By Zephyria 
“Is that all you have to say right now? Do you even know how many days it’s been since the child collapsed?”
The Countess’s voice was filled with sharp resentment. The Count also had nothing to say, so he turned his gaze away and hummed, “Hmm.” For some reason, the Little Duke, who had suddenly realized all the facts, unconsciously pushed Allen’s body away when Allen clung to his arm as if trying to stop him just before he transformed into a wolf and left the mansion. It wasn’t such a rough touch, but Allen, who had been pushed back by the Little Duke and staggered backwards, soon lost consciousness, pouring blood from his eyes, mouth, and nose the moment the Little Duke completely transformed into a wolf and ran away. Like a marionette with its strings cut, in a moment, thud.
Everyone’s attention was focused on Noah, but for the Countess, that matter was more important than anything else in the world. It was because Allen had not regained consciousness since he lost consciousness.
“I didn’t think the Little Duke was such a cold person. Anyway, wasn’t it our Allen who stayed by his side for the past few months? Allen collapsed because of him, and he’s still in critical condition…! He doesn’t even think about asking if he’s okay and just says Noah, Noah, Noah all day long!”
The Countess ground her teeth, meaning she was angry. In the Count’s opinion, it was probably because she hadn’t faced the angry Little Duke directly. The Little Duke Graham who remained in her mind was probably just the image of that foolish man who was always smiling like a picture next to her son.
“Huk…, my poor son. How painful and lonely must it have been to be ignored and pointed at by everyone, how could he do such a thing……!”
The person who caused the incident was silent and unresponsive after losing consciousness, so the exact reason was unknown, but people were saying that Allen, who had worked as Noah’s exclusive servant before his identity was revealed and had picked up various things, was jealous of Little Duke Graham’s lover position and had snatched it. Anyway, since Noah Hamilton was already guaranteed the position of Crown Princess, the position of Grand Duchess in the future would be difficult to handle. So, before the Crown Prince noticed, Allen had been running around for the past few months, and he had tacitly instructed him to just pretend not to know, as if erasing the traces of secret meetings he had secretly had. Considering the recent situation of the Crown Prince, who had begun to reveal his intentions towards Noah Hamilton without hiding them, the hypothesis seemed plausible at first glance.
“Huk, hukhukhuk, my poor baby…….”
“…….”
The Count just felt suffocated. Why, why did this happen……? But even if he closed his eyes and prayed earnestly, there was no god in this world who would listen to his prayers.
*
It was a deep night as always. Hamilton’s outing, which had been scheduled for a month, was already more than halfway over, and the schedule had already been arranged to return to the capital as soon as Allen, who was unconscious, woke up. After all, the Crown Prince, who had only come to see me for a while… didn’t seem to want to move easily, so I decided to go back as soon as possible because I was conscious of him in many ways. It was also pitiful to see the Crown Prince’s subordinates begging me silently with moist eyes several times a day.
Still, whether I had adapted somehow, the power struggle between the Crown Prince and Carlisle had decreased a lot since about two days ago. It was the same that they had me in the middle, but the two of them during the day had become so much better that I couldn’t recognize them. Although it wasn’t a fierce power struggle, but rather treating each other as completely invisible people… anyway, the conflict had decreased. As the two people of high status seemed to have stepped back one step, even Kyle and Andrew, who were on the side with nothing to show off (unfortunately, it was true), didn’t act out much. Bartolo had become peaceful again. Except for the Count and Countess, who were holed up in their room and didn’t think about coming out, and Allen, who was still unconscious despite the doctors saying that there was nothing wrong with him.
Even Frederick seemed to be less concerned, as if he was relieved that Allen’s body was lying quietly in the villa, rather than being somewhere else that he couldn’t grasp. From that reaction, I knew for sure. Frederick’s trigger was not Allen himself, but rather Allen’s whereabouts. Especially in areas related to him.
If there was a first-class contributor to this temporary lull, it was Carlisle, of course. When Carlisle stopped nitpicking at the Crown Prince during the day and just sat quietly next to me, the Crown Prince seemed to have regained his reason and stopped crossing the line unnecessarily.
