CH 20

How much time has passed since then?

She felt drowsy as she was fiddling with Leone’s hair in the warm sunlight and the drowsy atmosphere. It’s not like she was not getting enough sleep… But the warm sunlight was like a sleeping pill.

“It’s okay.”

She was suddenly awakened by the clear voice. Before she knew it, she was sleeping with her legs stretched out.

‘I’m crazy… I came to comfort him and then I threw him away.’

“Ah. I fell asleep, I’m sorry, Leone.”

She felt an unfamiliar hand as she raised her body in embarrassment and bewilderment. When she raised her head, she saw Leone lying face to face right in front of her. He was stroking her hair, looking at her as if observing her.

Their eyes met.

“Ah… haha.”

Truly embarrassed, she laughed.

“Great. Trixie.”

“Pardon?”

Beatrice’s hair was a lovely reddish curl, but it did not feel pleasant to the touch. Her hair was stubborn, with curly hair sticking out here and there even when it was tied tightly. It was all the more ferocious to the touch compared to Leone’s soft, wavy hair. Obviously it can’t be good. And she had never heard someone telling her “I like it” when talking about her hair…

“Trixie. Great.”

Leone continued to stroke her hair. Feeling strange, she grabbed his arm and put him away from her.

“Yes. I like it too. Haha. Leone, how are you? Did you sleep well?”

“Yes.”

“You seem to be in a good mood today. You slept well.”

“It’s okay.”

Deep eyes wrapped around her strangely. She hurriedly turned her head.

‘Why is he so handsome, really.’

To be honest, he was handsome. How handsome was the male protagonist, who was said to be the most beautiful in that world, was that why Leone was so beautiful? That beauty was beyond words. Were all royals like that? Or was it just Leon?

Thinking about it made her sad. Was it true that the artist shaped that world? It seems not. Why did people who don’t even appear in the books have all sorts of accidents? Why? Leone, who was not properly described, was that handsome!

After blaming the writer for nothing, she calmed down a bit. Be it dogs, humans, or other animals. Wasn’t it instinct to be attracted to pretty things?

“Come on. Leone. I have a favor.”

She reached out to him. Leone looked at her hand, so he took his hand and put it on top of hers.

“We have to look good for Adler from now on.”

“…?”

“Then bear with him for once.”

“…”

“Can you help this miss, Leone? I really need Leone’s help. Because Adler is someone who has something important to this miss.”

Even if she said, ‘You have to help me learning the language,’ it wouldn’t work, so she calmed herself down like that. To make him understand, she repeated sentence by sentence, gesturing with her hands and feet. After a long time passed, Leone nodded his head with a disgruntled face. He didn’t seem to fully understand, but he seemed to realize that he had to try to help her in a rough way.

“Thank you, Leone!”

She was happy and hugged Leone. His body was so large that her arms were not long enough to fully hold him. Still, Leone rushed towards her without resistance.

“Even if it’s a little annoying for the time being, hang out with me.”

“Yes.”

“You only need to practice one thing.”

“…”

“Say. Adler Wickingham. Let’s just memorize that name.”

Leone muttered with a dissatisfied face.

“Damn knight.”

Really… There was a long way to go.

* * *

“Can I really go near Sir Leone? So suddenly? Didn’t you tell me not to go near him?”

“Only this time.”

“Why only once? If you can go by his side, aren’t I all right now?”

Adler followed her with a face full of excitement and half doubt.

“Because I asked Leone to put up with it just this once.”

“You made a request? To Sir Leone? How? Could it be that he wasn’t restrained?”

She deliberately did not give Adler an in-depth explanation. She just said let’s go next to Leone for a while. Adler chased after the good news, but could not erase his puzzled expression. He was so curious that he gave a short answer, but his question only deepened. Adler didn’t even know the possibility that Leone could communicate with him.

“Just follow me.”

“But Trixie.”

“Once. It won’t take long, so be patient.”

“Phew… All right.”

Rather than wasting time answering questions, she thought it would be better to show him, so she ended up blocking Adler’s barrage of questions. 

Leone was outside licking the bone as usual. Gourden stood at a distance to act as a protector.

“Oh. Adler, sir!”

Gourden spotted us and shook his hand. Leone was already looking at her. He frowned slightly at the sight of Adler, but did not growl or bark. It was just him staring through it.

