It was the first dinner of the one and only prince and the supreme Emperor. Of course, an extravagant dinner followed. From appetizers to main dishes and desserts. The dishes that the emperor’s chef put all his energy and effort to the point of collapsing after making them were both delicious and good looking.
“Leone. Are you not feeling well?”
There was such delicious food in front of her, but Leone’s eating speed was very slow. After experiencing food for the first time with Trixie, it was Leone who couldn’t adapt to human food right away, and came to like it quite a bit. He got used to table manners to some extent, so there was no problem with eating. But today, things he would normally eat out of curiosity didn’t catch his eye. It had been this way ever since the moment the Emperor spoke of ‘family’. Every time he chewed his food, it was like he was chewing sand, and when he swallowed it, it was like a thorn stabbing his throat. It reminded him of the scene where the corpses of the brothers raised their heads and glared at him.
‘Did you sit facing the man who killed us, Leone?’
He had the illusion that strange words were ringing in his ears.
“It seems a bit unreasonable.”
Leone answered with a pale, stiff face, looking rather serious. The Emperor raised his eyebrows and expressed his concern.
“This… Enthusiasm is good. All members of the imperial family should take care of themselves first.”
“Sorry.”
“No, you shouldn’t be sorry for me, you should be sorry for you, Leone. Go in and rest today. It seems I was too greedy.”
The Emperor’s voice was full of sincerity. Leone could see that, and he was disgusted at the same time. He held onto his fork, thinking only of Trixie’s face. Then he could feel a little better.
“Since the Empress died early, I always ate alone. I seem excited about having a meal with my family after a long time thanks to you… You must still have a hard time adjusting, this old man is sorry.”
Family, family.
Leone’s heartbeat gradually accelerated at the old man’s complaints.
“At a time like this, it would have been nice to have Ludeia. She’s your mother, to take good care of you-“
“You killed my family.”
Leone finally let out. For the first time in his life, he conveyed the anger he had been biting since he didn’t know how to convey it.
“What is that…”
The Emperor’s only blood relative. A child barely saved from a pack of wicked wolves. So, he thought that if the boy’s strange behavior subsided, in the future he would thank the Emperor and become a friendly family. However, cold anger blazed in the eyes of the lovely nephew who sat in front of the Emperor.
“Leone?”
“The wolves you killed raised me.”
“Leone… You must have misunderstood something. Those wolves tried to eat you. I have saved you.”
The Emperor was taken aback, but thought Leone was talking nonsense. There was no way a wolf could raise a human. Humans and wolves were always at odds with each other. Wolves hunt humans with their animal instincts, and humans attack wolves in response. Animals, especially beasts of prey, couldn’t think like humans. They were uncivilized beings whose only instinct for breeding and hunting determines their lives. The Emperor had known that all his life.
“I know very well that you lost your mother when you were young and grew up having a hard time. So you can think of the wolves as your family, to lean on anything from that hard life.”
Leone’s words didn’t work for the Emperor. Leone let out a small laugh. If it’s too absurd, he would laugh, he thought. As if he were someone else’s while acquiring human emotions.
“My mother is them, and my family is them. Not a human like you or Ludeia or whatever.”
Leone choked and sighed. It was different from when he ran away from his mind. He was able to convey clear reasons and anger.
“Leone, how dare you put animals on the same line as humans? How do beasts communicate with humans? Calm down.”
“You didn’t save me. You dragged my life into this hell, on your own terms. I’ve never wanted to be human. There was none.”
When Leone spat out “hell,” the Emperor’s face, which had been firmly responding until now, was cracked. It was strange. A word seemed to stimulate the Emperor more than strangling him. No matter how much she cried, the Emperor only felt sorry for Leone. But now it’s different.
Like this… It was the first time he saw an embarrassed face.
“You put me here.”
Meeting Trixie was a definite happiness and something to be thankful for. But it would have been nice if all of this hadn’t happened. If he could not have sent his brothers away like that… Before he grew up like this, if only he could live remembering all the times.
“Please excuse me first, Your Majesty. After this time- to me, nothing. Do not solicit.”
The Emperor made no reply. Leone got up and went outside. The last thing that was reflected on the Emperor’s face was confusion. By any chance, would the Emperor hand over an apology? Or would he cry again? It’s Leone’s illusion.
Leone didn’t want to hear anything from the Emperor. Already, all tragedies have happened. What could be solved by the Emperor’s belated words?
“Go to your room.”
