The first one to move was Rella.

Despite her small and somewhat fragile-looking appearance, Rella was surprisingly fierce.

As I bent over to keep myself from vomiting, she flapped her little wings and fell to the ground.

Not that I let her go—she fell on her own.

Maybe she’d finally learn to fly properly with her mother around.

Rella ran toward the two-headed dog, though it was more of a hurried shuffle just beyond the edge of my shadow. But for her, it was the fastest she could go.

Holding back my nausea, I scanned the surroundings—there were six two-headed dogs.

Their bodies numbered six, but with twelve heads, it felt as though they were far more numerous.

Still, this was nothing.

Back at home, I used to live near ones with three heads.

Maybe because they resembled dogs, these monsters often roamed in packs. The three-headed ones in the enchanted forest were twice the size of these two-headed ones.

Because of my mother, they wouldn’t enter a certain perimeter around our house, but as a child, whenever I wandered out beyond the safe zone, they would pursue and attack me without fail.

Though I sustained some injuries, I always won.

If I couldn’t defeat them, I wouldn’t have been able to leave home—so it was only natural.

Compared to them, these creatures were like a shepherd compared to a fluffy puppy.

Piece of cake.

If only I weren’t feeling so seasick.

Ugh, this is killing me.

But at least I had vomited most of it out and was feeling a little better than before.

I could see, at the edge of my vision, that Rella had finally managed to escape the shadow of my legs.

"Water Breath!"

Tatiana’s voice rang out, filled with tension. A bubble of water flew towards the closest two-headed dog.

The bubble engulfed one of the dog’s heads, like a fishbowl clamped over its muzzle.

I could see through the watery film, its face gasping and struggling. Despite that, its body continued its forward charge, unaffected.

It ran, its one head shaking in pain.

"Go for the left head. That’s the true one controlling the body."

In the enchanted forest, the three-headed dogs were controlled by the middle head.

Even if the two side heads were killed, as long as the middle one survived, the body would keep moving.

I had never seen a two-headed one before, but it was likely the same.

If attacking the right side yielded no results, then the true head must be on the left.

Raising my body a little, I gave Tatiana directions.

The watery sphere that had been wrapped around the right head suddenly stretched like a snake, wrapping around the left head instead.

The struggling two-headed dog staggered, its movement halting.

"Good! Leave the rest to me!" Tatiana called out, trying to sound cheerful, though her voice was noticeably trembling.

Two-headed dogs were charging at us from all sides, their heads snapping wildly. It was enough to scare anyone.

Creating water out of thin air was apparently harder than manipulating existing water. It seemed she could only handle one water sphere at a time.

One at a time—that was Tatiana's limit.

Naturally, she would be scared.

From inside the carriage, I could hear the self-proclaimed half-brother shouting at the coachman to run away.

But the coachman had his back against the carriage, staring down the approaching two-headed dogs.

His legs were trembling, making the sword he held sway uncertainly in the air. I was genuinely concerned he’d accidentally stab himself.

Straightening up, I pulled myself up.

“Alright, I’m feeling better now. I’ll take care of the rest.”

My stomach still churned, but I could move.

Grabbing the axe that had fallen on the ground, I swung it down between the heads of the nearest two-headed dog.

With a clang, the dog crumpled to the ground.

I rolled forward, springing up into the air. The sudden movement caused my stomach to turn upside down again.

I gulped down my nausea, pressing my throat down, then struck at a dog that was about to bite into the coachman’s face.

“H-Heek…”

The coachman, with his nose almost halfway into the dog's maw, went limp with relief.

I kicked away the sword he dropped just in time before he accidentally impaled himself, and he collapsed to the ground. His mouth opened and closed, trying to thank me, but no words came out.

By this time, Tatiana had encased another dog’s head in a bubble of water. It was still standing, but it would soon suffocate.

Two left.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

I smashed one with my fist, then turned my gaze to the last one.

The remaining one was busy with Rella.

...

I suppose that’s one way of putting it.

It was preoccupied with Rella, showing no interest in us humans.

