The Northern Grand Duke’s Hamster

He was completely caught. There was no way to deny it.

Kyle stood at the doorway, looking back and forth between me and Sen.

“You just said… Shu…”

“……”

Sen, flustered, hastily made up an excuse.

“C-Cashew Nut! I said Cashew Nut! Cashew Nut was being playful, so I thought it was cute!”

Kyle’s red eyes once again settled on me. I was sitting in Sen’s palm, my fur smeared with walnut ointment.

“I heard you say, ‘when you become a hamster.’”

“……”

“Where is Shu?”

Kyle asked again.

There was no way to talk my way out of this. It would be too suspicious to say he had gone outside in this mess, and lying might only make things worse by making Kyle worry.

Sen’s gaze held a hint of resignation, as if asking whether it might be better to just tell the truth.

Yeah. Now that Sen had found out, it was only a matter of time before Kyle did, too. This was bound to happen sooner or later…

I slowly shook my head at Sen.

—Tzzik. (It’s fine.)

I had to explain it myself. This was too important to let someone else do it for me.

Fortunately, Sen was quick on the uptake. She spoke to me cautiously.

“I’ll borrow the room for a bit. Go talk with His Highness.”

—……

“…Oh, crap. Sorry.”

When Kyle raised an eyebrow, Sen’s face froze in realization, and she immediately apologized. She had basically just confirmed it—this hamster was indeed Shu.

“I’ll take you.”

Kyle strode toward me.

For the first time, I found his shadowed expression terrifying.

***

Kyle carried me by the scruff of my neck all the way to his bedroom.

Suspicious or not, how could he treat someone—no, his own bonded beast—like this? He used to dote on me like I was made of gold, and now, just because of one transformation, he was acting like this?

—Chik. (Ehuu.)

I sighed and looked up at Kyle.

He didn’t look like he didn’t believe me—he looked like he didn’t want to believe me. He didn’t want to suspect me of being a mage.

I understood, but I couldn’t help feeling a little hurt. I had planned to tell him the truth someday, but not like this. This was the worst possible way for the secret to come out.

It was also the worst timing for Kyle. On the way here, I had overheard the mages of Frost Tower acting strangely, which must have made him even more on edge.

By now, he must have a thousand thoughts running through his mind. That I had deceived him. That I had approached him with ulterior motives.

How was I supposed to explain this?

It felt like the end of summer vacation had suddenly arrived, leaving me with nothing but unfinished homework. To be honest, I felt a little gloomy.

While I was lost in thought, Kyle placed me on his bed and, looking conflicted, finally spoke.

“……No. This can’t be. This doesn’t make any sense, Cashew Nut.”

I couldn’t give him any answer.

Not because I was in hamster form, but because even if I were human, I wouldn’t have been able to say anything while facing that expression and hearing that voice.

No—if anything, I might have reflexively denied it.

“…I believe in you, Shu.”

He sat down in front of me. His voice was more serious and deliberate than ever.

“You didn’t approach me with the intent to harm me. Both I and Blake’s territory have received your help multiple times.”

His gaze softened for a moment. His lips curled into a faint smile, as if recalling a pleasant memory. That expression alone eased my heart just a little.

“Yes. So it’s only right that I hear your side of the story. There must have been a good reason for keeping it a secret.”

—……

“So please, don’t just disappear—tell me.”

His hands were clasped together before him, as if in prayer.

I stared at him for a moment, then pressed my small body against him. It was my way of saying I wasn’t going to run away. That I would explain everything now.

Time passed.

When I pointed at the clock with my tiny finger and shook my head, Kyle quickly understood what I meant.

Realizing that I needed time before I could turn back into a human, Kyle called the knights to check on the situation outside.

“Belial is protecting Sen. The imperial palace is still in a state of emergency. It’s best not to go out unless absolutely necessary. If I can’t accompany you, move with the Blake knights.”

—Chik. (Understood.)

“The one who took the fall for the crime was Baron Chestil, the officiant.”

Kyle delivered the news with an expression devoid of any sympathy.

The baron, who had been transferred to the underground prison, had suddenly coughed up blood and died.

If anything, Kyle’s gaze was even colder than usual, as if he were convinced that the mage division was behind this suspicious death.

—Tzzik. (Aren’t you going to check it out?)

Of course, he couldn’t understand me, so I gestured wildly toward the door.

“It’s fine. Right now, what’s happening with you is more important.”

That was what he said, but given that he had just found a lead on the mages, it was only natural that he’d want to investigate it himself. Yet, instead of going personally, he sent his knights and chose to stay with me until morning.

