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Chapter 10
Led by the grinning child, Pera returned to the living room—and her eyes went wide.
Not long ago, before her afternoon consultations, the place had been a disaster. But now? It looked as if she had stepped into someone else’s home—spotless, organized, gleaming.
To be honest, cleaning and housework had never suited her. She usually maintained her home at the level of slightly better than a pigsty. That was, in her mind, already the best she could do. If not for Harun’s constant nagging, even that much wouldn’t have been done.
Yet now, her pigsty-turned-house had been thoroughly scrubbed.
“Oh my, a fairy must have visited while I was gone!”
“…A fairy?”
“A cleaning fairy!”
Pera laughed, her gaze darting toward Ray. The man—now suddenly cast in the role of “cleaning fairy”—scowled darkly.
“Try living in some order.”
“But I was organized…”
“If what you call ‘organized’ is the same word I know, then it must mean something else in your language.”
His sharp retort made her lips jut out in a pout. Still, he had cleaned her house, so she decided to let it go.
When their little staring contest ended, her stomach growled fiercely. Hugging her rumbling belly, she grabbed Ray by the arm.
The unexpected touch made his shoulder twitch noticeably, his expression clearly screaming that he wanted to shake her off. And yet, he let his arm fall back down, leaving her hand where it was. His fingers were so delicate—he feared that if he applied even the slightest wrong pressure, they might snap like twigs.
“Let’s eat first, Mr. Fairy.”
Completely oblivious to his restraint, Pera playfully wrinkled her nose and kept calling him “fairy.”
Theo, delighted by the teasing, bounced up and down, chanting after her.
“Fairy! Let’s eat! Let’s eat leg meat!”
“Theo…”
“Okaay, Ray.”
The boy clung to his knight’s thigh, pouring on the cuteness. In the end, Ray shut his mouth without further complaint. Theo was simply too adorable to scold.
Just as he had done for breakfast, Ray prepared dinner as well. His movements were so natural—so practiced—that it felt as if he had lived in this house for years. Before long, several beautiful dishes lined the table.
“Waaah!”
“Waaah!”
Both Pera and Theo exclaimed together, eyes shining as they admired the sight.
Especially Pera—she was stunned to realize that she even owned such fine ingredients and cookware.
“Eat. I’m not feeding you, too.”
“Of course not! Thank you for the food. It really looks delicious!”
“tank you for food!”
The boy pressed his tiny palms together and shouted, his voice full of glee. Ray, smiling faintly, cut the meat on Theo’s plate as though tending to his own child.
The image was uncanny—like a father doting on his son.
Wait… wasn’t he supposed to be the crown prince’s knight?
Why, then, did they seem so casual? Why was there not even a shred of the strict etiquette beast usually adhered to?
Even in peaceful Timi Village, no one would ever dare to speak informally to the village chief. And this man—this knight—was addressing the crown prince like any other child.
The realization hit Pera belatedly, leaving her jaw slack.
“Pera, your face looks funny.”
Theo noticed first, pointing at her with his fork.
“Theo. Don’t poke people with that.”
Ray’s calm reprimand followed as he plucked the fork from Theo’s hand and set it on the table. His tone, again, was far too casual.
The more she noticed, the more questions piled up inside her.
“Um, excuse me…”
“Yes! I’m here!”
Theo’s loud reply made her smile despite herself. Then, steeling her nerves, she turned to Ray. His frosty expression erased that smile at once.
“What is it?”
“Ahem, hem.”
He tapped the table impatiently, long fingers drumming against the wood.
“It’s nothing, really…”
“Then spit it out.”
“Why… why do you speak so informally to Theo? He’s the crown prince.”
Pera had no knack for circling around a subject. She came right out with it. The truth was, she was jealous. If Ray could speak casually, why couldn’t she? Every time he threw back some smug remark in plain speech, it riled her up.
Ray gave a short laugh.
“Took you long enough to ask.”
“I-it just seemed so natural between you two…”
“Well, I was going to explain earlier.”
He had indeed intended to reveal it in the morning, but the moment slipped away. And then—
“Ray is Ray!”
Theo shouted before he could continue. Clinging to Ray’s arm, the boy described him in glowing terms—as if he were the most amazing adult in the world.
“Because Ray’s cool, Theo can talk with him! It’s okay!”
“So… just because he’s Ray?”
“Yep! Nobody else, only Ray!”
The gist of the boy’s nonsensical declaration was simple: because Ray was special, he alone could speak informally to the prince.
Pera tilted her head, still wondering how Ray had earned such unwavering trust. But when she recalled the way his gaze softened around Theo—warm enough to drip honey—she could only nod.
“I see.”
“Uh-huh! And Pera too! You can talk like that!”
“Me-me?”
Theo beamed, eyes crinkling into crescents. But Pera flapped her hands quickly.
The very thought of speaking so casually to the prince made her stomach churn.
“No, no! It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just… formal speech is more comfortable for me!”
“Ohhh, is that it?”
“That’s it, exactly.”
And just like that, the chance slipped through her fingers. She had only asked so she might treat Ray with less formality, but somehow Theo’s interruption had twisted the entire conversation.
Ray, too, found his explanation derailed by the boy’s chatter. Again, the moment to tell the truth passed him by.
But he dismissed it with a shrug. They wouldn’t be here long anyway. Once they returned to the palace, he and this woman would go their separate ways. What did it matter if she misunderstood?
He had no way of knowing that this indifference would become a regret that haunted him later.
Children’s energy was endless—like an eternal spring. And now that Theo’s protein stores had been replenished, he was bouncing around as if reborn.
Even though Pera wasn’t chasing him around like Ray, just sitting and answering his flood of questions was exhausting. By the time she had endured over a hundred inquiries about Timi Village and listened to a hundred palace anecdotes in return, night had fallen. The sky outside the window glittered with countless stars.
“Haaaahm…”
Theo yawned wide, his little mouth opening as he leaned against Ray’s shoulder. He didn’t need to say he was tired; it was written all over his drooping body.
“Your Highness, shall we go to bed now?”
“Mmm… but I haven’t told you about the acorns yet…”
“Ah! Right, the acorn story! Why don’t you save that one for tomorrow? It’ll be even more fun then.”
“Really? Okay then…”
The boy’s small head bobbed sleepily. His round ears flopped sideways, as if already drifting into dreams.
Pera flapped her hands at Ray in frantic signals—Take him to bed, quick! Somehow, he deciphered her wild gestures and smoothly lifted the boy into his arms.
Theo might have been small, but he was still heavy for his age. And yet Ray carried him as though he weighed nothing, as though he hadn’t been stitched up from battle wounds not long ago.
Pera frowned, watching in awe. What a relentless man… no, beastman.
Moonlight spilled through the window, trailing across his back as he walked away. The glow caught the tip of his snow-white tail, drawing her gaze to it again and again.
