'I slept late again.'
I was overcome with drowsiness.
After waiting for Callius all night, I met Karl and was relieved of my worries, but after Karl returned before anyone noticed, I couldn't sleep again due to the cold.
Granada sent me out because I was dozing off from fatigue while eating breakfast.
The clothes I bought from the merchant were tailored to fit my body perfectly.
So now I was basking in the sun in the backyard of the castle, feeding the goat I had received as a gift from the Uttar boy.
It was strange that it was so cold at night that it was snowing, but the sun was quite warm during the day.
I absentmindedly handed the goats a skein of hay, thinking about Karl, who had come and gone yesterday.
'Where is Karl and what is he doing now?'
He said he would look for a place to stay, but he didn't give me any details.
Karl confidently said he could handle the matter himself, and I envied him for saying that.
"How can he be so confident? Karl seems to be able to do everything on his own."
Well, if he's willing to come all the way to Ronheim alone, what else can't he do?
'I'm sure he can dress himself and bathe himself.'
Karl was a truly great friend, and I was so proud of him.
Then, the goat suddenly bumped me with its forehead, as if it was dissatisfied with the hay being given to it little by little.
"Ah!"
The baby goat was so strong that I fell backwards.
“Do you know how precious these clothes are?”
I shook my butt and got up, grumbling, but the goat didn't pay any attention to me and forcefully bit the hay in my hand and pulled it.
“This naughty boy!”
I hid my hands here and there to avoid having the hay taken away.
Then, as if annoyed, the mountain goat was ready to attack me again.
“Ugh!”
I ran away from the mountain goat in a panic, but it was so fast that it ran right into my butt as I was running away.
“You!”
The goat snorted at the sight of me getting angry, then snatched all the hay from my hand.
It was when I was being toyed with by the mountain goat like that.
Woohoo!
A strong wind blew from somewhere.
'What?'
I was curious. The wind wasn't so strong now, so why was there such a rough wind noise?
Woohoo!
When I listened closely, it sounded a little creepy.
It was as if ghosts, if they really existed, would appear and make sounds like that.
I looked around in horror and was startled to see the beasts suddenly appear before my eyes.
'Oh...!'
It was the tiger I saw in a picture book when I was young.
I closed my eyes tightly, thinking I was seeing something, but when I opened them, it was clearly a pure white tiger.
A tiger with a very long and furry tail.
Three white tigers came walking slowly, taking very thick, large steps.
I froze, unable to even scream.
The mountain goat must have felt fear as it cowardly hid behind my back.
'Why is there a tiger in a place like this?'
The white tiger looked at me with his blue eyes.
I was so scared that my hair stood on end.
Gulp.
The moment I swallowed my dry saliva.
“Ugh!”
The tiger in front rushed towards me and instantly bit my struggling arm.
“Ah!”
“Ah!”
Screams of terror spread throughout the castle.
“Chloe!”
Callius recognized that it was Chloe's voice and ran towards the sound.
It didn't take long for him to find her, as he had just heard she was in the backyard and was on his way to look for her.
Callius found Chloe confronting the snow cat.
Chloe was sobbing, holding the baby goat protectively.
The snow cats were surrounding Chloe and threatening her.
'Those guys!'
They were the white, spotted, and brindle cats that Callius cared for.
Callius gave a warning sound to the snow cats with an angry face.
“Stop it!”
Then the snow cats jumped in surprise and looked at Callius.
“Go away!”
As Callius waved his hand, the snow cats retreated, their mouths watering.
Callius walked between the snow cats and approached Chloe.
Chloe, who had been crying quietly without making a sound and only shedding tears, blinked with a pale face.
“How did you do it...?”
“Don’t worry, these guys don’t attack people. They’re my kids.”
Chloe spoke with a sorrowful expression on her face.
“But they bit me!”
Callius was startled and looked around Chloe's body.
If you were bitten by an adult snow cat, you would likely lose one or more limbs.
But Chloe was fine, except for a little bit of hay and dirt on her clothes.
Chloe pointed to her arm, sobbing sadly.
“He bit me and then spat it out!”
"Ah."
Callius had a rough idea.
It seemed that the snow cats were rushing at the mountain goat and accidentally put Chloe's arm in their mouths, causing them to spit it out.
'It must have been so fat-free that it didn't even smell good.'
Callius wiped Chloe's tears and comforted her until her crying subsided.
“Why didn’t you just give them the goat?”
“But it’s a mountain goat that I received as a gift...”
No matter how much of a gift you received, is the life of an animal more precious than your own?
Her life is the most precious of all lives, but she was so scared and trembling while desperately protecting the mountain goat.
Callius sighed softly, feeling both proud and sad.
“Don’t worry, it’s okay now. Deep breathing will help.”
Callius gave Chloe a few deep breaths. Her tremors had noticeably subsided.
Then suddenly his eyes caught sight of the necklace hanging around Chloe's neck.
Chloe was still wearing the necklace that the wife of the Uttar chieftain had given her.
Callius turned his attention to the necklace to dispel Chloe's fear.
“You still have this on you.”
“Oh, this is it.”
