episode_0016

Elin, who had been hugging Luke tightly for a while, slowly pulled away.

“… … Sorry.”

There was no need to ask what he was sorry about.

Reddened ear tips.

A stupid hair that shakes and twitches.

I could tell because Luke was a graduate of Ellin University and was working on his doctorate.

He was just embarrassed about being held like a little child.

“It’s okay.”

He patted Ellen’s head and put the cake in her mouth.

As soon as the sweet thing entered, the corners of Ellin’s mouth reflexively rose slightly.

“It’s delicious.”

“Thank goodness.”

When I see him munching on cake, I feel fatherly love blossoming inside me.

Is this the taste you’re raising your daughter on?

“When is your birthday, teacher?”

Ellen swallowed the cake and asked a question.

It’s probably a question asked with a curious thought.

Since the teacher celebrated my birthday, I will celebrate it next time.

It’s a thought that would make an unloved child cry with joy.

But the question could not be answered easily.

“Well.”

“… ?”

Whenever I was asked when my birthday was, I always hesitated.

This is because the birthday before and after being possessed are different.

Of course, if you are not close with someone, you will be informed of the date of birth after the encounter, that is, Luke Bucklin’s birthday.

But Luke felt awkward being celebrated on a day that wasn’t even his birthday.

“I’ll let you know when I remember.”

So I thought about it.

Should I tell Elin which day she considers her real birthday?

Or should I tell you the birthday I’ve been talking about?

My worries grew deeper because now Ellin really didn’t look like a game character.

“… … Okay.”

Did he read something in Luke’s eyes?

Elin swallowed her words, her face looking like she wanted to ask a question.

“Teacher eats it too.”

Instead, she offered Luke the piece of cake she was about to put in her mouth.

“This is the princess’s cake, is that okay?”

“Yeah. Eat it.”

Push the fork in.

Thanks to that, it all got stuck on the corners of my mouth, but it’s okay.

“It’s delicious.”

“Right?”

Because Ellin, who fed me the cake, had a smile on her face again.

Once the restrictions were lifted, Ellin’s expression was quite colorful.

“I like chocolate the best.”

“I will refer to it next time.”

Ellen and Luke shared a cake in a relaxed atmosphere.

As the cake was almost gone, Ellen asked.

“Is tomorrow a holiday too?”

“No, we will resume classes starting tomorrow.”

“Etiquette class?”

“Yes.”

“Ugh… .”

Unrefined sounds flowed from Elin’s mouth.

I immediately understood the meaning contained in that voice.

Disappointment, regret, sorrow.

It was mainly those kinds of feelings.

“Don’t worry. Magic classes will resume soon.”

So I gave him the answer he wanted right away.

“… How? You saw it. If you use magic, you fall down.”

“We have to solve that.”

“How?” Luke was faster than Ellen could ask again.

“Do you know what the Academy’s strengths are, Your Majesty?”

A quiz that started out of nowhere.

Even though it was a break, it felt like she was attending a lecture, but Elin didn’t feel bad at all.

“Well.”

I’ve never been to an academy, so I can’t give you an answer.

“The correct answer is, he has a wide network of connections.”

Since today was a day off, Luke gave the answer right away.

“This is bragging, but if you become the top student at the academy, you will get to know a lot of people in various fields.”

I took out a piece of stationery from the subspace.

“So I reached out to some guys who might be able to help me with the curse.”

“With that?”

“Yes. This is a long-distance communication letter that I developed.”

When Ellin heard about the long-distance communication letter’s ability, her expression changed like that of a human who first encountered a cell phone.

“… Is that possible?”

“Because I’m a bit competent.”

She put the letter back into the subspace, whining.

“So, don’t worry, Princess. I will make sure you can use magic.”

“… I’ll believe you.”

Elin nods.

She clears the plate, slowly approaches, and sits down next to Luke.

“Are you going to tell me to go back now?”

Then he tilted his head and looked at Luke.

“It’s late, so you should brush your teeth and go to sleep now.”

I looked out the window.

The sun had already set a long time ago.

It makes sense, since the real birthday party was held in the afternoon.

Now that you’ve had your fun, it’s time to prepare for tomorrow.

“Can’t I sleep here today?”

But it seemed like the excessive happiness had a lingering effect.

Ellen looked up at Luke, wiggling her fingers.

“Is there a special reason?”

“I want to spend a little more time with the teacher.”

“Hmm… I feel the same way, but I don’t think it’ll work out today.”

It was with great regret that I declined Ellen’s request.

I absolutely did not regret the sexual overtones in his remarks.

Luke is ready to gouge out his own eyes if the day comes when he feels sexually attracted to Elin.

“I’ve called several places, so it looks like it’s going to get late tonight.”

It was purely for her own good that I declined Elin’s generous offer.

Today Luke plans to stay up all night with his soulmate, Iced Americano.

Because we need to resolve Elin’s curse as soon as possible.

“… Okay.”

Elin slid down the stairs and walked slowly toward the door.

Maybe it’s because my legs are short.

Maybe it’s because I still feel regret.

It took quite a while to open the door and go out.

“Thank you for today. Sleep well.”

Ellin, who had returned to her usual appearance… that is, with a blank expression, waved her hand.

“Good night.”

“You must wake me up tomorrow.”

Elin, who had left a message, slowly closed the door.

“It’s definitely getting better.”

Luke smiled happily and took a sip of caffeine.

“Then let’s get to work now.”

Something I couldn’t do today because I was preparing for Ellen’s birthday party.