The two heads were fighting each other, biting at each other as they vied to get to the tiny bird first, allowing Rella to freely peck at its legs.

Was this two-headed dog stupid?

It had two heads for crying out loud, and yet here it was...

I let out a short laugh, unable to believe what I was seeing. Still, if I left them like this, eventually, Rella would be eaten.

Though she’d probably get spat out again since she could heat herself up, there was always the risk of bad luck.

Best not to take such risks.

I ran over to behead the dog, but just then, a shadow fell over me.

A clear, melodic cry echoed above.

“Piiiii—”

With that, a large brown bird swooped down, like an arrow shooting from the sky.

It was the phoenix with her feathers dyed.

Drawing closer to the ground, the phoenix spread its wings wide and extended its talons.

She clamped down on the two-headed dog's back, gripping it tight.

Holding the struggling dog in place, she stabbed the right head with her beak.

“Kyuuuaaang!” The dog let out a scream.

She stabbed it again, and the right head fell limp.

She had struck its weak spot precisely.

If she had aimed properly from the start, she wouldn’t have needed to stab twice—so why?

My eyes moved towards Rella.

If “shooting beams with one’s eyes” is an apt phrase, this must have been the situation it was invented for.

Rella was staring, her eyes sparkling with fascination.

Maybe the mother was demonstrating for the child—showing her that it takes more than a direct stab.

The phoenix then turned her attention to the left head.

With two sharp pecks, she gouged out the dog’s eyes.

Red blood spurted as pitiful cries filled the air.

It seemed she applied pressure with her talons. A cracking noise came from its back, and the dog’s body went limp.

“What… incredible strength.”

Tatiana had sidled up to me at some point, murmuring in awe.

“Master always told me how strong they were, but I never imagined this level of power.”

“Me neither.”

Now I understood why Rella’s beak was so sturdy.

I looked on in strange admiration as the phoenix perched atop the lifeless dog, letting out a small “Pii—.”

Almost as if on cue, Rella jumped towards the dog.

With its spine broken, the two-headed dog thrashed about, its head shaking desperately.

Rella hopped excitedly, imitating her mother. She was trying her best to peck at the dog's head.

So this is what education is like for wild animals.

‘So just feeding her jerky wouldn’t have sufficed, huh.’

If Rella hadn’t met her mother, things could have gone really badly.

Alright, now that the two-headed dogs are taken care of, it’s time to drag out that so-called half-brother.

I returned to the carriage and opened the door, which had somehow closed in the meantime.

The self-proclaimed half-brother was cowering in the corner.

The moment he saw me, he let out a shriek.

“W-wait, I-I, listen, this is….”

I grabbed his collar and yanked him out.

He flew through the air and rolled across the ground a couple of times.

“Argh! My leg! My leg!”

His leg was bent in an unnatural direction.

As I approached, the self-proclaimed half-brother writhed in pain, flailing his arms.

“Do-do you know who I am?! I am the son of the heir to the Ducal House of Val—”

“Shut up.”

I gave his face a light kick, and he fell back with a thud.

It seemed his tooth had cracked. In the blood pouring from his mouth, I saw a flash of white.

I was about to step on him again when I heard the sound of hooves from afar.

Turning my head, I saw about a dozen men approaching on horseback.

They wore fine, luxurious clothing.

“Please, wait a moment!”

The man at the front called out.

“We are from the House of Valther.”

The self-proclaimed half-brother's face immediately lit up, and he began clawing at the ground to crawl towards them.

I stepped on his broken leg.

“Argh! P-please stop!”

His eyes rolled back in pain.

I watched the people from the House of Valther gallop closer, still stepping on the man's leg.

Within moments, the distant figures reached me. The horses were fast.

‘Now, what should I do?’

Outwardly, I tried to remain composed, but honestly, I was a bit scared.

I'd already been prepared for the possibility of a confrontation with the House of Valther, but here I was, on the verge of killing someone who claimed to be from their bloodline—whether he was fake or not.

Judging by the fact that someone from the House of Valther had actually come, there was a possibility he was legitimate.

