“Oh, come on, you’re making a big deal out of it. Besides, I can transform into a human now. I’m not a beast anymore.”

Etzcel, who had once been tied up like a dog, didn’t seem upset by his brother’s words; rather, he snorted.

Jesper, who had experienced his brother’s boldness firsthand, sighed deeply.

“Is this what they call cheekiness?”

He said, pressing his temples while experiencing a throbbing headache.

“…Who said I wanted to treat you like that? If you hadn’t caused trouble, we wouldn’t have had to. And you chewed through the leash in just five minutes and ran away, remember?”

“I don’t remember.”

I was exceptionally good at omitting my own actions.

Jesper, who had suppressed his anger, finally got to the point.

“…Congratulations on becoming a shape-shifter. But you’re not an Empress.”

“Why? What’s wrong with that? I heard the Emperor and Empress don’t get along.”

Etzcel, who had been grinning mischievously until now, suddenly stiffened at the mention of the Empress.

Ever since he had transformed into a shape-shifter, he had been like this whenever the Empress was mentioned.

Jesper had actually told him about the Empress’s unpleasant reputation to keep his younger brother entertained at home.

“Anyway, now that you know how to transform, don’t go wandering around as a fox anymore.”

“It doesn’t matter since no one knows anyway.”

“From now on, be careful. Your scent will return now that you’re cured.”

Etzcel, who had lived as a fox from birth and had no shame about revealing his true form as a shape-shifter, had to stop pretending to be a beast now.

Shape-shifters had a way of recognizing each other through their scents.

Those with a keen sense of smell could even identify each other by their scents.

“Alright, I’ll be careful.”

Etzcel nodded his head.

Jesper breathed a sigh of relief as he saw his brother answering obediently for the first time today.

But he couldn’t let his guard down.

“The Empress definitely healed my illness.”

“…I’m telling you she didn’t.”

Once again, Etzcel’s boasting about how the Empress had miraculously healed him began.

His younger brother believed fervently that the Empress had cured his illness, but Jesper saw it as a mere coincidence.

It was a well-known fact that she had a special star of destiny, but that couldn’t have cured his brother’s illness.

Although Jesper was grateful that his brother could finally leave behind the life of a beast, he was worried about his brother’s delusions.

“Do you think the Empress would care about you? The Emperor and the Duke were her suitors.”

“Still, destiny is different. The Emperor even had a woman with the same name. Because of politics, the Empress fell behind.”
Here is the English translation of the Korean paragraph you provided, following your guidelines:

“No matter how much of a couple you are, what’s the use if you’re not destined for each other?”

Heung, Etzcel, who had just let out a sneeze, suddenly twinkled his eyes.

“Maybe my name as the Empress is meant to be with me?”

“…Etzcel. I’ll say it again, the Empress is human.”

Jesper pressed his temples, where a vein had popped up.

His brother, who had been living well as a fox, had suddenly become a fatalist one day.

“I know that too. But you never know.”

Because she was a woman born with the destiny of both a human and a shape-shifter.

His interest in the Empress’s palace was purely out of curiosity about the human Empress.

The Empress’s golden hair stood out especially in the pure white garden.

Her blue eyes, contrary to her known reputation, were affectionate, and her smile and touch towards him were exceptionally kind.

“There was a reason I kept being drawn to her.”

Ever since meeting the Empress, his joints had been itching, and he had been experiencing strange sensations.

It had been exactly a week since he met her.

On that day, he had an unusually excited feeling. The Empress’s touch felt different from before.

And it was at that moment that the Duke appeared.

He knew it as soon as he smelled him. The fact that they would compete over the same thing.

It was an instinct as a male.

That night, Etzcel succeeded in shape-shifting.

For a moment, the eyes of the fox, who had thought of the Duke, turned cold.

“Etzcel, what are you thinking that your expression looks like that? Are you planning to cause another accident…?”

“It’s nothing.”

In response to his brother’s worried voice, Etzcel quickly returned to his usual youthful expression.

‘Ah, if only I had transformed a little later. Then I could have lived in the Empress’s palace with her.’

Of course, it was good that he could transform, but he couldn’t help but feel a little regretful about the fact that the Empress had even suggested living together.

Etzcel casually said words that would make his brother faint if he heard them.

“Hey, brother, the Captain of the Guard? If I become the Commander, will there be a chance to meet the Empress?”