Leone gave a short command as soon as he came out of the dining room. The sound of the footsteps of the attendants chasing after him stuck to his ears. Meanwhile, he noticed Trixie was there. When her body odor reached the tip of his nose, he felt a little better.
A little bit, he thought that hell was far away. As soon as he got to his room, he vomited the whole dinner.
“Lord Leone!”
Surprised, Trixie came running. The ladies-in-waiting also moved busily. A red flag was raised about the prince’s health. They had to call the doctor without surprise or delay, and do what they could.
“Leone, why is that? What happened? Uh, what should I do? Did you pretend? It was very uncomfortable, right? I’ll go in with you.”
The voice pouring out beside him, not knowing what to do, awakened Leone’s hazy mind.
“To the Emperor… said entire.”
“What?”
“He, my family, killed them.”
“On that side… What did you say?”
“It was my misunderstanding, he said. Beasts can’t…”
As soon as Leone finished speaking, Trixie hugged him. Her body temperature brought Leone back to reality. From Hell, into a plain and leisurely landscape bathed in sunlight. Leone was back to himself.
‘…Leone. Hey. later. in the middle of the day. If everything is resolved, you can beat the prince and run away.’
‘That’s how you live away from humans. Do what Leone wants.’
The one who believed in his words and hugged him as if it were natural. The comfort she gave him lingered in his ears.
‘You are my salvation.’
“It’s okay, Trixie. I am… if you are.”
Leone murmured softly. Trixie’s face hardened. Leone was in her arms, so she couldn’t see his face. With that one word left, Leone headed for the bathroom, supported by his attendants.
After a while, he found that Trixie was not in the room Leone had washed and returned to.
* * *
‘This is crazy. Wake up, Trixie.’
Though she thought so, her feet did not stop. It was the first time she had seen Leone’s face like that. She stood in front of Adler’s makeshift office. As expected, the lights were brightly lit at this time as well. Really… Adler was also quite a workaholic. After knocking and receiving permission, Adler greeted her with a puzzled face in the room she entered.
“What are you doing tonight?”
“I have something to tell you.”
The voice suddenly became hoarse. Adler also sat down with a serious face.
“What happened to Leone?”
“Yes. It’s a big deal.”
“Um, what’s going on? Are you sick?!”
“Sir Adler. I want to see His Majesty the Emperor.”
She wanted to immediately storm into the Emperor’s room and talk to him. She knew very well that people in this world did not have knowledge about communicating with animals, so she wanted to explain each one herself. How she changed Leone, how he struggles in his pain. All.
However, she was a woman, a commoner who was looked down upon in this world. Although Adler emphasized her merits most to the Emperor, the Emperor barely promised her a good marriage. If it were the Emperor, he might be able to treat the nobleman who saved the prince a little more unconventionally. It was only natural that she would be kicked out if she went to visit him without hesitation, and even if she somehow managed to get in, the Emperor didn’t seem to listen to her. But if it went through Adler, things would be a little different.
“Emperor… Your Majesty?”
“Today Leone returned from dinner with His Majesty the Emperor and vomited up everything he ate.”
“Yes?!”
“Really. His Majesty the Emperor… Leone’s trauma is the Emperor himself. Your Majesty doesn’t know that well, and he doesn’t understand it. So I want to meet him and convince him.”
“But, Trixie. Anyway, I can’t introduce you to His Majesty the Emperor without hesitation-“
“Adler. Do you think wolves can raise human children?”
“Yes? It can’t be.”
“Leone is a child who grew up like that. That’s true, and under the pretext of saving Leone, His Majesty the Emperor killed the whole family and brought Leone back.”
“Wolves and humans become a family. There’s no way that could be-“
“Is it so? You, who cares for Lord Leone, won’t believe it either, right? Maybe Leone would just be confused if he said it himself.”
“…”
“Who can trust Leone’s words and accept the child’s wounds? Also, who disciplined Leone to get him out of his traumatic state? It’s me.”
“But why do you have to tell His Majesty the Emperor?”
“Because His Majesty the Emperor does not know. Because he thinks that beasts and humans are opposites, he is someone who cannot understand Leone’s trauma and scars about the ‘animal family’. At the same time, he is the cause of Leone’s wounds. But since he doesn’t know anything, he is stimulating Leone’s wounds without even intending to, and making him go back to the old Leone who had nightmares.”
“…So, now you… Are you saying you want to tell His Majesty that Leone is a beast?”
“No. I’m going to warn him not to hurt Leone by squeezing him into the mold of being human and hurting him.”
She was a little bit angry.
