Prologue

“Dora, these are worms I caught myself at dawn just for you. Eat up quickly.”

─ Quack quack quack! Quack quack quaaaack! (I’m not Dora! I’m Bestia!)

The imperial palace of the Delta Empire, the wealthiest in the Lorencia continent, was in an uproar from early morning. A young man who looked every bit an emperor was holding tweezers. He even bent his waist in front of a chair specially made for ducks. It was to feed a worm to the duck sitting before him with its beak held high.

“Now, now, don’t turn your head away. Come on, say ah–”

─ Quack! (No!)

“Dora, that won’t do. If you keep refusing, I’ll take away the strawberries from your afternoon meal.”

─ Quaaaack! Quack! (Then I’ll starve! I won’t eat!)

The duck called Dora’s real name was Bestia. Bestia flapped her tiny wings. The worm dangling from the tweezers flew off. The people holding their breath nearby gulped. A man in armor quickly moved to pick up the worm.

“Your Majesty, here it is.”

“Hah… Sir Potters, I’m starting to get angry. What should we do?”

“Your Majesty, Dora prefers strawberries over insects.”

“You think I don’t know that? That’s why I’ve been feeding her only strawberries, and now she’s lost so much weight! Can’t you see?”

“I-I can see. I’m sorry.”

The Emperor of the Delta Empire, Caenian Ruvan, furrowed his brow. His black eyes, matching his red hair, flashed with annoyance. The duck in front of him now was extraordinary. The yellow beak stuck in the fluffy down and the bright yellow webbed feet were no different from those of an ordinary duck.

However, this duck had something special. It was her jewel-like blue eyes. Not to mention, their meeting had been fateful.

“Dora, look at yourself. You’ve lost a lot of weight since we first met. You’re less plump now.”

─ Quaaaack. (Still, I don’t like bugs.)

The charm of a duck lies in its fluffiness. The softness that tickles your chest when you hold it close. That kind of charm. It was upsetting. It was unspeakably distressing.

“Hah.”

Frustrated, Caenian let out a deep sigh. Brushing back his glossy red hair, he put the worm in a small container. Every time the worm wriggled in the container, white powder stuck to its body.

“Dora, I’ve been studying about ducks, you know. You can’t just eat fruits. You need protein too.”

─ Quack! Quaaaack! (Pervert! Don’t touch me there!)

As Caenian spoke and reached out his hand, he could feel her ribs. Bestia swatted his hand away again. There was no tension in her wing flap that barely registered.

─ Quack quaaaack! Quack quack! (I hate that tacky name! I hate worms even more!)

“Why is our Dora so angry? Don’t you like the worms coated with nutritional powder? Should I spread some strawberry jam on them?”

In front of everyone, Bestia thrashed about wildly. She opened her cute beak wide and quacked loudly.

Bestia. She had found out two days ago that she was a duck shapeshifter. And she hated everything about her current situation.

Every time she hopped with her adorable yellow webbed feet, her fluffy white feathers swayed in the air. Like cotton candy. Her tiny wings flapped too. Whoosh whoosh. She flapped so hard that the sound of air being cut could be heard.

─ Quaaaack quack! Quack quack quack! (I hate the name Dora! I hate worms!)

Bestia was genuinely angry. Yesterday, Caenian had given her the strange name ‘Dora’. It was after he had read some book with her on his lap.

‘Duckie, a line from this book’s poem touches my heart.’

─ Quack? (What line?)

‘It was nothing special before being named, but once given a name, it became a precious existence, says the poem.’

─ Quaaaack? (Name?)

‘So I decided to give you a name too.’

─ Quack? (What?)

‘From now on, you’re ‘Dora’.’

It was an abrupt development, anyway. The man who had arbitrarily brought her to the imperial palace was full of sentiment. It would be better if he judged with reason rather than emotion. No, wait. He offered her worms under rational judgment, so there’s nothing to say.

“Come on, Dora. Shall we eat just one worm and then go for a walk?”

─ Quack? (A walk?)

Anyway, that’s why Bestia was tired now. Meanwhile, the word ‘walk’ caught her interest. She thought there might be more opportunities to find out something outside the building.

“I heard ducks need to bask in the sun for a certain amount of time. They say vitamin D is good for bone formation. Don’t you want to grow these cute wings big so you can fly?”

─ Quaaaack… (I need to expand my range of activity to learn more about duck shapeshifters…)

Bestia rolled her blue eyes. She had to play along here. One choice could determine the future. The purpose of her staying in the imperial palace was to discover her identity. Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.

It was to survive!

“What do you think? Want to go for a walk? Shall we try eating one?”

