Chapter 31

Alexei couldn't help but feel an overwhelming affection for Eleonora, who was in his arms.

"Thank goodness Pie is Eleonora. I'm so happy to see you again... Eleonora."

Eleonora felt confused at being called Eleonora by Alexei, rather than Pie.

"O, Ora, I am indeed Eleonora. But to Ham-chan, I'm Pie."

Her face turned completely red, and she spoke in a small, mumbled voice, but Alexei showered her head with many kisses, finding everything about her precious.

"You're so cute. Too cute. Of course, I loved Pie, and I still do. But you, with that soul, are Pie, yet not entirely. You are you..."

At this point, Alexei was at a loss for words.

He finally understood what this feeling was.

He loosened his embrace.

"Eleonora, look up at me."

"It's impossible. I'm embarrassed."

She kept her head down, answering in a small voice.

Alexei smiled wryly.

"Eleonora, I want to be with you. I won't leave you this time. Unlike the old me, I have the strength to protect you."

Alexei knows what it means to love someone. Pie taught him that.

And now, Eleonora is teaching him what it means to be in love.

He decided to confess his feelings.

The affection he had for Pie was a love for a mother or a friend, different from what he feels for Eleonora.

Eleonora is delicate and soft, a beautiful and gentle woman who seems like she might break if held too tightly. He wants everything about her.

Even if her feelings for Alexei are like those for family, it's enough for him just to be with her. Still, he wants her to love him as a man.

Just as Alexei was about to confess his love, Eleonora, with her head down, began to fidget and speak.

"...Ora, I've never been hugged by anyone. No one has ever hugged me, not even when I was Pie or Eleonora. ...Being hugged feels like this, I guess."

She had hugged many animals, beasts, and the young Alexei, but she had never been hugged herself.

"But, being hugged by His Majesty makes me nervous. I'm embarrassed. Let go."

Alexei was certain that Eleonora was aware of him as a man.

"I know what this feeling is, Eleonora. Look up at me."

Eleonora timidly raised her face, blushing.

"Eleonora"

The beautiful face she looked up to was different from the Ham-chan she knew. She felt it was the face of a stranger.

(Ham-chan, but not Ham-chan! Where did that angelic Ham-chan go? But this Ham-chan, I, I like him...)

"Y-Your Majesty"

Alexei found Eleonora, who said this with moist eyes and a feverish tone, so endearing that he wanted to devour her.

"I want you to call me Alexei."

"B-but..."

"I'm not the child you knew. I'm Alexei. Your Ham-chan is in the happy memories of the enchanted forest. So, I want you to call me Alexei."

"...Alexei Your Majesty"

"Please, no honorifics. I want you to call me Alexei."

Eleonora lowered her head again.

In both her past and present life, she had never experienced such intense and confused emotions, and she didn't know what to do.

"No one in this world calls me just Alexei. I'm never called by my name. So, I want you to be the one to call me that."

When Alexei whispered this in a pained, pleading voice, Eleonora timidly raised her face and looked at him.

"...It's the same. The hair color, the eye color. Why do you look like a different person? My heart is racing, I can't do it. Please, let go."

Eleonora pressed both hands against Alexei's chest, trying to pull away, but Alexei gently held her hands.

"If you look at my face and call me Alexei, I'll let go."

"...A, Alex---"

Seeing Eleonora, her face flushed and on the verge of tears, Alexei decided it was too much for her, but her appearance was so endearing that he couldn't resist and impulsively kissed her lips.

Eleonora, with her cheeks flushed and moist eyes, stared at Alexei in a daze.