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Chapter : 12
“Your name?”
Thinking I might have misheard, I asked again. Enoch’s face flushed as if he were embarrassed.
“……Yes.”
I mean, what was the big deal about being called by name that he hesitated so much? I thought he was going to ask for something far more outrageous.
“Isn’t that a bit too modest? You could ask for something better.”
“No. If I really think about it, I’ve already received far more than I deserve.”
Enoch shook his head firmly. Yeah, he definitely looked like the type who wouldn’t accept anything expensive.
“Then how about some of our butler’s special apple pie—”
“No, thank you.”
Despite his bashful smile, Enoch cut me off quite sharply.
Wasn’t that a little too firm? Gilbert’s going to get hurt.
“That’s more than enough for me. Truly.”
“Really?”
“Yes. In fact, I think it’s more than I deserve.”
He replied quietly, lowering his gaze.
I wanted to joke that it wasn’t anything worth calling “too much,” but his expression was far too serious.
As if there was genuinely nothing else he wanted.
“Actually, I’ve been watching you two talk for a while now. Calling each other by name looked really close… and nice.”
“…….”
“So I wanted to join in too. Would that be all right?”
After finishing, Enoch looked at me with sparkling eyes.
…Well, if he puts it like that. I’d intended to allow it from the start anyway.
It would be easier to hide my identity from Mary this way, too.
Honestly, every time he called me ‘Your Highness,’ the people in the manor seemed on edge, so this worked out well.
Of course, using the name ‘Enoch’ wasn’t completely safe either—but it was far better than openly calling me ‘Your Highness.’
“All right. If you’re okay with it, may I call you by name as well?”
“Of course, Lorena.”
The way he immediately said my name, as if he’d been waiting for it, was absurd—but not unpleasant.
How could I possibly feel bad when he was smiling like a puppy?
Even if I had been angry, it would’ve melted away instantly.
“I’d like it if you called me casually too. Like a friend.”
“Enoch.”
“…….”
“Like that?”
Smiling brightly, just like he had, I called his name. Enoch stared at me in silence.
He looked stunned—maybe shocked, maybe completely spaced out.
Zen, who had been watching from across the table, spoke first.
“…Judging by how you can’t say anything, I guess you don’t like it. Maybe we should go back to—”
“N-No!”
Enoch snapped out of it and shook his head frantically.
He shook it so hard I could feel a faint breeze even though I was sitting right next to him.
He really couldn’t hide his expressions.
“…It’s just that I liked it too much. This is the first time, aside from my parents, that anyone has called me so familiarly.”
Well, of course. Who in the world could casually call the crown prince by name?
As I quietly watched Enoch grow flustered again, I suddenly sensed someone behind us.
“It’s lively enough in the dining hall that you can hear it from quite far away.”
“Gilbert?”
When I turned around, Gilbert was standing there with a gentle smile.
He looked like a grandfather watching his grandchildren play, which somehow made me feel a little embarrassed.
My heart tickled oddly.
“It’s been a long time since the manor was this lively. How about holding a party this evening?”
“A party?”
“Yes. It’s practically the first time young miss has spent time with people her own age. You rarely ever leave the manor…”
Gilbert trailed off and quietly wiped at his eyes.
Sorry, Gilbert. But I don’t want to be an idiot who goes out to have fun knowing I might die.
“I’m fine with it, but what about— um, Enoch?”
“If it’s just a simple gathering with food and conversation, wouldn’t that be all right?”
What kind of conversation? When I looked at him in confusion, Gilbert chuckled softly.
Judging by how he swept his affectionate gaze around, it seemed I wasn’t the only one curious.
“The elderly butler of the Amelio household knows thousands of entertaining stories.”
At Gilbert’s confident declaration, we followed him.
After entering the room and waiting a short while, the place transformed into a party atmosphere in the blink of an eye.
The party Gilbert prepared was oddly reminiscent of a pajama party from my previous world.
Not that I’d ever actually had one—it just looked that way.
Zen, Enoch, and I lay around with pillows in relatively comfortable clothes, listening to Gilbert’s stories.
Surrounded by us, Gilbert’s vivid storytelling was far more entertaining than expected.
Of course, he wasn’t the only one telling stories—I shared some from my previous world too.
A few melodramatic soap-opera plots slipped in, earning me a look from Gilbert that clearly said, “Young miss, where on earth did you hear such grotesque stories…?”
I ignored it.
Those stories were wildly popular back where I came from.
“So the woman reappears with a beauty mark near her eye, determined to take revenge—”
“…Young miss.”
“And the man, not realizing she was once his wife, slowly falls in love—”
“Young miss!”
Gilbert raised his voice and then cleared his throat.
