The Archduchess’s Loyal Shapeshifter
Chapter 5

Eleanor, who detested Ellen, spoke through her gritted teeth. Although she generally disliked anyone who enslaved anthromorphs, her hatred for Ellen was so strong that it almost bordered on loathing. In contrast, Rosalin, who got along well with her, silently sipped her tea.

The once-cold tea had been warmed up and was steaming again, thanks to the maid who had switched it out for a fresh new cup. The soothing aroma of the tea helped Rosalin calm her troubled mind. Meanwhile, Eleanor managed to suppress her intense emotions.

“The truth is… there were quite a lot of Karans about 70 years ago. Due to a certain reason, they were hunted so extensively that their numbers dwindled to a fraction of what they used to be.”

“What was the reason?”

“Rumors spread about a special ability unique to them, but it turned out to be false.”

“What kind of ability?”

“If you’re curious, find out for yourself later. I’d rather not say.”

Eleanor shook her head. Rosalin squinted at her as if she was questioning why she brought it up in the first place. Eleanor noticed Rosalin’s irritation and decided to change the topic.

“Anyway, he shouldn’t go outside right now. Aren’t you keeping him here because you’re worried?”

“Not really.”

“If you truly didn’t care, you would have kicked him out with Ellen. You’re usually all about nipping your problems in the bud. Isn’t that right, Your Highness?”

Instead of responding directly, Rosalin just sighed heavily.

“For now… I’ll talk to the boy when he wakes up. He might have parents or guardians.”

“I told you, he’s not a boy.”

“Whatever. He looks like a boy to me.”

“He’s twenty years old.”

“Fine. So he’s twenty years old.” Rosalin nodded carelessly, clearly unconvinced. “If he is twenty, it might be less of a hassle. I won’t kick him out right away, so don’t worry.”

Eleanor sighed with a mix of relief and concern.

“I’ll see if I can find a place that can take him in. Honestly, I wish I could do it, but I don’t have room for another person.”

Eleanor was born into a wealthy and influential count’s family, but she distanced herself from them when she became an anthromorph doctor. If she had been a regular doctor, she might have made more money. Instead, she focused on volunteer work, which put a strain on her finances.

“Why didn’t you take up my offer to find you a place when I suggested it?”

“I’m managing for now. Ask me again in six months, just in case.”

“Why? Are you going to accept my offer then?”

“Maybe.”

Eleanor’s evasive answer made Rosalin chuckle.

The doctor stayed late into the evening at the mansion in case the patient woke up, but he remained unconscious. Unable to do more, Eleanor left after providing several instructions. Rosalin asked if she wanted to stay the night since she was so concerned, but Eleanor declined, saying she had a patient to see the next day.

“Ask for me when he wakes up. I’ll come right away.”

“Got it.”

Eleanor returned home in the carriage Rosalin had arranged for her, then stayed up watching over the child until she eventually fell asleep. The boy woke up the next morning.

***

“Didn’t she say he’d be too weak to move around?”

Rosalin recalled what Eleanor had said the night before as she glanced between the servants standing behind her and the scene before her.

“He’s bouncing off the walls. What’s going on?”

During breakfast, Rosalin had heard that the boy had woken up. She had hastily finished her meal and come to see for herself, but the sight that greeted her was nothing short of a spectacle. The overturned food tray was still lying scattered on the floor, and one of the maids was receiving treatment for an injury.

The child who had been unable to even open his eyes just the day before was now perched defiantly atop the tallest wardrobe in the room. Given that the wardrobe was twice his height and there were no steps, it was a mystery how he had managed to climb up there. It seemed that even though he appeared to be a child, he was still an anthromorph through and through.

“We tried to feed him gruel like Lady Eleanor advised, but…”

The butler, who had come beside Rosalin, looked exhausted. Considering he had served the archduchess through countless trials and tribulations, his weary expression suggested that that wasn’t all that had happened.

“But?”

“He bared his fangs when we approached him and wouldn’t even look at the food. Lady Eleanor mentioned he probably hadn’t eaten for a while…”

Rosalin sighed softly.

“Have you tried talking to him?”

“Pardon?”

“He’s not a baby. He should be able to talk, right?”

“Whether he can speak or not is unclear… No matter what we say, he just growls at us.”

Rosalin frowned at the suggestion that the child might not have learned to speak. Until now, the anthromorphs she had encountered had all spoken the imperial language fluently. It was to be expected, as she had only seen them within the capital.

