Chapter 43

“Is that why she just carelessly kept touching, hugging, and kissing me?”

When he recalled her warm and soft touch on his forehead, he felt his face heating up. He wanted to touch the spot she had touched before, but he could feel nothing with his paws.

“Haa.”

It was utterly ridiculous how he was embarrassed and brooding over receiving a kiss once from a kid three years younger than him. It was good to be with Rosetta because she was fun and comfortable to be with, but it would get dangerous if they got any closer than this.

Her sweet, cordial expressions, friendly touches, and warm words.

The affection that Rosetta generously gave was something Sihael had never received.

‘If we get any closer than this…’

If he got addicted, there would be no turning back. Sihael thought he should distance himself from Rosetta, but it didn’t seem like it would be easy. Whenever he slept on the same bed with Rosetta, nine out of ten times, he would wake up in her arms.

Even today, he went to a lot of trouble to escape without waking her up.

It was obvious from how often they cuddled that he, who was not much familiar with skinship, felt comfortable in Rosetta’s arms

“Sir Shasha!”

Sihael, who was walking towards the garden, turned his head to the sound of someone calling him. The little maid Rosetta cared about was running towards him. She had just arrived at work, so she was dressed in her daily clothes.

“Haah, haah. Is the young lady still sleeping?”

Sihael nodded and looked at Hannah. Seeing how the kid was breathless and gasping for air just from that short distance, she was as weak as she looked.

‘If it were Rosetta, she would have run up to me at once, and lifted me up and spun around.’

His thoughts naturally headed towards Rosetta.

“Are you taking a walk alone?”

Hannah was a talkative child. He didn’t like noisy things, but since Rosetta cared about this child, he decided to leave her alone. As a result, they ended up taking a walk in the garden together.

“Sir Shasha, what do you like?”

“Meat? Fish? If not these, then do you like fruits?”

Even though she didn’t get any answers, she still kept talking by herself. Sihael, who had been ignoring Hannah’s questions, choked at the words that came out next.

“Oh, I see! It’s the young lady, right?”

“Keuk.”

Why did she suddenly jump in that direction after talking a lot about food?  Bewildered, Sihael made a mistake, which he would normally never make.

“Rosetta is not something to eat”.

“Of course! I didn’t mean it that way. I meant to ask whether you have a liking for the lady!”

Seeing how she wasn’t surprised on seeing a beast speak, Sihael’s eyes shone sharply with a glint of alertness at Hannah’s natural response.

“So, you knew.”

Hannah’s shoulders flinched at the low voice. Sensing the unusual atmosphere, she looked into Sihael’s eyes.

“I accidentally overheard the two of you talking.”

“Where?”

“Last night, just before you got into the carriage at my house. I heard Sir Shasha worriedly asking the lady if she got hurt anywhere.”

Frightened by the sudden interrogation, Hannah clasped her hands tightly and blinked her eyes.

“I will never tell anyone. Please forgive me.”

Seeing her pitiful look, Sihael swallowed back his sigh. He remembered asking Rosetta this and that last night because he was worried after seeing Rosetta in low spirits then. He had thought there was no one around. It was definitely his fault for being careless as he had become used to a peaceful life for a while.

“Do you know who I am?”

“The God of Wolves…?”

What kind of god was that?! Sihael narrowed his eyes. Seeing how Hannah was smiling bashfully, she didn’t seem to know his identity. Because if she had known, she wouldn’t have approached him so amiably.

“Yeah, just think like that. It would be better to know nothing.”

Hannah nodded her head vigorously at the  warning words. When the stiff atmosphere relaxed a little, Hannah wiggled her fingers and carefully checked Sihael’s mood.

“Umm, Sir Shasha. What does the lady like?”

“Me.”

Sihael clamped his mouth shut at the answer that he spoke out unconsciously. The embarrassment that he had barely managed to suppress overtook him once again.

‘Wait, it’s not wrong either. The one that Rosetta loves the most is me.’

He consoled himself after struggling with the embarrassment for a brief time. Hannah also helped to some extent by nodding her head and agreeing to it.

“Of course, the lady likes Sir Shasha a lot, but I meant food, not Sir Shasha. I wish it was some kind of snack, so do you know anything?”

“She eats everything without a fuss.”

“But still.”

“…… Apple pie.”

Sihael smiled when he remembered Rosetta’s face while nibbling on an apple pie a few days ago.

‘Like a squirrel or a rabbit.’

Although Rosetta didn’t look like the gentle and meek types, at that moment the only animals that came to his mind were the small and cute ones.

‘They say you’re hopeless if you think someone’s cute.’

He felt he was in more serious trouble now. Sihael sighed heavily and clenched his fists. He didn’t pay any attention to Hannah’s mumbles about the apple pie.

“Thanks for sharing this with me! Then I’ll be on my way now!”

Hannah, who ran away and disappeared to the back gate of the mansion, was like a spy who came to extract information. Maybe she was indeed a spy. At first, it did look like she was using Rosetta as a purpose to approach Sihael.

‘No, that foolish kid can’t be the empress’ spy.’

Sihael shook his head when he saw the back of the hopping figure.

‘She’s just a guileless, silly kid.’

Sihael leisurely walked towards the door where she disappeared. He slowly went in.

It was time for Rosetta to wake up.