TVCWB Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Led by Theo’s bright smile, Perea followed him into the living room—
and stopped in shock.

Just a few hours ago, before she left for afternoon clinic hours, her house had been a total disaster.
Now it looked spotless, as if a completely different person lived there.

To be honest, Perea was terrible at housework.
Her home usually hovered somewhere between “barely tidy” and “pigsty.”
That was her best effort. If not for Harun’s constant nagging, she probably wouldn’t clean at all.

Yet now, her once-messy house was sparkling clean.

“Oh my! Did a fairy visit my house?”

“Fairy?”

“The cleaning fairy!” she said with a laugh, looking straight at Ray.

The man—now the “cleaning fairy”—frowned darkly.

“Try living in something other than chaos,” he muttered.

“But I did clean…”

“Then maybe the word ‘clean’ means something completely different in your country.”

His sarcastic tone made Perea puff out her cheeks. Still, she had to admit—he had cleaned everything for her.
So she decided to back down and smile instead of arguing.

After the little exchange, her stomach rumbled loudly.
Holding her growling belly, she grabbed Ray’s arm.

At the unexpected touch, his shoulders tensed sharply.
He looked like he wanted to shake her hand off immediately—but instead, he just let it drop.

Her fingers were so slim and fragile that even a small amount of his strength could easily break them.

“Let’s eat first, my dear fairy,” she said playfully, unaware of his careful restraint.

She even wrinkled her nose teasingly.
Ray’s jaw tightened, but before he could respond, Theo began hopping excitedly.

“Fairy! Let’s eat! Let’s eat the back-leg meat!”

“Theo.”

“Yes, Ray~”

Theo clung to his leg with a grin, trying to charm his way out of trouble.
Ray sighed and gave up scolding him, hiding a faint smile.

Just like at breakfast, Ray took charge of dinner as well.

He moved around the kitchen with practiced ease, as if he had lived there for years.
Before long, the table was filled with steaming, beautifully cooked dishes.

“Wow!”

“Wowww!”

Perea and Theo exclaimed in unison as they sat at the table watching him.

Perea couldn’t believe that all these elegant meals had been made in her little kitchen.
She suddenly realized she actually owned some pretty good ingredients and cookware.

“Eat,” Ray said dryly. “Don’t tell me you expect me to feed you too.”

“Of course not! Thank you for the meal—it looks amazing!”

“Thank you for the food!” Theo echoed loudly, pressing his tiny hands together in imitation of prayer.

Ray smiled faintly as he cut Theo’s meat into small pieces.
It was the gentle, careful manner of a father feeding his child.

Wait, Perea thought suddenly. Ray is supposed to be the prince’s royal guard… so why do they act so casual with each other?

Among beastmen, social ranks were sacred. Even in peaceful Timi Village, no one ever spoke informally to the village chief.
But here was this soldier talking to a prince as if they were equals.

Could he really do that without consequence?
The realization struck her late, and she stared, mouth slightly open.

“Perea looks funny,” Theo said, pointing at her with his fork.

“Theo,” Ray chided softly, “don’t point at people.”

He gently took the fork from the boy’s hand and set it down.
Even his mild scolding sounded warm, natural—too natural.

The more Perea thought about it, the more curious she became.

“Um, excuse me,” she began.

“Yes! I’m here!” Theo answered cheerfully before she could continue.

She chuckled at his response, then turned to Ray, whose cold, expressionless face immediately wiped the smile off hers.

“What?” he asked flatly.

“Ahem… well…”

He tapped the table impatiently, waiting. The dishes rattled slightly with every tap of his long fingers.

“It’s nothing serious, just…”

“Then spit it out.”

“Why do you talk informally to Prince Theo? He’s royalty, isn’t he?”

Perea asked directly. She wasn’t great at subtlety.

Honestly, she wanted to know for another reason—if he could talk to a prince casually, maybe she could talk casually to him too.

Every time he replied in that sharp, superior tone while she politely said “sir,” it made her blood boil.

Of course, it was normal for nobles to talk down to commoners—but something about Ray made her competitive.

Ray gave a short laugh.

“Took you long enough to ask.”

“I–I was just curious because you two seem so… close.”

“I was going to explain earlier, anyway,” he said.

He had tried to mention it that morning, but Theo interrupted—
and, right on cue, Theo interrupted again.

“Ray is Ray!” the boy shouted proudly.

He wrapped his little arms around Ray’s arm, looking up at him with admiration.

“Ray’s amazing, so he can talk to Theo however he wants!”

“So… because he’s amazing?” Perea asked, blinking.

“Yeah! Other people can’t, but Ray can!”

Apparently, Theo’s logic was simple: Ray is special, so he’s allowed.

Perea blinked again, then nodded slowly.

Well, that actually makes sense, she thought.
After all, Ray’s eyes practically dripped honey whenever he looked at the boy.
Children always noticed who truly cared for them.

“I see,” she said softly.

Theo grinned. “Perea can too!”

“Me?”

He nodded enthusiastically, golden eyes sparkling.

Even with the prince’s permission, Perea waved her hands in panic.

“Oh, no no! I couldn’t possibly!”

“Why not?”

“It’s not that I dislike it! It’s just… I’m more comfortable speaking politely!”

“Ohhh, that’s why?”

“Yes, exactly.”

And just like that, the moment passed.

Perea had started the conversation hoping to earn the right to speak casually to Ray—
but instead, she ended up reinforcing her polite tone forever.

Ray, for his part, had planned to tell her the truth—
but Theo’s interruptions tangled everything again.

Eventually, he gave up.

It didn’t matter, he thought. They wouldn’t be staying long anyway.
Once they returned to the Imperial Palace, she’d never see them again.

He had no idea that he would later deeply regret letting the misunderstanding go.

Later that evening

Theo’s energy seemed endless—like a spring that never ran dry.
Now that he’d eaten plenty of protein, he was even more energetic than before.

Even though all they did was sit and talk—no running, no games—Perea still felt drained.

She had answered more than a hundred questions about Timi Village and listened to more than a hundred stories about palace adventures.

By the time she realized it, the sky outside was black, and the stars sparkled through the window.

“Haaaam…”

Theo yawned widely and leaned his small head against Ray’s shoulder.
He didn’t need to say he was tired—it was written all over his sleepy face.

“Prince Theo, shall we go to bed now?” Perea asked gently.

“Mm… but I didn’t tell you the story about the acorns yet…”

“Ah! Right, the acorn story! Then tell me tomorrow, okay? It’ll be even more fun to hear it in the morning.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes, tomorrow,” she said with a smile.

Theo nodded slowly, his little round ears drooping sideways as he began to drift off.

Perea gestured frantically to Ray with her hands—Take him to bed, now!

Somehow, Ray understood her messy hand signals and moved smoothly to pick the boy up.

Even though Theo wasn’t small for his age and Ray’s shoulder was still stitched from injury, he lifted him with effortless ease, as if the weight were nothing.

Perea frowned slightly. He’s too strong for someone who was injured that badly, she thought.

Moonlight streamed through the window, tracing Ray’s silhouette as he carried Theo down the hallway.
The silver light shimmered along the tip of his white tail—and Perea found her eyes following it, unable to look away.