Chapter 25
When I popped a cream puff into Dad’s mouth, I felt an incredibly intense gaze from the side.
The owner of that gaze was none other than Reykal!
Lorre even saw him glancing at the baby cream puff.
…but why didn’t he eat it?
After much deliberation, Lorre decided to make it even tastier and bring it to Reykal.
“The cream is super delicious, so what if I pile lots of it on top of an already super tasty baby cream puff?”
Delicious plus delicious equals… the most delicious!
Reykal would love it, right?
Lorre told Angelina about this ambitious plan.
“Do you want to get close to the Crown Prince?”
Angelina asked with a soft chuckle.
“Yes!”
Angelina smiled warmly at Lorre’s shy little face—it was so cute.
“I… haven’t really played much with friends before… um… I want to get close to Sachoni.”
When Lorre lived in the village with Mom and Grandpa, even when playing with friends, he would quickly return home.
Grandpa would only come back in the evening from work, and if Lorre stayed out too long, he’d worry about leaving Mom alone at home.
His only hobby was chattering to Mom about what he saw that day, for the sake of Mom who couldn’t go outside because of her illness.
“Mom, today the birds flew so high they reached the edge of the sky!”
“Mom, the green leaves are turning yellow and red!”
He regretted not getting closer to his friends, but for Mom, who would listen with her ears perked, he could bear it.
Hearing this, Angelina’s eyes grew moist.
“So you’ll talk while eating the most delicious baby cream puff with oppa…”
“Sounds like a good plan. But not today.”
“Huh! Why?”
Lorre’s green eyes immediately filled with tears, looking at Angelina. It hurt her heart a little, but she spoke firmly.
“You’ve already had all your snacks today.”
“Waaah!”
After a fierce back-and-forth of nodding and shaking heads, it was decided that Lorre would just make it himself and bring it to Reykal.
“Lorre, make it with all your effort!”
Reykal looked at the plate with a dumbfounded expression.
“This…”
Probably the chef had made the cream puff and Lorre just spread the cream on top, but he didn’t have enough strength to use a piping bag.
Seeing the cream smeared messily over the baby cream puff, Reykal was at a loss for words.
“Did they really give me this to eat?”
The cream-covered puff was squishy. Isn’t the charm of a baby cream puff its crispiness? Cream is supposed to just improve the texture when swallowing.
Reykal pressed his lips together in disbelief.
“If there’s cream outside too, when I bite it, it mixes with the cream inside, making it even sweeter!”
“Ha… stop.”
Reykal cut off Lorre’s long explanation, not wanting to hear more.
“I don’t like cream.”
“Huh?”
“I like cream puffs, but not when there’s this much cream.”
Gasp! Lorre’s eyes and mouth widened in shock.
Seeing that, Reykal felt a little of the knot in his chest loosen.
“Then I’ll pass. I’m going back now.”
With that, Reykal sharply slipped back into the room.
Click. The door closed quietly but firmly.
It wasn’t a loud sound, but to Lorre, it sounded as thunderous as a clap of lightning.
“Uh… okay.”
Plop. Lorre slumped in front of the closed door.
“He… doesn’t like cream…”
“Miss…”
At the end of the hallway, behind a pillar, the cousins watching this tense standoff slowly approached.
Angelina, holding the plate, came along.
Ritto, who put the “cream-bomb baby cream puff” on the plate.
And Doran, the chef who made the “cream-bomb baby cream puff.”
“See, you shouldn’t pile cream like that on a puff!”
Doran scolded Ritto quietly. Ritto glared at Doran.
“Miss wanted to do it!”
“Yeah, but then it’s too rich.”
“Is now the time for that?”
“…No, it’s not.”
While Doran and Ritto bickered, the magic book hovering around Lorre flapped its pages nervously.
Lorre’s eyes swelled with emotion, like he might burst into tears any moment…
“Waaah!”
It looked like he was about to cry, and he actually did.
“I… gave cream puffs to Reykal oppa…”
Even while diligently completing his tasks, Lorre’s sadness didn’t fade.
Sitting on a soft chair beside the large bed where the black-haired boy lay, tears still lingered in Lorre’s eyes as he chattered.
His brows were lowered, making his face look cutely serious despite his childlike feelings.
“I’ve never seen anyone dislike cream…”
[Lorre…]
The book gently tapped Lorre’s slumped shoulders.
In truth, it wasn’t that Lorre couldn’t handle cream; it was the shock of having his kindness rejected that hit him hard.
The book tapped even more softly, trying to comfort him.
“Hiiing…”
Recalling the icy, piercing gaze, Lorre’s nose tingled.
Then.
Flinch! The boy, lying like a sleeping prince with a beautiful face, twitched his fingertips slightly.
“Uh, uh…!”
Lorre gasped, her sadness washed away by surprise.
Thump-thump!
Meeting Lorre’s expectant gaze, the boy slowly opened his eyes.
“Ugh… aah.”
The boy struggled to lift his heavy eyelids. His body ached terribly.
‘Where am I?’
The last memory was escaping from “that place.” Dozens of people had chased him, and he ran and ran.
He hid in an alley… and lost consciousness.
Was he captured again? Blinking to focus, he realized this place was completely different.
The spacious, luxurious room was dazzlingly beautiful, like a palace from a fairy tale.
Delicate golden decorations on the ceiling and a massive crystal chandelier.
Multiple gold-framed paintings on deep purple walls.
It was completely unlike the horrible place before, yet he couldn’t relax.
‘They might have caught me and taken me somewhere else.’
The boy clutched the blanket, anxious, scanning his surroundings.
“I’m awake!”
A clear voice and the mattress shifting startled him.
The boy curled up, frowning like a cat on alert as he searched for the source.
Lorre looked closely at the boy’s face.
Dark blue hair, large eyes without double eyelids, golden eyes full of caution.
“Are you okay now? What’s your name? Why were you there?”
The girl’s rapid-fire questions made the boy panic.
“Go away!”
Frantically, he stretched out his hand defensively.
Ching!
Sharp claws sprouted from his fingertips.
“Uh, uh?”
The boy tried to pull back, but the claws kept moving toward Lorre.
Then.
Bang! Something collided.
What just happened?
Everything had happened so fast, Lorre blinked in surprise.
[Lorre!]
The book fluttered to Lorre’s side.
[Are you okay? Any injuries?]
“Uh… I-I think… I’m… okay…”
Dazed, Lorre nodded. Still unsure what had happened, he felt completely flabbergasted.
The book circled him carefully, checking for any injuries.
Fortunately, his clothes were only slightly torn and there were no scratches. The book shivered with relief.
Only then did Lorre realize how dangerous it had been. The boy’s claws had suddenly grown long and lunged at Lorre.
‘And I didn’t dodge it… but it didn’t hurt.’
A sudden black object had blocked the boy’s claws.
‘What is that…’
While Lorre pondered the black, night-sky-like, armor-like object,
Bang!
“Lorre!”
“Miss!”
“Your Highness!”
Alkaid burst through the door, panting from running so fast.
“Good heavens…!”
Angelina and Giselle followed, horrified by the scene inside.
