Fostering the Male Lead

Chapter 44

After returning from a walk, Sihael looked around with a sharp gaze. The quiet hallway was now unusually messy and disordered.

‘Did another assassin come in? Where is Rosetta?’

He hurried his steps up the stairs. When he got to the second floor, the servant he earlier ran into swallowed back his gasp.  He had always been afraid of him, but strangely, his face lit up when he saw Sihael.

“Lady, Sir Shasha is here!”

Then, from the end of the hallway, Rosetta ran up to him in her nightdress with a ‘thud thud thud’ sound and hugged his nape, making Sihael stumble in surprise.

‘Why is she running around in these clothes?! Who roams around in their nightdress!’

He twisted his body to cover Rosetta, but her firm hands never let him go. Sihael was taken to her room, being embraced in an unsightly posture. Sihael didn’t mind it as he was more concerned about Rosetta’s thin clothes than his pride.

“Where did you leave your outerwear? How can you go out like this?  Do you know how many guys are out there?”

“Your Highness, where have you been since morning? I was so surprised to see you had suddenly disappeared!”

Even though Sihael chastised her, Rosetta turned a deaf ear to his words.

“I thought something had happened to you. I almost wrecked the whole mansion searching for you.” Rosetta grumbled.

When she said that she was worried about him, Sihael clamped his mouth shut.  He couldn’t speak harshly to her knowing she had rummaged through the mansion in her nightdress searching for him simply because she was worried about his disappearance.

This was why he found this problematic.

Even though he thought he should keep his distance from her, he was again swept away by Rosetta’s infinite affection. Rosetta, who carried Sihael to the bathroom, got some warm water and wet his feet.

Her hands rubbing his feet were soft. Sihael blankly looked at Rosetta’s side profile as she washed him, and then turned his head away.

‘I have gone crazy. She’s my friend’s little sister, and she hasn’t even had her coming-of-age ceremony yet.’

“You went out for a walk even before the sun rose. So, have you thought about losing weight now?”

“I haven’t gained that much weight!”

“How would you go back to your original body with this much belly fat bulging out like this?”

Rosetta pinched Sihael’s stomach, making him twist his body.

“Hey, don’t do that.”

“Your belly fat is so soft.”

Haah, never mind. She has always been such a person. A mischievous and playful lady who liked to make fun of people.

‘She doesn’t even see me as a person in the first place, what was I even thinking?’

Sihael swept his hair and curled himself up on the bed. He was tired because he worried too much about useless things since the morning. Thinking that seeing Rosetta’s face now might make him more distressed, he turned his back towards her.

Unbeknownst to his thoughts, Rosetta reached out and gently stroked Sihael’s back. Feeling the warmth coming from his back, Sihael moved his body to the corner.

“Are you angry?”

“No.”

At his blunt answer, Rosetta hugged Sihael and pulled him into her arms.  Sihael was helplessly dragged into her embrace. He pondered whether or not to resist, but soon gave up the thought as he couldn’t defeat her by strength.

“I was just joking earlier. Your Highness is the most handsome person.”

“I’m more handsome when I’m human.”

“Of course. Even though I’ve never seen you, seeing how good looking Shasha is, you must be very handsome too.”

“I told you I am really handsome.”

“Yes, yes. You’re the most handsome man.”

No matter how he looked at it, it was clear she still thought of him as a dog.

Who treats a crown prince like this?

‘Her way of talking is just like that of a person soothing an upset dog.’

Sihael consciously loosened up his body when Rosetta slowly propped her chin on his back.

It seemed she was going to treat him as a big pillow now.

What was certain was that she had never once recognized him as a person. The time with Rosetta was fun and comfortable, and sometimes made his heart flutter. He liked the time they spent together like this, but this made Sihael more and more greedy.

“Rosetta, if I go back to my human form, will you still call me adorable and handsome?”

“Yes, of course. Just because Your Highness returned to the way you were, doesn’t mean our relationship will change.”

“Okay, that’s enough for me.”

A satisfied smile appeared on Sihael’s face. Someday, their relationship would not be that of the owner and the dog, but something more closer than that.

Someday…

Sihael’s eyes brightened.

* * *

This was all my fault. This was my karma.

Today, a report came in that they had again failed to find Liliana’s whereabouts.  I let out a nervous sigh. I had confidently told Sihael that I would definitely find her and to have faith in me, but as time passed with no whereabouts of Liliana, I became more anxious.

‘How on earth can you hide like this?’

I had deliberately exaggerated the rumors of Eugene’s life being in danger, but Liliana did not appear at all. I had thought Liliana would definitely show up after hearing Eugene’s name. But, was the problem because I interfered in the original story?

Perhaps, Sihael was worried seeing me sigh so much in frustration, so he threw the bone he was playing with and put his chin on my thigh.  As I lowered my gaze to the sudden weight I felt on my thigh, he blinked his round eyes and looked up at me. The lump in my chest melted away.

‘He’s really very cute.’

When I reached out and stroked Sihael’s head, he rubbed his cheek against my hand. For some reason, he then acted more cutely.