Chapter 48
“Did the box disappear?”
Siana asked with a puzzled expression as she looked at the empty bedside table.
I froze while rummaging through the paper bag labeled ‘Antoine Bakery’.
“Huh…?”
“The box you were concerned about, Saintess. The cursed box that comes back even if you throw it away.”
Siana chuckled as if the story about the cursed box amused her.
Looking at her like that, Siana really wasn’t faint-hearted.
She seemed like the type who would laugh even if a ghost jumped out of the screen during a horror movie.
The fact that I could imagine that meant… beautiful people are scary.
“Ah, that… I threw it away.”
“Didn’t you say you gave up on throwing it away?”
“Well, yeah… but I thought it’d be better to throw it away after all.”
I opened and closed the paper bag for no reason, pretending nothing was wrong.
Will Siana think I’m fickle?
But I had no choice. There was a reason. Sob.
“Will it come back again this time?”
“Probably not…?”
“Why?”
“Well, the box…”
I stared into the paper bag and let out a deep sigh.
The box is…
“I split it in half and buried it in the ground.”
The incident started last night.
Clatter. Clatter.
I woke up to a loud noise just as I was falling asleep.
I thought the box was moving around again, but that wasn’t it.
“Meooow.”
A black winged cat scratching the window on the balcony.
That unforgettable familiar figure was definitely…
“Master?”
“Meow. Meow.”
I covered my mouth in shock.
After it got caught by His Majesty while crawling through the flowerbed, I had completely given up on ever seeing it again.
And yet it appeared right in front of me like this.
I hurriedly opened the balcony window to let Master in.
As if it had been waiting, Master came inside and rubbed against my legs.
Soft fur and warm body heat.
I’m going to cry, I really am…!
“Purr.”
Then on the bed—
Seeing it roll over, exposing its belly and playing with my hand, my heart was struck directly.
Have I ever experienced something like this?
Master is the first animal that’s ever been kind to me…
I smiled foolishly and enjoyed the moment.
My happiness ended when the box started rattling.
As if it were jealous of the affectionate scene between Master and me, the box shook on the bedside table and fell to the floor.
Startled, Master jumped down and confronted the box.
“Meooow—.”
Clatter. Clatter.
Thud. Thud.
With its fur bristling, Master attacked the shaking box with its front paws.
The box kept moving as if the attacks did nothing.
The situation kept escalating.
I was worried that Dune, who was on night guard duty in the hallway, might hear the noise.
And as expected, Dune knocked on the door.
I can’t let Dune see this…!
I peeked out and made an excuse.
“Haha. I was imitating a cat! I want to get closer to cats!”
But I probably won’t get close to Dune. Sob.
After closing the door and returning to the bedroom, the box was split into two.
Instead…
“……”
A fluffy silver fur ball doll with big white circles for eyes and small brown circles inside them.
The doll I named Al—after His Majesty—because it was too precious to touch and I only kept it by my bedside to look at…!
“Pyu, pyuu!”
It was shooting its thin yarn arms at Master.
I was stunned by the unreal situation, but the sound Al made felt strangely familiar.
It was just like the whining voice from inside the box…
“No way.”
Did what was inside the box enter Al and start moving?
I wanted to believe it wasn’t true.
But the broken box was empty, and Al was making the same sound.
This hypothesis was basically 100% correct.
I looked at Al with trembling eyes.
“So cute…”
Ah—no, wait. No.
I shook my head to regain my senses, but I couldn’t help thinking that.
“Pyuu!”
A fist-sized fur ball seriously throwing yarn knots as if attacking.
What is this. It’s pathetic and cute.
Even Master seemed to lose its fighting spirit and just lightly tapped Al with its paws.
I didn’t feel like stopping them, so I lay on the bed and watched.
Then, as sleepiness washed over me, I blinked slowly.
When Master got bored, it abandoned Al and curled up next to me.
“Meow.”
Later, Al hopped over and settled near my head.
When I woke up, Master had disappeared without a trace again.
And all I was left with was this unknown lifeform disguised as Al.
“I’ll go prepare dinner.”
After Siana left, I took Al out of the bakery paper bag.
“Pyu! Pyu!”
