Chapter 10
Only after stepping out of the cabin and standing on the grass did Yomi realize just how enormous this estate really was.
It was far bigger than even the villa district he had visited before while collecting old clothes. The lawns and gardens seemed endless. In the distance were forests and pastures. Birds flew overhead. Not far away stood apple trees, and there was a small river. In the very center stood a magnificent, resplendent villa.
The place was filled with both romance and solemnity, yet after looking at it for a few moments, one would somehow begin to feel a chill running to the bone.
Yomi followed Karl all the way forward. After entering the main hall, he was stunned all over again.
Beneath every huge door and window here, there was actually a grand little door or little window as well. And beside every ordinary household item suited to normal Snaran’s use, there was also either a set or a single miniature version made much smaller.
Yomi stared in astonishment, until Karl beside him bent at the waist and said, “Your Highness Ansius…”
Yomi hurriedly looked up. Only then did he notice that someone had been standing upstairs the whole time—
More accurately, a monster with demon horns, black wings, and black scales.
It was the one he had seen that day!
Flustered, Yomi was just about to imitate Karl and bow, but before he could bend down, the monster upstairs had already rushed down at high speed and walked straight up to him.
The disabled Crown Prince of the Empire lowered his eyes without saying a word, staring at him the entire time. Yomi had no idea what he meant. He only felt that those golden pupils carried a moss-like dampness and chill.
Yomi grew so nervous he stopped moving altogether.
He was standing entirely within a beam of sunlight cast through the window, utterly unaware that at this moment he looked as though he were draped in a thin veil of golden gauze, like an elf from an oil painting.
Ansius’s gaze could hardly move away from him.
At a bit of a loss, Yomi looked toward Karl.
Karl stepped forward in time and, following protocol, gave the two of them a formal introduction. At the end, he lowered his voice and said to Yomi, “It’s all right. In another two days, His Highness the Crown Prince will have a human-skin suit again.”
Yomi nodded and looked at the enormous monster before him. Gathering his courage, he said, “Hello, Your Highness Ansius.”
The moment he finished speaking, Ansius reached a hand toward him.
A handshake?
Politely, Yomi extended his hand too, but the next second, his whole body was lifted into the air by that hand!
“!”
“Mimi…” Holding him up high, Ansius called his name, then touched the little ram horns on his head…
Yomi’s face changed drastically. Terrified that in the next second his horns would be taken off and his identity exposed, he pressed his lips tightly together and held his breath.
As if sensing that he was afraid, the monster’s hands stiffened for a moment, then gently put him back down on the ground.
“Your Highness Ansius,” Karl hurriedly stepped forward and said, “Yomi has just arrived. He’ll be staying here for a long time in the future, so why not let me first take him around to get familiar with the surroundings?”
The moment he heard the words “staying here for a long time,” Ansius’s expression visibly softened. “Mm.”
After coming out of the villa, Yomi followed Karl like a little tail. After wandering around the estate for a while, he suddenly remembered Lynn’s instructions. Taking advantage of a bathroom break, he gave Lynn a call.
“Lynn, I’ve arrived.”
“How is it over there?”
“The environment here is very good, and my coworker is very nice. It’s just… it’s just…”
“Just what? They aren’t bullying you for being small, are they?!” Lynn immediately grew tense on the other end.
“No,” Yomi said. “No one bullied me. It’s just that he can’t transform into human form… so I’m still a little unaccustomed to it.”
Only then did Lynn relax, and he went on to tell Yomi a number of tips about how to get along with disabled Snaran.
Yomi memorized every one of them.
After he came back out, Karl assumed he was tired and smilingly took him onto a small aircraft, letting him tour the entire estate from midair.
Yomi looked while snapping photos as fast as he could.
Karl simply assumed he was taking keepsake photos, and a kindly smile, one he himself did not even notice, appeared on his face.
Just as Karl’s fingers were itching to help him take a few photos, he suddenly saw Yomi open his light-brain and file all the pictures into an album named [To Prevent Getting Lost].
Karl: “……”
After the tour ended, Karl said to him with a smile, “It’s all right if you can’t remember the way. There are many surveillance devices here. Even if you get lost, someone will find you and safely send you back.”
Yomi nodded. “Understood.”
Karl continued, “Then starting today, Your Highness Ansius will personally take care of you. From nine to five, it will be working hours. After work, your time is your own. But to avoid trouble, during workdays we still ask that you stay here in the estate.” As he spoke, he took out a tiny metal bracelet for him. “Change out of the alarm wristband and use this instead.”
Holding the metal bracelet in both hands, Yomi looked it over from every angle. “…What is this?”
“This is a sensor with protective functions. You do not need to do anything at all. The moment His Highness Ansius shows signs of entering a berserk state, the bracelet will alert you through vibration. At the same time, our people will also receive the alarm and come protect you. Even in the worst-case scenario, if something special happens and we cannot reach you in time, you only need to pull open this little button here, and the sensor will release a safety sphere. The safety sphere will instantly wrap around you. At that point, no one will be able to harm you.” Karl spoke earnestly. “Beyond that, we have also arranged a psychologist for you, so that you do not become depressed during work…”
There was even a psychologist!
