Chapter 35: Claude’s Jealousy — Returns
The air in a bedroom in the morning is usually sweet and gentle.
But right now, a tension like that of a courtroom hung thickly in the air.
“…Eliana.”
“Yes.”
“Could you explain this to me?”
Claude, sitting up in bed, was looking at me with the cold, sharp expression of the Chancellor.
At the end of his gaze stood the mysterious creature—Run—who had torn through the hem of my dress in front of the closet, let out a satisfied “gefu,” and was now basking in contentment.
“Kyuu?”
Run tilted its head and looked up at Claude with round, innocent eyes.
A gray body the size of a kitten.
Small wings on its back.
And remnants of high-grade lace dangling from the corner of its mouth.
Caught red-handed.
“…It’s cute, isn’t it?”
I tried to smooth things over with the best smile I could manage.
“Don’t dodge the issue.
What is that creature?
Was this what was rustling around near your feet last night?”
“…Yes.”
“And the ‘earthy scent’ you said was perfume—was that this thing too?”
“…Yes.”
“Why did you hide it?”
Claude narrowed his eyes.
He was angry.
No—this was the face he made when he was sulking.
The shock of his wife keeping a secret from him, mixed with wariness toward an unknown intruder.
“I wasn’t trying to hide it.
I was just choosing the right timing to introduce it…”
“After letting it grow by feeding it your dress?”
“It seems to be in a growth phase.”
Cold sweat trickled down my back as I picked Run up.
It was heavy.
Just yesterday it fit in my pocket, but now I needed both arms.
“Claude, let me introduce you.
This is Run.”
“Run?”
“Yes.
I rescued it in the library yesterday.
It hatched from an egg that Lord Leonardo left behind.”
“That architect’s?
…Figures it wouldn’t be anything good.”
Claude made no effort to hide his displeasure.
“Throw it away.
It’s dangerous, and more importantly, it eats your dresses.”
“Wait!
It’s not a pest!”
I immediately launched into a desperate presentation.
This was a critical negotiation that would decide Run’s fate—and the future reduction of my household workload.
“This is a ‘beneficial creature.’
Eating the dress was an accident.
Its normal diet consists of dust and trash.”
“Trash?”
“Yes.
Please watch.”
I pointed under the bed.
There should be a small buildup of lint in the corners where cleaning doesn’t easily reach.
“Run, it’s mealtime.”
When I set it down, Run sniffed the air.
Then it dashed straight under the bed.
Shhk!
Chomp!
It returned in an instant, the dust completely gone from its mouth.
It even deftly licked up a single strand of my fallen hair from the floor and swallowed it.
“Kyuu! (All clean!)”
Run wagged its tail proudly.
“…As you can see.”
I puffed out my chest.
“This child is an autonomous vacuum cleaner.
No electricity, no exhaust fumes, and the only noise it makes is ‘kyuu.’
…What do you think?
Wouldn’t it be useful for maintaining hygiene in our home?”
Claude looked stunned, but then turned a suspicious gaze toward Run.
“…It does seem convenient.
But is it safe?
Won’t it bite me?”
“It’s fine.
It’s attached to me, and you’re my husband, so—”
That was when it happened.
Run approached Claude.
It toddled up, placed its front paws on the bed, and stared intently at his chest.
“…What?
Is it trying to make peace?”
Just as Claude slightly relaxed and reached out—
Snap!
Run opened its mouth wide.
Its target was not Claude’s finger, but the button on his pajamas.
A lustrous button made of the finest white mother-of-pearl.
To Run, it must have looked like a delicious lump of calcium.
“Wah!?”
Claude jerked back.
One button was bitten clean off.
Crunch, crack.
Run chewed through the hard shell like a snack.
“Y-You little—!”
Claude went pale as he clutched his pajama top.
His chest was now exposed.
“Eliana!
This thing attacked me!
It really is dangerous!”
“It didn’t attack you!
The button just looked tasty!”
“That was my pajama top!
The one you gave me for my birthday last year—!”
“I’ll buy you another one!
…Hey, Run!
Food is only things on the floor!”
I grabbed Run and scolded it.
Run made an irritated face and curled up in my arms.
Claude fixed his disheveled pajamas and let out a deep sigh.
Then he looked steadily at me and Run.
“…Hah.”
“Claude…?”
“You like that lizard, don’t you.”
His tone dropped.
The anger was gone, replaced by a faint loneliness.
“…Yes.
It’s cute, and it’s useful.”
“More than me?”
“Huh?”
“Last night, you were distracted the whole time.
…You were thinking about this thing, weren’t you?”
He got out of bed and came closer.
His large hands cupped my cheeks.
“I treasure my time with you more than anything.
…So when you’re absorbed in something other than me, I’ll be honest—
I don’t like it.”
Jealousy.
The Chancellor of this country was seriously jealous of a lizard.
How childish.
And yet, how adorable.
I set Run down on the floor and wrapped my arms around Claude’s waist.
“…You’re silly, Claude.”
“Yeah.
When it comes to you, I lose all sense.”
“Run is a pet.
You are my husband.
They’re not even comparable.”
I stretched up and kissed his sulking lips.
Just a light peck.
“…That’s all?”
“Is that not enough?”
“One button was eaten.
I’m charging you for ‘repairs’ and last night’s ‘neglect fee.’”
He pulled me closer and whispered into my ear.
“…Let’s have this Run thing step out for a bit.”
“Huh?
But where—”
“Put it in the bathroom or something.
…Right now, I want you to look only at me.”
His eyes shimmered with heat.
That level of allure in the morning was unfair.
At this rate, punctual work hours were in danger.
But still.
I was the one who made him worry by keeping a secret.
As his wife, I should take responsibility.
“…Alright.
Just for a little while, okay?”
I picked up Run and isolated it in the bathroom.
A protesting “Kyuu~ (Why~)” echoed, but I steeled my heart and closed the door.
When I returned, Claude was smiling in satisfaction.
The face of a victor who had eliminated his rival.
“…Now then.
Shall I let you make it up to me?”
He pushed me down onto the bed.
In the morning light, his face drew close.
“…Claude, you’ll be late.”
“I don’t care.
…I’ll allow myself a bit of a late start today.”
In the end.
We left the room an hour later than planned.
Claude’s mood was completely restored, his complexion radiant, though my lips might have been a little swollen.
Meanwhile, Run—released from the bathroom—had grown another size larger.
It seemed it had eaten the humidity there as well.
“…Eliana.
Isn’t it bigger again?”
“You’re imagining things.
…Come on, let’s go.”
I smiled and brushed it off, carrying Run toward the library.
For now, I had secured permission to keep it.
If it only cost a bit of jealousy and one button, it was a cheap price to pay.
What awaited me at the library was Leonardo, trying to smash through the bathroom wall.