CH 92

Heinrich’s eyes deepened like a pit. Heat gathered in his heart.

This woman, with blonde hair pathetically scattered in his arms, was the real Annette.

—Not a doll.

“…….”

‘You don’t know how much I missed this sweet smell of your body, the feeling of your slender body in my arms, and the sound of your heart beating and pounding hard.’

Heinrich stroked her cheek with the back of his large hand.

“…….”

―She could feel the white, cold fingers barely skimming over her skin.

At that time, Annette’s eyelids trembled slightly.

Her voice was as small as a whisper, but very firm words were uttered.

“Heinrich, stop it.”

“…….”

Tak, grabbing his wrist, her pale green eyes stared straight at him.

In an instant, Heinrich’s eyes widened slightly.

Soon his heart began to burn like a starving child’s. He thought she was definitely in his arms, but this attitude and gaze… 

Now it was Heinrich who was shaking. It was the moment when he bit his red lips in agony.

Bang!

There was a loud bang, like a crash on the door.

“……!”

When they looked at the door in surprise, they saw a man with shoulders and back as wide as the door, arms crossed.

—It was Sislin.

The door was still shaking as it was like he had punched it, but it was quite effective. Because Annette fell away from Heinrich.

“Oh my. It’s a surprise.”

In a plain tone that contained no surprise at all, Heinrich coldly frowned. As if he had expected all the uninvited guests to come.

‘I’m surprised too.’

I was surprised, and I tidied my hair (I didn’t do anything wrong, but I felt like I was caught). Then I quickly asked.

“…Your Highness, what are you doing here? In the kitchen?”

“…….”

Sislin stared at me silently with his dark eyes. Then with his long legs, he slowly entered, and poured a strong drink into his glass.

Leaning against the wall, he drank, still staring at me and Heinrich.

Heinrich was disgusted.

“Ugh, this savage bastard… You used all your strength.”

His lips were pressed and thin, and his elegant handsome face mercilessly crumpled.

“Really, I hate people with a dirty temper the most.”

Sislin, who had been listening silently, said,

“Then how much do you mean he hates himself?”

“……?!”

‘Your Highness the Crown Prince, you’re good at arguing.’

Heinrich’s face slowly turned red like an apple.

‘…It’s true that you have a bad temper, so you can’t argue against it, Heinrich.’

My pupils shook.

The feeling was here. I had a feeling.

The shell of a shrimp in its 1n-year-old life could feel a crisis was about to burst.

Just as the knees of an elderly one responded first before it rained, the shrimp’s shell reacted quickly.

I swiftly intervened.

“Well, then, will Heinrich go out first? I’ll finish cleaning up here.”

I lowered my eyebrows and smiled softly.

“…Sister.”

Heinrich would normally have said he would stay with me, but now it seemed like he didn’t want to be in the same room with Sislin.

Glaring at Sislin in disgust, he said,

“You have to come out soon.”

“Yes!”

Heinrich looked at Sislin and I alternately for a while with a gaze that didn’t want to leave us alone, but he eventually walked out, kicking his tongue.

Before long, I was left alone in the same room with Sislin.

‘It got awkward again.’

Apparently, being alone with Sislin was still nerve-wracking.

I carefully arranged the items, feeling a hot gaze that was like it could burn.

Clink—

The sound of Sislin setting the glass down was particularly loud.

To the point that my heart was pounding.

‘Why should I be so nervous when he’s just putting down a glass…?’

In the end, I opened my mouth first.

“Are you having fun at the party, Your Highness the Crown Prince?”

“…….”

Sislin’s red eyes were calm as they focused me, and he answered slowly.

“Well.”

“…….”

Tuk, he plucked a grape and shoved it into his mouth. White teeth chewing on the flesh and covered with crushed juice were slightly reflected.

Swallowing both the flesh and the sweet juice, he said with a smile.

“It might be fun.”

‘…Why are you reporting me like that?’

‘And while eating grapes like that.’

‘What the heck are you going to do at the party for it to be fun in the future?’

I was curious.

No, actually, I was not curious at all.

“I have a question, Annette.”

“…Yes! Ask me, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

Sislin looked at me and asked calmly. As though it wasn’t a big deal.

“Why are you calling Heinrich like before, while you’re calling me ‘His Highness the Crown Prince’?”

