The Beloved New Daughter-In-Law of the Wolf Mansion Chapter 195 - Side story 8

“You know, Arsene.”

 

“I’m listening, so tell me.”

  

“When we have a child….”

 

“…What?”

 

Arsene, who had been lying loosely beside me looking over some documents, suddenly sat up.

 

“Why are you so surprised?”

 

“Why…are you saying something like that so suddenly?”

 

“No, it’s just that thinking about preparing the wedding makes me feel this way. And of course we need a child. You’re the heir of Yeckhart, after all.”

 

And it’s not that strange.

 

Arsene and I are already twenty-five.

 

We were old enough to get married and have children.

 

“Anyway, listen. When we have a child, it’ll be either a wolf beastman or a bird beastman, right?”

 

“Probably. If it’s a daughter, she’ll likely be a wolf beastman; if it’s a son, there’s a high chance he’ll be a bird beastman.”

 

Arsene hesitated a little, then seriously considered it together with me.

 

“Because sons take after their mother, and daughters take after their father?”

 

“Mhm.” 

 

“Then it would be good to have two children, right?”

 

“…Is this important?”

 

“Of course! You’re going to be the head of the Wolf clan!”

 

“Okay, let’s continue.”

 

Bird beastmen and wolf beastmen.

 

If the first child is born between Arsene and me, what would they look like?

 

Of course, we haven’t even… slept together yet.

 

Although we’ve never seriously talked about such things before.

 

‘Still, thinking that we’ll soon be married and truly become a couple…’

 

I can’t shake that thought.

 

At the moment when I was lost in thought.

 

Arsene threw aside the papers he was reading, grabbed my wrist, and said.

 

“Linsy.”

 

“Mhm?”

 

“If you’re bringing this up because you feel pressured by the duty to produce an heir…”

 

“What? It’s not like that.” 

 

I removed Arsene’s hand that was tightly gripping my wrist.

 

“Are you a fool? Why would I feel that pressure?” 

 

“Because I’m an only child?”

 

“But Kendrick won’t care. Besides, he told me a while ago…”

 

I remembered what Kendrick had said to me when he pulled me aside.

 

‘Linsy, I’ve informed all the elders. Everyone agreed that you should have a formal wedding with Arsene.’

 

‘Really?’

 

‘Alright, and I’ll handle the other complicated matters myself. But now that you two are adults, it’s best for you to make decisions on the rest.’

 

Kendrick said.

 

‘For the important matters, discuss them with Arsene and make the decisions together.’

 

‘Yes! Father!’

 

‘It’s good that you’re so spirited, and…’

 

‘Yes!’

 

‘The elders might bring up the topic of an heir with you and Arsene.’

 

‘Oh…Yes, that’s only natural.’

 

‘But you can ignore them as you see fit; there’s no need to take it to heart. It doesn’t matter if the two of you don’t have a child.’

 

‘Father?’

 

‘I know that telling you to have a child is out of greed. If you want one, have one; if you don’t, then don’t. That’s your decision and it’s between you and Arsene. So no matter what the elders of Yeckhart say…’

 

‘You’re telling me not to keep it to myself, right? I understand!’

 

‘Yeah.’

 

“To you?”

 

“He told me beforehand not to worry about having a child.” 

 

“Father?”

 

“Mhm, he told me not to feel burdened. I think he was looking out for me in advance, worried that I might be concerned.” 

 

“You’re the one who made the first move…”

 

“So, Arsene, I’m not saying this out of pressure.”

 

I leaned in close to Arsene.

 

“It’s just something said on a whim, so you don’t need to feel burdened either, okay?”

 

“Alright, Linsy. Now, go ahead and continue.”

 

Arsene nodded.

 

“You want to have two?”

 

“Wouldn’t it be cute if there’s a bird beastman that looks like me and a wolf beastman that looks like you?”

 

“Surely, no matter what is born, they’d be so cute you couldn’t help yourself.”

 

“Right?”

 

I fidgeted with my hands.

 

Having a child had always felt distant, like it was someone else’s story.

 

I had always thought I would remain a child my whole life.

 

And even now, it still didn’t feel very close.

 

But…

 

‘Once we become a married couple…’

 

I thought that far and then stopped myself.

 

Once I brought up the topic, I realized how embarrassing it actually was.

 

Especially since I was having this kind of conversation with Arsene.

