Chapter 33: Chapter 34

I was sure he didn’t have any memory of his time as Shasha, but when something similar happened. He seemed to vaguely recall the memories of that time.

‘Is it instinct? I’ll have to be more careful in the future. I’ll be in serious trouble if someone finds out that I swore at the Crown Prince and called him a shitty mutt.’

I loosened my fist and quickly mumbled, ‘Ah you’re adorable, so pretty,’ while hugging him tightly.

“How long do we have to stay like this? It’s frustrating.”

“Your Highness, you’re really bad at stroking someone’s head, so let’s just make do with your body.”

“You really…. What do you mean by make do with my body? Don’t say stuff like that to someone, all right?”

“Yes, yes. I’ll do it only to Your Highness.”

“… That’s unacceptable, too.”

His worries were right, but it wasn’t really wrong. Sihael put his chin on my shoulder and murmured like a sigh. Either way, I wouldn’t let Sihael go.

I liked this better than him patting my head.

* * *

“Tell me what happened. If I find out you’re lying, you’ll have to run 30 laps around the training ground.”

After Rosetta returned with Sihael, Lanoa bit his tongue as he was threatened.

“You brought His Highness here because you felt sorry to see him pitifully die? Yeah, right! I know you caught and brought him here with the intent of using him as a watchdog.”

What Leonard said was true. He hit the nail on the head, making Lanoa nervously scratch the back of his head.

“Rose wanted to raise a dog, so that’s why I brought him here.”

“And what else have you done with him?”

“Nothing.”

“If I ask the butler, he’ll tell me everything.”

Lanoa knew his brother couldn’t be fooled. Seeing Leonard’s terrifying eyes, he sighed and blurted out the truth.

“I shot him once.”

Punch!

Lanoa frowned at the fist that crashed into his abdomen.

“Ah, I really didn’t know his identity. Do you have to do this? Well to be honest, if I hadn’t brought him in, he would have died there!”

“You’ve lost your mind.”

“Argh, argh! Okay, okay. Geez! It’s my fault. Stop! Brother, stop, it hurts!

Lanoa, who was hit ten more times for no reason, looked sad. It really hurt like hell. The wolf looked fine, so he brought him here but who knew the wolf would turn out to be the Crown Prince?

Lanoa rubbed his numb stomach and slowly moved away from Leonard.

Leonard did not further chase Lanoa.

If Lanoa had given His Highness to Rosetta, then that meant he had washed his hands off him afterwards. His younger brother was such a guy.

The problem was their youngest sister.

“Rosetta could get in serious trouble. If it’s found that she even swung a whip on His Highness, it would be a real big deal, so tell me the truth.”

“She really didn’t do anything.”

Leonard did not believe Lanoa’s words. No, he couldn’t believe it. Rosetta and Lanoa were similar types of people like two peas in a pod. They both were impulsive and hedonistic people and had similar beliefs and habits.

Maybe that’s why, when they were young, his younger siblings showed a careful demeanor while hiding the troubles they’d caused.

In fact, they would all suffer because of it every now and then.

When Leonard suspected that these guys were going to cause trouble again, Lanoa got angry.

“Brother, do you even know how much she has taken care of His Highness? Every time she opened her mouth, there would be only Shasha, Shasha. She fed His Highness the best food, personally treated all his wounds, and even remodeled the room next to her because she felt sorry for seeing him live in the basement.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Rosetta did that?”

“You think that was all? She took him out to walk everyday and sent him to the bathroom; she helped him exercise when he gained weight, and even helped him take care of those assassins. Even if I knew who he was, I wouldn’t do that. She worked really hard, so don’t blame her.”

Anyone could see that Rosetta was genuinely sincere.

The younger sister, whom he had met after a long time, cared so much about Sihael to the point she seemed unfamiliar.

“And Rosetta has reformed herself.”

“You want me to believe that?”

“Trust me! She doesn’t pick fights with anyone anymore and she also doesn’t bully the servants. Because she was raising His Highness, she didn’t go out for a while, so she didn’t cause any trouble.”

Leonard couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t be Rosetta Katzel if she didn’t stir up trouble for a day.

“Our mana stone business started this time thanks to Rosetta. I’m off the hook and the Baron is working with Rosetta.”

“Are you sure Rosetta really did that?”

“That’s right. If you doubt it, then go ask the Baron. Do you know how much Baron loves Rosetta now? He would nod and clap his hands like a seal no matter what opinion Rosetta gives.”

In fact, when the Baron did what Rosetta told him to do, the business kept on soaring high. There was no day that the smile on the Baron’s face would disappear as the safe piled up one after another.

As per Rosetta’s suggestion, he now seemed to be busy trying to sign a contract with Asilla or something, but he even enjoyed that.

Needless to say, the days now for Lanoa were much more fun than the days when he used to be in tricky situations. By now, he should have left for the next kingdom  to set his schedule so that he could stay at home.

“Rose said it herself that she has been born anew now. So Brother, don’t offend the kid for no reason. I know you’re trying to save her but don’t offend her and make her go astray again.”

“…”

“It’s been a long time since I saw her be good like this.”

“…”

“Do you have any more questions? Then I’ll go.”

Lanoa grabbed his throbbing abdomen and turned around. Leonard looked at his brother’s back that was moving away after saying what he had to say.

Something had changed.

Rosetta and Lanoa had a good relationship, but they weren’t that close to each other. Lanoa wasn’t the only one who had changed.

‘Brother?’

Her eyes that stared at him always dripped with malice. The clear eyes now held a distinctive brightness. He felt nostalgic for a moment at seeing that face for the first time since she was 12 years old.

“I should watch her a little more.”

Leonard still couldn’t easily believe it. The Rosetta he knew was a person who could do all kinds of bad things whenever she was displeased.

* * *