The half-elf girl's lips were soft—cool to the touch.
Hayashi Maki didn't hesitate to claim that rosy fragrance head-on.
Tiffania froze completely. Her fear of humans surged up all at once. Certain she was about to be "eaten," the suffocating pressure made her slender body tremble—
—and then her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
"Uh… fainted already?"
With a helpless sigh, Hayashi Maki caught her, lifted her gently, and laid her on the wooden bed. Looked like he'd really scared her. He decided not to leave—he hadn't even exchanged a few proper words yet. At least tell her his name.
He reached out and lightly stroked the girl's silky golden hair.
A moment later, Tiffania slowly opened her eyes. She felt like she'd had a nightmare—humans discovering she was a half-elf and trying to hurt her. Then she dreamed of her gentle mother, who stroked her hair and filled her with long-lost warmth.
But when she saw the man sitting by the bed, her body stiffened and she screamed.
"Ah! You—it wasn't a dream?"
Hayashi Maki lifted his hand from her hair and nodded with a smile. "Of course not."
Tiffania, eyes brimming, shrank into the corner, trembling.
"W-what are you going to do to me?"
Cast as the villain, Hayashi Maki sighed. He had been awful just now.
"Relax—I won't hurt you. I just saw how cute you are and wanted to be close to you. We've already kissed, you know—so now you're mine. My name is Hayashi Maki. And you?"
Declaring ownership as he introduced himself.
Face flushed, Tiffania stared at him, ashamed. "I'm Tiffania."
"Tiffania? A lovely name—just like you," he said, pulling out a sapphire necklace and handing it to her. "Here. A gift—to mark our bond. Please accept it."
"Eh… it's so pretty. It must be expensive… c-can I really take it?"
She was nervous. Humans still frightened her; childhood memories with her mother had taught her to flee others' eyes on instinct.
"Of course. You're mine now. I'll protect you and cherish you—so wear it." He fastened it around her neck, then bent to give her a quick kiss. "I've left you some things—use them. I have business, so I'll go for now. I'll come see you next time."
With that, he vanished.
Tiffania touched the necklace at her throat, looked at the supplies he'd left, cheeks burning—dazed. If not for the items around her, she might have thought she was dreaming.
"Mr. Hayashi Maki… he said I'm his… is that a proposal?"
"How can this be… first meeting and we already… kissed…"
She muttered, but her eyes went hazy. He hadn't hurt her—only kissed her, showing closeness. Relief mingled with shyness. Looking at the food he'd left, she found herself expecting his next visit. Life alone in the forest is lonely. She was still just a teenage girl—how could she not long for company and care?
…
Leaving Tiffania's cabin, Hayashi Maki returned to the camp. With the preliminary bond formed, he could watch over her via his "God's-eye" view, and felt much more at ease. He wasn't about to let such a pure half-elf beauty fall to anyone else.
Before he knew it, morning came. Siesta woke early and started breakfast outside the tent, shooing Hayashi Maki back inside to rest, promising to call him when the food was ready.
In her mind, Mr. Hayashi Maki had worked so hard on watch—she had to make breakfast extra tasty to reward him.
So Hayashi Maki lay beside Louise and pulled her close for a little more sleep.
When Éléonore woke, she saw a certain man cuddling Louise, both fast asleep. She pouted unconsciously, a bit envious. As the Vallière family's eldest, she too longed for a worthy partner. The humiliation of being jilted still stung; she'd always wanted to find a man more outstanding than her ex-fiancé and slap him in the face, figuratively speaking.
"Eh… enough. Don't think about it. Let's watch and see—if this guy treats Louise well, I could accept him," she murmured. He'd also said he could treat Cattleya's illness—she couldn't help looking forward to that. Cattleya had been frail since childhood, unable to attend the academy, housebound—Éléonore's heart ached for her, and she worried.
More than her own marriage, Cattleya's weighed on her. A promising young griffin knight had once called often, but upon seeing Cattleya's condition he'd broken the engagement and set his sights on little Louise instead. He'd gotten his comeuppance—the Griffin Knights were wiped out in a single night.
After tidying her dress, Éléonore pinched her sister's cheek.
"Up, little runt Louise!"
"Uuu… Éléonore, you're pinching my face again—ow!"
"Hmph. If it hurts, get up faster. Eat, then we move out!" Éléonore was impatient; rare news of a possible cure for Cattleya's body had her eager to get home with Hayashi Maki.
Louise shot her sister a resentful look and scrambled up—rousing Hayashi Maki too. After enjoying Siesta's delicious breakfast, the carriage rolled on toward the Vallière duchy.
At last, with the sun setting, the carriage pulled up before a grand manor. Servants bowed along the drive to welcome the young lady home.
"Inside with you, little runt," Éléonore said.
"Ugh—why do you always call me that? I'm grown up now!"
"To me you'll always be little," Éléonore said. Standing straight, Louise barely reached her chest—"little" indeed.
"Hmph! I'll be taller than you someday!"
Louise shot back, grabbed Hayashi Maki's hand, and raced into the manor.
"Come on, Hayashi Maki—let's go see my sister Cattleya!"