Wanderlust Beastkin, Beauty and the Beastkin-Chapter 77: The Reluctant Concubine and a Merchant

Nancy’s Perspective

"Did you hear? A new concubine was selected out of nowhere, and no one knows what family she comes from. Apparently, she keeps telling everyone to call her Beth, though she’s actually Precious Consort Elisabeth."

"Beth? What a crude name. Perhaps she’s from a commoner’s house?"

So there I was, pulling laundry off the line, soaking up the sun and the fresh scent of clean clothes, when I overheard two women working at the next line gossiping like it was their full-time job. I was in my zen zone, eyes closed, enjoying the birds singing and the warm breeze, but then I caught a snippet of their chatter. Was that Beth they were talking about? Coincidence or should I be worried?

"Shh. It wouldn’t due to be overheard, but I don’t disagree with you. Apparently, the kitchens forgot that she even existed because she didn’t have any assigned servants, so she ended up looking for the kitchen herself and eating with the staff. It had already been several days before they finally realized that they had forgotten to assign her some maids and select two Ladies in waiting from applicants, but no Ladies would volunteer to be her Ladies in waiting since they all come from noble families and refuse to debase themselves for some unknown female from who knows where. The issue came up in court where the advisors were questioning the Emperor on what his reasoning was for choosing an unknown female to become his concubine and then the whole room devolved into confusion as different advisors were offering their female family members to become his consorts left and right, it was quite an amusing sight!"

"You always get all the best gossip! It must be nice to get to serve in the court and at parties on occasion," the other maid said in a longing tone.

"Of course! I have a brother who’s serving as a guard, and he makes sure to select me when he’s able. I get quite the bonus too. If you help me with my laundry, I wouldn’t be against asking him to choose you as well. There’s also something else coming up, but it’s a secret that I wouldn’t be against filling you in on if you’re helpful."

"Yes! I’ve nearly finished my own work so I wouldn’t be against doing your work as well. what’s a little more work for the sake of a friend?"

She nodded her head with a satisfied smile on her face. "I thought you would feel this way, so I’ll be leaving you here and checking in on your progress after about four hours. I met an entertaining male at the last gathering who invited me out and it seems like the perfect day to take him up on his offer. Don’t be disheartened though, soon you too with have a great opportunity."

"Yes!" She said with a huge smile on her face while she pulled the other woman’s basket of wet laundry closer to herself and began to work while humming.

As the other woman strutted away, I caught that smug little smirk she thought was hidden. If she ever decided to come my way, I’d definitely need to keep my guard up. I wrapped up my business and headed back to the main house, planning to freshen up and change, when I spotted that sneering diva slipping into an old, abandoned courtyard rumored to be haunted by a tragic servant who had mysteriously taken her own life. Sure, the story was a bit fishy, but I wasn’t about to poke the bear and invite chaos into my life. Still, a part of me was itching to follow her. I mean, I didn’t binge-watch all those historical dramas and mysteries for nothing! Beth might think my imagination is a wild ride, but what does she know? We literally got sucked into a portal and landed in an Empire filled with people sporting animal traits. Welcome to the fantasy realm! Too bad we got captured and enslaved right off the bat.

My anime-loving pals would totally lose it, but let’s be real—getting stuck in a new world isn’t exactly on my to-do list. I mean, who knows if this place even has magic? I’d be all about learning some spells, but hey, being human might throw a wrench in that plan. Talk about a major letdown! Just my luck to be the only one without magical powers. Ugh!

Then I spotted her strutting out of the gate from what seemed like a not-so-creepy courtyard—though, let’s be honest, it could still be haunted, but I had my doubts. I noticed a shadowy figure on the other side of the gate and squinted at it, trying to make sense of the dark shape, but no luck there.