With his sword resting against him, Kyle sat on the floor, putting us at nearly the same eye level. His gaze, filled with countless emotions, poured down on me, almost overwhelming in its intensity.

For a moment, I had the absurd illusion that time had stopped, that everything in the world had faded away, leaving only the two of us.

—Tzhaaam.

“There’s still time before sunrise. Get some sleep.”

Well, if you insist.

As exhaustion overtook me, my head nodded forward, and a familiar, firm hand reached out to support it.

I could hear his heartbeat beneath his warm skin. That steady rhythm lulled me into deep sleep.

***

The moment the clock struck six, I used Reload.

Kyle had been watching me with a relaxed posture, but the second my small body was engulfed in light, he bolted upright.

“……”

Sorry, but I couldn’t just Reload in place.

Even though Kyle had thoughtfully provided clothes, I still wasn’t ready to reappear in nothing but a strawberry-patterned sweater.

I hurriedly ducked behind the partition I had scouted earlier and hesitated before speaking.

“Uh… Sorry, but could I borrow some clothes?”

Instead of answering, an arm abruptly reached out.

Kyle grabbed my wrist and yanked me forward.

It all happened in an instant. As I stumbled, he instinctively caught me, one arm wrapped securely around my waist.

“…Shu.”

He seemed startled—not just because Cashew Nut had vanished and I had appeared in his place, but also because of my… attire.

“……I asked for clothes.”

Kyle, still staring blankly at me, finally snapped out of it.

“Then… the pervert who appeared at the Castanets Trading Company was—”

“What was I supposed to do when I had no clothes?! And again with the pervert thing? You’ve got to be kidding me!”

I shouted in frustration, making Kyle’s eyebrows twitch.

And then—

“Pfft.”

“……”

Did he just… laugh?

Right now?

“Hah… Hahaha. Ahahaha.”

“…You find this funny? You’re laughing after seeing me like this? Your hamster—who’s only wearing a sweater—makes you want to laugh?”

The moment I scolded him, Kyle outright burst into laughter.

“Haha… Pffft… Hahaha! Sorry, I’m sorry. But… Haha, you just… look so…”

“Wow. You’re really just laughing at me to my face.”

“Ahaha.”

It was the first time I had ever heard him laugh so openly. He had been brooding for so long that I couldn’t bring myself to scold him further.

“A completely absurd situation just unfolded before my eyes.”

I reached out, carefully brushing my fingers over the diagonal scar on his forehead. It hadn’t been properly treated, just barely scabbed over. It looked like he had been cut by a small blade.

“What were you thinking, leaving a wound like this untreated? What if it gets worse?”

I almost scolded him for misusing his handsome face but held back.

I let out a deep sigh, and Kyle, as if trying to suppress his amusement, slightly pursed his lips.

“I’ve told you this before, but just to clarify again—I’m not a mage. And I am on your side. It’s just… complicated to explain… I was just unlucky enough to become a beast.”

“……”

Without warning, Kyle reached out and cupped my cheeks, holding my face between his hands.

His crimson eyes captured my reflection perfectly.

He didn’t say a word.

He just stared—intently, unwaveringly, as if he was trying to see straight into my soul. He stared and stared, and then stared some more, like he wanted to memorize every inch of me.

“…Alright.”

After a long silence, he finally spoke.

His voice was low and warm.

“I believe you.”

“……”

“I believe that you’re my ally. That we are bound by the same fate. That you came to me like a miracle.”

I gently ran my fingers over the wound on his forehead as I replied.

“I wanted to tell you. But this situation is so absurd that I wasn’t sure if you would believe me. More accurately, I wasn’t confident I could convince you. I thought you’d find it suspicious. I knew I couldn’t keep it a secret forever, but… I didn’t know how to explain it all.”

“Sen knows.”

“She only found out a few days ago. I got caught at the tea party. That’s… also a long story.”

“Tell me everything. I can listen.”

“I, uh… I might ramble a lot.”

“I don’t mind.”

Kyle hesitated for a moment, then slowly lowered his head.

With a soft thunk, his forehead rested against mine.

“I really don’t mind.”

It was a difficult confession, spoken from the depths of his heart.

“It doesn’t matter who you were or where you came from.”

“……”

“Just stay by my side. Don’t disappear.”

And so, as if entranced, I found myself answering his unspoken plea.

“Where else would I be but by your side, Your Highness?”

“……”

“I am your bonded one, after all.”

At that, Kyle let out a small laugh.

He looked genuinely happy.

And that quiet joy fluttered toward me, settling in my chest like the delicate wings of a butterfly.