I heard that since their visit to the tower, the two of them had no particular contact.
They said there wasn’t even a meeting close enough to become friends, so what’s with the faces dyed in that kind of affection now?
Moreover, what the guy held in his hand was a rather nicely made sheep doll.
At a glance, it looked like it had been made with great care.
I’ll just let it drip away.
Just recalling that scene made my heart tighten painfully.
Calling it pain wouldn’t be appropriate.
It was a strange feeling, as if someone was grabbing my heart with their hand and not letting go.
Suddenly, I heard their voices.
“Of course. If it’s really that burdensome… just think of it as a gift from a friend!”
“…Friend?”
‘Friend? Who dares decide that?’
At that sound, a flame seemed to flare up inside me.
What twisted my insides even more was the expression on the two of them looking at each other.
That annoying Kerif didn’t know what to do and was carefully fiddling with the doll in his hand, while the foolish sheep beastman smiled with a comfortable expression she never once showed me.
Unable to watch those two any longer, I stepped forward.
“What’s that?”
The sheep beastman’s eyes grew wide with surprise at my sudden appearance.
She looked between me and Kerif anxiously, then stretched out her arms desperately trying to hide him.
Of course, even doing that didn’t hide the person behind her.
Kerif’s face was visible above the beastman’s head.
He too couldn’t hide his embarrassment.
“Y-Your Majesty…? What brings you here?”
“What are you doing right now?”
“Ah, I didn’t mean to… Your Majesty doesn’t like Sir Kerif, so…”
So it meant she was trying to protect him in front of me.
His short limbs pathetically flailing in the air.
‘She cares about him so much that she’d do such a ridiculous thing?’
The sheep beastman hesitated and glanced at me nervously.
Then she bit her lip and continued, as if making excuses.
“S-Sir Kerif, I just came because I was worried about him. So please don’t speak ill this time like last time.”
Her golden eyes were shaking as if she had gathered courage to speak.
Her voice trembled like it was scattered by the wind.
‘What is that guy.’
I felt even more disgusted than before.
I was the unwelcome intruder who got between those two.
That fact alone stirred up a mix of anger and unpleasantness inside me.
Then Kerif, who caught my eye, lowered his gaze immediately.
It would’ve been fun to crush him if he had tried to climb up without knowing his place.
That guy had always acted like that.
Knowing his place better than anyone, he voluntarily laid his head flat on the ground so as not to upset me.
Then Sir Kerif, who was watching me cautiously, bowed his head toward me.
“…Then I shall be going. I will visit again, Young Lady.”
“Again? That chance won’t come. I plan to order the soldiers so that guy never sets foot here again. If he doesn’t understand, I will make sure to teach him a lesson properly, regardless of the envoy or whatever.”
However, the sheep beastman just stared blankly at his retreating figure.
Her actions, almost desperate, made my heart go cold beyond anger.
Yesterday, those golden eyes were all dyed with my color.
Even the gaze, the voice, and the distorted expression were all mine.
Why now is there no trace of that anymore?
“What brings you here?”
That sheep beastman’s words, rather awkwardly, sounded like she was asking why I was here disturbing their private time.
“Did I come to a place I shouldn’t?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then, how did you two become so close?”
“Does becoming close always require time? If hearts align, anyone can become close anytime.”
How can one make people angry with every single word?
She smiled with one corner of her mouth raised, spitting out thorny words.
“Don’t trust anyone. I don’t know for what purpose that guy approaches you.”
Her eyes wavered as she looked at me.
Then came a chilly voice, as if she didn’t want any further interference.
“I know that part separately from the fact that I like Sir Kerif. So there’s no need to worry.”
“Remember that well.”
***
After returning to my office, I still couldn’t get work done.
“Are you listening, Argon?”
“Yes.”
“What did I just say?”
“That we should hold a memorial ceremony for the recently deceased.”
“That’s the topic we discussed an hour ago.”
“This or that.”
“They’re completely different.”
Samuel let out a deep sigh and looked at me with a face full of disbelief.
“So what do you mean?”
“What do you mean?”
“Earlier, you walked out like you were possessed or something, and now you’re back with that look like a piece of luggage abandoned by its owner. I just don’t understand.”
The events from a little while ago kept swirling in my mind.
Even when I closed my eyes, I couldn’t bear to see the tiger guy or the sheep who looked like dandelion fluff.
The way those two looked at each other was heartbreakingly intense.
“Look! This expression is exactly like… a husband who thought his wife loved only him, but then finds out she’s secretly meeting her lover, and he’s shaking with betrayal on their wedding anniversary.”
Eventually, pressed further, I had no choice but to speak.
“Samuel, imagine you made a doll and planned to gift it to someone.”
“Sounds like an incredible masterpiece is about to be made already.”
I glared at Samuel for his annoying nonsense, and only then did he give a somewhat normal response.
“Yeah, so?”
“I gave an ugly wild boar doll to someone as noble as me, but to a useless guy, I gave a sheep doll full of care and affection. What could that possibly mean?”
He rolled his eyes once and shrugged his shoulders.
“Argon doesn’t matter at all?”
“Interesting. Keep going.”
Samuel wiped the cold sweat from his forehead as our eyes met.
“Wait, before that, you should tell me who received the sheep doll filled with affection.”
Thinking of that bastard’s face again made me feel utterly miserable, like I was sinking in mud. Even saying the name felt filthy.
“Kerif.”
“So you saw that and just came back?”
“Yeah. Like an idiot.”
“Then let’s think about this. How has Argon treated Miss Mayhen so far?”
At that question, memories of everything from our first meeting to now flashed through my mind. I frowned and said nothing, and Samuel nodded as if he’d expected it.
“I heard Sir Kerif recently even took Miss Meyhen up to the clock tower.”
“Why?”
“How romantic is that? It’s the perfect season for two young and beautiful people to fall in love. Besides, Miss Mayhen had to leave her hometown and come to Hamilton because Argon issued a warrant for her as a first-class assassin, right?”
For a moment, accusing eyes turned toward me, but then the tone shifted as if nothing had happened.
“If someone approached her kindly in that situation, wouldn’t anyone’s heart be shaken? At this rate, it wouldn’t be surprising if those two eventually run away from Hamiron together for a love elopement.”
The sheep woman I’d seen didn’t seem like someone who would leave so easily based on feelings alone.
She looked responsible. Still, hearing that made me feel uneasy for some reason.
“What are you trying to say?”
“The full moon festival is coming soon, isn’t it?”
“So?”
“Then we take Miss Mayhen to the capital during that time. Last time, she seemed so happy just looking outside the carriage.”
That was true.
On the way back from the Duchess’s tea party, I caught her staring outside the carriage so intently that I ended up taking an unexpectedly long outing.
“Miss Perri’s probably making you feel uneasy anyway, so why not let her refresh her mood, enjoy the festival, and since that area is underground, we can do some investigating too? Two birds with one stone.”
It was a pretty good idea.
The full moon, which appears only once a year, holds deep meaning for wolf beastkin and provides both sights and entertainment.
But I didn’t like how something as trivial as a doll could control me so much.
Besides, it wasn’t even my concern who the dandelion-like sheep woman had feelings for.
After all, since she ended up in my hands, she would never be free from me.
And I had no intention of ever giving her that freedom.
No matter how much she cried or begged before me, that fact wouldn’t change.
“Forget it. There’s no need to worry so much.”
“Well, if not, then forget it.”
With a bored voice, Samuel shrugged his shoulders.
Grabbing the papers he’d set down, he started the paused meeting again.
But unlike him, my mind kept wandering, and I couldn’t concentrate.
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