The Laws of Werewolf Hunting

Chapter 540 Childhood
Because he shared the same concerns, Clayton naturally couldn't help Barbara make a choice.

However, as a friend, he still advised her to choose carefully and suggested that she visit another person, Ian Lazarus, before converting her children.

Although this person is now missing, he knows that vampires have a way to find their offspring.

She should take a good look at him, see if the living person she transformed is happy, and make that a key consideration.

Despite offering such rational advice, Clayton remained unsettled afterward. If the wolf blood hadn't been so potent, he would have found it even harder to resist turning Donna into a werewolf.

To be honest, he envied Conione.

Extremely envious.

He even envied vampires because they had a higher success rate in converting vampires.

Clayton wanted someone of his kind, and he wanted Donna to be safer, but he didn't want the transformation ritual to harm his loved ones.

At the same time that he was experiencing complex emotions, Donna Bello herself was completely unaware of everything and was about to meet the new little one.

After Joseph finished his lessons and said goodbye to his teacher, he sat on the chair by the window, lost in thought. His gaze passed through the window and fell on a small grapevine that had grown out of the shadows on the side of the house. The vibrant colors and scenery around him could not compare to the feeling it gave him.

Snapped!
A hand suddenly landed on his shoulder, and he almost jumped up.

"Joseph," Donna appeared from the side, her face tilted, "would you like to ride a horse?"

Almost instantly, flames ignited in the little boy's eyes.

"want!"

He had never been so enthusiastic about Donna's visit.

Joseph was always very quiet, never taking the initiative to do anything, and showing no extra emotion. He would only show joy when Clayton called him, like a puppy that had recognized its master.

Unfortunately, magic is one of the major reasons for this outcome.

Clayton had unwittingly used the power of the Evil Eye on Joseph. In addition to its ability to transmit emotions, the Evil Eye also leaves a deep impression on the person it is looking at. If it is used on a child whose mind is not mature, the effect is even more powerful. It is like using an extremely sharp carving knife to carve his mind. Everything Clayton did to Joseph will be firmly remembered and will continue to deepen the engraving in his heart.

In Joseph's eyes, Clayton was either his best friend or his worst enemy.

Fortunately, Clayton did a good job.

Donna helped the boy onto her horse, Cherry, which was named for its slightly reddish coat, though it was actually a small brown horse.

As soon as Joseph sat in the saddle, his earlier excitement vanished without a trace.

His hands remained frozen in place, too afraid to touch the enormous creature snorting below him, and his legs remained motionless.

“It’s alright, you can grab her mane and use a little force, you won’t hurt her.” Donna held his hand and pressed it against the horse’s back. She often communicated with Cherry using magic. This huge advantage of being able to communicate with her master made Cherry less easily excited than other horses, making her perfect for beginners to practice riding.

However, Joseph was not old enough to talk about riding skills. He was only responsible for getting on the horse, and Donna would lead Cherry around the house with him.

Joseph sat swaying in the saddle, and finally a bright smile appeared on his face.

But there was no sound.

Why don't you laugh?

Donna was leading the horse in front, but she kept an eye on him.

“I don’t want to disturb other people.” This was the first time Joseph had spoken such a long sentence to her. Before, he would just utter one word at a time. Donna couldn’t imagine what kind of environment he had lived in before. Perhaps it was his mother’s long-term illness and recuperation that made him feel that making a sound was a shameful thing.

"Don't worry, no one here will find this a disturbance."

Joseph tried several more times, but his laughter remained silent, which frustrated him.

Donna tossed her hair: "It's alright. We do need someone here who can give a silent smile. You've come at the perfect time."

Joseph was then relieved and continued riding happily.

During this process, Donna also observed him more closely than usual.

Joseph was not a handsome child; on the contrary, he looked quite ordinary and was thin and small for his age, having been malnourished before.

At the same time, he does not possess any special powers.

His inspiration might be slightly higher than that of ordinary people, but it's far from reaching the level of a wizard, making it impossible for him to become a spellcaster.

Donna knew that her scrutiny was somewhat excessive, but times were tough, the Dark Moon had returned to the world, and Clayton's relationship with that strange council of elders was ambiguous. She hoped that more capable people would assist her in supporting Clayton and correcting his mistakes if necessary.

Joseph was no good; he was subservient to Clayton and had no power.

"What do I need to do?" Joseph suddenly asked.

Donna's heart skipped a beat, then she felt ashamed of her thoughts.

"No, you don't have to do anything except be an upright person, a good person."

"Like Mr. Bello?"

“Well,” Donna licked her lips without any ladylike manners, then realized that she had picked up this new habit from Clayton, and quickly pulled her tongue back: “He is good, but not good enough. Of course, I am not good enough either. Everyone has their own shortcomings, and what you have to do is try your best to make up for them.”

