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The Emperor warmly held Adelai’s stiff shoulders.

“Adelai, you haven’t looked like you were feeling well since earlier. What’s worrying you?”

Adelai finally pouted when she heard his comforting voice. Yes, even if her father’s feelings towards the beasts had changed, his affection for her remained.

“I’m hurt, Your Majesty.”

“Hurt? Why?”

“Because you don’t love me as much as you used to.”

“Me?”

The emperor asked back with a surprised look. Adelai dropped her shoulders and repeated herself.

“Like today. My spot is always next to Your Majesty or Lart, but today, that lowly thing…”

She slurred the end of the sentence with a sigh and glanced at the emperor.

He remained silent for a while. Noticing what his daughter was getting at right away, he was lost in thought.

Looking down at Adelai, he leaned down and silently looked into her eyes.

“Adelai. Today is a day for harmony between humans and Shinsu.”

“I understand, Your Majesty.”

“It is my daughter Belinda at the center of that harmony.”

“……”

My daughter. Adelai stiffened at the unfamiliar words.

“Therefore, it’s only right for Princess Belinda, not Prince Lart, to stand next to me.”

“What?”

Adelai’s eyes trembled in shock. The lowly Belinda taking a seat next to His Majesty? It was a disgrace to the royal family.

“Belinda is your older sister.”

“But…”

“And she’s my noble first daughter.”

The emperor coolly cut her off.

Adelai could barely swallow her breaths. She noticed that he was warning her.

He finally struck the last nail on the coffin.

“Adelai, you should never forget that.”

She stared at her father with trembling eyes and nodded, as if possessed.

“I’ll keep that in mind, Your Majesty.”

She unconsciously felt around the gold necklace that was no longer around her neck.

Nobles gathered around her while she stayed silent.

Although they were gathered to honor the harmony between humans and Shinsu, not everyone agreed with the sentiment. Contempt for the Shinsu was visible in the eyes of most of the nobles surrounding Adelai.

However, as long as the spot was there, she wasn’t foolish enough to reveal anything. However, she could still look down on others with a smile as she hid her feelings.

They whispered under their glasses.

“As expected, beasts are beasts.”

The marquis, wearing a pearl mask, continued.

“Just look at them. Even a mask can’t hide their vulgarity.”

Everyone followed his gaze. He was looking at Shanti, standing over the fondue bowl and smiling at the boiling cheese.

This is really cool.

He mumbled to himself, getting closer to the bowl.

Cats were prone to simple, illogical movements. In the eyes of the nobles, Shanti’s amazement over the melted cheese was quite frivolous.

He observed people dipping skewers of meat and bread into the cheese. Without thinking, he dipped his finger in.

“Ah!”

He screamed loudly and jumped back in surprise. In the sudden commotion, the bowl of fondue also rolled onto the floor.

The nobles went back to gossiping with satisfied smiles.

“Look how flippant he is. Undoubtedly a beast.”

“It’s not like he’s rolling around in the forest either. They have no foundation.”

“Exactly! What on earth is His Majesty thinking?”

They continued to whisper maliciously, but their voices were fortunately buried in the music.

The Shinsu were usually feared, but seeing them in person today changed people’s perspectives. They seemed more peaceful than expected, and despite their large size, they had gentle smiles and mingled with humans easily.

Not to mention the so-called frivolous actions of Shanti and the others, amazed by human objects and making silly mistakes.

Some people, mainly Adelai’s aides, had developed an illusion.

Maybe they’re not as dangerous as we thought.

They thought that their fear of the Shinsu was nothing but an ingrained belief, leading them to spit out gossip fearlessly.

As they laughed, Shanti licked the cheese off his hands and grinned.

‘Can you hear me, Chief?”

“Yeah.”

Aymon, who was feeding Mazetto cherries, replied plainly. Shanti scratched his ear, murmuring playfully.

“Look, that bite of food thinks it’s being cute.”

Thanks to his hearing, far superior to a human’s, he understood their whole conversation, from the talk of him being vulgar to their gossip.

