I climbed into Sen's palm and looked around. Kyle was searching for me with a focused light in his eyes, so he'd head straight to the study. When I ran away earlier, I was in such a hurry that I didn't properly learn the way, so I needed to know it now. That way, tomorrow, after using 'Fetch' from that location, I could put on Kyle's clothes that I'd hidden in advance and go to the other side of the study. The key was simply to exceed a 10-meter radius. Of course, I'd need more clothes. This place was truly dirty; it wasn't called the North for nothing.
"Sen, where are you going?"
One of the maids, carrying a laundry basket, called out to Sen. The area behind where I was hiding seemed to be where the servants' clothes were washed.
"I found it!"
Sen proudly lifted me up. Then, she carefully cupped her hands around my body. Hey, don't go ahead. You can't see anything.
"I guess he wasn't very shy. As I looked around on the way, it was cute because it seemed like he was trying to learn the way."
Hearing this, the maids gathered, trembling with words like "envious," "cute," and "I want to raise him too." I burrowed my nose into Sen's palm, pretending to be a frightened hamster, feigning ignorance.
'…Did I look around too much?'
If I looked like a rat with an ego, it would get tiresome.
"Can't you take him with you?"
A maid who seemed friendly with Sen came over and looked at me, her eyes shining. Where do you put a spoon on someone else's bowl? No, I couldn't allow it. Whoa. This was Serena's share, wasn't it?
—Squeak! (!)
As I squeaked with a hard kick, she was visibly embarrassed.
"Huh? Oh my? Why is this? He was very quiet until now…"
—Squeak! Poke! (Foolish human, do you want to share this bowl?! You were destined to be Serena? The best girl in the empire! Of course, I ate at that fate a little… So go get Kyle to score!)
At that moment, a low voice rang out behind us.
"Cashew nut."
"Y-Your Highness the Archduke…!"
That ghost-like guy. He finds things so quickly.
Kyle's red eyes turned to me. When he slightly furrowed his brow… his already terrifying impression became even more formidable. If gazes were attacks, this guy would be undefeated.
Hey, smile. You found me, didn't you? Not a single scratch. Don't make the atmosphere icy. Don't you feel sorry for the trembling maids?
As the pale maids hesitantly backed away, Sen, the only one who wasn't trembling, slowly turned towards Kyle.
"Your Highness. I have found the demon beast as you commanded."
Kyle was about to reach out his hand, but he paused when he saw me, sitting calmly on Sen's hand and glaring at him.
"…It seems to follow you well."
"Well…"
"Come to my study with it, just as you are."
Sen looked down at me for a moment, then gently stroked my back with her thumb before nodding. The other maids glanced nervously and returned to their original positions.
When they arrived at the study, Kyle tried to put me into the hamster cage. Of course, I clung to Sen as much as possible, resisting. You said we'd sleep together today! How dare you give freedom and then take it away, you cheapskate!
Regrettably, Kyle seemed to misunderstand my struggle.
"He really likes you."
"Indeed."
Sen smiled slightly, looking both embarrassed and pleased. Then, she firmly placed me into the house.
"You still have to go in. You can't just come out of your house whenever you want. His Highness worries about you."
No, I'll go back on my own in 30 minutes anyway. I just went for a walk!
"I will reward you."
Kyle closed the door on the ceiling of the hamster's house. Sen looked at him instead of answering, and he added in a sullen voice.
"I thought it would be difficult to find. I had a hunch when the mages told me they couldn't feel the magic. But thanks to you, I found cashew nuts…"
"..."
"Tell me what you want. In the name of Archduke Blake, I will grant whatever you wish."
Sen's gaze turned to me, leaning against the wheel. It looked a little complicated. She seemed to hold longing and resignation at the same time. I could feel her green eyes sink into depression for a moment, and then she stood up again.
"It's okay."
Sen replied in a cracked voice.
"What I ask is that Your Highness will not be able to listen. So I'll do it alone. Just know that I did my best, and if I am wronged in the future, please raise your hand, Your Highness."
"Funny."
Kyle leaned back on the couch and spoke slowly.
"Is there a wish in this territory that I can't fulfill?"
Don't burn your desire to compete with the maid's wishes. I soaked my dirty front paws in a bowl of water and muttered to myself.
"By the way, what is Sen's wish?"
