BL: The Northern Grand Duke’s Hamster (Novel Translation)

"He's unlucky." "He's unlucky." "I don't think he's unlucky."

Surprisingly, my opinion, Kyle's, and James's opinions about Knox were completely consistent. The three of us sighed almost at the same time, watching Knox as he roamed Blake Castle like someone on a long-awaited package tour.

That ignorant wizard, as soon as Kyle told him to treat himself as a 'guest,' began to traverse the entire castle as he pleased. The walls of Blake Castle, the curtains, and even the lanterns—everything was within his reach. He would snoop around empty rooms and even run into servants in a friendly way, passing by them with ease. From time to time, he would gaze into the air as if weighing something, but he kept his distance, and his murmurs were too quiet to discern.

"He's certainly something else."

Isn't it obvious that crazy people are looking at thin air? If I asked, my blood pressure would climb, and I'd be completely flustered.

"Then, as instructed, we will further strengthen the vigilance outside the castle."

"Yes. I have to take care of the inside for the time being, so leave the outside work to me."

James's eyes looked at Kyle, and at first glance, a sense of compassion flashed through them. Of course, my eyes held the same sentiment. I understood Kyle's intention to treat Knox as a 'guest,' but if you wear such a time bomb, your lifespan will surely be cut short.

[Kyle Jane Meinhardt, about 35 days before the expected time of death.]

As a habit, I checked Kyle's lifespan and was secretly relieved. Fortunately, he still just looked tired, and his lifespan hadn't been cut short by Knox. At least he has no intention of causing a fuss while he's here?

"Don't touch this or that, come this way," Knox said, approaching me coldly. "I'm jealous that the drowning body will take my share."

Earlier, he called me a grim reaper, but this time, he called me a 'drowning body.' Anyway, his madness is strangely ancient.

"I'll do the monitoring later."

At that moment, Kyle said in a blunt voice, "The room at the end of that hallway is where you will stay. When you need something, ring the bell on the table. However, it is not a servant but a soldier who is watching to help, so after midnight, I hope you will be careful."

He continued without waiting for an answer. "Unless it's important business, I hope you don't go back and forth outside the room often. And if you harm the soldiers guarding the door, we will consider it an attack on the North."

"Hmm."

"Also, if you want Shu to treat you as a guest, please show some basic courtesy."

Knox raised one eyebrow. "Good. Let's follow the laws of Blake Castle. By the way, just a couple of soldiers, by name, would be impossible to 'monitor.'"

"..."

"Wouldn't it be better for you to put on effective surveillance, Your Highness?" He pointed at me with an exaggerated gesture.

Why, what, why? It's unfair that I can't use one of my arms properly, but should I even monitor you?

"I'm not a soldier."

Then, Knox's blue eyes narrowed, and he smiled slightly. At the same time, a cold air began to creep up from near the elbow of my right arm.

"... Crazy."

It felt like an ice snake climbing on my skin. It wasn't particularly painful, but it was quite annoying to stand still.

Noticing my change, Kyle put his hand on the handle of his sword and gave Knox a murderous glare. "Are you already going to break the contract?"

"This seems to be a misunderstanding to say that it harms safety."

"..."

"Don't worry. I don't intend to play too many pranks."

I sighed and stepped forward. "That's enough. Your Highness, I'll keep an eye on him from time to time."

Then the unpleasant cold disappeared as if it had been washed away. Knox was the one who showed the most interest in this castle. So, as long as I quietly stayed with him and fed him, he wouldn't unnecessarily fuss here and there.

'I only have to endure for five days.'

If it doesn't work, I'll have to ask the system to even get items with stun abilities for the store.

Kyle's face was clearly dissatisfied, but he agreed with my decision. He hesitantly reached for my right arm, but he didn't dare to touch it for fear of causing pain. He clenched his fist in the air and let it fall. Of course, I was sorry and sad to leave him like that, so I stretched out my left arm and lightly hugged his back, then let him go.

"It's okay because you only have to endure a few days, Your Highness."

Kyle said in a low voice, "... I should have killed him."

At this point, I couldn't help but agree with him.

"Your Highness."

There was no answer. Of course, the other person didn't expect a gentle answer either. The owner of Blake Castle, known as the "Grand Duke of Blood," merely looked at the chessboard with a cold and bored expression. At Knox's request, he had sat down on the other side, but his attitude of not particularly welcoming or respecting his guest felt arrogant at first glance.

