/
So after that, umm
 Do I really need to go into detail?
The Red Erul tribe was yelling about a ghost showing up.
Sadly for them, because of someone who said something dumb, they ended up facing a real monster.
Kaneff came out of nowhere from the faraway farm.
Kaneff, obviously angry, took care of all the uninvited guests in no time.
I’m using a nicer term here, “took care of.” More like their bodies exploded

It’s a good thing Speranza and the other kids weren’t around for that.
Even the scary-looking guards felt sympathy for the intruders who got knocked out.
It was like a tiger joining a group of foxes.
That expression nailed the situation right in front of me.
“Please stop, boss. They’re gonna die at this rate.”
“If you trespass, you should be ready to die. We can’t go easy on these guys.”
Kaneff said some tough words and walked over to where Kunah was.
“Is this the guy? The one talking trash?”
He gave Kunah’s body a little kick with his foot. Even though it looked like a small kick, Kunah screamed in pain.
“Ugh
”
“What happened to your big talk? Try bragging again. You said you’d wreck my place, right?”
“Urk
 Ugh!”
Each light kick had Kunah groaning and foaming at the mouth until he finally passed out.
“Ugh, why are all these foxes so annoying? Maybe I should cut off their tails and make scarves
 Oh! Except for Speranza, of course.”
At the mention of scarves, Anis and Daur got all scared, quickly hiding their tails.
Once Kaneff’s anger cooled off

I told the still-shocked Reville what to do.
“Reville.”
“Uh, yeah? Ah
 Yes, my lord.”
“Keep the intruders locked up until I say otherwise
 But first, take care of the seriously injured ones.”
“Understood, my lord.”
Following my orders, Reville and the guards started rounding up the intruders.
Because of Kaneff’s brutal attack, most of the Red Erul tribe were just lying there on the ground.
A quick look at the ones being carried away showed that there wasn’t much need for surveillance since it was hard to find anyone in good shape.
Seemed like more people were needed to nurse them rather than guards.
Smart Lagos and Locus quickly brought wagons and carriages from the village.
The knocked-out intruders were piled up and transported like cargo.
Kaneff complained about why we were treating them, and Terzan was bummed about not making much money due to Kaneff’s interference.
They were both pretty amazing in their own ways.
As things started to calm down

Kaneff gave Anis and Daur a sharp look.
“Hey, you two.”
“
!”
“·!”
“
 · · ·. !”
“·!”
-Click, click.
Kaneff gestured for them to follow and walked toward the mansion.
The two of them glanced at me with a glum look.
I gave them a weak smile and tried to comfort them.
“It’s alright. Boss isn’t totally heartless. If you two explain things well, there shouldn’t be any problems
 probably.”
We all met up again in the reception room.
Kaneff sat down in his usual slouchy posture, facing Anis and Daur, who seemed pretty nervous.
They told Kaneff why they’d come here, which was the same story they’d told me earlier.
“So, you came to take Speranza to her grandma, right?”
“Yeah. We didn’t plan on forcing Speranza to come or causing any trouble. We just wanted to get permission from Sihyeon somehow.”
“Then who were those red-haired guys earlier? Are they from the Erul tribe too?”
“Yes
 but we had no clue that Captain Kunah would show up here.”
“It looks like they followed us. We didn’t mean to lead Captain Kunah here or cause such a ruckus.”
Anis and Daur stressed that their intentions had nothing to do with the aggressive actions of the red-haired Erul tribe members.
Kaneff looked skeptical but didn’t push any further on that topic.
“Let’s move on. Why does this Captain Kunah want to take Speranza? His reasons seem different from yours.”
I was curious about that too.
Captain Kunah’s reason for coming here was definitely Speranza. He specifically mentioned looking for the ‘child of the Erul tribe,’ and at the same time, he also mentioned the ‘blood of the priestess.’
Anis and Daur hesitated to answer. But they couldn’t handle Kaneff’s cold stare and started talking again.
“Speranza’s grandmother, my mom, is a priestess who serves the Erul tribe’s guardian deity. She’s a really important person in the tribe since she communicates directly with the guardian deity.”
Anis explained the roles of the priestess and the guardian deity in a composed manner.
Andras, the most knowledgeable person here, listened with interest, as this seemed like new information to him.
“Originally, my sister was supposed to become the priestess after my mom. I was also a candidate, but my sister had more talent for it.”
Anis’s sister, then

