Chapter 32
They say a man is either a child or a dog, but Derion was both a child and a dog.
“Shasha! Are you watching~?”
“Please…”
I felt like curling up into a hedgehog under all the gazes piercing me from every direction.
Derion, cheerfully calling my nickname, seemed to have swapped his sense of tact for his tail.
Buzz buzz buzz. The more my gaze begged him to get down, the more excited he seemed.
I looked at Aches as if to ask him to rein in that little rascal. But.
“Should I tell you to get ready to go to the kingdom?”
This guy was even more relentless.
Half resigned, I waved my hand vaguely at Derion. It meant: say what you want quickly and get down.
“Everyone, listen.”
As if he had been waiting for this, Derion’s voice drew the attention of the villagers.
“I realized that my actions up until now have made your lives very difficult. Until recently, I only pushed everyone away without trying to understand them.”
When he wiped the smile off his face, the cheerful atmosphere vanished.
‘…Surprisingly normal start?’
“The more I did that, the more I hated everyone, and I ended up hurting everyone. It’s only now that I realize that was wrong.”
His golden eyes shone brightly.
“The position of Duke of the Grand Duchy is not a seat to bow to anyone. Therefore, I cannot apologize for what I have done until now. But I can make a promise.”
He straightened his back properly.
“I will protect this place. Your home.”
The confident voice made Derion look less like a ten-year-old child and more like the owner of broad shoulders, aware of the weight of responsibility.
“Because I am the Duke of Anadelma!”
If it weren’t for the added “Shasha, did I do well?” it would have been a fairly decent ending for Derion.
“……”
“……”
A moment of silence passed.
The gaze that had been on me had long shifted to Derion.
Had his sincerity reached them?
In that tense moment.
Ding-.
“!”
The sound I had been waiting for rang in my ears.
<Main Quest>
[ I want to go back! ]
▽View previous quests
▼CLEAR! Change the perception of the Northern residents regarding the “key figure—Derion Anadelma” of the “Cursed Bloodline” (8/1000)
Current: Worst ▶ Less bad
“Ah…”
The quest had cleared, but it wasn’t exactly as I imagined, and a hollow sound slipped out.
The perception had changed.
“Yeah, less bad is better than worst, at least…”
I found myself patting Derion’s hair, who had jumped over to me.
“Of course, it would be strange for it to change all at once.”
“Shasha?”
His round golden eyes were curious at the sudden pat, but he didn’t shy away from the hand placed on his head.
“Derion-nim.”
“Yes, Shasha.”
I hoped that one day, perceptions toward Derion would improve further.
That resentful gaze toward this small child would disappear.
That he would be full of goodness, not malice.
I spoke, holding all those wishes in my heart.
“Let’s do well.”
There was no clearer way to put it than that—do well. No, do well, really well.
While you’re doing well, do well for me too.
Just thinking about all the trouble I had because of this little rascal…!
As that thought came, my hand automatically pressed harder while patting Derion’s head.
Flare! My intensity blazed, and Derion quickly responded.
“Uh, yes…! I’ll do well!”
I didn’t see the tail curled under his butt, burning in my gaze.
The sunlight was warmer than yesterday, seeping through the curtains.
It was the Anadelma Duke Mansion’s morning alarm.
Because it hadn’t snowed for several days, the room was filled with warmth like never before, and I hadn’t woken up even once during the night.
Somehow, it felt like a good day was about to start.
“What’s this?”
And as soon as I opened the door, I found a small, palm-sized object tied with a messy red string.
“A jewel? Who dropped it?”
I picked up the object, sparkling with multicolored light, planning to return it to its owner.
“But strangely, it doesn’t feel like a jewel… Eeek?!”
It moved!
At that moment, long, thin legs suddenly sprouted from what I thought was a jewel.
And then, peeking out, it revealed itself. Screeeech!
“It’s a bug!!”
I threw the bug straight out the window.
Whoosh—, the bug glimmered as it disappeared into the distance.
“Gross!!”
I ran back inside to wash my hands from holding the bug.
Behind me, someone’s gaze followed.
Time passed, and when I let my guard down.
“Screeeech?!”
I had no choice but to scream again.
“What the heck is this!”
A white snake with shiny scales had fallen from the tree.
And like before, it had a crumpled red string on its head.
Snap-.
I instinctively grabbed the snake that fell from above, and seeing its forked tongue flicker while eyeing me, I turned pale.
“I really hate this!!”
Whoosh—, the snake followed the bug, sparkling as it left.
That was already the third incident just today.
This time.
“R-rat… rat, rattie…!”
Click? Again, tied with a red string, tilting its tiny head on my palm, it was a rat.
Naturally, I threw it as well. Whoosh—!
Startled, I barely had time to react before someone suddenly appeared behind me.
“Shasha! That’s too much!”
Startled by the rat, I panted and turned around.
There was Derion, who hadn’t been seen since the morning, standing there, sniffling.