Hey, this was the best part. Look—Zen’s disappointed too now that it got cut off.
“Your stories are certainly interesting, but how about something more appropriate for your age?”
“…It was interesting.”
Zen muttered quietly, sounding genuinely disappointed.
See? It’s secretly addictive.
“Um… then this time, I’ll—”
Enoch raised his hand, his face pale. Seeing him finally speak up, Gilbert brightened immediately.
Hmm. That’s strange. This should be fun.
“Oh! Excellent. What kind of story is it?”
He looked like he’d just met a savior.
Well, that made sense.
The young lady he served only talked about trashy dramas, and the youngest child, whom he’d expected to tell cute fairy tales, only shared bleak stories that made you sigh just hearing them.
Thinking about it, Gilbert had every right to sigh.
“It’s already a famous story, so I’m not sure if it’s all right…”
“That’s fine. If it’s something currently popular, young miss probably won’t know it.”
Gilbert glanced at me briefly before answering with confidence.
…He wasn’t wrong.
The manor library only had books left behind by the countess—everything was old.
It’d be ridiculous to reread children’s books at my age anyway.
“Do you know the story of the hero who saved the kingdom?”
“Ah, the one that’s been popular in the capital.”
Gilbert nodded slowly, clearly familiar with it.
I, on the other hand, was hearing it for the first time.
With everyone’s approval, Enoch cleared his throat and began.
Perhaps because Zen was still young, his voice sounded like he was narrating a fairy tale.
“Deep within a certain kingdom lived a monster. With a single gesture, it was powerful enough to wipe out an entire village.”
As he said the last line, Enoch raised both hands, scrunched his face, and let out a low growl.
He seemed to be trying to show how terrifying the monster was, but honestly, it was so funny I nearly spit out my snack.
Who would find that scary? He looked more like he was about to wag his tail.
“The people lived in constant fear, trembling that the monster might one day destroy their village.”
This time, Enoch hugged his shoulders and shivered dramatically.
…Why is this so funny? When Gilbert did it, it wasn’t strange at all.
“Kh—”
Unable to hold it in, Gilbert let out a quiet laugh.
Fortunately, when Enoch turned around, Gilbert covered it with a cough, so it went unnoticed.
And Zen…
…How could he stay so expressionless after seeing all that? He looked like nothing unusual was happening.
Zen, who had seemed focused on the story, noticed me watching and slightly turned his head.
Leaning toward me, he whispered quietly,
“Tell me the rest of that story later. And if you have more, I want to hear those too.”
“You liked my story?”
“Yeah.”
Zen nodded slowly, meeting my eyes.
He looked far more interested than when listening to Enoch or Gilbert.
“What about the others’ stories?”
“Yours is the only one I liked.”
“Hehe…”
A foolish smile slipped out of me without realizing it.
I felt a bit bad for Gilbert and Enoch, but I couldn’t help feeling proud. My shoulders practically lifted on their own.
I mean, if a kid says my story was the best, what am I supposed to do? See? There was a reason it was popular.
“All right. I’ll tell you before bed.”
After promising to visit Zen’s room later, I turned my attention back to Enoch’s story.
From the flow, it seemed like a typical fairy tale where the hero defeats the monster and lives happily ever after with a beautiful princess.
I was thinking that children’s stories were similar no matter the world, when—
“The people prayed to God to remove the monster, but God did not answer their prayers. That was because, though only partially, the monster carried the blood of God.”
“…….”
“When even God abandoned them, chaos engulfed the village, and the hero—unable to stand by—set out to slay the monster.”
This was where it started to feel strange.
It sounded like a fairy tale, yet the world-building was oddly specific.
As if it desperately wanted someone to understand those details. This story felt eerily like—
The story of the Derkian imperial family of the Kyrium Empire.
From being the bloodline left behind by the God of Life, to possessing innate power that made people fear them—it all matched.
Unlike other races, dragons alone were born with overwhelming strength.
They could freely shift between human form and their true body, too.
Replace “monster” with “dragon,” and everything fit perfectly.
“…And so the hero succeeded in defeating the monster, married the beautiful princess, and lived happily ever after.”
While I was lost in thought, Enoch’s not-too-long, not-too-short story came to an end.
Apparently satisfied with the mood, Gilbert clapped and praised it as a wonderful tale.
Zen sat quietly, his expression unreadable.
Enoch, pleased to have told the story without stumbling, smiled shyly and scratched his head.
It felt like I might be ruining the moment, but I couldn’t help asking.
“Um, Enoch. I have a question. Could you answer it?”
“Huh? Yes—if it’s something I can answer.”
It was a question I’d been holding onto since the beginning, one no one else seemed to care about.
“In that story… did the monster actually do anything wrong?”
