Chapter 12

“Excuse me.”

“Sigh…”

The prince, who had been drinking from his mug without a break, took one last gulp and let out a sigh.

He looked around in surprise and saw Janiche standing in the kitchen. He seemed more flustered and awkward than the prince himself. 

“Did I come too early? Should I go back?” 

“Oh no, you came at the perfect time. We were just about to have tea.” 

But unlike me, who welcomed Janiche, the prince seemed uncomfortable with him. There was an awkward silence between the two tall men. Janiche seemed unsure whether to greet the prince or stay silent.

“You two go ahead and sit at the dining table. I’ll bring the tea.” 

“Of course. Shall we go, Your Highness?” 

“…No.” 

Janiche nodded eagerly, but the prince couldn’t move. He was wary of the unfamiliar knight. 

“Why are you like that, Your Highness? Even if you hide behind me, you won’t be hidden.” The big boy ran to me, hiding behind me. 

When will we all hold hands and escape from this nameless castle? 

It was a moment when a sigh expectedly came out. But I didn’t want to push the prince, who had just started to open up to me. 

“Okay. Let’s go together, Your Highness.” 

“…Although it’s not polite to sit at the dining table before the prince, this is an exceptional situation. I’ll be waiting.” 

Janiche looked crestfallen. He was probably a harmless person who had fallen for the prince like me. It was a pity, but Janiche could only blame his rough appearance. 

If he looked nice, he could have become friends with the prince right away. 

Before leaving the kitchen, I turned back to see if I had forgotten anything, and the prince unconsciously followed my actions. 

Then my hair, tied high, hit the prince’s face, and he turned back to look at me with a bewildered expression. 

“Ouch.” 

“I’m sorry. You were standing too close.”

“Ah…” 

He blinked and touched his cheek. He looked like a child who had come to a strange place and was scared of his surroundings. It was not a bad feeling for the prince to rely on me like this…! 

If he were a puppy now, I would have hugged him and rubbed his cheeks. I secretly regretted it, carried the prince on my back, and left the kitchen. 

Janiche was sitting awkwardly on the edge, bowing his head. On the other side, he also felt like a well-trained hunting dog. 

I put the tray on the dining table and said, “It’s absurd for a maid like me to dine with nobles and royals. But our situation is exceptional… Please understand, Your Highness.” 

“I don’t mind.” 

“Of course, I thought so. By the way, where will the prince sit?” 

“Daphne… Ah, where should I sit?” 

“I’ll sit across from Janiche.” 

“Then I’ll sit there too.” 

The prince’s hand, which was reaching out, gently pulled the collar of my clothes. Like I did in the room earlier. 

I naturally put my hand over his hand. He seemed surprised again, but I didn’t care. 

The prince was more like a young puppy who had just gone for a walk than a grown adult. 

So I had to provide him with a sense of stability. “Okay, sit here.” I pulled out the chair next to me. Even after I sat down, the prince didn’t let go of my hand. 

I couldn’t help wondering why he was so uncomfortable, but when I thought about the environment he had grown up in, it wasn’t hard to understand. I grabbed the prince’s hand firmly and let go. Then, I pushed the breakfast I had already prepared in front of Janiche and the prince.

“That broccoli soup looks delicious.”

“Yes, please try it.”

“But the prince must use his utensils first…”

Sir Janiche awkwardly revealed his unease and smiled stiffly. With his strong impression on his thick eyebrows, he didn’t even try to move when he saw the prince’s frozen body.

This was a big problem. The road ahead was too long. I sighed and picked up the utensils in front of the prince.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“…Yes, I am. But…”

“Sir Janiche is a knight who exists to protect the prince. Just like a maid who exists to serve the prince’s will.”

“Oh, I know. I received your greetings before.”

“I am pleased you remember.”

Sir Janiche’s eyes widened. Then the prince’s eyes widened too. He turned his head away from his gaze and looked at me. It was a pitiful look, as if asking for help.

“…Sir Janiche. I don’t think the prince is ready to have a conversation with you yet. I’m sorry, but can you eat quietly?”

“…It’s not difficult. But before that, I would like to thank Miss Daphne for preparing the tea.”

