Pr: Helen
Indeed, Marielle seemed to have no intention of disappointing his expectations. His younger sister, who was still young and naive, immediately fell for the lightly thrown provocation. As evidence, the corner of her mouth twitched and a slight nervousness appeared in her eyes. Her face, which resembled Olivia’s, often looked similar to Erhart’s at times like this.
“No! Brother doesn’t know anything.”
Olivia made an effort to strengthen the bond between the siblings. It wasn’t in vain that although they weren’t close, they managed to have a normal brother and sister relationship. However, after he returned, Marielle put up a wall, so it was all for naught.
Perhaps it was because he did not know the truth, but Erhart’s attitude was likely to have had some influence as well. In any case, Marielle always used polite language and didn’t even say anything unless it was necessary. So, the fact that her past habits were coming out meant that Marielle’s emotions were quite disturbed.
“Fine. I don’t know anything. By the way, Marielle. I will send a storybook to your palace soon. Jurgen. Select the ones that feature fairies and send them to Marielle.”
Thinking that if he pushed a bit more, he would get a reaction, he deliberately nodded while subtly trying to provoke a response.
“… Rayan is a fairy who lives in the lake! I saw it!”
“What?”
“Our eyes met, and he had pointy ears.”
Her retort that Rayan’s ear was a little sharper than others was information that did not need to be shared with Marielle. It wasn’t something he would share with anyone, even if they weren’t Marielle, and he didn’t intend to.
He felt like he lost energy after listening.
Since Marielle was hiding her secrets so much, she became curious, so she carefully scratched the surface and found that it wasn’t necessary. Wasn’t it a mixture of exaggeration typical of a child that she saw something wrong during the night?
“… Ah.”
Marielle looked as if she regretted telling him all about it, but when she realized it was late, she quickly blew her nose and muttered something, embarrassed. She said that she could play well with Rayan, and she would play better than her brother. and as if to prove it, she showed him the snowman they had made together.
If one could really call it a snowman.
He could make one with his fingertips, but if the princess, who had never done anything with her own hands, could make one properly, it would be an awe-inspiring thing.
She was annoyed that his brief interest had disappeared. When she cast her gaze towards her nanny, she understood and gently comforted Marielle. As she walked away, she looked back once in a while with her eyes dripping with regret. The look in her eyes showed her determination to come again.
Erhart clicked his tongue lightly and after confirming that Marielle had disappeared, he went straight up to his bedroom.
Those following him gasped due to his wide strides, but he didn’t care. He hurried his steps a little further. When he reached the front of the bedroom, the servant tried to open the door, but was stopped. Erhart held the doorknob with his own hand and paused a little. He even managed to catch his breath without much trouble.
The reason was perhaps uncharacteristically childish.
He didn’t want to appear as though he was in a hurry, not this time. After the meeting, as soon as you heard the news, he immediately left the room.
“…”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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He had been out for so long that his cheeks were flushed and his lips were pale, even though he had already been sent back to his bedroom. Erhart’s gaze rested on his ear, which could be seen through his hair.
Although it was a bit sharp, it was obviously that of a human. There was nothing special about it. No, every part of him was in human form.
It wasn’t soft skin, long fingers and toes, or sharp teeth. Marielle had only seen him a few times in the dark of night, so she must have been mistaken.
“Your Majesty. Are you mad?”
While he was thinking about Marielle’s words, he only looked at Rayan carefully, and he was shuffling his feet on his own. And if he had to define his feelings, it was not anger, but rather displeasure, as if he had been outside too long because he got colds easily.
“I didn’t trick Marielle.”
That feeling spread into subtle irritation at Rayan’s next words.
“… Marielle?”
So, the question of why he called Marielle by her name was a minor annoyance.
“Jurgen said I could go out, so I went out and met Marielle… I really won’t meet Marielle anymore.”
Who knows what he was thinking about as the gloomy, subdued voice came out, but Rayan fidgeted like a scared puppy.
Erhart was deep in thought. He didn’t realize it because he didn’t think it was a big deal, but Rayan called everyone, including those in Orb, from the familiar faces to Marielle or even ‘that person.’ He also called Jurgen by name.
He called everyone by their first names, and yet, to the one with whom he shared the closest relationship…
“Your Majesty?”
Wasn’t he going to call him something other than that?
“Erhart Hesseles.”
“Er… hart?”
Erhart. Rayan muttered his name again in a quiet voice. As if it was amazing, or as if it was something new. He felt a sense of satisfaction for some unknown reason, but something was missing.
“You can also call me Erich.”
In fact, the only person in the world who called him Erich was Olivia. It was a name that no one was allowed to use after she passed away. But he took the initiative to tell him the name.
This meant permission to call him that as Rayan liked.
“…”
Rayan’s expression became strange.
It looked wistful, like he was nostalgic for something in the past. The lack of self-consciousness was unpleasant. Especially since he seemed to be thinking of ‘him’.
