Transmigrated To A Beastworld As The Lazy Wife Of The Fox Lord

Chapter 260: Half truths-half whispers.

Elder Mini tapped her cane against the floor slowly, her eyes gleaming. Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial hush, the kind that made everyone lean closer. "You think beauty is harmless? Then you don’t know the full story of Illora. Her beauty was extraordinary..."

"Was?" Mija butted in. "Is she dead?"

Mini nodded. "Her beauty was not a blessing, it was a storm. And it destroyed one of the greatest noble families of our age."

Sienna sipped her coffee, savoring the beginning of a scandal that held some weight. One that the tribe probably kept a secret from the rest of the world. Otherwise, Mija would know. She always knew everything about every handsome man in the entertainment world.

Mini continues, her time heavy with rumor and half-truth. "The family was the noble House of Viran. They had managed to hold on to their wealth and power through the ages. They were rivaled only by the Veythar’s in my opinion. By the time Illora came into their lives, there were five brothers in the main branch of the family. Each prouder the other, and more ambitious than the next. They rules estates that stretched across valleys, their wealth unmatched. But when Illora appeared, they lost everything."

Whispers rippled through the office.

"All five" Linera muttered, "Impossible."

Mini chuckled darkly, "Not impossible. I tell you, she slept with all five brothers. Each one was obsessed, consumed. They fought, they schemed, they bled for her. And when she tried to leave, they imprisoned her in their manor, locking her away like a jewel too precious to share."

Sienna’s eyes widened. "Imprisoned? How? Didn’t she run away even once?"

"She tried," Mini said, "but she could not get away. She bore the brothers children. Six in total. Six children for five fathers. Do you see the madness? She was only married to one brother, but she had children for the other four. Remember, it is not illegal for one beast man or woman to have multiple partners. Back then especially, people did not frown on it like they do today. But for some reason they hid it."

"Because she was a prisoner!" Mija hissed. "She married one brother, the rest probably forced her."

Mini shrugged. "She didn’t say anything when elders paid a visit. According to them, she seemed to be happy with her life. All I know is that they didn’t report the relationships, so the children born to the brothers she was not married to were considered bastards. Not that they made this public." Mini’s voice grew softer, more haunting. "It was whispered that the brothers fought over each child, claiming them as their own. They didn’t care who the pup smelled like. They fought over her affections, bedding opportunities and everything related to her. The manor echoed with screams, with jealousy, with madness. Servants claimed Illora herself grew weary, her beauty a chain that bound her tighter than iron."

Sienna put down her cup. "And what happened?"

Mini’s eyes gleamed. "During her seventh pregnancy, she suffered a mental break. Others say she decided she would not endure another cycle of obsession. All most of us know is that she set herself and the brothers on fire. Burned the manor to ash. Some say she poisoned the brothers first, so they were dead when the fire started. Others say they were unconscious, and others say they were alive. All agree on one thing, she was alive when the fire started. That was the end of the House of Viran."

Gasps filled the room. Mija recoiled, horrified. Linera muttered a prayer under her breath.

Sienna’s voice was sharp. "So, you think that this influenced Tariq’s choice of marrying an ugly wife. The things that happened to his mother!"

Mini nodded slowly. "He witnessed it. He was a child then, hidden in the shadows. He saw his mother’s beauty destroy a family. He saw a fire consume his home. He saw obsession turn men into beasts. And so, it is possible that when he grew, he vowed never to be ensnared by beauty again. He chose ugliness as his shield."

The office fell silent, the weight of the tale pressing down like a storm cloud. Sienna’s mind raced. Mini’s words painted a far darker picture of Tariq’s past. His silence and refusal to answer, perhaps it was not arrogance but trauma. Perhaps he carried scars deeper than anyone could see, and his wife had known this. She was protecting him!

Mini leaned back, satisfied with the shock she had delivered. "Nobody confirmed these whispers, of course. Even I don’t know how true what I have shared with you is. But I do know that it must remain between us. I think many things happened in that manor that were criminal or immoral. My mother was sure the brothers set that fire because the grand matriarch was preparing to bring charges against the them. They died with the woman they loved.

The grand matriarch put a ban on the events that happened, so the truth was lost in ash. The official story was that it was an accidental fire. As for the rest of the rumors, nobody bothered to correct them. I think Jess sent people to erase the memories of those who knew too much. The children were distributed among different relatives. Naturally, they kept the wealth of their family so they are living lavishly.

Since then, Illora’s beauty is whispered about as a curse, among those who remember her."

Linera muttered, "If even half of this is true, then beauty is indeed a curse."

Sienna slammed her hand on the desk. "No. Beauty is not a curse. Obsession is. Weakness is. Men who cannot control themselves are a curse. Illora must have been a victim."

"Or the perpetrator." Mija said surely, as if she knew it in person.

Mini chuckled softly, "Whatever it is, young Mr. Tariq sees beauty as danger. He sees ugliness as safety. And that belief will shape him until his death."

Mija said gleefully, "Aha! You see, his mother was the bad one. She used her beauty to lure men to death, so her son will never marry a beautiful woman. He associates their looks with danger. An ugly wife won’t cheat..." she paused, "or so he thought."

Sienna scratched her chin, it was hard to say if she was right or wrong. The odds were 50-50. Whatever it was, they would probably never know, unless she asked Jess about it. She tilted her head, tapping her fingers on the desk. The only question was, did she actually need to know the truth about Illora?