Chapter 14

Is he asking me to put it on for him?

I'm not his hands or feet.

I frown because this is too much, even for a well-bred child like him. I know they could be pretty lazy, but this is too much. Bearing resentment, I approached his lazy ass and wrapped my coat around him. Since I'm taller than him, the coat wraps around his short, skinny frame perfectly. It was even loose with extra fabric, so I made an effort to tie the string in front of the coat tighter so the coat would hug him snugly.

He's like Lehan.

He smiled slyly when he saw me move away after fixing the coat around his small body.

"If it's cold, stop making a fuss and go inside."

"Your Highness, I can't let you go alone."

Rupert's lack of gratitude for the coat I gave him made me sad, but I shook my head.

Anyways, it's great that there has been some progress in how we speak to each other. Today, we talked a lot more than we ever did before. Even as I got more comfortable talking to him, he didn't care. Four months' worth of progress isn't bad.

In less than two years, he will be Crowned Prince.

As I fiddled with my feet to catch up to Rupert, who was walking faster, I suddenly forgot a little bit about how cold it was. I crouched down behind Rupert, who was wandering around at the entrance to the forest while I was trying to catch my breath.

"Tori."

After Rupert's call, a small head pops out of the woods. She jumped up like a sprouting tree and scampered toward us. She had a racoon the same size as herself in her arms.

"Were you here?"

I was shocked to see Rupert stroking the raccoon's stiff fur with a blank face.

"Can you make a raccoon your pet?"

"It's not normal, but it's not impossible either. The raccoon pet belonging to Her Highness is especially gentle and kind...."

"Tori! Did it bite you?!"

I was surprised to see blood on the back of Tori's hand, and she smiled awkwardly. I grabbed her arm and pressed it tightly with my sleeve. Even though it wasn't a big wound, it looked red and hot and could leave a scar. I frowned because it looked pretty bad.

"Gentle and kind?? If it's gentle and kind, then it wouldn't bite people like this!"

"It's kind towards Her Highness, so it's fine... Oh please, Y/N, your clothes...."

"It's fine... Go back inside, and we'll get the wound checked."

"No... Oh my..."

"Hurry! It might leave a scar!"

I pushed Tori's back, which was stumbling, toward the palace.

She turned around and looked back at Rupert and me as if asking for Rupert's permission. He nodded slightly, and Tori moved slowly as if she was still apologetic.

"You too, Your Highness. Be careful."

"It's tamed."

I don't blame her. I have far more dangerous pets.

"If it won't follow me and only me, then it's not mine."

Rupert replied sarcastically and stood up with the raccoon in his arms. At first glance, the raccoon seemed weak, but it quickly climbed up to his shoulder and wrapped its neck around his head.

"Then, since I'm yours, I will also follow only you, Your Highness."

At this point, I once again showed how loyal I was by being as submissive as a raccoon. I thought he'd just dismiss it as nonsense like always, but Rupert miraculously looked back and stared at me with his green marble eyes.

They weren't glaring as intensely as before, but his eyes had a look of indifference that didn't look favorable to me.

"No, you aren't mine."

"Why? I'm your maid."

"You're not one of my many possessions, and you're not included among them."

Rather than a cold rejection, it was straight to the point. I shrugged my shoulders because I never thought that I could win his trust in just four months.

Rupert, who was watching me, approached me with the raccoon on his back. The snow made his footsteps much clearer.

Slowly, he looked right into my eyes, and I couldn't escape.

Sometimes it scares me because it doesn't look like it belongs to a human being.

"So don't be annoying and try to fit in."

He whispered in a low voice as if someone was eavesdropping around the forest.

I held my breath.

His weak breath touches the back of my neck. When Rupert looked at my face, his lips made a beautiful curve, like a painting.

"Even if I'm a powerless princess, I can kill you without anyone knowing... be it a mouse... or a bird."

His threat was spoken in a very nice and polite manner. I didn't feel afraid. It's not that I'm not scared, but most of my worries about him come from what I've seen in the future.

"I'm sorry if I angered you, Your Highness; that wasn't my intention. I'm sorry if I hurt you in any way."

Rupert seemed pleased with my answer. He sat down under a tree and didn't answer me. The naughty raccoon sits on his lap and licks its tongue as if to tease me.

I stood next to him like it was nothing out of the ordinary, but my heart was pounding a little bit because I was nervous. Rupert and the raccoon both looked at me at the same time, which may have been in surprise.

Even though it looked funny, I didn't laugh.

"Why don't you go?"

