'Rood...!'
My heart ached. I wanted to cherish him intensely, but having to hold back these feelings was pure torture.
I stared blankly into the air like someone gazing into the distance, and secretly moved only my fingertips to stroke the nape of Rood's neck.
Fortunately, Thierry passed by me, seemingly having no intention of talking any further. A cold wind brushed against my cheek.
I glanced back to check Thierry's retreating back, and only then did I stroke Rood a little more boldly.
'There's no one but you. Rood, my little one!'
Rood, who seems likely to be my only joy here from now on, smiled brightly as if in agreement and placed his front paw on me. As I stood upright on my hind legs, Rood, who had grown to be almost as big as me, began to smile innocently at my face.
"Hmm, wait a minute... Time!"
I staggered and thrashed about amidst the increasingly intense displays of affection. At this rate, I would fall backward, and then Rood would be even more excited to pounce on me...
'No! My back!'
My instinct to protect my back, which might be completely shattered, kicked in. Without even realizing it, without a moment to reason. By revealing an old habit to calm the situation.
As I raised my thumb and index finger to mimic shooting a gun into the air, Rood slumped down like a falling leaf. It was truly an incredible feat of timing.
"Bang!"
As I raised my thumb and index finger to mimic shooting a gun into the air, Rood slumped down like a falling leaf. It was truly an incredible feat of breathing.
"..."
Whoosh—a chilly wind filled the strange silence.
“Heh heh.”
"... Princess?"
Only after Rood sprang to his feet, panting as if in delight, did Marie, who had been staring blankly at the situation, call out to me in stunned astonishment.
I wonder if this is really why habits are so scary. How should I explain this? I stealthily rolled my eyes to avoid this awkward situation.
"...!"
But suddenly, I felt a chilling cold from behind me. At that shivering sensation that sent shivers down the back of my spine, I turned my head, creaking like an unlubricated robot.
‘Hi!'
Thierry was staring intently at me from a short distance behind me. It was a sharp gaze, as if he were about to dissect me into every nook and cranny at any moment.
He closed the distance in an instant. His unrestrained footsteps stopped only when he was within striking distance of me.
“Who are you?”
It was the first time I had seen such a desperate look. No, 'desperate' seemed a more appropriate word.
I looked with a surprised face at his pupils, trembling as confusion seeped in.
"Who do you think you are to do that?"
Perhaps frustrated that I was just standing there with my mouth open, unable to utter a word, he asked as if urging me on.
Anyone watching would think I’d done something terrible. Still flustered, I stammered my words open.
"Uh, um... I wonder what you mean by 'that thing'..."
"What the hell is that hand doing?"
His gaze fixed on my hand, which had hardened like plaster.
I realized too late that I was still making a finger gun, so I quickly hid my hands behind my back.
"I just do this sometimes to calm the dogs down when I play with them..."
He rolled his eyes nervously and trailed off, mumbling his words.
"What kind of shape is that hand?"
"...Slingshot?”
"Are you asking me back right now?"
"No! It's a slingshot! B-but you're really smart. To think you recognized this... isn't Rood a genius after all?"
It was something I blurted out, hoping that praising the pet might make me feel a little better as its owner. However, I was so flustered that my words became jumbled and I didn't realize beforehand that I had made an even bigger mistake.
"...How did you know the name?"
In an instant, Thierry's gaze changed. His eyes glowed chillingly, as if he wanted to kill me right then and there.
Gasp. I paused for a moment, having inhaled in surprise. As if to hide my gaping mouth, my finger automatically went up to cover the corner of my mouth.
"Say it."
Just as the sudden silence began to tighten its grip, a low voice, as if teeth were clenched, spoke.
"Um, I heard that by chance while passing by."
“To whom?”
"Uh, well. It's our first time meeting, so I don't remember..."
I should have just kept my mouth shut.
"Did you hear some kind of information? How can you do such an annoying thing every time I see you?"
The words he spat out were rough as sandpaper. A fleeting sense of anxiety crossed his face as he displayed blatant hostility, as if he were furious about the current situation.
"That's really strange. You claimed to have lived holed up in your room all the time, so where did you pick up that information? I thought you were following me quietly, but did you have a hidden agenda?"
I couldn't say a word in the face of such sharp sarcasm. Because the more I opened my mouth, the more I was voluntarily stepping on landmines.
However, I was more distracted by Thierry's excessive reaction. I felt dizzy from the extreme confusion.
'Why...'
My wide-open eyes stung. I could clearly feel the corners of my eyes turning red from the burning sensation.
'Why are you reacting so sensitively?'
It was strange.
To me, he was acting as if he had seen something he didn't want to see. That is why the words the maids had said earlier surged through my mind like a violent wave.
"He really hates it when that person is mentioned."
I didn't want to cause any unnecessary misunderstanding. However, emotions spreading like a tidal wave paralyzed my thinking.
Does Thierry absolutely detest even the slightest thing that reminds him of my past self? Are you really misunderstanding me? That I disappeared, leaving you behind?
