CH 22

“Ah…nice to see you. I am Raenel from the Howard family, Greetings to His Highness the first prince.”

I slightly squeezed the sides of the hem of the dress and lifted it up and gracefully bent my back.

In the meantime, I felt the soft brushing of hair near my ankles. A cold sweat broke out on the back of my back at the sudden realization.

‘I wondered why you were in this place…’

Were you chased by the first prince? Did you have time to play with a ball of yarn?

“No more greetings, I want you to answer my question.”

The first prince, who roughly raised his head with an emotionless face, tapped me on the shoulder with a sword in his hand and scanned me up and down. The sword in his hand was pulled out of its scabbard and the well-forged blade was shining brightly.

Unless there is a special reason, pulling out the sword in the capital is prohibited. The royal family is no exception. But the fact that he drew his sword like that…

“If you are talking about a monster, which monster are you talking about?”

“Wing cat. With black fur and a red magic stone.”

I swallowed dryly as I recalled in my head the image of pulling up the hem of my skirt and showing the red magic stone at my feet. In that case, I could easily be sure of the future where Ruby would die on this spot, even if I had no ability to predict.

“I…I didn’t see it. Perhaps he has already fled to another place?”

“Then can you get out of here? I want to see it with my own eyes.”

“Well…Yes.”

‘Ruby, please. Don’t come out of there.’

‘Did you even read my mind?’

Ruby did not come out of my skirt until I carefully stepped back and stood next to the alley.

The first prince stared at me and strode into the alley and looked around. Then he bent over and picked up a ball of wool that I dropped and Ruby played it here.

“Is this yours?”

“Oh no! It’s not mine, it’s from a handicraft shop. I dropped it and came to pick it up.… Maybe you misunderstood the shadow of the yarn. Because it is black.”

“Aha.”

The first prince’s red eyes flashed darkly for a moment.

“Did I confuse this dirty wool with a monster?”

“Oh, because the rolling speed was fast! If you just glanced at it, wouldn’t it be confusing?”

“Then…”

The eyes of the first prince, who had kept the temperature cold throughout, finally drew a round curve. But I was more frightened. It was because the first prince, who would never make me smile with good feelings, took a step closer to me.

“How can you explain this monster smell coming from you?”

“Yes? What? I smell like a monster?”

Hiccup! Hiccup!

Eventually, the surprised body started to hiccup. I hurriedly covered my mouth with both hands and The first prince looked down with a very happy gaze.

“Yes. That’s very thick, too.”

“….”

“I’m sure you’re not a monster…”

The sword, which had been patting on the shoulder as if playing around, stretched long down. The first prince’s gaze is the same. He seemed to already know that the ruby was under the skirt. But why not reveal the fact?

‘If I keep lying, is he going to accuse me of contempt for the imperial family? Does it matter if he can cut anything?’

The thought in my head sent shivers down my spine.

Whether he cut me in a place like this or lift up the hem of my skirt. He had the power and strength to immediately act on whatever he set his mind to and even possessed a ruthless personality.

‘If I Just give him ruby…’

At that time, Ruby, as if knowing that I had thought of it, came close to my feet in my skirt. The warm body heat that touched my ankles was shaking so pitifully that I could feel it through my skin.

At that moment, my mouth opened.

“Doll! It must be because of the doll!”

“Doll?”

“Yes, my friend gave me a doll made from the fur of a pet monster she raised as a gift.”

I quickly took out the doll Rebecca gave me from the pocket of the side seam of my dress. showed it to the first prince.

“Isn’t it so cute? It would have been better to see it in person, but unfortunately, it’s already dead.”

I don’t know what I’m talking about. I was trying to distract the first prince, but the first prince, who was staring at the Snow Fox doll in my hand, raised his eyes slightly and looked at me.

One slightly wiggly eyebrow seemed to say, “What?”

“You’re very adaptable.”

“Haha, what do you mean by adaptation… I am a girl who doesn’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You don’t look young enough to claim to be a girl. You have a pretty thick face.”

“Are you looking at me as an adult?”  Wow, I am happy. My family always treats me like an immature child.”

I was mad at my family when they said that I was young and immature.

