“I heard that Lady Ludeia abandoned her newborn baby, Lord Leone, somewhere. He survived for 10 years, so he must have been touched by a human being, but seeing him act like that… I wonder if he grew up being treated like livestock. It’s an environment I don’t even want to think about.”
Abuse… Adler’s imagination seemed to have flowed there because of the part that he survived for 10 years.
“So, I wanted to do better. I wanted to share warmth and let people know the joy of interacting.”
Leone grew up treated as livestock? Leone was a wolf that even howled. She didn’t know if he was raised by wolves, but it was different from the behavior of livestock.
‘To the wolf… he was raised.’
Her random thoughts stopped for a moment.
‘Leone. He was raised as a wolf.’
He exhibited the habits of a wolf. He was not the son of an Emperor, and he was abandoned as a child and had to survive ten years or so alone. If he had mingled among humans, he would have learned a little of the human language no matter how much he spent his days of abuse growing up among livestock. Everything he learned during that time belonged to the beast. If so, wouldn’t Leone really have a wolf family? Mowgli in The Jungle Book was also said to be based on a true story. It was not impossible for wolves to raise humans.
“It is not abuse.”
She muttered blankly.
“What? What is it?”
“The abuse…”
She closed her mouth. She didn’t know how to explain it. She was embarrassed because she couldn’t think of a wolf raising a human child in a world where hunting logs were the only research on animals. This was a very rare case even in the modern society in which she lived.
“Trixie?”
“Oh, no. So, after Leone came to the imperial castle, was he still in bad shape?”
“Yes. It was worse then. Since he was young and weak, he did not oppress and overwhelm people as he does now, but he rebelled and cursed and fainted many times.”
The abuse seemed to have taken place here.
“Oh my god. Then it can’t be good here. Did we bring Leone back to a place like that?”
“It is also an inevitable choice. I thought Leone hated people rather than space, so I thought it would be okay now. He is actually a lot better now, isn’t he?”
Adler seemed to want to think positively, but her heart felt heavier.
“I really appreciate Trixie for fixing and helping me with that part. These days, I even think that Lord Leone seems to have found his duty as a member of the royal family. I never thought this day would come.”
Leone didn’t look like that. She just nodded her head, not being able to say anything to the expression of sincere gratitude in his eyes.
“Yes…”
“And Trixie. I have something to say.”
“Yes?”
“I can’t call Leone-nim comfortably anymore. I didn’t point it out because we’ve been living by ourselves, but this is the Hwangseong.”
It was a point I thought I would hear someday.
In fact, even in front of Adler, I have tried to call her Lady Leone and use honorifics. However, as I treated Leone like a younger brother and spoke rudely, it became a habit, and I failed or mixed it up every time.
“If you don’t get into the habit, you will keep making mistakes. Even in your daily life, call him Lord Leone or the Crown Prince and use honorifics.”
“But won’t Leone get confused if I do that?”
“Lord Leone.”
“Yes. I think Lord Leone will be confused.”
“Ugh. That’s right. Then… When Trixie and Lord Leone are alone-”
Knock.
Then there was a knock on the door.
“His Highness the Prince has arrived.”
“Leone, no, Lord Leone is coming here?”
She widened her eyes. Adler smiled broadly with a proud face.
“Sure. It’s not unusual anymore. How much Leone relies on me. Ha ha ha! Leone! Come in!”
The door opened and Leone came in. Today he wasn’t dressed up like yesterday. He was wearing a shirt and pants, just like he did in the Meto Mountains. It was different from then when she saw his hair neatly trimmed and walking more gracefully than anyone else.
“Welcome, Lord Leone!”
Adler warmly welcomed Leone in a moving voice. Indeed, Leone gave Adler a slight nod of his head and then approached her.
“Trixie. Here, why?”
Leone still hadn’t mastered the expression well. His smile and frown became natural, but at the moment he wasn’t aware of it, he was just expressionless. That’s why he’s still expressionless, but somehow he seemed full of dissatisfaction. Like if he hated being here.
“Ah. Well, I have something to discuss with Mr. Adler… so. This.”
Out of habit, she tried to speak plain language, but she added respect, fearing that Adler would catch her.
“Mr.?”
Leone tilted his head and moved.
“Trixie. The words, other humans- are the same.”
Leone’s gaze turned to Adler.
“A knight, isn’t it?”
Was it an illusion that she felt that his voice was cold for a moment? Summer was over, but it’s still fall. It felt like the chills of winter. Leone stood expressionless, but his eyes were talking.
‘Correct it, man.’
Of course, she didn’t know if Leone was correct. She felt that her child had now perfectly possessed the aspect of a person of power.
