CH 96

“You’re lying.”

I raised my hand and covered my lips.

And he whispered softly in reply.

“…I’m not.”

Slowly, Sislin’s red eyes widened. Then, he revealed his white teeth and bit my slender fingers.

“…Ah!”

I stood up in surprise, pushed his hard shoulders with my hands (it did not go very well).

I calmed my startled stomach and straightened my expression.

Then I said hastily.

“…Your Highness the Crown Prince. It looks like you’ve finished changing, so let’s go out.”

Sislin was only trying to devour me the moment he saw an opportunity.

For a moment, I almost lost my bearings and was swayed.

—It was dangerous. This couldn’t happen.

Hastily changing my attitude from ‘Sisl’ to ‘Your Highness’, I quickly greeted him and went out.

I tried to ignore the soft laughter coming from behind.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

“Annette, why did it take you so long to change?”

When I came out, I met Aunt Marilyn’s puzzled face.

“What were you doing inside?”

“Ah… Wait.”

I smiled awkwardly.

“I’m just cleaning up a bit. There aren’t any problems, are there?”

“Everyone is eating and drinking happily. All thanks to Annette.”

It really was. Now people were getting very drunk, and the laughter grew louder and louder.

It was a delightful sight to behold.

‘The shields are enjoying themselves surprisingly well.’

I thought they wouldn’t get along well with the villagers since they’ve never met each other before. However, everyone was hanging out as if they were all originaIly villagers.

At that time, Mr. Chubby Shield called me.

“Miss Annette!”

I smiled and walked towards him.

This table was completely filled with alcohol; there was a huge amount of empty rum bottles piled up.

“The party is so much fun! There’s so much meat and alcohol.”

“I especially like that there’s all kinds of alcohol.”

“Drinking is the best part of parties!”

Curving my eyes, I said,

“The villagers each gave a little. Just like that, all kinds of alcohol were gathered.”

…Did I collect too much?

Somehow, they all seemed to be on the verge of a high state of mind.

In particular, Mr. Shield, the one who had one-eye, was showing off his glass eyeballs. Seeing everyone applauding, it was clear that they were all wasted..

Ugh, just looking at them made me feel drunk.

I, too, felt intoxicated like a person who emptied two bottles of rum. Caught up in the excitement, I faced them and clapped.

However, when I looked around, I didn’t see a particular person. I asked one of the Shields that seemed to be somewhat sane.

“Hey, what about Marquis Winston?”

“He’s gone. He went off too quickly.”

Where the hell did he go…? When my eyes widened in confusion, the Mr. Shield next to me added a supplementary explanation.

“Our leader really can’t drink, but the villagers recommended it…”

This Mr. Shield, who looked a little ferocious but seemed to have a kind heart, whispered in a hush.

“Our leader really can’t drink, but he’s always confident saying, ‘I think I can drink this much?’”

—So how much was it?

“Now he is drunk and gone.”

“How much did he drink?”

“Two sips.”

“……!”

‘…I’m sorry, but I think even squirrels can drink that much and be okay, right?’

‘Not two cups or bottles, but two sips?’

I calmly asked the whereabouts of the drunk stag.

“Where does he usually go when he’s drunk?”

“Well, he will go to a quiet place and be alone.”

“If he’s drunk, will he suddenly spread roses and hit someone…”

“Not at all.”

The Shield shrugged and laughed.

“Although he is weak to alcohol, he is not a bad drunk. When one drinks, one’s true nature comes out, right?”

‘Does that mean that nature is not bad?’

Seeing a colleague say something like that, he must have been a good stag (although a crazy carnivorous stag sometimes popped out).

“Thank you for letting me know.”

I said goodbye and walked around the garden looking for Mr. Kyle, who must be drunk somewhere.

‘I have to take care of those in my place.’

I felt like I went back to my childhood.

The squirrel masked boy sometimes hid in a quiet place, and I often looked for him.

‘Ah, the garden is noisy, so of course he won’t be here. I’ll have to look for him inside.’

As I entered the empty kitchen on the first floor, I saw the back of a man with wheat-coloured hair sitting by the very corner of a small table.

He was sitting quietly and doing something.

‘What are you doing?’

Tak tak tak, walking with a cat’s steps, sneaking over.

He’s…

“…….”

With his white cheeks puffed up, he was picking up egg tarts one by one with his long fingers and building a tower.

“Pfft.”

Unknowingly, I burst into laughter.

‘That’s cute.’

