The Almandine Family

Harriet's pale lavender hair was a scarce color in the North. When the maids braided Harriet's hair in a Northern women's hairstyle, Harriet was often complimented on her hair color's beauty.

Harriet just chuckled at that. She felt that the physique of the Northerners was much more beautiful than those of women in the capital. Northerners had soft, fair skin with pink undertones, and they usually had dark-colored hair. Meanwhile, Harriet's skin had pale undertones, almost transparent, and her entire body couldn't stand the bright sunlight from the sky reflecting off the white snow.

“Do you have Siren's blood running in your body? Sirens' hair is usually dark blue and purplish," said one of the maids.

Harriet smiled at the question.

"I'm not sure either," said Harriet quietly.

“Or perhaps you are related by blood with members of the Mercury Kingdom, Madam. They are famous for their silver or bluish hair," said another maid.

Harriet chuckled again. She didn't know. She was indeed someone of noble blood, but her family could be said to be eccentric. Her mother, the former Marchioness, was never married. Everyone suspected that Harriet and her brother didn't have the same father, given how different they looked. However, the two were the sons and daughters of their mother.

Harriet inherited their mother's eye color, and her brother inherited their mother's hair, which was as dark as night. Now that they were adults, they could also see similarities in their facial features if they looked closely.

"Young Lord has blonde hair," Harriet said quietly, causing the maids to stop talking. Everyone focused their attention on her.

“He's slimmer, and for some reason, I think he is also a little different from the Lycans I've seen. He doesn't even look like His Grace, the Old Duke," said Harriet.

“Oh, it was because of the Old Duchess, Madam,” said Amelia, who had just entered the room. The middle-aged woman, who still looked beautiful, asked Harriet, "Would you like to see the Old Duchess' painting, Madam?"

Amelia led Harriet down a long corridor that Harriet had never been through before. There hung the paintings of the Almandine Family from the Old Duke's generation.

Harriet saw a very manly man standing on the side of a single sofa occupied by a wonderful woman.

“This is the Old Duke when he was young and his wife,” said Amelia.

In the painting, the Old Duke looked very young. His brown hair was neatly styled, and his golden irises looked piercing even in his paintings. But of course, what caught Harriet's attention was the painting of the Old Duchess. She was a tall, slender woman with golden hair that gleamed beautifully. Harriet noticed that the woman's ears were slightly pointed. She turned to ask Amelia.

"Faerie. Or rather, a Half-Elf," said Amelia, reading her mind.

"Oh, is that true?" Harriet was shocked; she gasped. She didn't expect the Old Duke's wife to be a Half-Elf.

Amelia nodded, and she pulled Harriet to look into another painting.

In the painting, one could see a man with short golden hair and his wife, an ordinary human with blonde hair. Harriet blinked at Amelia, and Amelia quickly explained.

“This is the late Duke and Duchess, Young Lord's father and mother,” Amelia said. She continued, “After both of them died, the Old Duchess decided to go into seclusion and returned to nature due to her grief. But the Old Duke sometimes goes to visit her.”

"But it's not recorded in the books at all..." muttered Harriet.

Amelia nodded.

“Old Duke doesn't seem very fond of taking this kind of record, Madam,” the woman said.

Harriet could understand. The existence of Half-Elves in this world was even rarer than Elves. Although they could not master elven magic and were no more substantial than ordinary humans, they were brilliant and naturally mastered the elven language.

“So since the Old Duke and Duchess generation, there has been a lot that has influenced the birth of a blonde child in this family,” Amelia explained as Harriet marveled at how beautiful Liam's mother and grandmother were.

The two women were graceful and gentle; their eyes also showed joy. Harriet looked at an empty spot in the hallway that seemed reserved for another painting. There were no paintings there, which made the place feel empty.

Amelia told her about the Old Duchess. Then, she continued with the story about Liam's parents. Harriet wondered how old Amelia was, considering she sounded like she knew them personally. So, Harriet asked her.

"I'm a little older than Dan," answered Amelia.

Harriet blinked. "Secretary Daniel?"

Amelia nodded, and then the woman raised her sleeve to reveal her upper arm. There was a unique mark there, like a tattoo. "I'm Dan's mate. Madam already knows that, right?"

Harriet nodded.

“The mate of a Lycan will live as long as the Lycan lives. Unless Dan dies or I'm killed, I won't die before Dan dies," Amelia explained quietly.

Harriet had read about this fact somewhere in the book, but seeing it in person still fascinated her.

“I was very young when I started serving the Old Duchess; by then, Young Lord had already grown up. I don't know Young Lord's parents because they died only a few years after I worked for the Old Duchess…”

Harriet was saddened to hear that.

“Oh, look at the time, Madam. Let's prepare you for the full moon night tonight," said Amelia, trying to change the subject.

Because it was time, Harriet agreed. Amelia accompanied her to do her make-up and wear her dress. As the sun went down, Harriet held up a dinner tray for herself, Liam, and several other maids. She couldn't believe that a month had passed since their first night...

When Harriet reached the room at the top of the tower, she could see into the room through the open door. Harriet came in with the other maids. She saw the physicians and Daniel hanging out in the room with Liam, who was drying his hair.

“Don't overthink about it; this might not be a bad thing at all. I woke up. Doesn't that mean it's a good thing?” asked Liam, who seemed to be discussing the two instances where he suddenly woke up without a full moonlight and before the sun had set.

“Milord, do you feel any different than usual now that you are awake by the light of the full moon?” asked one of the physicians.

“There is no significant difference. I'm just feeling hungrier than usual," the man said and glanced at Harriet, who smiled as she walked closer to him.

After Harriet served Liam's dinner to him at the table, she glanced at Daniel. Secretary Daniel smiled helplessly, seeing Liam's indifference to his body condition.

“Milord has woken up randomly twice… is there an obvious similarity between the two?” mumbled Daniel.

“Oh! Similarity? Of course, there is,” Liam's mischievous eyes stared straight at Harriet, who narrowed her eyes with a blush.

"There is? Milord, did you find the interval between waking up and falling asleep? Does it have to do with the amount of moonlight you receive? Or because of other factors?” asked the physicians almost simultaneously.

Liam chuckled at their enthusiasm.

"Don't be so hasty; we should examine this phenomenon further, right?" said the man, raising one hand.

Liam asked the physicians and Daniel to leave so he could eat his dinner after a month in peace. He was left with Harriet alone there.

Liam looked straight at Harriet with only two left and cracked a mischievous smile.

"Madam, the two times I woke up, it always had something to do with you; you're aware, too, right?"