Two middle-aged men and two wrinkled old men make up the legendary four elders of the Terin Household. For generations, they had overseen the ups and downs of the formidable clan amid the turbulent Wolf Tribe. With the largest army in all the Beastmen Territory, the four elders always valued the prestige of the Terin Household.
Now, the honored time for the supposed meeting called by Madam Shanica and requested by Sue Terin had long passed. The tea for each designated seat was cold, while Sue remained calm as she remained seated at the other end of the rectangular carven table.
"Lassie, I think we should head back," said the Lord System. He sighed for the nth time as he laid face flat at the center of the wooden table. His tails swayed every time he moved his head. "They are obviously ditching us, I mean you. Your stepmother is really a horrible old hag!"
In a relaxed tone, Sue Terin replied after she sipped her green tea. "They will come."
"You know what? I can't believe you placed such hope on them! Don't you remember how that stepmother of yours glared at you yesterday? Her gaze towards you could practically swallow you!"
"Trust me. They will come. My beloved honorable mother is only out to play a game with me. She merely wants to establish my position in this household even when I am the rightful young miss of the Terin Household." Sue gestured to the empty chairs on her both sides. "She is also giving me a warning through the elders."
The Lord System gasped before it stood erect before Sue. "The elders are on her side!"
"You are correct. The elders prefer a beast-bloodied heir than a human like me."
"Then what is the whole point of this meeting? Aren't you fighting a losing battle, lassie?"
Sue raised her brows. "Am I?"
On cue, the wooden double doors opened. Madam Shanica and Sabina led the entourage, followed by the four elders and a couple of servants. Their chins were held high as they glanced at Sue.
The Lord System, who was invisible to those around it aside from Sue, raised his cute little butt against the smiling Madam Shanica. 'Use the Killer Slash Skill against this woman's weird hairdo!'
Sue did not mind the irritating words of the white fur ball at the center of the table. Instead, her calm set of eyes wandered around before she leaned backward. She made eye contact with the elders as she nodded at them, showing them her respect and dignity as the legitimate heir. After all, she was raised by the late patriarch himself. What she lacked to be called a true-bloodied Terin was the bloodline of a beast – which she did not have. "My father would have been teary if he saw this scene."
"The ancestors would have cried blood tears if they saw who is sitting on the seat allocated for the one true heir," said Elder Homura Terin, the second elder of the Terin Household. As the previous head' grandfather's uncle, he was able to lead the elder's council. His tone was full of mirth, but the innuendo of the words used was meant to insult Sue Terin.
Madam Shanica perked up. It was the sign she was waiting for! "As a junior and as the respectable eldest miss of the Terin Household, let this mother of yours sit there." She looked at the four elders with a meaning-filled gaze – something that did not escape Sue's eyes. "Please don't take this the wrong way, my dear. I am just looking out for you as the only elder in the main family. My husband, yours and Sabina's father, entrusted you to me."
Madam Shanica's repugnant red lips curled into a sinister smile. She was the one who remained standing as she was waiting for Sue Terin to surrender the main seat where the clan's head was supposed to sit. On the other hand, Sabina did not hide the grin on her thin, pink lips since she could practically imagine the resigned face of Sue Terin as the latter would surrender the rightful seat of her mother.
Having been cornered by her supposed family, Sue released a sweet yet fading smile. "Mother, I cannot keep craning my neck to talk to you." She tapped the seat to her right, opposite where Sabina was sitting. "Would you like me to guide you to your seat, Mother? After all, I am a filial daughter who vowed to my father's tomb that I will take care of you because of your… old age."
Sue did not give her stepmother a chance to retaliate. She nudged one of the servants brought by the elders. "You. Guide my mother to her seat." Glancing at the reddened Madam Shanica, who was too stupefied to scream, Sue smiled for a fraction of a second that only the latter could witness. "Make sure my elderly will not trip."
"Don't you dare touch me with your filthy hand!" Madam Shanica slapped the poor maid's face. Since she could not slap Sue in front of the elders, she channeled all her anger toward the servant.
The second elder, who failed in his instigation against the human girl, scoffed before he tapped the table. "I believe the eldest miss has a good reason to call us all here amid our busy schedules?"
The old man who was caressing his beard spoke next. "Elder Homura is right. What is the reason for this emergency meeting, Eldest Miss?" He was the first elder of the Terin Household, Laksus Terin. The first uncle of the previous head, he was a loyal vassal to the Lupine Pack aside from the Terin Clan.
Another old man who had been flipping his fan since he arrived also spoke. He was Tugril Terin, the third elder of the Terin Household, and he was the half-brother of the fourth elder. The two elders were the great uncles of the previous leader. "Everyone, cut her some slack." He stared at Sue with eyes filled with fathomless depth. "I believe that the elder miss knows her boundaries. After all, it is a capital offense to wield the power of the vassals with blatant disrespect."
Nodding his head, the fourth elder, Ashun Terin, continued, "Then… if it is a justified reason to call us, there is only one thing, right?"
The others nodded their heads enthusiastically.
Leaning back with her arms crossed together, Sue watched the dog show with great interest. Swirls of malediction glinted beneath her obsidian eyes, yet the sweet smile on her face remained.
The following words that flowed from the seemingly oblivious Madam Shanica made Sue's smile deepen. "Oh? Could it be that our Sue has already surrendered her position as an heir? Has the heavenly enlightenment finally graced my first daughter?" She covered her mouth as she acted to cry in joy – when in reality, she was crying because she was only a step away from her goal.
'Really. Mutts fighting over a big piece of meat with the pretense of unity and loyalty is truly a ghastly scene,' Sue Terin thought wickedly.
"Bone Marrow Pill for the first son of Laksus Terin from the Silver Tower of the mages – a violation of the code of the Lupine Pack. Penalty?" Sue grinned at the frowning first elder. "Death."
She shifted her gaze to Homura Terin. "Your daughter, how is her child? She should be due any time soon, right? I want to congratulate you, Second Elder. But I don't want you to feel sour after your dream of letting your daughter become Sir Lucca Lupine's concubine shattered to pieces beyond redeemable."
"Wh-What are you saying, you wench?" Because of his anger, he knocked down the chair he was sitting on.
Sue did not mind the two fuming elders. Instead, she proceeded with the third elder. "With you struggling to support your five grandchildren to have the best resources, there is only one thing to do, right? To take the power after my 'beloved' mother took the seat from me."
This time, it was Madam Shanica who knocked her chair down. "What? You dare covet what's mine?"
Rolling her eyes from Madam Shanica's words, Sue shifted to the fidgeting fourth elder. "And you, Fourth Elder."
"I-I have no children! I'm a bachelor, and everyone knows that," said Elder Ashun Terin.
"Shhh, don't be afraid." Sue hummed to ease the anxious elder. Her words and tone were kind, but the fourth elder trembled more after seeing the sinister gleam beneath Sue's black eyes. Sue continued with her sweet voice, "Indeed. You are a bachelor. But I wonder… How is Zenon Terin doing, by the way?"
The fourth elder finally collapsed to the floor after mentioning Zenon Terin.
Sue's next words silenced the room. "Embezzlement of the tribute for the Lupine Pack. Tsk! Tsk! I can see that you don't treasure your life, Fourth Elder."
'Aaah… Look at that! How does it feel? How does it feel to be within your reach with your dreams only to be taken away from you at the last moment? Painful, right? I understand. The feeling of hopelessness is an ugly feeling.'
Clicking her tongue, Sue looked at the door. "Sir Lucien, you can come out now!"