“Hey, Chief.”

Aymon nodded roughly. He knew the reason Shanti was looking for him – it was a request for his permission.

“Sure. Go bite it.”

As soon as he answered, a huge leopard leapt away from where Shanti just stood.

Unsurprisingly, he jumped through the nobles until he reached the one in the center that had been insulting him.

It was a covert, but surprisingly agile attack.

“Aaaahhh!!”

“Ugh!”

The startled group hurriedly stepped back, dropping their glasses.

The marquis rolled onto his back, looking up at Shanti with a confused expression. The table toppled over, breaking all the glasses that were on top. Everyone stared at the sudden disturbance with stiff, pale faces. A brown leopard was pressing down on the marquis’s chest with its huge front foot.

Grrrrrrrrr…

A dangerous sound rang from Shanti’s throat. He stuck his claws out, as if he was just about to rip into the flesh. Everyone gulped tensely.

Halla came over and gently touched his head.

Well, he finally went for it.

The chief had the last word, so she looked over to Aymon’s movements. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw his lack of reaction. He must have given permission.

Meanwhile, pressed down by Shanti, the marquis couldn’t even scream. He trembled under the heavy foot.

An instinctive wave of fear crashed over him as he faced the beast. He’d foolishly forgotten the fact that the Shinsus’ true selves were the ones they feared.

「My attitude is frivolous? How does it feel being overwhelmed by a frivolous beast, then?」

Sensing human fear, Shanti smiled, revealing his fangs. He couldn’t believe how much the marquis had underestimated him.

「Very well, where should I bite first…?」

His eyes twinkled playfully. The humans still hadn’t responded. What was he talking about?

The smell of fear came from behind him in the breathless silence.

Shanti looked back lightly. As expected, a black leopard was cutting through the crowd, approaching calmly.

When he reached Shanti and the marquis, Aymon lowered his head. The marquis stared at him numbly, trying to grab anything in his reach.

「Human, how much do you know about the customs of beasts?」

His tone was cool and calm. He spoke quietly, but the marquis trembled in fear. Instead of an answer, the only thing that he could muster was a moan. He could barely breathe.

Shanti pressed down harder and grinned.

「Following the strong is standard etiquette for beasts.That’s why I follow the Chief. If I didn’t, you’d be dead by now.」

“…….”

「Now, are you ready to follow beast etiquette?」

It was a warning that he should be ready to die after daring to insult a Shinsu.

The marquis’s eyes blackened in fear. He felt like the beast’s gaze was flattening him into the ground.

“I’m so- hng- I’m sorry!”

The marquis prayed to himself, coughing under the pressure. His triumphant attitude laughing at the Shinsu was nowhere to be found.

Lart, who was watching the scene from afar, muttered to himself.

“I’m sure I’ve seen this before.”

He’d been through it, too. Wasn’t it him who shot an arrow at Belinda and got beaten up by Aymon when they were young?

Thinking about it now, it was a ridiculous thing to do, but what was it that made him do it?

I was a kid, but the marquis is all grown up.

Lart murmured to himself with a chuckle.

He didn’t need an explanation – he could figure it out with a single look. The marquis was being scolded for acting fearlessly, just like he was back then.

It was one of Adelai’s close aides this time. One of those people that didn’t agree with the objective of the ball.

They didn’t need to talk too long to come to a conclusion.

I’m grateful it’s him they’re scolding instead of me.

As close as they were to Adelai, Lart didn’t know them well.

Lart turned to the emperor. Since their relationship with the Shinsu changed, he could shut up any naysayers, at the risk of their life.

However, wasn’t this still a gathering for the sake of harmony? If the commotion went on much longer, he’d get in trouble.

Catching Lart’s gaze, the emperor finally handed his glass to a servant.

Those who were watching turned to stare at him. How would things end now?

It was at that moment that Shanti’s eyes towards the marquis changed. With his pupils expanding, he stuck out his fangs and bit him.