Chloe wiped away the tears from her eyes and played with the blue pebble.
She looked down at it for a while, then smiled slightly, her face still wet with tears.
“It’s the first time I’ve received such a thoughtful gift, so I feel good every time I see it.”
“...”
A goat and pebble necklace she received as a gift.
To her, the Princess, these were actually not that great things.
But Chloe held them close as if they were more precious than anything else.
Even in the face of such terrifying beasts, she held the mountain goat close and protected it, and she cherished her pebble necklace so much that she could overcome her fear and smile.
Callius felt sorry to hear the words, 'This is the first time I've received such a thoughtful gift,' come out of her mouth.
Why has no one ever given a thoughtful gift to someone who cherishes such small things?
'I figured something must have happened since you threw away the flowers I sent you, but it looks like there really was something going on.'
He knew that his subordinates had abused Chloe for treating the gift sent by their lord so cruelly.
Did she continue to live like this, misunderstanding each other?
A part of his heart ached.
He felt a deep loneliness coming from her.
Callius unconsciously stroked Chloe's head.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
"Yes?"
Chloe jumped in surprise and threw her head back in embarrassment.
"Oh, no. It wasn't hard. It was okay because Callius came quickly."
It seems that the words "I had a hard time" were taken to mean that she had suffered mentally because of the snow cat.
“Now that things are stable, don’t worry about me and go take care of business. You must be busy.”
“...?”
The tone sounded strangely cold.
"I heard from Mainz that you were looking for me. That's why I came to see Chloe."
“Oh, is that so?”
She sighed softly as if she was troubled, then spoke coldly again.
"I was out for a walk. I was having a wonderful time, so let's meet up again after my walk. If you're not too busy."
After calming down her trembling, her attitude instantly became calm.
Callius was inwardly embarrassed and tried to figure out the reason, then said, “Oh, I see,” and apologized.
“Chloe, I’m sorry about last night.”
He was planning to apologize as soon as he met her, but he forgot for a moment because of the snow cats.
"I was so absorbed in work that I lost track of time. I didn't intentionally avoid coming in. I wish I had told you in advance, and I apologize for not doing so."
“...”
Chloe looked at Callius for a moment in silence.
Then she turned her head and answered in a still, cold voice.
"It's okay. We're only in a contractual relationship, after all. Thanks to you, I was able to sleep comfortably, so there's no need to apologize. See you later."
Chloe gave a forced smile and turned away from Callius.
Callius felt that she was trying to distance herself from him.
“...”
What is it?
This feeling of anger makes one side of his chest tingle and makes him feel like crying.
I was overcome with drowsiness.
After waiting for Callius all night, I met Karl and was relieved of my worries, but after Karl returned before anyone noticed, I couldn't sleep again due to the cold.
Granada sent me out because I was dozing off from fatigue while eating breakfast.
The clothes I bought from the merchant were tailored to fit my body perfectly.
So now I was basking in the sun in the backyard of the castle, feeding the goat I had received as a gift from the Uttar boy.
It was strange that it was so cold at night that it was snowing, but the sun was quite warm during the day.
I absentmindedly handed the goats a skein of hay, thinking about Karl, who had come and gone yesterday.
'Where is Karl and what is he doing now?'
He said he would look for a place to stay, but he didn't give me any details.
Karl confidently said he could handle the matter himself, and I envied him for saying that.
"How can he be so confident? Karl seems to be able to do everything on his own."
Well, if he's willing to come all the way to Ronheim alone, what else can't he do?
'I'm sure he can dress himself and bathe himself.'
Karl was a truly great friend, and I was so proud of him.
Then, the goat suddenly bumped me with its forehead, as if it was dissatisfied with the hay being given to it little by little.
"Ah!"
The baby goat was so strong that I fell backwards.
“Do you know how precious these clothes are?”
I shook my butt and got up, grumbling, but the goat didn't pay any attention to me and forcefully bit the hay in my hand and pulled it.
“This naughty boy!”
I hid my hands here and there to avoid having the hay taken away.
Then, as if annoyed, the mountain goat was ready to attack me again.
“Ugh!”
I ran away from the mountain goat in a panic, but it was so fast that it ran right into my butt as I was running away.
“You!”
The goat snorted at the sight of me getting angry, then snatched all the hay from my hand.
It was when I was being toyed with by the mountain goat like that.
Woohoo!
A strong wind blew from somewhere.
'What?'
I was curious. The wind wasn't so strong now, so why was there such a rough wind noise?
Woohoo!
When I listened closely, it sounded a little creepy.
It was as if ghosts, if they really existed, would appear and make sounds like that.
I looked around in horror and was startled to see the beasts suddenly appear before my eyes.
'Oh...!'
It was the tiger I saw in a picture book when I was young.
I closed my eyes tightly, thinking I was seeing something, but when I opened them, it was clearly a pure white tiger.
A tiger with a very long and furry tail.
Three white tigers came walking slowly, taking very thick, large steps.
I froze, unable to even scream.
The mountain goat must have felt fear as it cowardly hid behind my back.
'Why is there a tiger in a place like this?'
