"You're jealous? To a devil, not a human?"
Raphael remained silent for a long time without answering, but instead of his voice, his ears gradually turned red gave me confidence.
I was dumbfounded, having never thought of Vermont as a romantic interest.
First of all, not only are we different species, but he is a demon who has lived for so long, so there is no way that a human like me could be considered rational in Vermont's eyes.
Although I already had the painful experience of being rejected once before I could even confess.
Looking at Raphael's expression. It seemed like it might not be a good idea to say that now.
"Well, I'm pretty only in your eyes."
I muttered to myself, feeling a bit awkward but not so bad. Then, only then did Raphael open his mouth again.
"No."
"Yes?"
"It's not just pretty in my eyes."
My heart was pounding. I turned my head and looked at Raphael.
The blue eyes were still deep. I leaned in slightly and kissed him first.
When I pulled away, Raphael's face was burning red. My face reflected in the window was not much different.
"..."
I just held her hand and turned my gaze elsewhere. For some reason, my toes were curled up and I couldn't meet his eyes.
It felt pretty good to start dating after marriage.
***
That morning, Vermont was summoned to my room again and came looking for me.
"Whew...."
It was unusual for him to sigh more than usual as if he had been through a lot.
His body looked tired and worn out, and there were leaves and dirt all over it.
I listened to the story while patting Vermont's body.
"I've confirmed dozens of recent footprints and the smell. It looks like there was another auction two weeks ago."
My heart pounded and dropped. I guess I couldn't stop it after all.
The tragedy was right before my eyes. I was about to become depressed, but I came back to my senses as Vermont continued speaking.
"There will be another auction soon. There isn't much time left."
Since it involved even the First Prince, it was now necessary to approach it with even more caution.
If things go even slightly wrong, you could be immediately punished for insulting the royal family.
Vermont comforted me by placing a fluffy cat paw on my hand. I guess he noticed that my face was pale.
"Thank you, but... I'm glad you found out. I'm really glad."
At first, he grumbled that he wasn't interested in what I was doing, but now he was giving it his all.
I hugged him with a heart filled with gratitude and worry that I couldn't express in words.
The cat that came into my arms as if it was suddenly being held in my arms just froze in place.
"In the past, you used to flap your wings a lot at times like this."
"There was a time like that."
"It's said that when you hug a cat like this, your heart feels somehow healed. When you're in human form, it's hard to do this without hesitation..."
As soon as I finished speaking, there was a bang and the cat I was holding in my arms disappeared without a trace.
I blinked my dazed eyes, and there he was, transformed back into his original form, right in front of me...
A mysterious silver-haired handsome man who deserves the title of Lord Vermont.
"What's wrong? Stroke me more."
"Huh, huh?"
"Hug me. Praise me. Like me."
For a moment, his attitude was so strange that I wondered if he had completely broken down.
Soon, Vermont's golden eyes began to shine brightly. At first, I thought it was because of the moonlight, but upon closer inspection. I saw that tears were slowly welling up in them.
I was confused and couldn't believe I had ever been more embarrassed. I asked, not knowing what to do.
"Why, why! What's going on!"
A tear finally fell from under Vermont's reddened eyes.
He spoke with a sorrowful voice, emphasizing each word.
"Does my owner only like me when I'm a cat?"
"Of course not. What are you talking about!"
"Then hug me."
Even though I'm not very tactful, there was something strange about this atmosphere.
I hesitated for a while and eventually took a step back.
"I'm sorry, I just didn't think you'd be uncomfortable."
"That's not it. It's just..."
"I'm married, Vermont."
If Vermont had had a hard time, of course, I wanted to comfort him.
But it didn't seem like it should be this way.
"Before I turn back time, if only I could have stayed by your side."
"..."
"I would have prevented the marriage somehow. You wouldn't have taken poison either."
Oh, you were worried about me.
I overlooked the fact that the recovered memories would have been shocking not only to me but also to Vermont.
Well, he always had a childish side to him.
I hesitated for a moment, then finally raised one hand and stroked Vermont's head.
"I'm happy now, Vermont."
It was the best sincerity I could muster to put him at ease even a little.
Vermont met my gaze, tears still falling.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I'm serious."
Vermont continued to look at me with deep eyes as if he wanted to gain confidence from my words...
It felt like I was falling apart piece by piece under his gaze.
After a long time, he calmed down. But he still muttered in a trembling voice.
"Because you are so special to me."
My heart ached at those heartbreaking words. Vermont, my friend who was always by my side even before I turned back time...
"You are special to me too."
I carefully took Vermont's hand and spoke accordingly.
Then he suddenly turned back into a cat. It seemed like he didn't want to show his reddened eyes.
"Anyway, I tried my best to hide my presence, but the security was still tight."
"Even if it takes the form of an animal?"
Soon Vermont was the first to change the subject of conversation.
"Yes, there wasn't a single bird flying around, let alone an animal. It seemed like the warlock had taken precautions in advance."
Vermont shivered as if he could still smell the stench of dark magic.
"It is an act against nature. Without even a little bit of goodness, they use particularly cruel sorcery."
"..."
"Be careful, Enrica. And tell Sarah to take care of herself too."
Leaving a dire warning, Vermont left the room and disappeared somewhere.
I was thinking to myself, so I quickly got up and headed to the bedroom where Raphael was.
As I walked down the hallway, I saw that the auxiliary lights in the bedroom were glowing softly as if they had been waiting for me.
"Raphael."
"Enri, are you here?"
Maybe it was because my mind was complicated, but when I saw Raphael welcoming me, I just approached him.
I whispered softly as I buried myself in his arms.
"It was the forest after all."
Raphael hugged me tightly and then carried me to the bed. My tired eyelids gradually closed as the fluffy blanket covered my body.
"Thank you for your hard work. Now go to sleep."
It was a soft voice that was pleasant to listen to, like a lullaby. I nodded and opened my mouth to speak just before falling asleep.
"Don't worry, Raphael. Everything will be okay. I'll make it right..."
***
As soon as the sun rose, I delivered a coded letter to Sophia.
Since it was a time when I had to be especially careful, I asked my escort, Hayden, to deliver it instead of the delivery man.
Still, just in case there was any danger, I used a difficult-to-decipher code and received help from Raphael in the process.
"It's done, Enri."
"Wow, thank you!"
The letter Raphael wrote on my behalf was put into an envelope after the ink dried, and the original text was immediately thrown into the fireplace and destroyed.
I glanced to the side and looked at Raphael.
Since our trip to the North, he has been living a life almost buried in paperwork with a mountain of work to do.
"It's very difficult."
I looked at Raphael with sad eyes and sat down next to him.
My health is so bad that I can't even get enough rest, and now we have to work too hard every day.
When I came to the office, I asked the maid to bring me some bite-sized snacks.
I picked them up one by one and put them in Raphael's mouth.
"Melua said you don't eat snacks while you work."
"What you feed me is different."
I was pleased to see him like a well-behaved hunting dog. While I was laughing, Raphael's expression darkened a little.
"By the way, I'm worried about tomorrow's business trip. It's only for one day, though..."
"You said there was a lot of work piling up. There's nothing you can do about it."
"I'm worried that something might happen to you while I'm gone."
Because of the piled-up work, he eventually had no choice but to leave the Grand Duke's residence for a day and go on a business trip.
"I can protect myself even without Raphael. Have you forgotten? I'm a strong wizard. I also have Sarah and Vermont."
I smiled brightly and tried to reassure him, but somehow Raphael's stern expression showed no sign of loosening.
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