“I’m going to warn him not to hurt Leone by squeezing him into the mold of being human and cutting him as he is.”
After she finished talking, there was a moment of silence. She didn’t miss the interval and opened her mouth again.
“If it’s really complicated, just believe in the results so far.”
Adler looked right at her. His eyes were shaking. On the other hand, she was confident.
“It’s my achievement, not anyone else’s. These are the things Sir Adler saw clearly with his own two eyes.”
“…”
“Leone is hurt right now, his relationship with His Majesty is only going sour, and something is going wrong. I won’t be able to solve it perfectly, but I will give him some answers. I can.”
She could do it, but to be honest, she was scared too. Could she really do it? Still, she wanted to be brave. She knew that persuasion was the hard part. But when Leone was in pain like that, she couldn’t stand to watch the ignorant men dig through his wounds any longer. At least they should understand what this situation was and find a solution together. It was only a matter of time before Leone withered away if they just avoided and hid like this.
From his nervousness he poured incessantly, and his head throbbed.
“Ha… Trixie. Even so, to warn His Majesty is disrespectful. If it wasn’t for me, you would have already been dragged away.”
After thinking for a while, Adler answered with a sigh.
“I will be careful. I made a mistake because I was excited for a while.”
“If you make that mistake in front of His Majesty, your neck will fly off.”
“In front of His Majesty…? Mr Adler, if…”
“Yes.”
Adler immediately lowered his head. He sighed deeply, and he said.
“I always feel that if Trixie had been a merchant, she would have made a name for herself. Fine, I lost. I was persuaded.”
“…thank you. You won’t regret it.”
“Please be careful. Because you are the person Leone can’t be without.”
Adler’s words were particularly stuck. You were a person who should not exist. It was a bit bittersweet to be seen like that by others. The reason Leone needed her was probably different from the reason she needed Leone.
“But now it is too late. You know?”
“Yes. I don’t mean to see him right now.”
“I will speak to His Majesty tomorrow. I don’t know if His Majesty will allow it, but we’ll do our best.”
“Thank you.”
“No.”
“Then let’s go. Sorry for the late night.”
“Yes. Good night.”
She said goodbye to Adler and left the room. Her heart, which had been beating wildly, subsided slightly.
‘Emperor.’
It wasn’t scary to think of it as a character in a novel, but what she was going to face now was the real thing. In this world, the Emperor’s words were absolute. Of course, the imperial power was weak, but it wouldn’t be difficult for the Emperor to kill her when even the lower nobles could influence her life.
When they meet, if she makes a mistake, she could die. It was scary. But even if Adler couldn’t get permission from the Emperor, she was determined to go see the Emperor unconditionally. She never wanted to see Leone in pain like that again. He has already grown up a lot, and he has become a man to her, so it’s like he’s all grown up, but she still thought that a child-like aspect of him would exist. And she didn’t want that figure to grow up forever. Well, at least, he’d play a fool when he’s sick. It’s not like she was pressing herself to say it’s okay.
“Trixie.”
A newly familiar voice interrupted. Leone, who had found her as if it were natural, was standing in the middle of the dimly lit corridor.
“Leone, why did you come out? Where are the attendants? His Highness the Prince is coming out alone-”
“I don’t have Trixie. I was worried.”
“…”
“You said you would come out alone. You said you don’t know what you would do if I followed you. You backed away.”
“Leone, are you even threatening me now?”
“It’s not really like that.” he took a step closer.
It wasn’t as painful as before, but he looked very tired.
Reason whispered. ‘The closer you get, the more your heart will break down. Can you handle it if your heart grows bigger here?’
But Leone’s tired face hurt her heart. She wanted to give him affection, comfort, and a warm hand. Pass on affection, even if it grows out of control. Even if the impure heart raises its head, wishing Leone could only be comforted by her. She took Leone’s hand. He ran his thumb over the back of her hand.
“I came to see my son.”
“Tonight?”
Leone frowned slightly. Even a small expression like that broke her heart. Even if he was jealous, it wouldn’t be like her.
“Huh. I asked to see His Majesty the Emperor.”
“…Trixie.”
Confused, his eyes widened slightly. Suddenly, Leone’s expression became quite natural and varied.
“Why did you do that?”
