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Episode 9
Instead of receiving monetary compensation for finding his daughter, Brunhardt decided to escort Letty to her destination.
With a grunt, Letty, with her short legs, climbed onto Brunhardt's massive six-horse carriage and opened her mouth wide in amazement.
"Grandpa, is this your house?"
Brunhardt's carriage was as enormous as the house Letty used to live in with her mother. The sofa was so large that one could roll around on it as if it were a bed, and the child's jaw dropped open in awe.
"Wow, Grandpa’s house is amazing..."
Brunhardt, who didn’t bother correcting Letty's misconception that he was homeless or living in the carriage, asked her about the destination.
"Where do you need to go?"
"To Grizzly,"
His face hardened at the answer.
"Hmm? You need to go to the Grizzly Grand Duchy?"
The Grizzly Territory, where the bear beastmen lived, was located in the empire's heartland. Surrounded by rugged mountain ranges, it was a seldom-visited place and also his hometown.
"Even by carriage, it's quite a long detour to reach that place. Are you sure that’s where you need to go?"
"Yes."
"What business do you have there?"
"I have to become a daughter-in-law."
Brunhardt furrowed his brow at Letty's confident answer. From the start, this child didn’t seem like an ordinary one, wandering alone in remote areas...
"...A daughter-in-law?"
"Yes."
"Little one, do you even know what marriage is?"
Letty wrinkled her small nose at Brunhardt’s mocking question. She had learned enough about it from diligently reading the book [Panda Daughter-in-Law.]
"Yes. It's when a woman and a man become family."
Letty confidently answered, tilting her head as the fairy tales she read yesterday came to mind.
"Oh, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be a woman and a man."
At her assertive response, Brunhardt let out a stunned chuckle.
‘Did she hear some rumor about the Grizzly looking for a bride?’
The rumor that the Grizzly family was cursed by a evil god was so widespread that no one in the empire or among the beastmen didn’t know about it. Despite their vast territory and dominance over the central mountain range, their nobility was shunned because of the curse. No one who got entangled with the Grizzly bloodline ever came out well.
But a few years ago, a prophecy was given at the Solaris Great Temple—that a girl who could break the curse would appear.
‘If that curse is lifted, the Grizzly will enjoy power rivaling that of the imperial family!’
It was only natural that once the prophecy became known, everyone started paying attention to the Grizzly family.
‘They say girls claiming to be the one who can lift the curse are lining up from all over the country, and now this little one turns out to be among them.’
Brunhardt didn’t particularly like people who tried to ride on or exploit the Grizzly family's influence, but this little child somehow struck a chord with him.
‘If Mireil has to marry someone, this kid might be a better choice.’
Even Mireil, infamous as he was, might soften his anger—often described as monstrous—when faced with these small, lovely eyes, Brunhardt thought.
“The successor of Grizzly isn’t an easy person to deal with. Do you think you can handle him?”
Mireil Esrhien Grizzly.
Known as 'Mireil the Wrathful.'
Even among the cursed Grizzly family, he bore the most infamous wrathful curse, earning him the reputation of the Disaster.
“Hmm. If I marry, do I have to manage the successor?”
“Of course. You need to hold him in your hands and never let another woman take him from you.”
Brunhardt offered practical advice, adding that marriage could only endure if handled in such a manner. Letty clapped one fist into her other palm as if she had just figured it out.
‘So, if I take control of the successor, I can get married!’
“Grandpa, but…”
“Yes?”
“If that successor belongs to someone, shouldn’t I ask the owner for him?”
In Letty's innocent worldview, marriage seemed to treat people as possessions, so it only made sense to ask the original owner for them.
Brunhardt rubbed his chin thoughtfully at her fundamental question.
“Well… I suppose it would be his father, the grand duke.”
The Grand Duke of Grizzly was Brunhardt’s nephew, but even he couldn’t truly understand him.
“Despite being reserved, he’s still Mireil’s father, after all.”
Agreeing that one would need the elder’s permission to proceed with marriage, Letty nodded vigorously.
“Alright. I’ll ask the grand duke!”
