---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest ‌releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------

Episode 6
"As I said, we're heading to a family conference now."
"Yes, ‌sir."
"There will be some rowdy fellows with bounties on ‌‌‌their heads—ignore them."
....
"Besides, my bounty is the highest anyway."
Ah, yes....
I was reminded once again that Kyrakseruss was a villain among villains. Boasting about ‌‌‌‌the bounty on his own head, no less.
'Wait. If I ‌‌become ‌‌a daughter-in-law of this household, will I have to be like that too?'
Could the bounty amount somehow determine my allowance?!
"Finish up and let's go, little one."
"Huh...?"
No, where did it go? My cookie, where is it?!
Staring at my empty paws, my expression crumpled into dismay.
'I ate it all already!' ‌‌‌‌
As I stood there gazing blankly at my empty ‌‌‌hands, Kyrakseruss offered me another cookie.
"Would you like more?"
"Yes! Thank you ‌‌‌so much."
Ah, but... I shouldn't eat this all by myself.
I'd happily accepted it and held it to my ‌‌‌chest, but I'd already eaten the previous cookie all alone like I was bewitched. That wasn't very kind of me.
Reflecting on this, I pressed my front paws together and snapped the cookie cleanly in half.
Breaking that half into quarters, I offered one piece to Nina first.
"This is for you, Nina."
"Oh my, you're giving this to me...? Thank you so much!"
"And this one is...."
Hmm, what should I call him?
Not ‌‌"villain," and "Kyrakseruss" is just too difficult to pronounce.
While I pondered, I simply held out the cookie piece.
Who knows—maybe he wanted some too.
"You're giving this to me?"
"Mm."
"Your cheeks are bulging with cookie greed."
Squish.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Kyrakseruss pressed my cheek like it was a pastry. ‌‌
I flapped my arms, trying to teach this villain the meaning of human kindness.
We'd be living together from now on, so wouldn't it be better if we got along?
"But still, sharing is better than eating alone!"
"Well, I'll accept it gratefully."
Kyrakseruss took the cookie piece from my paw ‌and then... wait?
'He's not putting it in his mouth—he's ‌‌‌‌throwing it into thin air?!'
Why???
Surely he didn't just throw it away because he didn't want to eat it!
* * *
Though it troubled me somewhat, the cookie had been a gift from Kyraksereus to me, so I decided to let go of my concerns about the whereabouts of that one-quarter piece and simply forget about it.
What the recipient does with a gift is entirely their own business, after all.
As I moved toward ‌the Conference Room and burrowed into his vest, I suddenly found myself curious about something.
'Does he stay warmer when I'm nestled inside like this?'
I couldn't fathom why he'd go to such lengths to dress impeccably only to wrinkle his clothes like this, but then again, trying to ‌‌‌predict the thoughts of a madman was futile anyway.
'But seriously, why does he look so pleased? Isn't ‌‌he smiling far too often?'
The Kyraksereus described in the original work was cold and ‌‌distant, with barely a hint of laughter in his demeanor.
Earlier, when I stared blankly at my empty paws, he covered his mouth with his ‌‌hand and trembled. I saw him laughing—there's no denying it.
That was when, as I fretted over whether I'd acted too childishly, a grand door materialized before us. In the mere blink of an eye, the location had ‌‌transformed entirely. Magic truly lived up to its name.
"Announce us."
The servant, who had frozen in surprise at Kyraksereus's arrival, finally regained his composure upon hearing the command and opened his mouth.
"The, the Master of the Magic Tower, Kyraksereus Lyshan Driblyane, and...!"
The servant trailed off, glancing uncertainly as if trying to determine whether I was a doll, an actual animal, or a ‌‌‌demi-human.
Then Kyraksereus calmly supplied the answer.
"Florin."
"Ah, yes! F-Florin, my lady!"
And shortly after, the conference unfolded exactly as I'd anticipated—into complete chaos.
* * *
"This is absurd! If we take in an albino bride, the next generation will inevitably produce another albino!"
"Tsk, tsk. Come to your senses, Tower Master!"
"Have you been bewitched by a demon?"
"What of all the candidates who have ‌‌worked tirelessly to become worthy of that position?"
A barrage of fierce criticism rained down upon Kyraksereus with ear-splitting intensity.
What ‌‌surprised me was that throughout the entire conference, Kyraksereus never once removed me from his embrace—as if shielding me from harm.
'If I had been sitting on that table instead...'
I might have vomited from the overwhelming pheromones and the cacophony of shouting.
I'd never harbored illusions about the Driblyane family council being a gentle ‌affair, but this exceeded my wildest expectations. Without anyone prompting me, I clung tightly to Kyraksereus's chest and barely moved.
Pat, pat. Kyraksereus glanced down at me briefly and reassured me with a gentle touch.
"The old fools are barking up quite a storm today. They're not even ‌‌dogs, so why this collective howling?" ‌‌‌‌
The ‌‌‌only minor problem was that his leisurely demeanor and ‌‌‌remarks perfectly inflamed the elders.
