Mommy Wolf: Raise A Cub, Claimed By His Beast Daddy-Chapter 144: The Unassuming Maid Wanting the Boy’s Heart (II)
Leah was caught off guard by the sudden hostility from the little prince.
He actually had the audacity to look annoyed—even though she hadn’t touched him at all yet.
’If this little brat weren’t my future husband, I wouldn’t bother currying favor with him in the first place,’ Leah fumed inwardly.
But she swallowed her resentment. Once he grew older, she would make sure Jojo chased after her like a dog after its master.
"I’m sorry, My Prince," Leah said with a gentle, humble smile. "But I am Mistress Sisi’s personal maid. I must remain here in case something happens to her."
She straightened and stepped back, positioning herself near the bed to watch over both Sisi and Jojo. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
Jojo tossed the bunny aside once he’d had enough, then spoke flatly. "Pick that up. Sisi will scold me if she sees me eating messily."
Leah scowled when his back was turned, but she complied, lifting the carcass and disposing of it outside.
When she returned, her amiable smile was firmly back in place."My Prince, do you need anything else?"
"Mm," Jojo said. "I need you to stay silent."
...
Leah didn’t understand how the boy could be so cute, spoiled, and innocent in front of Sisi—yet so cold and indifferent toward her.
It was as if Jojo became a different child depending on whom he faced.
With Sisi and the Beast King, he behaved like a normal four-year-old.
With everyone else, it was as though he’d aged several years overnight—his speech clearer, his gaze sharper, his manner distant.
Such coldness would have unsettled most people.
But Leah had endured years under that idiot Ruela’s tyranny. Softening a child’s heart was a trivial matter in comparison.
She searched for a topic that would interest him—but every possible opening led back to the same name.
Sisi.
Sisi.
That damned Sisi.
Leah longed for the day she could erase Sisi from the boy’s heart and replace her entirely.
Jojo would talk about her instead. Dream of her. Imprint on her.
Leah wouldn’t mind to be Jojo’s heaven, making sure he would be suffering without her by his side.
’If only I could kill that witch Sisi,’ Leah thought darkly. ’But I heard witches can’t be poisoned... what a shame.’
Leah actually already had a plan of poisoning Sisi, and then blaming it on Diane or other maid before she knew about Sisi’s identity as a witch.
Left with no choice, she forced herself to smile and said, "My Prince, I’ve been observing Mistress Sisi all day. And I’ve learned... she isn’t quite what you think."
The mention of Sisi immediately caught Jojo’s attention. He turned to Leah, waiting for her to continue.
Leah hated how much space Sisi occupied in the boy’s heart. But since Sisi was unconscious, this was the perfect chance to poison Jojo’s perception of her with lies until he was disgusted by Sisi.
Thus, wearing an amiable smile, Leah began her first deception.
"Since you already know Mistress Sisi is a witch," she said gently, "I witnessed her performing a small ritual last night."
"A ritual?" Jojo tilted his head.
"Yes," Leah replied. "She slaughtered many animals and brewed them in a pot. She told me she needs a boy as a sacrifice to complete it." She sighed softly. "Unfortunately, the palace doesn’t have a living beastman boy to offer. So she said she would look for one herself."
She was only testing the waters, gauging whether the four-year-old boy would believe such a lie. If he did, she would layer it with more, until Sisi looked like a monster in his eyes.
Jojo listened intently.
But Leah saw no fear.
Instead, the boy looked thoughtful and curious, as if the thought of Sisi brewing animals in a pot and cackling horribly wasn’t a terrible enough.
"Mmm... then maybe I’ll help her," Jojo muttered. "Can you find a boy for me? If Sisi needs one, you should give her one."
Leah’s eyes widened. She couldn’t hide her shock.
That answer was not normal.
A child his age should’ve been terrified—crying, trembling, maybe even wetting himself—at the idea of a witch hunting children for sacrifice.
But Jojo wasn’t afraid at all.
He was willing.
’What kind of twisted mindset is this?’ Leah thought in disbelief. ’Has Sisi poisoned his mind with one of her curses?’
"No—no, you don’t understand, My Prince," she said quickly, trying to steer him back toward fear. "Mistress Sisi needs a boy your age as the sacrifice. And since there’s no one else in the palace... maybe she will sacrifice you instead."
...
Jojo didn’t respond right away.
There was no fear in his eyes.
No anger.
No emotion at all.
That emptiness was far more unsettling than panic ever could be.
"That won’t happen," Jojo said calmly. "Sisi loves me. I’ve been with her all this time, and she’s never hurt me."
"You never know, My Prince," Leah sighed. "Perhaps she’s grown tired of you. Haven’t you heard the tale of witches fattening their sacrifices first? Like livestock." She tilted her head. "Maybe Mistress Sisi wants you to grow plump—like a cow—before slaughtering you to complete her ritual."
...
Still no reaction.
Jojo didn’t seem disturbed by the idea at all, as if it would be acceptable even if Sisi did such a terrible thing.
Leah’s patience finally cracked.
"If she sacrifices you," Leah said quietly, "that means she doesn’t love you anymore. She’ll find another boy to take care of, and you’ll be forgotten."
That last sentence finally did it.
Fear flooded Jojo’s eyes as he shook his head adamantly.
"N-No—!" he blurted out. "Y-You—go find another boy! I—I can’t be sacrificed! I want to stay with Sisi forever!"
...
Leah stared at him, unsettled with his reaction.
She wasn’t sure whether something was deeply wrong with the little prince, or if this was simply how the Beast King’s bloodline worked.
Either way, Jojo’s reaction was far from what she’d expected, and she had run out of bullets to scare him.