Caenian attempted to feed her. Wiggle wiggle. The worm coated with white powder curled around the tip of the tweezers.

─ Quack. (Ugh.)

To think I have to eat that to go outside!

Bestia, looking at the worm, glanced at Caenian who was narrowing his eyes at her. Following the doting emperor, the maids were also watching her with clasped hands. Even Potters, the guard knight, was the same. He didn’t clasp his hands, but his face was tense.

─ Quack. (Sigh.)

So I have to eat a worm in front of more than ten people right now?

“Come on, Dora. It will be very savory and delicious. Ah— shall we open that beak?”

As if he had never threatened her with strawberries, Caenian’s voice softened. Bestia was still conflicted. It seemed right to eat the worm, but something didn’t feel right. She pondered deeply about what it was. The answer came quickly.

“Dora.”

─ Quack. (Not Dora.)

It was when Caenian brought the tweezers closer. Bestia made up her mind. If she had to stay longer in the imperial palace, she wanted to be called by her proper name at least. Bestia looked around. She saw the container that had held the worms.

─ Quack. (My name is.)

Approaching the container, Bestia dipped one of her webbed feet in it. There were murmurs from all around. All eyes focused on the yellow duck foot now covered in white powder.

─ Quack… Quaaaack. (Bes… no, it’s.)

Bestia waddled and wrote letters on the velvet she was standing on. She started to write her real name but quickly smudged it out with her webbed foot. She felt she shouldn’t reveal herself carelessly. She couldn’t trust the son of the former emperor who despised shapeshifters.

─ Quack. (Betty.)

So Bestia used a trick. Instead of her real name, she wrote the nickname her adoptive parents used. Her webbed toes curled and uncurled. The yellow leg drew elegant strokes. The handwriting with duck feet was graceful.

“Ooh!”

“As expected, she’s not just an ordinary duck, Your Majesty!”

Applause erupted. Someone even whistled. Bestia felt proud. She puffed out her chest covered in white feathers and lifted her beak high.

I’m this kind of person, no, this kind of shapeshifter. I even entered the academy as the top student.

“Betty. Is that your name?”

─ Quack. (Yes.)

Caenian looked back and forth between the writing on the velvet and Bestia’s face. His eyes, as dark as a moonless night, trembled slightly. He looked shocked at the sight of the intelligent duck.

Could it be a shapeshifter? Caenian, who had been dazed, soon shook his head. It was an absurd thought. Shapeshifters inherently have a unique scent. Moreover, all beings entering the imperial palace are checked for their true form at the temple.

That procedure involves being exposed to a special incense burned 24 hours a day in the imperial temple. If a shapeshifter is exposed to the incense, the smoke takes form in front of them. It shows what kind of animal form they have besides their human appearance. But this duck before his eyes was just a duck even in the smoke created by that incense.

“Everyone, look! A duck that can write its own name. What an incredible being this is!”

“Ooooh. Your Majesty, you’re absolutely right.”

“It’s another moment proving Your Majesty’s excellent discernment!”

Caenian placed Bestia on his hand instead of the tweezers. As he held her high, gasps of amazement erupted from everywhere. Even Potters didn’t pick up the fallen worm this time.

“Listen, everyone. From today, I declare Betty as the empire’s first mascot! It’s a sign that the heavens view the harmony between humans and shapeshifters positively!”

“Ooh!”

“That’s right!”

A solemn and resounding declaration burst forth. Bestia struck a dignified pose on the Emperor’s palm. She played along with the situation, sensing the mood. If not, who knows when they might try to feed her worms again.

“Betty, I should have asked for your name earlier. I’m sorry.”

─ Quaaaack quack. (It’s fine as long as you know now.)

“Shall we continue with our meal then?”

─ Quack? (Pardon?)

However, Bestia’s calculation was off. Although Caenian acted doting, he was still an emperor. This meant he possessed the intelligence, culture, judgment, and virtue befitting an emperor. He hadn’t forgotten about the worms.

“Sir Potters, catch the escaped worm!”

“I’ve already caught it, Your Majesty.”

“Excellent. Now, Betty. Say ah–”

─ Quaaaaaaack! (I don’t want wormsssss!)

The worm wrapped around the tweezers came right up to her beak. Bestia shook her head. With a quack, she jumped off the chair.

“Betty!”

“Little Betty has jumped off! Catch her!”

“Be careful not to step on her! She’s the empire’s mascot!”

─ Quack quaaaack! Quack quack! (Why am I! Doing this here!)

Crossing the vast room with her small webbed feet, Bestia wailed.