“One day, my sister secretly left the village with a red-haired Erul tribe guy.”
“Was it
 an elope?”
At my question, Anis gave a bitter smile.
“Yes.”
Daur, who was next to her, also looked sad. It seemed like their eloping didn’t have a happy ending.
“Later, we found out through Namira that when my sister left the village, she was already pregnant with Speranza. She must have decided to run away as soon as she realized she was pregnant.”
“But why did she run away? Is there a rule that the Erul tribe’s priestess can’t have a child?”
“No, that’s not it. My mom, who’s the priestess, also gave birth to us. The problem was with Speranza’s dad
”
“..?”
“A priestess must never have a child with a red-haired Erul tribe member. There’s a rule that the priestess’s blood should only be passed down through the silver-haired Erul tribe members.”
“Ah
”
Anis let out a small sigh, looking at everyone’s reactions.
“Phew
 I don’t know what you all think, but this rule is really important to the Erul tribe. The fact that a man who fell in love with the priestess was from the Red Erul tribe was totally unacceptable.”
“So that’s why your sister decided to run away.”
“Exactly. My sister couldn’t give up her unborn child. If the villagers found out, the child would be in danger. She had no choice but to leave.”
Silence filled the room.
Everyone here loved and adored Speranza, so it was natural that they felt heavy-hearted about the sad situation her parents had to face.
Kaneff, with softer eyes, broke the silence.
“Now I’m even more confused. If what you’re saying is true, and Speranza has mixed blood from the Red Erul tribe, there’s even less reason to take her back to the village.”
Everyone nodded at this logical point, except for Anis and Daur.
“Normally, you’d be right. Even if Speranza inherited the priestess’s blood, it wouldn’t matter. But the situation has become more complicated.”
“Complicated, how?”
“Originally, my sister should have become the priestess. But she died in a tragic accident, and now only my mom and I are left in the village with the priestess’s blood. I was considered unsuitable for the role, so there’s no successor left for the position of priestess.”
I frowned and said,
“So you want to make Speranza the priestess?”
“More accurately, some factions want that, like the Red Erul tribe members, including Captain Kunah.”
“Why would they
?”
As I asked another question,
This time, Daur stepped in to continue the explanation.
“For generations, the position of priestess has only been held by Erul tribe members with silver fur. The influence of the priestess is huge within the Erul tribe, so the Red Erul tribe members have faced discrimination, intentionally or unintentionally.”
“That means
”
“They plan to take Speranza and make her the priestess. If they succeed, it’ll be the first time a child with the blood of the Red Erul tribe becomes the priestess.”
I scrunch my face even more.
How dare they think of taking Speranza, who lost her parents and had to run away, and use her for political purposes!
My sympathy for Kaneff’s rough actions earlier disappeared. The other farm family members also showed their displeasure.
“What a terrible plan.”
“We should have asked Boss Kaneff to thrash them some more.”
In the midst of this, Kaneff, who had been quietly listening, leaned his upper body forward.
“Wait a second.”
“

”
“I get why those guys wanted to take Speranza earlier. But,” Kaneff’s eyes sharpened again.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t necessarily want to take Speranza back to the village. Wouldn’t it be a problem for you if she became the priestess?”
“Well, that is
”
“
”
Anis and Daur didn’t know what to say. Their suspicious reactions made me feel uneasy too. Kaneff pressed them further, his intensity growing.
“Is it really just about letting Speranza meet her grandmother? Or do you two have some hidden agenda like those people earlier?”
As the silence between the two of them grew longer,
The tension in the room rose even more.