The Northern Grand Duke’s Hamster

‘Who said I’m dead!’

The situation was this: A servant who had come to tidy up the study seemed to have mistaken me for dead.

It appeared that, while cleaning the study, he had been leaving food for me, worried I might go hungry. However, since the food had only piled up without being touched, he must have concluded that I had died.

Right now, I was also huddled in a corner, not making a sound, simply waiting for him to leave—making his misunderstanding even worse.

Unwilling to touch a beast’s corpse with his bare hands, the servant shook my house entirely. As a result, a chunk of ice from the overturned water bowl went flying and smacked me right in the face.

—Chiiik! (Ah! Hey!)

I let out a sharp scream, and the hand that had been shaking my house froze in place.

“……What the hell? You’ve gone without food for days, and you’re still alive? How does that even make sense?”

My dissatisfied gaze shifted to the overturned food bowl, now emptied of its contents in the chaos.

Kyle had packed it with various snacks for me to nibble on when I got bored, but since I’d been spending more time in human form lately, I hadn’t touched it at all.

‘I never expected someone would actually check on this.’

It seemed I’d been too careless lately. Scratching the bridge of my nose in embarrassment, I watched as the servant hurriedly lit the lamp in the room and peered into my house with scrutiny.

The moment he spotted me poking my head out from my hideout, his face filled with relief—and guilt.

“……Sorry. I completely upended your home.”

Yeah. If you wrecked someone’s entire living space, you should damn well feel sorry.

I shot him a glare full of resentment. Even though we couldn’t communicate with words, my feelings must have gotten through, as his expression turned even more apologetic.

The man then settled down and began cleaning up—throwing away the now-soggy nuts that had been sitting there for days, refilling my water bowl with fresh water, and fluffing up the bedding with new sawdust.

Sensing his intent, I stayed wedged inside my slide to avoid getting in the way. Only after he left did I emerge and grab a newly placed cashew nut, bringing it to my mouth.

—……

Since it was meant for the Northern Grand Duke’s companion beast, it was undoubtedly of the highest quality.

But I couldn’t taste anything. Only a dull, dry sensation lingered on my tongue. Losing interest after just one bite, I carelessly dropped the cashew nut from my paw.

‘……Hurry up and come back, Kyle.’

I miss you.

***

Three days later, word came that Kyle had arrived.

For the past few days, I had done nothing but nibble on the nuts the servant brought, idly passing time. But at that news, I immediately shot up.

Of course, showing up right away would raise suspicions, but even if I waited, I’d still have to answer for myself. I had returned with all my limbs intact—there was no escaping an interrogation.

Still, it was better to face the music sooner rather than later. I’d already come up with a reasonable excuse.

More than that, though, I just wanted to see Kyle.

As soon as the servant left, I activated Reload and pulled a warm cloak from my inventory, draping it lightly over my shoulders.

“Uuugh…….”

There was a slight problem, but it was fine. No—it had to be fine.

I forced myself to ignore the discomfort and quickened my steps.

More than anything, I desperately wanted to see Kyle. I wanted to prove to him that I was completely fine. That there was nothing to worry about.

“You’re back sooner than expected. Shin Gwangsan is quite far from the territory, isn’t it?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Even if His Highness had simply gone to inspect the place, this speed is unexplainable. If the problem was resolved, there would have been no need to rush back…….”

Standing amid the murmuring crowd, I watched as the ground trembled with the approaching footsteps of Kyle and his group.

As I instinctively stepped forward, a cold wind swept past me.

No matter how far north this place was, today felt especially chilly.

Was it because, unlike when I was a hamster, I wasn’t wrapped in a thick fur coat? But still, it was summer.

Shivering, I hunched my shoulders against the cold. A few villagers who recognized me approached, greeting me warmly.

“Oh, Beast Scholar.”

“Did you come to welcome them? What a surprise—you didn’t go with them this time?”

“Hey, how could the Beast Scholar go somewhere that dangerous? Even the toughest miners were specifically chosen for the expedition, and they all collapsed from exhaustion when they returned!”

It seemed the events within the knight order hadn’t leaked outside.

Because of that, no one seemed to find my presence suspicious.

Meanwhile, Kyle had dismounted from his horse and scanned the crowd.

His gaze, sharp yet filled with barely restrained urgency, swept over us.

Just witnessing that sent a sharp ache through my chest.

I wanted to push through the crowd and run to him, but I held myself back. Instead, I called out to him.

“Your Highness.”

At that moment—almost like magic—our eyes met.

It was a considerable distance. There was no way he could have heard my voice.

And yet, as if by some miracle, our locked gazes refused to waver.

Kyle’s expression twisted. He looked like he was holding back an overwhelming surge of emotion—one too complex to name.

