The Loisars arrived early in the morning.

“Now I can pick you up.”

The man in the center of the group murmured.

He was an impressive man with dark brown hair and somber eyes that contrasted with his white skin. His golden irises turned to a particularly small woman in the crowd.

“You should be able to do well without making mistakes.”

“…Of course, Lord Gray.”

The woman flinched at what the man said while looking at her.

Gray surveyed the quiet surroundings.

The Black Mambas, who said they would meet the delegation at the border and escort them until they arrived, hadn’t shown up even once since the first greeting.

It was a great skill in hiding their presence.

There were only many rumors, but he didn’t know it would be this much. The Loisars were in awe but did not show.

“But why isn’t anyone coming out?” 

When the door of the mansion did not open after a long time, a red-haired man wonderingly opened his mouth. 

“It’s dawn, so the news must be late.”

“Is that so?”

Gray stared at the gate with a calm expression at the whispers behind him.

It was somewhat expected.

Rather, at this point it seemed strange to accept their visit.

Soon, he felt the presence of someone coming from beyond the gate. At the same time, a thick pheromone of dangerous energy flowed.

Gray frowned.

“What is this rude attitude?”

Eventually, the red-haired man next to him showed his dissatisfaction.

“They don’t welcome us.” 

The huge iron gate, which had been firmly closed, slowly opened with a heavy sound.

and…….

“Welcome, members of Clan Loisar.”

A black-haired man appeared.

Eyes that twinkled in the dark glanced over them and turned to Gray, who distorted his expression in displeasure after confirming his opponent’s identity.

The opponent did not have red eyes.

Gray’s mouth opened.

“What kind of joke is this?”

“What do you mean a joke? I’m here to greet you politely.” 

“Where is the Astrophel’s Head?”

“I’m coming in place of the head of household. Greetings. My name is Baon.”

He greeted the guests with impeccably perfect manners.

“Ha?! What kind of rude attitude is this?”

“What do you mean rude?” 

Baon tilted his head with a face that he didn’t know what they were talking about.

The red-haired man gritted his teeth.

At first glance, there seemed to be no problem, but it was a huge discourtesy for Baon to open the door and come out to greet them. Welcoming the delegation was an important task that the head of the family had to personally take charge off.

Moreover, Gray, the head of the Loisar Clan, was also there. But an elder comes forward?

“Ah, you’re disappointed because it’s not the family head? I’m sorry about this.”

Baon continued his words neatly.

“Sadly, the head of household is very busy.”

No one here believed his words. They could tell at a glance that it was a lie.

The red-haired man could not hold back his anger and stepped forward as if he would throw his fists at any moment.

Baon leisurely looked at the man.

Seeing things could go south, Gray called out to the man in a low voice.

“Stop it, Asher.”

“……But!”

“Stop.”

The man called Asher reluctantly stepped back. There was nothing good about causing trouble in the territory of other clans.

First of all, getting the child back was the priority.

Gray turned his head to Baon.

“What about the child?”

“Are you talking about our lady?”

Baron immediately corrected Gray’s words and drew a line. At that claim, the Loisar clan hardened their expressions.

Our lady.

Although it was an indirect expression, it was the same as if they had heard Astrophel’s will.

We have no intention of giving her to you. 

Gray’s gold eyes narrowed. He didn’t think they would give up the child willingly, but it was not expected to come out like this from the start.

“My lady is doing well.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“Right? She probably won’t be able to adjust even if she goes back to the East.”

“Then it’s better to get together with her own people before she gets even more used to this place. There’s a limit to growing up in here.”

Baon was dumbfounded in the formidable war of nerves. It could be felt in his skin that they had come up with a plan to succeed and he decided to take a step back.

Unnecessary scuffles were not good in many ways. 

“You must be tired from coming a long way, so why don’t you go inside first?”

“I’d love to.”

Baon, who was blocking the door, stepped aside. Except for him, no one came to greet the Loisar Clan. 

Asher, who was staring at the back of Baon’s head who was leading the way, gritted his teeth and said.

“If that’s the case, why did they accept our visit? It’s so disrespectful. We need to raise an objection right away.”

“Quench your excitement.”

“Isn’t that an attitude of completely ignoring our Clan?”

“There are separate priorities. You haven’t forgotten that, have you?”

“But…”

“Never forget what our purpose is.”

The first goal was accomplished by stepping into the domain of the Astrophel family. The next thing was to meet with the family head and negotiate and then, appease the child.

Finally…….

“Aren’t we taking the child anyway?”

“I suppose so.”

“But with the attitude they are showing, I don’t think they’ll ever give the child back.”

“It’s probably because they’re upset about this. Still, the Head of Astrophel this time is a person who can communicate.”

Gray thought of Cade.

They had only spoken briefly, but he remembered it clearly. Cade was a rational and reasonable man.

No matter how much he cherished the child, he would not try to keep her even at the expense of the family. It was true that he didn’t like the way they were being treated, but in the end, Cade accepted the visit because he was willing to give in to some extent.

If it doesn’t pay off, Cade will give up the child without mercy.

“I’m a little worried, my Lord.”

“There’s no need for that. Even if setbacks were to happen, wouldn’t we have some remaining cards to use?”

There was a strong card left that the child had no choice but to show interest in. 

“Your role must be great.”

Across the darkened garden, Gray looked down at the woman following him. The woman drooped her head while flinching at his words. 

“Prove your usefulness now.”

“……Yes, Lord Gray. I will do my best.”

“It should be.”

It was a matter of life and death for their Clan. 

In order to recover their successor, which is the ultimate goal of this work, that child was absolutely necessary.

“This is where you will be staying.”

Baon stopped walking. 

It was an annex located close to the mansion.

“We’ve made arrangements so you don’t have to worry about your stay, but if you need anything, feel free to let us know.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s only natural to entertain guests. If you go inside, there will be guides.”

Baon bowed lightly.

Everyone was disapprovingly looking at him, but Baon didn’t care at all. As he had been watching them go inside one by one, Baon took a close look at the woman who caught his eye earlier.

The Loisar Clan were Eagles.

Although most of the werebeast in the delegation wasn’t from the family of chieftains, they were all on the large side as they belonged to a fairly high-ranking family.

But in the middle of these tall people, a woman with a very small body was seen.

‘What?’

It felt very foreign. 

She seemed to have withered away among the members of the Loisar clan. If they were from the same clan, there wouldn’t be any need for that.

Curious about the reason, Baon’s eyes opened wide in surprise as he persistently watched the woman entering the annex.

With her hood off, the woman’s hair was pure white silver.

It was a very familiar color.

“You must be very surprised.” 

Asher, who had been crookedly looking at Baon without going inside, let out a mean laugh.

“As you can see, we will take the child with us.”

“Ha.”

“Because the child will say she wants to go back herself. So tell your Lord to not waste each other’s time.”

Asher passed by triumphantly.

Baon murmured absent-mindedly as he looked at the woman moving away. 

“The guardian was alive.”

He met an unexpected ambush. He assumed, of course, that they would have robbed the eggs and disposed of the guardians…

That wasn’t it.

“This is troublesome.”

What should I do now? This was not in the plan.

Baon touched his forehead at the situation that would become complicated in the future.