Knowing it was just me, Al hopped around on the sofa.
Honestly, I had expected something like a dragon or fairy to come out of the box.
“Pyuu?”
“……”
I poked Al with my index finger.
Unlike when it was a box, Al lost balance and flailed after being pushed by just one finger.
What could such a pathetic thing even do…?
“Still, I should find out what it is. Since Ben Wolfman stole it.”
“Your Majesty!”
I stormed into His Majesty’s study early in the morning.
Kgh. The air in this study—how long has it been?
I wanted to inhale the scent deeper into my lungs, but I had business to take care of first.
With a serious expression like Captain Henkel, I walked up to His Majesty sitting at the desk.
Stopping in front of the desk, I showed him Al with both hands.
His Majesty stared at the motionless Al and said one word.
“A doll?”
“Yes. A doll.”
I nodded solemnly.
This seriousness. I feel like the protagonist of a spy movie.
But His Majesty smirked and raised his forearm vertically.
Below his large hand, I could see the shirt cuff around his wrist.
“Are you showing off? I have one too.”
Ugh. What is this.
I feel like I just got punched in the heart by something incredible.
The cufflinks I gifted him were shining on his sleeve.
Did he think I was showing off a gift and decided to show his too…?!
My hands trembled midair from the sudden attack.
“I—I’m not showing off a gift….”
“Then?”
“Your Majesty, this thing moves.”
Since my hands were full, I pointed at Al with my chin.
Even if it was cute, having an unknown entity around felt unsettling.
Unlike when I asked the Prime Minister for a job recommendation, there was no reason to hide this from His Majesty.
And the best person to ask was His Majesty, who stood at the top of power.
His Majesty looked at Al, and I looked at His Majesty’s head.
Ah. His head shape is so pretty.
What is this fluffy hair even at dawn?
There are many blond people in the world, but no one has hair as pure gold as His Majesty…!
If sunlight came through the window beside him…
It would sparkle insanely in the sunlight…
“It’s not moving.”
“What? Your eyes are insane—”
“What?”
“Ah, I didn’t say anything.”
I shook my head frantically.
“Ugh. This mouth of mine…!”
But I couldn’t help it.
When he looks at me with those clear blue eyes…!
His Majesty’s visuals are really insane.
Anyway, even while His Majesty watched, Al didn’t move.
“It stays still like a doll, but it moves when I’m alone. It was like that when it was a box too—”
“Box?”
His Majesty’s eyes sharpened.
“Ah, the box Ben Wolfman stole last time. You remember?”
“I remember.”
“There was something inside. I heard breathing. It moved too.”
His Majesty nodded, telling me to continue.
“Then the box broke yesterday. After that, this thing started moving. I think what was inside the box went into the doll…”
…Even I thought it sounded ridiculous.
If someone told me this, I’d think they were messing with me.
Except if it was His Majesty.
I could listen to any nonsense in His Majesty’s voice all day…
But my voice didn’t have that authority.
So I hurriedly added,
“I know it’s hard to believe—”
“I understand.”
“Huh?”
“I said I understand.”
Unlike my shock, His Majesty was extremely calm.
“Then I’ll watch until it moves.”
He took Al from my hands, examined it, and casually tossed it upward.
Al spun 360 degrees in the air and landed neatly back in his hand.
“Ah! Don’t handle it roughly.”
I hurriedly stopped him, unable to bear the sight.
That was my Al that I had cherished and only looked at without touching…!
“Even if it’s whatever, it’s precious to me…!”
“Al? …It doesn’t look like an egg.”
“Ah.”
I shut my mouth at his puzzled tone.
To be honest, Al was just a toy doll that kids would like.
It looked ridiculous.
I found it cute because His Majesty gave it to me, but everyone in Prodinta Palace laughed when they saw it.
There’s no way I could say I named it after His Majesty…!
He might burn it like the flower I once gave him…!
Terrified by that possible future, I delayed answering.
“So it’s another story only the Saintess knows.”
Thankfully, the topic seemed to shift.
His Majesty placed Al on the desk and tapped the table.
“Anyway, why did you come alone without your guard?”
…Not a welcome topic.
