Leje El Lagrind
"So… you're saying you ended up here chasing a cat? Is that it?"
"Y-yes."
Rudell nodded in response to the girl's, the princess's, question as she narrowed her eyes.
At his answer, the princess stared at him with a look of disbelief.
However, she soon relaxed her expression and shrugged as if it didn't matter.
“You. What's your name?"
"R-Rudellheit Weinstein."
Honestly, Rudell wanted to escape from this place right away, but he couldn't.
He was already being suspected of being a suspicious person, and if he ran away, he would be done for.
After answering in a timid voice, Rudell cautiously observed the princess.
"Weinstein… Weinstein… I don't recognize it."
"..."
The princess frowned as if trying to recall something and glared at Rudell.
It was only natural.
His ambiguous position as a viscount, not a high-ranking noble like a count or a marquis.
Furthermore, he held no real authority, and his territory was located in a remote area within the kingdom.
It would be stranger if she knew about the Weinstein Viscounty.
"Cheese, give that to me."
[Meow.]
At the princess's words, the cat spat out the brooch it was holding in its mouth.
By the way, does that cat… understand human language?
"Here you go."
"Ah, thank you."
Thinking so, Rudell received the brooch from the princess, wiped the drool off it, and attached it back to his chest.
"By the way, that cat… is it yours, Princess?"
To lighten the awkward atmosphere, Rudell asked the princess.
"Huh? Cheese? It's not exactly my cat, more like a cat I take care of."
[Meow!]
At her words, the cat rubbed its head against the princess's leg and meowed.
By the way, Cheese? That's a pretty simple name…
"Well, I'll believe what you said for now."
"Ah, thank you."
It seemed he had overcome a major hurdle.
Bowing his head, Rudell let out a sigh of relief.
"But!"
"…?!"
However, at the same time, the princess said so and approached Rudell.
As she approached him, Rudell watched her with a tense face.
"It's a secret that you saw me here. Got it?"
"Yes, I understand!"
Who in their right mind would disobey the princess?
"Good."
Satisfied with his answer, the princess smiled and squatted down, pulling something out of her pocket.
What emerged from her pocket was a piece of dark red jerky.
"Here you go~ It's snack time!"
“Eh…?"
With a bright smile, the princess began to tear the jerky into small pieces.
And, watching her, Rudell let out a dumbfounded voice.
[Meow! Meooow-!!]
[Meow!!]
As if their eyes were glued to the jerky, the cats meowed and gathered around the princess…
Just as the princess was about to give the torn jerky pieces to the cats.
"Ah, no!!"
"Eek!? What's wrong all of a sudden?"
A desperate cry escaped Rudell's lips.
And, startled by his sudden cry, the princess and the cats looked at him in surprise.
"W-what's wrong all of a sudden? Why are you shouting!?"
"Jerky is dangerous for cats!"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
The princess shouted in a bewildered voice, as if she had never heard of such a thing.
Rudell answered her question with urgency in his voice.
"It might be okay for adult cats, but the salt in jerky is dangerous for kittens!!"
While it might be fine for adult cats, food made for humans could be poisonous to kittens.
Especially jerky, which contained a lot of salt during its production process, was extremely dangerous for kittens that hadn't fully grown.
"Is… is that true?"
"Yes! It's true!"
At his cry, the princess stared at him with disbelief.
However, when Rudell nodded and looked at her, she eventually put the jerky back in her pocket.
The cat meowed and whined at her actions, but the princess said in a regretful voice.
"Sorry. I'll give you snacks later."
[Meow…]
[Meooow…]
Did it understand her words?
The cat stopped whining and instead started rubbing their bodies against her legs.
The princess gently stroked the cat, and Rudell breathed a sigh of relief.
And so, how much time had passed?
"Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet."
Saying so, the princess stood up, lifted her skirt slightly, and bowed politely.
"I'm Leje El Lagrind of the Lagrind Dukedom."
"I'm Rudellheit Weinstein of the Weinstein Viscounty."
He had already revealed his name, but he couldn't ignore the princess's greeting.
Bowing politely, Rudell once again revealed his identity.
"I'll remember this. I almost did something bad to these little ones without realizing it."
“Y-you don't have to remember…"
To be honest, Rudell wished she would throw the memory of him into the depths of oblivion.
However, seeing the princess's sparkling eyes, he realized that it was a futile wish.
"You… seem to know quite a lot about cats, don't you?"
"I'm just a little interested in them."
Actually, he had never owned a cat.
Most of his knowledge about cats came from YouTube channels.
