Chapter 32: Chapter 33

All he had to do was meet a companion who would be with him for the rest of his life and imprint on her.

And his companion was Liliana Maniu.

Knowing what was gonna happen in the future, I tapped the table lightly to draw everyone’s attention.

“First, let’s remove the poison. I know of a wizard who specializes in purification.”

“You know?”

Leonard’s eyes widened at my words that flowed out lightly.

I could count on my hand how many times I had seen Leonard surprised, but today he seemed to get surprised a lot. I stared at his rare surprised face and answered steadily.

“There is a wandering wizard named Liliana Maniu. If you just find where she is, His Highness might be able to return back to his human self.”

The original story had already collapsed. Sihael going out and stumbling upon the female lead was already out of the question. Since this had happened, we had no choice but to find the female lead and meet her in person.

“Is that information reliable?”(Leonard)

“Brother, Rosetta is really close with the wizards. You can trust her, so do what she tells you to do. Then you can make rice cake even in your sleep*.”(Lanoa)

[T/N: good things you didn’t expect would happen]

Lanoa, who had already benefited from my knowledge of mana stones, gave me a thumbs up.

“Then let’s start by looking for her.”(Sihael)

Sihael also took my side.

“I’ll stay here while you find the wizard.”(Sihael)

“Then let’s go to a safer place than here…”(Leonard)

“Leonard, I don’t know what you’re worried about, but there’s no place safer than your sister’s side.”(Sihael)

“Yes, Brother, that child can surely hold her ground. Besides, who would dare hurt His Highness? Those assassins sent by the Empress? Not a chance. Even though our Rosetta has stopped training and been fooling around, she still has it. She herself cut off all those rats’ throats.”(Lanoa)

Leonard was swayed by the two people’s praises of me being a great custodian and bodyguard. There was still a slight anxiety in his eyes, but due to Lanoa’s words, he acknowledged my strength. So Leonard took a step back.

“Please take care of her, Your Highness.”(Leonard)

“Even if Brother hadn’t asked, I would have taken care of myself.”(Rosetta)

“Okay.”(Leonard)

As I grunted just like Rosetta, Leonard nodded his head familiarly. He reached out his hand and laid it lightly on my head.

“You did well, Rosetta.”

It was the first compliment I had heard in six years.

* * *

I didn’t know how I got back to my bedroom. I sat down on the sofa and ran my hand over my head where Leonard had patted. Maybe it was because of the unexpected compliment, but I felt weird.

“What’s wrong?”

“What?”

“You’ve been touching your hair.”

Sihael jumped up on the sofa and pushed his face towards me. Since he already had a history of biting my lips, I quickly covered my mouth and pushed him away.

“I was just checking, did you have to push me this far?”

Sihael, who was pushed to the other end of the sofa, grumbled.

“It’s just, it’s been a while since someone patted me on the head.”

With Lanoa, we were like real brothers and sisters, so he had never done such a strange thing, and the duke and his wife were far away. The rest didn’t dare because they were lower in status than me.

I, who had already died, also had no such experience since I was very young. It’s been a while since I felt warmth and my mind was in a mess, so I touched my hair without realizing it, and I got caught. Embarrassed, I rubbed the back of my neck when something popped up on my head. It was Sihael’s feet covered with fluffy hair.

“If that’s the case, I can do it for you too.”

A big foot shook my head back and forth. He said he would pat my head, but it seemed he couldn’t control his strength. So rather than stroking my head lightly, he kept on rubbing my head hard. It was clear he had never stroked anyone’s head in his life.

“Who strokes someone’s head like this?!”

“Huh, you don’t like it? It’s your Shasha’s favorite foot.”

“You told me not to treat you like a dog.”

Only at times like this, he would use my Shasha. Sneaky Sihael. Mumbling inside, I stretched out my arms and pulled Sihael into my arms. His soft fur felt nice so I buried my face in it. Sihael’s body stiffened as if it had turned into a stone.

I gently stroked Sihael’s hardened back. Then, his body gradually started to relax and he slowly snuggled into my arms looking for a comfortable position. Sihael, who had been in my arms for a while, suddenly tilted his head.

“Rosetta, did you often say stuff like ‘So adorable’ or ‘So nice’ to me?”

“Do you remember something?”

“It’s not that. Is it because I’m used to staying in your arms like this? I feel like I vaguely heard your voice.”

Umm, this was a little dangerous. I raised my fist in front of Sihael and shook it lightly, just in case.

“Does this ring any bells with you?”

“…I don’t like it. I want to avoid it.”