Chapter 14

Is this what I am to His Highness, just a fleeting moment...?

As Cordelia’s gaze turned distant, the lion in front of her—no, Leonhardt—lifted his head, which had been hanging down.

His ears, wrapped in soft fur, moved back and forth in small, quick motions. As she watched the mane sway gently with the movement, she heard a small cough.

“...h, cough...”

It was the young lady who had nearly drowned and fainted. Though her eyelids remained closed, it seemed she had regained consciousness.

As she pondered how to explain the current situation to her, she felt a slight brightening at the edge of her vision. Reflexively, she looked over to see Leonhardt standing there, not in the form of a lion, but as a human.

“Your Highness, I’m glad you’ve returned to human form...”

Feeling a slight sense of loss at the end of his adorable kitten-like lion form, Cordelia felt relieved. She moved closer to Leonhardt, intending to discuss what to do next in a low voice—when—

“No! Don’t come closer, Cordelia!”

He turned his face away and distanced himself, a clear gesture of rejection.

“What’s wrong, Your Highness? Why are you avoiding my gaze—ah!”

A light impact, and her vision was covered in darkness. It seemed a cloth had been placed over her. It was the beautiful jacket with gold embroidery that Leonhardt had been wearing.

“Cordelia, please put this on first. We can talk after that!”

“...a...”

Cordelia looked down at herself. The hem of her dress was torn, her corset had slipped, and her chest was exposed. In other words, she was in a disheveled state unbecoming of a young lady.

“...!!”

She quickly covered her chest and turned away, flustered. She had forgotten amidst the rapid sequence of events that she had torn her dress to jump into the lake to save the young lady. After that, the playful antics of Leonhardt in his lion form had disarranged her dress, leaving her in a pitiful state.

(To appear before His Highness in such a state...!)

She wanted to punch her past self. Though Cordelia had no romantic or marital aspirations, she had a normal sense of modesty. To expose such a pitiful appearance before the royal Leonhardt was the worst, both as a noble and a young lady.

(And I was rubbing my body against His Highness while my dress was half-off!)

She wanted to bury herself. Dig a hole and bury herself. Even though Leonhardt was in his lion form, it was still too much.

She quickly put on the jacket, adjusting it to look less unsightly. Though her arms were too short, leaving her fingertips exposed, it was much better than nothing.

“...Thank you, Your Highness. I am truly sorry for my unseemly appearance...”

“It’s I who should apologize. I should have pointed it out earlier, but I ended up pressing my body against you—”

“That was an accident.”

“Cordelia, but—”

“Nothing happened other than an unfortunate contact. Is that not enough?”

She smiled and applied pressure, causing him to avert his gaze awkwardly.

“Your Highness?”

“...I truly feel terrible about it.”

He took a deep breath and began to speak.

“To explain... When I’m in the form of a lion, my rational control weakens.”

“Does that mean your mental state is influenced by your appearance?”

“Yes, that’s right. Unlike a born animal, I can understand human language even if I can’t speak. Usually, I retain more intelligence and rationality...”

“But it was different this time?”

Leonhardt nodded.

“Seeing you about to jump into the lake to save the young lady, I panicked, thinking you might drown... That made me hastily transform into a lion, weakening my rational control.”

“So that’s why you didn’t return to human form immediately...”

“Embarrassingly, I was so captivated by you in my lion form that I wanted to keep touching you.”

His amber eyes met hers steadily, the same gentle eyes as when he was a lion, but with a slightly different heat. Cordelia involuntarily averted her gaze.

(How embarrassing...)

It was her first time exposing such a disheveled appearance to a man and receiving such direct affection. She felt embarrassed and awkward. More than anything, she was confused by her own lack of discomfort with his affection.

“...Your Highness, please stop this playfulness. As I’ve said before, I am just a baron’s daughter. I have no reason to receive your affection, nor do I deserve it.”

“Do you think my feelings are false or superficial?”

“...Even if they are not false, they could be a misunderstanding.”

She was aware that her words were disrespectful to a prince who had saved her multiple times.

But more than anyone, she couldn’t believe in herself. She had only spoken with Leonhardt for the first time at the previous ball. She didn’t have a face that would make someone fall in love at first sight, and she was aware of her uncharming personality.

“I’ve heard that one’s heart can be a mystery even to oneself. Your Highness is kind. Perhaps you are mistaking pity and sympathy for me, a pitiful girl who was abandoned by her fiancé, for affection?”

“I’m not that kind of person to help you multiple times out of mere pity.”

“But...”

“Cordelia.”

Her words of rebuttal were cut off by his quiet call of her name.

“Underestimating and belittling yourself is one of your few bad habits.”

“That’s not true. I simply understand that I am not a match for Your Highness.”

“No, that’s not true. You should have more confidence in yourself, Cordelia.”

Leonhardt’s eyes narrowed, as if in pain.

“It’s not just now. Earlier, you also told your brother that you were miserable, didn’t you?”

“At that time, I thought I had to say that to get Prince Zayd’s agreement.”

“I understand that. But I don’t like it.”

“Your Highness?”

“...Even if it’s not from the heart, saying negative things about yourself is never a good feeling. I don’t like seeing you belittle yourself.”

Cordelia fell silent. She was used to being mocked for the broken engagement and was no longer easily hurt.

(Even if it’s just a pretense, saying I am a ‘pitiful young lady abandoned by her fiancé’...)

It wasn’t a deep pain, just a slight discomfort. Discomfort, anger, and sadness. Perhaps they had been gradually accumulating at the bottom of her heart.

(But His Highness is saying something unreasonable...)

It was a tiny, tiny, little thorn, something she had never been aware of. To think that he, a stranger, couldn’t accept it...

(He is a peculiar person...)

Despite this, Cordelia found herself smiling naturally.