#14
‘This is not an animal you can do with as you please.’
With that one statement, Lucas picked Noah up, tucked him under his arm, and headed toward the castle.
That’s right. Lucas didn’t give permission. This was the snow leopard’s choice, and for some reason, the snow leopard had followed them all the way here.
“Noah, you still shouldn’t bring home animals you find on the road. Animals have families and friends too. How heartbroken would their families and friends be if they suddenly disappeared? We were just searching everywhere because you disappeared. So let’s send it back.”
Hearing Loren’s gentle, admonishing voice in response to Noah’s outrageous claim, Lucas stroked his chin with a troubled expression. Honestly, he hadn’t expected the snow leopard to follow them this far, especially since they had encountered each other several times in the past, not to mention that he wasn’t fond of the snow leopard’s true form.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the snow leopard and Lucas had exchanged wordless communication when the snow leopard put Noah down.
Lucas couldn’t easily say who had picked up whom, nor could he explain that the snow leopard had no family since it lived alone, or that it wasn’t a being that would come when called and leave when told.
“No. It’s mine.”
“Grand Duke.”
Lucas dismissed the people who had gathered in a tense state as Loren and Noah, who had been crying profusely and hugging and kissing each other as soon as they met, faced off. Though the snow leopard was standing firm now, it might disappear without a trace by tomorrow morning.
“Lucas.”
Noah rolled his large eyes and perked up his ears. But Lucas didn’t speak, and only the sound of Loren’s full skirt brushing against the floor could be heard.
“It’s been fifteen minutes already.”
That’s right.
Noah was currently doing wall-facing meditation. To put it kindly, it could be called voluntary wall-facing meditation, but in reality, he had been placed in the thinking chair.
They had put a chair in one corner of the room and told him to sit there until they said he could get up. Moreover, he was told to face the wall and couldn’t even make a peep as he sat there.
After turning the castle upside down and causing a commotion about keeping the snow leopard.
After Lucas left to handle the situation, Noah had to be thoroughly bathed by Elisa. After being washed in warm water and eating the soft food given to him, drowsiness crept over him.
It seemed like Lucas and Loren were arguing behind him, but his eyes were closing.
Ah, this shouldn’t happen. Noah shook his head slightly to shake off the sleep and focused his eyes. He intended to sit obediently in the chair until Lucas’s anger subsided.
“Noah Schwein, what did you do wrong today?”
Noah, whose eyes were drooping again and whose body was leaning to one side in a drowsy state, snapped his eyes open at Lucas’s voice.
“Nothing.”
“What?”
Oh no, damn it. Answering in a half-asleep state had made him say the wrong thing. Honestly, while he felt sorry for frightening everyone by disappearing, he hadn’t really felt he’d done anything wrong.
“Noah, come here. Look at me and tell Mommy what you did wrong.”
“Who said you could get up?”
Noah, who was slightly lifting his bottom at Loren’s gentle voice, stopped at Lucas’s stern words. He was in an awkward position, neither having fully lifted his bottom nor sitting comfortably.
“It’s too late. It’s Noah’s bedtime, and you can scold him tomorrow. He must have been so tired and exhausted today.”
“Wrong behavior needs to be clearly corrected. He’s five years old.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. He’s only five and went somewhere unfamiliar all by himself.”
At this rate, they might end up having a marital dispute. The two had clearly different parenting philosophies.
For now, not only was his awkward position uncomfortable, but he was also sleepy despite the situation. A child’s body was truly faithful to its instincts. Feeling like he could fall asleep the moment he lay down, Noah pinched his thigh.
He had already shed so many fake tears today, and now it was time for the final tears.
“Huh… hic…”
When Loren and Lucas’s bickering voices could no longer be heard, Noah clenched his small fist and hit his own eye with a thud. Stars spun before his eyes, and since he had hit his eye directly, tears did start to well up.
“Noah?”
Right. They’re both surprised that a child who had been sitting quietly all this time is now crying?
“Huh… hic… sniff… I… I did wrong… I did wrong…”
Noah tried to cry as miserably as possible as he spoke. After explicitly saying he had done wrong, a sudden wave of sadness washed over him.
Right. What did I do so wrong? The only crime I’ve committed is trying to live diligently.
Suddenly transmigrating and being told to marry when I didn’t want to… I danced to 3/4 rhythms that I couldn’t dance to, and married guys who weren’t even that handsome and weren’t my type, but seemed decent enough.
But those bastards ran away on the wedding night, and I still haven’t even had a kiss at this age.
