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chapter 35
“There’s no bastard tiger around, so I guess I don’t really have to stay in the room.”
“You must have been bored until now. I’m glad, Cherry-nim.”
Thanks to Erjin’s confinement, peace had temporarily returned to the Black Dragon Castle.
What does that mean?
It meant that, after being forced to stay in my bedroom due to uninvited guests, I had become a “working squirrel” again.
The morning routine was sitting under the canopy that Gerard had set up in advance and watching Kenih’s training.
“Out for the first time in a while?”
When Gerard asked if I was enjoying the fresh air, I just scowled.
“Is something uncomfortable?”
“Chu?”
Do I look comfortable to you?
As Gerard said, I had left the boring bedroom, but I was still trapped in a pocket.
It was all because Kenih kept watching me suspiciously.
“Gerard, if you lose Cherry again, that time your neck will be next.”
Not satisfied with the confinement pocket alone, Kenih didn’t hesitate to give a spine-chilling warning.
So now I was firmly held in both hands of this mortal enemy, Gerard.
‘Does he really sense Erjin’s mana from me?’
I sniffed inside the pocket, but there was no unusual scent.
Only the rosewater scent made by Croitz’s finest perfumer lingered.
“Chu…”
Erjin had said that he could sense my mana, not Kenih’s or Gerard’s.
Had Kenih not noticed?
I was staring at Kenih, who sat quietly participating in the training.
“Ah, Cherry-nim!”
One of the knights inspecting his training sword ran toward me.
“Thank you for the other day. I feel guilty that I could only properly thank you now.”
“Chu?”
The other day?
“I mean when you found my wedding ring a few days ago. If I had lost it, I wouldn’t have been able to enter my home and would’ve been thrown out… You are truly the savior of my life.”
Ah, that. I just happened to pick up the shiny thing lying around.
“Chu, chu.”
Keep it, keep it.
I had planned to hide it quietly in a corner of the bedroom, but the knight wandered the castle so much that his knees got blackened from his uniform, so I returned it.
From his expression, it was clear his sky had fallen today, and I immediately recognized him as the owner.
When I shook my head instead of using my hands, the knight covered his mouth as if overwhelmed with emotion.
“Cough, it’s hard to believe that in this Black Dragon Castle, which is so harsh and devoid of affection, there exists someone so kind, gentle, warm, and even cute.”
“Chu, chu…”
Oh, come on. It’s not that much.
‘Why am I so embarrassed?’
“I, Hans Moore, though I am loyal to Kenih-nim, will protect Cherry-nim even if I have to tear my heart in half!”
Whoa, that far?
Even after the knight dramatically pretended to tear his heart while speaking passionately, more knights and servants continued to come near me.
“Being completely tucked into such a small pocket… How adorable.”
“I want to eat her in one bite.”
Still, please restrain those violent Black Dragon Castle jokes.
I was thinking that when…
“I hear it’s true that you rely especially on Sir Viper.”
“Right? Even now, she’s comfortably in the pocket.”
I heard murmurs behind me.
“Chu?”
What on earth is that ridiculous rumor?
While Gerard’s lips twitched in amusement, my brows slowly furrowed.
I could tolerate everything else, but not this.
First, this pocket is not by my will.
Second, the Viper I like is not this one.
If I could, I would chase down the servants and correct their mistake.
But—
“Chu…”
I was trapped in the pocket with no way out.
This was not the time for it.
I had mountains of work to do.
“Chuuu…”
While my top subordinate, Gerard, ate the finest peanuts from the southern mountains, I let out a heavy sigh.
“Cherry-nim, is something troubling you?”
“Chu, chu.”
Of course there is.
I slowly nodded while crunching the peanuts.
‘Today, I planned to search Erjin’s room for the medium.’
Not only that, I had plans to educate Bishop, the white-headed eagle with no manners, while carrying Ria on my back.
Only then could I deliver news to the Grizzly Mountain next week.
‘But…’
All my schedules had been thrown into chaos, and I was confined.
I couldn’t take a single step without Gerard—how pathetic!
Did I really have to stay like this?
My body was starting to itch.
‘Honestly, I could easily shake off Gerard.’
The problem was…
I looked at Gerard with a wistful gaze.
Especially at his neck, which looked untouched by sunlight.
If he lost me this time, Kenih’s warning would come true.
Gerard’s body and neck could be split in two.
I was annoyed by Gerard for teasing me constantly, but I didn’t dislike him.
“Cherry-nim, you’ve gone quiet suddenly. I’m getting really nervous.”
“Chuuu…”
He really had a keen sense of perception.
Wasn’t there a proper solution?
One that would keep Gerard safe and let me do my work.
While pondering, a large shadow passed above, and a single black feather landed.
‘Ah, there’s that method!’
As the sun rose higher, approaching noon,
The training field echoed with the sharp sounds of metal clashing.
“Your Grace, you’re fierce today…”
“Indeed. Looks like comfort is out of the question again.”
Behind the Duke, who was continuously clashing swords with the captain of knights, the knights facing him spoke without moving their lips.
It was the ‘Red Alert’ that occurred five or six times a week.
Until the light of the Black Dragon Castle, the savior, arrived.
“Looks like even Cherry-nim can’t do anything today.”
The youngest knight, whose ventriloquism skills were still weak, occasionally trembled as he spoke.
When the rumor first spread that a squirrel lived in the Black Dragon Castle, they hadn’t paid it any attention.
Training, patrol duty, more training.
To them, today’s meal menu was more important.
But that squirrel saved the Duke’s life.
And that touch of kindness extended to the knights.
“Seeing your pathetic skills, it might be better to rename the Black Dragon Knights the Lizard Knights.”
“Kenih-nim, look! Cherry-nim pressed her foot stamp on my hand!”
“Tch, that’s enough training for today.”
Full armor training, which could have required fifty laps around the training field, ended with half of the additional training reduced.
Even that was enough to make the squirrel shine.
Recently, she had even become a symbol of power!
Ria Viper was a prime example.
As a senior knight, she was appointed as a bodyguard and granted enormous privileges.
Though in practice, it was just exemption from additional training and patrol duty.
‘Ah, to serve beside Cherry-nim…’
To legally touch the small, soft, warm hands of Cherry-nim I had only heard of in rumors!
It was arguably the best welfare in the Black Dragon Castle.
While the knights gritted their teeth, swallowing tears,
Boom—!
“Hah, hah…”
The knight captain struggled alone.
How could such an explosion come from the tip of a sword?
Fascinating, yet chilling.
If he failed even once—
‘He’d die.’
The knight captain’s throat rattled as he swallowed hard.
To survive, he had to finish this duel as quickly as possible.
“Your sword feels sharper today. Did something upset you?”
“Upset?”
Kenih’s eyes flashed with killing intent.
Though it was a usual ‘provocation’ during duels, today he couldn’t stay calm.
From morning, Cherry had given off a disgusting scent.
A grassy smell, like walking through the forest at dawn.
It was certainly that Astrahan tiger’s scent.
For others, it might not have been bad, but to Kenih, all other beastmen’s mana smelled the same—
Every single one was horrid enough to ruin his appetite.
Except one.
‘The faint, teasing Cherry scent that tickles the tip of my nose.’
