chapter 44
Clutching the blanket tightly, I curled up even more, but Kenigh didn’t stop.
The blanket I had been pulling over myself finally slipped down to my shoulders.
In an instant, my bare face was revealed through my messy platinum hair.
In the fleeting moment when our eyes met, Kenigh’s golden gaze reflected my image exactly.
Clutching only the blanket, I looked pitiful, like a mouse cornered at the edge of a cliff.
“Will Kenigh recognize me?”
Platinum hair, cherry-colored eyes—my distinctive traits hadn’t changed, so maybe he would realize I was “Cherry.”
But…
“No….”
I didn’t want to face Kenigh looking like this.
The squirrel of the Black Dragon Castle I had cherished so much, reduced to a seemingly insignificant beast.
He would surely be disappointed.
“What… what should I do…?”
As long as Kenigh’s golden eyes were wide open, there was no way to escape.
Reluctantly, I squeezed my eyes shut.
Then came a sharp voice.
“Wh-what have you done…?”
Kenigh’s body began to shake. Something was off.
His eyes, which had looked like blades ready to cut me, softened, and then—
“Wha—?!”
Kenigh swayed and fell on top of me.
Naturally, I, barely standing like a newborn fawn, collapsed along with him.
“…Kenigh?”
I called his name cautiously, though only for a brief moment of panic.
No reply came.
“….”
Only soft, even breaths.
“Kenigh… are you asleep…?”
Really? Just like that? Suddenly?
I couldn’t understand why.
One thought crossed my mind…
“Could it be because of me?”
Even if just for a moment, I had hoped for a chance to escape.
I stared blankly into the air, blinking.
“Is it just a coincidence?”
A miraculous event had happened at the moment I needed it most.
But it felt strangely familiar, too familiar to dismiss as mere coincidence.
“This has happened before.”
Three years ago, my life had been in danger, on the edge of a cliff.
The hunting dogs charging at me had seemed suspended in midair, as if someone had caught their paws.
The unknown enemy had said it was my mana at work.
“Could it really be my mana?”
There was no time to ponder further.
“Chuuut…!”
As if a fairy’s magic had transformed a princess back to her original form, I had become a squirrel.
But that wasn’t the only problem.
The dawn light was breaking outside the window.
I had to decide whether to stay in Black Dragon Castle or leave before Kenigh regained consciousness.
“Cherry!”
Sensing some kind of anxiety, Kenigh suddenly jumped up.
Unlike the usual gentle cherry fragrance of the morning, his body felt heavy and stiff today.
“Something… must have happened.”
It was as if someone had edited his memories—he didn’t remember last night at all.
At the same time, a splitting headache struck.
“Ugh…”
Kenigh pressed his face irritably with one hand while groping along the headboard with the other.
Though familiar, he found nothing—no warmth that should have been felt on the smooth silk.
“…Cherry?”
Kenigh finally shook off the haze and opened his eyes wide.
“Finally awake, my lord.”
It was Jerard. He stood with a stern face, staring at the fully opened window.
“What happened?”
Kenigh hastily lifted his heavy body.
“I found you collapsed by the window. I don’t know why you were under the blanket…”
“Collapsed by the window?”
Kenigh frowned deeply. Something seemed familiar but just out of reach.
Surely, there had been someone else.
“Any suspicious intruders?”
“No intruders. No signs of entry. Did you see someone?”
Jerard asked, feigning concern.
“I think I saw a woman… long hair, white, shiny…”
“A woman in the lord’s bedroom? You must be overworked from the recent Astrahan incident.”
“Just from that?”
“You also took that ‘medicine’ yesterday.”
Kenigh let out a hollow laugh. Jerard sighed deeply.
“It’s called medicine, but for ordinary beasts it would be fatal. Seeing a woman must be an effect of that drug.”
Nausea, headaches, hallucinations, auditory illusions…
Jerard went on about the poison, but Kenigh’s gaze swept across the bedroom.
“Where’s Cherry…? Where is she?”
“Well… Cherry-sama…”
Jerard trailed off. His mouth fell shut, head bowed, muttering to himself.
But time was running out.
The temperature in the room dropped, mirroring the owner of Black Dragon Castle’s fraying patience.
“It seems… Cherry-sama has run away.”
Jerard spoke reluctantly. The bedroom instantly turned cold.
“Immediately…”
“…”
“Gather the knights at once. If she left the castle, she must have gone to Norbert Mountain.”
“Norbert Mountain… the one where she first appeared?”
The mountain was called Bear Mountain because of its many bears.
“I… my lord… that is…”
Jerard tried to speak, but couldn’t.
“Burn every inch of Norbert Mountain if you have to—bring Cherry back. Immediately.”
Kenigh radiated killing intent.
“This is serious,” Jerard muttered to himself. Then carefully tapped his pocket.
Rustle.
Something squirmed inside.
“U-um, Cherry-sama? Perhaps it’s time to come out before your hometown and my throat are set ablaze.”
Please…
“When I opened my eyes, Cherry was at the bedside…”
“Yes, sir!”
Jerard, who had been lying on the floor, propped up his head and jumped up.
Exactly as he said. That morning, when I woke up, a white, cotton-like ball had curled up.
“I thought it was pillow stuffing, but I got bitten when I tried to move it.”
Jerard showed his still-red hand, but Kenigh didn’t even glance at it.
“How did Cherry get into your room?”
A fundamental question.
Kenigh’s bedroom door was locked tight; no one could enter without permission. The same went for Jerard’s room.
Only the duke’s bedroom had tighter security, but it was in line with the owner’s temperament.
“I think Cherry-sama has some kind of mouse hole… no, squirrel hole she goes through.”
Jerard whispered. Kenigh nodded shortly.
Though plump and round like ravioli, Cherry was quite flexible.
If her head could fit, she could squeeze through small holes.
That explained the series of encounters between Cherry and Erzin Astrahan.
“But why did Cherry go to your room specifically?”
Kenigh’s gaze shifted to Jerard’s red pocket.
For some reason, Cherry had refused to meet him.
She had even jumped into the pocket she despised so much after leaving Jerard.
“That’s because I’m the one she trusts most after you, my lord.”
“I thought the second would naturally be Ria Viper.”
“Ha ha, you’re mistaken. Cherry and I have survived life-and-death situations together many times.”
“So now you know why she ran away.”
“Isn’t that my area of expertise?”
Jerard grinned knowingly.
“Honestly, I want to praise Cherry-sama for surviving until now.”
Jerard sat comfortably and began his story.
“She endured threats of being stuffed, and in the study, you treated her like a walnut.”
“That’s…”
Kenigh tried to speak, but Jerard reached out to stop him.
“First, listen to me.”
There were countless reasons for her running away.
But if you had to pick one…
“It’s probably that reason.”
“What reason is that?”