“His Majesty told Leone that animals and humans cannot coexist. So I have to convince him.”
“I know you are afraid of the Emperor.”
“Huh?”
“The first time you blocked my way, you shivered. And now I know. To the common people—what a far-flung—the Emperor is.”
“Leone.”
“Why. Do it. Trixie, I’ll protect you. If you keep protecting me-“
His voice trembled slightly. She felt like she saw a lot of things she hadn’t seen in him today.
“What are you talking about, Leone? We are protecting each other.”
She took a step closer to him and hugged his thin waist. Still, she couldn’t wrap her arms around his body.
“Thanks to you, I learned to have the courage I couldn’t have before. Thank you.”
“You’re always ahead.”
Leone murmured softly. She wasn’t sure what he meant, but he hugged her so she couldn’t ask. His strong arms wrapped around her, and her body lifted slightly. There was a nice scent mixed with his body odor. Her heart thumped and thumped at the warm body temperature and the close breath that touched her neck. She knew for sure this time. This was her heartbeat. What if Leone finds out? She wanted to push him away, but she couldn’t do anything about it because if she pushed him away, he’d be hurt.
Time passed in a state of nervousness. He let her go after a while. He was smiling as if he was in a good mood. He took her hand without asking anything.
Leone probably had no experience of love, so she probably wouldn’t have noticed her heart beating like this. So, if he felt it, he would have asked the question. ‘Where are you sick, are you nervous?’ Since there were no questions, she could think of the good side. Even when she was relieved, a bitter taste remained in her mouth.
* * *
“How can a little kid be so meticulous and smart?”
Bringing Lou was the best choice. Originally, employees changed quickly due to various circumstances, so there was no problem with a new hire. Of course, the thorough Adler verified it once more.
“Here is this brooch… No matter how you think about it, this is all. Oh, here, on the cuffs, attach buttons that match the color of the fabric. Also, these sleeves are too long, so they vaguely don’t fit Leone’s image.”
Like a fish out of water, Lou styled it to suit the clothes hanging side by side. Of course, the tailors and attendants were also experts in making and decorating clothes, but they were not yet accustomed to the new style of clothes, so they followed Lou’s flame-like direction as if possessed.
“I didn’t know you had such a talent. It seems that Trixie knows our servants better than I do.”
“Ah, I also found out by accident.”
They met the tailor again. It was to adjust the size of the clothes more delicately, but in fact, it was a task that Leone did not have to attend. They were gathered like this because Hanaru said that ‘fitting the clothes to the body is a very delicate task’ and that she insisted that it might be weird if he just shortened it.
Now that the try-on was over, Lou wanted to choose a suitable jewel, and she was waiting for her to stay for a while.
“Lord Leone is having a lot of trouble. Even if you’re used to wearing clothes, changing clothes must be tiring.”
“I mean it is.”
“Trixie, Count Adler. His Majesty has sent a message.”
Then, when she came in, her maid who was outside came up to us and whispered.
“He wants to see Trixie.”
It was this morning that Adler went to convey her wishes to the Emperor. He replied that he would think about it, so she didn’t think it would come so quickly.
“Uh, ah. Yes, I’ll go.”
It was embarrassing, but the sooner the better.
“Trixie.”
Leone, who had changed his clothes and came out, approached her. Perhaps because of his long legs, he was so fast that it almost seemed like he was teleporting.
“Going to His Majesty?”
“Yes, Leone. I’ll be back.”
“Go with you.”
“He wants to see me alone.”
“I’ll go as far as the front.”
She couldn’t resist the worried expression on my face. Adler led the way, and Leone and she followed.
“Trixie. Don’t overdo it. Risky behavior too. If you’re scared, call me. I will be in front. Maybe I can stop him.”
“Leone is like my guardian now. Don’t worry. Go and take a class. I will wait for you, sir.”
“I’m not going. I will be in front of you.”
She trembled and said it, but Leone firmly refused. She didn’t have to add anything. In fact, she was a bit scared too.
In front of the emperor’s room. When permission was given from inside, the door opened. It was a place she could never enter alone.
“Greeting Your Majesty the Emperor.”
As soon as the attendant entered, the door was closed behind him. It was said that Leone was outside, but from now on, it would be her battle alone.
