Chapter 98
In response to the red-haired woman’s question, I blurted out without thinking.
“Ah, I came looking for a shapeshifter.”
“Which tribe? Tell me. I know almost all shapeshifters in the capital.”
Her casual behavior and frank way of speaking made me lower my guard a little.
I carefully spoke in a small voice.
“I’m looking for the Ulpes tribe, fox shapeshifters who live in the northern region.”
The red-haired woman crossed her arms and fell into deep thought.
“The Ulpes tribe, they’re shrouded in mystery with almost no information available. I’ve heard they don’t even interact with other shapeshifter tribes. Are you from the Ulpes tribe too?”
The red-haired woman asked me with sparkling eyes.
Her gaze was filled with such expectation that it felt burdensome.
As I hesitated over how to answer, there was the sound of a gate clanking open.
The iron gate of the shapeshifter shelter was slowly opening.
A group of shapeshifters was coming out in an orderly fashion. The shapeshifters waiting in line at the gate murmured and stepped aside.
The red-haired woman and I also moved to the side of the road.
The shapeshifters wore pure white knight uniforms with white masks covering their faces. Their gait was disciplined like trained soldiers.
“Wow, the patrol squad is out!”
The shapeshifters welcomed their appearance with cheers and applause.
“Who are they?”
I whispered to the red-haired woman.
“They’re the patrol squad that protects shapeshifters. They’re made up of volunteers. They do excellent work rescuing shapeshifters who suffer violence or persecution from humans. Aren’t they amazing?”
The red-haired woman cheered toward the patrol squad.
As I examined the patrol squad, I suddenly felt a gaze staring intently at me.
What’s this?
The patrol squad members were all dressed identically with masks covering their eyes, making it impossible to distinguish who was who.
But I could still feel someone’s sharp gaze fixed on me. Who could it be?
I tried to get closer to examine the patrol squad, but I staggered as shapeshifters’ shoulders bumped into me.
“Oh my, be careful. It’s dangerous to go forward now.”
The red-haired woman grabbed my arm and pulled me back to the side.
“What do you mean?”
The patrol squad members were each carrying bags, and they began taking out small brown medicine bottles and distributing them to the shapeshifters.
The shapeshifters rushed forward, extending their hands and causing a commotion as they tried to receive the bottles.
“Ohhh, they’re bestowing the blessing of happiness!”
“Thank you!”
The shapeshifters shouted their thanks and hurriedly began drinking from the medicine bottles.
A strong lily scent emanated from the bottles, and soon the area in front of the shapeshifter shelter was filled with an intense fragrance.
The scent was so powerful it made my nose tingle and my head spin. What kind of scent could be so overwhelming?
The red-haired woman, who had received a medicine bottle, offered it to me with a happy smile.
“Here, you should drink it too. It will make you forget all the pain of this filthy human world at once.”
“What? Ah, no, I’m fine.”
“Why are you hesitating? Come with me to the shapeshifter shelter. I’ll help you find your tribe.”
The red-haired woman grabbed my wrist. Her attitude was no longer simply persuasive.
She was pulling me with surprisingly strong force.
I noticed the gray fur on the back of her hand.
A wolf shapeshifter. Her human transformation is so perfect that I only just noticed.
“Wait, just a moment.”
At that moment, another shapeshifter approached the red-haired woman, trying to take her medicine bottle.
“Hey, if you’re not going to drink it, share it.”
“What’s your problem! Get away! This is mine!”
While the red-haired woman was cursing at the shapeshifter, I quickly slipped out of her grasp and escaped.
The area in front of the shapeshifter shelter had turned into a battleground with shapeshifters fighting over the medicine bottles.
Bottles fell to the ground as they shouted at each other, pulled hair, and bit ears.
Screams and loud voices echoed everywhere as physical fights broke out.
Some excited shapeshifters transformed into their animal forms, baring their fangs threateningly with murderous intent toward one another.
