Chapter 61: Even If You’re Cute, I Won’t Let It Slide

“After the meal, there’s something I need to report to you.”

“Is it about Jude?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

‘Xavier will be upset if he finds out.’

I looked up at him with worried eyes. His expression didn’t change much, but there was a flicker of unease in his eyes.

“I understand.”

Without asking further, Xavier took my hand and led me to the dining area set up in the camp.

In the center of the camp, a large bonfire was blazing, and a massive barbecue was roasting over it. It seemed they had chosen this menu since the kitchen staff were under close watch, and labor-intensive dishes were out of the question.

“My lady!”

From afar, Maya ran up and hugged me. Not to be outdone, Rosetta also rushed over and wrapped her arms around both of us.

“I’m fine now.”

“Thank goodness, oh thank goodness… sob, sob.”

Maya burst into tears again. It seemed like her tear ducts had turned into faucets overnight.

“Sister, stop crying. You’re making the lady feel sad.”

“O-okay. I won’t cry anymore.”

Maya hastily wiped her tears with both hands and forced a smile.

“My lady, I won’t cry anymore.”

“Good.”

As I patted Maya’s back, I noticed Rosetta was unusually quiet. She was staring intently at something over my shoulder with a deeply unsettled expression.

‘What is she looking at?’

“Rosetta?”

“Yes, my lady. I’m here!”

Rosetta, who had been standing dazedly, responded a beat late to my call.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes. I was just lost in thought for a moment.”

“How silly.”

I took Rosetta with me to Xavier, who was receiving greetings from the other servants for his safe return.

“Xavier, during the expedition to the Everlasting Snow Mountains, Rosetta saved my life. Without her, I might not be here.”

“Is that so? Thank you very much.”

“Not at all, Your Grace. I was only doing my duty.”

Rosetta bowed humbly.

“You should reward Rosetta. Something big and grand, like jewels or gold coins!”

“Of course, I will.”

“R-really? Thank you both so much.”

Seeing Rosetta’s genuine smile of joy made my heart feel warm. I had been worried about her earlier due to her unsettled expression, but now I was relieved.

‘I must repay her kindness, even if only in this way.’

At that moment, Wilhelm’s booming and energetic voice shook the ground.

“Everyone! May I have your attention!”

All eyes turned to Wilhelm. In the meantime, Rosetta disappeared, saying she would help in the kitchen, and I sat down at the dining table with Xavier.

“Due to some issues in the kitchen, I, Wilhelm, have taken it upon myself to prepare the meal today.”

Wilhelm wiped a long, sharp double-edged sword that had been heated in the fire and used it to carve the roasted pork, distributing it evenly to the people lined up. The tender and juicy pork belly on the plates looked incredibly appetizing.

Wilhelm personally served Xavier and me as he spoke.

“I was inspired by the dish the lady prepared for us during the last battle.”

“Oh, this is excellent, General Wilhelm.”

“I’ve always been a meat lover, but after tasting the lady’s cooking, I feel like I’ve reached a new level of enlightenment.”

“Ah.”

It’s true that I like meat, but unlike the general, I don’t secretly stash jerky at my waist to snack on all day.

Even now, Wilhelm had a jerky pouch hanging from his belt.

“Wilhelm!”

From a distance, Ethan called out his name in a voice like a train whistle. He quickly rushed over and grabbed Wilhelm by the scruff of his neck.

“The meat’s burning, you fool! My apologies, Your Grace, my lady. Please enjoy your meal!”

“Ethan? What are you doing?”

“Shut up!”

Ethan dragged Wilhelm away, leaving a long snake-like trail on the ground from Wilhelm’s heels.

‘Ethan is surprisingly strong.’

Watching the two of them, I popped a piece of the tender meat into my mouth.

Thunk.

“Huh?”

A fork fell from the table with a dull sound. When I turned to the side, I saw a small black paw groping around on the table.

“Lulu?”

Lulu climbed onto my lap, his black obsidian-like eyes sparkling. His plump body made the climb a slow process.

“You little rascal, you came back knowing your owner would show up, didn’t you?”

Lulu nodded vigorously. But the necklace around his neck was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s your necklace?”

The raccoon jumped down from my lap, stomped his feet, rolled around three times, and then stopped.

“You lost it while running away somewhere?”

“Kkiing.”

‘It wasn’t flimsy enough to fall off that easily.’

Still, seeing the bits of grass tangled in his fur made him look both adorable and pitiful. I brushed off some of the grass and tried to lift him onto my lap.

‘Wow, he’s heavy.’

Maybe because he’s a raccoon, but he was three times heavier than Kiki. Trying to lift him while sitting down made my back hurt.

As I tried to stand up, Xavier’s voice called out to me.

“Yuria, what are you…”

His gentle tone suddenly choked off. There was a sharp ting as the fork in his hand stabbed into the table. When I turned to look, Xavier was trembling all over.

“Why is that thing here?”

“Xavier?”

In an instant, Xavier stood up and snatched Lulu from my hands like the wind. Despite Lulu’s desperate struggling, Xavier forced him onto his lap.

“I’ll hold him.”

“What?”

Xavier, you don’t even like Lulu, do you?

