Inheritance Feud

Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Only after telling her mother that she wasn’t a baby anymore, did the girl learn about why beastmen like her had to hide their identity. It was then that she finally understood why the people of this country held contempt for beastmen, and treated any who lived there with disdain.

Until now, Mother’s instructions had never been ignored. Yet now she was trusting her best friend with keeping her secret from being revealed.

「With this, it’s done.」

The illusionary magic which had come undone was cast once again to hide her ears and tail from other people.

Though she had spent most of her childhood with her mother, 4-5 years were spent by herself.

「Then, let’s return to the village. Though we couldn’t find food, if we stay here we’re sure to encounter another monster as it’s getting dark.」

「Ah, You’re right. Let’s go .」

They returned to the village later that day, just as it had become considerably dark outside.

The two girls were harshly reprimanded by the village chief for entering the forest. However, their punishment would be given out tomorrow, so they returned to their families without issue.

The girl informed her mother, Maris, that she had ignored her instructions. And upon divulging the reason, she apologized. Her mother, a sickly woman who spent most of her time in bed, laughed perturbedly and smiled saying, “Oh, you helped a friend”.

Though the mother laughed sadly at the girl for some reason, it was of little concern. However, having used her beastmen powers for the first time on a monster who was also one of the rare species, the tired girl slept soundly that day.

That night, the girl dreamt of obtaining lots of fruits for the winter. When the morning sun rose the next day, she was woken up and taken to the center village square. For some reason, the girl’s mother was also taken along with her.

「W-what? The punishment that was discussed yesterday? Why is mother…」

A lot of villagers were gathering while the two were being dragged out, confused. While the girl was thinking of why all of those thorny gazes were directed at them, because of what the elder suddenly announced, her mind went completely blank.

「Minaris, and Maris. Is it true that you’re both wererabbits?」

[7th: Betrayals… Betrayals everywhere…]

14 - The Way a Certain Beast Girl was Broken Part 2

14 - The Way a Certain Beast Girl was Broken Part 2

14 – The Way a Certain Beast Girl was Broken Part 2

「Minaris, and Maris. Is it true that you’re both wererabbits?」

She couldn’t comprehend the words that she had just heard.

「I’ll ask again. Is it true that you, parent and child, are beastmen?」

The words spoken once again by the village elder penetrated her blank head.

(Whywhywhywhy!? Eh, why did he suddenly say that!?)

What filled her spinning mind was a storm of questions. She couldn’t process the information. She couldn’t understand what was happening.

With her thoughts in disorder, the girl instinctively turned towards her mother as though to ask for help.

Her mother had on a grim expression. Looking as if she had come to some sort of decision, she released the illusion was constantly cast on herself.

The villagers parted simultaneously, and the look in their eyes changed in an instant.

It was the same look they would give the many goblin corpses that they exterminated.

Those gazes were concentrated on them by the villagers who had, until yesterday, treated them intimately like family.

「M-mother…」

Listening to the words that changed one after another, the confusion in her head increased at an accelerated pace.

She looked up in a daze. The village chief’s eyes held a cold gaze she had never once seen before until now, and they were full of contempt.

……Scary.

This terror overshadowed the Ice Goblin she confronted yesterday; those eyes were scary.

「As you can see, we are wererabbits. I’m sorry for keeping quiet about it.」

Seeing the figure of her mother, who had been flung to the bare ground, saying that with her head lowered, she finally understood that the villagers were directing malicious gazes toward her.

「So what Lucia told us was true……」

「Eh, Lucia did!? That… You’re lying!!」

Lucia had promised yesterday. She had said she would keep it a secret.

She surveyed her surroundings, wanting to be told that it was a lie. Her childhood friends stood among the 15~16 villagers.

However, the one she was looking for wasn’t there.

Looking this way as though he was looking at trash was her other childhood friend, Keril. And then, trying to cuddle close to him, spreading gossip without being seen by the boy, was Lucia’s figure.

「Wh…y…? Didn’t you say you would keep it a secret!!」

「Eep!! Keril…」

When the girl spontaneously cried out, Lucia clung to Keril whilst putting on a frightened facade.

「Lucia, it’s alright so calm down.」

Saying that, Keril pat Lucia’s back gently and then glared at the girl with an even harsher look.

「Oi, don’t torment Lucia any more than this!! I couldn’t believe it when I first heard, but you really are the worst!! I misjudged you!!」

「Wha!? Just what…」

「Don’t play dumb!! I heard everything from Lucia!! You’ve always been tormenting her!! She cried, saying you threatened her into silence with that beastman power of yours.「

「Wha…」

She realised that her words had actually ceased, that she had become speechless. Rather than her voice, her thoughts had stopped as though the very existence of words inside her mind had disappeared.

「Village chief, I don’t care what happens to me, however, please… Won’t you please spare this child? At least, at least until this child reaches her 18th birthday…」

Throughout that, Maris hugged her daughter with her head lowered.

Maris had decided to do this yesterday when she heard the story from her daughter. Her daughter would be unable to flee the village while bringing her, as she had a weak constitution. However, she clearly understood that her daughter would, no matter what she said, never leave her behind and escape. Thus, Maris frantically bowed her head for her daughter’s sake.

