The Beast Swallowed by the Flower (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 28

Near the end of the meal, Jamie returned.

“I’m ready, boss.”

“Lisi, let’s go. There’s something wonderful to see.”

Lost in thought about the Sleeve Stone, Kai had forgotten he’d promised to show her something amazing.

Lisi stood up, taking his hand.

They headed toward the stable tucked away in a corner of the mansion.

In the wide clearing before the stable, sturdy-looking horses rested or played comfortably.

The stable itself was empty, as if all the horses had been set loose.

Walking down the center path of the stable, they came upon a closed door.

Jamie opened the door.

The first person they saw was Eugene.

Normally expressionless to the point of seeming cold, Eugene was gazing downward with a sweet smile—but quickly composed himself upon realizing the door had opened.

“Boss. Sister-in-law.”

“It’s been a while, Eugene. Have you been well?”

She greeted him cheerfully, but Kai gently turned Lisi’s chin with his fingers.

“What you need to see isn’t over there—it’s right here.”

Lisi absentmindedly shifted her gaze and let out an involuntary gasp.

“Oh my!”

A tiny white foal stood pressed tightly against its equally white mother.

What amazed her most was this:

“It has… horns.”

The little foal had a horn.

A long, golden horn shimmering with light.

Lisi covered her mouth with both hands.

She knew of white horses with long horns—but those existed only in legends.

“A unicorn…”

She never dreamed she’d see a real unicorn.

“Yes, it’s a unicorn.”

“But… the mother doesn’t have a horn.”

The mare looked like an ordinary white horse.

“These creatures can conceal their horns once they reach adulthood—it’s an evolutionary adaptation for survival.”

Kai pulled Lisi’s hand toward the mare’s head.

Lisi worried the horse might bite her hand, but it stood calmly.

Though she saw nothing, her fingers touched something hard.

“There’s… something there.”

“Indeed there is. White.”

Apparently, “White” was the unicorn’s name.

When Kai called its name, the previously invisible horn slowly emerged.

A golden horn far more brilliant than the foal’s.

Lisi held her breath, soaking in the wondrous sight of legend made real.

“Unicorns are intelligent and strong. They understand human speech well and offer loyalty once they accept someone as their master. Adult unicorns can even fly.”

“Just like the legends…”

“They’re not legends, Lisi. Humans simply gave a fancy name to creatures they themselves drove to extinction.”

White’s horn vanished again.

Kai looked down at the foal.

“This little one doesn’t even have a name yet.”

“I see. I don’t think you should be the one to name it.”

“Hm? Why not?”

“Your naming sense is a bit… Calling it ‘White’ just because it’s white…”

Eugene, who had been standing quietly, nodded in agreement.

White seemed to nod along as well.

“You can’t very well call a white one ‘Black,’ can you?”

“In any case, someone else should name this little one.”

“You name it.”

“Me?”

“Now this little one belongs to you.”

Lisi stared at Kai wide-eyed.

Could he possibly be serious?

It was already hard to believe unicorns truly existed—and now he was giving one to her as a wedding gift?

If unicorns could really fly, shouldn’t they belong to Kai’s shadow agents instead?

Lisi turned to Eugene, whose expression gave nothing away.

So she turned next to Jamie. Jamie grinned.

“Please take it, Lady Iris. We’re really not cut out for parenting…”

“Parenting?”

“Well… how should I put it? Honestly, we opposed the idea of giving this foal to you as a gift.”

Of course they would.

Something this precious.

“This isn’t a gift, Sister-in-law—it’s a curse.”

Eugene, who had been silently standing by, finally couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Excuse me?”

“Unicorns are cute. Truly beautiful and elegant. But…”

Eugene reached his right hand toward the foal.

And then—

Chomp-!

He got bitten.

“See?”

Eugene spoke without pulling his hand away.

“Unicorns without masters are vicious and willful. It took the boss a very long time to tame White.”

Now Eugene tried to pull his hand back, but the foal wouldn’t let go.

“You should think of it as raising a completely untrained three- or four-year-old child, Sister-in-law. Do you even know what such children are like?”

Whooshhh-

The sound of rain filled the air.

The foal was urinating while still biting Eugene’s hand.

Eugene pointed at the foal with his left hand, as if to say, “Look at this.”

“You have to teach it, tame it, and earn its recognition as master. It’s no easy task, Sister-in-law. Frankly, I think the boss is trying to dump his parenting duties onto you.”

Lisi turned to Kai.

Kai wore a delighted smile.

“Is Eugene right?”

“What do you think?”

“Partly true. And partly not.”

From the look in Kai’s eyes as he gazed at her, Lisi felt she understood his true intentions.

“You’re expecting me to tame this little one.”

“Not just expecting—I believe you can.”

“I’m not sure. I’ve never raised a child before.”

In her past life, dealing with children had always been difficult. Having never been treated like a child herself, she had no idea how to interact with them.

“Unicorns are swift—faster than any horse.”

Kai took Lisi’s hand.

“I want to ride them with you.”

Lisi tried to imagine herself galloping on the radiant unicorn alongside Kai.

But she couldn’t picture it—she’d never ridden a horse before.

‘But…’

There might come times when she’d need to ride alone.