Then I caught a glimpse of something being handed off from that shadowy figure to the woman I’d seen earlier. After accepting it, she gave a deep bow, like she was in some royal court. As she turned to leave the darkness behind, I noticed a fierce determination etched on her face, and she slipped a few items into her long, flowing sleeves. Just moments ago, I would have thought such a fierce look was out of character for her, but now I was starting to see that she was a whole lot more than I first thought. I felt like I was missing a crucial piece of the puzzle, and it was gnawing at me, but let’s be real—being nosy in a place like this could totally get me killed, especially if those Asian historical dramas I binge-watch are anything to go by. So, I made sure to stay hidden behind some bushes as she strutted by, casting a quick glance around as she walked with determined steps at a quick pace.

After I got a good lead, I strolled past some trees and hit a more popular path, making sure to look sharp by brushing off the dirt and leaves before taking on an air as if I was perfectly where I was supposed to be. I walked faster than I usually did so I would meet up where that other woman’s trail met this one. I measured the timing and knew that I would get there before she did, and came up to a few tables that were set up for workers to have a meal. Normally, I would call myself staff, but I wasn’t exactly hired. It’s absurd that people think they can just buy me and that’s that, I’m owned by them, but I wasn’t really for sale in the first place because I wasn’t that scorpion man’s property to sell in the first place. You can’t just go up to someone’s home and say that it’s yours now because you saw it, well I don’t know why he thought that he can just come up to random people and say that I belong to him because he just happened to see me. I wasn’t for sale in the first place.

I walked over to this rustic stall made from a massive log, where a pot simmered over a cozy little fire, keeping a hearty stew nice and toasty. A barrel of ale was just waiting to be tapped, and a big basket filled with warm, fresh rolls. My stomach growled like it was auditioning for a role in a horror movie, so I tossed down a couple of copper coins. The stall owner, a petite powerhouse with a dazzling smile and a hint of mischief in her tiny fangs, looked up at me. She sported a long pink scar that started from her forehead, around her striking sky-blue eye, and down to her ear. Her other eye was a vibrant leaf green, and her hair was the color of vivid red apples. To top it off, she had the cutest red fox ears with white tips and a fluffy matching tail.

"Hey! It’s a great day isn’t it? Nice and sunny! My name’s Flit or at least that’s what I’ve always remembered being called so feel free to do so. I don’t remember seeing you here before, would that be the full meal that you want? The boar stew is mighty good today if I do say so myself and the bread is freshly baked this morning. The golden ale is from the next kingdom over and great quality. I picked it up myself, they have a wonderful underground spring there with great minerals so it’s real tasty!"

I paused while looking her over and at the cart behind her stall. "You’re a travelling merchant?"

"Sure am!"

"How do you get around without being harassed?"

She grinned wider and pointed at the long scar on her face. "I always wanted to be a travelling merchant, so when my parents were forcing me to get mated, I gave them a surprise. Though in the end I was kicked out of my village since no one wanted to become my mate after that and I wasn’t worth selling anymore. I was considered the beauty of my village but now my looks are ruined and no one wants me but I haven’t regretted my decision for a single day. I always wanted to be born as a male but really, I’d say this turned out just as good."

"You did it to yourself?"

"Sure did!"

"That must have taken a lot of determination."

She blinked at me in surprise and smiled more softly as she pushed my two coins back towards me. "You know, you’re the first female that I’ve told that to and they didn’t look at me in horror and confusion but instead looked at me with admiration."

"Well why wouldn’t I? You knew what you wanted and went for it, even to the point of inflicting pain on yourself; that must have been difficult to do. Also knowing that your life would never be the same way again and marring your looks, even though it’s typically something that is valued. Though in my opinion, there’s a certain wild charm to your looks now that wouldn’t have been there before. I don’t think the scar diminishes your beauty in the slightest."

She grinned as she filled a large bowl with stew and then filled a mug of ale and plopped a large roll on the bowl, and pushed the food towards me. "Have the meal free of charge. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to have a conversation with someone who had a civil tongue in their mouth, and the first time since someone really understood me."

"I appreciate that, it’s been a while since I was able to have a real conversation."

I snagged my food and drink and plopped down at a table with a killer view of both trails by the stall. Who knows when she’d show up? So I had my meal with gusto. Luckily, it was delicious, so it wasn’t a real burden.

Coming Next Time: The Reluctant Concubine Inner Court