“He really doesn’t rush… ”

As if moved, Adler’s voice trembled slightly. She walked without hesitation, but Adler did not follow. When she looked back, he was standing on the porch with a hesitant look on his face.

“Now, wait a minute. Aren’t you walking too fast?”

“Yeah?”

“You were the one who told me not to get noticed by Sir Leone! Didn’t you have a seizure two days ago? If you approach him suddenly like that, prepare your mind… What if Sir Leone is surprised too!”

The Empire’s strongest knight, Adler Wickingham. He was the one who fought and won the battle alone against the private army, secretly sent by the duke to protect the emperor. The Adler who raised his sword and cried out the name of his master in the novel and the Adler of today were completely different.

“Today is fine.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

As she nodded, Adler took a deep breath.

‘I understand. It really varies…’

He closed his eyes tightly and muttered something, then straightened his back and came closer to her. It was a stiff movement like a wooden doll.

Gourden, seeing them approaching Leone, shouted from afar. It was so far away that his voice sounded distant and faint, as if it were about to echo.

“Teacher… ! What are you doing… ! Can I go… ?”

“Yes. Please come!”

At those words, Guruden ran excitedly.

‘The more I look, the more…’

He was a cute person who was kind without asking. The glow of his bald head also struck her. Like the warm-hearted uncle next door.

“Leone.”

“Eww… le.”

As Gourden and Adler rushed in, Leone showed a displeased expression. She sat down in front of him and stroked his cheek.

“Shh. You’re not being nice. You know, we practiced for two days. Do you remember the promise you made to this miss? Be good. Those two. Yes?”, she said slowly.

Even after convincing him, he continued to be dissatisfied, so she had to repeat the same explanation over and over again. It was not a big deal, it’s that it could make him more comfortable. 

‘Can our leone help? Can you promise me?’

After repeating it for two days, Leone learned some of his vocabulary. He became more understanding, and he would sometimes say things like ‘miss’ or ‘promise’. But it was hard to notice unless you listened closely. The more she looked at it, the more Leone seemed to have an extraordinary brain.

‘He is also my baby. I like the hair too.’

“… yes.”

Leone answered without looking away from Adler and Gourden.

“Did Leone-sama just answer ‘yes’? Does he understand what you’re saying? Really?”

It was a very small sound, but Adler, who had not missed the moment, exclaimed excitedly. If he was already screaming like that, what would he do next? She had to worry about Adler’s blood pressure for a while.

“Sir Adler. Please calm down and watch over me calmly for a little while.”

“Yes, yes!”

Even as he answered “yes,” the raised voice did not diminish.

She stroked Leone’s hair.

“Leone. Can you do well?”

“… yes.”

“You understand, right? That’s right!”

That guy’s arms were out. Sometimes she was told that her voice was loud, but he was more.

“Leone. What is my name?”

“Trixie.”

“Oh my god…!”

“Huh. teacher. What the hell is this!”

“Leone. What is his name?”

She pointed to Adler. Since Adler’s condition was to say his name, he must fulfill it.

Leone snorted him.

“Damn knight.”

“… It wasn’t like that when we practiced for two days.”

“Damn knight.”

As if he didn’t want to say the word “Adler” even if he died, Leone spat out the word.

“Adler, Wickingham. Say it again.”

“Damn knight.”

What if Adler gets hurt? She looked carefully at Adler.

“Oh my gosh! Do you know who I am?”

Well. She didn’t have to worry. Adler’s face was so thrilled that he almost burst into tears. His eyes were already red. He said he liked it even though he was cursed at.

‘Leone. you are really loved.’

“Hmm. Leone. Then what’s your name?”

“Leone.”

His voice was really clear. She had been teaching him her name for a long time, and since he already knew her name, it was not difficult to teach them more.

Adler and Wickingham, it was just difficult to make him pronounce these two words.

‘Oh, let’s talk plainly in bed. This guy…’

“Oh my gosh…!”

“Oh God!”

The admirable voices of the two men continued without a fuss. What a damn knight. It would have been fortunate if she hadn’t been criticized for teaching strange things, but it didn’t seem to have caused any damage to Adler’s eight-armed output. It was fortunate.

And suddenly, there was a thumping sound. She looked back in amazement and found Adler on his knees in the grass, banging his head.

Gourden stood beside him, clapping and cheering.

No, these people…

“Thank you thank you!”