CHAPTER 37….
“No way I’d dislike her!”
Ayla shouted in surprise.
Hearing that, Aslan grinned mischievously, as if he’d expected it.
“My mom really likes you, Ayla.”
Ayla’s eyes went wide like a startled rabbit’s.
She froze for a while, then asked in disbelief,
“Does the madam really like me?”
Aslan nodded without a moment’s hesitation.
“My mom doesn’t like having other people over at our house. But she said it’s fine for you to be here.”
“Really?”
“Really! My mom likes you a lot. And I like you a lot too. So just believe us!”
They really like me? Both of them?
But… she’d been told she was clueless and easy to dislike…
Ayla fiddled with her hands, head lowered.
Even though she seemed hesitant, Aslan didn’t push her.
Instead, he stuck both hands into his pajama pockets and pulled out two plush toys—
a sandy-colored cat and a white rabbit.
Aslan suddenly thrust the white rabbit into Ayla’s hands.
“…?”
The sight of the white rabbit filling her lowered gaze made Ayla instinctively lift her head.
When her eyes silently asked what this was, Aslan answered with a bright smile.
“Mom said to give it to you. She said the white one’s yours.”
“Mine…?”
“Yup. Take it.”
Aslan pressed the white rabbit plush into Ayla’s arms.
Its eyes were a sky-blue color—just like Ayla’s.
Still in disbelief, she asked,
“The madam made this? For me?”
“Uh-huh! You said Mom’s dolls were cute, remember? She wanted to give one to you. She just finished it!”
She remembered what I said… and made this in just one day?
Ayla went blank, staring at the doll.
She already owned plenty of beautiful plushies—
Lloyd would return from the capital with a whole carriage full of them.
They were all sparkling, delicate, and gorgeous.
But somehow, this one from Minerva felt better than all of them—
simply because it had been made just for her.
The madam made this for me…
She must really like me.
Maybe she doesn’t hate me after all.
With an overflowing expression, Ayla hugged the rabbit tightly to her chest.
It felt warm, almost like a living creature, and a smile slowly bloomed on her face.
Seeing that, Aslan said,
“And, y’know, I think having both parents isn’t that important. I was happy enough just having my mom—and I am happy.”
He grinned cheekily.
Hearing that, Ayla felt a little embarrassed.
So just because I thought being without a mother was lonely, I assumed Aslan felt the same without a father… but he doesn’t at all.
The servants back home had always said it—
that she was a pitiful young lady for not having a mother.
So without even realizing it, she’d assumed Aslan must be lonely too.
But he clearly wasn’t.
She felt ashamed for trying to define his feelings on her own.
“Sorry, Aslan… for assuming things.”
Aslan gave her a puzzled look.
“Why are you sorry? Mom says it’s normal for kids to just believe what adults tell us. So if anything, it’s the adults who are bad.”
“R-really?”
“Yup. What do kids like us know, anyway? Right?”
“Well… that’s true, but…”
Ayla wasn’t sure if it was right to put all the blame on adults, but Aslan seemed utterly unfazed.
“You’re only an adult after twenty, right? We’re still five. So we’re kids who don’t have to know anything yet, aren’t we?”
…Well, twenty was still a long way off.
Ayla wasn’t used to blaming others, but Aslan was.
He wielded the shamelessness that belonged equally to cats and children without the slightest hesitation.
And with that kind of confidence, she almost felt like he was right.
So I have to be five three more times before I’m an adult?
If even a single day felt this long, waiting fifteen more years to be grown up…
She’d always thought she had no time because she was busy studying, but suddenly it felt like she had all the time in the world.
Maybe things weren’t so rushed after all.
Sensing her perked-up mood, Aslan cheerfully waved his plush toys.
“Anyway, let’s play! We’ll do a hunting game with these dolls!”
“Again?”
“Yup. You’ll be the prey, and I’ll be the hunter. If you get caught, you lose!”
“W-wait a sec—!”
Before Ayla could answer, Aslan made the cat plush peck at the rabbit’s head.
No! The madam’s gift was being hunted!
Ayla hugged the rabbit protectively to her chest.
“Wait, Aslan! Don’t hurt my doll!”
“Then you have to run away!”
Pew, pew!
Aslan went after the rabbit again, pecking at it nonstop.
“I said no!”
This time, Ayla actively ran, desperate to keep the precious rabbit from being caught.
They chased each other so much that the neatly made bed turned into a mess.
The cat kept attacking, and the rabbit kept running.
After dodging and retreating, Ayla’s back hit the headboard.
It was a dead end.
Aslan grinned wickedly.
“Hehe. Now there’s nowhere to run!”
“N-no…!”
Ayla clutched the rabbit tightly, trembling.
How can I save it from being hunted?
Then she got an idea.
With a determined look, she suddenly poked the cat with the rabbit’s nose.
Taken off guard, Aslan puffed his cheeks.
“Since when do rabbits attack cats?!”
“Rabbits can fight back too!”
“That’s nonsense!”
“Now I’m the hunter.”
Ayla started making the rabbit attack the cat in earnest.
Surprised by the unexpected counterattack, Aslan forgot he was supposed to be the prey and fought back.
Ayla pouted.
“You’re supposed to be the prey this time.”
“My cat’s a super strong cat—it doesn’t get chased by rabbits.”
“Then my rabbit’s a super strong rabbit too.”
She attacked again, and the two tumbled around the bed, chasing and being chased.
In the end, it turned into wrestling rather than doll play, and both of them laughed until they were breathless.
Before she knew it, all the dark thoughts that had been weighing Ayla down earlier had melted away.
Eventually, they got hungry and asked a maid for a late-night snack—
and Ayla ended up eating more than Aslan.
**
Even with two doors between the rooms, the noisy laughter didn’t stop.
I’d been anxiously wondering if Aslan could really cheer Ayla up, but hearing the giggles echoing through the walls, I relaxed.
“It sounds like Miss Ayla’s feeling better,” said Jane, who had been helping me get ready for bed.
Her words made the tension leave my shoulders.
“Yeah… I’m so relieved. I was worried Aslan might not know what to do.”
Aslan’s blunt honesty could be both a strength and a weakness.
But Jane seemed to think differently, siding with Aslan.
“I thought she’d do fine. Miss Aslan always manages to make everyone smile. Even our stiff-faced servants have a hard time hiding their grins when she’s around—you can see their lips twitch.”
Her words made me think of a few people myself.
True enough, Aslan had been that way even as a cat—
always wrapping her tail around our legs, batting at us with her little paws, flopping over to demand attention.
With that unique shamelessness, she had melted the wariness of even the most guarded members of the household.
So of course she would melt Ayla’s heart too.
The giggles didn’t stop, whatever they were doing in there.
I wanted to join in so badly—
but right now was probably just for the kids.
I smacked my lips in disappointment, but listening to their play from beyond the wall wasn’t bad either.