What was strange was that the patrol squad did nothing to stop them and merely watched the scene silently.
Shapeshifters who had already emptied their bottles staggered and collapsed.
They smiled happily with dazed expressions, like people drunk on alcohol.
The patrol squad supported these shapeshifters one by one and led them inside the shelter.
By now, the red-haired woman was also being guided by the patrol squad’s hands toward the main entrance.
“What on earth is happening here?”
As I stood dumbfounded, trying to understand the situation, someone grabbed my shoulder forcefully.
It was a man wearing a fedora and a black coat.
Just as I was about to scream, he covered my mouth with his hand.
“Quiet. Don’t be afraid.”
“Ah…!”
The person before me was none other than Doctor James, the Countess Grace’s physician and a shapeshifter.
James looked around anxiously before quickly grabbing my wrist and entering an alleyway.
The area in front of the shapeshifter shelter was still in chaos, with the patrol squad taking shapeshifters one by one into the shelter.
“Miss Shuvelia, why are you here?”
“Well, I came looking for someone.”
“Sigh, so you came without knowing what kind of place the shapeshifter shelter is. Let’s move to a safe location first.”
James led me by the hand and hurriedly exited the alley. Outside the alley, a carriage was waiting.
I found myself boarding the carriage with James.
Once the carriage departed, James finally let out a sigh of relief and removed his fedora.
“Doctor James, why is the shapeshifter shelter dangerous?”
I asked the question that had been bothering me all along. James bit his lip nervously.
“Did you receive or perhaps drink any of the medicine they were distributing there?”
“No. But what is that medicine? The shapeshifters were acting strange.”
James rubbed his face tiredly before speaking.
“It’s a stimulant that temporarily makes you feel good, helps you forget physical pain, and increases physical activity. It’s highly addictive, so shapeshifters who drink it once keep coming back to the shelter for more.”
“What? Why would the shapeshifter shelter distribute such medicine?”
James’s expression darkened.
“Most shapeshifters live doing hard physical labor or suffering persecution and contempt from their human employers. The medicine helps them forget the pain of their lives. The shelter manufactures and distributes the medicine free of charge, claiming it’s for the mental and physical well-being of shapeshifters.”
“But what about side effects? Doesn’t anyone try to stop this?”
James raised his head and looked at me.
His gray eyes swirled with a mixture of pain and anger.
“Humans don’t care about shapeshifters’ suffering. As long as they keep working like cogs in a machine, humans don’t pay attention. In fact, they welcome the medicine because it makes shapeshifters work harder.”
“How could they…!”
James shifted his gaze outside the window.
In the distance, a flag fluttered above the shapeshifter shelter mansion. The flag bore the emblem of House Alred.
“House Alred has risen rapidly through the medical business. Duke Berdin produces and sells medicines with remarkable efficacy to the kingdom. Think about it, Miss Shuvelia. To make medicines, one needs test subjects to verify their effectiveness.”
James adjusted his monocle. The lens flashed ominously in the sunlight.
“Where do you think House Alred gets those test subjects?”
“No way…”
I covered my mouth in shock, too horrified to speak. The terrible implication.
Could it be that the seemingly benevolent Duke Berdin was conducting vile and cruel experiments behind closed doors, using shapeshifters?
The carriage, having left the shapeshifter district, passed through quiet residential streets and stopped in front of a red brick building.
James got out of the carriage first and extended his hand to escort me.
“Where are we?”
“My clinic. Let’s go inside.”
The clinic I entered following James had a modest but cozy atmosphere.
There was an examination room and a waiting room, with various medicinal herbs and medical instruments displayed on one side of the examination room.
James entered the examination room, closed the door, and firmly drew the curtains over the windows.
Only then did he offer me a seat.
James’s expression finally softened, showing visible relief. He approached me and knelt on one knee.
“Doctor James?”
“I thank the heavens that you are alive and well. My one and only niece, Ruel.”
Discussion
0 CommentsReactions
No comments yet.