“That is, Heinrich…”

‘Wait, it feels like I’ve been asked this question before?’

Heinrich asked as well.

“…He’s comfortable like a younger brother, and he’s also close in heart.”

“Is he close?”

Sislin just picked up that word and asked, staring at me silently.

For an instant, the red eyes subsided.

‘…Did I say something else wrong, guys?’

I felt it was a little unjust.

If I called one of them like how I used to, the other would be jealous of that, and if I was respectful to one of them, the other would be jealous too.

‘Damn, my shell.’

The ‘shrimp’ thought.

Even if I addressed them the other way around, they would definitely still be jealous of each other.

His deep red eyes narrowed dangerously, and he quietly asked.

“I guess you call people close to you kindly.”

“…….”

Gulp.

I barely let the dry saliva pass. How could I respond so as to not provoke?

Right then.

The voice of salvation (which almost sounded like an angel’s singing) was heard from outside the kitchen.

“Annette! A table ran out of food, could you please take a look?”

“Oh! yes~”

I lowered my eyebrows and put on the expression I used before that said ‘I can’t help it.’

“Then, Your Highness, I will excuse myself.”

“…….”

Sislin smiled and tapped his chin with long fingers.

With tenacious eyes asking, ‘Are you running away again?’

The shrimp who was stung pretended not to see those eyes and went outside.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

The table that lacked food was <Winston’s Shield’s> table.

“Oh my, the food was so delicious that I scraped it all off.”

“It’s seriously the first time I’ve eaten such delicious stew in my life.”

“…It’s amazing!”

One member was even licking the plate.

‘Huh? It’s to that extent?’

Anyway, I was glad they enjoyed it.

I replied with a wide smile.

“Thank you. You can eat more, shields. There is a lot of food inside!”

‘But what about Kyle?’

As I looked around, I saw Kyle kneeling in front of a small child.

He was caring for one of the twins who had fallen, patting the child’s knees.

‘…Ah, my God.’

I had been tormented by Heinrich and Sislin a while ago, and Kyle looked almost like an angel.

‘Probably the most docile.’

Out of these three.

Then, Kyle saw me and waved his hand with a smile.

I smiled and waved back.

‘It’s a bit of a relief.’

The fact that there was at least one ‘peaceful stag’ in this burning party.

My smile grew wider.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

After a while.

Someone walked straight to the table where Sislin sat, where no one approached.

—It was Kyle.

“…….”

Pretending to have just noticed him, Sislin’s red eyes gazed at him expressionlessly.

Kyle treated him with a very noble and respectful attitude.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, this is Marquis Kyle Winston. Nice to meet you.”

“…….”

“Can I sit down for a moment?”

Sislin nodded without answering. The blackened red eyes seemed somehow interested.

Like watching a mountain beast trying to get into a monster’s mouth.

“Marquis Kyle Winston.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Kyle sat facing him.

There was no shaking in the eyes like a recording. Even though he was overwhelmingly polite, for some reason, he seemed to be cutting his opponent sharply.

On the other hand, Sislin, who was sitting languidly, could not read any emotion.

He asked with an expressionless face.

“I heard that <Winston’s Shield> is officially staying in the capital of El Dorado.”

“We’re traveling. I’m giving the tired shields a break from 10 years of beast subjugation.”

“But, you don’t have to.”

Sislin’s red eyes shot a momentarily digging gaze.

“It looks like Bayonaire is a good place for vacation.”

Sislin, who seemed to have no emotional agitation at all, felt like an iron wall.

Kyle’s eyes deepened.

—Nevertheless, he was convinced.

Judging from the contents of the question, the crown prince suspected that he had a connection with Circe. And that he and <Winston’s Shield> were protecting Annette.

That false order must have been intentional, what a son of a gun.

The reason why he went all the way to the northern snow to find a Griffin, who wasn’t even there.

From the leader’s point of view, it felt like a prank.

“It’s probably not just Bayonaire, Marquis.”

“…….”

“Why do you have to stay here?”

“Because I fell in love with a certain girl.”

It was then that the red eyes of Sislin, who had not shown any emotion throughout, hardened.

“I couldn’t possibly leave my beloved behind.”

“…….”

The veins of the relaxed Sislin’s neckline crept up.

The carnivorous stag smiled refreshingly and threw a taffy into the clearly heated beast’s mouth.

“Miss Annette.”