🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 13
“So… so who do you think did something this awful? We really ought to catch them and give them a good beating!”
Pera raised her voice, hoping to disperse the chilling atmosphere. In truth, if she ever met the person who planted such a thing, she’d probably faint on the spot, trembling like the fragile human she was.
But her clumsy outburst of anger had the unintended effect of softening the fury in Ray’s eyes. The sharp aura that had been circling around him gradually dissipated.
Seeing his expression return to its usual unreadable calm, Pera let out a quiet sigh of relief.
“Have you seen enough? Hand it over. It needs to be destroyed.”
Pera pouted, her lips trembling. She had secretly slipped the monster bomb into her pocket, but Ray’s hand extended toward her with quiet authority. She had no choice but to hand it over, though she did so reluctantly.
In his broad palm, the dangerous object looked more like a rare jewel than a weapon. Perhaps that illusion was due to the man’s elegant, noble features—features so finely sculpted they outshone any treasure.
Pera’s gaze drifted lower, imagining the hard lines of his chest, shoulders, and back beneath the fabric. His recovery had been so fast she hadn’t even gotten enough time to “study” his physique properly. The thought made her grin without realizing it.
Ray narrowed his eyes.
“What’s with that perverted look in your eyes…?”
“W-what? Me? No! I wasn’t—”
“Wipe the drool off your mouth before you keep talking.”
“Wh-what—?!”
Flustered, Pera rubbed her lips with the back of her hand, only to realize there was nothing there. Her face turned red as she realized she’d been teased.
Ray tilted his head slightly, silver hair falling with the movement, and then murmured as though making a revelation.
“The way you get angry… you look like a Suin.”
“…What?”
Out of nowhere, a Suin comparison? Pera blinked rapidly. After a moment of silence, Ray added simply:
“A mountain gorilla Suin.”
“Wha—!” Pera stamped her feet in outrage, which only seemed to amuse him further.
Satisfied with his little victory, Ray finally drew his sword. The monster bomb had proven impervious to the earlier blast that shattered an entire carriage. It was no ordinary object; brute strength alone wouldn’t be enough.
He wrapped his blade with aura, the same color as his piercing eyes, and gave a single, curt order.
“Step back.”
Pera was already thirty steps behind, but she scrambled even further. Ray’s lips curved faintly at her quick obedience before he turned serious again. The sword began to blaze with light, as though a second sun had descended into the forest.
Pera squinted and shielded her eyes.
“So this is the level of power it takes to guard a prince…”
She clasped her hands in front of her, vowing to show more respect to him from now on—and maybe shower him with flattery later.
Then—
Crack.
Something shattered.
Her eyes flew open, darting downward. Not an egg from a bird’s nest. No—there, at her feet, lay another gemstone.
This one glowed a harsh red. Like the yellow one before, it was crudely cut and ugly.
How many of these were hidden in that carriage?!
The thought of targeting a mere five-year-old prince with such vile tricks filled Pera with disgust. Her temper flared, and before she could stop herself, she ground the stone beneath her heel.
If it hadn’t exploded already, surely it wasn’t a bomb. Boldly, she stamped harder, until the gem crumbled into dust.
That was when a voice fell like ice down her spine.
“What are you doing?”
“Eek!”
Pera leapt back, heart pounding. She hadn’t even noticed Ray approach.
He crouched, pale ears twitching faintly, and studied the dust clinging to her shoe. His face hardened.
“Was this… your doing?”
“I-it wasn’t on purpose! I just stepped on it and realized it wasn’t normal, so I thought—well—better to crush it all the way!”
His silence made her sweat, but then he stood. His expression was grim.
“You’re right. It wasn’t normal. That was a tracking device.”
Pera’s blood drained from her face. A tracking device? Of course. Whoever had gone to such lengths to attack the young prince would not stop at just one method.
Suddenly, all the carefree innocence of the rabbit-beast children playing with Prince Theo flashed before her eyes. The image left her bitter and heartsick.
She rubbed her aching temple and muttered bitterly:
“Haah… I really want to see the faces of these bastards.”
Ray, on the other hand, looked oddly pleased.
“Do you, now?”
A thin smile curved his lips, beautiful and cold. His eyes glittered with the promise of retaliation.
He had let things slide before, but this time they had gone too far.
“If they want to play dirty… I’ll show them how it feels.”
Pera shivered despite the sun overhead. Something about his smile raised goosebumps down her arms.
When she called his name uncertainly, he only shrugged and gestured to the path home. There was nothing else to do but follow. Still, her heart whispered one hope: that the prince and his knight would quietly return to the capital before things grew any more dangerous.
On the way back, Pera was so distracted watching the elegant sway of Ray’s tail that she tripped over a stone.
“Ahh!”
Flat on the ground, she groaned. Ray chuckled dryly.
“Even Theo doesn’t fall that clumsily.”
“This is all your fault!”
“Mine? Did I push you?”
He extended a hand, reluctantly polite.
Pera blinked, startled at the unexpected gesture. She stared dumbly at his palm until his patience ran out.
“Fine. Get up on your own.”
“N-no! Look— I’m bleeding!”
She held up her hand. The skin was torn, blood welling up across her palm.
Ray’s eyes narrowed.
“Unbelievable. You really do get into every kind of trouble.”
But despite his exasperation, he knelt before her. From his pack he pulled bandages and ointment, tending to her wound with practiced ease.
For a moment, Pera simply stared, lips pursed, unable to decide whether to feel embarrassed, grateful… or just hopelessly charmed.