Living in a nameless castle, there were many kinds of things. A mere commoner maid was telling a fallen nobleman to be quiet.

But the prince came first, not Sir Janiche or me, so I made no complaints and waited for him to begin eating. The prince, who was the focus of our attention, seemed to have reached the height of discomfort as his face gradually became flushed. Maybe he’ll transform again. Before he could show any reaction, I quickly shook my utensils to urge him.

“Your Highness, I’m starving too. If we keep this up, our stomachs will grumble. What should we do?”

“T-That’s not allowed.”

“That’s why you should eat. We can’t eat until you eat.”

“Why, why…what did I do.”

“You are the prince. One of the highest ranks in this country.”

“Ah…”

I’m not sure if the prince understood what I was saying. But he seemed to have noticed the atmosphere and let go of the hand that had been holding onto my sleeve and pulled the plate towards him.

Why wasn’t he using utensils… I thought to myself. The prince raised his head after drinking the soup in a hurry.

“…Um, Your Highness?”

“…Hmm?”

He raised his head. Without even bothering to wipe the soup stains on his cheek, he tried to bury his face in the plate where boiled carrots and sausages were placed this time.

“Wait, just a moment. Oh, my god. Could it be that the maids didn’t even teach you how to use utensils?”

“If, if you mean the utensils that Daphne is holding…”

“Yes. Fork and knife. You should use a spoon for soup…no, I don’t know the detailed manners when there are multiple forks and knives, but at least…”

“I, I’m an animal, so I have to slam my head and eat like a dog.”

When he said, ‘Eat like a dog’, the prince didn’t hesitate at all. It must have been something the maid had taught him many times. Ah, I’m going to go crazy. Why is this prince trying to push my sympathy to the limit?

I covered my face with both hands and took a long breath. I had to endure it for now, even though I was overwhelmed with emotions.

“…Daphne?”

“Yes, Your Highness. Just a moment.”

“Are you crying?”

“No, it’s not that.”

The prince sitting next to me could tell that I was in a difficult situation without even looking at me. I wiped my face and looked at Janiche, who was sitting across from me. 

He also seemed to sense the seriousness of the situation and had wrinkles on his forehead. But he only glanced back and forth between me and the prince, probably because I had asked him to be quiet earlier. 

It’s okay; we didn’t have to keep my request. We had too much to say about the prince. 

“Sigh… Your Highness, first you should wipe your face. And from today on, we’ll eat with utensils.” 

“But…” 

“Yes?” 

“I…don’t know how to use them. Don’t…stare at me like that.” 

I quickly grabbed the prince’s hand, which was trying to cover his face. He was blushing deeply, feeling embarrassed by our reactions. I wanted to wipe his face, but he stubbornly kept his head down, making it impossible. So I gently brushed away the crumbs on his hand. 

“It’s okay. I’ll teach you. You haven’t done anything wrong.” 

“Ugh, but…you, you and others, look at me as if I’m pathetic.” 

The prince’s hand became a little warmer. My sight became blurry, as if there were fog. Whenever the prince turned into a puppy, white smoke would always rise like this. I bit my lip and thought, then quickly lowered my head. 

When Janiche looked surprised at me, I was chewing on the buttered bread on the plate. 

“Youw Hwighness…” 

“Finish eating and then speak, Miss Daphne.” 

“Your Highness, you’re not pathetic.” I smiled widely after swallowing the bread. 

There were crumbs stuck to the corners of my mouth. When I looked back at the prince, he was looking at me with big, round, purple eyes, as if he had forgotten about his transformation. 

His body temperature was lukewarm, as if he had a fever. I was relieved. At least he didn’t transform into a dog in front of human food. 

Of course, the prince is probably different from regular dogs, but I felt a little awkward feeding him human food. 

“Today, I want to eat like a dog with you, Your Highness.”

 “Why, why go that far…” 

“If you’re a beast, then I’m a beast too. If you’re a human, then I’m a human too.” My grip on the prince’s hand became stronger. He looked at the scattered utensils around us with trembling shoulders.

 After a long silence, he finally spoke again. Meanwhile, Janiche, who had been worried about us, finished his soup and enjoyed the sausage on the buttered bread three times.