Because it was strange that I hadn’t returned for a long time when I went to pick up a fallen yarn, Philip appeared from beyond the corner of the alley.

“Young lady, where are you?…young lady?!”

Philip, wide-eyed at the sight of the man standing in front of me holding a sword, immediately drew his sword.  I quickly waved my hands for fear that things would get bigger here.

“Sir Philip! stop it, this person is the first prince!”

“What?… Ah! Knight of the Howard family, Philip greetings Your Highness the First Prince.”

Seeing the prince’s cheek, Philip quickly put his sword in and knelt down on one knee. But he was glancing this way even with his head down. He is now on one knee, but I sensed in his heart that he would pull out his sword again if the situation became worse, so I swallowed my dry saliva nervously.

Fortunately, the first prince nodded his head with an emotionless face.

“You can get up.”

After permission was given, I hurriedly approached Philip, who got up on his knees. Fortunately, Ruby moved well at my pace.

“Sorry. I take a little longer, right? I met the first prince by chance, so I greeted him for a moment”

“That’s okay. I’m glad you’re okay.”

“It’s not a big deal. I was with the first Prince.”

On the outside, I smiled widely, but cold sweat was still running down my back.

‘Please, anyone get me out of here!’

“well… good there’s nothing I can’t do but show mercy to a young lady in this situation.”

“Yes?”

As if asking what that means, Philip put on a puzzled expression. I gave him a quick glance and quickly turned around.

“Then I will go. It was an honor to be able to greet you like this, even if by chance, Your Highness the First Prince.”

When I bowed my head deeply with my hand on my chest, I heard the first prince’s languid voice.

“However, you must not forget that my mercy is very, very big and has run out with this. If you try to deceive me next time…”

The first prince’s sword returned to its sheath. Although the sound of the blade brushing against the scabbard was not that loud, it had the power to send chills down the spine.

“You will definitely have to pay for it.”

With a very graceful smile on the outside, the first prince left such a harsh remark and went out of the alley. It wasn’t until after I couldn’t see the back of him anymore that my legs gave out and collapsed.

“Young lady!”

“Am I alive?”

“What happened? His Highness the Prince did anything to the young lady…?”

“No, I did something…”

He is a human who has even joined hands with a group of black magicians who control monsters to seize the throne. Besides, the rumors about him that even reached my ears, which I don’t know much about, are completely insane.

To put it bluntly, the darkness or villain of this era is the first prince. I can’t believe I lied to hide a monster from such a human being.

“Crazy, crazy.”

As the first prince said, he gave mercy. What the hell did I think I was doing in front of him?

“Young lady?”

“I mean…Call a carriage.”

“Alright. You’d better get out of here before that. Could you get up?”

“I can get up…”

After hesitating for a moment, I asked Philip.

“Would you like to turn around for a second?”

“Yes?”

While Philip was puzzled, not understanding why I was making such a request, Ruby’s round hair was revealed from under my skirt, without needing to make him understand.

“Meow?”

“Mo, monster?”

“Shhh! Be quiet.”

In the proclamation, it was written that rewards would be given not only to those who raise pet monsters but also to those who found monsters on the street and reported them.

And by the way, it’s only been a week since the monster attack happened. In a street like this, someone has a monster here! If you shout, it’s not an exaggeration, but all the people nearby will rush in.

“No way, young lady…Did you hide that monster from His Highness the Prince?”

The reprimand of what I did came through Philip’s eyes. I was embarrassed. I wouldn’t have done it because I wanted to!

“I really would have pretended not to know. He’s a monster raised by someone I know…”

“Even if that’s the case, shouldn’t we voluntarily report it anyway?”

“I can’t do that.”

Monster attacks would have happened in the original work, and a proclamation would have been attached like now. However, Ruby is killed by ‘Raenel’ in Ajas’s area. That said, he would not die here. So he shouldn’t even die.

“What do you mean you can’t?”

“It’s the pet monster of Marquis Ajas.”

“Ajas…no how could Marquis Ajas’s pet monster be chased by the first prince?”

“I don’t know.”

I was really curious about that too, but I couldn’t ask because who would answer me was a low-level monster who couldn’t speak.

There was only one thing I had to do in this situation. Returning this lost monster back to its owner.