The Archduchess’s Loyal Shapeshifter
Chapter 4

“Oh my, look at the time!”

Ellen clapped her hands, making a big fuss. She walked away from Rosalin, gesturing to the servants she had brought.

“It took so long to get here because the box was so big. I wanted to chat for a bit, but I have another appointment to get to.”

“Ellen.”

“Take care, Rose. I’ll be in touch again soon!”

As always, Ellen appeared out of nowhere and left just as abruptly. Rosalin stared at the spot where she had been with a look of dismay. The butler approached cautiously as she rubbed her forehead.

“What should we do about the boy?” The butler, who had checked the contents of the box beforehand, looked just as troubled.

Buying and selling anthromorphs was perfectly legal under the empire’s laws. However, being within legal bounds didn’t necessarily make it right. Not everyone held that belief, especially those at the pinnacle of power. Despite being the emperor’s sister and the empire’s sole archduchess, Rosalin was known for her strict stance against injustice. If she weren’t, she would have already had several anthromorphs serving her.

“Your Highness?” The butler’s voice seemed to go unheard as Rosalin turned without responding and sat at the table.

A maid, who was watching, started to pour tea into an empty cup. Rosalin raised a hand to stop her.

“I need some wine.”

As the maid bowed her head and went to get wine, the butler approached and bowed.

“Should we send him back if he’s troubling you?”

Of course, returning a gift wouldn’t be considered rude given Rosalin’s position, but she quietly shook her head.

“Even if we send him back, we can’t let him go looking like that.”

Rosalin prided herself on having seen all kinds of things in her life, but even she had never seen a child treated like an object in such a way. She hadn’t been particularly interested in anthromorphs before, but the scene before her was too unsettling to ignore.

Not to mention, there was a blindfold, shackles, and a gag on him. Even if it were an actual beast, this treatment would be outrageous. The boy had a tail but was still a person, and a child at that. Besides, Ellen mentioned that she had bought him for her. So even if Rosalin hadn’t asked for him, she still felt responsible.

“Wine isn’t going to cut it.”

“Pardon?”

“Bring me a brandy.”

Understanding how she felt, the butler nodded with a stiff expression. He signaled to a waiting servant, who quietly left the room.

“What about the child?” The butler asked as he glanced at the sleeping boy in the box.

Her gaze fixed out the window, Rosalin took a while before responding, “Clean him up and put him to bed for now. Throw the box away. I need to call Nora.”

Eleanor Greenwood. While it was rare for a noblewoman to have studied at the academy, Eleanor had done so, and she had even become a doctor who took care of anthromorphs. The reason for summoning her was clear.

The butler bowed his head and moved to pick up the child. Whether the child was aware of his situation or not, he remained in the butler’s arms, breathing faintly.

* * *

Eleanor, who received Rosalin’s letter, arrived at the mansion without delay in the evening.

“Rose!”

“Come in, Nora.”

Although she would usually be guided to the parlor, Eleanor was promptly taken to the guest bedroom. After exchanging a few words and a warm hug with Rosalin, Eleanor’s gaze was immediately drawn to the bed. Lying there in an uncomfortable position was indeed an anthromorph child who was fast asleep.

Eleanor let out a small gasp.

“How did this happen?”

“It’s just as I wrote in the letter. Ellen dropped off this ‘gift’ and left. It’s baffling.”

Rosalin shook her head while the maids quietly set up a tea table in the background. When asked what kind of tea she wanted, Eleanor simply shook her head. Tea was the last thing on her mind at the moment.

“Let me take a look at him first.”

Eleanor approached the bed, and the butler, who had carried her things, quietly placed her bag beside her. Before opening her medical kit, she began to check the child’s condition.

“Why did you place him face down?”

“You’ll see,” Rosalin answered Eleanor’s puzzled look by approaching the bed and carefully lifting the child’s clothing.

“Oh my goodness…”

Beneath his clothes, the child’s back was covered in wounds. Most appeared to be lash marks—a mix of old scars and fresh wounds that hadn’t stopped bleeding. He had to be examined closer, but it was clear that these injuries weren’t from just a single night.

Eleanor’s mouth dropped open at the horrifying sight.

“You didn’t say he was hurt.”

“I didn’t know when I wrote to you. We discovered this when we undressed him to bathe him.” Rosalin continued, pressing her temples with her index fingers, “I don’t know what kind of drugs they gave him, but he won’t wake up… I’ve never treated this kind of wound before, so I didn’t know what to do.”

There were no anthromorphs in Rosalin’s manor, which meant there was no doctor skilled in treating them. While there was a doctor who worked at the archduchess’s residence, anthromorphs and humans were fundamentally different, even though they might appear similar. Even when it came to topical ointments, what might be medicine for humans could be poison for anthromorphs.

