Chapter 14 – 14
Kisha didn’t even spare a glance at Euro as he plopped down on the grass right in front of her.
“Are you hurt?”
Only then did Kisha turn her head to look at Euro and let out a huff of air through her nostrils. It looked as if she were answering him.
Euro frowned as he stared at the wound. It didn’t look deep, but since it was on the sole of the paw, it seemed like it would hurt quite a bit when walking.
“That must hurt.”
After staring at the wound for a long while, Euro looked up as if he had made a decision and glanced around. Only he and Kisha were in the garden.
‘Should I try singing?’
Kim Euro hadn’t been tone-deaf, but Euro Leches was. Therefore, in his possessed state, he might not be able to fully utilize even half of his original singing skill due to the influence of the body.
Consequently, after humming a song to himself, he found that, fortunately, there were no major problems. However, he had never sung loudly for fear of being overheard, and since it was impossible to treat his own wounds, he hadn’t been able to properly verify if his supernatural ability manifested.
“Um, Kisha. Would it be alright if I healed the wound on your paw?”
With a determined and somewhat solemn expression, Euro whispered to Kisha and held out his hand. This was a better opportunity than he had expected.
He would be able to check if his supernatural ability manifested properly and to what extent he could heal. Since the red dot, the mark of the supernatural ability, had not disappeared after the possession, healing should be possible as long as he sang correctly.
As if Kisha understood Euro’s request, she stopped licking her paw and stared at him for a long time before plopping her paw right onto his outstretched hand.
At this, Euro beamed. For some reason, he was happy to have Kisha trust him with her paw. Perhaps it was because touching a tiger’s paw was such a rare experience. Contrary to his expectation that it would be incredibly hard and rough, Kisha’s paw felt surprisingly soft, perhaps because she spent most of her time indoors.
“But this is a secret, Kisha.”
Euro glanced around once more to confirm no one was there, then placed his other hand over Kisha’s paw resting on his right hand and took a deep breath.
We’ll hold hands and fly anywhere
Dreams will surely become reality
We’ll move further toward tomorrow
I’m me, meeting again at a higher place
Cruelly, the song that came to mind was the main track from the last survival program he had been in.
Having struggled for days and nights to secure the center position, it was a song he could recite even if poked while sleeping, so it couldn’t be helped. The singing was absolutely perfect, but for some reason, Euro felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
Unable to tell if the supernatural ability had manifested because his hand was covering the area, Euro first let go of Kisha’s paw. At that moment, Kisha turned her paw over and licked it, and Euro’s eyes widened.
“It’s healed!”
He barely suppressed a shout, cheering in a small voice. Kisha also licked her paw a couple more times before setting it down and lightly shaking her body.
Since the wound had vanished without a trace, it was certain that the supernatural ability had manifested. Because the wound hadn’t been very deep, he couldn’t tell how effective it would be for Melione, but this was a quite significant result.
Moreover, the fact that he had treated someone with his supernatural ability was more overwhelming than he had imagined. A part of his chest felt ticklish, as if he were about to float away.
Forgetting that he had been afraid of Kisha, Euro suddenly wrapped his arms around her neck and burst into laughter.
“I’m so glad. It doesn’t hurt anymore, right?”
Kisha didn’t seem to mind Euro hugging her and laughing, as she stayed quietly in his arms and purred. While basking in his joy, Euro toyed with Kisha’s large right paw.
“Does it not hurt even if I touch it like this?”
In response to Euro’s question, Kisha gave his face a large lick with her tongue. It seemed to be an answer saying roughly that it was fine. The feeling of the fluffy fur and the soft jelly pads under his hand felt quite nice.
“Thank you for trusting me. Kisha, you’re such a gentle tiger.”
Holding and shaking the right paw as if shaking hands, Euro eventually flopped down on his back beside her. With this, the probability of his survival had increased significantly.
To describe this feeling, it was like finally entering the safe zone of survival in the fiercely fluctuating daily rankings of a survival show.
He didn’t know if he could survive until the end and make the debut lineup, but the relief of knowing he could at least survive until the next mission was the perfect comparison.
“I’m saying this because it seems like Kisha understands human speech to some extent, but is what happened today really a secret?”
Euro spoke while looking at the sunny sky.
“I mean, for all we know, Kisha might actually be able to speak. Or maybe you can unauthorized copycommunicate with the Duke, even if [stolen content]you can’t with me. It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just that there’s always a possibility.”
Euro turned his body and stared at Kisha. Whether she understood or not, Kisha simply looked back at him. Normally, he would have been terrified, but such fear had long since vanished.
