Bluebird Lady and The White Lion Family

 

Putting the previous day’s events out of her mind, Sophina bit into her sandwich.

 

‘The best food is the food you eat after work!’ 

 

She exclaimed, which was echoed by Rihentheon.

 “It’s been a while since I’ve had a sandwich, and this one tastes like honey!” 

Sophina nodded in agreement, but then she had a question.

 

‘Why is it that the young master insists on being so formal?’

 

Well, old habits die hard.

 

Unspoken convinced, Sophina sneaked in a change of subject.

 “So you haven’t been back to the mansion for a while?” “Yes. I’ve been traveling to other beastmen territories.” 

Judging from Mother’s reaction, he’s her favorite youngest son, and he’s young, so there’s no reason for him to venture out.

 

It was because something bad happened to Ririela on her birthday.

 

‘Something’s up.’

 

I smelled it. But it’s not fair of me to ask when we just met today.

 

Sophina glanced up at Rihentheon.

 

A streak of sweat had stained his cheeks, and his eyes were filled with an unidentifiable emotion.

 

There was a hint of awkwardness in the air.

 

At that moment, Ricardo’s hand cut through the dry air and reached out to Sophina.

 

The lettuce at the corner of her mouth came off.

 “Was this left there to be savored, my lady?” 

Ricardo casually took what Sophina had been eating and brought it to his mouth.

 

His casual demeanor startled Sophina, causing her to point a finger at Ricardo.

 “Hey, you—” “Why, what?” 

Ricardo’s expression was puzzled.

 “Let’s not talk.” 

Sophina shook her head in disbelief and finished off the rest of her sandwich rather aggressively.

 

She heard Ricardo’s wry laugh next to her.

 

After finishing her sandwich, she covered her mouth with her hand and looked around, just in case.

 

‘I wish I had something to wipe my mouth with.’

 

She didn’t want to get another crumb and have Ricardo tease her.

 

Just then, Ricardo handed Sophina something.

 “A bribe.” “What?” 

Sophina took it hesitantly and examined it.

 

A flower made of tissues?

 

Ricardo held out a handful of tissues and a rose made from them. He made a pecking gesture with his lips, and then added a sarcastic comment.

 “You said you’d accept a bribe like this every day.” 

He hadn’t been paying attention to the conversation earlier.

 

The guess was correct. Ricardo glanced at Rihentheon, then fixed his gaze on Sophina.

 “My bribe is better than Rihentheon’s, isn’t it?” “…tha, thank you. You folded it nicely.” 

How did he learn to do this?

 

Sophina snickered as she tucked the neatly folded rose into the inside pocket of her dress.

 

Rihentheon, who couldn’t help but watch, felt himself gouging out his own eyes as if he’d seen something unseemly.

 

Just as the mood was getting jovial, something strange caught Sophina’s eye.

 

‘Paper butterflies?’

 

Was this from an informant?

 

Darting around like a meerkat, she quickly snatched the paper away before anyone could see.

 

Luckily, Ricardo and Rihentheon were too busy chattering to notice.

 

When she safely unfolded the note.

 

The message inside was a bit of a surprise.

 — I need to see you right now, I’ll come find you. 

This wasn’t part of the scenario.

 

Sure, Jane had sent the message, asking to meet up soon.

 

But I didn’t expect it to be so unexpected. I thought she’d come to me first, or I’d come to her.

 

‘I’m not a poker master yet!’ 

 

Although I’m relieved to know I have a trick up my sleeve…

 

‘I need to get this over with.’ 

 

Sophina scrambled to her feet and paced hastily.

 “I’m done eating, so I’ll be up first!” “‘Sis, sister?” 

Rihentheon reached out faintly, watching the back of Sophina’s head as she walked away.

 

But Sophina hadn’t heard him, and she was sprinting across the garden, panting.

 “She’s gone.” 

Rihentheon’s innocent eyes drooped downward.

 

Somehow, he and Ricardo were the only ones left.

 

It was Ricardo who spoke first.

 “We need to talk, brother.” 

He asked in a calm, subdued voice.

 “Why are you here?” “I thought it would be interesting to talk to my sister-in-law. It seemed to me that brother was getting restless.” 

And with that, Rihentheon’s countenance of sheer naivety struck a nerve with Ricardo.

 

He didn’t mean to.

 

‘That’s worse than a sister being mean to my wife.’ 

 

The attention from his often quarrelsome brother made him feel particularly uncomfortable.

 

I just want to know.

 

Ricardo shuddered at the unconscious sincerity that spilled out.

 

He covered his face with his palms and tried to compose himself. Not seeing Ricardo’s distorted expression, Rihentheon asked him a question.

 

More precisely, he repeated what he had heard from Sophina earlier.

 “According to Sister-in-law, you said you wanted to be friends, is that true?” “…” “…ah.” 

Ricardo paused, then nodded.

 

The affirmation actually made Rihentheon’s eyes widen.

 

He had heard it before, but it was even more unbelievable to hear it from the man himself.

 

It took him a long time to get the words out of his mouth.