Moreover, since buying and selling anthromorphs was legal, their treatment within the empire was less than humane. If anything, they were considered to be below humans and barely above livestock. Being a nobleman with great pride in his medical skills, Rosalin’s doctor had refused to examine the boy.

Since she had called her anyway, Rosalin had been waiting for Eleanor’s arrival rather than forcing the issue with someone who didn’t want to do the examination.

“Those bastards.”

Muttering a curse under her breath, unsure of exactly to whom it was aimed, Eleanor opened her bag and took out her medical tools. The butler assisted in removing the child’s clothing, while Rosalin stood by the bedside, observing in silence as Eleanor tended to the boy’s back.

Even as the bandages were being wrapped, the child remained unconscious. Eleanor speculated that strong anesthetics had been used to prevent him from resisting while he was being moved.

Rosalin sighed heavily.

Once the urgent matter was addressed, the maids set up the tea table again under the butler’s direction. Although Eleanor had rushed over without dinner, her appetite had completely vanished. She just sipped on a bitter cup of tea.

“The wounds should heal in a day or two.”

“They will?”

Unlike Eleanor, Rosalin wasn’t touching her tea. She looked at the child lying on the bed, surprised.

“Anthromorphs usually recover quickly. Scars like these mean the same area was torn open hundreds of times.”

Eleanor’s hands trembled as she held the cup. She had kept her voice low, but she was outraged. Realizing her distress, Rosalin crossed her arms and sighed deeply.

“I was going to send the child back to Ellen.”

Eleanor’s face showed horror at the mention of Ellen’s name. She looked ready to respond with a look of betrayal, but Rosalin raised a hand to stop her.

“But I changed my mind. Even if I send the child back, he would end up living as a slave, and it would only be worse than his situation now.”

“What will you do?”

“I plan to let him go once he’s recovered. I’ll just tell Ellen that he ran away.”

While Rosalin thought this was the best option, Eleanor’s expression grew even more stern.

“Let him go? Where?”

“He must have a home, or somewhere he wants to return.”

“That might not be the case.”

As Rosalin raised an eyebrow, Eleanor set down her tea cup with a clink. She spoke in pleading tones, almost as if it were her problem.

“If he was hunted, that means his territory was invaded. Going back to such a place is like walking back into the hunter’s den. Or he might have been born to slave parents without a territory at all. That would mean he has no home to go back to… Either way, if he leaves as he is now, he’ll surely be captured and sold again.”

Rosalin hadn’t considered this and looked down, her discomfort plain. Her reflection danced on the surface of the tea she had yet to drink.

“Then what should I do? I can’t take him in.”

“Why not? Is it because he’s an anthromorph?”

“It’s not about him being an anthromorph. It’s because he’s a child.”

“What?”

“I’m not mature enough to be a parent. I can’t care for a child.”

Eleanor looked at Rosalin for a moment before speaking.

“He is not a child.”

Rosalin frowned. Seeing her incredulity, Eleanor glanced briefly at the child lying in bed.

“He may look young, but he’s at least twenty years old.”

“Twenty years old? Him?”

“He’s not fully mature because he hasn’t imprinted yet. Once he finds his companion and grows up, he’ll probably change completely into a human form. Then he could go outside without the risk of being hunted.”

Rosalin thought for a moment and took a long time to process this new information. It was all so unbelievable, but the hardest part to believe was…

“What do you mean he’ll change completely into a human form? Anthromorphs always have animal ears and tails, regardless if they’re a child or an adult.”

Sometimes they had wings, horns, scales, and other body parts. The idea that anthromorphs could change into a human form was truly unheard of. If they had such an ability, they wouldn’t have been hunted by humans in the first place.

The biggest difference between humans and anthromorphs was their animal body parts. If an anthromorph could eliminate those traits and blend in with humans, no one would know what they were unless they said so.

“Of course, not all of them can do that. Only certain species can.”

“He’s one of those species?”

Eleanor nodded. She leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, gazing at the bed.

“They’re called Karan. They’re so rare that even I have almost no information about them. Those with dark complexions are even rarer. Most slave hunters probably think the tanned complexion is a mutation. So, rather than auctioning them off, they sometimes kill them instead. After all, if they can’t be sold, they’d rather not spoil the auction and suffer the losses.”

Eleanor’s mocking voice carried a sharp, cutting disdain. Rosalin noticed her reaction as she lifted her teacup and spoke.

“Ellen talked about him as if he were something special.”

“That woman jumps at anything that’s even slightly rare. If there’s a certificate saying it’s one of a kind, she’d buy it—even if it were a cursed doll, she’d probably pay extra just to have it.”