If he looked closely, her face was actually quite cute. Euro felt strangely comfortable with Kisha, to the point where he could think of her as just a slightly large cat.
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m absolutely not hiding this to harm the Duke. Actually, I came here to cure the Duke.”
Euro leaned in close to Kisha and whispered very softly. This was a story he hadn’t told anyone since the possession.
It wasn’t a believable story, and there was nothing to be gained from it. It would be troublesome for him if rumors spread that the illegitimate, nuisance of a prince had finally gone mad.
“Honestly, I can’t even remove a curse with a song. That’s why I’m keeping it a secret until I can cure him completely. But I have a way, so you don’t have to worry.”
Kisha let out a huff as if in response, and Euro said with a smile,
“What way? Well, there is a way. It’s too long to explain all at once. Since I’ll be here for a while, I’ll tell you one part a day. How about that?”
At those words, Kisha lay completely flat and nudged Euro’s head with the bridge of her nose.
“Oh, geez. You’re less patient than I thought. Alright, I’ll tell you [unauthorized copy]as a special favor. Since Kisha is the only one who welcomed me since I arrived here… Where should I start, hmm. visit our siteI don’t know if you’ll believe me, but I actually came from another world.”
Euro began to pour out his story to Kisha in a rambling manner.
ꕥ ꕥ ꕥ
Melione could not take his eyes off the strange sight visible through the window. Euro, lying side by side with Kisha on the lawn, was having a cozy conversation with a beast that couldn’t even speak.
The distance was far enough that the content of the conversation couldn’t be heard, but for some reason, Euro occasionally burst into joyful laughter.
Leaning against the wall, Melione found himself unable to look away from that sight. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had heard the sound of laughter in this desolate mansion.
Raymond, who had been quietly watching the scene, asked politely.
“Shall I close the window for you?”
“…Forget it.”
He was someone who reacted sensitively not only to loud noises but even to the sound of a single footstep. To Melione, even someone’s laughter should have been nothing more than blatant noise, yet for some reason, he didn’t get angry.
After watching Euro play with [unauthorized copy]Kisha for a [unauthorized copy]long time, Melione finally sat in his [Read on Read BL Novels]chair and picked up a cigar with faint smoke rising from it.
It was a medicated cigarette with analgesic effects. Since he was already taking medication to its limit, he practically kept it in his mouth to reduce the lingering pains.
“So, what is your business?”
Raymond handled most of the affairs that needed to be dealt with in the Dukedom. Important matters still had to go through Melione, but as long as it wasn’t a major issue, it was all Raymond’s responsibility.
Melione, extremely sensitive due to insomnia and headaches, found even reading documents to be a struggle. In fact, the mere act of sitting up and being active like this instead of lying down all day required an immense amount of mental strength.
“I came because I have something to tell you. How is your condition?”
“No need for useless introductions. Speak briefly and leave.”
Despite the sharp reaction, Raymond remained calm. Having entered as an apprentice butler at a very young age and served as the Duke’s right hand for three generations, he knew that Melione’s words were not entirely sincere.
He was simply being overly cautious for fear that those around him would be hurt by his madness; he wasn’t acting cold because he truly harbored ill will toward Raymond.
If that were the case, there would be no need to reduce the number of servants to such an extent. Unlike the previous Duke or the one before him, he did not spend his time relying on alcohol, drugs, or gambling.
The commonality among all previous Dukes, except for Melione, was that they did stolen contentanything [Read on Read BL Novels]to forget the pain. This was because every moment was agony unless they focused on some form of entertainment.
“After Madam Diena left, I spoke with His Highness. It wasn’t a long conversation, but… it doesn’t seem like he came here with any particular ulterior motive.”
“Everyone’s gone mad.”
“….”
“You, and that tiger.”
Melione put the cigarette in his mouth, inhaled deeply, and exhaled. A hazy cloud of smoke veiled his face.
“Kisha is no ordinary tiger. Seeing how he can get along so comfortably with the Prince, it seems there is no hostility.”
“A beast is still a beast. It’s not as if it can speak human language; it’s just lived a bit longer than other beasts.”
“….”
“Did you come all this way just to say that?”
“…I simply hope that Your Grace does not worry too much.”
“You’ve grown old. That’s why you’re captivated by trivial sentiments. Prepare for retirement once the wedding is over.”
Melione roughly swept back his hair and flipped the page of the document he was reading. However, not a single word entered his mind; only the sound of laughter drifting through the open window echoed in his ears.
Eventually, he looked up irritably at Raymond, who was still standing before him, and spoke.
“What are you doing? Get out.”
“….”
“Close the window, too. It’s noisy.”
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