TVCWB Chapter 04

Chapter 4 

In the royal palace, everyone — including Theo and his older brothers — was called “Prince.”

But Theo didn’t like it. His brothers were mean and petty, and being called “Prince” reminded him of them.
That’s why he didn’t want Perea, whom he really liked, to call him “Prince.”
He wanted to be called just “Theo.”

Of course, Perea had no idea about all that, but she was happy to go along with what the boy wanted.

“Yes, yes, Sir Theo. Should I keep calling you that from now on?”

“Uh-huh. I want that!”

Theo nodded eagerly, his round ears bouncing adorably each time.
Perea nearly melted on the spot. He was just too cute.

She was about to fall into a puddle of affection when a sharp ahem sounded behind her, snapping her back to reality.

“So then, Your High— er, Theo, where were you going before all this happened?”

“Me? I was going with Ray to pway! To… Ekkuri!”

“Eh… Ekkuri? Do you mean Eclit?”

“Yeah! Ekkuri!”

He wasn’t fully grown yet, and his tongue was still short, so his pronunciation was off. Perea understood that — though holding in her laughter was another matter.

She bit her lip hard to stop herself from laughing.
Still, it was strange — Eclit was a faraway resort town, quite distant from Timi Village.

Why would they be on this side of the forest if they were heading there?

The main road from the capital to Eclit was fully paved. There was no reason to take this back route.

Perea and Harun exchanged puzzled looks. Then Theo suddenly grabbed Perea’s shoulder with his small hand.

“Let’s go see Ray who goes ‘snore snore’!”

“Ah, yes. Shall we go together?”

“Uh-huh!”

Theo jumped up and down happily, flashing sharp little fangs whenever he smiled. The way the light reflected off them made Harun break into a cold sweat.

It was a natural reaction for a herbivore like him — instinctive fear in the presence of a predator.

“Perea, I’ll stay here and tidy up.”

“Okay.”

Being human, Perea wasn’t as sensitive to the overwhelming aura of predators.
That’s probably why she could hold Theo’s hand so easily without trembling.

Harun just shook his head, watching her skip off — the same way he had when she hummed while stitching up that terrifying man earlier.

The man still lay unconscious on the clinic bed.

It wasn’t surprising — with injuries like his, any normal person would need at least three full days of rest.
He’d even woken briefly earlier and swung his sword; no wonder his body had given out again.

As Perea glanced at him, remembering how that sword had once been against her throat, she found herself glaring before she realized it.

And then — unbelievably — the man’s eyes opened.

Their gazes met directly.

“Eek!”

Perea shrieked as if she’d just seen a ghost and stumbled backward.

The man’s silver, round ears twitched irritably at the noise.

“Quiet.”

There it was again — that cold, commanding tone.
Perea clamped both hands over her mouth. He was still a patient, and possibly a noble, so she decided she had no choice but to behave.

The man’s sharp eyes swept over her from head to toe. She said she was a veterinarian, but she looked so naive that he didn’t trust her one bit.

He was staring at her with a disapproving frown when a small honey-blonde head popped up from below.

“Ray!”

Theo called out, opening his little arms.

At the sound of that sweet voice, the man’s expression softened instantly.

He smiled faintly and reached out his hand.
His hand was so big it could cover the boy’s entire head, yet his touch was gentle — so gentle that even Perea felt her heart tickle just watching it.

“Theo, are you all right?”

“Uh-huh! Theo is healthy! Ray, did you sleep well?”

“Yeah, I did.”

Unbelievable! Perea could hardly believe that such a kind, warm voice came from the same man who had earlier barked “Quiet!” at her.

She scowled in silent frustration.
Still… he was undeniably handsome. When he and the little prince were together, they looked like a picture-perfect scene.
If only he’d just keep his mouth shut—

“What are you staring at?”

—He didn’t.

Perea had only been looking at them fondly, but after that sharp remark, she quickly shut her mouth. No matter what she said, he’d probably take it the wrong way.

“Ray! Perea’s a hooman! You have to say nice words!”

“What?”

“She doesn’t have ears or a tail, so she’s weak! Theo and Ray have to protect her!”

“Pfft.”

Ray couldn’t help but chuckle softly at Theo’s innocent words.

Perea, on the other hand, was speechless.
Weak? Me? She’d never once thought of herself that way before — even while living among beastmen. But a tiger child’s logic was absolute.

Still, when Ray smiled, he looked genuinely handsome — so much that Perea caught herself staring again before quickly shaking her head.

“Right. Humans are weak, so don’t hit her too hard.”

“Uh-huh! Theo won’t hit hard!”

Perea blinked. That… didn’t sound quite right.
Shouldn’t he say “don’t hit her at all,” not “don’t hit her too hard”?

But then again, Theo was a prince. If he wanted to hit someone, who could really stop him?
Maybe that was proper royal education after all.

Feeling awkward, Perea just stood there — until Ray crooked his finger at her.

It was the kind of lazy gesture one might use to call a dog.
Perea muttered under her breath but still walked over; refusing wasn’t an option.

“Explain where we are. In detail.”

The tone was pure command.
A polite person would’ve said, “I’m sorry, but I’m a bit confused — could you please tell me where we are?”

But Ray? Not a hint of politeness.

Her opinion of snow leopard beastmen, already low, dropped to below zero.

“Answer me.”

He demanded an answer before she even stopped walking.
This man was impatient too.

“Yes, sir,” Perea said quickly. “This is Timi Village, home to snow rabbit beastmen. It’s at the eastern edge of the Amur Empire.”

“Rabbit beastmen…”

“Yes, yes, that’s right.”

She bit back the rest of her sentence — something along the lines of “so please, both of you dangerous predators, go home soon.”

While she still hesitated, Theo raised his hand.

“I like it here! I’ll live here!”

Perea’s jaw dropped open in shock.

“Y-Your High— Theo! You can’t stay here!”

She laughed nervously, thinking he was joking.
But the prince of the Amur Empire didn’t understand jokes.

With a perfectly serious face, he repeated himself.

“Theo likes it here. Theo will live in this fingernail place!”

“Uh… what?”

Completely lost, Perea turned to Ray for help. Surely, as the royal knight, he’d tell the prince they had to return to the palace… right?

But her hope crumbled instantly.

Ray gently patted Theo’s golden hair and said,
“You like it here? You don’t want to go to Eclit?”

“Uh-huh! I like it here!”

He nodded calmly, clearly ready to agree with whatever the prince said.

Perea waved her hands frantically. “W-wait! You can’t just—”

But neither of the two predators paid her any attention.

As she stood there trying to figure out how to refuse them politely, someone knocked on the clinic door.

Knock, knock.

“Perea, I finished cleaning up the— huh?!”

Harun froze mid-sentence when he saw that the man was awake. His long ears flattened again in fear.

“Hmm… is that rabbit also a doctor?”

“No! Harun is the head of the village youth group! Ah, please excuse us — I’ll go talk to him for a moment!”

Ray glanced between her and Harun, then shrugged.
His injury must’ve been sore, but he didn’t even flinch — not a single twitch of his eyebrow.

What a stubborn man, Perea thought bitterly, then quickly pushed Harun toward the living room.

Completely confused, Harun let himself be herded out, his long ears twitching anxiously.