The first thing Eri noticed was the ache across his body.

  It was felt in every vein, every muscle; Hot and tearing, as though each heartbeat had to claw its way past something thick and clotted to pump the blood through his body.

  His crusty eyes cracked open. His vision was blurred. Eri saw soft light filtering in gently through sheet curtains.

  He was in a bed.

  Not dead yet, then.

  That was a relief. He had been half-certained he would not wake again when he fell unconscious next to Dulcina’s side, such were the grievous wounds he suffered.

  The ceiling above him swayed gently — or perhaps it was his vision that swayed. His tongue tasted of metal and ash. The molten ache pulsing beneath his skin was a familiar crawling — the echo of searing fire long after it burned out his blood.

  I hope I never have to do that again, Eri thought sluggishly. This human body does not handle its blood boiling too well.

  He tried to sit up, but a sharp pain in his abdomen forced him to give up the motion. A low groan escaped before he could stop it. His throat rasped, scraping against a painful dryness.

  His voice drew attention. Somewhere, faint and muffled, he heard noises — the tinkling of sharp metal tools, returned to a surgical tray. Footsteps approached.

  The smell of spice and herbs assaulted his nose — sharp, bitter, and laced with something coppery — as his bed curtain opened.

  “You’re finally awake,” the stranger hummed. “Looks like I lost a bet. I thought for sure you’d be stuck in a coma forever.”

  Eri stared.

  It was not the person’s words that alarmed him, nor their unfamiliarity.

  No, it was her appearance.

  His first thought was ‘fluffy’. His second thought was ‘tail’.

  The woman had a fluffy tail, well-groomed and silk-looking, with a warm amber sheen. It was hovering close to his face.

  There was only one rational response, and so Eri’s first words upon waking up were: “Can I touch it?”

  The doctor tilted her head, the hazel-coloured fox ears of her head twitching.

  Then she smiled, gold-slanted eyes teasing. “Sure.”

  The large tail moved its way up to the bed. Eri hugged it, closing his eyes as he brushed his face against it.

  Soft. Warm. Fluffy. He could almost feel his pain fading away.

  “Hmm, so you can act like a child,” the fox woman teased. “You looked pretty innocent when you slept, but I wasn’t sure how you’ll act when you wake up. With how Dulcina described you, I was half-expecting a God of War to start breaking apart my lab the moment you rouse.”

  Eri froze. The woman chuckled.

  “Don’t worry, the Young Lady didn’t give us the details. Most of the castle only know that you were the one who saved her from the ambush, not how you did it,” the female beastkin elaborated. Her smile widened, showing canines. “Though I’m really curious about who you are, boy. Especially with the wounds you have left on this fine specimen here…”

  The woman stepped away, and Eri nearly gagged.

  Exposed in the middle of the room was the flayed and dissected corpse of a headless giant.

  A half-giant, Eri numbly corrected himself. And the head is still in a jar over there.

  A vat of greenish liquid in the corner contained the floating head of Gunther Stormcaller, his scalp removed and his brain exposed.

  Eri could still see the holes his weapons had left in them.

  “Took the boys two hours to saw his head off in the fields with a Ruby-ranked blade. The spine around the neck required Hydra acid to weaken it first before they could cut through as well.” The fox woman wiggled her eyebrows at him. “But you didn’t need any of that to kill him, did you? Care to share how you did it? This older sister promises she won’t tell…”

  The boy turned away and tried to retch, but nothing came out.

  “Oh? Though you would have a stronger stomach. My bad~” The woman laughed before she pulled the curtains back. She stepped closer and handed him a glass of water. “Here, my apology gift.”

  Eri grudgingly accepted the water and drank it all quickly, quenching his thirst. When he finished, he handed the glass back and glared at her. “That’s a nasty sight to wake up to. Why do you have him here?”

  Gunther’s naked body had been hanging from the ceiling, his skin peeled back by hooks and wires; his torso sliced open to reveal the emptiness within, pilfered organs sitting on display next to the floating head.

  Eri didn’t like the man, but he also didn’t want to wake up to a scene like that.

  “This is my lab. Where else would I keep him? He’s a very interesting specimen, that half-giant. Elder blood is super rare these days; even half-bloods of any of the Elderkins are thought to be extinct,” the fox woman hummed excitedly. “You know House Elathion already received buyers for the body? The giant’s head alone was going for 50 gold pieces, last I checked.”

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Eri gasped. A single gold coin was worth a hundred silver coins, while a silver coin in turn was worth a hundred copper coins.

  Fifty gold pieces was more money than he had seen in his entire life.

  “Why haven’t you sold it yet?” Eri asked, flabbergasted.

  “Should we? It’s your decision,” the woman said. At Eri’s bewildered expression, her bestial eyes narrowed with even greater amusement. “After all, you were the one who killed him.”

  Meaning the half-giant’s body was unofficially his to deal with. Or rather, his property to sell.

  “There’s the kill bounty on his head as well,” the woman continued happily, her tail wagging, as if she enjoyed watching his expression. “150 gold pieces pooled together by the twelve noble houses for all the knights he killed, 50 gold pieces from the Imperium bounty board, and another 50 gold pieces from the Church. Add maybe another 150 gold pieces or so if you sell the entire body, and… My, my. You are quite a rich little boy, aren’t you?”

  That totalled to nearly 400 gold pieces. Eri basically would never need to work another day in his life. Neither would Elen.

  He had just woken up rich beyond his wildest dreams.

  “Now, isn’t this more pleasant news to wake up to? I hope this makes up for the distasteful sight earlier,” The woman leaned down, grinning. “Incidentally, House Elathion has an interest in buying the body, so I hope you’ll give us first rights. The old Lord will give you a fair price, I assure you.”