I’m not oblivious. At first, I thought they got along, but when he was Kiki, Xavier had been very serious about chasing Lulu away.

Xavier grinned and said, 

“It’s my first time seeing this creature. Is it yours, Yuria? Then I should take good care of it.”

Huh? What kind of nonsense is this? How exactly do you plan to ‘take care’ of him?

I also saw it—the sly smirk on Xavier’s lips just before he spoke.

‘And why is he pretending this is his first time meeting Lulu?’

After all that squabbling in the barracks before dinner, Xavier was now acting completely clueless.

Lulu, who had been forcibly placed on Xavier’s lap, looked at me with a terrified expression, whining pitifully with his mouth open.

“Is your name Lulu? Here, let’s get along. I’ll give you this.”

Xavier went a step further, waving a large piece of meat on a fork in front of Lulu’s eyes like it was on display.

The simple-minded Lulu reached out with his tiny hands, his eyes as big as candy drops. After several failed attempts, he finally grabbed the meat and stuffed it into his mouth.

Chomp, chomp.

Seeing this, Xavier picked up another piece of meat and raised it to shoulder height. Lulu jumped up and down, trying to grab it, and Xavier even added encouraging remarks.

“Good, good. Well done, little raccoon.”

Lulu froze at those words and glared at Xavier with a pak expression. Then, he threw the meat he was holding onto the plate and started struggling to get away.

“Kkiing!”

“Xavier, what are you doing to this poor creature? Instead of tormenting him, shouldn’t you be feeding him properly and helping him find his owner?”

“But that thing—”

“What about Lulu?”

When I glared at him, Xavier opened his mouth, then shut it again.

“Tell me why you’re acting like this.”

Xavier hesitated, then gulped down water instead of answering.

“Honestly. You’re acting like a child. You saw the necklace Lulu’s owner left him, didn’t you? His owner will definitely come looking for him. Lulu must be anxious being separated from them.”

Seeing his drooping eyebrows, I softened my tone and spoke gently.

“I trust that you wouldn’t act this way without a reason, Xavier. If you dislike Lulu, there must be a reason. Please tell me.”

“I’ll explain everything later when this creature isn’t around.”

“What?”

My voice rose in disbelief. But Xavier pressed his lips together and set down his fork without a word.

“Why can’t you just tell me now…?”

In the meantime, Lulu, still sitting on Xavier’s lap, took advantage of the moment to snatch the meat from the fork and drop it into the water cup in front of him.

“No, Lulu!”

I quickly moved the cup of water, now glistening with oil, out of the way.

Lulu looked at his dripping wet paw with a dazed expression. At that moment, Rosetta’s words from the cave suddenly came to mind.

Ah, could it be?

“Is it because Lulu is male?”

“Uh…”

Xavier avoided my gaze, his teal eyes flickering.

Oh, so it’s because he’s male.

But somehow, I felt like there was more to it. Could it be?

“Or is Lulu… a beastman?”

“……!”

Xavier’s teal eyes trembled violently, as if asking how I knew.

But why was he shaking his head? Was he saying no? Or yes?

“Xavier, you’re frustrating me.”

At that moment, Lulu threw his head back and glared at Xavier. Meeting Lulu’s black eyes, Xavier stiffened and replied firmly.

“I can’t say.”

Even under my persistent gaze, Xavier remained silent.

Could it really be true?

I looked at Lulu, who was growling softly at Xavier. Could this adorable creature really be the same species as the beastman who tried to attack me in the square?

The thought sent a chill down my spine.

But if Lulu had intended to harm me, wouldn’t he have done so already, given how defenseless I was?

And look at those innocent eyes. How could those eyes ever hurt anyone?

I decided to test it out.

“Xavier, give me Lulu.”

I took Lulu from Xavier and placed him on the chair beside me. The way he sat upright, just like a human, only added to the suspicion.

“Here, Lulu. Eat lots of meat. There’s even an apple.”

I cut a small piece of apple and placed it in Lulu’s mouth. He happily munched on it, making little chomping sounds.

After letting out a small sigh, I looked directly into Lulu’s black eyes with a serious expression. His smooth, shiny, and adorable black pupils looked so pure.

“Lulu, give me your paw.”

Lulu placed his small black paw on my palm.

“Oh, you’re so smart. Here, have some meat.”

As a reward, I cut the meat into small pieces and fed it to his eager mouth.

“Lulu, high-five!”

“Kkiing!”

He gave me a firm high-five with his tiny paw.

“Oh my, you’re a genius raccoon! Can you do this too?”

After eating a second piece of meat, Lulu licked his mouth and nodded his head. Smiling, I asked him another question.

“Lulu, how old are you?”

“Kkiing.”

Lulu immediately raised both front paws and tried to bend what looked like fingers, but struggled to do so, only wriggling them awkwardly. I squinted at him as I asked.

“Oh my, does our Lulu know numbers too?”

“Kkiing?”

His little furry shoulders flinched, and his round black eyes met mine. They darted around nervously, like beans roasting over a high flame.

I leaned in closer and spoke softly, only loud enough for Xavier and Lulu to hear.

“You’re a human, aren’t you?”