CH 10

“What is it?”

“I’ll only help you expunge the record if you keep working here for more than a year. You can’t just get paid and run away in the middle.”

What the heck. Was that the only condition? His expression was about to loosen in vain, but the eager look in his eyes tightened her face. It’s really hard, that guy…

“That’s good. I agree.”

Calming her excitement with difficulty, she didn’t forget the other provisions.

“The housing conditions are going as they are, right?”

“Yes? Yes. If you want a bigger house, I’ll look for a mansion.”

A bigger one? She just accepted the deal, but somehow got another loaf of bread. And without biting.

After all, the bigger the reward, the better.

She nodded and raised the pen. Suddenly, Adler lowered his head.

“Thank you so much.”

Receiving such a thank you was overwhelming. Besides, he knew she was a commoner now.

“He… I’m not that great. I may not be able to do as well as you hoped. Are you okay with that?”

“It may not work out, but it’s okay. It’s the first time I see hope. I don’t want to miss it. Finally…”

“Finally?”

“I think I can finally polish Leone’s culture.”

His eyes shone brighter.

“And maybe I’ll be back soon.”

There was a hint of emotion in his calm voice. It seemed to be about returning to the Imperial Palace. Filled with joy that his child could be healed and excitement at being able to get out of this environment, Adler was like a father tired of single parenting. It was normal: If you’ve been taking care of a child on your own for five years, you might feel that way.

24-hour overtime without leaving work, taking care of a son with the heart and raising him with physical strength… It was really hard.

“Ahem. I’m sorry. Let’s go ahead.”

He gasped and continued the interrupted flow.

Her conscience was pricked by the excessive compensation, but shouldn’t she think it’s the price of all her hard work and for taking that order? She fixed the pen and squeezed it.

“Expunge the record of my wedding vows, please.”

“Don’t worry.”

“Yes, and I don’t want to educate Leone. I don’t have the ability to do that. I’ll just…”

She picked up her words for a moment. What did she want?

“I want him to be calm. That’s it.”

“It’s something I desperately want. I hope he can be calm and healthy, and that he can laugh too.”

“… That’s right.”

The affection seemed quite deep. Given Adler’s deep loyalty, let’s guess…

Since the only prince in the precarious imperial family could not speak a human word, he must have thought that the fall of the imperial family was a fixed procedure. He must have been looking to a future full of despair and holding on to no hopes. In the meantime, he knew his lord was having a hard time, but he couldn’t fix it because he didn’t know how.

“Let’s add one more clause to the contract. While I’m working, I don’t use those club-like training tools. I’d like to include a stabilizer if possible.”

“I understand your mind, but if you don’t have sanctions, it will be dangerous.”

“I know. So I’ll write that it can be used as an exception when it’s really dangerous. Of course, I want my judgment to come first in that case.”

She didn’t add it because she was confident that they would make the right decision. When things didn’t work out, people instinctively looked for “the easy way they used to be,” so she was worried that Adler might get his hands on the club again, so she added that as a precaution.

Adler seemed momentarily troubled by her firm voice, but at the end nodded. The papers were completed, and Adler and she shared a copy.

The mansion where Leone slept was quiet.

Adler and Gurden walked back with her to the annex. Throughout dinner, the two seemed to be having fun. But unlike the two of them, her heart was heavy. Even after lying in bed at the end of the day, she remembered Leone’s crumpled face as he struggled and was in pain.

“… I can’t sleep.”

She stood up. It was a full moon night.

She packed her robe. She thought she’d go for a night walk around the mansion. And as soon as she came out, she had to face a strange sound.

“Aow.”

Ha ha. Not really, it can’t be. Probably not… Could it be that Leone will even howl at night? She struggled to suppress her uneasy premonition.

* * *

Denied but unlikely, she followed the side road to the main building. All the way around, the cries only grew clearer. Eventually, she was confronted by the man on the roof and was devastated.

“Really…”

She imagined him sitting on the porch of the mansion at best, crying out, or sticking his head out of the window, or something like that. Climbing on the roof and crying was too authentic.

“What should I do, I…”

She thought about what she could do. First. Find a way and climb to the roof. Second. Call Leone. Third. Just go back and get some sleep.

The third seemed the most reasonable.

Ok. Whether it was climbing the roof or calling Leone, there’s nothing she could do now. Should she call him and ask him to come down? To stop crying? No matter what she said, she felt that asking for such a request would make her feel skeptical about life. After a quick rationalization, she turned around cautiously. Once, twice, three times, stepped out.

“Kreung.”

“It’s Mommy!”