Of course, it was also possible they were here for me.

If that were the case, they would have likely sent soldiers.

The people in front of me looked like officials and their guards.

‘Could this fraud really be my brother?’

What do I do?

This could lead to a full-blown war with the House of Valther.

Sweat began to trickle down my back.

I should have just killed him quickly and moved on. Why did I even bother tossing him aside?

Mother’s words were a hundred percent correct.

When in doubt, just kill.

If I had killed him and left immediately, they might not even know it was me. Damn, what do I do now?

Tatiana came close and whispered to me.

“Um… should I take care of it? It might be a bit hard to alter everyone's memories at once, but if I take my time, I can twist their recollections.”

She must have also realized we were in a dire situation.

But I couldn’t let her risk exposing herself, not when she was trying to keep her identity as a witch hidden.

She had just started her journey as an adventurer—making her give up on that would be too cruel.

If she really wanted to help me, I'd rather she just get kidnapped to the enchanted forest.

That would be more useful.

I smiled broadly, trying to reassure her despite the chaos in my mind.

“It’s alright.”

Even though it was far from alright.

The Valther family's officials and guards reached me and brought their horses to a halt.

The self-proclaimed half-brother—or perhaps my actual half-brother—was writhing on the ground in pain, yet still tried to shout triumphantly.

“You are d-dead now...!”

His front teeth were missing, causing his words to come out slurred.

Since things were already a mess, I figured I might as well add fuel to the fire.

I twisted my foot on his leg.

“Aaaargh! Stop! Stop!”

The head official of the Valther family dismounted from his horse.

“Greetings. I am Robin, Lord Klaus’s personal butler.”

Robin bowed deeply and politely.

For some reason, it was towards me.

With his head still lowered, he looked at me with glittering eyes.

It seemed as though he was waiting for me to say something.

“...”

“...”

I simply stared at him, unsure of what he wanted.

What did any of this mean?

Why was this happening to me?

Today had been full of surprises.

It was my first time riding a carriage in this world, and I experienced the worst motion sickness I’d ever had, whether in this life or the previous one.

I had thought only three-headed dogs existed, but I found out there were two-headed ones—and maybe there were even four- or five-headed ones out there.

And I had learned that I might have a half-brother.

But even more baffling than all of that was the fact that a butler from the House of Valther—a butler who served my father, who had been forcibly taken by my mother—was now bowing to me, looking up with hopeful eyes.

Weren’t you supposed to have come here for the half-brother?

I glanced at the sniveling man on the ground, who was sobbing and screaming.

Robin’s gaze followed mine.

As if remembering, Robin began to speak.

“That person’s mother was a laundress servant at the House of Valther. I was the one who handled the investigation after we received his letter. If it turns out that Lord Klaus had any interaction with her, it would be a significant matter.”

“...”

There was no need to explain all of this to me.

But for some reason, Robin seemed intent on explaining.

“However, Lord Klaus has never had any encounters with that laundress. As his personal butler, I serve him nearly 24 hours a day while he’s in the mansion. It would be impossible for someone I hadn’t even seen to have gained his affection.”

“...”

“He claimed in the letter that he had a button as proof. However, none of Lord Klaus’s clothes were missing a button. Every item engraved with the Valther crest—from clothes to buttons—undergoes meticulous management. I checked the clothing records from the time he mentioned, and there was no mention of any missing buttons.”

“...”

Do they really keep such detailed records?

It seemed the Valther family was more fastidious than I thought.

Robin lowered his head slightly.

“Of course, worn-out or damaged items are discarded every year. I believe that’s when this button was smuggled out.”

“...”

“This lapse in management was my failure as Lord Klaus’s personal butler. I will later report this to the head butler and take responsibility.”

Why are you telling me all of this?

And why do you keep emphasizing that you’re his personal butler?

It seems like there’s some deeper meaning, but I have no idea what it is.

Unsure of how to respond to this Robin character, I scratched my cheek and once more firmly pressed down on the fake half-brother's leg.