Chapter 20: The Monarch’s Footsteps

Pat, pat.

“Sleep well, sis.”

Elice gently patted the unconscious Luna’s bottom as if she were a baby and pulled the blanket up to her chin.

As she gently brushed Luna’s sweat-dampened white bangs back with her fingers, Luna let out a faint sigh.

But then, it happened.

Twitch.

With a faint ripple of light, as if a magical veil were being lifted, a pair of long, white rabbit ears appeared atop the unconscious Luna’s head.

Luna’s Perception Degradation magic, Camouflage, had been dispelled.

“Huh?”

Elice’s eyes widened in surprise.

Even when she fell asleep, Luna never dispelled this magic. She was pathologically terrified of her ears, of revealing her identity as a beast-human.

But now it was gone?

On top of that…

Elice turned her head. Her gaze fell on Luna’s laptop, which was still glowing with a blue light.

[Hunter Gallery]

And in the search bar, one word remained clearly visible: Beast-human.

Elice was speechless for a moment.

In her mind, her sister, Luna, was still living in the Empire. Therefore, she firmly believed that even here on Earth, beast-humans were a race hated by all.

‘Sis, it’s okay now. This is Earth.’

No matter how much Elice tried to convince her, that stubborn belief had never once wavered.

And yet…

That Luna…

Had come to a den of depravity like this and searched for “beast-human,” the source of her greatest complex?

For Elice, who prided herself on being the person closest to her sister, it was unbelievable.

It was clear that today, her sister had undergone a massive change of heart, one that defied all common sense.

The pieces started to click into place in Elice’s mind.

The counseling session she’d had this morning. And her unusual behavior afterward.

All the clues pointed to a single person.

“You…”

Elice gently stroked the unconscious white rabbit’s cheek and whispered into the air. Just then…

“Ngh…”

As a heated moan escaped Luna’s lips, an intrigued smile spread across Elice’s.

“I thought you were just a pretty face, but you’re quite capable, aren’t you?”

The Union Guild had thrown a truckload of counselors at her sister until now—from so-called psychological analysts to famous psychiatrists. But every single one of them had thrown up their hands in defeat, giving up in the face of Luna’s defense mechanisms.

They’d all said her distress about her race was a case unlike any other found in this world.

But to see this much progress after just a single session…

“I wonder what you did to my innocent little sister~”

Elice’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

*

[Luna] [PINNED]

[Current Status: Sound asleep. Overly active heart rate and nerves are stabilizing.]

[Main Stance: Nothing lewd…]

“What the.”

She’s already asleep?

I checked Luna’s status while toweling my wet hair after a shower.

It was still only 10 PM. A bit early for an adult to be asleep. She must be an early-to-bed, early-to-rise kind of rabbit.

But what was with that Main Stance?

Was she having that kind of dream? Or maybe she was dreaming about the Hunter Gallery…

Well, since she was sleeping, there was nothing more to see.

Out of respect for my patient’s privacy, I unpinned her.

Oh, for the record, I’d already apologized to Jin Se-ah about using the PIN on her as a test the other day. When I explained why and carefully apologized, saying I was sorry if it made her uncomfortable, she’d burst out laughing.

‘Ahahaha! That’s what happened? It’s fine, it’s fine! I’m just glad you can see my status.’

Even as she kept saying it was fine, she didn’t miss the most important part.

‘So, Counselor? What did my status say?’

‘That you were relaxing comfortably at home. It said you were completely harmless.’

‘Hehe. Is that right? I am pretty harmless.’

With that brief memory aside, I finished drying my hair and sat down at my desk with a glass of lukewarm water.

At this point, I only had one ongoing client anyway.

Luna.

I should plan out the future direction for her treatment.

First, I’ve successfully planted the seed of pride. Luna must now have a faint sense that beast-humans aren’t a unilaterally hated race in this world.

The next step, then, is to nurture the fragile sprout that has grown from that seed into a solid identity as a beast-human.

What would be the most effective, exceptional, and complete method to achieve that?

“It has to be…”

The trademark of a rabbit beast-human, and the very symbol she tries so desperately to hide.

Her perky ears and cottony tail.

Not me forcibly dispelling them, but her lifting the veil by her own will. That would be the most definitive proof that she has accepted her identity as a beast-human.

As my thoughts reached that point, I paused.

“……Huh?”

Wait a minute. In the end, the goal of this counseling is for her to reveal her ears… If that’s the case…

The system window from this afternoon reappeared in my mind.

[Suitable Response] [Satisfaction Rate 69%]

[By the way, could you show me your ears? They looked pretty last time. (In a low, coercive tone)]

The choice from the status window that had appeared during my session with Luna.

It was a bit aggressive and abrupt, but the status window had been showing me the fastest shortcut to the final goal all along.

Though the probability was a little low.

You’re not telling me you saw this far ahead, are you?

[ (￣▽￣ )ゞ ]*

As if in response to my words, a system window popped up before my eyes. A single emoticon scratching the back of its head floated there, looking either awkward or shy from the praise.

Suddenly, I felt my trust in it rise a little.

I had a strange conviction that even if its choices were a bit unconventional and drastic, they wouldn’t be pointing me in the wrong direction.