There is a reason why I specifically said “daytime” Carlisle.
Because Carlisle at this late night is…….
“Squeak, squeak…….”
Scritch, scritch.
Perhaps he was trying to act out the childishness he hadn’t been able to show during the day, he really came to my room like a ghost, avoiding the eyes of other people. Even in the form of an animal that couldn’t speak human language like this.
“No.”
I tried to put on a cold and firm voice to put up an iron wall, but even to my own ears, it was terribly unconvincing. As if he had understood the hesitation in my voice, the groaning of the beast, which had stopped for a moment, began to be heard again.
“Whimper…….”
Scritch, scritch.
Damn it, even the sound of scratching the door with his claws is a set. The image of a large wolf, who could tear my door like paper and come in whenever he wanted, acting like an underdeveloped puppy, made my head melt even though I thought it wasn’t allowed.
No. I can’t give in again today. I really can’t, but what’s the point if that sound is as cute as a puppy? His true form is just a big, black guy as big as Frederick…….
“Ugh, I don’t know. Carlisle!”
I couldn’t stand it today and flung the door open. Then, the big wolf, who had been guarding the front of the door, wagging his tail, pounced on me as if covering my body and licked my cheeks like crazy. His tail is spinning around like a propeller. His ears are also perked up. Ah, damn…, so cute…….
“Ah, really……. The Graham Family being able to turn into beasts is supposed to be a secret, why is it like this every day…. This really won’t do……. I keep accepting it, so he’s just developing bad habits……”
The words that followed, scolding as if trying to reason, lacked strength. He only said it wouldn’t do, but he was just melting away in the abundant fur and warm body temperature. The sensation of burying his face in the fluffy fur and rubbing his cheeks! I had never even thought about wanting to raise a puppy, but seeing Carlisle as a wolf, I understood. Maybe I had been desperately longing for a puppy who would only look at me and love me blindly…….
That day, Carlisle insisted on crossing my doorstep, saying he hadn’t had his Day of Blessing yet, so he wasn’t an Alpha, so it was okay to be alone with me late at night. I was so happy to see Carlisle. I was just happy when I was with Carlisle. I wanted to ignore the future that would follow and the unknown Allen, and just enjoy the happiness.
When I thought I was dead, he really wanted to die with me, and he was only planning to keep breathing until he tracked down and eradicated the enemy to the root, but when we unexpectedly met again, it was so miraculous……. He clearly recognized me at first sight, but he said he didn’t know why he suddenly mistook the wrong person next to me, that his head ached and his heart tightened whenever he saw me, so he had been trying to avoid me, and Carlisle’s voice, confessing his sins and whispering the accumulated affections, led me into a sweeter slumber than the tea that Nicole used to give me for a good night’s sleep.
Carlisle didn’t even ask me any questions when I seemed troubled. Why I didn’t reveal the truth to him when he was mistaking me for someone else, why I didn’t try to get him back, or if it was because I had never seen him in a romantic light……. Why he was hiding his identity and wandering around the Graham estate when he was a perfectly fine noble young master, and why he was still alive and well after falling off the cliff that day. Even just thinking about it for a moment, there were so many things I should be curious about. If I were him, I would have tried to resolve the accumulated doubts and questions before indulging in the longing I had felt.
But he didn’t ask anything. He just bowed deeply, saying that he was grateful for everything in front of me, and kissed the back of my hand with trembling lips……. Thanking me for being alive, saying that was enough…….
It felt too much like a dream, and I was too happy.
That’s why I had no choice but to make a decision.
Before I became more addicted to this happiness and wanted to throw everything away, I had to push Carlisle Graham away. Even if I didn’t push him away completely, I had to create a psychological distance so that I could think of him as just one of the cards I had to use, like the other Love interest.
So, after that day, I never tried to meet Carlisle even when he came to see me separately.
“Kkeueung, woof! Woof woof!”
Good heavens. This seductive wolf couldn’t stand my hand stopping for a moment and whined and barked like a puppy. I stroked the huge wolf’s fur haphazardly as if possessed. Grand Duke Graham was indeed clever. Damn it.