  “... I don’t care about the money,” Eri murmured. “Is Dulcina alright?”

  The teasing grin on the fox woman faltered, though it quickly returned. “My, already on a first-name basis? Should House Elathion be looking forward to a new member of the fam— Hey, what are you doing?!”

  Eri grunted as he pushed himself off the bed, ignoring the pain. “I’m going to find her. Her leg was broken before. I need to make sure she’s okay, and—”

  “Settle down! Your wounds are far, far worse than hers!” The woman gently lifted him and placed him back on the bed. Eri was too weak to resist. “Besides, her leg already healed two weeks ago! She visits you every afternoon. If you want to see her, you just need to wait for—”

  “Wait,” Eri interrupted, his body freezing up. “Two weeks ago? How long was I out?”

  “About a month. Closer to five weeks,” the woman cocked her head. “Did you have something urgent?”

  Eri stared at her for a moment, then groaned, head falling into his hands.

  “Elen is going to kill me…”

  ~~~

  The matron did not, in fact, kill him.

  Physically, at least. Emotionally and socially, she murdered him whole.

  “I swear to the Gods, I’ll have you grounded in the orphanage for an entire month!” Elen screamed, shaking him in front of a whole audience, right in the main hall of Castle Elathion. “Do you have any idea how worried I was?! I was searching for you across Kaldreach for a whole week!”

  “Can you… not do this… in front of everyone?” Eri struggled to speak as he was becoming dizzy. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Lord Draevan and a few of his household retinue smiling. “Also… more importantly… What happened to your hand?!”

  Elen’s left hand was gone. There was nothing left except a bandage stump.

  The sight of it had chilled Eri’s blood, but before he could even properly process her wound, the matron was already upon him.

  “Never mind that for now. You are never leaving my sight for the rest of your life, you hear me?!” The matron then dramatically pulled him into a hug, burying her face in his shoulder.

  To everyone else in the room, it looked like the woman was simply relieved at being reunited with her ward, her screams of hysterics merely another sign of her love and care.

  In reality, however…

  “Are you compromised?” Elen whispered coldly against his ear, her lips hidden from view.

  It did not escape his notice that the matron was fully armed and armoured, with her razor-edged greatshield still strapped to her right arm.

  Eri quickly shook his head.

  The matron relaxed, then released him. She turned to Draevan and bowed deeply.

  “Lord Draevan, I cannot thank you enough for taking care of my foolish boy. I am forever in House Elathion’s debt.”

  “Please, there’s no need for this,” Draevan quickly replied. “If anything, we are in your debt. Your boy has done us an incalculable service. He has saved the Heiress of this House from the vile brigands who kidnapped her. He has even slain the infamous half-blood, Gunther Stormcaller. We are honoured to take care of such a hero.”

  “I… see,” the matron said. Eri noticed her eye twitching. “I had heard news of your daughter’s incident with Stormcaller’s band — Goddess knows the whole northern capital has been talking non-stop about it — but I had not known my boy was involved.”

  Eri flinched at Elen's tone. She was pissed.

  But more importantly, she was nervous.

  Eri had just faced down a notorious Gold-Core criminal and came out the victor. Lord Draevan was doubtlessly very curious about how the boy had done so.

  When Elen was summoned to House Elathion, she likely already suspected there would be trouble — that she arrived ready for combat was telling — but she was probably hoping for a swift and bloodless conclusion.

  Given the circumstances, however, it was unlikely that House Elathion would just let them go.

  “Lord Draevan, the night is late,” Elen smiled. “With your permission, I would like to return home with my boy. I am sure we may resume a proper discussion tomorrow, and—”

  “Actually, Miss Ravelyn,” the Seneschal Armael interrupted. “There are many urgent inquiries we have for you and your ward. The circumstances of his… ‘rescue’ of Lady Dulcina have raised many questions — questions that are still unanswered even after a month of investigation.”

  “Of course, Eri and I will be happy to answer any questions you have,” Elen bowed. “However, it has been a long week, and I’ve finally been reunited with my boy… Goddess, you cannot imagine the relief! Surely, a night to recover would not be too much—”

  “You may reunite with him properly after our discussion, Miss Ravelyn,” the Seneschal cut in. “Rest assured, we have prepared the best guest rooms for you and your ward. There’s no need for you to return to town. You may retire within Castle Elathion and enjoy its hospitality, but only after we have our suspicions nullified.”

  “Suspicion? I do not understand.” Elen narrowed her eyes. “What suspicion could you possibly have against my boy?”

  “Please do not misunderstand, we do this with no ill intent, but rather for your benefit, Miss Ravelyn,” the Seneschal gently explained. “House Elathion has undergone a tremendous ordeal. We still have yet to root out the truth of this disaster. Your ‘ward’ is a key witness to Lady Dulcina’s kidnapping; we cannot simply let him go without answers. More importantly… The Church has recently sent its delegations to our doorstep. Their Inquisitors, to be precise.”

  Elen froze. Seneschal Armael pressed on. “Given the choice between an internal House investigation or an external one heralded by the dogmatic hands of the Church… I would assume the former would be preferable to your circumstances, would it not?”

  Elen straightened up. Eri noticed the woman discreetly made a hand sign behind her back.

  ‘Get Ready To Run’

  Eri’s heart skipped. Before he could stop her from doing anything rash, however, another voice cut through the hall.

  “What is the meaning of this?”

  A familiar voice.

  Standing atop the second floor of the hall’s sweeping stairway, tall and regal, Lady Dulcina's glare was one of contempt and disgust.