Marrying Belial? After all, the two were in love in the original. I don't know how it ended, but in most novels, the two of them lived happily ever after, and the same ending is the rule. However, it is impossible to fall in love with Belial in the north, far away from the Imperial City, and maybe the goal is to raise her status…
At that moment, a system window quietly popped up.
[Plural.]
'Revenge?'
Sen's wish is revenge?
[Serena's only wish is revenge.]
It's not 'Sen' but 'Serena'. The system was still calling her Serena, not Sen. Does it mean that she will become Serena anyway? Even if the fate of possession has changed, this part may not change. It felt strange. I blinked and looked up at Sen.
'What happened to you?'
It was a strange and peculiar feeling to think that the book I read had become someone's vivid life, not just a few lines of print.
"By the way."
Kyle called Sen quietly. Sen calmly looked back at Kyle, making sure he wasn't scared by that intensity. Her courage seemed really big.
"Your face is familiar."
I could see her flinch, her shoulders stiffen. She seemed agitated. Her green eyes, which had been quiet the whole time, fluttered, and her lower lip turned white for a moment. However, Sen recovered quickly. She was turning her head toward me, her eyes shutting and opening and grinning. It was so relaxed and natural that I thought it was an illusion when I saw her earlier.
"I don't know. I'm not even a maid in charge of His Highness."
"But… Where did you meet him?"
Your Highness, isn't that a dating line?
Sen replied with a meaningful smile.
"I am His Highness's people. Besides, since I work in the castle, it's no wonder that my face is familiar."
"Yes, I see."
Kyle seemed to move on without giving it much thought.
Speaking of which, in
Because I was so busy, it was not easy to review the contents of the novel. The good news is that the system helps me.
"What is your name?"
"Sen, Your Highness."
"Yes. Sen."
Kyle thought about something and then looked at me.
No, don't look at me so blatantly and affectionately. Preserve the dignity of the solemn Grand Duke. Don't suddenly open the door here and lift me. Don't even kiss me.
"I'll save you a little bit of work, so can you come and check on the cashews?"
Sen's eyes widened at the unexpected request.
"…Cashew nuts, so the beast?"
"Yes. He seems to be following you very much. I was the only one who met him in the library all day, and he was busy preparing for a festival recently, so he must have been even more suitable. Do you think he might have run away in frustration…"
Well, it's not a bad direction. On the contrary, it was welcome. The first part of the original I saw revolved around Serena, Belial, and Kyle. Even if Belial in the Imperial Castle can't help it, if he gets involved with Serena and Kyle, he will collect more miracle numbers. Unfortunately, I have to spend most of the day as a hamster, so it's better if they come to me on their own.
Sen turned back toward me, and I moved closer to her and placed my hand slightly on the wall. He also didn't forget to squint one eye. I wrote it. It's fan service.
"…I'll do it!"
Sen looked at me as if possessed and shouted.
"I, I, I mean… I've never had a mouse, no, a hamster, but I've had a dog… I'll study hard. That's why…!"
"It's not a hamster, it's a demon."
So Sen became my second protector.
Get along with each other at this time. It's a weird obsession, so don't do that. Don't kill each other. Okay?
After Sen left, Kyle stared at me in the hamster house for a long time. He looked like he wanted to take me out, but he couldn't bring himself to touch me quickly.
'Was it so shocking to lose him once?'
But I couldn't help it. There are no hamsters just lying around, and if there was a naked man on the bed, what kind of situation would that be? Then if I called someone, it would be rumored that our Highness, who wasn't even married, tasted men. Of course, there's no one who could spread such a rumor.
Anyway, even if it was a dirty situation, I couldn't say anything. Even if I were him, I wouldn't be able to put a hamster that doesn't know when it might run away in a place without a home.
…Should I pretend to be faint for a while? No, it's all because of his "importing." Could you explain what kind of skill it is?
[(อิ_อี;;;)]
'But tomorrow will be fine.'
I'm sure I've hidden my clothes well, so I'll 'fetch' them there and then look at the atmosphere in the castle. It's festival time, so I don't think it's weird if someone I don't know walks around.
'…Before that, I'll have to get some pants and shoes.'
If I go barefoot all the time in this cold, my toes will fall off.
I fell asleep while pondering this and that, and before I knew it, the next day arrived. And… I received the sad news that my hidden clothes had been stolen.