 

‘Even more embarrassing!’

 

I stared at Arsene for a moment and said cautiously.

 

“You know, Arsene.”

 

“Mhm.” 

 

“I think we can talk about this later.”

 

“…?”

 

“I guess I’m still a little embarrassed.”

 

Arsene looked at me with a bewildered expression and then said.

 

“You were the one who brought it up, Linsy…”

 

***

 

A wedding in the Wolf clan is celebrated more grandly than in any other beastman clan.

 

The Wolf clan takes only one mate in their lifetime.

 

Even if their mate dies, they do not take a new one.

 

If there were a wolf who broke this long-standing rule and took a new mate.

 

He would be shunned by the other wolves and expelled from the pack.

 

That is the long-standing rule of the wolf beastmen.

 

For them, a wedding truly happens only once in a lifetime.

 

Is that why?

 

“This is ridiculous…”

 

I gaped as I watched the beastmen continuously streaming into the massive Yeckhart estate.

 

Kendrick wanted to hold the wedding outdoors, so he arranged the massive garden.

 

After transforming the area into a wedding venue, he arranged seats so that the countless guests could watch and sit comfortably.

 

The scale was enormous.

 

Yeckhart isn’t an ordinary family; it’s the ruling house of the Wolf clan.

 

Moreover, the Wolf clan is one of the clans with the largest territory.

 

Because of this, although Yeckhart is called an estate, it should really be considered comparable in size to a castle.

 

The garden attached to the estate, once arranged, was unbelievably vast.

 

“Is it as big as the Yeckhart estate…?”

 

Arsene appeared behind me and gently wrapped his arms around me.

 

“In the square?”

 

“Mhm, he said he wanted to build a new building in the square for the wedding… but I wanted to marry you here.” 

 

Arsene subtly glanced at me, trying to gauge my reaction.

 

“You like the square? Should I not have tried to stop it?”

 

“No! I like it here too.”

 

I gently cupped Arsene’s cheek and chuckled.

 

“You look handsome today, Arsene.”

 

Today was the wedding day.

 

I woke up at dawn and was bathed and groomed in every corner by the maids, including Betty.

 

Bath, bath, and more bath!

 

After that, there was no time to collect my thoughts as I put on the dress and had my hair styled.

 

During the process, the maids moved in perfect unison with determined expressions, careful not to make even the slightest mistake.

 

‘Ugh, it was completely overwhelming…’

 

I’ve had a modest wedding before.

 

But this time, the process was far more complicated than back then.

 

The maids helped me into the wedding dress that Arsene and I had personally ordered and had made.

 

Insisting that even the tips of my nails be perfect, two of them spent the entire morning grooming my nails.

 

The ceremony was scheduled to take place after noon, but I had woken up at six in the morning.

 

I dozed off repeatedly and asked the maid.

 

“Is Arsene awake now?” 

 

“Yes, the Young Master has also woken up and is getting ready!”

 

“Arsene is a heavy sleeper, so he must be having a hard time too…”

 

“Hard time? He’s so excited! He even woke up before us!”

 

“That’s right, that’s right, he woke up really early today!”

 

The maids chattered away as they braided and tied up my hair.

 

Thus, the preparations that seemed like they would never end finally came to an end.

 

‘It’s finally over!’

 

I waited in the dressing room for the maids, having barely managed a sip of water and a single cookie.

 

There was still a little time left before the ceremony began.

 

But…

 

“But shouldn’t you not be here?”

 

Arsene had slipped into the waiting room and hugged me.

 

Arsene’s soft silver hair was neatly combed back, and he was wearing a splendid white robe.

 

In his formal coat pocket was a brooch adorned with peridot, similar in color to my eyes, and emeralds.

 

It was stunning, almost breathtaking.

 

But.

 

‘Stunning is stunning, but this is it!’

 

I gently stroked Arsene’s jaw as if scratching it and spoke.

 

“If you get caught coming in here, Betty’s going to scold you.”

 

“But.”

 

“But?”

 

“How am I supposed to wait until it starts? I couldn’t bear it because I wanted to see you since morning.”

 

Arsene said, hugging me tightly.

 

I hugged Arsene as if I couldn’t help it, carefully examining his hair.

 

It would be a problem if wolf ears suddenly popped out from the hair the maids had worked so hard to comb.