How many times did Ray stop to sniff the air before moving again? He circled around the mansion and went all the way to the back, staring intently at a patch of grass in the corner.
Ray moved forward with a confident expression. Naro followed him, passing through the lush green grass and going inside.
“Oh!”
Beyond the grass patch, they could see a cat sitting docilely. Its fur was a mix of black and white, with golden eyes. It matched exactly the description the servant had given. Looking closely, Naro could see a scratch on its right hind leg. It seemed to have been cut somewhere while wandering around. Perhaps it had been here because it was in pain from the wound and couldn’t move easily.
Naro reached out to the cat with joy. As he tried to carefully pick it up, mindful of its injury, the cat bristled its fur and hissed.
“Naro, you’ll get hurt, so let me do it.”
This time Ray reached out his hand. Then, mysteriously, the cat immediately stopped hissing and became docile. The cat remained quiet even as Ray lifted it into his arms.
Naro came out to the front of the mansion with Ray, who was holding the cat named ‘Pin.’ The moment Naro shouted that they’d found it, everyone’s eyes focused on the two of them.
The servants all breathed sighs of relief in unison, confirming it was indeed the cat they’d been looking for.
“Pin!”
Mellian came running from far away, pushing through the servants. Ray handed the cat to Mellian as she approached. She hugged the cat tightly, savoring the relief with her whole body. Then, as if just now realizing that the people who found the cat weren’t the mansion’s servants, she looked at the two of them with fresh eyes.
“Why are you two… Did you think I’d meet with you if you found Pin for me?”
The woman who had been anxiously searching for the cat just moments ago had returned to her original cold demeanor, like a chilly wind was blowing.
“That’s not it. We just wanted to help, so we looked for her.”
Though of course, Ray had said something similar.
When Naro waved his hands and said no, Mellian’s expression gradually became confused. She looked as if she was pondering what the right reaction should be.
“Why would you help me? I turned you away twice.”
“Well…”
Naro trailed off for a moment and scratched his head.
“That cat is an important friend to you, isn’t it, Princess?”
Mellian flinched.
“I know too, you see. How it feels to lose an important friend.”
Naro said, looking at Ray. When he first brought Ray home, Ray had attempted to escape while he was sick and couldn’t even gather his strength. Not only that, but after learning how to take human form, he had left the house without a word.
The emotions Naro had felt then were probably exactly what Mellian had felt. That’s why she had pushed herself so hard to search for the cat.
For her, who was weak and rarely went outside, that cat must have been her only friend. Just as Ray had been for Naro, who had lived alone and bravely in Rodelus Village after ending his previous life filled with pain and suffering. That’s why Naro wanted to help her. Because he knew how difficult and sad it was to lose a friend.
“I’m glad we found her.”
Naro smiled brightly. Mellian, who had been constantly on edge, couldn’t say anything. There wasn’t a trace of falsehood in the face that smiled and said it was fortunate.
“Princess.”
Just then, Hayla approached from behind.
“If you’ve received help, it’s proper etiquette to do what’s right in return.”
Mellian’s lips moved slightly. Somehow her cheeks seemed to flush slightly red. But before he could see properly, Mellian turned around.
Were they not going to have a proper conversation today either? Just as Naro’s shoulders were about to droop, Mellian stopped in her tracks.
“What are you doing standing there?”
“Pardon?”
“Didn’t you hear the head butler? I’ll repay the favor I received, so follow me.”
Leaving those words, Mellian turned her head primly and started walking again. Naro, who belatedly understood what she meant, looked at Ray and smiled broadly.
“Ray, it’s thanks to you.”
“If you hadn’t suggested looking, I wouldn’t have particularly stepped forward. So it’s basically the same as you finding her.”
Hayla said she would escort them and guided the two.
And so, Naro and Ray were finally able to enter the princess’s room. It was a triumph achieved on their third visit.
“You two are really something. To keep coming back after being turned away like that.”
“You should have just opened the door.”
“Ray… Princess, this friend’s Imperial language is…”
Naro tried to step in and make excuses, but Mellian nodded as if to say it was fine.
“I know. Father told me. That your Imperial language is still poor. But it still sounds rude to hear. You, you glared at me that time too, didn’t you?”
“You threw something at Naro first.”
Naro looked back and forth between the two who had somehow ended up in confrontation. Mellian and Ray were having a war of nerves, looking at each other with eyes that showed they didn’t approve of one another. Would this really be okay later on? Still, Mellian was the duke’s daughter.
“Hmm.”
Fortunately, the confrontation ended with Mellian backing down first. She turned her gaze and now began staring intently at Naro instead. Naro awkwardly raised the corners of his mouth, feeling self-conscious under that gaze.
“…I’m sorry about that time. I didn’t mean to throw something, but an impulsive action came out without me realizing it.”
Mellian cleared her throat several times and spoke in a voice as small as a mosquito’s. Her voice was so small that one had to concentrate and listen carefully to barely hear it, but it was clear enough that she was apologizing for that incident. Moreover, as if apologizing was quite embarrassing, her cheeks were flushed like before.
“It’s all right. I wasn’t hit anyway.”
“Such a thing shouldn’t happen again.”
Mellian glared at Ray again, but didn’t particularly refute those words. Her eyes seemed to say that she would make sure it didn’t happen again even without him pointing it out, and Naro swallowed his laughter to himself.
“So are you really going to try to change my constitution, as Father said?”
“Yes.”
Mellian sighed deeply and sat down in a chair. Her expression, which had brightened a little until just now, darkened again.
“I know what kind of heart Father had when he called you to this mansion. There have been quite a few people who came to see me besides you. Well, you’re the first young person like this though.”
Naro timidly added that even if he was young, his skills weren’t.
“I don’t think my constitution can change. It’s been like this ever since I recovered from my illness. Even though I escaped the disease, I don’t know why my body is so weak. Just because I was born this way, I’ve had to live a different life from others.”
Though born into a powerful ducal family, Mellian, who didn’t meet the standard of ‘normal,’ had to face many restrictions from childhood. She couldn’t go out to play like others, and when invited to banquets or events, she could never endure for long and always had to leave early.
It was the same at the academy that all noble children attended. Because of her weak body, she couldn’t take physical classes based on bodily activities, and whenever that happened, she always had to sit alone in the shade and rest. While watching her peers playing excitedly.
Eventually, she ended up quitting the academy without properly graduating. Though she had enrolled, in the end she couldn’t complete her studies entirely.
People always sent her pitying looks. Adding irresponsible words like she’d get better as she grew, or that constitutions naturally change. But Mellian noticed the contempt contained within that comfort.
She was the Duke of Hernia’s daughter, so they couldn’t openly show pity, so while pretending to worry on the surface, she couldn’t help but know they gossiped behind her back.
‘What’s the use of being born with everything? When she’s so weak she can’t even live a normal life.’
She’d heard such words so much that her ears had calluses.
The self-loathing of wondering why she was born this way and people’s pitying gazes kept Mellian from leaving this room.
The more she tried to get along with people, the more she got hurt, so she realized it was better to just stay quietly alone. That’s why she now rarely left this room unless it was for something important.
“I have no expectations or hope. The reason I try to drive away the people Father brings in is because I want Father to give up on me.”
Every time Bern brought in a new person, he hoped—wouldn’t it be different this time, wouldn’t there be some improvement this time? And his daughter found her father’s expectations burdensome.
“You’re the first ones I’ve opened up my heart to like this. Now you know, right? Why I refused to meet like that.”
Naro slowly nodded his head.
“Then will you go back now? Tell Father with your own mouth too. That you don’t think you can take on Princess Mellian.”
“What? Why? I’m not going to quit.”
