COLD, sweet, delicious.
As he silently consumed his helping of sherbet, Glenreed couldn’t seem to rid himself of the irritation bubbling up in him.
Just what was she thinking…?!
Laetitia had held a spoonful of sherbet out to him.
It was almost like…
Yes, that was exactly what it was. He’d heard about such things before.
Lovers sometimes feed each other little bites of their food, don’t they?
…But I know that wasn’t Laetitia’s intention.
She was a kind woman who only wanted to help him, since he had no real way to try the sherbet for himself. But that knowledge only fanned the flames of the king’s anger.
She hadn’t hesitated for a moment to do something that was usually a sweet gesture between lovers. It was proof that she didn’t see Glenreed as a man at all. He was upset over something so trivial, and his pathetic reaction to it was irritating on its own too.
I always lose my mind whenever I’m around Laetitia…
Her every word and action made the waves in his heart surge. He couldn’t compose himself, and yet he couldn’t look away from her either.
Just before, he’d gotten lost in a daze and started to sniff at her feather without thinking. Even though that scent was something that left him wary, he never expected to end up clinging to her so inappropriately.
If Laetitia came into contact with the owner of that scent… He suddenly didn’t know what would happen if his hunch was correct, so he began to sniff around frantically, trying to find any other clues.
I lose some sense of reason when I’m in silver wolf form, but to completely relinquish control like that…?
He was so embarrassed. He felt like he was on the verge of a headache.
“Jiro.” That was the name Laetitia had absently muttered before he made his appearance. Thinking back to her longing for the faraway man she loved so dearly, only worsened Glenreed’s pain.
“……”
No, he wasn’t just imagining it.
His head was truly aching now. It throbbed, like something was wrenching on his skull from the inside. He wondered why this was happening, but then Laetitia leaned in to look at this face.
“Are you all right, Your Majesty?”
He looked at her brilliant purple eyes and his heart skipped a beat.
Right now, the reflection in those eyes was of him and him alone—not Jiro. He was startled and apologetic, and yet some part of him was also wickedly happy.
But Glenreed forced his emotions down and desperately tried to act calm as he spoke. “…I made sure not to show it on my face. How did you know?”
“Because I understand you. We’ve spent a lot of time together over this past year.” Mixed in with Laetitia’s sweet smile was a hint of embarrassment. It was a friendly, gentle, lovely smile.
She’d completely stolen all of Glenreed’s words from his mind.
“Forgive me, but I forgot to mention something. Your head might hurt if you eat too much of something frozen at once.” When Laetitia said that, she slowly extended her hand toward Glenreed’s temple.“It hurts right here, doesn’t it? The pain should go away natur—?!”
Glenreed didn’t even realize what he was doing.
He grabbed her slender arm and pulled her close.
Then he wrapped his arms around Laetitia.
✦ ✦ ✦
“YOUR Majesty…?”
I stiffened when I felt his strong arms embrace me.
Hang on! He’s so close!! What’s going on?! Why did he do that?! Did I do something wrong?!
“……”
…I knew it. I was being over-familiar again.
Once I’d calmed down a little, I was able to recognize my own mistake. I’d been concerned about King Glenreed’s brain freeze and reached out to touch him without thinking. But touching him wouldn’t have helped anything in the first place. The king’s head wasn’t something for me to touch.
I looked up at His Majesty, prepared to apologize, but then…
“…!”
He squeezed his arms around me so tightly, it crushed my words before I could get them out.
It hurts. My lungs, my body, and maybe even something else.
It grew and grew like a raging fever.
When I took a breath, I caught the aroma of pears mixed in with the scent of his clothes.
The world, my mind, my vision—it was all spinning and spinning and spinning.
“…Why?”
“Your Majesty…?!”
He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me off of him.
King Glenreed took a few steps back, creating more space between us. His beautiful face was frighteningly emotionless, like it was nothing more than a mask. The winter lake in his eyes was masked by an indecipherable layer of ice.
“Why did you reach your hand out to me?”
I fell silent. His voice was icy cold. It seemed I had overstepped in trying to touch him after all. That was only natural, and I expected him to chastise me. But still…
It was as if he was rejecting me, and it suddenly became hard to move.
“Please…forgive me. I won’t ever do something like that again,” I managed to choke out.
“…Good. I don’t want you getting the wrong idea,” he said in a detached voice before turning his back to me.
He’s so far away.
I wasn’t sensing His Majesty’s physical body, but the distance between our hearts in that moment.
“We’re only husband and wife because of politics, after all,” he said coolly.
Yes. I knew that. It was the reason I came to this kingdom in the first place.
King Glenreed left me with that factual reminder before quickly walking away.
✦ ✦ ✦
“UGH, I’m so embarrassed… I want to dig a hole and hide in it…”
I sank to the ground and covered my face once King Glenreed was gone.
My actions replayed again in my mind.
His Majesty saw my hand coming toward him while he struggled with his headache. It must have upset him.
There was nothing more irritating than a busybody disguising their actions as kindness. Of course he hated being touched without permission by someone who wasn’t family or a romantic partner.
He’d only embraced me like that because he wanted me to understand how uncomfortable he felt. While it wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable for me, the shock, uncertainty, and difficulty breathing had certainly made my head spin.
I was mortified to think I made King Glenreed feel the same way. It was the most embarrassing thing in the whole world.
“Aaaaaaah!! …Hm?” I was agonizing over my mistake when I felt something tug on my dress. When I looked down, the Gardener Cats had dug a hole in the ground and were watching me proudly. “…No, wanting to hide in a hole is just an expression people say…”
Gardener Cats wouldn’t understand such a thing…or would they?
They were intelligent and loyal Mythical Beasts. Perhaps they saw my state of despair and thought to lighten the mood with a little joke.
My heart did feel more at peace, if only a little.
“Hehe! Thank you, everyone.”
I crouched in the hole and stroked the head of the nearest black Gardener Cat, Cucumber. Cucumber blinked her golden eyes at me, allowing me to keep petting her.
“Meow!”
“Mraw mraw!”
“Mrrrraw!”
“Whoa!”
“Pet me too!”
“Me next!”
The other Gardener Cats began to push their way up to me.
“Hang on! I’ll pet you all, just please wait in line!”
Fluffa fluffa fluff.
Ambushed by soft furballs, it wasn’t long before my sadness had disappeared to some unknown place.