“I caught it without sleeping…”
Making the clothes Dex had carefully prepared for me filthy with dirt.
“…Derion-nim… caught it?”
But after being harassed three times in one day, I didn’t care.
“So that means leaving bugs at my door on a fresh morning.”
“Yes.”
“And placing a snake on the tree I was passing by.”
“Yes.”
“And tossing the rat just now like a ball.”
“Yes.”
“All of it… was done by Derion-nim, right?”
“Yes!”
“What do you mean ‘yes’!!!”
Come here, you little rascal!
I ran at Derion.
“No!”
“What did you say?”
But unlike usual, Derion didn’t let himself be caught easily.
Instead, he looked at me with a resentful expression, appearing wronged.
“Could it be…”
The extreme reaction reminded me of when I worked as a pet behavior trainer on Earth.
When a dog brings an object and signals wanting to play together…
“Were you trying to play with this?”
His tail, lowered, caught my gaze.
“Hmph!”
But Derion’s pout was stubborn.
He didn’t like that I had noticed only now.
“Derion-nim, you can speak well now. Next time, if you want something, say it. And catching other living things like this is bad behavior.”
“Ugh…! Shasha knows nothing!”
This bratty little rascal!
I was the one wronged, yet seeing him with that expression reignited my anger.
“Oh~ really?”
I was so mad that my mind strangely felt cold.
I pushed back my messy hair and crossed my arms.
Flinch.
“Sh-Shasha… it’s not like that.”
He cautiously approached, sensing the tense atmosphere, but I drew the line.
“Don’t come any closer.”
“!”
“Until you reflect on what you did today, don’t ever come near me.”
A look of grievance resurfaced on Derion’s face, who had hesitated at my firm tone.
“…I… I didn’t do anything wrong!”
“Hah.”
I didn’t say another word and turned around.
“I’m disappointed.”
“…W-wait, Shasha!”
I heard him calling me from behind.
“Shasha…!”
But I didn’t look back.
Walking without a destination, I ran into Aches, who had just returned from outside.
“Miss Esia?”
“Sigh, Aches-nim.”
Hearing my sigh, Aches paused for a moment and reached out to me.
“Come to think of it, spring is almost here.”
“…Spring?”
Aches didn’t ask if I was angry. Instead, he tried to shift my mood.
“The start of the year being clear is a pride of the entire Blessed Kingdom.”
“So that’s why the weather has been nice lately…”
Aches stopped speaking there and looked at me worriedly.
I didn’t withdraw, still holding his warm hand.
Feeling another person’s warm touch slightly lifted my mood.
“Shall we go for a walk outside the mansion?”
“Outside?”
Rustle, behind me, someone seemed uneasy.
I didn’t need to turn to know who it was.
“Let’s go.”
At my answer, the rustling stopped.
I smiled brightly at Aches, as if to show off.
“…It’s an honor.”
Aches couldn’t take his eyes off my smile and nodded. His ears were red.
“Aches-nim?”
“Ah, let’s go.”
The dazed look on Aches’s face lasted only a moment, and soon he matched his pace to mine as usual.
Standing in front of the mansion’s huge main gate, I wondered if I had been too harsh on Derion.
“I’ve investigated the things you asked about yesterday. This way.”
But then I shook my head.
<Main Quest>
[ I want to go back! ]
▽View previous quests
▼Find a way to develop the “North” with the “key figure” of the “Cursed Bloodline” (9/1000)
‘It’s already been almost two months since I came here, and this is only the 9th.’
The quest that needed to be completed was urgent.
And this was my chance to teach Derion the expressions needed to live among humans and the value of life.
If he kept expressing himself with just ears and tail like a beast, maybe no one else would ever understand him.
Bang! The main gate closed behind me, echoing like a heartbeat.
“……”
With the gate closed and out of Derion’s view, I finally let my hidden expression show.
“Sigh…”
Thinking of Derion staying behind in the mansion made me gloomily downcast.
It was Aches who comforted me.
“If listening to the investigations isn’t urgent, how about starting with some sweet desserts?”
“…Is the shop far?”
It didn’t feel like we had walked long.
“If we hold hands, it won’t even take three minutes.”
“And if we don’t hold hands?”
“It’s a famous shop in the North, known throughout the kingdom, so we might have to wait for another day.”
Seeing his serious green eyes made my mischievous side pop up.
“Then let’s walk without holding hands.”
“…Really?”
Pff, pretending to be mature lately, but still a kid.
“I’m joking.”
We had already been holding hands since earlier, and Aches’s ears turned red again at my words.
“The way you acted with the herbalist boy was natural, Miss Esia. You’re quite cunning. Every year, the duke, fined for public misconduct, stole the hearts of young ladies just like that.”
“…That’s not a compliment, right?”
“He was a playboy.”
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s a compliment either.”
“……”
Excuse me? Aches-nim? Crown Prince? Prince?
No answer.