Now I was no longer a maid but a Princess, and although much time had passed and Thierry had become the Emperor, I was not happy at all. On the contrary, I felt frustrated and wronged.
I realized once again that we had become this kind of relationship without even getting a chance to talk openly.
As the silence dragged on, the murderous intent in his eyes, which had seemed ready to kill me at any moment, turned pitch black, like snow sinking into a winter field and growing cold.
"Grrrrr."
Suddenly, I felt an ominous sense of intimidation. However, as if to protect me from that energy that felt like it was crushing my body, Rood stood in front of me.
"Ha..."
Silence descended upon the bizarre standoff. Slowly, all emotion was erased from his face.
"..."
Eventually, he lowered his gaze and muttered.
"... Am I going crazy too?"
No, it was my misconception that his emotions had been erased. Right now, he looked like someone struggling to suppress emotions surging up violently.
"Or not..."
The gaze that had been directed at Rood returned to me. I couldn't tell what he was thinking. His deepened red eyes soon withdrew without a word.
***
I had stayed in my room all day since parting ways with Thierry on an awkward note yesterday. And I was thinking of staying in my room just like this the next day as well.
"Wouldn't it be okay to go out for a walk by myself?"
However, I felt uncomfortable because of Marie, who kept hovering around me with a look on her face as if she had something to say. Her constant knocking and peeking into my room under the pretext of looking after me was so irritating that I thought it would be better to just leave.
"I apologize, but I have been ordered to accompany the Princess wherever you go. I will follow from as far away as possible during your walk."
...Of course, I didn't expect that.
Thinking that at least I had some distance, I nodded and walked ahead. Jil-i, who was rubbing the back of my head, was giving me annoyance, but I tried to pretend I didn't notice and walked toward a secluded spot.
'It’s certainly strange that Rood seems to follow me so closely, and that Thierry’s sharp reaction is odd, so they must be acting like that because they have a lot they want to ask.'
In fact, although Marie is nominally my personal maid, she is practically a spy, so I became even more wary, fearing that I might make a slip of the tongue in front of her again like yesterday.
'I shouldn't run into Thierry today...'
Just as I was thinking that, Rood appeared in front of me.
"Haha... we meet again."
As if he had smelled me, Rood came running from a distance in one swift motion, making me wonder if he had been waiting for me. I considered turning around and running away for about three seconds, but I quickly gave up because there was a high probability that Rood would catch me the moment I turned around.
I smiled awkwardly and gently stroked the head of Rood, who was panting with joy at seeing me.
'The fact that Rood is here means Thierry is going to show up soon, doesn't it? Ah, that shouldn't happen...'
I looked around anxiously, rolling my eyes here and there. Fortunately, it seemed like Rood had come alone. As time passed and not a single person passed by, I gradually felt at ease.
"Rood, did you come looking for me?"
At my softly whispered words, Rood's eyes lit up as he rubbed his head against my leg. His cuteness, so out of place with his large frame, was so adorable that the corners of my mouth naturally began to curl into a smile.
"But listen, Rood, you know who I am, right? That's fascinating. How did you recognize me... huh? What's wrong?"
Rood, who had been quietly listening to my whisper, suddenly bit my skirt slightly and tugged at it. At his action, which seemed to be telling me to follow him, I hesitantly moved my legs to follow him.
It was a clear day with not a single cloud in sight.
The fresh scent of grass and the rich fragrance of flowers mingled in the wind and drifted in. However, in contrast to the radiant scenery lingering at the tip of the nose, a powerful shout could be heard faintly from somewhere.
'Is the training ground around here? It sounds like the sound is coming from way too far away to be nearby...'
Wondering just how far he intended to go, I glanced down at Rood, and his fatal back view caught my eye as he waggled his tail, which was soaring high over his bulky frame.
Seeing his cute appearance, a complacent belief naturally arose in me that surely our Rood wouldn't take me to a dangerous place.
"Hmm? Did you want to come here?"
Finally, the place where Rood stopped was in front of a huge tree. Beyond the tree, which stood firmly like a boundary line, a garden covered with brightly blooming roses stretched out.
'If it's towards the Rose Garden, that means it's close to the North Palace... It looks like a place where not many people come; it's quiet.'
I looked around the quiet surroundings and naturally cast my gaze on Rood, who had settled down under a tree. Rood tapped the ground with his tail as if telling me to sit beside him, then quietly lay down on the ground.
I gestured to Marie, who was standing a distance away while glancing around, to rest comfortably, and then sat down next to Rood.
Hidden by the trunk of a giant tree that looked two or three times the size of an ordinary tree, Rood and I would not be visible from the other side. That fact made me feel as though I had gained a thin sense of freedom.
"...It reminds me of the old days. I used to rest under a tree like this when I went on outings with Thierry, and you used to act as our cushion, just like you do now."
I giggled softly and leaned against Rood's body as if accustomed to it. As I gazed at the distant sky, old memories of Thierry came to mind.
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