Chapter One
I adopted a fox beastman.
And raised him with a cold, detached heart.
I thought it was a problem with my methods.
Turns out, he only ever warmed up to the maid I hired to look after him.
The day I fired her, he bit me.
As pain shot through my hand, a line of ghostly text floated before my eyes:
【Even after all this, the villainess can’t bear to abandon the male lead?)
【Who would’ve thought the male lead would ignore a rich, beautiful villainess for the maid she hired?]
[He’s got good taste. The maid is the long–lost true heiress of the Graves family.)
【The next arc is insane! The female lead returns to her wealthy family, gets the villainess fired, and steals the male lead back. A classic takedown story!]
Wait. What?
1 worked my ass off, scraped together a small fortune, and decided to get a pet.
How did I end up as the villainess slated for a takedown?
Fine.
If that’s the script, then they can both get the hell out.
I found Silas curled up with the maid, Jenna Croft, on the cramped single bed in her staff quarters.
The bed was too small.
His magnificent fox tail hung limply, brushing against the dusty floor.
The door creaked open.
Silas’s fox ears twitched. He sensed my presence and reluctantly pulled away from Jenna’s embrace.
“What are you doing here?”
His question, a sharp accusation, caught me off guard.
Shouldn’t that be my line?
This was the pet I’d paid a six–figure sum for. Not in my room, not even in his own lavish suite, but here, tangled up with the help.
I’d once thought his aloofness was just his nature. He carried himself with such untouchable pride that I sometimes felt I was parenting a tiny, furry god.
He never let me touch him.
But here he was, sleeping soundly in the arms of his caretaker.
The harder I worked, the more I despaired.
Was I grinding away just to fund the perfect life for my mald?
The thought soured in my stomach. I needed to get him out of here, to talk.
Hit Silas remained seated on that pathetic little bed unmoving
11:22 PM
But Silas remained seated on that pathetic little bed, unmoving.
“Don’t even think about forcing me! My tail is for Jenna to touch. Only Jenna!”
The staff room was spartan–a small bed, a cheap wardrobe. My mind flashed to the room I’d prepared for him.
Floor–to–ceiling windows, a balcony overlooking the garden, a king–sized bed, a separate walk–in closet, a room full of every beastman toy imaginable….
”
”
For a moment, I wondered if material love was too shallow.
But I’d pushed myself to the brink, worked myself to the bone, precisely to give him that comfort.
My brow furrowed. I reached for him even
He slapped my hand away.
“Will you just leave us alone?”
I was about to lose my temper when Jenna interrupted.
Ms. Rhimes, everyone has the right to choose. Beastmen included.”
She stepped in front of Silas, a brave, defiant shield.
“Silas loves me, not you. You can’t force him.”
A very noble speech.
Except I was the one paying for all of it.
Including the salary of the professional beastman handler who was now lecturing me on beastman rights.
It seemed the handler wasn’t doing her job properly.
And a poorly performing employee gets replaced.