「Please, somehow…」

「Stop kidding!! This filthy beast!!」

What Maris faced in reply were abusive words and stones picked up off the ground.

「That’s right, stop joking around!!」

「You’ve been deceiving us this whole time, how disgusting!!」

「An animal shouldn’t be imitating other people!!」

Once the first person started, cutting insults and pebbles continued to rail incessantly down on the two.

「Please, just this child…!?」

「Mother!!」

A largish rock mixed in with the pebbles that came flying hit Maris on the forehead, causing her to bleed.

The girl reflexively covered her mother as though to protect her.

The illusion on the girl was also released amid the extreme chaos, and her tail and ears appeared. Even so, the girl simply continued to shield her mother.

The girl’s mother was once affected by an epidemic and managed to recover somehow, but she lost the physical tenaciousness of a beastman and became a mere shadow of her former self. She was weakened to the extent where she would be wounded by having rocks thrown at her by ordinary villagers with no training experience whatsoever.

「Stop, stop it everyone, STOP ITTTT!!」

The girl’s wailing echoed throughout the village square, but it was repressed with a wave of jeers.

「Shut up, the spawn of a monster should stay silent!!」

「Don’t speak with the words of humans, you beast.」

「Die, why are you alive, hurry up and die already!!」

Creak, c***k. She understood that a dark fissure was forming in her heart.

It felt like she was being struck with the pointed stake* from before.

[Daily: Metaphorically]

Why? What’s the reason? No, it hurts; her heart hurt more than her body.

When she looked around from her crouching position, she saw Keril throwing rocks in support of the villagers, not to mention still glaring at her with an intense look. She also saw Lucia clutching at Keril’s sleeve while hiding behind him so he couldn’t see the twisted, mocking smile on her face.

And then her head, body, and heart finally understood.

She had been betrayed. She had been betrayed, she had been betrayed, she had been betrayed, she had been betrayed!!

「Why, why…」

Tears welled up. The stones hailing down on her body had driven a wedge in her cracked heart. Right before her heart completely broke, the momentum of the rain of stones stopped.

「What is this commotion about!?」

The ones who appeared were the men of the village.

The men seemed to have returned from their expedition earlier than expected, and although it wasn’t much, they brought with them some hunted game.

「Fa…ther… *sniffle* Father!!」

Despite her vision being blurred with tears, she still saw her father among the people who returned.

The girl felt reassured; she would be saved with this. Her father was an influential man in the village and was expected to be its next chief.

Relief swelled inside her when she saw him discuss something with the villagers. Ah, she was sure to be saved with this…

「You’re wrong!! I have nothing to do with this, I didn’t know!!」

「　　　　　　　　　　　」

When she turned around, her world was turned upside-down. It warped and collapsed.

「I was deceived by this woman!! Damn this filthy beastman.」

Her ears turned deaf. Her eyes lost sight. Her nose was ineffective. She couldn’t feel a thing.

「What is this. Eh? What… is this…」

Kashan. In the end, she felt like she heard the sound of something breaking.

Then, the girl’s world completely collapsed.

☆

When she came to, the girl was being jolted around on the wagon of a slave trader.

In her dim world, she faintly recalled being sold off for dirt-cheap by the being she thought was her “Father”.

The reason the girl regained her will despite being on the brink of becoming a cripple was because of the presence of her mother beside her.

A parent-and-child beastmen couple, they couldn’t expect decent treatment even as merchandise.

The meals they were given were clearly inferior to the other slaves’. They were whipped and abused for no reason or meaning. They were forced to use the dirty water after the others had bathed, or even kicked and called “smelly” and “dirty” without being given a chance to bathe.

Using the excuse of them being beastmen, and thus having the superior physical ability, they were chained to the moving wagon and made to run while being dragged along.

The feeling of not wanting to become a burden to her weakened mother was the only thing that sustained the crushed girl’s spirit.

However, no matter how much the girl tried to avoid burdening her mother, it was nothing more than pouring water on hot stone. The beautiful girl’s mother became worn-down as though she had been filed with a rasp.

The slave trader chose the girl’s mother as a sacrifice.

Saying, “the beastmen are being tormented,” and, “they receive worse treatment than yourselves,” he made a display of them to let the other slaves vent.

Just like the slave trader expected, the other slaves sneered when they saw them.

They watched the girl being lashed, watched the mother being lifted up by her hair, and watched the two being sent flying with a kick to the back. They sneered, as though they were watching an interesting play.

It was half a year after the girl had been bought by the slave trader; when they were halfway to the royal capital, the girl’s mother became unable to move.

The girl’s world became hollow once again, and she fell into this vacant world.

She stopped caring about mud being mixed into her food. She became numb to the lashes and a***e. She also lost the motivation to resist when they covered her in mud and called it bathing.

「Tch, so she broke. Brittle despite being a beastman, geez. There are nobles who like this kind of thing so there’s no hope for her future, really.」

The girl simply gazed at the sighing slave trader with vacant eyes.

「At any rate, your mother went and died of her own accord. Why do I have to lose the purchased money for you beastmen, damnit.」

With a jolt, the broken fragments reacted to the slave trader’s words.

(Why…?)

The question arose, like poison gradually welling up.

(Why? What did I do wrong? Since when was I wrong? What should I do to make it better?)