At the sound of my laughter, Kyle looked at me.

“…Owner.”

He smiled softly like a puppy waiting for its master, and his Indian dimple appeared charmingly.

‘Oh, my God, a handsome man is cute even when he’s drunk?’

I sat across from him.

“Kyle, why are you stacking egg tarts?”

“It’s delicious.”

Again, I burst out laughing.

It was refreshing to see Kyle, who was always noble, polite, and docile, acting like this.

Kyle rested his chin on a large hand, and dozed off a little.

At that time, his long eyelashes stood out.

‘Why are they so long?’

—Like a real stag.

Now that I looked at it, the corners of his lips were raised very nicely, weren’t they?

Even if he didn’t smile, the corners of his lips were up.

‘How surprising.’

Normally, I would not have been able to observe this in detail, but the drunk stag was really defenseless.

“Owner…”

“Yes?”

“I really, a lot… I like you.”

It was a confession, made while almost falling asleep.

Without realizing it, a smile spread across my face. It was pure and cute.

Hair resembling the soft autumn sunlight flowed down over his deep-set eyes, and the fine tip of his nose was pointing downwards.

With a flushed face, he licked his pouty lips.

“I’m not good enough, but…”

“…….”

“My love for you… It’s this high.”

When he said ‘this high’, he gestured to the egg tart tower.

“Pfft.”

I shifted my hands a little, covered my mouth and smiled. I was afraid I would wake him up if I laughed out loud.

‘Thank you so much.’

‘For loving me as much as the height of the egg tart tower.’

I replied with a smile.

“What’s wrong with Kyle? Nothing is lacking.”

“No. Not enough…”

The flush reached his ears and the pale nape of his neck; he mumbled and whispered,

“So pretty… If I look… I’m nervous.”

The voice soon faded.

So, it was almost impossible to hear him saying, “I become an idiot.”

I smiled softly and looked at him.

The strength in his hand, on which his chin was resting, left. And he quickly fell on his face with his folded arms on the table as a pillow.

I was afraid that he would be uncomfortable, so I removed the egg tart plate slightly, and he mumbled, “Ummm…” Then he groaned slightly and grabbed my hand.

His big hand held only my thumb.

Carefully.

I stared at his sleeping face. The hubbub outside was far away, and it was sort of pleasant to listen to his steady breathing.

The smell of alcohol was also cute.

“I should film this on a video stone…”

‘Then it’ll be a lifelong dark history (though cute) for the rest of your life, and you’ll threaten for it to be undone, Kyle.’

‘You can’t drink. The bad girls will catch you, innocent stag.’

I carefully pulled my thumb out of his hand.

He seemed completely asleep; though he shifted his head, there was no sign of him rousing.

Soon, the words ‘Bad fox… unfair…’ leaked out (I don’t know what that means), but it’s been quiet since then.

(TL/N: guess the chihuahua gained another animal nickname lol)

I cautiously got up.

Then I took a warm blanket and put it over his shoulders.

‘One fell asleep.’

Since he was in pure stag mode, he wouldn’t fight.

‘The dangerous crown prince is in the room, and where did our Heinri go?’

Looking out the window, the party atmosphere was almost at its end.

I poked my head out of the window and looked for Heinrich, but then saw a light twinkling in the corner of the kitchen.

“Uh…?”

It was like the light of a little fairy.

As I approached it, a rather strange sight was unfolding.

It was definitely a pot of white flowers that I was growing, but a small letter was stuck in a flower and it was swaying from side to side.

Here it is, look at this!

—Like that.

“What’s this…?”

I laughed involuntarily. It kind of feels like Heinrich.

Because the only person who could do such a strange thing was my cute Heinrich.

I cautiously reached out and took the letter (when I pulled it out, the flower miraculously disappeared).

It was a pretty purple card.

I glanced around and carefully opened the card.

「Sister, come to my side.

There is something I want to do together.

IMPORTANT: Come alone secretly.」

“The important part is pretty cute?”

But it didn’t say where to go, right?

The moment I tilted my head, the purple card instantly turned into a small butterfly and flew, flutter flutter.

“Wow!”

The butterfly, scattering light, went around in front of me as if telling me to follow it.

As Heinrich had asked, I began to follow the butterfly, without both Sislin and the sleeping Kyle.

The butterfly adjusted to my pace, going neither fast nor slow.

I left the bakery and diligently crossed the hill.

And…

“……!”

Finally, seeing Heinrich, my eyes widened.

—Was this possible?