Would the anthromorphs living in their own territories use the imperial language? There was a high chance that they wouldn’t. If this boy had been captured from outside rather than being born into slavery, it was highly likely he could not speak.

Rosalin looked back at the child atop the wardrobe with a troubled expression. The boy, who was crouched with both hands and feet gripping the wardrobe, was glaring at the people below, his tail upright. Despite his emaciated appearance, his golden eyes were full of fierce energy, completely contrary to Eleanor’s prediction. If it weren’t for the bandages wrapped around him, he wouldn’t even look like a patient.

Rosalin strode up to him. As she closed the distance, he shifted his focus to her, tracking her movements with wary eyes, much like a wild animal trying not to show its back during a fight for dominance.

Standing before the wardrobe, Rosalin crossed her arms and looked up at the boy. It was unusual for her to look up at someone. She was accustomed to sitting on high platforms and looking down.

“Get down from there.”

The child bared his teeth at her voice, and the knights behind Rosalin quickly reacted, but she raised a hand to halt their approach. Armed guards getting close to an already wary child would be adding fuel to the fire.

This child had already single-handedly caused so much trouble this morning. Rosalin told herself that she should avoid accepting any more gifts from Ellen for the time being as she brushed her hair back.

“Listen carefully. I’m not one to give second chances. However, considering what you’ve been through, I’ll give you one more chance this time.”

Rosalin stared directly into the child’s eyes and pointed to the injured maid.

“That girl wasn’t trying to harm you. She was just trying to offer you some food. Although I’m the master here, I have no intention of using you as a slave. I also called a doctor to treat your wounds.”

However, the child must’ve interpreted Rosalin’s gesture at the bandages differently because he shrank back further. Whether the child didn’t trust her or couldn’t understand the imperial language at all remained unclear.

Amid this confusion, Rosalin spoke again.

“If you want, I’m willing to let you go.”

The boy stared at her in silence.

“If you come down and apologize first, that is.”

Unlike Rosalin, who took in the messy room with a glance, the child kept his eyes fixed solely on her. She didn’t avoid his gaze. Instead, she crossed her arms and returned it with an even more intense stare.

Fine, let’s see who wins.

A tense standoff followed after that. Then, all of a sudden, the boy opened his mouth wide and yawned. Then he turned his back to her and lay down atop the wardrobe. His insolent behavior left Rosalin, the butler, maid, servants, and knights, completely speechless.

In the palpable silence, Rosalin turned and looked at the servants.

“Clean up this room, and keep the cleaning staff on standby. Don’t give him any food or water.”

She couldn’t be blamed for being petty—the boy had dared to undermine the archduchess’s dignity.

Glancing cautiously at the child on the wardrobe, the butler asked, “Until when?”

Rosalin pointed over her shoulder with her thumb.

“Until he asks for it first.”

It was the beginning of a war.

* * *

If Eleanor had known, she would have been furious at Rosalin for treating a patient this way. However, Rosalin did not see the energetic child as a patient. Moreover, Eleanor had said that he wasn’t the child his appearance suggested. A competent doctor like her had said he was at least twenty years old, so Rosalin chose to believe her.

Still, a nagging unease lingered at the back of her mind, though it was more of a fleeting concern. The child either had incredible strength, or was incredibly defiant. Perhaps it was a combination of both. The servants reported each instance of trouble he caused, and it seemed to occur almost every hour.

He had broken furniture, torn curtains, shattered a vase, and injured his foot on the shards. Eventually, Rosalin ordered all small, movable items be removed, leaving only the large, immovable furniture.

Then the butler arrived, sweating and anxious, to report that the child had broken a window. It was a very expensive crystal, one that couldn’t have been easy to shatter. Even for an anthromorph, breaking a magically reinforced window would have been no small feat. If he wanted to escape, he could have just opened it instead of destroying it.

He must have expended a lot of energy causing such chaos, but despite all that, he still hadn’t asked for food. It seemed one of the worried maids had secretly brought him some, but judging by the state of things, it only led to more mess that needed to be cleaned up. Normally, Rosalin would have punished the maid for disobeying orders, but with the chef and the butler also involved, she decided to overlook it. In any case, nothing had really changed.

Rosalin had been as stubborn as him for the first day or two, but the boy—who should have given in due to hunger—continued to refuse any human contact.