"Y-you, you, you!!!"
Oh, a one-hit knockout.
"Kwaaaaagh!"
Two-hit ‌‌‌knockout.
'Hang in there.'
Watching the white-bearded elders clutch the backs of their necks in exasperation and nearly collapse, I found myself genuinely ‌concerned about their rapidly rising blood pressure.
'But ‌if this is a family council, shouldn't the Patriarch be in attendance?'
Kyraxus took his seat on the left side of the head table as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Both the head seat and the one directly across from Kyraxus remained empty.
'Ah, one of those empty seats belongs to the Patriarch. The other must be Ariadne's—she was the Sub-Patriarch.'
That was when it happened.
"The 18th Patriarch of the great Driblanye has arrived. Everyone, please hold your tongues."
The conference room doors swung wide open—though I couldn't recall them being shut—and simultaneously, a voice so glacially cold it seemed to freeze the very marrow cut through the commotion.
The man who spoke bore an appearance that practically ‌‌screamed "Advisor" written across his face.
Olive-colored hair neatly bound into a single knot, silver-rimmed glasses, and an owl-emblazoned badge—the mark of an advisor—pinned to his chest. He was... an absolutely devastating master ‌of caustic wit.
"Do not let your foul breath reach ‌‌where the Patriarch walks. ‌‌It is unbecoming. Do not spray saliva about." ‌‌‌
"...."
"Now then, ‌‌‌please proceed, Patriarch."
To correct myself: the man pinching his nose and spraying something that resembled a cypress wood air freshener seemed less like an advisor and more ‌‌‌like a fanatic devoted to the Patriarch.
'This man seems utterly unhinged....'
Still, as the refreshing scent of the spray reached me, the oppressive weight that had been crushing down lifted considerably. The air itself felt lighter.
"That's a pheromone-removal fragrance. He developed it independently."
"Wow."
Kyraxus offered a brief explanation while stroking my head. Yet while everyone else rose to their feet, he remained seated—and didn't even turn his head toward the Patriarch. It was remarkably cunning of him.
'Kyraxus being... cunning....'
The gap between this ‌‌‌image and what I'd known was so vast it was shocking, but that wasn't even the most shocking part.
"How disrespectful. How long do you intend to avoid looking at your father's face?"
"Until my mood improves."
"Sulking won't last ‌‌‌‌forever, you brat. Your sister is gone, so shouldn't you be filling that void ‌‌in the family?"
"Only if I feel like ‌‌‌‌it."
"Insolent. Here you are, supposed to become Sub-Patriarch and protect the clan, yet all you do is shirk and dawdle."
Thud, thud.
The sound of footsteps was heavy and deliberate.
White hair swept back with pomade, a firm jawline, and shoulders so broad and solid they defied age. An elegant white suit paired with... a hot pink ‌‌shirt beneath.
'A hot pink shirt???'
My ‌‌‌‌mouth fell open at the sight of the Patriarch. He was a character barely described in the original work, so I'd had no idea what he looked like.
I'd vaguely imagined some corporate chairman type, but this... this....
'He looks more ‌‌like a crime boss!'
If Kyraxus were the senior executive of a modernized corporate-style criminal organization, then the Patriarch seemed like the original godfather commanding dozens of such subsidiaries...or rather, like the chairman himself.
I ‌‌rolled my large eyes about frantically before burying my head between ‌‌‌my ‌short front paws.
'Oh no, this possession... I really think I've gotten myself into the wrong situation...!'
Where is my life heading?
"Raphiren. What does that thing my son is holding look like to you?"
"To my eyes, it is unmistakably a ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌white marten. Since ‌‌‌‌ordinary martens typically change their fur color with the seasons, it appears ‌‌‌to have shifted ‌‌‌to ‌‌‌‌white in preparation for winter."
"Not an albino?"
"I cannot be certain without observing the eye color, but given the Young Master's notoriously atrocious collecting habits, I would judge ‌‌‌‌it highly probable to be an albino."
The spray-wielding advisor's name was Raphiren.
The commotion had settled into an eerie silence, and no one dared speak. Despite the chaos moments before, everyone ‌‌‌now seemed utterly subdued ‌‌beneath the Patriarch's authority.
Of course, I—a pitiful, adorable, and utterly pathetic marten—was also pressed down firmly.
"Pay her no mind. She is my daughter-in-law."
But then Kyraxus pressed my head down, attempting to stuff me deeper into his vest as though I were too precious to display.
'No! This only makes them more interested ‌in me!'
And I couldn't breathe! I was suffocating! ‌‌‌
After thrashing about desperately, I finally managed to poke my head through the gap between the vest buttons.
"Gasp, gasp...."
I thought I was going to die!
"...Heh."
Raphiren, whose eyes had met mine for an instant, burst into laughter. But within a single second, his expression returned to its usual coldness, as though he had never ‌‌smiled at all.

---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------