I was still learning to read, so I couldn't understand everything. But when I collected the letters written in a straight line, it seemed to me that it was a name.
"Lil… Liliana? No, Liliana?"
"no!"
Deidrick was startled and reached out to take the paper from my hand, but I quickly retracted my arm.
I looked at him with a naughty smile as his face turned red.
"Is that my name? Are you giving me a name?"
“Um... well...”
He scratched his neck, avoiding my unrelenting gaze.
He was trying to pick a name for me! This thought made me feel unexpectedly happy.
“Are these Asma’s ideas?”
"Wait! Don't look at her yet! She's not ready!"
“Why not? I'll quickly look through it and return it to you!”
“But you can't read yet!”
“Still! If I keep staring at it, maybe I can decipher it!”
“Haha… No, no, definitely not!”
As I was trying to get up to escape Daedric's grip, my legs tripped and I fell.
Daedric quickly caught me before I fell.
"Yes!"
"brother!"
My angle of vision changed, and suddenly I found myself lying on top of Daedric.
The paper fell from my hand and flew into the air as Deedric, looking pale, quickly sat up to check on me.
"Are you well?"
..that's what I should have asked you!
Didric fell backwards without protecting himself to try to protect me.
"I'm fine, but are you okay, Deedric? What about your head?"
Gently, I patted the back of his head when suddenly the door opened and Perez's voice came in, sounding a little concerned.
“Dedric, unfortunately, I have to leave first thing tomorrow...”
Perez suddenly stopped talking and looked at Deidrick.
...No, was he looking at me?
This is impossible, isn't it? He can't suddenly see me after all this time.
"…What is this?"
What is this?
"Deidrick, are you okay? Let's get up before he starts getting suspicious."
As Deidrick was about to remove his hands from me, Perez screamed.
"Yes!"
"Wow! What's wrong?"
Why did he suddenly scream?
“Is he strange because of strange news?”
“My mother is not a stranger.”
“…?”
“…?”
Deidrick and I exchanged puzzled looks, not understanding what Perez meant.
Then Perez took another step into the room and pointed directly at me.
“Who is that girl with the horns?”
“…Can you see me?”
"Yes."
...why?
A tense silence filled the room. Slowly, I moved to hide in Deedric's arms.
Deedric hugged me protectively, trying to protect me.
How can Perez see me now after all this time?
“Dedric, should I blind him?”
“Are you really saying that and I hear you?”
“Not only can he see me, he can hear me too!”
“You asked me a while ago if I could see you.”
“Dedric, have we done something unusual?”
Perez answered all my questions, but I focused only on Dedrick.
While Daedric, despite his attempts to hide it, seemed strangely happy.
Perez, unaffected by my rudeness, took a cautious step closer.
“Can you explain this to me?”
Deidrick and I exchanged glances and decided we'd better get up.
As we pulled apart and got to our feet, Perez's eyes widened.
“Where did the horned girl go?”
“…?”
“…?”
Diedrick and I looked at each other in confusion.
“Can't you see me?”
Perez did not respond.
“There must be some condition,” I said, thinking deeply. What would we have done differently?
“Maybe he is...”
Then I realized…….
“Contact!”
She grabbed Deedric's hand.
When I looked at Perez again, he was staring straight at me.
So, here's why!
“You can't see me unless we're touching!” I shouted, squeezing Deedric's hand.
Until now, it was just us, so we didn't realize it. We were careful to avoid touching each other in public to avoid it seeming unnatural, but now we realize that was a good thing. If the Duchess or her children had discovered my identity, things would have been more complicated.
Perez, still confused, spoke again.
"My eyes must be deceiving me. I see it one moment, and the next it's gone."
"Yes!" His words made everything clear.
The condition for him to see me was direct contact.
Deidrick held my hand tightly as we moved towards the sofa.
Facing Perez, Deidrick carefully explained as she had asked him to.
“This girl...is a closet monster.”
“...a monster?”
I pointed to my horns so he could see them clearly.
“Here, my horns.”
“However, to call you a monster...”
He gave me a strange look.
What's wrong with me that's not wild?
The best way to make someone angry is to stop talking mid-sentence.
She whispered softly in Dedric's ear,
“Am I ugly?”
“No, you are beautiful.”
He immediately denied it, meeting my eyes with his. Then he added in a steady and sincere tone,
“Really.”
“…Sh-thanks.”
I stammered, surprised by his sincerity.
Didric understood what he just said, so he scratched his cheek and avoided looking at me. His neck became intensely red.
Perez, who was watching us with a curious expression, asked cautiously,
“Are you…?”
“We are just friends. However, Your Highness, I apologize for my earlier rudeness.”
Still holding Deidrick's hand, I put my hands together and bowed politely, apologetically.
I didn't want Daedric's reputation to change because of me.
“I will be more careful with my words in the future.”
I looked at Perez and found that he seemed to be impressed by my humble behavior, so he muttered,
“A monster, yet so polite. Did you teach her that?”
“No, she was always polite and kind.”
“Really, if you didn't have horns, there would be no difference from humans. They are even more mysterious...”
He kept staring at me so intently that it became uncomfortable.
At that moment, Deidrick let go of my hand.
“She's gone now, Daedric.”
“It seems that His Highness the Prince was so distracted that he could not focus on the conversation.”
“Oh, I apologize.”
Perez laughed awkwardly and carefully changed the subject.
“So, why is this monster here?”
"It showed up in my closet one day. I don't know why."
“Did it cause you any harm?”
“As you can see...”
Perez nodded in agreement.
“She doesn't have enough face to fool anyone.”
What does this mean?
I couldn't help but instinctively touch my face with my hands.
"...That's all I know. I haven't known her for long either."
“And the girl doesn't know why she's here?”
Daedric nodded.
Then he stood up and looked directly at the prince.
“Your Highness, I apologize for the request, but please, keep what happened today confidential.”
Daedric bowed respectfully.
“You know, I'm treated like an outcast in my family. This girl is very precious to me. Please, don't try to get rid of her—just pretend you haven't seen her.”
“Dedric...”
Am I really that valuable to him?
I felt a wave of emotions.
But, hold on! You make me feel sorry for you.
Perez looked at Deidrick in astonishment at his serious request, but his expression changed quickly as if he had an idea.
"It won't be difficult. But there is a condition."
condition?
"If it's something ridiculous, don't agree to it. If he insists, we'll spread rumors about him acting strange."
We'll make him famous as a mad prince if need be.
Deedric gave a small smile at my bold comment.
“What did she say now?”
Nothing, no need to worry.
Since I wasn't holding Deedric's hand, I didn't need to hide my facial expression.