The white tiger looked at me with his blue eyes.
I was so scared that my hair stood on end.
Gulp.
The moment I swallowed my dry saliva.
“Ugh!”
The tiger in front rushed towards me and instantly bit my struggling arm.
“Ah!”
***
“Ah!”
Screams of terror spread throughout the castle.
“Chloe!”
Callius recognized that it was Chloe's voice and ran towards the sound.
It didn't take long for him to find her, as he had just heard she was in the backyard and was on his way to look for her.
Callius found Chloe confronting the snow cat.
Chloe was sobbing, holding the baby goat protectively.
The snow cats were surrounding Chloe and threatening her.
'Those guys!'
They were the white, spotted, and brindle cats that Callius cared for.
Callius gave a warning sound to the snow cats with an angry face.
“Stop it!”
Then the snow cats jumped in surprise and looked at Callius.
“Go away!”
As Callius waved his hand, the snow cats retreated, their mouths watering.
Callius walked between the snow cats and approached Chloe.
Chloe, who had been crying quietly without making a sound and only shedding tears, blinked with a pale face.
“How did you do it...?”
“Don’t worry, these guys don’t attack people. They’re my kids.”
Chloe spoke with a sorrowful expression on her face.
“But they bit me!”
Callius was startled and looked around Chloe's body.
If you were bitten by an adult snow cat, you would likely lose one or more limbs.
But Chloe was fine, except for a little bit of hay and dirt on her clothes.
Chloe pointed to her arm, sobbing sadly.
“He bit me and then spat it out!”
"Ah."
Callius had a rough idea.
It seemed that the snow cats were rushing at the mountain goat and accidentally put Chloe's arm in their mouths, causing them to spit it out.
'It must have been so fat-free that it didn't even smell good.'
Callius wiped Chloe's tears and comforted her until her crying subsided.
“Why didn’t you just give them the goat?”
“But it’s a mountain goat that I received as a gift...”
No matter how much of a gift you received, is the life of an animal more precious than your own?
Her life is the most precious of all lives, but she was so scared and trembling while desperately protecting the mountain goat.
Callius sighed softly, feeling both proud and sad.
“Don’t worry, it’s okay now. Deep breathing will help.”
Callius gave Chloe a few deep breaths. Her tremors had noticeably subsided.
Then suddenly his eyes caught sight of the necklace hanging around Chloe's neck.
Chloe was still wearing the necklace that the wife of the Uttar chieftain had given her.
Callius turned his attention to the necklace to dispel Chloe's fear.
“You still have this on you.”
“Oh, this is it.”
Chloe wiped away the tears from her eyes and played with the blue pebble.
She looked down at it for a while, then smiled slightly, her face still wet with tears.
“It’s the first time I’ve received such a thoughtful gift, so I feel good every time I see it.”
“...”
A goat and pebble necklace she received as a gift.
To her, the Princess, these were actually not that great things.
But Chloe held them close as if they were more precious than anything else.
Even in the face of such terrifying beasts, she held the mountain goat close and protected it, and she cherished her pebble necklace so much that she could overcome her fear and smile.
Callius felt sorry to hear the words, 'This is the first time I've received such a thoughtful gift,' come out of her mouth.
Why has no one ever given a thoughtful gift to someone who cherishes such small things?
'I figured something must have happened since you threw away the flowers I sent you, but it looks like there really was something going on.'
He knew that his subordinates had abused Chloe for treating the gift sent by their lord so cruelly.
Did she continue to live like this, misunderstanding each other?
A part of his heart ached.
He felt a deep loneliness coming from her.
Callius unconsciously stroked Chloe's head.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
"Yes?"
Chloe jumped in surprise and threw her head back in embarrassment.
"Oh, no. It wasn't hard. It was okay because Callius came quickly."
It seems that the words "I had a hard time" were taken to mean that she had suffered mentally because of the snow cat.
“Now that things are stable, don’t worry about me and go take care of business. You must be busy.”
“...?”
The tone sounded strangely cold.
"I heard from Mainz that you were looking for me. That's why I came to see Chloe."
“Oh, is that so?”
She sighed softly as if she was troubled, then spoke coldly again.
"I was out for a walk. I was having a wonderful time, so let's meet up again after my walk. If you're not too busy."
After calming down her trembling, her attitude instantly became calm.
Callius was inwardly embarrassed and tried to figure out the reason, then said, “Oh, I see,” and apologized.
“Chloe, I’m sorry about last night.”
He was planning to apologize as soon as he met her, but he forgot for a moment because of the snow cats.
"I was so absorbed in work that I lost track of time. I didn't intentionally avoid coming in. I wish I had told you in advance, and I apologize for not doing so."
“...”
Chloe looked at Callius for a moment in silence.
Then she turned her head and answered in a still, cold voice.
"It's okay. We're only in a contractual relationship, after all. Thanks to you, I was able to sleep comfortably, so there's no need to apologize. See you later."
Chloe gave a forced smile and turned away from Callius.
Callius felt that she was trying to distance herself from him.
“...”
What is it?
This feeling of anger makes one side of his chest tingle and makes him feel like crying.
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