Having a unicorn would be useful.

“Alright.”

Lisi replied.

“I’ll become this little one’s master.”

+++

Lisi returned to her room from the study, arms full of books.

[Fascinating! Encyclopedia of Mythical Creatures], [Legends of the World], [Legendary Beasts], [Mythical Creatures That Actually Exist], [Beginner Hunter’s Guide to Legendary Beasts]

Most were third-rate magazine-level books she’d read for fun and toss aside.

Every book featured unicorns, drawn by their captivating allure.

But most entries only contained a few brief lines, describing only their appearance—nothing about their habits or preferences.

The piece of information that horrified Lisi the most was:

[The unicorn’s primary diet consists of live mice.]

‘Surely… they don’t really eat live mice?’

She didn’t want to imagine that small, adorable creature crunching on mice.

“Lady Iris, what are you reading so intently?”

Erwell, who had been fidgeting restlessly since earlier, asked during a brief moment when Krishina had stepped out.

“Do you know anything about legendary creatures?”

“I took an elective course on them back at the academy, but…”

“What about unicorns? Did they teach what they like?”

“Unicorns? Ugh, those little… um, they’re not great. They reportedly love eating giant caterpillars.”

“Oh…”

Now it was caterpillars.

Lisi didn’t want to picture unicorns eating those either.

“People say unicorns really existed long ago, but they had terrible… um, not-so-great personalities, and unicorn meat is supposedly very healthy—especially the horn. Eating it could supposedly revive the dead… so they were hunted indiscriminately until they went extinct.”

“I see.”

“But why are you interested in unicorns?”

Lisi hesitated, unsure if she should tell Erwell about the unicorn.

It seemed only Kai and his shadows knew of its existence.

“The Viscount gave me a foal as a gift. While watching it, I became curious about unicorns.”

In the end, she told a lie.

Erwell nodded without suspicion.

“Foals are gentle. Scratch their neck a bit, make eye contact, give them a carrot—they’ll warm up to you in no time.”

That was precisely the problem—it didn’t seem likely.

“Have you chosen a name for the foal yet?”

“Not yet.”

“You should name it right away. You can’t get close to anything without giving it a name first.”

Lisi had never named a living creature before.

She couldn’t think of a name that suited the small, lovely unicorn.

“It’s a white horse—what name would be good?”

“A white horse? Then Whitey! Whitey.”

“…Ah, right.”

Erwell wasn’t any better at naming than Kai.

Lisi closed the book, stood up, and left the room. Reading these books didn’t seem like it would help her understand unicorns any better.

On her way down the stairs, she ran into Nathan hurrying up.

“Oh, Sister-in-law! Good morning!”

Nathan stopped abruptly and bowed deeply.

“Good morning, Nathan. Where are you off to?”

“The boss called me for something. Oh, right—Sister-in-law, I heard you got a unicorn?”

“Yes, that’s what happened. Do you have any advice?”

“Hmm… advice, advice…”

Nathan crossed his arms and furrowed his brow.

After frowning thoughtfully with his pretty face for a while, he stared seriously at Lisi and said,

“Be careful not to get bitten. Once it grows a bit bigger, it’ll start kicking with its hind legs—so don’t stand behind it, or it’ll kick you. But standing in front isn’t safe either; it might gore you with its horn. Best to stay a good distance away, toss it a fresh carrot, and just watch from afar.”

“Very useful advice.”

Nathan beamed.

“Be careful, Sister-in-law. If you get hurt, Zen will kick the boss.”

“Why would Kai get kicked if I’m the one hurt?”

“Because the boss gave you such a dangerous and terrifying gift.”

A dangerous and terrifying gift.

Her confidence was fading fast.

Could she really tame that small, white creature?

Lost in thought, Lisi wandered out of the main building and into the garden, where she stopped upon hearing soft murmuring voices.

Through the garden trees, she glimpsed streaks of gray hair—Marquis and Marchioness Green were taking a stroll.

She’d forgotten the elderly couple was even at the mansion.

Oh no—she should have paid her morning respects.

In her past life, Alford’s parents would get furious if Lisi didn’t wait outside their door to offer her morning greeting.

“You’re uneducated, ignorant, and lack basic manners—how did someone like you ever end up in our family…”

Lisi hurried toward the elderly couple.

“Oh, Lisi. Did you sleep well?”

Thankfully, Heraina didn’t seem upset.

“Yes, Mother. I’m sorry—I should have come to greet you earlier.”

“Hm? Morning greeting? Ah, morning greeting… Dear, she says ‘morning greeting.'”

“Heh heh…”

Wyvern chuckled as if genuinely amused.

Lisi couldn’t understand their reaction—they weren’t angry, nor were they mocking her.

“How proper of you, Lisi. We’ve never received morning greetings from our own children… So such a thing really exists.”

Heraina seemed genuinely astonished.

Only then did Lisi finally relax. She’d resolved to live a different life this time, yet she still hadn’t escaped the trauma of her past.

The Green family was nothing like the Wittelo or Fuchs families.

“By the way, Lisi, this is perfect timing. I wanted to ask you something.”

Heraina gazed steadily at Lisi with her amber eyes and asked,

“How should we treat the Duke and Duchess Wittelo?”