 

“I heard you’re a nice guy.”

 

There was another reason why Rihentheon had been so polite to Sophina from their first meeting.

 “I asked my aide to find out, and he told me that you paid a lot of attention to my sister-in-law’s birthday.” 

He was already aware of Sophina’s attitude toward the Chadwick family. He’d heard the story of how she’d saved a young lion on the fall tour.

 

Well, gratitude, one might say.

 

Rihentheon’s eyes darkened for a moment, and he turned to face Ricardo directly.

 

Then he began to speak of something only they knew.

 “Have you told everything about our stepfather to sister-in-law, brother?” “Well, I think she has, to a certain extent.” 

Rihentheon’s gaze lingered for a moment on Ricardo’s left arm.

 “So, are you okay with that wound now?” 

The scar on his chest, was the same scar, Sophina had seen when she nursed him.

 

Ricardo twitched involuntarily, then deliberately changed the subject.

 “Why did you come back so suddenly, anyway? Was it just because you were curious about what Sophina was like?” “Yeah.” “You really dropped everything to come back for that reason?” 

At the questioning tone, Rihentheon snapped his fingers as if he’d remembered something.

 “Ah, but something has come up that is bothering me.” “What?” “Well, we wiped out the foxes, but it seems they’re in league with another race.” 

Such a nonchalant attitude for such a serious matter.

 

Ricardo clenched his teeth and spat out the words, mulling them over.

 “You deserve it.” 

He wrapped his arm around the blade and swung it at Rihentheon.

 

The blade glowed with a white energy that could cut through anything. The obviously murderous gesture frightened Rihentheon, and he fled.

 “Ah, Brother! Brother!” 

Rihentheon, who had been ducking and dodging with his hands covering his face in a defensive posture, hastily added.

 “And I heard there were eagles among them, too, though it didn’t seem like the whole race was involved.” “Eagles?” “Ah, didn’t I hear that sister-in-law was also from the eagle clan?” 

Ricardo unwrapped the aura from his hand and nodded.

 “Tell me more.” 

Rihentheon recounted the details of what he had heard from his aide without missing a beat.

 

The bottom line was that… the dispute with the fox folk could spill over into a war with the other beast clan.

 

Ricardo’s expression changed unexpectedly as he listened.

 

In such a dire situation, he returned to the mansion after putting out an urgent fire.

 

Well, he left his troops and adjutant behind, so he should be safe for the time being.

 

Ricardo snapped, coldly, ordering Rihentheon’s face.

 

The sight of his brother so stupid, so clueless, and so brainless filled Ricardo with a surge of energy.

 “You, pack up your things and go back to where you came from.” “Oh, I don’t want to. It’s been a long time since I’ve been home, and I haven’t even gotten to know my sister-in-law completely yet… Ah!” “…Ah!” 

It was a slap in the face. Ricardo gave him a long lecture, recalling memories from his childhood.

 

After a long and loving touch.

 

Rihentheon, whose eyes had turned black, rolled on the ground and made pained cries.

 

He mumbled something incoherent.

 “You said you were injured when you tripped on your fall tour, or was that a lie?” 

Khan had kept a tight lid on things, so Rihentheon didn’t know what was going on.

 

An accident, as far as they know.

 

Ricardo looked down at his brother indifferently.

 “It’s not an accident, it could have been a scheme.” 

Then he continued in a chilling tone, suppressing his emotions.

 “They said they found the tracks of a beast in the woods across the river, a man with black hair and fur and what appeared to be a large beast.” 

Ricardo, sobered by the fall tour, had been investigating the circumstances of the unexpected incident.

 

Well, Khan made him do it.

 

As it turned out, he’d acquired the body hair of the alleged victim.

 

And the most likely culprit was…

 “Oh, no, not if it’s black!” 

At the word

‘black,’

Rihentheon reacted quickly.

 

His eyes glowed eerily, like the depths of a quagmire.

 

Ricardo did the same, clenching his fists and nodding.

 “I’m not sure, but maybe they’re starting to move again.” 

Black Panthers.

 

A beast of prey, king of the beasts, twin to the lion. And the iron fountain that had brought tragedy to the House of Chadwick.

 

The color black was their symbol.

 

Gritting his teeth, Rihentheon’s eyes gleamed with determination.

 

What drove Rihentheon to persist in his dispute with the fox men?

 

The Black Panther. The spies had told him the foxes were close to the panther.

 

But there was not a shadow of a panther in sight, so the dispute was simply settled.

 

I wasn’t interested in the eagle’s nibbles.

 

Besides, I was curious about my sister-in-law. If she were up to something.

 

‘Black panther…’ 

 

Wouldn’t the weakest member of our family be in the most danger?

 

Suddenly, Rihentheon was worried about Sophina.

 “Then I must go to my sister-in-law.” 

Ricardo’s tone was sharp as he caught himself on the verge of an accident.

 “What?” “Isn’t she important to you as well?” 

Ricardo was unable to respond to Rihentheon’s next words.

 “Someone important…” 

Ricardo muttered, his face as stony as a gravestone.