“Hey! You can’t just call him the grand duke to his face like I do.”
In truth, Brunhardt’s nephew wasn’t the type to care about such small rudeness, but those around him would likely stir up a commotion.
Brunhardt hoped this bold yet timid little one wouldn’t get kicked out of Grizzly.
“Then what should I call him?”
“You should address him as ‘Your Grace’ or ‘Lord Patriarch.’ But since you’re not yet part of the Grizzly family, perhaps…”
Brunhardt’s explanation trailed off as Letty failed to listen to the end. She had been wandering too long before boarding the carriage, her belly was full from the bread she just ate, and the cozy interior of the carriage had completely relaxed her.
Snooore.
Clatter, clatter.
The sound of the carriage wheels heading toward the bearfolk's territory was calm and steady, in contrast to Letty's loud snores.
✦ ✦ ✦
“What is this?”
Grisys, the head of the Grizzly family and ruler of the vast bearfolk territory, lifted a brow as he stared at the burlap sack dropped in front of him.
“Troublesome…”
His words dragged out lazily before abruptly cutting off. He wanted to hurl insults at Brunhardt for disrupting his work, but he was too lazy to move his mouth.
So Grisys closed his mouth again. Instead, his adjudant, Lorik, stepped forward.
“Elder, please don’t interfere. Today is His Grace’s workday!”
It’s been ages since he’s worked like this!
Lorik raised his voice urgently as he blocked Grisys.
Today was one of the extremely rare days when Grisys, who didn’t stay awake for even an hour a day, actually picked up a pen.
‘There are less than ten minutes before he runs out of energy!’
Even though Lorik had carefully selected only the most urgent documents—those overdue enough to prompt the emperor himself to intervene—the stack on the desk was still overwhelming.
“If we don’t get through this backlog today, the family might truly collapse!”
The Grizzly household, despite being a grand duke house, was a complete mess because Grisys had practically abandoned his responsibilities as head of the family.
Although loyal retainers and external support barely kept things running, it was only a matter of time before it all fell apart.
‘I have to hold on a little longer.’
Lorik’s sole mission was to sustain the family until the girl who could break the Grizzly curse appeared and restored Grisys to normalcy.
“You’re part of the Grizzly family too, Elder! You should be helping us, not making things worse!”
But Brunhardt, paying little attention to Lorik’s pale and desperate plea, merely shrugged.
“I did bring help. Didn’t you say you needed a daughter-in-law to break the curse?”
“What? Did you kidnap some prophesied girl?”
Lorik scoffed as he spoke, but at that moment, the string on the burlap sack resting on the desk loosened, and Letty, who had been snoring inside, rolled out.
“Gah!”
Lorik slapped his own cheek in disbelief, his face turning pale.
“Why hit yourself so hard?”
“I can’t slap you, Elder. Have you gone mad?!”
The Grizzly family members were already notorious for being war maniacs, killers, and battle-crazed lunatics. Now the elder, Brunhardt, had gone and kidnapped a child?
Lorik felt like fainting on the spot.
“She’s supposed to be my grandson’s bride, so I picked her up.”
‘Who picks up a grandson’s bride off the street?!’
On the verge of tears, Lorik lifted the small Letty, who had just woken up and was rubbing her eyes with tiny fists.
“Where… where am I?”
“Little one, where are you from? I’ll take you back home.”
“I need to go to Grizzly.”
Kidnapping and brainwashing?!
Lorik’s face turned as white as a sheet, but Brunhardt, unperturbed, snatched the child and stood her in front of Grisys.
“This man is the Grand Duke of Grizzly.”
“Ah!”
As if she’d just regained her senses at Brunhardt’s words, Letty quickly rose and knelt politely. Her posture was meticulous, as if she’d been well-trained in etiquette.
“Father-in-law, greetings. I hope you’ve been healthy.”
As if she knew him well, she even asked about his well-being.
Staring down at her with half-closed eyes, Grisys made eye contact with Letty, who cleared her throat and raised her voice again.
“Father-in-law! Please give me your son!!”
“….......”
“.......…”
“.......…”
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