Chapter 25

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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Chapter 25
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Mabel even said to the fussing maids with a smile.

"Caterpillars aren't dangerous. If you look closely, they're actually quite cute."

Kellik was thoroughly annoyed by her brazen response.

"It was you, Older Brother! You told her beforehand, didn't you?!"

Kellik demanded breathlessly, but Aselt feigned ignorance.

"How would I know something you didn't even tell me?"

"Ugh...!"

Because he truly hadn't known.
But Kellik was simply hurt that Aselt had taken Mabel's side again.

"Just you wait!"

So, Kellik brought out his 'treasure chest,' something he rarely took out.
This box, if you wanted to know, contained everything from cicada shells to dried-up beetles and camel cricket antennae!
It held the collection that Kellik, a Red Fox Beastman, cherished most, and which even made Aselt turn green.
'Hmph, no matter how strong she pretends to be, she won't be able to handle this!'
No one had ever failed to be horrified by Kellik's treasure chest until now.
Except for one person: Sigmund, his lifesaver and mentor.
But Kellik's prediction, as always, spectacularly missed the mark this time too.

"Wow, that's fascinating. This beetle looks just like mother-of-pearl."

It was the first time.
The first person who hadn't run away after seeing his collection.
The first person who hadn't screamed and pushed the treasure chest away.
The first person who had recognized the true value of these treasures!
Even Sigmund had nagged him not to display them on the dining table!
For a moment, Kellik felt a shock as if his world had been turned upside down.
This kid, she really knew her stuff!
With an excited flush, Kellik thrust the treasure chest closer to Mabel and said,
"Right?! That's why its name is Mother-of-Pearl Beetle! But you know about mother-of-pearl too? I just learned about that recently, you're really smart!"
Once Kellik's mouth opened, there was no stopping it.
"And want to see this? This is a snake's shed skin, here, if you hold it up to the sunlight like this..."
Kellik flapped his arms, urging her to come closer quickly, so Mabel got up from her seat and went to his side.
Then Kellik raised his hand high and moved the snake's skin around.
"Look, here! Doesn't it look like a rainbow?"
"Wow, it really does!"
"So its name is Opal Snake! Uh, what opal is, is~"
Kellik, thrilled by Mabel's attentive listening, chattered on even more excitedly.
He was so excited that his fluffy red fox ears and tail even popped out.
Aselt, who had been lying next to Mabel reading a book, chuckled at Kellik's wildly wagging tail.