And now I’m three years old. I’ve lived earnestly in this three-head-tall body, and now I’m five, but my pronunciation is still weird.
“Uheung…”
Noah, whose fake crying had now turned into real crying, sobbed loudly with tears and snot flowing. Even when Loren rushed over and hugged him, his crying didn’t stop.
“It’s okay. As long as you came back safely. As long as you’re safe. Just don’t go out alone again. Darling… how upset must he be to cry like this!”
Loren, who had been comforting him by touching his face, ended by reproaching Lucas.
“Ahem… so what did you do wrong…”
Lucas’s effort to clarify Noah’s wrongdoing was halted by Loren’s glare. Since Loren seemed to have definitely softened, Noah stretched both arms toward Lucas.
Come hug me now.
Isn’t that how it always is? When you fought with friends as a child, the teacher always made you apologize to each other and then hug. Whether you liked it or not, whether your feelings had softened or not, you were always told to hug at the end.
Recalling how he used to hug his friend and pat their back a few times, Noah wrapped his arms around Lucas’s neck as Lucas reluctantly hugged him.
You petty man. Just let go of your anger already. I’ve cried this much, I’ve cried a lot.
Noah, hiccuping as he tried to stop crying, patted Lucas’s shoulder.
“I did wrong…”
Lucas, who had been awkwardly holding Noah until he patted his shoulder, only hugged him tightly after hearing his apology.
Tsk, if it was going to be resolved this easily…
“Waaah!!”
Noah, who thought it would be resolved by now, burst into tears again at the sudden pain he felt on his bottom.
“Why… Noah, what’s wrong?”
Loren, you don’t know. You don’t know that Lucas, this so-called father, pretended to accept my apology and comfort me while giving my bottom a hard smack.
Anyway, Noah’s first adventure was moderately concluded with a noisy cry and one smack on the bottom.
And the snow leopard, watching this family’s sitcom-like situation while comfortably lying in front of the large fireplace, closed its eyes with a satisfied expression. Just as the weather was getting colder and it was feeling bored, a cute baby had asked it to come along, and it seemed there would be more fun than expected.
* * *
“Butterfly.”
“Kitty.”
“Sookja.”
“Happy.”
“Ddolddoli (Smarty).”
“Arongi.”
Everyone’s expressions changed subtly each time a word came out of Noah’s mouth.
But Noah, sitting on the back of the calmly lying snow leopard, continued to say words with a serious expression.
“Kuku.”
“Kakka.”
“Gyeowuli (Winter).”
“Cheese.”
“Grapefruit.”
“Noah, are you playing a word game right now?”
It was Loren who interrupted Noah, who was saying words without any connection, as if just blurting them out.
“No.”
Noah sighed heavily while playing with the snow leopard’s fluffy ears. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t come up with a suitable name.
The snow leopard was what he had gained from his first adventure. He really hadn’t expected it to follow him. Even if it had followed out of curiosity, he thought it might just circle the castle once and then return to the forest.
But the snow leopard seemed to really intend to stay here, wandering around the castle for days. People were initially surprised by its tendency to disappear and reappear, but now that they knew the snow leopard wouldn’t harm them, they were watching with curious eyes.
Loren and Elisa, who were still afraid of the snow leopard even while speaking to Noah, were sitting at a distance. In fact, Noah was the only one in the castle who approached or touched the snow leopard like this.
“I’m going to give you a name.”
As the snow leopard’s ears, which had been as still as a large plush toy, fluttered, Noah grabbed the moving ears with both hands.
“Are you really going to stay together?”
While she was willing to let him have a pet if he wanted one, that would typically be a regular dog or cat. Loren, who hadn’t anticipated welcoming a snow leopard as a pet in the slightest, cautiously asked.
Although Noah was still young, he was as stubborn as his husband Lucas, and Loren was worried about what to do if he really insisted on keeping it. Until now, it hadn’t harmed people or caused problems, but a wild animal was still a wild animal.
“Yes. Are you going to live with me too?”
The snow leopard fluttered its ears, and Noah, who was playing by alternately grabbing each ear, bent down and whispered into the snow leopard’s ear.
As the snow leopard’s ears moved slightly, its soft fur tickled Noah’s cheeks and face, causing a clear laugh to escape his lips.
“You don’t like these names? Then how about Sebastian? Sebastian Junior the Third?”
As Noah started naming again, suggesting various names, Loren picked up the tea in front of her. Despite Lucas’s assurance that it wouldn’t harm people since it wasn’t an ordinary animal, Loren couldn’t easily take her eyes off it.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