“… By the way, do you know that Marielle calls you a fairy?”
Instead of asking and confirming it, Erhart shook off the feelings that were clinging to his skin, stored them away, and changed the topic. Only then did Rayan clear up his dazed expression, as if he was lost in a dream.
Nevertheless, his hidden expression still remained like an afterimage. Erhart wanted to scrape everything off and then ask, what were you thinking right now?
“Well, that’s…”
“She saw that your ears were pointy.”
Rayan took his breath away from his casual words.
“The child saw something wrong in the middle of the night and you’re shocked like you’ve been caught, why? You must be really a fairy.”
He took a step forward and took some of Rayan’s hair to one side. His thin, fine hair fell around the knuckles of his fingers. As he flipped it aside, his ears, which had only been visible at first glance, were fully exposed. The ears were white and slightly pointed, and the tip of the ear was slightly red due to some teeth marks.
Erhart lowered his head and lightly bit the reddish shell of the ear before letting go. Rayan, who was fiddling with his bitten ear, lowered his voice and mumbled. His voice was so small that Erhart could barely hear him if he listened closely.
“… Does Your Majesty not like me if I’m not human?”
Again, he called him ‘Your Majesty’. It was the first thing that bothered him, and only then did he hear the next words.
“I don’t think you’re expecting me to say I like you no matter what you are.”
The words that it doesn’t matter to be any kind of being, or that it was not strange even if he was not a human being, didn’t come out at the tip of his tongue. Instead, the words that came were quietly thorny and meaninglessly grumpy.
Rayan, who could not possibly read such thoughts, blinked for a moment as if considering Erhart’s words, nodded, and asked again.
“What would it be like if I weren’t human?”
“…Perhaps I should send the children’s book to you, not Marielle.”
The expectant expression on his face quickly turned glum. Was it because he was treated the same as Marielle? It was quite possible to be in the same boat as a ten-year-old child. Erhart, who was pursing his lips, suddenly felt annoyed by Rayan’s expression.
He looked much thinner than when Erhart first saw him. Maybe he had overexerted himself, but he also got much to eat. Since it hadn’t been that long since he collapsed, he paid a little more attention, deliberately only giving what he liked. If so, it was possible to pinpoint one cause. It was obvious he had been exposed to the cold for too long.
“Stay quietly in your room until the sun sets.”
Rayan immediately responded to his words of concern.
“Then the snow will melt…”
That snow falls so hard every winter in Djerba. In the winter, the department in charge had to deal with heavy snow damage. Countless houses have their roofs collapsed due to the unusually heavy snowfall just this time,
“I want to make a snowman again.”
“… Snowman?”
“Mhm. Your Majesty. Did you see what I made earlier?”
“That-”
‘Are you talking about a finished snowman?’ He could barely get the words to come out.
“I made it as Marielle instructed. Do you think it was well made?”
Erhart, who was wondering how to react, looked at the smiling face and blurted out.
“Not really.”
The delicate eyebrows, as if lightly drawn with ink, went down. Instead of comforting him, Erhart said he had work to do and left the bedroom.
There were always a lot of government affairs, and unless it was urgent, there was no need for him to go and check right away. Nevertheless, Erhart chose to escape. He kept acting uncharacteristically childish. If he stayed any longer, he was going to force him to say his name.
“Jurgen.”
As soon as he left, he called the chamberlain he saw. Normally, he would have to follow him around and help him, but over the past few days, he had been looking him up and down as he guarded the bedchamber. Erhart’s gaze was a disapproving one.
“Go ahead.”
“… Check inside, but don’t get too close.”
Jurgen nodded with a puzzled expression, saying he would do so. For some reason, it seemed like he had a smile on his face, but he had his head down so he couldn’t see it in detail. Shaking off his uncomfortable feelings, Erhart went down the stairs and passed the garden where Rayan was playing with Marielle earlier. He saw a snowman.
Should he call it round, or should he call it pointy? …Either way, by any standard, it didn’t look like it was very well made.
“Shall I order to clean it up, Your Majesty?”
Not knowing where Erhardt’s gaze would fall, the attendants hastily adjusted their postures. Erhart waved his hand toward it. A powder of light fell on the snowball.
“It’s my imperial order. Tell no one to touch it.”
Even if anyone touched it anyway, it wouldn’t be damaged at all. Only after Erhart stared at it with strange eyes once more did he really take his steps to go to the main palace. As he was about to leave, there was a shadow blocking his path. Erhart looked at the shadow and then looked back.
“Your Majesty.”
“…”
“As you commanded, I have finished everything and have just returned to say hello.”
It was Karel Isaac.
The pest is back Dx
Thx for the ch ٩( >ヮ<)۶
Ya no me acordaba de él jaja. Estoy ansiosa porque Erich ya recuerde a mi pobre Rayan.