“That’s ‘insane!'”
“‘Oh my goodness!'”
“Hermes! Did you just—a hotel—what does that ‘mean’—”
“‘Wow.’ History is being—is being ‘written’—tonight—”
“This is—’good heavens’—does this mean I’m going to see a grandnephew after all—!”
The Empress and Hermes clasped hands and bounced on the spot. Even Popo joined in, leaping up and down as though in solidarity with the general celebration.
Having discreetly followed the Hardeion carriage, they had watched from a distance as both figures disappeared into the hotel together.
When the last trace of them had vanished inside, the Empress clasped her hands and looked up.
“Sister… your son is finally getting married…!”
She had never exchanged a word with Ivelina, but she was utterly certain that her late sister would have thrown both arms wide open for a girl like that.
Katherine, who had borne a son with a devout aversion to matrimony, had once said:
‘”At this point, I’d take anyone he dragged in off the street. Anything is better than watching that man die alone. I’m losing my mind!”‘
And now—precisely as Katherine had wished—her son had picked up a soft, round-faced girl right off the proverbial street.
Those two were going to get married. They ‘had’ to.
“Hermes. What happened tonight must never be spoken of. I won’t have rumors spreading and making trouble for that girl. We are not going to ruin a perfectly good dinner.”
“Not for a moment, Your Majesty! Allow me to offer advance congratulations on your nephew’s new wife!”
“‘Oho ho!’ Thank you, Hermes!”
* * *
“A suite, please.”
“Certainly! We’ll check availability immediately and get you checked in right away! We’ve had a large gala nearby this evening, so rooms are filling in real time.”
Kael gave a small nod.
Ivelina was pressed flat against his back.
He tilted his head to glance at her. She was gathering her own hair in both hands and tying it in a bow shape beneath her chin—entirely without being asked.
“If my mom and dad find out I came to a hotel they’ll absolutely scold me. They said hotels are bad places. ‘Heh’. If I do this, maybe no one will see me?”
She appeared to believe this would render her invisible. Incredible.
In this configuration, she craned her neck to look around, eyes moving busily.
Clear green eyes, full of curiosity about the unfamiliar place.
“‘Wow’… this looks expensive! Everything is so shiny!”
She chirped and burbled in a clear, bright voice without pause—ears practically pricked up with interest, head turning here and there—until she caught his eye.
She gave an awkward smile.
“‘Ahhh’… I’m embarrassed. A hotel!”
She giggled.
He was briefly at a loss for words.
“Oh, sir! Good news—there’s one suite still available. I’ll proceed with check-in right away!”
“Use this for payment.”
He drew a thick black wallet from inside his jacket.
Ivelina popped out from behind him.
“Wait! Wait! I’ll pay! I have money! I can’t let my benefactor pay on top of everything else—!”
She rummaged in her sleeve and produced a small coin purse in the shape of a rabbit.
The rabbit’s two eyes were mismatched—one had clearly fallen off at some point and been replaced with a completely different eye. The white fur had gone grey with accumulated grime.
The attendant and Kael both stared at it.
“‘Hehe’. Isn’t it darling? My friend Emily made it for me! I got it as a birthday present ten years ago.”
She announced this with evident delight and opened the purse.
“One silver… two silver…”
Both men watched her place coins onto the front desk one by one, their expressions very still.
Her rosebud lower lip stuck out like a small child’s as she concentrated.
She must have felt their eyes, because she glanced up and smiled warmly at each of them in turn.
“Oh—these are coins I’ve been saving up for my friend’s birthday present, but it’s all right! The birthday is still months away so I’ll just save up again. ‘Hehe’.”
“…”
“Sometimes when I walk past my mother’s and father’s and brother’s rooms, there’s a coin on the floor outside. ‘Hehe’. If I pick them up diligently, I can get rich pretty quickly…!”
The attendant’s eyes grew wet.
‘That poor girl.’
‘She seems well-bred—how does someone like that end up picking coins off the floor…? A stepmother’s child, perhaps? First wife’s daughter being raised under a second wife?’
He gazed at her in a helpless daze. Kael observed the attendant and slowly narrowed his eyes.
“Stop staring and process the payment.”
“‘AH!’ I’m s-sorry! I’ll get you checked in immediately!”
Ivelina composed herself cheerfully and began retrieving her two silver coins. She tucked them back into the grey rabbit purse one by one, lower lip still sticking out.
She made eye contact with both men in turn and smiled warmly at them.
“I can’t believe you’re both helping me even though I have no money…! Thank you so much!”
“I—ahem! Actually, a shipment of wine just arrived from the southern region! Allow me to offer you a complimentary glass as my personal apology! It’s a whiskey with orange notes—very low in alcohol, strong fruit fragrance, honestly barely distinguishable from orange juice—!”
“‘Wow!’ Orange juice! I love that!”
The attendant’s mouth fell open as she beamed at him.
She had a warmth that worked like gravity—pulling people in naturally—but why was that darkness slowly spreading toward him—
He’d been relaxing, defenses lowering, when the cold pressure found him.
His back went rigid. The hairs on his neck stood up.
“…!”
Kael was watching him with a look that could strip bark from a tree. The attendant felt as though a quality leather belt had been cinched around his throat.
“Are you going to stand there staring, or are you going to process the payment?”
“Y—yes! S-so sorry! Here—here is your key, s-sir—!”
He held the key out with both shaking hands.
Kael took it with minimal grace and took hold of Ivelina’s wrist.
‘Damn.’
Every last person in this building was apparently cataloguing this baby rabbit. One glance from her and they’d be falling over themselves.
‘Men.’
Unlike any of them, Kael had always felt a deep aversion to physical contact with other people. Women included. This baby rabbit included.
He wasn’t holding her wrist because he wanted to.
There was simply no alternative.
If he didn’t make his claim clear, those wolves would—
‘Damn.’
He shoved Ivelina through the suite door with more force than he intended.
* * *
