🦊 🦊 🦊
EMBERT and I headed towards the pond on the other side of the courtyard. We held hands the entire way. Eventually, we arrived at the gazebo, where the merchant had tried to capture me two days ago. As I sat down next to Embert, Custode sat on my opposite side. Squishy remained on my shoulder.
After letting out a soft sigh, Embert turned to face me. “You weren’t injured, were you?”
“Not at all,” I answered. “Thanks for asking. And I’m sorry for worrying you.”
When I hung my head, Embert placed a hand on my cheek. “I know you won’t fall prey to some run-of-the-mill assassin. It’s your recklessness that worries me. I wish you would rely on me more. The way you prioritize others over yourself worries me the most. You need to take care of yourself as well, regardless of how strong you are. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Yeah, sorry about that…” I mumbled.
I understood perfectly. At the same time, my body tended to act of its own accord. I had come to this world due to dying from protecting a mother and child from a reckless driver. How could I change my nature?
“Please rely on me,” Embert said. “I’m your fiancé. I want to be closer to you than anyone. I always want to be the one protecting you.”
Tears welled in my eyes. Embert truly loved me, didn’t he?
“Thanks,” I replied, the tears spilling down my cheeks. “I love you, Em.”
Embert gulped loudly. “Ally, that’s not fair,” he murmured, his cheeks flushing slightly.
Don’t tell me…
My hands shot to the top of my head. Yep, I’d grown fennec ears, just as I’d feared. Embert placed a hand over his mouth in an attempt to restrain himself.
Upon seeing my fennec ears for the first time, Custode regarded me with evident fascination. “Well, well, this is an unusual sight.”
Unfortunately, I’d grown more than just ears. I could feel something fluffy on my lower back as well. That had to be a tail.
“What causes this to happen, exactly?” I asked Custode.
I have no control over when I sprout these animal parts. That’s a massive cause for concern, don’tcha think?
“I can’t say for certain,” Custode responded. “However, they seem to sprout when you’re feeling particularly emotional.”
“Ugh, how am I supposed to think straight when you’re so adorable?” Embert asked. “What am I to do here?”
“Wh-Whoa!” I cried. “How about you don’t do anything, please and thank you?!”
Squishy stuck himself to Embert’s face with a wet splat. He must have reacted to the panic in my voice. Embert peeled the slime off his face.
“That calmed me down a bit,” he said. Then, he looked at me with eyes narrowed in suspicion. “You haven’t shown those ears to Prince Giusto, have you?”
Why is he bringing up Prince Giusto now? I wondered, cocking my head.
Embert’s eyes darted away from me. “Cute gestures won’t appease me. Why were you there to save Prince Giusto in the first place?”
“Why?” I responded. “We ran into each other in the greenhouse.”
“Ran into each other, did you? By complete happenstance?”
“That’s right. I woke up earlier than usual, took Squishy on a walk, and bumped into Prince Giusto by coincidence.”
“The prince didn’t do anything to you, did he?” Embert asked.
Um, what do you mean by “anything?”
I cocked my head again, unable to understand what Embert was implying.
“That’s not fair!” Embert exclaimed, wrapping his arms around me. “Didn’t I just say that a minute ago? Why must you act so adorably when you’re already so cute? I’m not strong enough to restrain myself!”
Embert had a weakness for animal ears; that much had become clear. Still, inside his arms, I couldn’t help but giggle at his insane antics. At that moment, my body twitched as a pleasant jolt ran through my fennec ears.
“Well, that settles it,” Embert said. “Your ears are connected to nerves.” He breathed softly into one of my fennec ears, causing me to shudder again.
“Why?!” I cried. “I didn’t feel anything when I touched them myself!”
Embert smirked. “Because the man you love is touching them now, of course.”
Yuck. I’m definitely not conceding that point. It would feel like admitting defeat.
Nevertheless, I shuddered each time Embert teased my fennec ears.
“Save me, Custode,” I pleaded telepathically.
“Quiet,” the dragon responded. “I hear footsteps approaching.”
“What?” Embert and I responded in unison.
Startled, both of us strained our ears. Before long, we heard noises from the direction of the detached villa. It sounded like the rustling of clothes.
“H-Hold on a second,” I whispered, pressing my hands against the top of my head. “What should I do about these?”
Fortunately, I didn’t feel my fennec ears. By some magic, they’d disappeared, which coaxed a sigh of relief from me and Embert. While we waited in silence, the people from the detached villa drew closer. Though they would soon come into sight, we heard their voices before seeing them.
“Father,” a familiar woman’s voice said. “Would you please invite Prince Embert to our manor today?”
All emotion vanished from Embert’s expression. He donned a smile so devoid of feeling that I wanted to ask, “Did you just put on a mask?” As I marveled at his abrupt change in demeanor, a man’s voice spoke next.
“Ha! You’re truly fond of Prince Embert, aren’t you, Damiana?”
Clearly, the voices belonged to Damiana and her father. In that case, they must have lived in the detached villa.
“Huh?” I mumbled.
For some reason, the man’s voice sounded familiar. The moment that occurred to me, Damiana and her father appeared in front of us.
“Oh?” Damiana asked, sounding pleased by this unexpected encounter. “What are you doing here, Prince Embert?”
She began jogging over to us before stopping short. As I tried to puzzle that out, Embert chuckled. Damiana had halted for one simple reason: Embert still had his arms around me. I’d become so accustomed to his embrace that it hadn’t occurred to me. Though I tried to pull away from him, he wouldn’t let me go. In fact, his hold on me only tightened. As Damiana’s eyes bulged, her face turning bright red with fury, I could do nothing but stare at her silently.