In his first life, he lived hand to mouth, and in his second life, he couldn't have a cat because of his mother's cat allergy.
"Hmm…"
A low groan escaped the princess's lips at his answer.
Rudell felt a cold sweat break out as he observed her.
Did he say something to offend her in his last answer?
Offending a dukedom's princess could easily lead to the annihilation of a remote viscounty.
Moreover, in this case, there was a plausible excuse that he had left the area permitted to guests.
And then…
"Miss! Where are you-!!"
"Miss-!!"
Desperate voices of several people began to echo from not far away.
"Oh no. Did they already find me?"
"Whoa!?"
When Rudell made a puzzled expression at the sound, the princess grabbed his arm and started running somewhere.
Rudell was dragged away without any resistance by her strength, which was unbelievable for an 8-year-old child…
"They won't find us here, will they?"
"..."
The princess, who had entered a small warehouse nearby, wiped the sweat from her forehead and spoke.
And, Rudell looked at her with a bewildered expression.
Is this person really the princess I know?
The princess's personality in the original novel he remembered was not like this.
Her personality was, to put it nicely, cold.
To put it badly, she was close to a cold-blooded person.
But, the princess in front of him now looked like an 8-year-old mischievous child no matter how he looked at her.
"Shh…!!"
"..."
Rudell nodded silently at the princess's gesture of putting her index finger to her lips as if telling him not to even breathe.
"She's not here either!!"
"Hurry up and find her! If we don't, we're all going to lose our heads!!"
The next moment, the voices of several people began to echo from beyond the warehouse walls.
Feeling his heart pounding, Rudell held his breath and watched the situation beside the princess.
After a while.
"I'll go this way, you guys go that way!"
"Yes!! Understood!"
As the sound of numerous footsteps faded away, a sigh of relief escaped the princess's lips.
"Heeheehee! They'd never dream I'd be here, would they?"
With a playful voice, the princess giggled.
What in the world is going on…?
As Rudell watched the scene in confusion, it happened.
"There you are."
"Eek!?"
A voice came from behind them, and the princess flinched as if she had committed a great sin.
Like an old doll, the princess turned her head stiffly, and what she saw was someone watching them through the warehouse window.
A woman with a stern impression, her black hair tied up.
She wore large glasses over her deep red eyes, and a maid uniform neatly.
Her name was Alma Marend.
She was the princess's personal maid and a mother figure to the princess who lost her own mother early.
"A-Alma! Weren't you on vacation today…!?"
"I postponed it. The Duke asked me personally."
Alma, as the woman was called, let out a short sigh and replied to the princess, who stuttered as if frightened.
"M-my dad!?"
"Yes. The Duke seems to be very angry. Everyone in the mansion is looking for you right now."
"Ehehehe… Was my prank too much?"
The princess stuck her tongue out awkwardly at Alma, who spoke calmly.
"This time, the Duke won't let it slide. You'll be grounded for at least half a year."
"H-half a year!!? No way!"
"I think that's a very lenient punishment for someone who ran away from her own birthday party after setting up a double."
The princess's voice of protest erupted, but Alma replied in a calm and cold voice.
'A double? Who? The princess?'
Hearing those words, Rudell looked at the princess with a dumbfounded expression.
"By the way, who is this?"
As if she had just noticed Rudell, Alma asked with a puzzled expression.
It was natural to be curious since there was an unfamiliar boy of the same age next to the princess.
"This? Uh… well. A friend?"
"A friend…? Is that so?"
Alma's eyes widened in surprise at the princess's hesitant answer.
Her red eyes scanned him up and down as if piercing through him…
"If our princess has caused you any trouble, I apologize on her behalf."
"Wait a minute! I haven't done anything yet!"
Then, when Alma bowed her head and spoke, the princess shouted with a bewildered expression.
"I think this situation itself is quite rude."
"Ugh…!!"
A low groan escaped the princess's lips at Alma's pointed words.
"Now, let's go back. If you apologize now, the Duke might calm down a bit."
“Hmph… I really thought I wouldn't get caught this time…"
Letting out a disappointed groan, the princess stood up and spoke to Rudell.
"Then see you later, Viscount Weinstein. This is a restricted area, so go back quickly."
"Yes…?"
See you later?
A dumbfounded voice escaped Rudell's lips at those words, but without any further explanation, the princess started walking away with Alma.
Soon, the figures of the princess and Alma disappeared from his sight, and
"Huh…"
Rudell collapsed on the spot, muttering in dismay.
And so, Rudell's somewhat noisy day was coming to an end.
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