Joseph seemed to understand, but not quite. "Then how do I know what's right?"

"Try to do things that make more people happy, but sometimes you have to think not only about the people you can see, but also about the people you can't see, including people from other parishes, people from other countries, and even people in the future."

Donna suddenly realized that she had gone too far off track, and that there were some things that even she didn't know how to define or describe, so she quickly brought the topic back on track.

"It's okay if you can't do it, as long as you don't intentionally hurt others. As for making people happy, we can start with small things, such as making the people in this house happy first."

“For example, Mr. Bellow?” Joseph’s eyes lit up again.

"Not only him, but also your tutor and the other servants. If you remember their names and greet them every day, I think they will be very happy."

And so, Donna taught Joseph his first lesson.

After a short ride, she took his hand and greeted everyone. This, of course, did not change their status, but respect was still important.

Clayton was not demanding of his staff, but he also failed to gain their affection.

Because of some bad rumors about him, the servants dared not show any smiles in front of him, and always put on a serious face, as if trying to fit the image that Clayton would like.

Donna was happy to clarify the rumors about Clayton, but unfortunately, these rumors turned out to be true.

They weren't even afraid of the werewolf Clayton, but rather of the former soldier Clayton. His record of killing people was enough to intimidate ordinary people; there was no need to exaggerate further.

For this reason, most of Clayton's friends were people who did not discriminate against frontline soldiers or take killing seriously, and that's why his relationship with Clara improved.

Clayton didn't mind that Clara wasn't very bright, and Clara didn't mind that Clayton was always killing people.

After greeting everyone, they returned to the garden to admire the new buds sprouting in spring. They didn't bring the cherries and socks, as the horses would eat the delicate plants. Donna instructed Joseph to plant thin sticks evenly spaced in the ground so that the climbing plants could climb them, forming a beautiful green screen in about two months.

Joseph was squatting on the ground picking up twigs when he suddenly looked up and asked, "Aren't you happy, Donna?"

After playing together all morning, they had become quite close.

"Me?" Donna pointed at herself in surprise. "Why do you think that?"

"Because you don't look like you want to smile."

Throughout their journey, Donna never smiled, except when greeting others.

She realized this herself, so she tried to smile, but the expression she made looked fake—she couldn't see it, but she felt it must be, so she gave up on the attempt.

"Aren't you happy?" Joseph asked again.

"Yes, I'm not happy," she had to admit.

"why?"

"Why?" Donna pondered the question, then took a deep breath.

"It's probably because my mother is fighting heretics in the north, constantly facing mortal danger. My uncle is a werewolf, and his behavior is becoming increasingly beastly, with the risk of him going insane and losing control. As for myself, I'm about to graduate from wizarding school, unsure if I'll pass the graduation exams, but in any case, I won't be able to sleep well for the next ten months, only getting a maximum of two hours of rest each day. And I haven't yet completed the Creation Day gift I promised Clayton. After I resolve these issues, I'll have to talk about marriage."

There are a lot of things that put pressure on her.

As she spoke, her voice grew increasingly strained, until she could barely utter a word. Sadly, she squatted down against the fence.

Especially since she was holding two straight, short branches in her hands, she looked like a drummer who only realized her instrument was missing right before a performance, which was incredibly embarrassing.

Joseph stopped what he was doing: "Does Mr. Bello know how upset you are?"

“He doesn’t know,” Donna said somberly, tapping the ground with the branch in her hand. “My mother has her own ideas, and once she makes a decision, no one can change it. I can only accept it happily or sadly.”

"As for myself, I might be a stubborn person. I would never give up Braco's magic to become an ordinary girl."

“Clayton was chosen by the Dark Moon. He once resisted the influence of the curse, but later he also came to enjoy the life of a werewolf. I have given him the advice of temperance, which is the only advice that can help him. I don’t want to say anything more to spoil his fun.”

It is foolish to worry about things you can't change, but it's even more foolish to voice your concerns and expect others to worry about you.

She's making a foolish mistake now.

If Joseph had been any older, Donna would never have said those things to him.

“You should tell him how you feel, and you should also tell your mother.” Joseph looked at her seriously. He didn’t know the name Tritice, so he called her “Mom” like Donna did.

"This makes no sense!"

Donna threw the branch aside and squatted down, hugging her knees in dejection.

Joseph disagreed with her: "Mr. Bello must know how to make everyone happy."

Clayton had previously killed several criminals in Weodia and used their supplies to feed Joseph's family, who were all very happy.

“Your faith in him is unparalleled,” Donna lamented, wishing she hadn’t thought of so much herself.

She tried to avoid the topic, but Joseph's eyes remained fixed on her.

"Fine, when he gets back, I'm going to complain to him and see what he can do to cheer me up." She paused, then threatened, "If it doesn't work out, I'm going to pinch your face like Aunt Elsa kneads dough!"