章 5: The Little Wildcat
The fact that Calus was able to prevent the infant from drowning in the pond was not what he had hoped for. Even though he had witnessed many individuals pass away in their agony, he was still unable to comprehend why his body had immediately gone toward the baby.
Before he even realized it, he had already gotten a hold of her and was holding her in his arms. Is it possible that it's due to the fact that he was already there? Perhaps it was due to the fact that she was Ismael's younger sister. He is confused as to why this is happening. In his head, by the time he was able to think about it, his body had already carried out the action.
When he first saw the baby, he immediately understood that the reason she was trembling was that she was nervous about falling. That had not occurred to him initially. However, as the infant gazed at him, he was taken aback by the appearance of her face.
He received the impression that she had some sort of monstrosity in front of her and was staring at it. Despite this, he was well aware, in his own peculiar way, that he was a monster. After casting a gentle gaze at the infant, he found himself unable to control his laughter and began shaking his head. The only thing that remained for him to do was to use his other hand to grab her and then present her to Ismael.
On the other hand, when Ismael told the young boy that he had to leave Herena, the infant that he was holding suddenly began to glow. He witnessed Herena's face light up as she smiled at her brother, Calus, but the second time around the baby ignored Calus and dealt with him like a monster.
Calus come to the conclusion, as of that day, that the infant, who was also Ismael's younger sister, had piqued his interest. She's not like everyone else. The baby, who had previously been held in his hands, turned away and avoided him whenever the ladies or other nobility attempted to capture his attention. He was unable to fathom the motivations behind his attachment to the infant, especially given the fact that Arianne and the child were very dissimilar to one another.
Calus, the crown prince of the Empire, was thought to be the great and strong figure that everyone imagined him to be. But, he was aware that he was helpless at the present time. He was well aware that the officials were still exercising their authority in a way that limited the rights of the Imperial Household, despite the fact that the public couldn't see them doing it.
It is possible for officials to make suggestions, and it is even possible for them to carry those suggestions through without the emperor or his person's approval. The people needed to see that an emperor reigned over the empire, therefore the emperor felt that he had to act like a puppet for the sake of the spectacle. Those individuals were completely unaware of what was taking place.
Because of everything Calus had been through with his father, he was confident that his plans wouldn't ever need to be altered. The boy shook his head once more and continued to stare at Ismael. Calus has made an effort to live here and now and become more aware of his current circumstances. His attention was currently being drawn to the infant, who continued to avoid making eye contact with him.
Even though he is with Arianne, Calus noted that he has never felt lighter than he does right now. This is the first time he has ever been made to appear in such a manner. Furthermore, how does the infant look? At the very idea, he just couldn't control his laughter anymore.
"Ismael, it seems that your sister doesn't like me, does she?"
"Calus, if you are so confident that you already know the solution, you had better keep your hands off of her."
When Calus started laughing, all Ismael could do was scowl at him, and he never even managed a sigh afterward.
Where does this young man get off acting like way? He didn't look like...
Ismael's train of thinking was once again disrupted when Calus began speaking. When he heard Calus' soothing voice, he experienced an abrupt widening of his eyes, for the second time since yesterday, in the same manner as the other three young noble children.
"I am mindful of the fact that she is still a child. Since she is still a baby, it stands to reason that she is vulnerable to a variety of conditions, doesn't it?"
"..."
Ismael had the intention of expressing himself, but the words simply would not come out of his mouth. He was under the notion that the words he wanted to speak were being controlled by his throat.
During the discussion with the crown prince, he saw for the first time that his tongue had begun to retract, and he also realized that this was the moment when he had finally seen Calus gradually transform. Even Ismael was unable to believe what he saw on Calus's face as he stared. Ismael needed only to blink his eyes a few times throughout the day because he was aware of the possibility that the person in front of him was actually someone else.
The expression of the handsome young man who is directly in front of him, on the other hand, remains unflinchingly cheerful throughout the entire exchange. When the young man looked at Ismael's younger sister, whose eyes are currently wide open, they widened even more.
"Permit me to give her a peck on the cheek for the time being, and then I'll be on my way. Be delighted I saved her, Ismael."
Ismael's eyes just followed Calus' every move, and before he knew what Calus had said or what he was talking about, Calus had already pinched Herena's rosy smooth cheeks, which caused the baby to gently lay her hands towards Calus' shoulders. Ismael did not move or say a word the entire time, but his eyes just followed Calus' every move.
"If you want to hit me, little one, you've got to mature first, all right? So that you can give me a good smack in the cheeks with these hands."
After that, he stroked Herena once more. Then, he chortled briefly before going back to where he had been with the other people.