She thought her heart was dropping. She turned around and saw Leone sitting there.

“Aw, you surprised me… Leone. When did you come down?”

“Yes.”

Again, it was ambiguous whether it was a cry or an answer.

“Can’t you sleep?”

He just stared at her. His face, which looked a little cold because he had no expression, was strangely beautiful and unrealistic. His bright gold hair shining in the blue moonlight, his beautiful body, and his soft eyes… It was like a spirit that had wandered through the forest in the moonlight.

“Why are you here?”

Leone turned away without answering. Then he stuck out his back.

“What?”

“Growl.”

A low-pitched vibrating sound seemed to say yes.

That was kinda scary. First of all, she wa also a worker there so she slid his back away and said no. Then Leone turned his head in her direction. He frowned. His crumpled brow made his cold face sharper, making him slightly scared. Looking closely, it didn’t look fierce, but since he usually acted like a beast in front of his prey, the atmosphere he exuded was so threatening.

“It’s a bit of a ride…”

Leone stuck his back again.

“No, I don’t think this is.”

‘No to animal cruelty.’

“Leone. Let’s get in.”

She thumped Leone and shoved him. She didn’t know why he was so calm now, but she couldn’t miss this opportunity to struggle and not have to calm him down.

“Huh? Let’s go in, sleep first, and play tomorrow. I’m stoned to the annex, oops!”

As he turned his gaze towards the mansion, his body suddenly popped up. She could feel the heat that enveloped him, his big hands, and his hard arms. Leone had just hugged her.

Standing on two feet, he ’embraced’ her in his arms.

“What, what, what are you doing…! Do you know what you… Can you stand on two feet?”

She panicked, and then she felt betrayed by something. She thought he could only walk on all fours, but he could walk upright.

“Okay.”

Suddenly, his voice came clearly. The natural whispers sounded overly friendly. Maybe that’s why she swallowed the question and looked at him. Purple eyes resembling the night sky were facing her. If you go to a very cold country, you will see the Northern Lights in the sky and they say that it is a curtain of stars. SheI thought it would be like that to see the stars make curtains and overflow. His expression still didn’t change, but his eyes looked warm.

‘Did he repeat what I told him?’

“… My, drop me off.”

She barely took her eyes off it. A landscape that seemed to be about to be possessed stretched out in his eyes. It looked dangerous. With a different feeling than ever before. She dipped her feet and slipped in and felt like she was going to be possessed…

‘It’s weird. It’s really weird.’

But it’s not her but Leone.

“Oops, do you want me to get off?”

He started walking as if he didn’t understand her. He walked barefoot as if he didn’t mind walking around. He looked big even when he walked on all fours. Stretched out at the waist, he was really tall. It was a strange feeling to float high up and feel Leone’s wide stride.

“Where are we going, Leone.”

Leone had no answer. They moved away from the main building and soon entered the forest. It was dark on all sides, but the sky could be seen through the thick trees. There were many, as if the stars were going to pour down. The full moon shining in the middle was also visible. With each step Leone took a step, his body swayed up and down a little. In the dark she felt like swimming in space.

“Leone. Where are you going? Huh?”

“Yes.”

It was difficult to guess how Leone would answer and Trixie gave up listening to the answer.

He walked well through the dark woods, as if his night eyes were bright. It was touchable, but not a single leaf or branch grazed my body. As they entered deeper into the forest, the night sky disappeared. In the stark darkness, nothing was visible. In the silent woods, she could occasionally hear birds chirping and something moving, but to her his small breathing and his steady beating pulse were heard loudest.

She should be scared, but strangely, she wasn’t scared at all. It was just warm, beautiful and calm. It seemed as if nothing was going to happen. Sleep rushed in to calm her and she closed her eyes. And how long had it been? Leone leaned down, as if trying to put her down somewhere. She opened her eyes in a hurry.

She fell asleep for a while, but her mind was quite foggy.

“Oh. Sorry. I fall asleep, uh… Wow…”

Belatedly, the sound of water splashing rushed in. It was a shallow and narrow river flowing through it. Because it was near the river, there were no trees, so the sky was beautiful to see. The reflection of the river was just like the Milky Way.

“It’s so beautiful. Is this your favorite place? Were you trying to show it to me? Thank you, Leone.”

She smiled and looked up at him as she spoke. Before she knew it, she thought a greeting like ‘thank you’ would come out of his mouth.

“Gr…….”

“Oh.”

‘Haha. Correct. I forgot again. Leone was a puppy.’

She chuckled at the thought of being rude in front of a person.