Yomi was plainly surprised.
Karl smiled. “For your safety, we held meetings specifically to discuss all sorts of plans. This is the most foolproof solution.”
“Thank you. I’ll cooperate with the experiment properly!”
“Cough!” Karl nearly choked, and for a moment he did not know whether to laugh or cry. “Ex-experiment or anything like that… you absolutely must not say that in front of His Highness.”
Yomi nodded and pressed his lips together, making a solemn face as if he would take the secret to the grave.
When they returned to the hall, it happened to be lunchtime. Ansius, who had been waiting for him the whole time, impatiently brought him straight to the dining room.
Yomi knew that his work had already begun. So when the monster before him carefully washed his hands with huge claws, then lifted him into a chair and served food onto his plate, Yomi cooperated very well. “Thank you.”
All his tension vanished the moment he saw the entire table full of delicacies he had never eaten before.
So fragrant, so delicious…
Yomi sampled almost every dish and quickly became full.
Ansius, however, seemed not to be hungry in the least. Seeing that Yomi had stopped eating, he again reached out with his claws to wipe Yomi’s hands. As he did so, he could not help staring at the two little ram horns on Yomi’s head.
Karl hardly dared breathe. Staring at the Crown Prince’s sharp claws, he only gradually let down the heart he had been holding in his throat after confirming that Yomi had not been hurt even once.
After the meal, the cook brought over several very tiny desserts and placed them all in front of Yomi.
Among them was the signature cherry mini-cake from Garo Restaurant.
Clearly, Ansius had prepared this especially for Yomi.
Yomi immediately pushed the desserts toward the center. “Your Highness Ansius, you should eat too.”
The monster paused, then suddenly picked up one plate of cake, cut off a tiny piece with a fork, and fed it to Yomi’s mouth.
Yomi stared at him blankly. Then, remembering his task, he instinctively opened his mouth.
So delicious!!!
But after only a few bites, he started to feel the urge to go to the bathroom.
Yomi had drunk a great deal of water while touring the estate that morning, and by now he could no longer hold it in. In a low voice, he said, “Excuse me… where is the restroom?”
Ansius stood up, clearly intending to take him there.
Yomi was so startled he quickly waved both hands. “I can go by myself! Could you wait here for me first?”
As he spoke, he scrambled down from the chair in one swift movement, then looked at Ansius again.
Those eyes of his were so sincere that Karl would swear no one who saw them could possibly refuse!
Sure enough, Ansius’s aura shifted, and he gave a slight nod.
Yomi immediately ran off in the direction Karl pointed.
A short while later, accompanied by the sound of rushing water, Yomi came out after using the restroom and began washing his hands.
There was an even smaller sink beneath the normal one, and it was just right for him to use.
In the corridor leading back to the hall, there was a high platform in the corner. Yomi had been in too much of a hurry on the way over to notice it, but on his way back he discovered that there was actually a cat there.
The cat was hiding atop the platform. Perhaps it was timid, because only a large cat head was showing, its eyes flicking around alertly.
Yomi walked over in surprise. “…Kitty?”
At that moment in the dining room—
A warning sound suddenly came from the main screen on the wall. One of the surveillance devices had sent an alert after being touched.
“What’s going on?” Karl assumed one of the newly replaced monitors had malfunctioned and hurried over to check. “The inspection was clearly fine earlier…”
The surveillance equipment inside the estate had only been replaced the day before. Originally they had ordinary appearances, but Karl had suggested to the Crown Prince that, in order to let Yomi feel a bit of warmth, they should be changed into realistic pet-shaped models.
He had never imagined a problem would show up on the very first day!
In Karl’s common sense, the Crown Prince’s private estate was under extremely tight security, and now it was daytime, so outsiders had no way to enter. As for the people inside, none of them would ever touch the surveillance devices. So naturally, his first thought was a machine malfunction.
But the instant he opened the main screen, Karl let out a startled gasp.
On the bright screen was a pair of wide, round eyes!
The giant main display was showing a real-time feed from one of the monitors:
Yomi, with two little ram horns on his head, was standing on tiptoe with all his might, lifting his face to stare closely at the screen to investigate something. His eyes were full of curiosity, and that curiosity very quickly turned into worry.
From this angle, Yomi’s head looked large and his body tiny, making him look even more like a doll than an actual doll.
At that moment, the Yomi in the screen bent down in frustration. It seemed he had found something to stand on. When he straightened again, his face was suddenly much closer to the camera.
The main screen picked up the sound of the boy’s breathing, along with a few little grunts of effort through clenched teeth.
“Huff… mm… huff…”
Finally, those bright, lively eyes blinked twice. In the next second, his eyelashes and forehead were almost pressed right against the lens. “Kitty, don’t be scared. Should I carry you down?”
“……”
With a nosebleed streaming down, Karl turned around. Before he could even speak, Ansius, who had been sitting by the dining table, suddenly stood up and strode quickly toward the corridor over there.