It was time to use my connections to learn about Elin’s curse.

*****

“Ugh… .”

I opened my eyes with a feeling of my lower back screaming.

“… What time is it?”

Pouring coffee into my chapped throat… … Ah, I drank it all yesterday.

I turned my head as I took out a new cup of coffee from the subspace.

Sunlight streaming through the curtains.

It meant that it was already morning.

The place I slept was on the desk.

It seems like he fell asleep while exchanging contacts here and there to uncover the curse.

Let’s get up from our heavy body.

Swish.

A rabbit blanket flows down, which is not quite suitable for a healthy adult male.

Let’s look around.

“… Your Majesty?”

Elin was dozing off next to me.

When on earth did you come in?

He probably didn’t come in at night.

Because Luke stayed up pretty late last night.

If that’s the case, then it probably means he came in at dawn.

“… It’s not meal time yet.”

Looking at the clock, it was not time for Elin to wake up.

Of course, I wasn’t late for breakfast either.

Then why did you come here and put your blanket over Luke’s shoulders?

You can ask the person concerned.

“Your Majesty.”

Knock knock.

I lightly tapped Ellen on the shoulder.

They don’t cause matches like this anymore.

“Ugh… .”

Elin woke up immediately, rubbing her eyes, because she was dozing off, not completely asleep.

“… Are you awake?”

Then suddenly she rubs her cheek against Luke’s hand.

It was as if he had been chosen by a stray cat that was afraid of people.

“… Huh.”

Elin, who had not been making a fuss, stepped back with her hair sticking up.

I guess that was just a sleep-deprived action.

It was such a cute sight that I wanted to record it, but that’s not important right now.

“What is this?”

He pointed to the rabbit quilt draped over his shoulders.

“My blanket.”

Ellen answered as if it was a given.

“I asked the wrong question. Why did you cover me with your blanket, Princess?”

“Um… It looks cold.”

That’s really touching.

But there was something bothering me.

“When did you come into my room?”

“At dawn.”

“Can I ask why?”

“… … ”

Elin, who had been answering well, suddenly shut her mouth.

“Did something happen to you last night?”

You can think of it simply.

Yesterday, Ellen said she wanted to sleep here.

Luke refused.

Elin returned with regret.

And then he came back again when Luke dozed off.

It may seem like a cute prank, like sneaking in in the middle of the night to sleep together.

There were more than one or two strange parts here.

Was Elin the type of person to disobey Luke in the first place?

No, absolutely not.

And how did he get in while Algoruk was sleeping?

“… … ”

As expected, Ellin’s expression darkens.

It was a stark contrast to the face I used to love when I received birthday wishes yesterday.

“Father came to see me.”

The words that came out of Ellen’s mouth hit me in the back of the head.

“… The Duke came to see you?”

He probably wouldn’t have come to celebrate my birthday.

If he was that kind of person in the first place, he would not have treated Elin like this.

All that comes to mind is reasons to be anxious.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“… … ”

“There it is.”

Ellen has a habit of keeping her mouth shut when something hits the mark.

He immediately lifted Elin up in a flash.

Let’s turn it around.

It wasn’t difficult to find the injured area.

“This… … .”

I barely managed to swallow my curse.

A vivid blue mark remained on his calf, enough to make him frown.

“Have you been hit by a whistle?”

“… Yeah.”

“Why?”

If the duke were normal, he wouldn’t come to his youngest daughter in the middle of the night and swing a whip at her for no reason.

“I got caught changing my diet.”

“Haa… … .”

The problem is that the peacock is not a normal person, but a human who swings a whip just because he ate good food.

“Please wait.”

He took out some ointment from the subspace and applied it to Elin’s calf.

“읏… … .”

“I tried to treat it, but a new wound appeared.”

“mi… .”

“Don’t apologize. I’m not angry with the princess.”

After applying ointment to the painful area just by looking at it, I got up from my seat.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“The Duke’s office.”

Why on earth did Luke come looking for me when I was up all night?

When Luke can’t protect you.

That was just when Ellen regained her smile.

I stayed up all night for Elin.

Elin was lying asleep in the middle of the night, not even realizing that she had been hit.

It was pathetic.

If I don’t go and confront the Duke right now, I won’t be able to forgive myself.

“Oh, no.”

A feeble hand grabbed the collar.

“If you talk back to your father… …you’ll really get kicked out.”

Buzz.

The cramps spread to Luke.

Learned fear just makes you do it.

“Hoo… .”

When I was sighing, unable to shake off the small hand.

Bam.

“Both of you are here this time.”

The door opened wide without even knocking.

Ellen and Luke’s heads turned at the same time.

I was wondering if it might be a duke.

“What is it?”

The identity of the person outside was the maid who had taken Luke to Natia last time.

“I was looking for the princess. She wasn’t in her room, so I came here to look for her.”

“Why are you looking for me, Princess?”

The sudden and rude appearance did not go down well with the words.

Luke hid Elin behind his back.

No reason could come to mind why the maid would be looking for him.

I wondered if the Duke was trying to vent his anger a little more by taking Elin away.

“You don’t have to be so cautious.”

Bow.

The freckled maid bowed her head.

“I am the princess’s maid.”

“Yes?”

“The Princess’s exclusive maid.”

“Exclusive maid… … Ah.”

I remembered.

An exclusive maid promised on the condition that she would show results.

“I am Lara, who has been appointed as Princess Elin’s exclusive maid.”

She was the one who helped Elin, as Luke had asked Natia to do.