He must have thought that his words would scare me and prompt me to leave, but instead, I looked at him as if what he said was strange.

"Where should I go? Your Highness is here."

"Are you an idiot or stupid?"

Rupert made a strange sound with his mouth, then tickled the raccoon's jaw. The raccoon purred like a cat, which would make me laugh in normal circumstances, but I shook my head and held back.

"Neither one."

"Are you kidding me?"

"...No."

No way. I wouldn't be wasting my precious time like this to be funny. I nervously answered Rupert's question and sat down while fiddling my eyes with my fingers. I recklessly entered the palace, but things didn't go as well as I thought they would.

It made sense.

Even if the Imperial Family is as careful as Rupert, they might not be able to trust an aristocrat in a difficult situation like mine.

However, it is important that they do.

But why can't he accept the truth that I won't hurt him?

"Your Highness, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"What did I do so wrong?"

I used my finger to draw while I waited for an answer. Because I like how soft the snow feels, my hands keep going. He took a quick look at the raccoon I was drawing on the ground and sighed.

"You're seriously asking that?"

"Yes, I don't know, so I'm asking."

For a moment, Rupert didn't say anything. He answered very slowly. Maybe he was deciding on a reason or trying to think of something to say.

"Don't treat Tori so well. An aristocratic girl treats her well, and now she can't stop smiling."

"Why not?"

"I know how you nobles view her kind, don't be so arrogant."

Even though he had forgiven me for the dumpling incident because I had helped her before, he still didn't trust me.

If I, as a noble, look down on Tori, a merchant's daughter, then it's only fair that he, as a member of the Imperial Family, does the same and treats her less than a worm. But instead, he's constantly taking her everywhere he goes, and I'm the one pretending to be kind?

I have impure intentions, yes, there's no doubt about that... but I don't hate the shy and clumsy Tori. I pouted my mouth, slightly upset. He looked at my frown and continued.

"Don't follow me like an obedient dog."

"I'm your maid, so if I don't... who will follow you?"

"In any case, you'll be going to Nigelle or Arnulf soon. I don't need you to look good in front of me."

"But I'm not going."

When I told him my thoughts, he turned his head around to look at me. He made a face that looked as if he didn't believe me. It was a similar expression I used to make whenever I didn't understand something, so I smiled.

"Why?"

"What 'why'?"

"Why are you trying to stick to my side?... Are you really as stupid as you look?"

I frowned at Rupert's harsh words.

"I already told you, since I was a child, my father spoke of you in high regard, and that prompted me to work under you."

"Do you think I'll believe that the Count was talking about me like that?"

"If you don't believe it, then I can't do anything about it... but that doesn't change the fact that I will follow you."

"So why?"

I petted the furball and passed the racoon to him.

Surprised by my sudden movement, the raccoon hissed with its fur standing up. Rupert petted the animal and calmed it down as if he knew it well. I was really surprised by how friendly he was. An Emperor who's interested in raccoons.

I find it cute whenever I saw the different sides of Rupert that I didn't know about or couldn't even imagine. The way he teases me because he thinks he can play the piano well, the way he takes care of a raccoon as a pet, the way he takes care of Tori, and the way he throws thorny words at me to intimidate me.

He's still a child, so it makes sense for him to act like one.

But no matter how hard I try to push back those memories of the future, it haunts me.

While trying to avoid his stern gaze, I answered.

"I want to be of help to Your Highness. In fact, I want to be helpful enough that you won't even want to think of getting rid of me."

"You sound confident that I might kill you one day."

"You said you could kill me if you wanted to."

"That..."

Rupert didn't answer, and I know his threats are empty and pointless right now. He can't do anything to a Bellua as Princess Rapherette. But the Emperor can.

"Again... House Bellua played no part in my decision to serve Your Highness. I came to you because I want to serve you. Is that answer not enough? Do you need more reason? Does everything need to have a logical explanation? There are always moments sometimes where there aren't any answers."

I gave a smile and a vague answer.

Rupert narrowed his eyes as if he was trying to read my mind, but he couldn't see what was going on in there because I had hidden it well, in the deepest part of my consciousness.

On the way back to the palace, he didn't say a word. I didn't have anything to say to Rupert, so I didn't either.

Neither Tori, the chief of staff, nor the servants who worked in his palace broke the awkward silence.

I was surprised to see a man blocking the path from the garden to the palace. It had been a long time since I'd seen him. In fact, it had been a little more than three years. By today's standards, it's been four months since I entered the Imperial Palace, which is almost half a year.