His elongated nose passed by my eyes, and I brushed my fingers against his nose bridge. The short fur felt rough. His nose tip was slightly damp, but due to Edris’s face twitching as soon as I touched it, I couldn’t explore it for long.

I shifted my touch to the side. The beard-filled chin felt softer than it appeared. However, Edris’s beard twitched as if ticklish.

Examining the head of the white tiger up close was fascinating. Even on the day I first came to steal the beard, I saw this face up close.

Back then, it was frightening, and my steps trembled, but now it was different.

It felt like something from a previous life.

As I continued to run my fingers through the beard, the white tiger finally opened one eye.

My figure reflected clearly in his clear yellow eyes.

“Ugh, stop touching? It feels strange even to me.”

Without waiting for an answer, Edris brought his face down to my stomach.

What, what does he mean?

Is he asking to be hugged?

I gently embraced a large head with only my torso.

Edris closed his eyes as if satisfied. His face looked very comfortable and happy.

Because of the curse…? Because being near me doesn’t hurt. Moreover, today, he used his abilities a lot. Surely his chest would have turned red. Yeah. So, that’s why.

Thump, thump, thump.

Thump!

“What’s that sound…?”

I opened my swollen eyes with great difficulty.

“Oh, right, I slept in the stable. Oh, but I slept deeply. It turns out I’m built for stables. I should have been a stable keeper.”

At that moment, the door banged open. With the cold wind rushing in, my mind cleared as if slapped.

The one who opened the door was Little Heron. She neatly tied her hair into two braids and wore a green cloak, looking like the model student of a boarding school.

“Could you two get up…”

She stopped speaking and turned around abruptly.

Why is she doing that?

It didn’t take long for me to realize the reason.

Edris had turned into a person and was now holding me tightly.

Ah, was it not just me who turned into a person while sleeping? Was it something that everyone does?

The only fortunate thing was that Edris wasn’t naked.

Despite that, to the young lord, he must have looked quite manly.

“Heron Scytus, it’s not like that. It was really cold last night. Haha. For survival, you know? Temperature maintenance, you understand?”

“I don’t know!”

Gosh, she’s as sharp as ever.

I stopped making excuses and shook Edris awake.

Heron seemed a bit less guarded than yesterday. He still couldn’t enter the mansion, but for Edris, he had called a doctor. After removing the freezing bandages and receiving disinfection, I felt relieved too.

Then he set up an outdoor dining table for us.

Edris, Heron, and I sat around and had a simple meal focused on bread and eggs.

After a quiet meal, Heron wiped her mouth and brought up something to say.
“I really didn’t expect you to stay up all night there.”

“If I do, I should.”

I also chuckled, putting down my fork and knife.

“You must have a purpose to go this far. What do you want from our Scytus? Heron, what do you support for our king?”

Heron stared at Edris with round eyes. Just by looking at her face, it seemed like she was about to say, ‘Teacher, I had homework yesterday.’

Is it because of the position of a young lord? Even though I tried not to compare, I kept finding myself comparing to Rodrio.

But it seemed like I was the only one who saw her as a child.

Edris was serious.

“I said it yesterday too; I intend to reclaim the throne. I want to know what you Scytus desire. Who do you support as the king?”

“No one. I’m not interested in who takes the throne or power struggles. What I want is the well-being of our squirrel people and the peace of the weak and powerless people.”

“Do you think those two things are unrelated?”

“Who becomes king doesn’t matter; it will look the same to me.”

“What about Agila?”

“Not Agila… I hope it’s not Agila.”

“It’s okay as long as it’s not Agila, but there seems to be a soft spot there.”

Edris lifted a newly set teacup.

“It’s a rude remark.”

“Choosing the least bad among the bad guys, isn’t that necessary? That way, you won’t stray too far from the world you want.”

“Are you claiming to be the least bad guy?”

“Yeah, I’ll create the world you want.”

“I don’t trust words from carnivorous animals like you.”

A quick conversation passed between the two. I struggled to keep up with the flow.

Edris was calm, but Heron didn’t seem so.

Oh, is experience showing in a place like this?

“If not me, be with Agila.”

Edris said assertively.

“As I mentioned, our Heron with any carnivore…”

“Don’t say foolish things.”

“Edris.”

I lightly grabbed Edris’s arm. A suitable provocation was necessary for the conversation, but calling another territory’s lord foolish…

It could worsen the relationship if not done carefully.

But Edris was unyielding.