'What a simpleton.'
He had been worried about how Kellik would accept Mabel, so this was a relief.
'I thought it would be better to let him experience it himself rather than forcing him to sit and talk.'
That's why, even though Kellik had run out crying yesterday, he hadn't gone after him.
He certainly hadn't expected Kellik to come looking for him to eat breakfast together, despite what happened yesterday.
"Whoa, a tail! It looks super fluffy!"
"Right? It's my pride and joy. My tail is bigger than anyone else's! Want to touch it?"
"Can I really?"
"Of course! You're a special person who recognized the value of my treasure chest!"
Fancy that?
He was even letting her touch his tail, which he didn't let just anyone touch.
'He's completely fallen for her already.'
It had taken Aselt about a month to even touch that tail.
Of course, their first meeting had been a unique case, that of predator and prey.
Even now, Kellik wouldn't entrust his tail brushing to anyone but his dedicated maid.
But to let her touch his tail right away, this was truly unprecedented.
'Speaking of which...'
Aselt tapped his lips with the corner of his book and looked at Mabel.
'Why isn't Mabel scared of bugs?'
Furthermore, Kellik's treasure chest didn't just contain bugs or snake skins.
There were taxidermied bat specimens, severed lizard tails, dried centipedes, and more...
Sometimes, even Aselt felt a shiver down his spine as if bugs were crawling on him from the sheer number of creepy things.
Yet Mabel was looking at Kellik's treasure chest, filled with such things, as if it truly were a 'treasure chest.'
'Normal kids would have been disgusted.'
Aselt wasn't the only one thinking that, as Shilla cautiously called out to Mabel.
"Oh, Young Lady...?"
Shilla was a maid who had been promoted after the incident in the activity room, which led to the dismissal of other staff.
This time, she had overcome fierce competition to serve Mabel alongside Ella.
Such a Shilla was now on the verge of fainting.
Because the young lady she served—small, precious, cute, soft, warm, smart, and kind—was holding a shriveled crow's head.
"A-aren't you scared...?"
Shilla asked as gently and euphemistically as possible.
In her heart, she wanted to yell, 'Ew, gross, throw that disgusting thing away!' but she held back because Kellik was the owner of the box.
However, Mabel smiled, placing the crow's head on her white palm, which was so precious it seemed a waste to put anything but the most beautiful and valuable things on it.
"No! It's so fascinating!"
And then, as if to prove she wasn't lying, she even held it close to her nose and observed it.
"I've often seen things that starved to death or rotted away in corners."
"...Huh?"
At Mabel's words, Aselt, who had been silent, inserted his finger between the pages of his book and stood up.
Shilla, and Ella, who had seemed to faint with a smile, also came to their senses and were now looking at Mabel.
"Really? Where did you see all that?"
To Kellik's excited question, who said he wanted to see them too, Mabel gave an awkward little laugh and said,
"From where I used to live."
"Where you used to live... huh?"
Only then did Kellik belatedly realize something was off.
Mabel was a member of the Ashilonia Family, and their only Princess at that.
Why would such things be in the room of a Princess who should have been treated so preciously?
Aselt and Kellik only knew that Mabel was Sophia's daughter; they had no idea how she had been treated at the Ashilonia Residence.
To the two of them, Mabel explained with an unconcerned expression, as if she were talking about the breakfast she'd had that morning.
"No one took care of me. They said it's because I was a child who shouldn't have been born. So I lived alone in places like a storage room? A small room? An attic?"

"Oh, Young Lady..."
Ella belatedly tried to stop Mabel from speaking.
It was not only because she didn't want Mabel to recall that terrible place again, but also because she worried Mabel would be hurt anew.
But Mabel, contrary to the adults' worries, was surprisingly fine.
"There were so many bugs there. There were house centipedes the size of my palm, and rats with red eyes just like mine."
Before realizing this was a novel, Mabel was actually more familiar with bugs and rats than with people.
So much so that at night, while everyone slept, she would secretly rummage through food waste and eat it even if bugs crawled out, without a care.
"Thinking about it now, I wonder how I did it, but back then, it was really fine. Maybe it was because I didn't know any better. That's why even now, I'm not really scared of these kinds of-"
"You idiot!"
While everyone else was speechless, the one who broke the silence and shouted was Kellik.
Kellik immediately brushed the crow's head off Mabel's palm.
"How can that be fine?! That's not normal for you!"
"Oh! Young Master's treasure!"
A startled Mabel hurriedly tried to pick up the crow's head that had fallen to the floor.
But this time too, Kellik was faster, kicking it away with his foot.
Then he grabbed Mabel's hand, went to the fountain, and scrubbed her hands clean.
"You, listen, don't touch stuff like this anymore. Got it?"
"Huh?"
Mabel was just bewildered, not understanding why Kellik was acting like this.
He had been so proud showing them off just moments ago?
Aselt, who had approached unnoticed, offered a handkerchief.
Kellik snatched the handkerchief, wiped the water from Mabel's hands thoroughly, and then yelled,
"From now on, only touch good things! Pretty things! Cute, soft things! Things like you!"
Kellik's eyes were red-rimmed as he shouted.
Aselt, as if expecting this, handed him a new handkerchief, and Kellik buried his face in it, bursting into tears.
"What kind of talk is that, 'shouldn't have been born,' are you an idiot? Why did you just listen to such words?!"
Kellik continued to wail and shout even as he cried.
His voice was loud enough to hurt her ears, but Mabel didn't flinch.
Because Kellik's voice held nothing but concern.
"Young Master..."
Just as Mabel was about to offer comfort, Kellik grabbed her hand firmly and exclaimed,
"No child is born for a reason!"
At those words, Mabel's eyes widened.