Guardians of the Prince

He was too close for me to run away.

I managed to turn my face away, but I felt his lips right on my ear. It was a hot and damp sensation.

“No–!?”

Just as I realized I was suddenly changing direction, I ended up on my back.

I was pinned down on top of an angled lectern that had been slid out of the way into the shadow of the curtain. The hard plank hit my back.

I felt the bonnet slip from my head, and I started to panic.

Sorry, but this is my limit! I had a low limit to begin with!

I immediately crossed my arms in front of my face and touched the seal on my left arm. Pop! My Circle Art glowed and expanded.

I turned into a timp!

The contours of my body dissolved, and my senses got kind of fuzzy.

A moment later, I was on top of the lectern, poking my transformed timp head out of my nanny uniform. Out of the corner of my eye, thin whiskers twitched.

Now! I have to run!

The second I started to jump down, Mr Idine grabbed me and hugged me, wrapping me up in his clothes.

Waaah! I’m all tangled up!

Mr Idine looked so huge and scary. My hand, with the fluffy fur growing on it, looked so small and unreliable.

“Ah, so that’s how it is, hm. How about I take you with me to my guest room then. That way no one will see you, Kohme, and you won’t get embarrassed.”

Ack! Still just interpreting things however suits you!

I was flailing.

“Hm? It’s not like that? Is it possible you want to do it in this form? Maybe I should transform too? It’s an unusual interest, but.”

This guy was a little too optimistic!!

Aaand MUNCH!

I bit Mr Idine’s finger, with some force. But I got flustered by the taste of iron slowly spreading in my mouth, and immediately let him go.

Mr Idine grinned. “Oo, not scary.”

What are you, Nausicaa!?

The sound of footsteps echoed in the hall.

I whirled towards the entrance, and a small, golden haired figure met my eyes. Mr Idine stopped moving.

Prince!

The prince turned back around and shouted to someone on the other side of the door – “Don’t come in here!” – and then strode down towards me through the guest seating. He climbed the stairs on the side of the stage.

Mr Idine buried his face in the fur on my back and whispered.

“Too bad… Until next time.”

And then he put me down on the stage and stepped back, nodding lightly in the prince’s direction.

The prince came straight up to me, and when I stretched out on my tiptoes, he plucked me off the stage and wrapped me up in his clothes. He whirled around and headed for the exit, without even a glance in Mr Idine’s direction.

(Uh, prince…)

When I looked up into his royal blue eyes, I could immediately see the tension there. Even more than when he’d given the bouquet to Ms Lemonina earlier.

When I looked over the prince’s shoulder towards the stage, Mr Idine had disappeared. He must have gone out the back door.

Outside the hall, guards were waiting.

“I’m going back to my room,” the prince declared, and quickly walked off.

The guard looked at me with a confused expression on his face, but he acknowledged the declaration and came along.

Slowly, the meaning of what had just happened sunk into my heart.

This kid, when had he become so attentive?

If he’d made a big fuss when he rescued me, it would have become a major incident. Somebody like Mr Idine had the ear of the Crown Prince’s faction, and our relationship with them was fragile to begin with, it might have given rise to a whole new cycle of discord.

But the prince had completely ignored Mr Idine, almost like he didn’t exist at all.

Well, my condolences to Mr Idine for being ignored by such a small child, but oh well.

When the prince arrived in his room, he stopped the guard outside the door. “Wait here a minute.”

Then he headed for the door to the bedroom in the back.

That was my bedroom. The prince was already sleeping through the night by himself, but I needed to be able to check on him, or rush over if anything happened, so we had adjoining rooms.

The prince gently lowered me onto the bed. I quickly crawled under the sheets and touched my left hand and undid the transformation.

I poked my head out, wrapping my naked body in the sheets, and the prince instantly jumped at me.

“Little prince… I’m sorry. Thank you.”

I hugged him tight, and the prince wrapped himself around me.

“Koume, you can’t do that! You have to stay with me! Dr Lahzt and Morio both said so!” he said in a muffled voice.

Both of them had told the prince, “You should stay with Koume.”

“I know, I’m sorry. But you really helped me out there, and all without making a fuss. You’re amazing, little prince,” I said, stroking the prince’s silky hair, and he finally lifted his head, grinning.

“Fatido told me. When a man and a woman are hugging tight, you shouldn’t kick up a fuss, ’cause it’s embarrassing.”

Oi. What was Mr Fatido teaching him?

“But you’re mine, Koume, so I had to get you out of there. Without making a fuss, but still.”

The prince kissed me on the cheek, and nuzzled his face on my shoulder.

How cute, but… I was totally nude, this was a bit embarrassing.

I got dressed again, and the prince and I headed to the waiting room where Mr Lemonina was.

The waiting room was just a small reception room, and Mr Fatido was there too.

“Kohme! I have finally arrived!”

Mr Fatido got to his feet, smiling, and against my better judgment, I stared back with a strange look on my face.

“… What is it, Kohme? You have something to tell me?”

“… Good afternoon.”

“That’s it!? Wait, Ouji, something happened!?”

“You don’t have to tell him, prince.”

Not knowing what to do, I got desperate. “Mr Fatido,” I said, “You came all this way, maybe you could lend me some assistance? There’s still one last event to go!”