What on earth could that possibly be? Shouldn't he treat her and her brother with stone-cold professionalism? Why does he act in such a strange manner all of a sudden? The infant had a thought.
As soon as Herena realizes who Calus is pretending to be, she notices an immediate change in the size of her eyes. There is no way Herena could have looked at him like that in the past. Does Calus remember her from their time together when she was Ismael's younger sister? When she was younger, Herena rarely ventured out of her room. She would only venture outside to play with Ismael in the backyard of their home.
During those times, while she was still a little child, she had not yet come into contact with Calus. However, it was not the same this time around. However, she made a solemn vow to herself that despite the fact that circumstances had shifted, she would never deviate from her goal of ensuring her brother's survival and achieving her desired happy ending.
To be honest, all that most people wanted was a happy ending. The same applies to her. She is determined to succeed at all costs, even if it means burying her affection for the young man she had feelings for in the past. She recognizes that although she will do everything in her power to move on from the feelings she has for him, she still has a long way to go.
This time, she will be able to save her brother and the people she cares about.
When she gazed at the crown prince's back, where she remembered she had previously worshipped his life, she got this notion.
***
"Calus! The devil himself wants to know where you've gone."
"Aren't you aware that we have a fantastic plan for the day?"
"The next birthday celebration for the Lady of Themiore is coming up, and if it weren't for Calus, we never would have thought of that!"
"Aside from that, we were considering the small kitten that you observed. Will you not take responsibility for it?"
Gavin was the one who came up with such an idea, and he did so with his eyes fixed on Calus while the corners of his mouth gave the impression that he was beaming at the crown prince.
Previously, everything operated in this manner. Calus instructed them not to treat him like an heir to the kingdom but rather to treat him the same as they did. He would never be able to concentrate on his plans if the servants knew that the crown prince did this and that simply because these four young men would always address him in a formal manner. This would prevent him from concentrating. According to the aphorism, there's a meaning behind everything that happens.
After hearing what Gavin and the two others had to say, Calus looked at them in a way that suggested he was considering what they had said. Even though he had no idea why just the idea of them seeing Ismael's younger sister was enough to make him dangerously averse to performing anything even remotely commensurate with good for the rest of the day.
It was as if he were poking holes in them with his eyes, and in response, the eyes of the other three young noblemen widened. These individuals were aware of Calus's true nature. They can act as though they are friends and ignore his title, but in terms of Calus' actions, the three of them are well aware of the challenge that awaits them.
The three individuals ceased their conversation. Gavin, who was smiling at everyone, had taken a step back while maintaining his distance. His hands shook, and his gaze darted about rapidly. After hearing a few words from Calus that almost blew them away, those three young men's foreheads began to sweat. Calus then said some more words.
"What kind of a kitten are you talking about, Gavin?"
The manner in which he asked those words, together with the menacing way in which he gazed at them, was sufficient to cause them to freeze in their tracks. The three young men had the sensation that they were numb all over, and it seemed as if their mouths were so tight that they could not even say a single word, even if they wanted to.
They are unable to speak due to the fact that their lips are open, and the only sound that can be heard is their heavy breathing.
After a few seconds had passed, Calus let out a sigh, which caused the eyes of the other three young boys to enlarge to the point where they became approximately twice as large.
When Gavin began talking again, he was attempting to divert attention from the environment that they had already entered; however, they were immediately aware of where they were.
"The lady was the only thing that mattered at the time. I had been expecting it all along!"
"Hold on a second, that's not..."
"Yes, Servous, we are discussing Lady Arianne, aren't we? Yes, Servous, we are discussing Lady Arianne."
As he was saying such words, Victor was the one who pushed him gently in the opposite direction on the other side. Eye contact was made with Servous to convey a message. Victor wished for Servous to have a carefree attitude and mirror his own. As a direct consequence of this, the other three were already familiar with the topic at hand.
They changed their strategy to focus on capturing the tiny wildcat, of which only Calus was aware, despite the fact that everyone else knew she was Ismael's younger sister.
After hearing what Gavin had to say earlier, Calus had some itching. It took up dwelling in his chest for some time. Calus uttered the words that caused his aura to be dangerous for the present day even though he didn't understand why he said them. He just knew that the thought that someone other than him could see Ismael's little sister caused him to do so.
Calus' features began to relax slightly as the other three people replied by shifting the conversation's focus to the lady he fancied.
Therefore, when Gavin was having these thoughts, the three young boys were already aware of their role in the situation. Following Calus' appreciative glance in their direction, three dashing young noblemen grinned at Calus.
"So, what exactly are you three planning on doing here?"
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