Nigel carefully approached that spot.
It was fragments of the water cup that Nigel always kept by his bedside before sleeping. Why was it broken? Had he dropped it in his sleep?
Frowning at something he had no memory of, Nigel brought his nose to the wet floor near the fragments.
“……”
There was no smell at all.
It just seems like water.
No, he wasn’t even sure if frogs originally had a sense of smell. It might be something other than water… Nigel folded his four legs and pressed his body close to the floor, pondering for quite some time.
He didn’t know what the current situation was, but one thing was certain—this wasn’t a situation where he could trust a frog’s sense of smell.
Nigel slightly opened his mouth and took out what was inside.
…Fortunately, I do have a tongue.
Then he ended up doing something that the Crown Prince would never have done normally. He stuck his head toward the floor and stuck out his tongue.
He couldn’t taste anything.
So it was water after all? Nigel came to that conclusion as he disgustingly pulled his tongue back into his mouth.
Seeing clear water filling his entire field of vision, Nigel was swept up by an impulse to immerse his entire body in it. Just a little… should I try being in there—he was thinking as he was about to dip his two front feet into the splashing water.
Knock knock— A loud knocking sound rang throughout the room as if stopping his heart. Nigel jumped in surprise and hid his body behind the nearest bed leg.
—”Nigel, are you still sleeping?”
It was Rowen.
His cheerful voice as usual came from beyond the door.
—”……Nigel? Are you inside? The door’s open… I’m coming in?”
Creak— Worried about the room’s owner who wasn’t answering, he carefully opened the door and entered. Nigel held his breath and watched him from the darkness behind the bed leg.
Rowen looked around the empty room with a puzzled expression.
“What, did he leave already…?”
He approached the bed, then stopped when he discovered the cup fragments scattered on the floor. The smile disappeared from his face.
“……Why is this here.”
With a worried face, Rowen crouched down on the floor and examined the broken cup pieces.
A water cup.
What had happened last night? Had Nigel accidentally dropped it? But that guy wasn’t such a careless person. Could someone have broken in? Anxiety settled heavily on Rowen’s face.
He stood up and carefully looked around the room once more. The window was tightly closed, and there were no other broken objects or signs of a fight. Just the bed sheets slightly disheveled and cup fragments scattered on the floor.
As if Nigel had rushed out of the room in a hurry.
“Nigel…?”
Rowen called the name once more in a low voice. He even felt a futile hope that maybe he was hiding in the closet or bathroom playing a prank.
But there was no answer in return.
Only dust particles glittering in the morning sunlight and his anxious breathing swirled in the room.
“……”
Nigel watched all of this while holding his breath from the darkness behind the bed leg. Seeing Rowen so genuinely worried about him, something stirred in a corner of his heart.
He wanted to jump out right now and shout ‘I’m here!’ but if he did, at best he’d be treated like a crazy frog or trampled to death underfoot. Somehow he had to let him know he was here, that this frog was none other than Nigel Kaiserion.
But how?
Rowen paced around the room a bit more, then soon sighed and began carefully sweeping the broken glass pieces to one side. Seeing him about to clean them up with his bare hands, Nigel was inwardly horrified.
Why clean that up with bare hands?
Fortunately, Rowen soon realized his mistake and brought a small broom and dustpan from nearby to carefully collect the fragments.
After cleaning up all the glass pieces, Rowen began writing something on a note on the bedside table.
‘He’s probably leaving a note so I won’t worry when I return……’
After leaving the memo, Rowen looked around the room one more time, then turned to leave with a regretful expression. He was going to class alone.
Only then did his mind snap to attention. If it was Rowen who was worrying about him like this, he might be able to help somehow.
Right, Rowen Ashfield probably couldn’t help him return to his original body, but at least he could save him from the clutches of the cleaning maids.
…No!
I can’t let him leave like this! After how hard I worked to get here to meet him!
In his urgency, Nigel reflexively threw his body. First, he had to jump in front of his feet and somehow catch his attention.
Hop—!
Nigel jumped out from behind the bed leg and landed right in front of Rowen’s shoe. It was a massive shoe that felt like the size of five frog bodies combined.
“Hm? A frog?”
Rowen stopped his steps toward leaving the room and looked at the frog with puzzlement.
And looking up at him, Nigel did the only thing he could do to make his presence known.
“Ribbit.”
Acting the most frog-like. And to look as harmless as possible, he slowly closed and opened his large eyes.
“……”
But the question mark floating above Rowen’s face showed no sign of disappearing. He was just looking down with curiosity at the green creature that had suddenly appeared at his feet.
Even knowing that Rowen couldn’t possibly recognize the frog’s identity at once, his indifferent reaction made anger well up inside.
Nigel cried out once more, this time a bit more desperately.
“Ribbit! Ribbit!”
At the same time, he headbutted the tip of his shoe with his small head.
‘Please, look at me! I’m the Nigel you’re so worried about!’
“You’re an unusual one.”
Rowen still crouched down with a face that couldn’t grasp the situation, matching eye level with the frog. He muttered with curiosity at the frog that wasn’t afraid of people and was instead approaching him.
“How did you get in here? Are you lost?”
I didn’t lose my way, I lost my body, you idiot!
Nigel shouted inwardly and tried to jump toward his finger, but Rowen quickly withdrew his hand in case the frog got startled and ran away.
His face was still only filled with curiosity, completely unable to read the desperate signal Nigel was sending.
* * *
Damn it! This is frustrating enough to kill me!
Nigel was just about to try biting his pant leg as a last resort.
Right at that moment.
“Found it! There it was!”
The sharp voice of one of the maids who had been chasing Nigel earlier rang out from the end of the corridor. They were back already? Nigel jumped in surprise and reflexively tried to hide behind Rowen’s leg. But it was already too late.
“Oh my, isn’t that Young Master Rowen? By any chance, does that frog belong to Crown Prince Nigel?”
Two maids approached with broomsticks in hand. Their eyes were shining fiercely toward the frog hiding behind Rowen’s leg.
“Huh? Ah… probably not.”
Rowen answered with a still bewildered expression. It was because he knew well Nigel’s personality of valuing cleanliness and having no interest in animals and such.
The maid who appeared to be the elder sighed and said:
“That creature has been causing a commotion since earlier. Please hand it over to us. It’s dirty.”
One maid reached out her hand toward Nigel.
No.
‘Don’t hand me over, Rowen!’
Nigel desperately climbed up Rowen’s ankle and onto his pant leg in horror. His moist toe pads slipped over his firm muscles.
“Ah, that startled me.”
Rowen flinched and shook, but fortunately didn’t kick the frog away. Rather, he unconsciously cupped the frog clinging to his leg with both palms and lifted it up.
Ribbit, Nigel crawled up to Rowen’s large finger and pressed his entire body as close as possible.
It felt different from an ordinary frog. He’d thought it would dislike human touch and try to escape. But the frog that entered Rowen’s hand was clinging on as if telling him not to put it down on the ground.
“……”
Feeling Nigel’s small body trembling, he slightly curved his fingers to create a cozy space.
“Ah, I forgot.”
Then he said. What? The maids looked at him with puzzled eyes.
“This frog… does belong to Nigel. I forgot I agreed to look after it for a while.”
“What?!”
The maids exclaimed simultaneously.
“It really belongs to Crown Prince Nigel?”
Their faces showed clear disbelief and absurdity. Well, it made sense since he’d just reversed what he’d said moments ago. The elder maid frowned and asked:
“But Young Master Rowen, as far as I know, Crown Prince Nigel doesn’t particularly… like such creatures.”
“Ah, well….”
Rowen’s eyes shook rapidly with a flustered look.
