly turned into an animal on a certain day, and imprinting.”

“Ah…”

Isabel let out a small sigh and responded in a relatively calm tone.

“Well, the rumor about the origin of wolf demibeasts floating around in the world is not just a legend, it’s the truth. We’re paying for what our ancestors did. There’s nothing good about revealing it, so I’m just keeping quiet.”

“Why do innocent descendants have to pay for that? I still don’t get it.”

“Theo. From birth, the world has not been fair.”

The firm Isabel relaxed her expression and continued speaking in a rather soft tone.

“Do you remember the first time you saw Suradel of the Weil family?”

Theodore quietly recalled the past, the first time he met Suradel.

He was used to it now and so it was okay, but when he first met him as a child…

He couldn’t even move his body because he was overwhelmed with the feeling of fear that he felt for the first time.

He didn’t understand why the prey demibeasts trembled when they saw him and the other wolves, but after that day, he completely understood.

Seeing her son’s forehead crumpled, Isabel slowly opened her mouth again.

“If you’re born as a demibeast at the bottom of the food pyramid, you experience that kind of horror countless times.”

“Isn’t that a problem that can be overcome with effort and time?”

“Instinctive fear is just a small example. Some become orphans as soon as they are born, and some are born into poor families who cannot afford to buy even a single piece of bread.”

She crossed her legs and nodded her head.

“If you want to compare yourself to others, you can do it endlessly.”

“However, the imprint is a curse that is continuously passed down through blood.”

Ruben, who had been quietly listening to the conversation all along, stepped in at Theodore’s somewhat angry tone.

“I don’t consider imprinting a curse.”

“Father.”

Theodore looked at his mother, as if begging her to stop him, but she only smiled quietly.

“Sorry. I agree with your father.”

Ruben spoke with determined eyes that did not contain a single lie.

“Theodore, I have never regretted imprinting on your mother.”

“There are very few wolf demibeasts who have inherited the blood of their ancestors. Nevertheless, isn’t it a special case where Mother and Father imprinted on each other?”

“I, like you, have been dissatisfied with the way imprinting dictates my emotions.”

“But why…!”

“You will know when you meet your partner. That imprinting is a blessing, not a curse.”

At the word ‘blessing’, Theodore’s anger surged wildly.

“Emotions caused by imprinting? That is not love.”

“Are you saying that me and your mother are falsely in love?”

“Whether it is true or false, it’s a fact that the existence of a companion has always been the greatest weakness in the history of the Wulf family.”

“Theodore!”

Enraged at the remarks that dismissed his love as a lie, Ruben got up from his seat.

But Isabel immediately took his hand and stopped him.

“Honey, calm down.”

“…Isabel.”

At her touch, Ruben quickly relaxed and sat down. For him, Isabel’s words were absolute.

After Isabel calmed Ruben, she soothed Theodore.

“Theo. It’s a big weakness to be forced to return to being an animal on a specific day, but since it’s done at night, there’s no major inconvenience.”

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As if tired of trying to appease the two men, she pressed her eyes gently and spoke again.

“Besides, unlike other demibeasts who have to go back to their animal form once every 15 days, once a month is good enough. It’s not all that bad.”

“Isn’t it the same with whales? That the duration of humanization is one month?”

“Instead, they can’t animalize on land. Don’t you think that’s unfair?”

There was nothing more to say at the logical words, so Theodore quietly chewed his lips.

“Every demibeast has its strengths and weaknesses. I understand that you find certain things unfair, but what can you do if you’re born that way? It’s not something that will be resolved even if we apologize to you.”

Staring blankly at her son who had become quiet, Isabel burst into laughter.

“Theo, my son.”

“…Yes, Mother.”

“Despite the restrictions you mentioned, do you know how the wolf demibeasts, who have deeply inherited the blood of their ancestors, have been able to continue their bloodline without interruption?”

Theodore’s brow furrowed deeply.

Come to think of it, he had hardly ever heard of a case of a wolf demibeast that didn’t go well with the person who it imprinted on.

Suddenly, an absurd hypothesis popped into his mind.

“No way, forcibly… not only us, but also the emotions of the person we imprinted on…?”

“No, it’s because of the face.”

“…….”

The unexpected answer left Theodore speechless.

“It’s not just restrictions that our ancestor, the black wolf, have passed on to us. He also passed on a strong body and an attractive appearance that can charm anyone.”

“Only that…”

“Only? External factors are very powerful weapons when it comes to seducing someone.”

Isabel sent Theodore a rather amused gaze.

“I’m not saying this because you’re my son… Face, body, status, money. In addition, parents-in-law who will actively welcome and care for their daughter-in-law.”

Theodore’s expression crumpled further with each point Isabel listed.

“You’re the best man in the marriage market. Of course, you’re so blunt that there isn’t a cute corner at all.”

“Mother…”

Isabel sighed and tapped her chin.

“But what can I do? That’s something that resembles your father. Still, he’s kind to me, so you’re going to be very good to the child you’ll imprint on.”

As if imagining that scene, Ruben smiled and added.

“It’ll be quite worth to see you whimpering and yearning for love.”

“Father, I…”

—That’s what I hate.

Theodore couldn’t bear to let out the words that lingered like grains of sand in his mouth, so he simply stopped there. 

“Come to think of it, you seem to be particularly late in imprinting…”

“I hope someone will show up before the marriageable age passes.”

In response to his parents’ endless flame, Theodore decided not to talk further and ended the conversation.

“…Anyway, I will make sure to bring the half-elixir you wanted.”

Isabel noticed that her son was changing the subject. But she didn’t bother pointing it out and smiled kindly.

“Your body is the most important. Don’t overdo it.”

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

‘I should have noticed from the time I had that disturbing dream.’

‘I shouldn’t have just dismissed it as a dream, I should have been more vigilant and careful.’

Theodore staggered into the woods, stopping the blood welling up from his shoulder.

The assassin’s surprise attack killed the two knights who entered the forest with him, and he himself was stabbed in the shoulder with a sword.

Perhaps it was carefully planned, as when the first assassins attacked, the flare he fired failed.

All the assassins who attacked were dealt with, but he moved because I thought there might be more ambushes left.

But was it a wrong decision?

“Haah, haah.”

He thought he could just endure the bleeding from the wound on his shoulder, but his body was stiffening and his consciousness was gradually fading.

It seemed that the assassins’ knives were poisoned.

He stopped moving and sat with his back against a tree.

“Here… Will I die with…”

Was it because of the poison, or was it because the impending death didn’t feel real?

It was more of a daze than sadness.

The good thing was that there was no strong regret in life because it was not a very interesting life.

Just one thing that bothered him.

“Ah… my parents… They will be sad.”

After that, Theodore closed his eyes and collapsed.

How long was he in this sorrowful state?

Suddenly, he could feel a wiggling movement on the side of his injured shoulder blade.

The moment the presence got closer…

Theodore opened his eyes and squeezed the hand that was approaching him.

“Answer me… Who are you?”

Ame: Shit. Theodore isn’t even confirmed as the second male lead but I’m already feeling sad for him. I like apathetic characters a little too much T^T

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