“Ah yes. That was something I was thinking about just talking to Trixie. Trixie. I think you can make an exception when talking with Lord Leone alone.”
“Yes, yes! I’d rather do that.”
Surprised by Leone’s coolness, she eagerly nodded her head.
“Just be careful in front of others. Even Lord Leone, except when you’re with Trixie, you shouldn’t take it strangely even if she treats you with respect.”
“…I will.”
Where did he learn that way of speaking? Did Benjamin even teach you how to speak as a member of the royal family?
“Leone. What are you here for today?”
“Ah. Hmm-.”
She was going to stand by and wait until the conversation was over, since she had to go to work with Leone when she got out of here anyway. Leone stared blankly at her.
“Knight.”
And in that state, he called Adler.
“Yes, Lord Leone.”
“Wait, the two of us go out and talk.”
“Yes? Not here, outside?”
“Huh. Knight, I. Two people.”
It felt like getting hit in the head. That’s what it means. It means that the two of them have to talk about things that she couldn’t hear. Momentarily, the sadness came like a tidal wave.
“…nope, Lord Leone. I’ll go out.”
But it’s strange that Leone, the owner of this palace, goes out and talks. Since she was a servant, she spoke in the manner she should have taken for now.
“But.”
“No, Lord Leone. I will come out and you two can talk.”
At her words, Leone pondered for a moment, then nodded his head.
“Yes, Trixie. Thank you. See you later.”
She said she would get out of the way, but it was even more sad when he obediently asked to see her later. The last time, the two of them only talked about it, so the secret continues to arise. It wasn’t once that that happened. Leone, who didn’t stop or hold on to her, trudged and stepped outside.
There were attendants waiting in front of the door, chasing after Leone. She exchanged simple greetings with the attendants who had learned their faces by following Leone’s schedule every day. And she stood beside him, lost in thought. It wasn’t bad for Leone to keep secrets. It was something to be happy about. However… Would Leone have more and more secrets he couldn’t tell her? So was she going to be left out every time?
Her heart was complicatedly twisted. She also thought that the more people there were by Leone’s side, the more this would happen. Like the maid who gave Leone cravats in Stud before, there would be many people who touch Leone. Since the prince told her, it was unavoidable. It was a development to be very pleased with. However, a deep sadness welled up in her heart.
‘No, no matter what. We have time together. How can he change so drastically on his own?’
The more she thought about it, the more sad she became. Come to think of it, Leone avoided her even when he was taking Benjamin’s class in the Meto Mountains. And Leone… As soon as he entered Adler’s office, he ran into her and seemed unhappy. This was a very habitual offender. Was he avoiding her because he became friends with Adler this time?
‘This… light guy. A guy who wags his tail at anyone!’
Even though she knew that Leone had just kicked her out and that he had never avoided her like he did back then, her thoughts only got worse and worse. During the week when she was sick, the door opened again while she was digging alone, not knowing how much Leone interacted with other people or what she didn’t know. In the meantime, Leone walked out.
“Egg plant.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Leone led the group as if he was used to it. She did not approach Leone and stood next to his attendant. He didn’t bother looking for her, so there was no reason to go to the side.
‘Cause I’m just a servant’
“Trixie.”
As if reading her mind, Leone called her name.
“Come on.”
Leone held out his hand and smiled. Saying what she had told him countless times.
“…uh.”
She was dumbfounded for a moment. All thoughts in her head were gone and it was empty. Literally, it turned into a blank white paper, so she couldn’t react. What she said, that kid did. It felt so strange. There’s no other way to describe it other than to say it’s really weird.
“Trixie.”
Leone called out her name one more time.
“Yes… no, yes Lord Leone.”
As she came back to her senses, her sorrowful heart was quickly evacuated. There were also eyes from the attendants around her, so she didn’t hold Leone’s hand and went to his side. A secret made by Leone, that shouldn’t be a big deal. It’s just that Adler and she had accumulated years, so it seemed like they had something to talk about now, she wanted to. As she felt lighter, she realized how childish she had just been thinking. Her face got hot.
“Hmm. By the way, Lord Leone. You must not carelessly hold the hand of an extraneous woman.”
Embarrassed, she raised a stern voice pretending to be educating.
“Huh. I know.”
A low voice echoed overhead. The voice was so small that the attendants who followed couldn’t hear it, but it was clearly audible. She didn’t answer. They walked side by side through the hallway. It was a move for the next class.
So weird. It had been like this since she left the Meto Mountains. Why did her heart and emotions keep going up and down like riding a roller coaster? She felt dizzy because she felt like she was in a late puberty.
