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Chapter 33
The vision of the past ended there.
Because of that, Kali no longer felt any need to remain.
When I get back to the mansion, I need to look into the Asteri clan. I have to visit the library.
Searching through the study in a squirrel’s body would be difficult, but it felt necessary.
She didn’t know who had shown her this past, but thanks to it she had found a clue about Kali Herais.
Kali Herais is an Asteri.
And somehow, she had become a squirrel.
I’ll sort out my thoughts later. What matters now is finding him.
Because she was worried.
It was time to look for Leonhardt. Kali stepped into the forest.
But in truth, she had no idea where to go. It felt like she was lost.
“Haah… Leon, where in the world did you go?”
The glimpse of the past had helped her decide what to do next.
It was Leonhardt’s childhood forest, and she was glad she’d come.
Yet unease tugged at her.
He said he came here as a child. There’s definitely something about this place.
Kali was Asteri. Someone like her could calm the frenzy of the cursed Grand Duke—a living sedative.
That meant the Asteri and the Spencer family must have been connected.
So… breaking the curse alone isn’t the whole answer, is it?
She would have to ask him: had he ever heard the names Michaela, Rita, or Kali?
But first…
She had to find Leonhardt. But how could she track him in this vast forest?
Her short legs pumped as she ran, but she soon had to stop, panting as she scanned the area.
“Argh! Which way am I supposed to go?!”
Her cry echoed through the woods.
She sat down, suddenly unwilling to do anything.
Even an ordinary person would struggle to find someone here—how much harder for a squirrel.
“Where are you?!”
But the word give up didn’t exist in her dictionary. She refused to quit.
If only… if only the curse would just break!
Kali darted off again, cutting through the forest. Nothing was impossible.
Then she noticed the fog was thinning. She stopped and looked around.
At first the mist had been so dense she couldn’t see a thing, but now she could see ahead and around her clearly.
“Whatever it is, good.”
Kali clenched her tiny fists. It would be easier to find Leonhardt now.
Running any more was exhausting, so she settled for a fast walk—even that strained her squirrel body.
She still didn’t know where to go, but strangely her steps felt guided, without hesitation.
Where are you, you infuriating Leonhardt!
What on earth are you doing?
As she grumbled inwardly, Kali finally spotted him.
“Huh…?”
She froze at the sight.
Leonhardt was bound to a massive tree, tightly wrapped in living vines.
At first she wondered who could have done such a thing. But as she looked closer, the vines writhed like snakes.
“W-what the… what is this?”
She couldn’t hide her shock.
Kali hesitated, then inched closer.
The wriggling vines seemed ready to swallow Leonhardt whole.
“What do I do…?”
She grabbed a nearby stone and hurled it at the vines.
It made no difference.
These vines were some kind of monster. Could she, in a squirrel’s body, possibly kill a magical beast and free Leonhardt?
“Why do I have to be a squirrel now…?”
A moment ago she’d thought to scold Leonhardt the instant she saw him, but seeing him in danger made her heart plummet.
She desperately wanted to save him.
Fear and worry tangled inside her.
Nothing else mattered—she had to free him.
“W-what should I…?”
Curse or no curse, freeing Leonhardt from those vines came first.
“Ah… right.”
She spotted the sword at his waist.
Too large for a squirrel, but she had no other idea.
Kali leapt up, clambering along the twisting vines until she reached the sword.
But the moving vines shifted suddenly, making her slip.
“Ahhh…!”
No, she was falling!
She squeezed her eyes shut and flailed, trying to avoid the drop.
Her paw caught a vine—she gripped it tightly.
At that moment the vine’s movement stopped.
Kali slowly opened her eyes.
“Huh…?”
The forest suddenly grew silent.
She swallowed hard.
Then a light began to seep from the vines around Leonhardt.
Blinking, Kali instinctively reached toward it.
The moment her paw touched the light, it gathered and swelled into a glowing mass.
“W-what… what is that?”
