CH 43

Hunting Contest (11)

“Eri…”

Kergel slowly approached her and proceeded to open his mouth. However, he immediately closed his mouth at her voice that followed soon after.

“You and His Majesty look very much alike. Yellow eyes, black fur.”

Kergel, who was just watching Roelin muttering while hugging the wolf’s neck, made a face in response.

“Are you saying that I look just like that wolf?”

He smiled and shook his head. But instead of approaching her, he kept on observing her. This was because Roelin had stroked the wolf and continued to talk.

“And… unlike your first impression, you both look kind. Do you know how scared I was when I first saw you?”

A laugh could be heard as Roelin added along towards the wolf. However, Kergel couldn’t smile just as he had a little while ago. It wasn’t because he was offended or angry.

It was just a little…

“It feels weird.”

That was all he could say that he felt. This was because some emotions that were difficult to express simply seemed to have disappeared after clutching onto his heart tightly.

A scary first impression?

That was convincing. It would have been even more strange if she didn’t feel anything about him since the rumor of a monster had already spread throughout the continent.

Nevertheless, it was hard to understand what she said about him being kind to her.

At the very least, even his closest aides would not be able to accept it entirely. Kergel knew himself full well that his own personality was definitely far from being friendly.

But the woman who became his companion had uttered that he was kind. And that was not in front of him, but to that insufficient wolf instead. Just by looking at that, he could see that her words were not simply flattery that she brought up just to win favor.

Then, did she really feel that way?

Kergel felt that his neck and face had been in aflame as he swept down his face dry with both hands.

What did she mean by kind?

‘What did I even do for her?’

It made him feel so hot to hear that a woman who would have definitely lived in Rakain with the affection of many people had thought so. But he didn’t feel bad at all.

He took another step while still rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

The wolf, who was still making concessions in Roelin’s arms then, jumped up and revealed his sharp teeth.

Ha! Would you look at this guy—

Kergel burst into laughter when he looked at the wolf who had exposed his teeth to him.

Roelin turned her head belatedly. When she saw him, she immediately rose herself.

Kergel frowned when he saw that her hunting suit was already full of wolf fur. Roelin bowed her head while following his gaze and as she saw her outfit, she hurriedly shook her clothes off.

Kergel still stared at it before he then looked towards the wolf, who was baring his teeth even now.

—How dare you reveal this to your Master?

When Kergel muttered inwardly, the wolf shook and soon clutched the wrinkles on the back of his nose before revealing his teeth once again.

It was just ridiculous. He couldn’t believe that wolves could actually display their teeth to the descendants of the wolves clan. He was amazed and squinted once more while still laughing in vain.

In retrospect, the wolf’s attitude was somehow suspicious as well.

‘What—it’s like it is trying to protect her.’

The wolf’s behavior seemed to reveal a mother facing an enemy larger than herself to protect her baby.

‘I don’t think it’s mistaking her for its own baby… Could you even feel that she’s a wolf’s companion?’

So, he simply thought that it could only be explained by the loyalty that had gone to that side in a rather wacky way. Of course, it was impossible to find out what the wolf was exactly thinking.

—Anyway, you look funny. Such as that of a leader of a group is merely flirting like a dog.

Growl.

The wolf blinked its yellow eyes and frowned with the back of its nose as if it was protesting. However, regardless of that, Kergel began approaching her much more ‘closely’ and waved his hand towards the wolf.

—Get going now. Just do it for nothing and get hit by an arrow. If you’re simply the way you are now, I think that might just be enough.

Growl.

Right at Kergel’s words, the wolf once again revealed its teeth. However, the wolf soon hung its tail down before turning around. This was because he just could not go against the order of Kergel, who was a descendant of the wolves clan.

Roelin, who was just staring blankly at that scene, belatedly opened her mouth to the wolf.

“Goodbye, wolf!”

The wolf then stopped at that spot and seemed to look back before it soon went deep into the forest. Roelin only gazed as if she was following the wolf’s traces.

Kergel stared at her silently. It was really unexpected. Should he say that he felt like he had seen her hidden side?

The way she treated animals that she couldn’t communicate with was as if they were like humans.

‘No, maybe that’s just why.’

He thought that she might have been able to open up a little more since the wolf was a beast that couldn’t communicate entirely.

“…Your Majesty?”

At that moment, he met with Roelin’s blue eyes. He looked at her, who was gazing at him with her puzzled eyes, and seemed like nothing had happened at all.

He shook his head.

“Let’s go back now. No matter how riskless here is, it’s still not good to walk around alone like this.”

He changed the subject. She stared at Kergel before she soon nodded.