"It seems that he is not leisurely enough to play such a boring game with me, indeed."

Knox's smooth voice made Kyle's red eyes scan his opponent. A blue-eyed man dressed in pure white. The gaze of the white, gruesome, brutal wizard was not at all kind. If they hadn't signed a contract, he would have been brutal enough to cut a man in two with a sword right now.

"The one you asked me to call is busy right now."

"It's a coincidence."

"It's a coincidence, it's very good."

To be precise, Shu was sleeping in Kyle's jacket pocket as a hamster. Knox heard that Shu was looking for him, but he didn't have to answer the call. Because it was. Shu would wake up by the time Kyle returned to his bedroom. Just as he had hoped.

The cold silence flowed as the black and white pieces on the chessboard silently held their place. Knox narrowed his eyes as if thinking about something, and pondered for a moment. Soon, as if he had found the answer, or perhaps hadn't, a strangely prickly smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Hmm, that's amazing."

Then he bowed his head slightly. The curiosity that filled his face was overflowing, almost spilling down.

It had been two days since he decided to wait here for five days to take Kyle and Shu. Knox waited leisurely, as if he were aging a rare food. However, that didn't mean he waited so quietly. He wanted Shu, who aroused his interest the most, to be by his side. Of course, Shu was not the one who would wait obediently, and he liked that even more.

When he wanted to say that he didn't know too much, it only stimulated the stigma left on his right arm. Soon after, Shu would jump up and down to the bedroom. Or, the Grand Duke with his eyes wide open would get excited.

However, it was quiet just now. The stigma had been moved quite a lot, so the pain must have been quite severe, but the person concerned did not show up. Didn't she get it? No, that's not the case. Knox's magic always perfectly followed his control and command.

"The other person doesn't feel magic."

It was the same last time.

Knox lowered his head and pursed his lips. Then, a loud voice rang directly in his head.

[What do you mean by that? Wraith, it means that your master has even escaped control, hey?]

"The magic is still there."

[But how can that be? Because of the 'kid' I mentioned yesterday?]

"Yes."

Knox tilted his head. A few strands of white hair fell down his cheeks.

[Nonsense, you mean you crossed over to another world?]

"Another world..."

[By the way, don't leave the Frost Tower empty for too long. Is it going to be?]

"You're right, Drowning."

Knox's smile became clearer.

Kyle stared at Knox as he muttered something he could barely hear. His eyes sank coldly, like when dozens of demons were in front of him with their arms crossed. He was searching for the wizard in front of him, trying to understand him.

Enemies of knights. Enemies of the North. And, the stranger who threatens Shu.

Kyle read a word from Knox's sweet lips, as if he was grasping at it. This was pronounced.

"Drowning."

"..."

"Who is that? Are you a colleague?"

Knox looked up. The eyes that seemed to be looking at somewhere far away were now fixed neatly and tidily on the Grand Duke in his robe.

"Don't try to know too much, Your Highness."

"Can't you tell me?" Kyle replied in a voice without a trace of a smile. "Other than that, it seems like she's willing to put Shu in the line."

"Oh, jealousy?"

"Caution and rejection would be correct." A cold voice rang out that was completely different from when he was dealing with his lover.

"I like weird things." Knox's fingertips tapped the leftmost of the rows of white pawns. "And Your Highness's little boy is like a puzzle piece that doesn't fit in this world. I think so."

Sharp gazes interlocked in the air. Knox didn't back down in front of Kyle's smoldering red eyes. On the contrary, he relentlessly searched for a gap in between.

"Where is that cute and eccentric kid now?"

"My Shu." Kyle intercepted him and corrected him. "She's in a safe place."

"..."

"In the safest way."

"..."

"Do you have any more questions?"

"Even if there is, I don't think you will tell me."

"Of course."

"If so, should we do this?" Knox squeezed the pawn and sent it one space forward. "Let's watch a one-game match. The winning side can ask only one question to the losing side. The losing side must answer only the truth. What do you think?"

Instead of answering, Kyle sent his pawn one space forward. On his far right, the black pawn took a step forward and challenged the white pawn in front of him as if fighting ahead.

"Good."