The radiance grew until it could engulf both her and Leonhardt.
Kali squeezed her eyes shut.
A moment later, the forest was quiet again.
Still crouched, she cracked her eyes open to check what had happened.
“Ah…!”
The vines had released Leonhardt.
The snake-like tendrils had vanished.
He lay on the ground.
Kali rushed to him.
“Hey, Leon! Wake up. Wake up!”
She set her tiny hands on his shoulders and shook him, but he didn’t move.
She patted his cheeks—smack, smack—still nothing.
Even a punch to the head and a kick made no difference.
“Ugh…!”
Breathless and drained, Kali slumped to the ground.
Then she suddenly noticed his lips.
“No, no, no, no way.”
She shook her head quickly.
“That only happens in fairy tales.”
The prince kisses the sleeping princess to break the spell.
…Such was the ending of a certain story.
But this wasn’t that story.
Leonhardt wasn’t a prince, and she certainly wasn’t a princess.
Even so, her gaze kept drifting back.
It’s not like I want to kiss him…
Still, it might be worth a try. Maybe it would work.
Kali stood, nerves taut.
“Fuuu…”
She took a deep breath.
Wake up, Leon.
You’re not ending things here. Let’s go home together.
Slowly she leaned down and brushed her lips against his, pouring her earnest hope into the touch.
At first his lips were cold, then they seemed to glow faintly red, warming.
Kali drew back.
Did it… work?
Holding her breath, she watched.
After a moment, his chest rose and fell.
His eyelids twitched and slowly opened.
Kali scooted closer, waving a paw.
“Uh… Leon?”
“…”
“Are you awake?”
“A long…”
“Hmm?”
“I had a long dream.”
“What kind of dream?”
He blinked a few times, then slowly sat up.
One hand rubbed his face as he turned to look down at Kali.
“More importantly, what happened?”
“Uh… you don’t remember anything?”
“No. Why was I lying there?”
“Hmm… Leon, did you see something?”
“See something?”
“In the fog. You saw something, didn’t you? Be honest.”
Leonhardt paused while brushing dirt from his hair.
He wasn’t sure if what he’d seen had been a dream.
But from Kali’s words, maybe it wasn’t.
He reached out and lifted her into his palm, gently stroking her head and back.
“I saw my younger self.”
The warmth of her tiny body seeped into his hand, calming him.
After standing, he set her on his shoulder. She lay there comfortably.
“Ah. Then…”
What they’d seen was the same—their own past.
“I saw the same thing,” Kali said.
Leonhardt’s hand came up again, lightly smoothing her fur with a strange, relieved touch.
“You saw your past too?”
“Yes. Only a fragment of the part I’d lost.”
Kali pondered where to begin.
After a long moment, she spoke.
“Leon… have you heard of the Asteri clan?”
He already knew she wouldn’t fall even if she dangled from his shoulder.
Still, uneasy for some reason, Leonhardt placed a steadying hand over her as he walked.
“Asteri?”
He shot her a sidelong glance, head tilted.
“How do you know about them?”
“Uh… so you do know? What are they?”
“I’ve only heard they were a vanished race.
I thought it was just a story someone made up.”
Searching for the path back to his knights, Leonhardt wandered a bit before finding the way and striding ahead.
Kali simply clung to his shoulder, recalling the vision she had seen.
How much should I tell him? That I’m actually Asteri? That the clan truly existed?
She’d planned to say everything when they met.
But now that the moment came, she hesitated.
She wasn’t sure enough to speak yet.
So Kali decided to keep silent.
“What kind of people were the Asteri, anyway?
Tell me the legend—you’ve got me curious.”
“I’m not sure where you heard it, but…”
He paused, then continued.
“They were said to read the future by tracing the flow of the stars.”
The moment he spoke, Leonhardt’s brow furrowed.
“Stars…?”
“Why?”
“Remember when I said I once asked my mother why she became the cursed bride?”