He muttered something to James before striding directly toward me.

His crimson eyes burned like molten embers. His lips parted slightly, then pressed firmly shut again.

I couldn’t say anything.

I just stood still, waiting for him to come to me.

Kyle pulled me into his arms.

He was warm.

Resting my forehead against his shoulder, I smiled softly.

“Everyone’s watching.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“If rumors spread that the conqueror of the North is losing sleep over a frail man—”

Kyle pulled me even closer, his voice hoarse as he cut me off.

“……I said, it doesn’t matter.”

I could feel it—just how anxious he had been on his way here.

Even though he knew that, thanks to Reload, I could escape at least once if necessary, just the thought that Nox might have done something terrible to me had left him in turmoil.

It was a form of love that I selfishly came to realize through his desperation.

“I’m just glad you waited for me.”

“I’m not glad at all. Who the hell pushes themselves to return this recklessly? Were you trying to kill someone on the way?”

“No one died.”

“Now that you’ve confirmed I’m in one piece, don’t do this again.”

I glanced over Kyle’s shoulder at the knights behind him.

They were barely managing to stay upright, their faces pale as if they were about to vomit. Some of the knights at the front paled even further when they saw me.

You should really let go now. There’s a mountain of work waiting for you. And once you put out the immediate fires, I’ll have to start making excuses for my own situation.

I reached up and gently patted his back in an attempt to soothe him. But that was as far as I got.

“……Ugh.”

“Shu?”

A sharp pain flared near my elbow, rapidly shooting up toward my shoulder.

A cold, numbing sensation dug into my bones, sending a stabbing pain through my body. My breath hitched, a groan escaping before I could even think to hold it back.

Startled by my uncontrolled reaction, I froze.

Sensing something was wrong, Kyle immediately pulled away from me.

My arm felt off.

I had noticed it the moment I activated Reload to return to human form.

But it hadn’t been this bad earlier.

When I first changed and put on my clothes, there had only been some slight discomfort when moving my arm up and down. But now, it felt completely paralyzed below the shoulder, like my body had stopped listening to me.

I tried forcing my right arm to move a little more, if only to reassure him, but all it did was send a deep, searing pain through my frozen muscles. Cold sweat beaded on my forehead.

“Stop.”

Kyle’s voice was low. He had caught on to my struggle.

His gaze darkened as he seemed to piece something together. Then, without hesitation, he grabbed my loose sleeve and yanked it up.

A faint bluish mark stretched between my wrist and elbow.

It looked as if a large hand had gripped my arm tightly and left a lasting imprint—almost like a brand.

“The Frost Brand…….”

I didn’t need to see who had left it to know.

Right before disappearing, Nox had branded me.

To track me?

Or to harm me from afar?

The exact intent didn’t matter right now.

What mattered was that the brand was spreading fast.

Kyle’s face twisted into something terrifying. His grip on my left shoulder tightened.

“Call the mages.”

“……”

“Summon every mage in the territory!”

“Your Highness, please, calm down first.”

I quickly raised my uninjured hand and cupped his cheek, patting it gently.

“I still have plenty of time. And I am fine.”

“Does that look like the arm of someone who’s fine?”

Kyle was genuinely furious.

He clearly wanted to sweep me up and carry me straight to the castle, but with so many eyes watching, he was barely restraining himself.

“……There’s no point in arguing. We’re going to the castle. Come here.”

He habitually reached for my shoulder but clicked his tongue in frustration before wrapping his arm around my waist instead, pulling me tightly against him.

He had rushed here in such a hurry that his scent—leather, wind, damp earth, and the biting cold of ice—clung to him in layers.

Just as I was about to let him take the lead, a voice interrupted.

“Your Highness.”

James had approached at some point, his expression rigid as he stared at me.

His usual sharp gaze swept over me from head to toe.

He had never particularly liked me before, but compared to now, his previous attitude had been practically mild.

Right now, he was…

“You should be cautious of the Beast Scholar.”

He was distrusting me.

And that wasn’t all.

James drew his sword.

The blade, still slick with dark red blood and streaked with green monster ichor, was aimed directly at me. His voice carried an unmistakable hostility.

“He may have colluded with the mages. It would be best to take him into custody and interrogate him immediately.”

“Lower your sword.”

Kyle’s voice was a low growl.

“I said, put it away, James Russell.”

“……”

“He’s injured. He can’t move his arm at all. He’s been afflicted with Frost Poisoning, and if it isn’t treated, he could be dead within days.”

Kyle’s tone was eerily flat, like he was reciting something out of a book filled with only the cruelest of words.

“Do you still want to interrogate him?”

James hesitated for a moment before finally stepping back.

Though his glare toward me didn’t soften, he wouldn’t defy Kyle’s decision.