Chapter 20

“Black, let’s play!”

Ten days had passed since Rachel first met Black. She was currently experimenting with different toys to get along with him.

By the way, Rachel thought that spirits didn’t eat. However, when Samuel brought his handmade sweets to her room, they frequently disappeared.

And when she looked at Black… there were crumbs of the sweets on his mouth.

Rachel asked Black if he ate it, but he turned his face away from her and replied with, “Nyaan.”

Even so, Rachel was convinced.

The criminal was undoubtedly Black.

Food wasn’t necessary for spirits to live, but maybe they ate what they liked. That’s what Rachel thought.

Then she brought that up when Theodore came to visit.

“Ehh, spirits also eat, you know? You can’t feed normal animals with sweets, but it won’t harm the spirits. They like delicious things,” Theodore said like it was something normal. But that shocked Rachel.

Spirits were usually temperamental. Even after making contact, they would immediately return to their forest. Therefore, most people didn’t know about the daily life of spirits.

You could say that a spirit like Black who stayed with the contractor all the time was rare.

But Rachel realized something at that moment.

I see! I can get along with him using sweets!

Rachel often heard that the owner of pets often used food and snacks to interact with animals to adjust them to the new circumstances.

That was a good strategy!

After that, Rachel tried to get along with Black using sweets. However, Black noticed that Samuel was the one who made the sweets.

When Samuel came to the room, Black immediately approached him and rubbed his body against his feet.

However, Samuel couldn’t see the spirit. So the poor man could only tilt his head in puzzlement on Rachel’s blaming gaze.

Therefore, Rachel returned to the starting point, trying to get along with Black with his favorite toys.

Since he was a cat, then foxtail was the ultimate choice!

Thinking so, Rachel brought a stick with a few fluffy white feathers in front of Black and waved it around.

“Black~ Black~ Let’s play!”

Black glanced at her and turned away. However, he was bothered by the things that kept moving in the corner of his eyes.

The moment Rachel moved the toy to make it look like it unintentionally grazed his feet, his forepaw moved in a whoosh.

However, Black’s forepaw cut through the air.

Annoyed that he couldn’t catch the toy, Black approached the foxtail toy, irritated. His eyes were fixed at the tip of the toy.

Kuro repeatedly tried to catch it, pressing the floor with his feet. Hid figure was very cute.

“It looks like he likes it.”

Rachel was surprised to hear a voice above her head.

She didn’t notice anyone entering the room because her attention was entirely directed to Black.

Then Louis crouched next to her, his eyes squinted as he smiled gently. His blonde hair was shining brightly, bathing on the light from the window.

Yes. Today, Louis finally came to her mansion after a long time.

“I didn’t know that Rachel likes animals this much.”

“...I showed you my embarrassing side.”

“No, I’m happy to see that. You forgot that I’m here, right? Just looking at Rachel being so pure makes me completely forget my daily fatigue.”

“...Uu. Please forget it…,” Rachel answered awkwardly, breaking into a cold sweat.

Then, Louis went right next to Black and kneeled.

Not expecting that, Rachel turned her face to the ground and chuckled, her shoulders shaking.

“Anyway,” Louis said, his gaze on Black. “I’ve heard about your condition from Theodore. But I’m glad you look healthy.”

“Yeah, Lord Theodore’s guidance is very amazing! I could walk in the garden for the past two days!”

Getting slightly excited, Rachel leaned forward. Happiness radiating from her words.

Louis looked at her with a tender look.

There, Rachel noticed that she brought her face closer to Louis, and her cheeks became hot. She cleared her throat and took a breath before returning to her previous straight posture.

After that, Louis pointed to the foxtail toy and said, “Can I borrow it?”

Rachel timidly handed it to him. After receiving it, Louis thanked her. Then he shifted his gaze to Black and shook the fluffy toy.

“Black, come here.”

Black was absorbed in the moving foxtail toy again, chasing it around.

Who would imagine the prince playing with a cat using a foxtail toy like this? If Cyril saw this, his face would probably stiffen to the fullest. Or maybe he would grin since he found a material to make fun of Louis?

After a while, Black lost his interest in the toy. He didn’t respond to it anymore.

Then he slowly walked to his cushion and sprawled his body there, his eyes closed.

“He’s cute.”

“Yes. He’s really cute.”

“Yup.”

Louis was smiling pleasantly, still looking at Black.

Able to relate to his feelings, Rachel also smiled. Watching Black also made her think that the cat was so adorable and lovely.

“But he’s the spirit of darkness, huh. I was surprised when I heard it.”

“Your Highness, you didn’t see it before, right?”

“Of course. Theodore is not normal. Presently, not even the royal family has Theodore’s ability.”

“I see.”

“But Black is truly mysterious.”

“...Are you interested in him?”

“Yeah. Does Black have a positive effect on Rachel? ... It’ll be good if he does.”

“On me? Your Highness, I thought you’re more interested in Black’s existence…”

Rachel couldn’t help but look at Louis blankly.

But she immediately realized that she said improper remarks. It’s like she was saying that the prince wasn’t someone who would worry about others. She lost her guard a little bit after watching Louis play with Black.

However, she was somewhat puzzled with what Louis just said.

After spending time with Louis, Rachel became aware of his interest and his sense of distance to people.

When will his eyes glitter in interest? How does he usually behave?

The more she watched Louis, the more she realized that he was a very complicated person.

Perhaps the image of the perfect prince was created by his efforts.

And that the current him was actually a lot different than his image.

“Haha, Rachel already found out about my personality?”

“Are you curious about the spirit of the darkness?”

“Yeah. It’s something related to this country. I also love studying what I don’t know. But I have something more important than that.”

“Something more important?”

“Yup. That’s you. I often think about you these days. What should I do so I can spend more time with you and make you laugh? That question keeps passing my mind again and again.”

Louis looked straight at Rachel and sighed. Then he lowered his eyebrows and laughed like he was troubled.

“Then? Do you have anything you want to tell me?”

“Why…”

“You are looking for the timing to say something to me, right?”

How did he know that?

As expected from His Highness. He has excellent observation skill.

“Yes. I have something I need to say to you, Your Highness.”

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