Chapter 24: Chapter 24

I muttered and tilted my head with an innocent face, as if I knew nothing.

What do I need now? Yes, acting skills that are as good as an actor’s!

I slowly blinked my big eyes and put on an ‘I don’t know anything’ expression.

“Shasha, by any chance, were you the Empress’ dog- no, I mean wolf? All the assassins were only after you…”

“Don’t say such horrifying things. It makes me wanna throw up.”

Oh, okay. That was a very intense reaction.

He shot the crow a ferocious glare, filled with contempt as if just thinking about it would make him nauseous.

Woah, Shasha can make such a face, too. He really looked like a real person. Well, he’s actually a human being but…

I decided to pretend not to know until Sihael himself revealed his identity.

If he was going to hide it till the end, then I was also going to pretend I didn’t know until the end.

‘Even if I die, I can’t say that I raised him knowing that he was the crown prince. It was definitely suspicious that anyone would raise him even after knowing his identity.’

The moon, which had been obscured by clouds, was revealed to the world.

The moonlight lit up Sihael’s face as well as mine.

I frowned at the stark horror that unfolded before my eyes.

First of all, I’ll have to call someone and clean this mess up.  As soon as I made that decision, I turned around.

“Rosetta Katzel?”

As I turned around in surprise at the voice calling me, I saw a wolf with surprised eyes as wide as mine.

“Huh? You know me…?”

“…I know.”

Sihael, who took a moment, curled up his lips.

“Your Ladyship is quite famous as Katzel’s unruly mad dog.”

Sihael’s mouth twitched in amusement.

Wait, so wolves know how to laugh… no, not that. Have the rumors spread to the Imperial capital?

Unlike me, who was scared, Sihael looked relieved as if a huge burden had been lifted off him.

“If you’re here, does that mean this is the Katzel Duchy?”

“Right.”

“Should I say I’m relieved…”

Sihael, who was muttering while looking at the crow, looked into my eyes as if he had made a big decision.

I could feel a sense of determination from him.

“I have something to say to you, My Lady.”

“Yes.”

“I know it’s hard to believe but I am the Crown Prince of the Empire, Sihael von Idris. I’m like this now because of a curse.”

“Oh? Oh… Yes?”

You’re telling me this right away? That’s top-secret; a secret you shouldn’t tell anyone!

Surprised by this sudden bomb, I shrugged my shoulders. I was so surprised that the reaction came out naturally without even having to pretend/act.

“Can you say it… Is it okay to say it like this? Shouldn’t you keep… shouldn’t it be kept a secret….?”*

[*She’s switching from informal to formal]

Shit, I must look like a fool. Since I had been using informal language all the time, I was finding it difficult to speak formally.

While I was being awkward, Sihael didn’t care much about it.

“There’s nothing I can do about it because you’re the only one I can rely on now. But you’re taking this much easier than I thought.”

“There’s nothing I can’t believe after seeing a wolf talk… I think you’re right, seeing how familiar you are with speaking informally…”

“My Lady, unlike your appearance, you have a nice personality.”

Huh, what was this? The atmosphere had suddenly turned nice.

I had hit him in surprise, but fortunately, it seemed he had a good impression of me, so I was relieved.

“But, My Lady, how did I end up in the duchy?”

“Don’t you remember, Your Highness?”

“I don’t.”

“Really? Not at all?”

“Yes, is there a problem?”

“Oh, no no, there’s not.”

That’s a relief! I hoped that his memories would never come back in this life.

If Sihael found out what I had done… it was terrifying to just imagine.

I’ll keep my mouth shut even if I am arrested for blasphemy against the imperial family.

“My second brother brought the wounded Your Highness.”

Yeah, it was him who brought him here. But even if I died, I couldn’t tell him that Lanoa  actually hunted him.

“That second brother should be Lanoa.”

“Yes.”

Sihael’s walls slowly crumbled. The fact that he was picked up and looked after in the homeland of Leonard–his best friend, the Katzel duchy, which became a fence for him after he lost his mother, seemed to have played a big role.

Maybe that’s why this wolf could crack a joke that didn’t fit the situation.

“I’m asking you this out of concern, but you weren’t raising me to slaughter me, were you?”

“Are you crazy? How can you say that? Do you even know how I felt while raising Shasha?”

How can you say such harsh words?! Once the suppressed grievances broke out, they poured out uncontrollably.

“I fed you the highest quality meat! I let you sleep on the finest and softest cushion ever! I even took you for a walk every day! How many hardships I suffered while raising you with that flippant personality of yours!  Do you- no, does Your Highness know that…?!

All the hardships I had been through flashed before my eyes.

Hah, I felt dumbfounded just thinking about it again. How dare you diminish my efforts?!