In any case, I have to make continuous visits to Union this Wednesday and Friday. This whole week is dedicated to my house calls for the Union Guild.

So, if I go again tomorrow…

‘Would you like to show me your ears?’

I’ll have to suggest it carefully.

*

My second house call to Union went much more smoothly than the first.

The follow-up sessions scheduled for the morning rarely lasted more than ten minutes. The clients who had resolved their inner turmoil in one go during the last session all thanked me with brightened faces before leaving.

Even the clients who were showing gradual improvement opened up about their worries with a much softer attitude, no longer on edge like before.

Everything was going smoothly.

I took a bite of the sandwich I’d gotten for lunch and turned on my tablet to check my afternoon schedule.

“Now… the remaining people are… Luna-nim and… Elice…? Why is she…?”

Just as I was chewing and swallowing the rest of my sandwich, feeling puzzled…

Knock, knock.

“Um, Counselor-nim. Sorry to bother you when you’re busy… but do you have a moment?”

A hunter I’d never seen before poked his head through the doorway while I was taking a short break between scheduled sessions.

He wasn’t on the appointment list, of course.

“Ah, yes, that’s fine. What can I help you with?”

“I didn’t originally sign up… but my colleagues said you were really good… I was wondering if, maybe, just for a moment…”

That was the beginning.

‘I hear that guy is pretty effective.’

Word of my counseling began to spread, like rumors about a skilled fortune teller.

Hunters who had been skeptical and hadn’t even signed up at first started showing up after hearing reviews from their colleagues.

After lunchtime, the area in front of my counseling room looked like the line for a famous restaurant.

Fortunately, Luna and Elice were scheduled for evening sessions.

I couldn’t just turn people away…

I looked at the long line and stuffed the rest of the sandwich into my mouth.

“Alright. Let’s begin. What’s on your mind?”

It looked like getting off work on time was a lost cause today, too.

*

On the top floor of the Union Guild, in the hunter-exclusive lounge, a certain white rabbit was sitting on a sofa, uncharacteristically fidgeting.

Though she pretended not to be, all her attention was focused on the lounge entrance.

Creeak.

Just then, the door opened.

Luna reflexively whipped her head around to look. An undeniable glimmer of anticipation filled her red eyes.

But in the next moment, that anticipation turned to disappointment.

“Hunter Gasper! You can head to the physical assessment room now!”

Unfortunately, the name the guild staffer called was not hers.

Tap, tap.

Unconsciously, with a sullen expression, she tapped her foot under the sofa.

To be honest… she looked like a lovelorn girl, anxiously waiting for a lover who was late for their date.

And sitting next to her, a black rabbit was watching the whole scene with great interest.

Just then, Victor’s voice drifted over from a table where some nobles were gathered.

“I hear some so-called mental counselor has been coming to the guild. How utterly foolish. Isn’t it just proving that your own mental fortitude is weak?”

“Indeed.”

The surrounding nobles chimed in as if on cue.

“It’s obvious he’s some rootless charlatan. Seeking counsel from such a person is a shameful act in itself…”

Before Victor could finish his last sentence, Luna, who had been ignoring the surrounding noise, visibly furrowed her pale brow.

Ssshhhh…

The air around Luna began to grow subtly colder.

Elice, sitting right beside her, was the first to sense the change.

This was the first time she’d ever seen her sister show emotion toward a noble.

Just as she was about to say something to Victor to add fuel to this interesting fire…

Creeak.

Again, the lounge door opened.

Luna’s head snapped back toward the door, startled.

“!”

This time, it seemed to be for real. A guild staffer was standing there with a tablet, ready to announce the next session.

“Hunter Elice! It’s your turn for counseling! Please get ready!”

But the name that came from the staffer’s mouth was not the one she had been waiting for.

Luna’s head whipped toward her sister sitting beside her.

“You… too…?”

Elice simply gave her sister a bright smile and nodded.

“Yep.”

At that, Luna sank deep into the sofa again.

And then, so that no one would notice…

Thump, thump.

She started tapping her foot again.

*

Meanwhile, in front of Yoo Seon-woo’s office—where Yoo Seon-woo was not.

The Heavenly Demon, Ja Hwa-yeon, had come here in person to keep her promise to visit soon. She was curious to see what kind of expression her physician would make upon receiving the gift she had so carefully chosen for him.

However, what greeted her was a firmly shut door and a single, unfamiliar piece of paper taped to it.

[Closed today due to the counselor’s house call.]

“…”

Ja Hwa-yeon read the sentence very slowly, her lips forming each word with deliberate care.

Soon, a short sigh escaped her cherry-like lips.

“…Hah.”

A house call? He left his post without informing This One?

If he is This One’s physician, he should be waiting here at all times, ready for This One’s call. Did he not say to come find him anytime?

Tap.

Ja Hwa-yeon gave the firmly shut door a very light tap with the toe of her fine silk shoe.

She turned away.

“Just this once, I shall graciously overlook it.”

She muttered as if making a vow to herself, like a monarch bestowing great mercy.

But contrary to her dignified turn, her shoulders were slumped slightly.

Like a sullen child.

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Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

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